Chloe Chambers delivered a commanding performance to take her first victory of the 2025 F1 Academy season in Race 3 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
After a turbulent weekend marked by several clashes in the opening races, the American driver bounced back in style, leading her Campos Racing car to the top step of the podium in Canada.
Ella Lloyd secured another second-place finish in Montreal and Doriane Pin claimed the final podium spot to extend her championship lead.
The Red Bull Ford-backed driver lined up ahead of her Campos team-mate Alisha Palmowski for the final race of the weekend, eager to bounce back after the challenging start.
In Race 1, both drivers made contact, derailing both of their chances for a race victory.
For Chambers, the disappointment was doubled — and on her birthday no less — as she also tangled with Pin in Race 2.
Backed by Mercedes, she started Race 3 from third on the grid, while her closest title rival, Maya Weug, was left to fight from 15th after she was prevented from running in qualifying.
The problem that plagued her qualifying continued into Race 1 before finishing ninth in Race 2.
Weug was determined to salvage points and regain momentum in the final race.
Lloyd and Palmowski come to blows at the race start
Also looking to make amends, Chambers got off the line well and preserved her lead into Turn 1.
Ella Lloyd, meanwhile, leapt into third ahead of Pin at lights out before sending it around the outside of Palmowski.
Exiting the first corner, the Campos driver became entangled in yet another incident, moving across and colliding with Lloyd.
The McLaren-backed driver escaped without damage, but Palmowski wasn’t as fortunate.
Moments later, she was tagged by Pin and sent into a spin, but remarkably, the Prema driver avoided damage to her car, still dropping down to fifth in the process.
Palmowski was forced to pit for a new front wing, while the Safety Car was deployed following a separate incident.
Wildcard entry Mathilda Paatz lost control of her Hitech car exiting Turn 7 and was collected by team-mate Aiva Anagnostiadis – both cars were forced to retire immediately.
The top three stood as Chambers, Lloyd and Tina Hausman; the Aston Martin-backed driver climbing up the order amid the chaos and into third place.
Weug made up three places and into 12th whilst Palmowski returned to the track in 16th.
The racing action did not resume until the end of Lap 7, in order for the race marshals to clear the wreckage left by the Hitech pair.
Chambers waited until the final chicane to floor it as she held onto the race lead into Turn 1.
Pin made her way into fourth ahead of her team-mate Nina Gademan, Weug into 11th and Palmowski 14th.
Multiple Safety Cars amid several incidents limits racing action
Race 2 winner Emma Felbermayr also moved past Gademan but was spun around as the Alpine-backed driver dived down the inside at the hairpin, Felbermayr falling back to 16th.
Meanwhile, Pin overtook another team-mate, Hausmann, to reclaim a spot on the podium.
Up front, Lloyd set the fastest lap of the race as she closed in on the Campos car ahead.
Pin soon joined the lead battle, snatching the fastest lap away from Lloyd as the fight intensified.
The Safety Car was deployed once again after Lia Block collided with Rafaela Ferreira at Turn 8, unable to brake in time to avoid the Campos driver.
Aurelia Nobels was also caught up in the incident.
Both Nobels and Block were forced to retire, while Gademan was handed a 10-second time penalty for her earlier collision with Felbermayr.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 12, with Weug having climbed to seventh before the Safety Car period.
Chambers converts pole to victory in Race 3
At the restart, she made a move on Alba Larsen for sixth, with slight contact between the two – Larsen dropped to eighth as a result.
Also on a recovery drive, Palmowski took advantage of the chaos to move up into eighth place.
On Lap 14, Felbermayr and Courtney Crone made contact into Turn 8 and the Safety Car returned for a third time to clear the stricken ART.
Unable to clear the accident in time, the race ended with Chambers converting pole into victory on her third attempt.
Lloyd secured yet another podium finish and Pin completed the top three and extended her lead over Weug in the standings.
Hausmann crossed the line in fourth, followed by Chloe Chong in fifth and Weug in sixth.
Palmowski salvaged her day with a strong recovery to finish seventh, Larsen came home in eighth, Joanne Ciconte took ninth, and Felbermayr rounded out the points in 10th place after a race filled with incidents.
READ MORE – Emma Felbermayr clinches maiden F1 Academy victory in Canada
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