How Abbi Pulling can clinch an F1 Academy title at the Qatar Grand Prix

The Formula 1 grid is back in action this weekend for the Qatar Grand Prix, the penultimate race weekend of the 2024 F1 season.

But that is not the only action to keep an eye on, as the F1 Academy series returns for its own penultimate race weekend, before the finale in Abu Dhabi.

As the F1 Academy roars back to life, Alpine’s Abbi Pulling is on the verge of capturing the F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship. Pulling has delivered a dominant performance this season, capturing seven race victories and finishing on the podium in all ten races this year.

She has also swept the weekend twice, doing so in Miami back in May, and at the Singapore Grand Prix the last time the F1 Academy was in action.

As a result, Pulling arrives in Qatar with a commanding lead in the F1 Academy standings, with 245 points on the season. Doriane Pin, who drives for Mercedes, is 95 points behind with 150 points on the campaign.

This means that Pulling can clinch the F1 Academy title in Qatar, and can do so in the first of the two races this weekend.

Here is how.

With two race weekends remaining on the F1 Academy schedule — and therefore four races total, as each F1 Academy race weekend contains a pair of races — a maximum of 112 points are available for drivers the rest of the season. Points are distributed in the same way as in F1 races, with the winner taking 25 points and the top ten scoring as follows: (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1).

In addition, drivers who qualify for pole position earn two points. Qualifying for the F1 Academy is a bit different than for F1, as it is a 30-minute session. The fastest time from each driver is used to determine pole position for the first race, while each driver’s second fastest time is used to determine pole position for the second race. A driver can qualify for pole in both races, as Pulling did in Singapore.

So, hypothetically, if Pin wins all four remaining races and takes pole position for each of them, that would give her 108 points. Then if she also added the fastest lap in each of those four races, that would add up to 112 points, bringing her total on the season to 262.

But here is how Pulling can clinch a title this weekend. If she finishes second in the first race, she will score 18 points, bringing her total on the season to 263. Meaning Pin could win the first race and sweep the rest of the season as outlined above, and still fall short in the title race.

As long as Pulling gets 18 points out of this weekend, or frankly the rest of the season, Pin cannot eclipse her in the standings.

It is also important to remember that on the off chance the two drivers finish level (in this hypothetical Pin sweeps the season and gets to 262, and over the final four races Pulling scores 17 points via a combination such as a third-place finish and a ninth-place finish to finish with 262 points), then Pulling would still win the championship. The tiebreaker is race wins, and Pulling has an insurmountable lead there, as she has seven wins on the season, and Pin has two.

Pulling admitted recently that she has “one hand on the trophy,” during an in-season testing session.

“I’m in a great position in the Standings,” said Pulling in Abu Dhabi. “I’ve got one hand on the trophy at this point, I’m not getting ahead of myself. Of course, I know that it’s all tough and even coming into this test, I’ve kept myself grounded.”

Still, the driver is adamant that she will push flat out the rest of the season.

“It can’t come around sooner to be honest. I just want to get into the weekend as soon as possible (…) I want to win the Drivers’ title and we’re in a good position to do that, but also, whatever happens in Qatar happens,” said Pulling. “I won’t back down, I’m still going to be trying to go for race wins no matter what because I want to give the team the best possible chance of taking both titles at the end of the season.”