Motorsport series backed by Lewis Hamilton crown Brit champion twice after bizarre title U-turn
Britain’s Abbi Pulling is officially the 2024 F1 Academy champion – mere days after she was stripped of the title. And her Abu Dhabi crowning will be all the sweeter to Lewis Hamilton, who was infamously ‘robbed’ of a title after racing on Yas Island. Hamilton is a big advocate of the Wolff (left) initiative won by Pulling (right)Getty Pulling has been backed by French F1 team Alpine since 2022Getty The seven-time world champion has seen the debate around his 2021 last-lap defeat to Max Verstappen reignited by George Russell. Hamilton will have already been feeling the emotion ahead of F1’s season finale – his last Grand Prix for Mercedes after 12 years. The future Ferrari driver now has reason to smile watching fellow Brit Pulling triumph in a series he’s supported so strongly. Alpine junior Pulling was crowned F1 Academy champion in Qatar on Saturday to become the all-female series’ second-ever winner. The 21-year-old needed to score 18 points in the last four races to claim the title and did so instantly by finishing second in event one. However, F1 Academy organisers threw a bizarre curve ball after the second race at Lusail was cancelled due to barrier damage. The decision was made to stage an additional race to the two planned in Abu Dhabi – despite Pulling already celebrating her title. Theoretically, it meant her nearest rival, Doriane Pin, could have usurped her 83-point deficit, with the 84 now available. The Frenchwoman, who is part of the same Mercedes team as Hamilton, needed three converted pole positions with fastest laps. Pulling obliterated any opportunity for a miracle by instead taking all three poles for the season finale to become champion… again. Pulling was originally crowned the champion last weekendGetty The Brit celebrated on the podium but then had her title taken awayGetty After being called ‘a champion’ in her post-qualifying interview, Pulling said: “It’s nice to hear those words.” She told Sky Sports F1: “It has been a strange week but at the end of the day I know what I’m capable of and I knew I was going to get enough points to be in that position again. “What happened, happened. I can’t control that. But it was a really nice 30 minutes (Qualifying). “At one point I was really confident in Qualifying, but I dug deep and it feels great.” Pulling had taken ten pole positions overall this season en route to winning seven races ahead of the Abu Dhabi triple-header. The Lincolnshire-born star will receive a fully funded seat in GB3 with Rodin Motorsport for 2025 after emulating Marta Garcia’s success. Pulling beat Hamilton-backed Pin (right) to the title in successive weekendsGetty Pin was named in Hamilton’s dream F1 driver line-upGetty Pulling’s title win came at the expense of Mercedes driver Pin, who had been named in Hamilton’s dream F1 team driver lineup this week. F1, all ten teams, and governing body FIA, recently announced that a formal ‘Diversity and Inclusion charter’ had been signed. The joint statement referenced the explicit involvement of Hamilton’s charity Mission 44 – which helps people from a wider range of backgrounds enter motorsport. F1 Academy is led by Managing Director Susie Wolff – wife of Mercedes CEO Toto – who previously challenged F1 teams to follow in Hamilton’s footsteps by throwing support behind the series. “It’s a little bit sad that it is always Lewis,” Wolff told Sky Sports in October 2023 when asked about support from F1. “He is always the one coming over, offering support and in the end, he also knows what it’s like to be ‘the only one’ so he has an affinity. “But there’s going to be the ten F1 teams with their own liveries, so I expect a lot more interaction from the F1 teams generally next season because they have the platforms, they have the voices. “That will be something which will be hugely helpful in our quest because this is not a short-term project. “If we want to see success, it’s got to be long-term.”
Britain’s Abbi Pulling is officially the 2024 F1 Academy champion – mere days after she was stripped of the title.
And her Abu Dhabi crowning will be all the sweeter to Lewis Hamilton, who was infamously ‘robbed’ of a title after racing on Yas Island.
The seven-time world champion has seen the debate around his 2021 last-lap defeat to Max Verstappen reignited by George Russell.
Hamilton will have already been feeling the emotion ahead of F1’s season finale – his last Grand Prix for Mercedes after 12 years.
The future Ferrari driver now has reason to smile watching fellow Brit Pulling triumph in a series he’s supported so strongly.
Alpine junior Pulling was crowned F1 Academy champion in Qatar on Saturday to become the all-female series’ second-ever winner.
The 21-year-old needed to score 18 points in the last four races to claim the title and did so instantly by finishing second in event one.
However, F1 Academy organisers threw a bizarre curve ball after the second race at Lusail was cancelled due to barrier damage.
The decision was made to stage an additional race to the two planned in Abu Dhabi – despite Pulling already celebrating her title.
Theoretically, it meant her nearest rival, Doriane Pin, could have usurped her 83-point deficit, with the 84 now available.
The Frenchwoman, who is part of the same Mercedes team as Hamilton, needed three converted pole positions with fastest laps.
Pulling obliterated any opportunity for a miracle by instead taking all three poles for the season finale to become champion… again.
After being called ‘a champion’ in her post-qualifying interview, Pulling said: “It’s nice to hear those words.”
She told Sky Sports F1: “It has been a strange week but at the end of the day I know what I’m capable of and I knew I was going to get enough points to be in that position again.
“What happened, happened. I can’t control that. But it was a really nice 30 minutes (Qualifying).
“At one point I was really confident in Qualifying, but I dug deep and it feels great.”
Pulling had taken ten pole positions overall this season en route to winning seven races ahead of the Abu Dhabi triple-header.
The Lincolnshire-born star will receive a fully funded seat in GB3 with Rodin Motorsport for 2025 after emulating Marta Garcia’s success.
Pulling’s title win came at the expense of Mercedes driver Pin, who had been named in Hamilton’s dream F1 team driver lineup this week.
F1, all ten teams, and governing body FIA, recently announced that a formal ‘Diversity and Inclusion charter’ had been signed.
The joint statement referenced the explicit involvement of Hamilton’s charity Mission 44 – which helps people from a wider range of backgrounds enter motorsport.
F1 Academy is led by Managing Director Susie Wolff – wife of Mercedes CEO Toto – who previously challenged F1 teams to follow in Hamilton’s footsteps by throwing support behind the series.
“It’s a little bit sad that it is always Lewis,” Wolff told Sky Sports in October 2023 when asked about support from F1.
“He is always the one coming over, offering support and in the end, he also knows what it’s like to be ‘the only one’ so he has an affinity.
“But there’s going to be the ten F1 teams with their own liveries, so I expect a lot more interaction from the F1 teams generally next season because they have the platforms, they have the voices.
“That will be something which will be hugely helpful in our quest because this is not a short-term project.
“If we want to see success, it’s got to be long-term.”
