Britain’s Abbi Pulling wins all-female Formula One Academy title
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Alpine’s Abbi Pulling celebrating after winning the F1 Academy second race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sept 22. She won the overall title in Doha on Nov 30.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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DOHA – British driver Abbi Pulling won the 2024 all-female Formula One Academy championship in Qatar on Nov 30 to secure an all-paid season in the British GB3 junior series with New Zealand’s Rodin Motorsport.
The 21-year-old Alpine Academy driver finished second behind French rival Doriane Pin, representing Mercedes, to clinch the title with three races to spare.
She needed only 18 points from the last four races and got that haul in the first race in Lusail.
“It’s been a tougher season than most, going into the year I had no choice but to win, I’ve struggled financially in the past,” said Pulling, who in 2024 also became the first woman to win a British F4 race.
“To get the prize for next year... that makes me so happy and incredibly proud. It’s such a weight off my shoulders.”
F1 teams each nominate a driver and have their livery on a car in the Academy, a series on the F1 support programme. The championship was founded by F1 in 2023 with the aim of developing young female drivers and creating opportunities for them to progress up the single-seater ladder.
This is its second season, after replacing the now-defunct W Series, another all-women championship.
Susie Wolff, the first woman to take part in an F1 race weekend in 22 years during practice with Williams at the 2014 British Grand Prix, is now the managing director of the F1 Academy.
She told The Straits Times in September: “It’s a long-term project. It’s really about changing the preconceptions that this sport is male-dominated, that there is an opportunity for women, because there absolutely is...
“I do think we are having an impact, and that’s the most important thing.” REUTERS
