Mercedes-backed Doriane Pin capitalised on early front-row drama to seize victory in Race 1 of the F1 Academy weekend in Canada, taking over the championship lead in the process.
The Campos Racing team-mates of Chloe Chambers and Alisha Palmowski collided on Lap 2 after starting on the front row.
Pin claimed her third victory of the season as Ella Lloyd secured another podium finish in second place and Emma Felbermayr crossed the line in third place.
On her birthday, Chambers started from pole as the grid for Montreal’s opening race was set by the cancelled Race 2 in Miami.
The Red Bull Ford-backed driver also topped Friday’s qualifying, securing a front row start for Sunday’s Race 3.
Joining her on the front row for Race 1 was Palmowski; the British driver will also be on the front row behind Chambers for Race 3.
Pin went from third on the grid with championship leader Maya Weug all the way down in 10th place.
Since this race effectively replaced the final event of the Miami weekend, points were awarded to the top 10 finishers.
Chambers and Palmowski collide at the race start
Chambers got away well, keeping her lead ahead of team-mate Palmowski as Pin and Aurelia Nobels made contact into Turn 1.
On Lap 2, as Palmowski piled the pressure on her Campos team-mate, the two collided at Turn 1 while she attempted a move for the lead.
Palmowski spun off and rejoined well down the order, while Chambers sustained front-wing damage.
The stewards announced the incident would be investigated after the race.
Meanwhile, Pin moved up into second, with McLaren-backed Lloyd slotting into third.
Further back, Weug encountered more issues with her MP Motorsport car, pulling into the pits on Lap 2.
She returned to the track before coming back into the pits on Lap 6 as the team worked to diagnose the persistent mechanical problem.
At the front, on Lap 3, Chambers surrendered the lead to Pin at Turn 8, then launched a bold dive into the hairpin — unsuccessfully.
But on the following lap, she tried again into Turn 1 and completed the move around the outside.
However, her damaged front wing began to deteriorate, and Pin reclaimed the lead through Turns 6 and 7.
Chambers was shown the black-and-orange flag and was forced to pit for repairs, dropping her down the order.
Lloyd, having reeled in the leaders, moved up to second, with Kick Sauber’s Felbermayr now running in third.
Wildcard entry Paatz brings out the Safety Car
Palmowski, who now found herself in 10th place, battled hard for the final point in 10th with Race 2 polesitter Chloe Chong.
Behind the pair, German wildcard entry Mathilda Paatz took too much of the sausage kerb at Turn 14 before slamming into the Wall of Champions.
This brought out the Safety Car to remove the stricken Hitech car on Lap 11.
Drivers made their way through the pit lane to allow the race marshals to clear the scene of the accident.
Back to the front, Pin still led the race with Lloyd in second and Felbermayr in third.
The Alpine of Nina Gademan was in fourth, Lia Block fifth, Rafaela Ferreira sixth, Alba Larsen seventh, Tina Hausmann eighth, Palomowski ninth and Chong 10th.
Heading into Lap 15, the racing resumed as Pin executed a fine restart to maintain the race lead.
The order remained the same until the Racing Bulls-backed driver of Ferreira locked up into Turn 8 and took the escape road.
She returned to the circuit into the path of Chong and made contact, ending the 16-year-old’s race.
Further contact at the back of the grid at the hairpin brought the Safety Car back out to bring the race to an end.
At the same time, Chambers found her way into ninth behind her team-mate amid the chaos and Aiva Anagnostiadis for Hitech inherited 10th place.
Pin crossed the line for victory and a 24-point lead in the Drivers’ Standings, with Weug suffering mechanical issues and failing to score points, but still remaining in second.
Lloyd took the chequered flag in second and Felbermayr finished third on track before she was disqualified from Race 1 afterwards as her car was found to be under the minimum weight.
Gademan, therefore, claims the final podium spot and her first top-three finish in the series.
Block inherits fourth, Larsen in fifth, Hausmann sixth, Chambers seventh, Anagnostiadis eighth, Nobels ninth and Nicole Havrda with the final point-scoring position in 10th.
Palmowski finished eighth but received a 10-second time penalty for her collision with team-mate Chambers, dropping her out of the points.
READ MORE – Chloe Chambers takes third F1 Academy pole after qualifying in Canada
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