Pin Takes Thrilling Race 1 Victory in F1 Academy 2025 Round 3 in Miami

Round 3 of the F1 Academy season took place last weekend, as part of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix support package. Pin took her second win of the season in Race 1, with Race 2 postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

Doriane Pin, Chloe Chambers and Alisha Palmowski were stand-out performers again, with a valiant effort from Maya Weug, continuing to compete despite being ill.

Round 3 of the 2025 F1 Academy season saw the 2025 drivers take to the street circuit in Miami at the Miami International Autodrome for the second year in a row, with American driver Ava Dobson joining as the wild card.

Ava Dobson

Rain in the 305

Race 2 was scheduled to take place at 13:05 local time. However, just before the race was about to take place, a massive downpour hit the circuit. With the drivers already on the grid, the decision was made to do several formation laps behind the safety car. Drivers were aquaplaning, with minimal visibility, and Felbberwayr and Lloyd ran wide and the track resembled a river more than a race track.

A red flag was called with the drivers returning to the pit lane and expressing that they were soaked through after experiencing very challenging conditions on track, but all drivers returned without any damage. Chong, over the radio, compared it to taking a cold plunge. 

The race was delayed, then officially cancelled. We understand it will be held later in the year at another venue. Chambers was awarded two points for pole position for Race 2, but no other points were awarded.

Miami continues to welcome F1 Academy with glitz and glamour

F1 Academy racing in Miami is one of the season's highlights, filled with dedicated fans who queued up for a chance to meet their favourite drivers and stayed in the grandstands when torrential rain hit the track.

During the weekend, the series held the US premiere event of F1: The Academy, the brand new Netflix documentary produced by Hello Sunshine. The event was attended by current drivers, celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, influencers, Formula 1 drivers - George Russell, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli and past drivers Abbi Pulling and Bianca Bustamante.

Maya Weug and Aurelia Nobels also participated in a very competitive table football game with fellow Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as part of an event with Puma.

Chloe Chambers fastest in qualifying

In a very exciting qualifying session, only 0.076s separated the top four. Chambers set the fastest lap time with a 2m 00.458s, ahead of team-mate Palmowski by 0.018s, with Pin in third and Lloyd in fourth.

Rain threatened the session, with drivers getting out on the track as soon as the time started counting down. Chambers was the first to set a time with a 2:00.458s, followed by Palmowski just 0.018s behind, Pin and Lloyd both slotted in behind in third and fourth.

Then the heavy rain came down, with drivers getting caught up in the slippery wet conditions. The rain eased up with ten minutes left in the session, but the drivers couldn’t beat the earlier lap times on the wet track.

Block and Nobels qualified fifth and sixth, with Ferreira in seventh, Felbermayr in eighth, Hausmann in ninth and Maya Weug, who got stuck in traffic with only one attempt at a fast lap, qualifying in 10th.

Chambers Pole Position

Pin takes her second victory of the F1 Academy season in Race 1

Pin has not had the start to the season that she had hoped or wished for after her standout performances last year.

Hoping for a clean sweep in Miami, Pin, in her special Miami Mercedes livery, was determined to perform well. She started her weekend as the fastest in the first free practice session, with a 1m 59.153s lap time and a third-place finish in qualifying, starting the reverse grid race in sixth.

Having finished second on the track last year, Pin knew she had to pull out all the stops to get the race win. Her previous experience set her up nicely by outsmarting the other drivers and emerging from the chaos of the first corner in one piece. Then she only had Emma Felbermayr between her and the race win, battling with the pole sitter, she managed to get past and take the chequered flag first.

“It’s pretty special - my first reverse grid win,” she said after the race. “I’m really happy, a good relief! I think we were smart today from quali to Race 1. We avoided the cars at the start and then the pace was good until the safety car.

“Then it was a bit more tricky, but it was well managed. The restart was positive and we won, so I’m really happy. It’s good points for the standings, fastest lap of the race and good for the team. We worked hard to come back stronger here in Miami after challenging races last year.”

Doriane Pin on the Podium

Chambers and Palmowski complete the Race 1 podium

With Pin at the top of the podium, Chambers and Palmowski rounded out the top three in the reverse grid race.

Emma Felberwayr got a great getaway from the reverse grid pole, as the chaos unfolded behind her. Ferreira locked up at the start, as Block tried to squeeze past Lloyd. Misjudging her breaking point at Turn 1, Lloyd hit the back of Ferreira’s car, breaking the front wing of her McLaren and forcing her to retire the car.

Palmowski managed to get past Nobels for second as a safety car was brought out for an incident involving Ciconte, Chong and Havrda, with Ciconte having to retire the car and Felberwayt being forced into the pits for repairs after being shown a black and orange flag.

Pin controlled the race from the front, with Palmowski behind, with Chambers moving into third place after a tactical move on Nobels into Turn 11. Weug then set her sights on Nobels and moved ahead with the switchback and the championship leader moved into and finished fourth.

Gademan finished fifth after Block received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, followed by Nobels in sixth, Hausmann in seventh and Ferreira in the last points-scoring position.

Chambers and Palmowski

Race Results

Qualifying: 1) Chloe Chambers 2m 00.458

2) Alisha Palmowski 2m 00.476

3) Doriane Pin 2m 00.529

Race 1: 1) Doriane Pin

2) Alisha Palmowski +0.423

3) Chloe Chambers +1.739

Pin in her Mercedes

2025 Season Standings After Round 3

1. Maya Weug - 64 points

2. Doriane Pin - 63 points

3. Chloe Chambers - 55 points

4. Alisha Palmowski - 44 points

5. Alba Larsen - 28 points

6. Ella Lloyd - 23 points

7. Tina Hausmann - 13 points

8. Nina Gademan - 12 points

9. Emma Felbermayr - 10 points

10. Rafaela Ferreira - 9 points

11. Aurelia Nobels - 3 points

12. Lia Block - 2 points

13. Joanne Ciconte - 2 points

14. Avia Anagnostiados - 1 point

15. Chloe Chong - 1 point

16. Aurelia Nobels

17. Courtney Crone

18. Nicole Havrda

19. Ava Dobson (WCD)

20. Shi Wei (WCD)

21. Farah Alyousef (WCD)

Maya Weug

F1 Academy is back for Round 4 in Montreal, Canada, on June 13 - 15, alongside the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

All images are credited to F1 Academy Limited.