Aurelia Nobels grabs maiden F1 Academy podium

After post-race penalties in the first race of the Las Vegas finale, Aurelia Nobels claimed her first F1 Academy podium and newcomer Rachel Robertson was promoted to a remarkable fourth place on her debut in the series, in a safety-car-filled Race 1.

Photo credits: F1 Academy Ltd

At the end of one of the most chaotic F1 Academy races in the series' history, championship contender Doriane Pin survived four safety-car interventions to win from fifth on the grid, taking a major step towards the 2025 crown by beating Nina Gademan and Alisha Palmowski across the line.

After the race, however, Palmowski was disqualified for a technical infringement in scrutineering, with the Damped Shaft Assy of the Red Bull-sponsored Campos car found to have an incorrect Belleville stack configuration. Fourth across the line, Brazilian Aurelia Nobels was therefore promoted to third, taking her maiden podium in F1 Academy on her final race weekend in the series.

Nobels, who is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, entered the all-female championship in 2024 and secured a best result of fifth at Zandvoort in her rookie campaign. The Puma-supported driver returned to the points in Miami in 2025 with a sixth-place finish, scored again in Canada and eventually topped her personal best with fourth last time out in Singapore.

A driver traditionally strong on street circuits, Nobels had one more chance at the Las Vegas Strip circuit — and she seized the opportunity with a clean, smart drive in extremely tricky wet conditions, which caught out many drivers and resulted in an incident-filled race. Starting from 13th on the grid, Nobels worked her way forward, kept out of trouble at each restart and gained ten positions to eventually secure her first F1 Academy podium.

Equally impressive was Scottish 18-year-old Rachel Robertson. In her first season of car racing and with only a handful of F4 weekends under her belt, she joined the F1 Academy grid for the first time, subbing in for Aiva Anagnostiadis in the #11 TAG Heuer Hitech TGR machine, and also drove smartly to take a superb fourth place after penalties, gaining ten spots from her starting position.

Lia Block was therefore fifth, with compatriot Payton Westcott finishing sixth — the best result for a wild card in 2025, although Kosterman scored more points with seventh in the feature race. Also on home soil, Courtney Crone claimed her personal best finish with seventh, ahead of Rafaela Ferreira and Emma Felbermayr.

While Nicole Havrda had initially finished tenth, thus equalling her best in the series, the Canadian was handed a post-race penalty for failing to enter the pit lane after the formation lap, as she was supposed to start from the pits after a mechanical issue prevented the American Express-sponsored car from joining the grid in time. As the penalty could not be served in-race, it was converted into a 30-second addition that demotes Havrda from tenth to P12. Joanne Ciconte therefore moves up into the top ten, ahead of Chloe Chong in P11. Six cars were not classified.

The final race of the 2025 F1 Academy season — which will decide the title, now with Doriane Pin in prime position to manage a 20-point margin — will get underway at 16:20 local time on Saturday, 22 November.