RACE 1: Pin keeps it clean in dramatic Montreal race to seize Standings lead with third win of 2025

Mercedes’ Doriane Pin steered clear of trouble in Montreal to deliver her third win in six races and snatch the lead of the F1 ACADEMY Drivers’ Standings.

The French racer had a front-row view to contact between polesitter Chloe Chambers and her teammate Alisha Palmowski, taking advantage of the contact to seize the lead and withstanding a Safety Car restart to take home the win.

Ella Lloyd also capitalised on the chaos, turning a P7 start into a P2 finish whilst Kick Sauber’s Emma Felbermayr put together a mature performance to earn her first F1 ACADEMY podium.

Chambers aced her launch at lights out, allowing her to keep her teammate Palmowski behind on the run down to Turn 1. Pin and Nobels went side-by-side, but it was Lloyd on the move, going almost three-wide with Nobels and Felbermayr to get through to fourth.

Benefitting from the tow, Palmowski piled the pressure on Chambers. Refusing to give up, the Red Bull Racing driver gambled on a move up the inside of Turn 1, which didn’t pay off. Locking up on entry, the two collided, sending Palmowski into a spin and leaving Chambers leading, albeit with a broken front wing.

Pin capitalised on the incident, sailing past the stricken Red Bull Ford car and into the lead. Chambers fought back valiantly to hit the front again momentarily until her front wing detached, with the American forced to pit for repairs after receiving a Black and Orange Flag.

Making the most of the clear air, Pin escaped down the road, building up a gap of over a second to Lloyd by Lap 6. Moving up into third, Felbermayr was on the defensive trying to keep Nina Gademan at bay.

Meanwhile, Maya Weug’s Montreal weekend went for bad to worse as the Ferrari driver made multiple trips to the pits as an issue continued to plague the #64 car.

Trying to salvage some points from the race, Palmowski clawed her way back into top 10. Attempting to make her way through on Chloe Chong, the Briton found the door firmly shut until Lap 10. After Palmowski lunged up the inside of the hairpin at the last second, Chong utilised the slipstream to repay the favour.

Missing the final corner, the Charlotte Tilbury driver had to give the place back as behind the pair, Wild Card driver Matilda Paatz hit the wall and triggered the Safety Car.

With Pin’s 1.8-second lead wiped away, the Mercedes driver bunched the pack together as she brought them back up to racing speed heading into Lap 15. Catching Lloyd off-guard, Pin pulled clear of the McLaren driver, who had to fend off an attack from her Rodin Motorsport teammate Felbermayr.

Further back, Rafaela Ferreira and Alba Larsen battled over P6. A huge lock-up for the Racing Bulls driver forced to take the escape road. Carrying too much speed on exit, the Brazilian collided with the side of Chong. Meanwhile, contact between Joanne Ciconte and Courtney Crone sent the Haas spinning off at the hairpin, bringing out the Safety Car once more.

With only two laps remaining, Pin drew the race to a close behind the Safety Car to take a 24-point lead in the Standings, with Lloyd and Felbermayr completing the podium.

Nina Gademan matched her best F1 ACADEMY finish yet in fourth ahead of Lia Block, Larsen and Tina Hausmann. It was damage limitation for Palmowski and Chambers in eighth and ninth respectively, with Aiva Anagnostiadis claimed the final point on offer in P10.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Chloe Chong is due to line up on reverse grid pole later this afternoon, with Race 2 scheduled to get underway at 14:50 local time (UTC -4).