Interview

‘Everyone has an equal shot’ - Larsen setting sights high despite anticipating ‘challenging’ Montreal weekend

12 June 2025

Undaunted by racing in a brand-new location, Alba Larsen is ready to seize every opportunity that comes her way as she looks to put herself in podium contention in Montreal.

However, the Tommy Hilfiger driver admits getting there is going to be an uphill battle from start to finish, but one that presents an equal playing field. As the series makes its debut at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve and with no previous experience for drivers and teams across the board, they’ll have to learn as they go.

“I'm very excited,” Larsen began. “I think it's going to be a very cool weekend. It's the first time for F1 ACADEMY in Montreal. Everybody has an equal shot and equal chances because nobody has been here before, so that's going to make it very interesting.”

Alongside keeping her racing skills sharp by competing in British F4 over the break, Larsen feels she’s as thoroughly prepared as she can be to race in Montreal. Without previous data to reference, she stressed the importance of aligning her expectations from the simulator to the feeling on track.

“It’s certainly difficult when we don’t have a reference to look at,” she explained. “We’ve looked at some of the F1 sessions as a reference but also doing a lot of sim to try and figure out what gears to use and how does it feel. Then in Free Practice, it’s going to be a lot of different stuff — testing different gears, testing brake points and we have to try so many things to prepare for Qualifying.

Larsen failed to score for the first time this season last time out in Miami Race 1

She added: “The whole track is very challenging. It’s just a lot of chicanes and if you hit one kerb wrong, it’s going to mess up the whole section. It’s a very interesting track. It’s hard to say where there’s going to be overtakes, but if you get a good run out of the last chicane, Turn 1 is definitely going to be an overtaking spot and maybe the hairpin as well.”

After scoring three top-five finishes in the first four races, Larsen couldn’t match the same level in Miami. Citing the lack of testing beforehand as a factor in her downturn in performance, the 16-year-old admitted it could be a similar, but mitigated, struggle this weekend.

“It’s definitely much more challenging,” she said. “In Shanghai and Jeddah, we had three days of testing, which were so good. It made my work less hard. Of course, we still had to work hard for the lap time, but this one Practice session is going to be so important.

“If you don’t get the Practice, like if you crash on the first lap, that’s going to be so crucial for the whole weekend. It’s a bit different from Miami. We didn’t have any testing but some drivers had been there before, so they had an advantage. Nobody has been here, so it’s going to be very equal for everyone and that’s exciting.”

The Dane predicts its going to be a challenge for her to fight for a podium in Montreal

Fortunately for Larsen, she has an abundance of opportunities to put her preparations into practice, with three races taking place across Round 4.

Although she is expected to start in P12 in Race 1 — with the grid being established using the final grid from Race 2 in Miami — the Tommy Hilfiger driver is optimistic that she can put herself in the hunt for some silverware in the remaining two races.

“The first race is going to be a lot of learning on how to overtake and then in Races 2 and 3 we can really build on that,” she explained. “I hope for a very good Qualifying so that I can start up the front. I’m definitely hoping for a podium, but it’s going to be hard. It’s definitely going to challenge me.”