Chloe Chambers triumphs in season finale as Doriane Pin secures F1 Academy crown
- RACERS
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Doriane Pin sealed the 2025 F1 Academy championship with a controlled fifth-place finish in Las Vegas, as Chloe Chambers closed out her campaign with a dominant lights-to-flag victory in the season finale.
Chloe Chambers took a lights-to-flag victory in her final F1 Academy appearance, closing the season with a commanding win in a highly eventful finale in Las Vegas.
Maya Weug recovered to third, but the result was not enough to overturn the deficit to Doriane Pin, who managed the race from fifth place to secure the 2025 F1 Academy championship — wrapping up a superbly consistent campaign for the Mercedes junior and Iron Dames driver.
Seven rounds, 13 races, 26 drivers taking part in at least one event, eight different winners, and two championship contenders were left with a single race to decide it all: the 2025 finale crowned the series’ third-ever champion at the end of its closest-fought season to date.
It had long been a three-way battle, with Chloe Chambers dropping out of contention after a difficult Singapore weekend. Entering the Las Vegas decider, Doriane Pin and Maya Weug arrived with nearly equal chances after Weug’s impressive recovery at Zandvoort and Singapore. Pin, however, remained unshakeable throughout the year, collecting points with remarkable calmness; the "Pocket Rocket” kept it fully under control.
When Friday’s reverse-grid race threw the field into chaos in wet conditions on the street circuit, Pin’s cool head made the difference. The Mercedes-AMG junior survived the mayhem to win and build a crucial 20-point lead ahead of the feature race. That left Pin needing only sixth place to clinch the title, while Weug required nothing short of victory and a result of seventh or lower for Pin to bring home the crown.
After an excellent qualifying for the Red Bull-backed Campos Racing pairing, Chambers secured her fourth pole position of the season out of seven rounds — and lined up on the front row alongside teammate Alisha Palmowski. Having led in race 1, Alba Larsen started third next to Pin, with Weug and Tina Hausmann sharing the third row. It was a dry Saturday afternoon as the sun set over the Las Vegas Strip — and indeed over the 2025 F1 Academy season.
Just as in Race 1, Emma Felbermayr suffered a clutch issue on the grid and was unable to get away, forcing her to start from the pit lane. When the lights went out for the final time this year, Chambers launched cleanly and retained the lead ahead of Palmowski and Larsen; the latter defended firmly from Pin, while Weug loomed close behind and immediately signalled her intent.
As seen on Friday, Larsen’s straight-line speed was formidable, and she forced Palmowski into a late defensive move for second. Weug also attempted an early move on Pin at Turn 1 on lap two but was forced to back out.
Ahead, Chambers began setting purple sectors in an effort to break away, extending her advantage to one second over her Campos teammate. Behind them, after securing sixth in Race 1 and becoming the best-finishing wildcard of the season, Payton Westcott hit the barriers in a lap-three incident also involving Joanne Ciconte. Both retired, while Rachel Robertson and Chloe Chong were forced into evasive action. The safety car was deployed to retrieve the damaged Tatuus cars.
Racing resumed two laps later, with Chambers again executing a clean restart. Palmowski once more defended from the aggressively attacking Larsen, who ultimately lost out to both Pin and Weug over the following corners. Further back, Gademan, Hausmann and Lloyd battled closely, while ART teammates Courtney Crone and Lia Block traded positions after a debated overtake potentially outside of track limits; Block would retake P11 on lap six.
Chambers continued to lead, but Pin set the fastest lap with a 2:07.367 to secure the extra point — raising the mountain Weug needed to climb. By lap eight, the top four were covered by just two seconds, with Palmowski and Weug lowering the benchmark once more.
Weug clocked a 2:06.919 and, using the strong slipstream along the Strip, executed a brilliant pass around the outside of Turn 1 on lap nine to take third from Pin. The Ferrari junior was soon glued to the back of Palmowski's Red Bull car and attempted a similar move one lap later but was successfully covered off. On her next attempt, Weug finally edged ahead — only for Palmowski to fight back when Weug ran slightly deep.
Their battle allowed Larsen to rejoin the group, and the MP Motorsport driver immediately attacked Pin. The championship leader chose not to risk unnecessary contact and slipped to fifth.
Behind them, Ella Lloyd and Nina Gademan also battled hard for sixth, with the McLaren driver ultimately prevailing.
Up front, Chambers remained fully in control, extending her lead to four seconds and reclaiming the fastest lap with a 2:06.887 on the penultimate lap. The American completed a masterful performance to win her final F1 Academy race on home soil, ultimately securing third in the championship in the process.
Palmowski finished second, holding off Weug, who nevertheless delivered a strong drive from fifth. But third place was not enough to deny the title for Doriane Pin, who crossed the line in fifth to become the third F1 Academy champion, following Marta García and Abbi Pulling.
"It’s incredible. I can’t believe it", Pin commented after the race. "I worked so hard for this with the team. They’ve been part of my success since day one, since I joined Mercedes and the single-seater programme in 2024. We worked with only one goal: to become champions."
"I’m very happy to have worked with them and to have achieved amazing things together. I’m also thinking of all the people who have supported me since the beginning of my career. Thank you to my family, my dad, and the Iron Dames as well, who were all part of this success. We are here today because we are strong together — and we are champions."
Alba Larsen finished fourth to equal her career-best result, while Ella Lloyd took sixth and secured the top rookie of the year. Nina Gademan was seventh, and Tina Hausmann ended her final F1 Academy race with eighth. Rafaela Ferreira and Aurelia Nobels completed the points.
Lia Block finished 11th, while Emma Felbermayr recovered from her pit lane start to take 12th, overtaking Courtney Crone in the final stages. rachel Robertson completed a positive debut weekend in 14th, ahead of Chloe Chong in 15th after a challenging event hampered by straight-line speed issues. Nicole Havrda finished 16th after being handed a jump-start time penalty.
Following the chaos of Race 1, Race 2 delivered clean, high-quality racing between worthy title contenders, who brought F1 Academy’s third season to a fitting close and raising expectations even higher for 2026.
