After I did really well in my 2024 FIA Formula 2 Predictions, I thought it would be great to carry on the momentum by looking back at My 2024 F1 Academy Predictions! I did this article back in March (of last year) and I haven’t looked back at it since so I’m interested to see how I got on! Right, let’s start with P15!
P15: Aurelia Nobels
Aurelia Nobels did better than I expected out of her in first year in F1 Academy, finishing 12th in the Standings with 29 points to her name! Aurelia was so young that it was hard to really put her any higher, but Nobels’ strong weekend in Zandvoort helped her to a solid first campaign!
P14: Tina Hausmann
Tina Hausmann also performed better than I expected as she ended up 10th in the Championship! Tina was another driver that was really hard to get a read on, but Hausmann’s best finish of a P4 in the Season Finale at Abu Dhabi managed to leap her all the way up to a Top 10 finish which is good work!
P13: Chloe Chambers
Yeah, this wasn’t a very good Prediction! I didn’t have high hopes for Chloe Chambers after her performances in the W Series, but that was on me as Chloe had a really strong year including a win in Spain as she ultimately finished 6th in the Championship! The scariest part about this Prediction is Chambers was second in the Standings at one point so it could’ve been an awful lot worse!
P12: Lola Lovinfosse
For the first time in this article, I overestimated a driver as Lola Lovinfosse could only manage P14 in the Standings! I didn’t rate Lola particularly highly, but I thought her experience in the series would at least help a little bit, but a season-best result of P7 doesn’t exactly prove that that was the case!
P11: Carrie Schreiner
I thought Carrie Schreiner would have a better second year in F1 Academy, but some reason I didn’t put her any higher than 11th! In fact, Carrie did have a better second year as she finished 9th in the Standings with 9 points finishes out of a possible 14! The consistency for Schriener was definitely there, and that’s resulted in her Top 9 finish!
P10: Emely de Heus
I was so close here as Emely de Heus ended up finishing 11th in the Standings! After struggling for a lot of the season, Emely went on a great run to score points in each of the last 5 Races, ultimately finishing just 2 points outside of the Top 10! So close, yet so far!
P9: Lia Block
Gosh darn it, just one off again! Lia Block did pretty well considering it was her first-ever year in Single Seaters, finishing 8th in the Standings with 44 points to her name! Lia had a particularly strong weekend in Singapore, finishing both Races in P4, and I think Block has a very bright future ahead of her!
P8: Bianca Bustamante
It’s not even funny now! Bianca Bustamante did ever so slightly better than I Predicted, finishing 7th in the Championship with 73 points to her name! Bianca’s best result was a second-place finish in Miami, and it’s crazy because when it comes to the overall points totals, Bustamante is in a world of her own!
P7: Amna Al Qubaisi
Yeah, I think this is my worst Prediction of the lot! For whatever reason, Amna Al Qubaisi really struggled in her second year of F1 Academy, scoring just 16 points over four P8 finishes to end up 15th and last of the proper Grid! And I wasn’t doing too bad!
P6: Maya Weug
I thought Maya Weug would do well, but she actually did a lot more than well as she ended up third in the Championship! Maya had a great year, scoring 8 Podium finishes including winning the final Race of the year in Abu Dhabi! If Weug decides to stick in F1 Academy for another year, she’ll be a major contender for the Championship!
P5: Jessica Edgar
Just why? I expected big things from Jessica Edgar in her second year in F1 Academy, but it just didn’t materialise with Jess finishing all the way down in 13th place! Edgar finished in the points just 4 times all season too (with her best being a P4 in Bahrain) so this really wasn’t a good one!
P4: Nerea Marti
Yes, I finally got one right! Nerea Marti didn’t score as many Podiums as I expected (“just” the 4) and she also didn’t win a Race either. However, Nerea’s consistency was great as she scored points in every single Race which is super impressive! I’m also very pleased that I got this one right!
P3: Abbi Pulling
I just can’t get the Champion right?! After Predicting her to win the inaugural Season of F1 Academy, I didn’t back Abbi Pulling to win the Championship because she was still yet to win a Race in her single-seater career! However, Abbi went on to win 9 Races and finish on the Podium every single time as she won the whole thing by 121 points! Yep, it’s not great, but the best part is I said at the end of my Prediction that if Pulling was to win in Saudi, she’d dominate the whole year, and that did come true!
P2: Doriane Pin
Well, at least I was right when it came to the Runner-up! Doriane Pin had a positive first year in F1 Academy, winning 3 Races whilst also appearing on the Podium another 5 times! However, Doriane was also a long way off winning the Championship so I’m not necessarily sure that she’ll be fully satisfied with her 2024 campaign!
P1: Hamda Al Qubaisi
I apologise to Hamda Al Qubaisi because my Championship curse continues (apparently)! I was so confident about Hamda winning the Title because she’s both quick and consistent. Now, the consistency was there as Al Qubaisi finished in the points in every single Race, but the pace compared to the front runners wasn’t there as the Red Bull-backed driver achieved only 3 Podiums, and she didn’t even win a single Race! I just realised that it's now 2 straight years where the person I predicted to win F1 Academy didn't win a Race! Again, my bad!
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