Preview
LAS VEGAS PREVIEW: Talking points ahead of Round 7
Every minute in their debriefs, every lap on the simulator and every overtake on track has led up to this moment as the stage is set for the 2025 F1 ACADEMY field to battle it out one last time.
You couldn’t ask for a better way to bring a spectacular season to a close — two drivers and two teams are vying for their titles around one of the world’s most iconic locations right at the heart of the Las Vegas strip.
For the final time this season, let’s check out all the key storylines you’ll need to watch out for across Round 7…
WHO WILL BECOME OUR 2025 CHAMPION?
After six rounds of intense back-and-forth battles, Doriane Pin and Maya Weug each stand on the edge of glory but only one can follow in the footsteps of Marta García and Abbi Pulling and be crowned Champion.
However, their paths to the title won’t be simple, with over 63k different possible scenarios! The situation will be constantly unfolding throughout the weekend, but crucially the fight will have to go down to the final race on Saturday afternoon.
If Pin wins Race 2, she will become Champion. Even if Weug scored maximum points with pole and the Race 1 victory plus the fastest lap and Pin failed to score in Race 1, the gap would be four points in the Ferrari driver’s favour. Yet a win for Pin in Race 2 would give her six points more than Weug could score from P2 plus the fastest lap.
In the event of a tiebreak, Weug is automatically the Champion with three Race 2 victories to Pin’s two. There are no scenarios in which Pin wins Race 2 AND there is a tie for points, therefore any tie means Weug becomes Champion.
READ MORE: HEAD-TO-HEAD: How Pin and Weug stack up in the battle for the 2025 title
Both drivers have shown themselves to be worthy winners across a hard-fought campaign and each have had the measure of the other on occasion. Whilst recent form is in Weug’s favour with back-to-back Race 1 podiums and Race 2 victories in Zandvoort and Singapore, the all important points are in Pin’s with a nine-point advantage.
COULD WE HAVE SOME FAIRYTALE ENDINGS?
The curtain call is near for some, as seven of the stars of the 2025 season are about to bid farewell to the series at the end of their two-year stint.
Pin, Weug, Chloe Chambers, Tina Hausmann, Lia Block, Chloe Chong and Aurelia Nobels will be in action for the final time and all have some unfinished business. Whilst Pin and Weug’s duel draws to a close, could a home victory be on the cards for either Chambers or Block?
Although eight different drivers have scored a podium this season, Hausmann, Chong and Nobels are all still searching for their maiden piece of silverware in the series.
TEAMS’ AND TOP ROOKIE HONOURS STILL UP FOR GRABS
It’s not only the Drivers’ title that remains undedicated as defending Champions PREMA Racing look to secure a hat-trick of Teams’ titles.
Out front on 257 points, they have a 49-point buffer over MP Motorsport with a maximum of 89 points still available. Campos Racing are also in the hunt, but are an outside shot, with a 70-point deficit to the Italian squad.
Ella Lloyd and Alisha Palmowski are also locked in their own tussle over the Top Rookie honours. Lloyd, who is confirmed to be returning for the 2026 campaign with McLaren, sits third in the Standings on 101 points, with Red Bull Racing’s Palmowski in fifth on 73.
Separating the pair is Palmowski’s Campos teammate Chambers, who will be determined regain her spot in the top-three. Meanwhile, seventh-placed Alba Larsen also merits a shoutout as the highest-placed rookie yet to score a podium. The Dane was announced to be joining F1 ACADEMY in Las Vegas last year, so could the weekend bring a full circle moment for the 16-year-old?
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE LAS VEGAS
F1 ACADEMY makes its long-awaited debut on the spectacular Las Vegas Strip Circuit, becoming the first single-seater support series to race around the entertainment capital of the world.
Stretching over 6.201km, the 17-corner high-speed circuit delivers an added layer complexity for the drivers and their teams to navigate. The wide streets leave plenty of room for overtakes in front of iconic locations such as Caesars Palace and the Venetian, but who will be brave enough to make them across the two 13-lap races?
The fun carries on off-track with the HELLO KITTY x F1 ACADEMY collection serving speed and supercute! You can shop the full collection for yourself or your four-legged friends at the F1 HUB Las Vegas or make a pit stop to the Hello Kitty Cafe Las Vegas to try out the limited time menu.