F1 Academy Spanish Grand Prix: Abbi Pulling delivers a qualifying sweep

Heading into the third race weekend of the 2024 F1 Academy schedule, the most important query was whether or not anybody may catch Abbi Pulling.

During Friday’s qualifying session, the reply was no.

The Alpine driver swept qualifying on Friday and can begin each races up entrance at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. However, Pulling definitely needed to work for these pole positions, as a number of drivers put themselves on provisional pole place all through the session.

Track evolution was a large a part of the story. As time wound down within the qualifying session the solar was doing the identical within the sky, and the lap instances started to tick down lap-by-lap. With two minutes to go Pulling was atop the timing sheets and on provisional pole, however a number of drivers had been nonetheless on the monitor on the lookout for these important tenths — or extra — to catch Pulling on the prime of the timing sheets.

Ultimately, nonetheless, they may not.

Haas driver Chloe Chambers got here closest, simply 0.059 seconds behind Pulling’s quickest time. Nerea Martí, the hometown heroine, certified third.

Doriane Pin, recovering from the rib harm that saved her out of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will begin fourth. Bianca Bustamante, who enters this F1 Academy weekend sitting fifth within the standings, will begin in that place within the first race.

“That was a nailbiting one, wasn’t it?” radioed in Pulling to her workforce following the session.

As for the second race, Pulling shall be once more beginning up entrance. Under F1 Academy guidelines, the quickest time in a qualifying session units the grid for the primary race, however the beginning order for the second race is about by every driver’s second-fastest time. Chambers will begin third, with Pin in P3 for the second race this weekend, which takes place on Sunday.

Here are the total qualifying outcomes: