Nina Gademan marked a memorable birthday with her first-ever F1 Academy victory in Race 1 at her home circuit in Zandvoort.
The Dutch Alpine-backed driver delivered a flawless performance to fend off strong competition, securing the win in front of a passionate home crowd.
Lia Block secured second place after a strong drive, while Maya Weug made an impressive drive, climbing from eighth on the grid to finish third, further strengthening her championship aspirations.
Earlier on Saturday, Weug had taken pole position for Race 2 after a thrilling final lap shootout, securing the top spot with a time of 1:38.834s.
The grid for Race 1 saw the top eight positions reversed, with Gademan starting from pole on her 22nd birthday. Tina Hausmann started from second, whilst Block lined up from third on the grid.
Early drama unfolds as Weug charges forward
Ahead of the race start, the wildcard entry Esmee Kosterman was ordered to start from the pit lane due to an issue with her Hitech car. She was set to start from ninth on the grid.
At lights out, Gademan made a strong start from reverse grid pole to lead into Turn 1, while Block surged around the outside of Hausmann to claim second.
Chloe Chambers ran wide at the exit of Turn 1, dropping to seventh, while Hausmann’s race ended in dramatic fashion a lap later. The Aston Martin junior ran wide at Turn 8, hitting the wall after clipping the curb, forcing an early retirement. The Safety Car was deployed and stayed out until Lap 5.
Gademan held onto the lead at the restart, with Block in hot pursuit. Doriane Pin, however, lost third place to Ella Lloyd, who had climbed from sixth to third by the restart. Ferrari-backed Weug also gained ground, moving up to fifth from eighth.
Further down the order, Palmowski and Chambers found themselves battling sixth, while Emma Felbermayr moved up to eighth after starting 10th.
Championship contenders Weug and Pin went side by side through Turn 5, with Weug getting the better of the exchange to take fourth. Pin, meanwhile, struggled as she continued to lose places. Chambers then overtook her Campos team-mate Palmowski for sixth with 10 laps to go.
Weug made more moves up the order and took third place off Lloyd on Lap 9 as Pin dropped behind Chambers to sixth.
Gademan holds on for victory in front of home crowd
At the front, Gademan maintained a lead of just over a second ahead of Block, with Weug closing in on the leaders on Lap 12. Chambers, meanwhile, was putting the pressure on Lloyd for fourth, while Pin found herself under attack from Palmowski and Felbermayr in the battle for seventh.
Chambers made a move at Turn 8, making slight contact with Lloyd’s Rodin Motorsport car, but she held onto fourth for now. By Lap 14, Block had closed the gap to Gademan, getting within a second as the fight for the lead intensified.
However, the American made a mistake in her pursuit of the race lead, allowing Weug to get within a second of her. The home favourite almost got past on Lap 16 into Turn 1, but Block held on.
The fighting between the pair allowed Gademan to scamper off down the road for victory. Weug settled for third behind Block in second place.
Lloyd came home in fourth ahead of Chambers in fifth, Pin sixth, Palmowski seventh and Felbermayr collecting the final point in eighth place.
READ MORE – Maya Weug delivers for home crowd with F1 Academy pole at Zandvoort
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