Recently crowned F1 Academy Champion Abbi Pulling put her emphatic title win down to psychological preparation in 2024.
Second place in Qatar was enough for Pulling to seal the F1 Academy title with a round to spare amid a dominant campaign.
The Alpine Academy Driver has thus far never set foot off of the podium, totalling seven wins, three second-places and one third-place finish in 11 races.
Following her title success, Pulling told select media including Motorsport Week that winning the title was all about having the right mindset.
“A lot of it’s been mindset I think, I’ve focused on resetting myself after every race, not setting expectations,” Pulling explained.
“Even after Miami [winning both races] which was incredible, I didn’t set the expectation to do that again the next race.
“I was like ‘even if I don’t do that for the rest of the season I just need to be consistent and keep doing what I’ve been doing.’
“Then obviously we had Singapore which was incredible but I think a lot of a lot of mental work, working really close with the team, which to be honest hasn’t changed much from from last year, but we’ve made a conscious effort to leave no stone unturned and yes it’s made the difference.”
Abbi Pulling ‘wanted to prove a point’ after F1 Academy season opener
Pulling’s season started with the spotlight shining on one of her competitors, Mercedes’ Doriane Pin.
Pin, having competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship in GTs and Prototypes with the Iron Dames was hotly tipped to adapt to single-seaters well in F1 Academy.
The Frenchwoman comfortably took victory in the season-opening race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, with Pulling finishing second.
Race 2 in Saudi saw Pin disqualified as she failed to recognise the chequered flag, continuing at racing speeds, handing victory to Pulling, who was once again second on the road.
After receiving negative comments regarding how her maiden win in the series came about, Pulling felt the hunger to prove doubters wrong.
“Since Jeddah, I’ve just been so hungry and really wanted to prove a point,” the British driver said.
“I got some not amazing comments after Jeddah about how I won so that really lit a fire in my belly and really made me want to show actually ‘I deserve to be here.’
“Since then, it’s said enough I’ve done it on track and and showed I do deserve to be at the front and I’m capable.”
Seven race victories and an 83-point championship lead bringing her the title with one round to go proves Pulling silenced her critics.
READ MORE – Doriane Pin wins Race 1 in Qatar as Abbi Pulling takes F1 Academy title
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