F1 Academy: Doriane Pin wins first race in Canada and takes the championship lead

Doriane Pin won the first F1 Academy race in Montreal on Saturday, taking the lead in the drivers’ championship in the process. The Mercedes driver capitalized on a dramatic incident between teammates Chloe Chambers and Alisha Palmowski on the second lap to take control of the race.

Chambers dominates the qualifications

The day before, Chambers had confirmed her exceptional form by securing her third consecutive pole position of the season. The American driver, affiliated with Red Bull Ford, outpaced her British teammate Palmowski by 0.305 seconds during an intense qualifying session.

Chambers and Palmowski engaged in a close duel for first place, exchanging the best times repeatedly. Alba Larsen had initially impressed at the start of the session, opening up a gap of nine-tenths over her pursuers. But the Campos Racing duo quickly took control.

In the final minutes, Chambers delivered the coup de grâce with a time of 1:38.125, pushing Palmowski over three-tenths behind. Pin slipped between the two teammates to complete the provisional podium, ahead of Ella Lloyd and Tina Hausmann.

The disappointment came from Maya Weug, the leader of the championship before this weekend. The Ferrari-affiliated driver could do no better than fifteenth after persistent electrical issues with her MP Motorsport F1 Academy car. This underperformance opened the door for her rivals in the championship.

Incident in the second round

Saturday morning, Chambers got off to a great start from pole position, maintaining his lead ahead of Palmowski. Pin and Aurelia Nobels had a slight clash in the first corner, but with no major consequences.

The turning point of the race occurred on the second lap. Palmowski, under pressure behind her teammate, attempted an inside overtake at turn 1. But the maneuver went wrong as the Brit locked her wheels and hit Chambers, simultaneously sending her own car into a spin.

Chambers was able to continue despite front wing damage, but Pin immediately took advantage to climb into the lead. This was followed by a fierce battle between the American and the Frenchwoman, with the two drivers exchanging first place several times over more than one complete lap.

Pin sets sail

The damage to Chambers’ single-seater worsened, eventually forcing him to pit after receiving the black and orange flag. Pin then found herself alone in the lead, with Lloyd climbing up to second place from her seventh position on the grid.

The Frenchwoman managed her lead with serenity, widening the gap to more than a second over Lloyd in the sixth lap. Behind, Emma Felbermayr settled into third position, resisting attacks from Nina Gademan.

Weug continued her ordeal with multiple pit stops, her electrical problems persisting throughout the race. The reigning champion had to retire due to these problems and thus lost any chance of scoring points in this first Canadian round.

Two safety car interventions

The race was neutralized for the first time on the eleventh lap after the accident of Mathilda Paatz, the invited German driver. The young woman took too much of the curb at turn 14 before hitting the Wall of Champions.

Pin perfectly managed the restart on the fifteenth lap, maintaining his first place ahead of Lloyd. But the race descended into chaos in the final laps. Rafaela Ferreira locked her wheels at turn 8, went into the escape road and collided with Chloe Chong when reentering the track.

This collision triggered a chain reaction. After the collision between Ferreira and Chong, there was contact between Joanne Ciconte and Courtney Crone, sending the Haas driver spinning in the hairpin. And a second safety car intervention will end the race prematurely, thus depriving the drivers of a final sprint under the green flag.

Disqualification and penalties

Pin crossed the finish line as the winner, taking 25 points and moving to the top of the championship with a 24-point lead over Weug. Lloyd finished second, and Felbermayr initially completed the podium.

But the stewards overturned the final standings. Felbermayr was disqualified after her car was found to be under the minimum regulatory weight of 603 kg. This decision promoted Gademan to the podium for her first top 3 finish in F1 Academy.

Palmowski received a ten-second penalty for causing the collision with Chambers, relegating her from eighth to twelfth place. Ferreira received a five-place grid penalty for the next race after his dangerous return to the track.

Chambers minimized the damage by finishing seventh, scoring six points despite a pit stop. Nina Gademan was promoted to the podium in third place following Felbermayr’s disqualification, while Lia Block (fourth), Alba Larsen (fifth), Aiva Anagnostiadis (eighth), Aurelia Nobels (ninth), and Nicole Havrda (tenth) shared the remaining points.

This victory allows Pin to take a serious lead on the title, taking advantage of Weug’s setbacks. The Frenchwoman now has three victories in six races this season and approaches the rest of the Montreal weekend from a strong position.

Race 1 Results Canadian Grand Prix 2025