The new all-female F1 Academy series debuts with its first round this weekend, taking on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
The first of seven locations set to be visited by the series, the Red Bull Ring offers the field of 15 drivers their first chance to battle head-to-head with one another across three races for valuable championship points.
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Talking Points:
Prema showed strong pace early on
As they do in many other categories, Prema has shown promising flashes of speed across pre-season tests, easily becoming one of the favourites heading into the opening round.
Driver Marta García topped the pre-season timing sheets in both Barcelona and Le Castellet, presenting early signs of the team's potential to be fast this upcoming season.
Teammates Bianca Bustamante and Chloe Chong also proved their worth during the test days, helping make up the top 5 fastest during sessions on multiple occasions.
No broadcast for fans
It has been confirmed that the 2023 F1 Academy season will not be broadcast live to audiences.
Instead, there will be a round-by-round highlights programme featuring 15 minutes of race footage and behind-the-scenes insights from both drivers and teams.
These highlights will be made available on the Monday following a race weekend, being uploaded to YouTube as well as all F1 Academy and F1 social media channels.
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Podium Predictions:
Given the speed from Prema in pre-season testing, it would not be a surprise to see any of the team's three drivers on the podium this weekend.
As well, MP Motorsport's Amna Al Qubaisi could also make an appearance on the podium given her pace in testing where she topped two sessions, not dropping below fourth fastest in any of the test days.
Another possible podium-sitter would be Rodin Carlin's, Abbi Pulling, the Alpine academy driver showing flashes of pace, finishing fourth in the 2022 W Series season.
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Who to look out for:
All three Prema drivers have shown their hand during pre-season testing, however, Marta García is one to look out for.
The Spanish driver has three years of experience racing in the W Series with a win and four podiums to her name.
She topped the timing sheets multiple times during pre-season testing, proving to be a driver worth watching this season.
Another driver to keep an eye out for is MP's Al Qubaisi.
She has shown considerable pace at the three different test venues, topping the final test at the Red Bull Ring before the season opener.
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Race Details:
The opening round features from the 28th to the 29th of April.
Friday hosts two free practice sessions, each 40 minutes long, followed by two qualifying sessions, each 15 minutes in length.
The first qualifying session sets the grid for race one, with the top 8 results being reversed to form the grid for race two.
Qualifying round two sets the grid for the third and final race.
The drivers who take pole position in each qualifying session will be awarded two points.
Races one and three offer the same points system found in Formula 1, with 25 being awarded to the winner, all the way down to one point for 10th place for the 30-minute race.
Race two differs in both length and points allocation, lasting 20 minutes and only offering points for the top eight finishers with 10 points going to the winner through to one point for eighth position.
Following the standard of most other racing categories, F1 Academy drivers will be awarded one point for the fastest lap of the race providing the driver finishes in the top 10.
