Following post-race penalties, Abbi Pulling has inherited victory in the second Jeddah race - in a dramatic turn of events that saw the Alpine Academy racer claiming her maiden F1 Academy win.
In a dramatic development, Doriane Pin has been handed a 20 second penalty for the incident on the last lap, when the Frenchwoman - who had dominated every session of the Saudi season opener - did not notice the chequered flag and miscommunication with the team meant that she completed one extra lap at full speed, before being notified that the race had indeed ended.
By having crossed the chequered flag twice and with the safety hazard that the situation created to parc ferme preparations, Pin was summoned by the stewards and then received the equivalent of a drive through, converted into a 20 second time penalty.
This promotes Abbi Pulling to her first F1 Academy victory of her career, topping 5 second place finishes between 2023 and 2024's first race.
Pulling had been the only driver able to keep up with Pin in both races, also challenging her in the safety car restarts and trading fastest laps throughout race 1 and 2. With Pin dropping to ninth place, Pulling also inherits the lead of the championship.
Maya Weug and Nerea Marti therefore move up to second and third place respectively.
A total of nine penalties were applied in race 2 alone; Amna Al Qubaisi - who was the protagonist of a spectacular charge from the back of the field to sixth - was found to have gained an advantage by going off track at turn 22 in a battle with Aurelia Nobels and received a five second penalty that put the Emirati in eighth position.
Jessica Edgar advances to fourth, and the biggest mover becomes Hamda Al Qubaisi - who climbed 7 places to finish fifth. Bianca Bustamante also made good progress from tenth to sixth, collecting more valuable points - and despite a 5 second penalty herself.
Carrie Schreiner was spun around during the race but a solid recovery now resulted in a 7th place finish post-penalties. Doriane Pin will score 5 points in race 2 - including the three extra points for pole position and fastest lap. Fifth across the line, Chloe Chambers had two separate penalties and still scored points in tenth.
Just outside the points-paying positions, Lia Block - who was unfortunately collected by Lola Lovinfosse - had two penalties for a jump start and for speeding in the pitlane as she changed the front wing. Emely de Heus served a penalty herself for the contact with Schreiner and was classified 12th. Tina Hausmann was out for a technical issue, with Aurelia Nobels, Reema Juffali and Lola Lovinfosse also DNF. The latter will have to serve a five-place grid penalty at Miami for the unsafe rejoin after a spin that eventually took Block out of contention.
Pulling now leads the standings with 44 points - 11 more than Maya Weug and 12 ahead of Doriane Pin. Bustamante leads the battle for fourth, with Marti, Chambers, Edgar and Hamda Al Qubaisi in 6 points. In the team's standings, Prema leads by 12 points over Rodin Motorsport.
The next round is scheduled for 4-5 May at Miami International Autodrome.