Weug closes championship gap to just nine points with win in Singapore

Round 6 of the F1 Academy season took place last weekend as part of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix support package. After losing out on a win in Singapore last season, Lia Block took her first single-seater victory in Race 1 and Maya Weug returned to the top of the podium in Race 2.

Round 6 of the 2025 F1 Academy season saw the 2025 drivers return to the Marina Bay Street Circuit for the second time, with French driver Lisa Billard joining as the wild card. Drivers faced extremely humid conditions, a rain-soaked race, a delayed start, and a qualifying session covered by less than two-tenths.

Lia Block and Maya Weug were the standout performers of the weekend. However, we can’t not mention Ella Lloyd, who finished on the podium once again in Race 2 with a third-place finish. This moved her into third place in the championship, just two points ahead of Chambers, going into an exciting final round.

Joanne Ciconte achieved her best result with a P8 finish in Race 2, while Courtney Crone scored her first F1 Academy point, finishing in P10 in the same race.

Alba Larsen stayed consistent, finishing in the points for the ninth time, as Emma Felbermayr finished P4 in Race 2 and gained her biggest points haul of the season.

Weug fastest in Singapore qualifying

Weug started off her weekend strong, finishing second behind Doriane Pin by just 0.022s and 0.051s ahead of Alisha Palmowski in the only practice session of the weekend.

In a nail-biting Qualifying session under the lights, Pin, Chambers and Weug were in a tight battle for pole with ticky track conditions around the streets of Singapore.

Lisa Billard was the first driver to set a time in Qualifying with a 2:10.614 lap time, followed by Block, before disaster struck for Alisha Palmowski, who hit the wall out of Turn 5, bringing out the red flags.

Running resumed with 22 minutes on the clock, as Pin, Chambers, Weug and Lloyd exchanged fastest lap times.

During the closing stages of the session, Chambers was the first to cross the finish line, topping the leaderboard, before Weug beat her time and moved to the top of the leaderboard with a lap time of 2:03.453s, two tenths clear of Chambers.

Pin was caught in traffic and had to race against the clock to get to the line before the chequered flag. She narrowly scraped through but could only set a lap time good enough for P2.

Weug sealed her second consecutive pole position under the lights in Singapore, with Lia Block finishing in P8 and sealing pole position for the reverse grid.

Maya Weug Singapore Pole Position

Lia Block takes her first victory in Race 1

Block led from start to finish during Race 1 and finished 0.649s ahead of Weug, holding onto the lead after two safety car restarts and extreme pressure from Weug in the closing laps of the race.

The American driver only achieved her first podium during Round 5 in Zandvoort, where she finished in second place in Race 1, just 2.116 seconds behind Gademan in a tight reverse-grid battle.

Her victory in Singapore marked her first win in single-seaters and ART Grand Prix’s first win in the series since Lena Bühler in Monza in 2023.

Block Race 1 Winner

Weug closes the gap to Pin, taking the championship fight to Vegas

The Ferrari driver became a master of the Singapore streets in qualifying, showing her determination and drive to win early in the weekend. In a weekend where Pin had the opportunity to seal the championship, Weug had other ideas.

After an incredible reverse grid race, starting eighth and gaining six positions throughout the race to take her seventh podium of the season with a second-place finish.

Weug started on pole for Race 2 but lost out to Pin at the race start. Harsh race conditions and some incredible strategy calls allowed the Dutch driver to thrive in the rain-soaked race, opting to stay out on slick tyres when the majority of the field switched to wet tyres with six laps remaining.

A late safety car after Nicole Havrda crashed in the tricky conditions allowed the pack to bunch up, with Pin looking on course for the win.

However, with one lap remaining, the safety car period ended and Weug took her chance. Pin controlled the restart, but Weug launched a mighty challenge and passed her championship rival for P1, crossing the line almost half a second ahead of Pin.

Weug closes the gap from 20 points to just nine going into the finale round in Las Vegas.

Weug Race 2 Winner

Race Results

Qualifying: 1) Maya Weug                    2:03.453

2) Doriane Pin                    +0.042

3) Chloe Chambers         +0.189

Race 1: 1) Lia Block

2) Maya Weug       +0.649  

3) Chloe Chambers          +1.030   

Race 2: 1) Maya Weug

2) Doriane Pin       +0.409

3) Ella Lloyd       +1.316

2025 Season Standings After Round 6

1. Doriane Pin - 151 points

2. Maya Weug - 142 points

3. Ella Lloyd - 101 points

4. Chloe Chambers - 99 points

5. Alisha Palmowski - 73 points

6. Nina Gademan - 60 points

7. Alba Larsen - 58 points

8. Tina Hausmann - 46 points

9. Emma Felbermayr - 37 points

10. Lia Block - 33 points

11. Chloe Chong - 18 points

12. Rafaela Ferreira - 15 points

13. Aurelia Nobels - 10 points

14. Joanne Ciconte - 8 points

15. Esmee Kosterman (WCD) - 6 points

16. Avia Anagnostiados - 5 points

17. Nicole Havrda - 1 point

18. Courtney Crone - 1 point

19. Megan Bruce

20. Lisa Billard (WCD)

21. Mathilda Paatz (WCD)

22. Ava Dobson (WCD)

23. Shi Wei (WCD)

24. Farah Alyousef (WCD)

F1 Academy is back for its final round in Las Vegas (USA) on November 20-22, alongside the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.

All images are credited to F1 Academy Limited.