2024 F1 Academy season

The 2024 F1 Academy season was an open-wheel racing championship and the second season of F1 Academy, an all-female, Formula 4-level racing series founded and organized under the management of Formula Motorsport Limited. All seven rounds were run in support of selected rounds of the 2024 Formula One World Championship, with 10 of the 15 drivers' cars sporting liveries sponsored by the 10 teams competing in Formula One during 2024.
Prema Racing started the season as defending team's champions, having won the 2023 title with inaugural drivers' champion Marta García, and retained the team's championship after winning the final race. Abbi Pulling won the drivers' championship with Rodin Motorsport, clinching the title after scoring pole position for the first race at Abu Dhabi.

Entries

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2024 F1 Academy season. As the championship was a spec series; all teams competed with an identical Tatuus F4-T421 chassis and tyre compounds developed by Pirelli. Each car was powered by a 165-horsepower turbocharged 4-cylinder engine developed by Autotecnica.
For the 2024 season onwards, all Formula One teams would support one driver and have their livery on the driver's car. The remaining drivers were supported by the series' other partners. Additionally, the driver contribution was reduced from €150,000 to €100,000.

Team changes

Rodin Carlin was rebranded as Rodin Motorsport, after the Carlin family departed the team and Rodin Cars took full ownership.
Driver changes
Prema Racing fielded an all new line-up following the departure of Marta García, who progressed to the Formula Regional European Championship; Chloe Chong, who joined JHR Developments in British F4; and Bianca Bustamante, who switched to ART Grand Prix. The team's new drivers were Aston Martin-affiliated Tina Hausmann, Mercedes Junior Team driver Doriane Pin, and Ferrari Driver Academy member Maya Weug.
Megan Gilkes left Rodin Motorsport and retired from professional racing. She was replaced by Lola Lovinfosse, who joined from Campos Racing.
ART Grand Prix promoted Léna Bühler to the Formula Regional European Championship, while Carrie Schreiner and Chloe Grant both left the team. Bianca Bustamante joined the team after leaving Prema Racing, supported by the McLaren Driver Development Programme. She was partnered by Williams Driver Academy member Lia Block, making her open-wheel racing debut and Ferrari Driver Academy member Aurelia Nobels.
Campos Racing signed Sauber Academy member Carrie Schreiner after her departure from ART Grand Prix. The team also fielded Haas-backed driver Chloe Chambers. They replaced Lola Lovinfosse, who switched to Rodin Motorsport, and Maite Cáceres, who returned to F4 United States.
Wildcard entries

entries were added for the 2024 season. Selected drivers were offered a drive operated by Prema Racing for a single weekend in select rounds and were eligible to score points in the Drivers' Championship. Susie Wolff stated the goals of the wildcard entries were to "promote regional talent, engage with local communities, and increase the talent pool in the regions in which we race".

Saudi Arabian GT driver Reema Juffali was the wildcard entry for the first round of the season in Jeddah.
American LMP3 and GT driver Courtney Crone was the wildcard entry for the second round of the season in Miami, supported by QVC.
Dutch driver Nina Gademan, who competed in the 2024 British F4 Championship, was chosen as the wildcard for the fourth round in Zandvoort, supported by series partner The Female Quotient.
British F4 driver Ella Lloyd was the wildcard entry for the fifth round in Singapore, competing in an F1 Academy 'Discover Your Drive' livery.
British GB4 Vice-Champion Alisha Palmowski was the wildcard entry for the sixth round in Qatar, also competing in an F1 Academy 'Discover Your Drive' livery.
Dubai-based Scottish driver Logan Hannah was the wildcard entry for the seventh round in Abu Dhabi. She raced under an Emirati licence and her entry was supported by Away.
Calendar

The calendar for the 2024 season was announced in October 2023, reducing to two races a weekend instead of three and having a singular qualifying session. All seven rounds supported the 2024 Formula One World Championship.

Calendar changes

The Red Bull Ring, Monza Circuit, Circuit Paul Ricard, Circuit Ricardo Tormo, and Circuit of the Americas were all removed from the calendar due to the series becoming a part of the Formula One support program full-time. At the same time, the Miami International Autodrome, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Lusail International Circuit, and the Yas Marina Circuit became new additions to the calendar. The Jeddah Street Circuit hosted the opening round.
After Race 2 at Lusail was cancelled due to barrier repairs, a third race was added to the Yas Marina round.

Season summary

Round 1: Jeddah

The season started off at the Jeddah Street Circuit. Doriane Pin took pole by nearly eight tenths from Abbi Pulling and Maya Weug. During the first race, wildcard driver Reema Juffali collided with Amna Al Qubaisi on lap 2, while Jessica Edgar sustained a puncture midway after contact with Tina Hausmann. Pin won the race from Pulling and Weug.
In the second race, Chloe Chambers tagged Lola Lovinfosse into a spin on lap 3. Lovinfosse re-entered the track directly in the path of Lia Block, which earned her a five-place grid penalty for the next race. The sole safety car period happened after Juffali crashed out on lap 6. Pin crossed the finish line first, but was unaware that the race ended and took the chequered flag twice. She was investigated and later penalised for the mistake. Pulling inherited the win ahead of Weug and Nerea Martí, with Pin moving down to ninth. Pulling left Jeddah as the championship leader, with Weug in second and Pin in third.

Round 2: Miami

Pulling took pole in the next round at the Miami International Autodrome. In the first race, Bianca Bustamante stalled from fourth on the grid and could only recover to ninth with the fastest lap. Lap one contact from Aurelia Nobels spun Hausmann into the wall, which caused her retirement and a 10-second time penalty for Nobels. Block spun on lap 7, but remained in the race. Pulling took a comfortable victory from Pin, while Chambers achieved her first podium in the series from Weug, who eventually fell to sixth after a penalty.
Pulling started again from pole in the second race. Lovinfosse locked up in the first corner and tagged Hausmann, who was forced to retire for the second race in a row. On lap 8 Lovinfosse locked up again, this time hitting Nobels. Both were able to rejoin the race, with Lovinfosse earning two 10-second time penalties for her collisions. Edgar spun on lap 11 but was able to rejoin the race. Pulling once again crossed the finish line in first, but this time it was Bustamante who would finish second ahead of Pin.

Round 3: Barcelona

Pulling claimed her third and fourth pole positions in a row as the series began its European leg at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with title rival Pin only fourth as she recovered from fractured ribs sustained in the break between events. Pin's problems were compounded when she stalled at the start of Race 1, and fought back to only seventh as Pulling claimed her fourth race win in a row. A safety car was called after Weug and Amna Al Qubaisi collided. Martí and Chambers survived minor first-corner contact to finish second and third respectively.
Chambers dominated the second race of the weekend, jumping Pulling at the start and taking a lights-to-flag win. It was Chambers' maiden F1 Academy victory. The win allowed Chambers to draw level with Pin for second in the championship, both of whom sat 66 points behind Pulling.

Round 4: Zandvoort

Race 1 at the Circuit Zandvoort was rescheduled to Sunday and shortened to 13 laps after adverse weather postponed the original start. Pulling again started from pole position and took another dominant lights-to-flag victory. Pin crossed the line in second, but received a 5-second time penalty for a jump start, which dropped her down to fifth place. Martí and Weug rounded out the podium, while Nina Gademan finished fourth, becoming the first wildcard entry to score points.
Pin returned to pole position for Race 2. Block and Edgar both stalled on the start, and Martí was pushed wide in the first corner. A battle between Nobels and Gademan ended with Nobels taking a trip through the gravel and Gademan receiving a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision. Pin took the fastest lap and the victory ahead of Weug and Pulling. All three drivers finished within 2.2 seconds of each other, and a 12-second gap to fourth place.

Round 5: Singapore

Pulling once again took both pole positions for the weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Race 1 was shortened to 11 laps after a second formation lap was taken because Bustamante missed her grid box, for which she received a 10-second stop and go penalty. Emely de Heus spun on lap 6, but was able to rejoin the race. Pin was once again penalized for jumping the start, but she managed to build a gap and was still classified in her finishing position of third, while earning a point for the fastest lap. Wildcard driver Ella Lloyd also received a 5-second penalty for a jump start. Pulling finished in first, ahead of Weug.
Pulling took another lights-to-flag victory in Race 2. Weug and Pin battled for second over the first lap, with Weug ending in front of Pin. The safety car came out on lap 4 after Bustamante hit the curb and spun, although she was able to rejoin the race. On the restart there was contact between Bustamante and Hausmann, with the latter receiving a 10-second penalty. Block achieved her highest finish of the season, ending in fourth place for both races.