Spain awaits: F1 Academy Round 3 preview

This weekend, F1 Academy makes its return to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - the Spanish track has been integral to F1 Academy’s short history as the location where the series first debuted in 2023 pre-season testing. 

Our guide has all of the information you need to know ahead of the race weekend!

Barcelona will be F1 Academy’s third stop on the calendar supporting Formula 1, following events in Jeddah and Miami.

The format of the weekend will involve the series’ standard qualifying session and two races - each 30 minutes long. Free practice is 40 minutes and will begin on Friday at 08:50 local time.

At 4.675km, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is composed of long straights that aid overtaking and 14 turns of varying degrees. Positioned in North East Spain, the track is about 40 minutes outside of the major city. 

Campos Racing driver Nerea Martí will have this round as her home race, after the removal of the Valencia weekend from the calendar this season. Last year, she narrowly missed out on top-five finishes at Barcelona with two P7s and one P6 result. She’ll be looking to improve on that after a relatively strong start to this season.

Going into this round, championship leader Abbi Pulling will be hoping to extend her advantage over Mercedes junior Doriane Pin. Abbi was in dominant form in Miami, winning both races from pole. With two podiums in British Formula 4, Abbi is leading a truly impressive 2024 campaign.

Doriane returns to racing after having to withdraw from the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine’s Zandvoort weekend due to injuries. We’re looking forward to seeing her return to the driving seat after much needed rest.

After an unlucky weekend retiring from both races in Miami, Tina Hausmann will be fighting for a return to the points.

Prema Racing’s Maya Weug described Barcelona as her “second home track” on Instagram, having been born in the Alicante province of Spain. She is currently third overall in the standings, with top-six results in all four races this season. In an F1 Academy interview in Miami, Maya stated “. . . I want more” and set the target of achieving her first win.

The addition of Wild Card entries has been new to this season of F1 Academy, running at select races. In Jeddah, the driver was International GT Open Driver Reema Juffali. Courtney Crone participated in the Miami round, however at this round, there will not be a wildcard entry. 

In terms of the Teams’ Championship, this round will be crucial in the battle for the title. PREMA Racing stands on 124 points, closely followed by Rodin Motorsport a mere two points behind.

Keep an eye out on Females in Motorsport’s social media channels for F1 Academy news and results! We’ve covered the Jeddah and Miami rounds and will continue to spotlight the series until its final round in Abu Dhabi.

Weekend timings (local time)

Free Practice: 08:50 - 09:30 on Friday

Qualifying: 18:30 - 19:00 on Friday

Race 1: 18:00 - 18:30 on Saturday

Race 2: 08:50 - 09:20 on Sunday

All imagery is from F1 Academy Limited.