Maya Weug stormed to victory in F1 Academy Race 2 at Zandvoort, thrilling her home crowd with a commanding drive that also strengthened her championship challenge.
The Dutch Ferrari Academy driver converted pole into a dominant win, delivering a perfect result on home soil. Alisha Palmowski came home in second place after Ella Lloyd’s five-second time penalty bumped her off the podium.
Doriane Pin inherited the final spot on the podium to limit the points gain Weug could take on Sunday.
The 21-year-old MP Motorsport driver had claimed pole position on Saturday and lined up alongside Palmowski on the front row for Race 2. Chloe Chambers started fourth, with her championship rival and current standings leader Pin just behind in fifth.
The Mercedes-backed driver still holds a healthy advantage in the title race, though her lead was trimmed to 19 points after Chambers finished ahead of her on Saturday.
Race 1 winner Nina Gademan, who secured her maiden F1 Academy victory on her birthday, began Race 2 from eighth on the grid.
Drama for Chambers as Weug leads the way
Earlier rain had dampened the Zandvoort circuit, but the track dried in time for the formation lap. Disaster struck for title contender Chambers, who was unable to launch her Campos Racing car from the grid and was wheeled back into the pits, forced into a pit-lane start.
In the confusion, Lia Block mistakenly slotted into Chambers’ vacant grid position before reversing back into her rightful spot. At lights out, Weug made a clean getaway as Lloyd surged into second, jumping Palmowski from third.
Pin jumped into fourth place, with stewards noting the start-line incident involving Block. Chambers’ troubles worsened as she failed to get going from the pit lane, ending her race before it had truly begun.
On the opening lap, Weug fended off an attack from Lloyd through Turns 5 and 6, before the McLaren junior came under pressure from Palmowski. Behind them, Tina Hausmann settled into fifth as the top five positions remained unchanged heading onto Lap 2.
Block had dropped back to eighth from sixth on the grid after her interrupted start procedure. Meanwhile, Weug held a second-and-a-half advantage over Lloyd in second place.
Palmowski was all over the gearbox of the Rodin Motorsport car in front for second place, as the gap to race leader Weug extended to three seconds on Lap 5.
Lap 7 saw Emma Felbermayr spin on the exit of Turn 10, tumbling from ninth place and a points-paying position down to 16th. Block was then handed a 10-second time penalty for a false start.
Weug dominates Race 2 to take victory on home soil
On Lap 10, Lloyd continued to defend third place from Palmowski, the Campos driver staying within four tenths of her British rival. Out front, Weug had stretched her advantage to five seconds as she maintained control of the race at Zandvoort.
The stewards confirmed on Lap 12 that Lloyd had been noted for a false start as well, and she was handed a five-second time penalty. This handed Pin a chance to step on the podium alongside Palmowski.
On the last lap, as Weug cruised home for victory, Alba Larsen made her way past Chloe Chong into Turn 1 for the final point-scoring position.
A second Dutch winner was crowned as Weug took the chequered flag to the delight of the home crowd. Lloyd crossed the line in second but was demoted to fourth with her penalty, promoting Palmowski and Pin to the podium.
Hausmann secured fifth place, while Gademan added to her weekend tally with a solid run to sixth. Esmee Kosterman impressed as the wildcard entry, delighting the home fans with a superb drive to seventh for Hitech – the first F1 Academy driver to score points as the wildcard for the weekend.
Rafaela Ferreira claimed eighth ahead of Larsen in ninth, while Chong inherited the final point in tenth after Block’s time penalty dropped her out of the top ten.
With a 28-point haul, Weug climbs to second in the standings ahead of Chambers, who failed to score. She now sits 20 points behind Pin, who ultimately extended her championship lead by a single point.
READ MORE – Nina Gademan claims maiden F1 Academy victory at Zandvoort
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