DORIANE PIN & TINA HAUSMANN Lead Prema 1-2 in F1 Academy Shanghai Practice

March 21, 2025

GRRL! SUMMARY:

DORIANE PIN claimed the top spot in F1 Academy’s return to action at Shanghai, leading a Prema 1-2 with TINA HAUSMANN just 0.099 seconds behind in an impressive showing. The session was cut short after LIA BLOCK and RAFAELA FERREIRA collided on the back straight during tire warm-up, leaving teams scrambling to repair damage before qualifying. CHLOE CHAMBERS rounded out the podium positions despite struggling with lock-ups on her final run.
The 2025 season brings massive change with 10 rookies joining an expanded 18-car grid—nearly two-thirds of the field learning the ropes after several 2024 drivers hit their two-year series limit. Wild Card success story ELLA LLOYD earned a full-time McLaren seat and was first to set a time, while MAYA WEUG made headlines switching from Prema to MP Motorsport and briefly led before the session chaos. Local Wild Card entry SHI WEI brought the only previous Shanghai F4 experience to the grid.
The shortened practice exposed both promise and growing pains as drivers adapted to cold conditions and limited track time. HAUSMANN’s rapid improvement to challenge PIN showed Prema’s depth, while CHAMBERS proved her pace despite the late lock-up drama. With qualifying just hours away using the new format—fastest gets Race 2 pole, top eight reversed for Race 1—teams face intense pressure to get their cars race-ready after the early session disruption.