Interview
Hamda Al Qubaisi fastest in Barcelona Free Practice
Fresh from her maiden win in F1 Academy, Hamda Al Qubaisi was the fastest across two wet Free Practice sessions ahead of a busy Saturday at F1 Academy’s third round in Barcelona.
Across the two rain-impacted Free Practice Sessions, drivers completed a total of 375 laps as they got out on track at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time since pre-season testing.
Free Practice 1
A heavy shower just before the cars set out on track gave the teams and drivers a chance to fine tune their set-ups in preparation for the rain forecasted for this weekend.
Al Qubaisi, who sealed her first win in F1 Academy just 75 days after breaking her arm, led the way in the first session of the weekend with a 1:42.495, ahead of Nerea Martí, and Bianca Bustamante, who also scored her first win in Valencia last time out.
Despite completing the fewest number of laps in the session, MP Motorsport’s Emely de Heus was showing her pace around the 4.675km circuit sitting P6 in the classification, only 0.5s behind teammate Al Qubaisi.
Free Practice 2
Al Qubaisi also led the standings in Free Practice 2 as she continued to show her strong form at Barcelona. Despite only completing a few laps in pre-season testing, the Emirati laid down a marker for the rest of the field with a dominant Friday display.
The MP Motorsport driver was once joined again in the top three by Bustamante (P2) and Martí (P3), with the trio of drivers split by just 0.4s.
Free Practice pacesetter Al Qubaisi said: “Today went really well considering I only did a few laps in the pre-season test here and was three seconds off the pace due to my arm, I think it is decent that I was able to top post sessions, but then again we don’t know what things the other drivers were working on.”
“Tomorrow is what counts, I am happy with the pace and but there is a lot of margin still. I am trying to improve on the corners, it’s a long and technical track and I will continue to work with the team to make sure we are ready for tomorrow.”
What’s Next
The teams will take to the track in four sessions tomorrow, as the morning sees the drivers complete both Qualifying sessions, before Race 1 and Race 2 get underway in the afternoon at 15:05 and 19:00 respectively.
F1 ACADEMY 2023 – BARCELONA, FREE PRACTICE 1, FINAL CLASSIFICATION
| DRIVER | LICENCE | TEAM | LAPTIME | LAPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamda Al Qubaisi | ARE | MP Motorsport | 1:42.495 | 12 |
| 2 | Nerea Martí | ESP | Campos Racing | 1:42.627 | 14 |
| 3 | Bianca Bustamante | PHL | PREMA Racing | 1:42.806 | 11 |
| 4 | Marta García | ESP | PREMA Racing | 1:42.828 | 11 |
| 5 | Lena Bühler | CHE | ART Grand Prix | 1:42.838 | 14 |
| 6 | Emely de Heus | NLD | MP Motorsport | 1:42.971 | 8 |
| 7 | Lola Lovinfosse | FRA | ART Grand Prix | 1:43.118 | 16 |
| 8 | Abbi Pulling | GBR | Rodin Carlin | 1:43.344 | 14 |
| 9 | Chloe Chong | GBR | PREMA Racing | 1:43.667 | 12 |
| 10 | Carrie Schreiner | DEU | ART Grand Prix | 1:43.833 | 14 |
| 11 | Amna Al Qubaisi | ARE | MP Motorsport | 1:43.855 | 11 |
| 12 | Chloe Grant | GBR | ART Grand Prix | 1:44.073 | 15 |
| 13 | Jessica Edgar | GBR | Rodin Carlin | 1:44.605 | 14 |
| 14 | Maite Cáceres | URY | Campos Racing | 1:44.846 | 15 |
| 15 | Megan Gilkes | CAN | Rodin Carlin | 1:45.123 | 15 |
F1 ACADEMY 2023 – BARCELONA, FREE PRACTICE 2, FINAL CLASSIFICATION
| DRIVER | LICENCE | TEAM | LAPTIME | LAPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamda Al Qubaisi | ARE | MP Motorsport | 1:42.775 | 10 |
| 2 | Bianca Bustamante | PHL | PREMA Racing | 1:42.976 | 12 |
| 3 | Nerea Martí | ESP | Campos Racing | 1:43.191 | 12 |
| 4 | Lena Bühler | CHE | ART Grand Prix | 1:43.380 | 9 |
| 5 | Lola Lovinfosse | FRA | Campos Racing | 1:43.495 | 12 |
| 6 | Amna Al Qubaisi | ARE | MP Motorsport | 1:43.514 | 12 |
| 7 | Carrie Schreiner | DEU | ART Grand Prix | 1:43.695 | 12 |
| 8 | Marta García | ESP | PREMA Racing | 1:43.803 | 12 |
| 9 | Emely de Heus | NLD | MP Motorsport | 1:43.926 | 12 |
| 10 | Chloe Chong | GBR | PREMA Racing | 1:44.203 | 12 |
| 11 | Megan Gilkes | CAN | Rodin Carlin | 1:44.739 | 11 |
| 12 | Abbi Pulling | GBR | Rodin Carlin | 1:45.344 | 16 |
| 13 | Jessica Edgar | GBR | Rodin Carlin | 1:45.504 | 14 |
| 14 | Maite Cáceres | URY | Campos Racing | 1:46.782 | 13 |
| 15 | Chloe Grant | GBR | ART Grand Prix | - | 10 |