F1 Academy put up a strong showing at Zandvoort as the hard-fighting pack came back from the winter break to compete at the challenging venue in unpredictable but mostly dry conditions. PREMA Racing wrapped up the Dutch weekend with a first-time win for home hero Nina Gademan and a good haul of points for championship leader Doriane Pin.
In Race 1, Gademan had a strong start from the reverse grid pole and never really looked back. Taking advantage of a strong pace, the BWT Alpine Formula One Team-backed driver steadily built a 2.1-second margin after a safety-car situation to celebrate her 22nd birthday in style. She then completed her weekend with another points finish with a P6 in Race 2.
Doriane Pin is exiting the weekend with an unaltered championship lead, having delivered a podium finish in the main race and an additional points finish in Race 1. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Junior now has 20 points of cushion heading into the two final rounds of the year.
Tina Hausmann ended the weekend on a high. After making contact with the barriers in Race 1, the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team racer delivered a stellar start in Race 2, which primed her for a top-5 finish.
#3 Nina Gademan
“It was a challenging start to the weekend with a green track in FP1 and then being declared unfit and fit again for Qualifying. We were fast at the start with wets and then struggled a bit switching to the dry. We ended up P8, which gave us the reverse grid pole. I had a really good gap at the start of Race 1, and had a good restart from the safety car situation. From then on, I always stayed in the lead. It was nice, and we also had a great car balance. I’m very happy to have taken my first win of the season on my home circuit in front of the Dutch crowd. The track changed a lot for Race 2. We made some set-up adjustments, but the track had changed a lot, and it was a real struggle for everyone. It was very hard to follow, and, not really having the chance to overtake, I moved up to P6 at the start and basically stayed there for the whole race. We got good points and moved up to P6 in the championship. We are not far off the top-5 and we will be looking to get there in the last two races.”
Qualifying: P8 Fastest lap: 1:39.585
Starting position Race 1: P1 Race 1: P1
Starting position Race 2: P8 Race 2: P6
#28 Doriane Pin
“Pretty happy to bring home a podium after a challenging weekend for us, where we have struggled with a few things. It’s good for the team and for the championship to get points in all the races and be consistent. P3 race 2 is definitely positive, and we keep working for the last part of the season.”
Qualifying: P5 Fastest lap: 1:39.125
Starting position Race 1: P4 Race 1: P6
Starting position Race 2: P5 Race 2: P3
#78 Tina Hausmann
“I think it was a good weekend overall in Zandvoort. We showed a lot of positives, and even if there were some negatives too, it’s clear that we are learning a lot from them. I know the mistakes I have to fix to get the results, but I also know we did a good job in managing the qualifying session with the different conditions, and having a strong race 2 with a P5 and good points. I’m happy, and we will keep working hard for the remaining two weekends of the season. We have been in a good state since Montreal, let’s keep using the momentum.”
Qualifying: P7 Fastest lap: 1:39.550
Starting position Race 1: P2 Race 1: DNF
Starting position Race 2: P7 Race 2: P5