PREVIEW: F1 Academy takes to Montreal for Round 4

F1 Academy is back this weekend (June 13-15) for Round 4 in Montreal, Canada. Racing on a new track for the series, it's anyone’s guess who will take the victory! 

Round 1 of the season took place in Shanghai in March, with Alisha Palmowski winning her maiden race in Race 1 and Doriane Pin winning Race 2 for her first victory of the season. 

Round 2 headed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with Ella Lloyd taking her first win in F1 Academy and Maya Weug taking her first win of the season.

Most recently, Round 3 took place in Miami, Florida, with Pin securing her second win of the season in Race 1, while Race 2 was postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

F1 Academy has 18 drivers each race weekend this season, with a Wild Card driver competing each weekend. Round 1 in Shanghai saw the 2025 drivers take to the track for the first time across a race weekend.

Doriane Pin in Miami

Miami recap

The first three races of the season also saw the return of the reverse grid for Race 1, with the top eight drivers from qualifying reversed on the grid. P9 to P18 started from the position they qualified in.

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

Read our complete round-up of the F1 Academy Round 3 in Miami.

Race 2 rain in Miami

Montreal Race weekend format

The 2025 season introduced a change to the weekend format, which is split into three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Up to two practice sessions, each lasting up to 40 minutes, take place on Friday. A 30-minute qualifying session will take place on either Friday or Saturday, depending on the number of practice sessions allocated.

Due to Miami’s cancelled race, a third race was added to the schedule for the Montreal race weekend, featuring a different set of rules and regulations specifically for Montreal.

In Montreal, Saturday will host Race 1 and Race 2. The grid for Race 1 will be established using the final starting grid for Race 2 in Miami. The Wild Card driver for Montreal will start the race from the back of the grid.

Race 1 points allocation:

• P1 - 25 points

• P2 - 18 points

• P3 - 15 points

• P4 - 12 points

• P5 - 10 points

• P6 - 8 points

• P7 - 6 points

• P8 - 4 points

• P9 - 2 points

• P10 - 1 point

• Fastest Lap (plus a top ten finish) - 1 point

Following this season's reform of the Sporting Regulations, Race 2 in Montreal will be a reverse grid race.

The reverse grid race means that the top eight drivers from qualifying will be reversed on the grid, while the drivers that finish between P9 and P18 will start from the position they qualify in. In this race, only the first eight drivers will earn points and the driver who records the fastest lap and finishes in the top eight will score an extra point.

Race 2 points allocation:

• P1 - 10 points

• P2 - 8 points

• P3 - 6 points

• P4 - 5 points

• P5 - 4 points

• P6 - 3 points

• P7 - 2 points

• P8 - 1 point

Race 3 has no changes from previous seasons, with drivers starting from the position that they qualified in. The first 10 drivers to cross the chequered flag will earn points on a sliding scale from 25 points to the winner and down to one point to the driver finishing in P10.

The driver who earns Pole Position for Race 3 will earn two extra points. The driver who sets the fastest lap will earn an additional point if they finish the race within the top 10.

Race 3 points allocation:

• P1 - 25 points

• P2 - 18 points

• P3 - 15 points

• P4 - 12 points

• P5 - 10 points

• P6 - 8 points

• P7 - 6 points

• P8 - 4 points

• P9 - 2 points

• P10 - 1 point

F1 Academy cars in Miami

What’s the schedule for the race weekend?

Round 4 begins on Friday, 13 June, with the Practice Session at 16:05. This year’s qualifying session will take place at 23:30 on Friday, 13 June.

Race 1 will take place on Saturday, 14 June, at 14:15 and Race 2 will also take place on Saturday at 19:50. Race 3 will take place on Sunday, 15 June, at 15:55.

All times are in British Summer Time (BST).

Who is the wild card entry?

Mathilda Paatz will make her debut in Montreal for Round 4 of the season as the Wild Card entry. Mathilda will drive car number 8, operated by Hitech TGR and will be sporting a Gatorade livery, to celebrate F1 Academy's partnership with the series.

The 16-year-old German driver is currently competing in the 2025 F4 CEZ Championship and secured her first podium with a second-place finish at the Red Bull Ring.

Preparing to race around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the first time, Paatz said: “I’m beyond excited to be the Wild Card driver at Round 4 of F1 ACADEMY at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, driving the Gatorade car. Growing up, I was captivated by the theatre of racing - the energy, the passion, and how drivers carried the pride of their teams.

Everything you need to know about the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve

2025 is the first time F1 Academy will be racing at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve as part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix race weekend.

The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is 4.361km, with 14 corners and is located on Notre Dame Island (Île Notre-Dame) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

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

The F1 Academy qualifying session, Race 1, Race 2 and Race 3 throughout the season can be streamed on F1 Academy’s YouTube, X Channels, F1 TV and Sky Sports F1.

All images are credited to F1 Academy Limited.