F1 Academy: the Las Vegas title showdown
- RACERS
- Nov 19
- 6 min read
As F1 Academy heads to its final round of 2025, the highly anticipated title fight between Doriane Pin and Maya Weug meets its final chapter amid a weekend packed with high-stakes battles throughout the field, new faces and farewells.
The night lights in the Nevada desert will burn brighter than ever as F1 Academy heads to Las Vegas for a season-defining finale, in a weekend where every point, every lap could rewrite the championship story.
After a year marked by momentum swings between the two main title rivals, the duel between Doriane Pin and Maya Weug comes down to a simple equation: Pin arrives with a nine-point advantage, and Weug must outscore her by ten or more to lift the crown of the third edition of the all-female series.
On their first visit to the 6.201km Las Vegas Strip Circuit, which hosts F1 Academy for the first time, drivers will have to deal with an unforgiving racetrack that rewards precision and patience, with the championship likely going down to the wire at the end of Race 2.
With still 39 points on the table across the weekend, qualifying at Las Vegas will be more than just a grid-setting formality, as it brings two precious extra championship points. For Weug, this will be another opportunity to chip away at Pin’s advantage — the latter still searching for her first pole position of the season — however the high-speed street circuit layout might result in grid positions not ending up particularly decisive. Pin doesn’t need to take high risks in qualifying, as a strong reverse grid finish can still award her solid points, but starting off with the wrong foot might force the Frenchwoman into defensive racing all weekend.
The sprint-style opening race awards fewer points, but chaos is always lurking in the reverse-grid format; for Weug, every single point is a lifeline, while for Pin, every point she scores is a wall that Weug must still climb. A strong Race 1 result by Weug could shrink the gap and set up a direct, high-stakes confrontation on Sunday. On the other hand, if Pin emerges from Race 1 with a stable margin intact, Weug’s task becomes significantly steeper.
With 25 points for the win, and an additional fastest-lap point in play, Race 2 is where the destiny of the championship will be settled. A podium from Pin in this race could help the Mercedes junior seal the deal; anything less however opens the door for the Ferrari driver to overturn the deficit.
In a championship separated by single digits, fastest-lap points could also be just as crucial, with Pin having already secured six out of 12 races to date, while Weug has two to her name, both at her home round in Zandvoort.
Pin enters the weekend with consistency on her side, having built her gap mainly at Montreal, where Weug endured a rough weekend with a best of sixth. While Maya bounced back with strong runs at Zandvoort and Singapore, Doriane now doesn’t need to dominate and will just need to be smart. On the other hand, Weug comes off great recovery drives and arrives to Vegas with momentum: she has produced some of her best performances under pressure, and the season finale gives her one more opportunity to end her F1 Academy stint on a high .
For both, the mental game will be crucial. It’s the duel everyone had anticipated when the Ferrari and Mercedes junior drivers joined the all-female series in 2024 — two competitors arriving with already impressive résumés and the weight of expectation on their shoulders.
Maya Weug, already a point-scorer in FRECA after sharpening her skills in the fiercely competitive Italian F4, had already proven her speed in single-seaters. Pin, meanwhile, arrived with a distinguished sportscar background: podiums in WEC in prototypes, high-profile GT3 victories, and a reputation as one of endurance racing’s brightest young prospects. Her decision to switch to single-seaters, bravely taking on an entirely new discipline in pursuit of a different dream, certainly made her one of the most fascinating additions to the grid.
Destined to fight each other for the title, 2025 delivered on that promise — and as both drivers entered their second season in the series, they also faced the added pressure of knowing neither will be eligible to return in 2026.
Chloe Chambers, now down to fourth in the standings after a run of misfortune, has nevertheless been a central character in this year’s title picture and remained in contention until the penultimate round. Chambers has consistently shown the pace and racecraft to take the fight to Pin and Weug on equal terms, only to see her championship challenge undermined by bad luck in the second half of the campaign.
Still, with six podiums, one win, and three pole positions so far, the American remains a major storyline heading into her home race — and her final F1 Academy appearance — with third place in the standings still very much in play.
That fight for third also includes Ella Lloyd, currently holding the position, and Alisha Palmowski, with both rookies having delivered great seasons that include one victory each. Palmowski endured two non-scoring races in Singapore after a weekend that went wrong from the start, but she arrives in Las Vegas determined to bounce back and challenge Lloyd for best rookie honours. Lloyd, one of the most consistent drivers of the year, recorded five podiums, including three consecutive runner-up finishes, and benefitted from additional seat time during her dual campaign in British F4.
Nina Gademan, Emma Felbermayr and Lia Block have also each claimed a race win this season, and with the reverse-grid format often producing surprises, Las Vegas could well introduce another new winner.
The 2025 season finale will also mark the final F1 Academy outing for several drivers reaching their two-year limit. Alongside title contenders Pin, Weug, and Chambers, Tina Hausmann, Lia Block, Chloe Chong, and Aurelia Nobels will all aim to end their time in the series on a high.
Block, who arrived with no circuit racing experience, has transformed herself into a race winner and regular podium contender within just two years. The American’s rapid progress, achieved while bridging a multi-year experience gap to many of her rivals, has been one of the biggest F1 Academy's stories, and competing at her home event provides the perfect setting for her final chapter.
Chloe Chong, the only car racing rookie in the inaugural 2023 season, has also built her foundation from scratch. A year in British F4 in 2024 significantly accelerated her learning, and she returned to F1 Academy as a more complete driver. While she was unable to capitalize on several promising weekends — and was unlucky in incidents not of her own making — Chong still claimed her first top-five, scored points at most tracks, and demonstrated competitive pace throughout the season.
Aurelia Nobels, supported by Puma and coming off a personal best of fourth place in Singapore, has traditionally excelled on street circuits. She will be one to watch as she targets her first podium and aims to conclude her campaign strongly before stepping up the next stage of her career.
The fourth American on the grid will be newcomer Payton Westcott, making her F1 Academy debut as the Wild Card entry for the Las Vegas finale. Westcott joins the grid in the third Hitech TGR car with backing from the Visit Las Vegas authority. Graduating from karting to F4 in 2025 after the Champions of the Future Academy programme, she contested the Formula Winter Series, E4 Championship, and Italian F4 this year — a triple programme that allowed her to accumulate substantial mileage.
Westcott's strong performance at the F1 Academy Rookie Test, where she finished inside the top three overall and led the afternoon session, signals potential, as she now aims to match Esmee Kosterman, the only wild card to score points this season after an impressive outing at Zandvoort. Mathilda Paatz and Lisa Billard also delivered strong drives in Montreal and Singapore, but both were unlucky not to convert them into points.
Westcott will not be the only rookie in Las Vegas: Scottish 18-year-old Rachel Robertson is also set for her F1 Academy debut, substituting for the injured Aiva Anagnostiadis, who broke her left foot before Singapore, where she was replaced by Megan Bruce. Robertson, who is racing her first full season in cars, has also recently made her F4 debut in the Saudi championship, showing steady improvement at every outing. She will take over the #11 TAG Heuer-supported Hitech machine for the finale.
Low temperatures are expected across the weekend and could influence tyre strategies and grip levels, potentially a decisive factor in the title showdown. After the final collective test in Bahrain, teams and drivers will in fact face dramatically different conditions at the 17-corner Las Vegas street circuit.
With only one practice session — on Thursday at 18:00 local time — the pressure will be on as drivers get up to speed. Qualifying follows later that evening at 21:30 under the lights. Race 1 takes place on Friday at 18:15, and the title decider is scheduled for Saturday at 16:20, when the third F1 Academy champion will be crowned and add her name to the history books alongside Marta GarcÃa and Abbi Pulling.
