Beginners Guide to F1 Academy

Women in Racing

Apr 13, 2024

F1 Academy is new to Formula 1. Starting in 2023, it is an all-woman organization, directed by Susie Wolff, featuring 15 drivers and 5 teams. The academy’s conception began with the idea of giving women more of a chance in the highly competitive, male-dominated sport. The drivers in the academy are here to test their mettle and showcase their skills to the top names in the sport (Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, etc.)

The Championship

Similarly to Formula 1, F1 Academy has a Driver's Championship and a Constructors Championship. Noticeably, the point of F1 Academy is to see who A) Drives the fastest and B) can handle the car, tires, and pressure the best.

To win the championships, you must score points. The driver who scores the most points at the end of the season wins the Driver’s Championship, and the team that wins the most points at the end wins the Constructors Championship.

Points

1st place: 25 points

2nd place: 18 points

3rd place: 15 points

4th place: 12 points

5th place: 10 points

6th place: 8 points

7th place: 6 points

8th place: 4 points

9th place: 2 points

10th place: 1 points

Position 11th through 20th does not earn any points for that race.

Drivers that earn pole positions will earn an additional 2 points

Drivers that get the fastest lap during the race will earn an additional 1 point

The Race Weekend

F1 Academy’s race weekends look a bit different than the typical Formula 1 schedule. F1 Academy has 2 full point-earning races during the weekend. A race weekend should be as follows:

Friday - Free Practice 1

Friday - Free Practice 2

Saturday - Qualifying 1

Saturday - Qualifying 2

Saturday - Race 1

Sunday - Race 2

Note: Some races will only have one practice session which moves the days of the qualifying sessions.

Note: The schedule is listed on track time. The days might differ due to time zones.

F1 Academy differs from Formula 1 and Formula 2 because of their race schedule. F1 Academy has two featured races, with 2 qualifying sessions. Formula 1 typically will have 1 featured race, with a few sprint races peppered throughout the season. Formula 2 will have one featured race and one sprint race. This is because F1 Academy only has 7 race weekends on the calendar, so they will have 14 races to make up for the lack of weekends/race experience. By having 14 races, they will have the same amount of races as Formula 2.

Practice

The Academy will have up to two practice sessions; some races will only have one practice session. Each practice will be 40 minutes. The practice sessions are very important to each championship (F1, F2, F3, etc.) as this will be the first time to test their car on the track from the previous season. Any improvements to the car or new strategies can only be tested for 40 minutes before going into qualifiers.

Qualifying

Qualifying is different in F1 Academy than in Formula 1. They have 2 races but 1 qualifying session. The racers have 30 minutes to determine their positions for both races. The driver’s fastest lap in qualifiers determines the positions for race one, and the driver’s second fastest lap time determines their place in race two.

The Race

The day is arguably the most popular event of the weekend. This is when the points will be scored, and most of the action will occur. There are typically 7 race weekends throughout the season; however, that can change depending on race track contracts. 2024 will consist of 14 races

Each track varies in lap amount. Below are the names and locations of the races and circuits in order of when they will be raced in the 2024 season.

Saudi Arabia GP - Jeddah Street Circuit

Miami GP - Hard Rock Stadium Circuit

Spanish GP - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Dutch GP - Zandvoort

Singapore GP - Marina Bay Street Circuit

Qatar GP - Lusail Circuit

Abu Dhabi - Yas Marina Circuit

Teams and Drivers

Below is a list of the current teams from the 2024 season.

Format:

Team Name