HEAD-TO-HEAD: How Pin and Weug stack up in the battle for the 2025 title

You’d have to be pretty bold to predict who out of Doriane Pin and Maya Weug will secure this season’s title, with just nine points separating the two as the Las Vegas finale gets ever closer.

A grand total of 39 points are on offer across Qualifying, Race 1 and 2 as F1 ACADEMY heads to the twisty street circuit for the first time, so it will come down to the final race for the pair. The battle has been simmering away since Round 1 back in March, but who looks to be in the stronger position when it comes to their head-to-head record?

QUALIFYING HEAD-TO-HEAD

Pin 3–3 Weug

The numbers might look like they’re on equal footing, but when you consider that Weug has achieved three pole positions compared to Pin’s zero, the Ferrari driver starts to possess a small advantage here.

She hit the ground running in Shanghai, beating Pin to the top spot in Qualifying by just under half a second in the opening round. The Dutch driver went on to suffer a slight dip in performance over the next few events, but surged back to secure pole in the most recent two rounds in Zandvoort and Singapore.

In comparison, Pin has arguably staked her place near the top of the timesheets more consistently, claiming her highest position of P2 on three occasions – Shanghai, Jeddah and Singapore. Even in her worst Qualifying session of the season, she still managed P5 in an incredibly competitive field where she wound up less than three-tenths adrift of Weug’s pole position time.

For Weug, her lowest result arose from a much more disastrous Qualifying in Montreal. After an electrical issue meant that she couldn’t take part in Free Practice, problems continued to hinder her and she ended up in P15 while Pin took P3.

RACE HEAD-TO-HEAD

Pin 5–7 Weug

The title contenders are remarkably evenly matched in terms of consistency in the all-important Races, with Weug narrowly pipping Pin on seven instances out of 12.

Each driver has taken victory in three Races – the Mercedes-backed racer has not won since Race 1 in Montreal, but earlier triumphs in Shanghai and Miami and seven podiums overall have kept her ahead in the battle.

With both coming to the end of their second consecutive seasons in the Series, they’ve honed their winning ways, with Weug standing on the top of the podium in Race 2 in Jeddah, Zandvoort, and Singapore. The most recent of those victories was the result of a magnificent overtake on the final lap to deny her French rival the win.

Speaking about the pass, Weug said: “That last lap was just crazy. I knew that the rain was one of my little chances to get past Doriane today, so when it came down I was quite happy.”

She also has one more podium than Pin, taking her total to eight in what has been an impressively high performing season for the 21-year-old.

REVERSE GRID RACES HEAD-TO-HEAD

Pin 2–4 Weug

Qualifying at the top is, of course, exactly where a title contender wants to be for Race 2, in which a win is worth the highest number of points (25 compared to 10 in Race 1). However, Pin and Weug understand that the lower points on offer in the reverse grid Races are also extremely important in the bigger picture of the season.

With the top eight drivers from Qualifying flipped in every Race 1, the pair have found themselves starting around the fourth row of the grid more often than not. But that has done little to dissuade them from charging through the field, with Weug outscoring her rival on four occasions to two.

With the exception of Race 1 in Miami, where she sealed P4, and Race 2 in Montreal, which followed her worst Qualifying performance of the season, the Ferrari driver has finished on the podium in every reverse grid event.

Pin had a much stronger weekend in Montreal, leaving Weug 37 points behind her in the Standings, but the latter’s four-race streak of podium finishes in Zandvoort and Singapore has helped her close the gap down massively.

MOST POSITIONS GAINED

Pin – 5 in Miami Race 1 Weug – 9 in Montreal Race 3

Coming off that nightmare Qualifying in Montreal, Weug bounced back in style to recover nine positions to finish P6 in Race 3, taking the chequered flag just 1.457s behind winner Chloe Chambers. It proved to be her best result of Round 4 after she was forced to retire from Race 1 with an issue, and failed to score in the reverse grid Race 2.

“Montreal was really tricky, nothing we could have done,” Weug conceded after the weekend. “We maximised it in Race 3, so now there’s a lot of catching up to do from our side.

“We have to be perfect and push 120% to try and win the title. I think we are strong and we’re going to push for that.”

Comparatively, Pin has not found herself having to recover from a lacklustre Qualifying, so she gained the most positions in another reverse grid race – the sole Race that took place in Miami back in May.

After missing out on the top two by just 0.071s to Chambers and Red Bull Racing’s Alisha Palmowski, the 21-year-old began Race 1 from P6 on the grid, with Emma Felbermayr taking pole.

A chaotic opening lap saw Ella Lloyd collide with Rafaela Ferreira, allowing Pin to squeeze past the drama and emerge in second place. Her experience was crucial on the subsequent Safety Car restart and she quickly passed the Kick Sauber driver, who put up a fight before going wide.

Palmowski did her best to force the Race leader into a mistake, but Pin confidently controlled the field and sealed victory, calling her first reverse grid win “pretty special”.

MOST POSITIONS LOST

Pin – 2 in Zandvoort Race 1 Weug – 8 in Montreal Race 1 (DNF)

Pin and Weug’s myriad of victories has undoubtedly been counteracted by some heartbreaking lows, especially for the Dutch driver.

The disastrous weekend in Montreal was partially due to an electrical issue with her MP Motorsport car which plagued her not just in Free Practice, but also in Race 1, causing her sole retirement of the season.

Scoring just eight points across the round’s three Races (with one replacing Miami Race 2 which had been called off), she saw her lead in the Standings slip out of her grasp as she dropped behind both Pin and Chambers.

On the other hand, the Mercedes driver has finished and scored in every F1 ACADEMY Race she has entered this season — a 26-race points-scoring streak stretching back to her series debut last year — with a lowest finish of sixth place in Zandvoort Race 1. That result represents her most positions lost in any round so far – with the reverse grid system applied, she started from P4.

While Nina Gademan soared to her maiden victory, Pin came under pressure at various points from Chambers and Weug. The Red Bull Ford driver initially lost out on their opening lap contest, but Weug timed her challenge to perfection, demoting Pin to fifth place after seven laps.

Chambers gradually recovered from running wide early on to beat the Mercedes driver, leaving Pin with just 3 points added to her tally.

FINAL THOUGHTS

No matter what happens in Las Vegas, Pin and Weug will have both reached the limit of two seasons in the Series, making the final round their last opportunity to show what they’re made of to everyone watching.

They’re supported by two motorsport giants in Mercedes and Ferrari and have demonstrated time and again exactly why they’re more than deserving of that backing, but of course, only one of them can become the 2025 champion.

On so many occasions, they have battled for pole position, with Pin still searching for her first of the year. If she can finally tick off that achievement in Las Vegas, it will put her in the best possible place to defend her slim lead in the Standings, but if Weug repeats her typically superb Qualifying performances then the battle will remain wide open.

Reflecting on the season as a whole, Pin said: “2025 has been challenging, obviously, but I think in terms of performance we took a step compared to last year. I’ve learned a lot about myself, improving in terms of driving and getting to know the team better.

“We don’t have to change anything or bring anything (in Vegas), we just have to be fast from Free Practice and then everything will come naturally. I’m not very worried about that – it’s the ones behind who have to worry.”

Even with her optimism, holding the finale at an unknown track for F1 ACADEMY will undoubtedly be an added challenge. But if anyone can switch their focus from the dazzling lights of the Strip to the unique and tricky circuit, it’s this pair of incredible racers. Anything is possible between them, with Pin heading into the weekend with 151 points to Weug’s 142. The only certainty in this title fight is that fans will be given a grandstand finish to the season.