British F4: Abbi Pulling secures third podium finish of the season

Abbi Pulling secured her third podium of the British F4 season at Zandvoort, overcoming a challenging qualifying to finish second in Race 2 in the series' biggest field to date, and now sits sixth in the championship standings.

Photo credits: JEP

Abbi Pulling secured her third podium finish of the season in British F4 – her tenth overall in her British F4 career – following another strong showing at Zandvoort, the sixth round of the 2024 season.

The Rodin Motorsport driver shone throughout the Dutch weekend, demonstrating pace from the practice sessions to a second-place finish in Race 2, adding another podium to her tally after a victory at Brands Hatch and a runner-up spot at Thruxton.

The Zandvoort weekend marked the championship's first race meeting outside the UK and featured a groundbreaking record of eight female racing drivers on the grid, an all-time high for British F4 and any FIA-sanctioned F4 championship globally. This was due in part to the F1 Academy schedule, which attracted several drivers preparing for their commitments in the all-female championship.

Pulling, competing in both F1 Academy and British F4 with Rodin Motorsport, showcased her speed early on in the weekend. In a large field of 27 cars – the biggest of the year – she was fourth fastest in the first practice and led the second session with a best lap of 1:36.894, two-tenths clear of her closest rival, teammate Alex Ninovic, in a Rodin 1-2-3.

Confident of her single-lap pace heading into qualifying, Pulling faced different conditions on Friday with heavy rain on a challenging track. She couldn't maximize her speed amid red flag interruptions and finished 12th fastest with a 1:50.567: albeit disappointing for Race 3, this result placed her on reverse grid pole for Race 2 and eighth on the grid for Race 1 with her second-best lap of 1:50.822.

Race 1 started on Saturday morning under very wet conditions and Abbi Pulling lined up in P8 on the biggest British F4 grid to date. As the race went green, the field faced awful visibility due to heavy rain, but everyone managed to navigate through the first corner without incident. However, chaos ensued shortly after when Scoular spun after being hit by Berg, narrowly avoiding further collisions.

Pole sitter Deagan Fairclough led after the first lap, followed by Molnar, Ninovic, and Dodds. Meanwhile, Abbi Pulling had dropped to P13. Determined to regain her position, Pulling began her recovery drive. She passed Sherwood and clawed her way back into the top ten by the end of the first lap; capitalizing on attrition ahead, she then advanced to P9.

Pulling's pace was impressive as she closed a 3.5-second gap to Higgins by lap 6. Despite her strong performance, she struggled to get close enough to make further progress.

Fairclough, meanwhile, extended his lead to an 8-second gap, being the only driver to consistently lap under 1:50. Ninovic maintained second place, unable to match Fairclough’s pace, while Molnar held on to third.

Ultimately, Fairclough secured the race win, and Abbi Pulling crossed the line in P9, recovering well after an initially difficult start. This marked her 11th top ten finish of the season in 15 races.

Photo credits: JEP

Race 2 was supposed to take place in the afternoon, with teams getting ready for mixed conditions after frequent rain showers throughout the day. Although the track had dried enough for slicks, the threat of rain loomed as drivers headed to the grid. Abbi Pulling lined up on the reverse grid pole, presenting a great opportunity to score her second win of the season.

As the cars left for the formation lap, it started to rain again. The start was delayed when Matus Ryba's car came to a halt at the final corner; this delay allowed some drivers to make a late call to switch to wet weather tyres. Ryba's car then stopped again on the second formation lap, but the race eventually got underway.

However, chaos erupted at the start: the lights briefly went out and then returned to red, causing a huge mess with most drivers starting and then stopping again; Pulling was hit from behind but fortunately avoided significant damage. Seven cars were involved in collisions on the main straight, leading to a red flag. The race was then abandoned and rescheduled for Sunday morning, due to a technical issue to the starting lights.

Sunday brought significantly different weather conditions with a dry track. Pulling once again took her position from pole but had a difficult start, losing the lead to teammate Alex Ninovic. Ella Lloyd, who had a great start, followed in third. Fortec's Daryanani spun at turn 1, but managed to rejoin at the back, while championship leader Deagan Fairclough overtook Lloyd on lap 3 to claim third.

Pulling was setting competitive lap times, especially in sector 1, and closed in on Ninovic. Despite her efforts, she couldn't get close enough to overtake. Meanwhile, Fairclough set the fastest lap of the race and gradually closed the gap to Pulling.

By lap 11, Fairclough was right behind her, but the Alpine Academy driver displayed masterful defense, keeping him at bay. Abbi's strong performance earned her a hard-fought second place, marking her third podium of the season.

Race 3 in the afternoon was again held in dry conditions; starting from 12th on the grid, Abbi Pulling had shown enough speed throughout the weekend to make her way up among the front runners. She had a good launch off the line, moving up to P11 on the first lap.

Deagan Fairclough led the race, followed by Seewooruthun and Molnar, with Ninovic quickly charging up the field. Pulling soon approached a group of cars battling within the top ten: as she attempted to overtake Rivera, however, she lost out to Campbell-Pilling.

When Lloyd, Campbell-Pilling, and Rivera went three-wide into turn 4, Campbell-Pilling was forced to cut through the grass, rejoining in the path of Robinson and Scoular, which triggered a big multi-car crash that resulted in a red flag.

At the restart, Pulling was in eleventh place; she managed to pass Lloyd, then made her way up the field with a great restart and moved up to seventh. However, disaster struck when Bart Harrison hit her into turn one, cutting her left rear tyre with four minutes to go.

Pulling was forced to pit for repairs, rejoining the race but now down the order. Despite her speed and potential to score big points, she crossed the finish line in P20.

Despite the unfortunate end to Race 3, Abbi Pulling’s weekend was another very positive one: she again showed her fighting spirit and racecraft across challenging conditions and tough competition and now sits sixth in the drivers' championship standings with 106 points to her name.

The next round at Knockhill on 10-11 August presents another opportunity for the young British racer to showcase her talent, before returning to the Dutch seaside venue of Zandvoort for the fourth F1 Academy round on 24-25 August.