‘We have to be perfect’ - Weug reflects on 2025 title chances and insists fightback is still on

Becoming the 2025 F1 ACADEMY Champion has been at the forefront of Maya Weug’s mind from the moment she first hit the track in Shanghai.

Yet the qualities that have made her a title contender this season were clear to see long before Round 1. On joining the series last year, the Ferrari driver was already a highly-rated prospect amongst the talented field. Seven podiums eventually led to Weug finishing in style, claiming her maiden single-seater victory in the last race of her rookie campaign.

Ending up comfortably third in the Drivers’ Standings, the Dutch racer was far from content, with her sights set on glory a second time around.

Delivering from the get-go with her maiden pole position in China, Weug’s year has seen its fair share of ups and downs — as the highest of highs offset with the most unfortunate of lows.

Accumulating four podiums in the first four races, including a win in Jeddah Race 2, she left Round 2 as the driver to beat with a seven point advantage over Doriane Pin. Since then, Weug watched as the lead slipped out of her hands following a nightmare weekend in Montreal.

Demoted to third behind Pin and Chloe Chambers, she is now staring at a 37-point deficit heading into Round 5 in Zandvoort. As the title fight grows increasingly fierce and with a maximum of 117 points to be contested over, Weug is adamant that whilst she’ll have her work cut out for her, her title chances shouldn’t be written off.

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

READ MORE: ZANDVOORT PREVIEW: Talking points ahead of Round 5

“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.”

She added: “There’s still a lot to play for. I’m 37 points behind now, but it doesn’t really matter. We’ll just push as hard as possible and try to win it.”

As calm and collected as ever, there is something different about Weug this season. More tenacious and confident on track, she has blossomed as an indispensable asset to the MP Motorsport dynamic, becoming the team leader amongst their trio.

Finding the inner strength to shake off any lingering frustrations, Weug remains unfazed by any setbacks — although there have been some moments to rue.

Opting for a tentative getaway from pole in Shanghai Race 2 due to the slippery track, she lost the lead to Pin at the start. Unable to find the pace to keep up with the Mercedes driver, the Ferrari junior later conceded that in her eyes, she should have been at the top of the Drivers’ Standings at that point.

Montreal proved to be her biggest setback yet, with technical issues plaguing the weekend. Thanks to MP’s efforts and Weug’s decisive racecraft, she managed to go from P15 to P6 in Race 3 and salvage some points. Yet they were a poor consolation compared to what could have been possible considering her teammate Alba Larsen’s 18-point haul.

We have to be perfect and push 120% to try and win the title.

However, the 21-year-old recognises that she can’t solely rely on her race pace as she plays catch up to her rivals. Whilst Chambers has netted three consecutive pole positions, Weug has earned only one front row start, courtesy of her pole in Shanghai.

“Racecraft has been quite good from my point of view, especially in the reverse grid races,” she summarises. “It’s fun, I enjoy it a lot and it’s been going well in the races. From that side, it’s been good.

“In Quali, there are still some things here and there that we have to maximise. But still, the pace has been quite good all the way through the season, so we keep pushing.”