Maya Weug snatches dramatic last-lap victory in Singapore race 2 to take F1 Academy title fight to Las Vegas

In a rain-affected thriller at Marina Bay, Ferrari junior Maya Weug made a decisive last-lap move on title rival Doriane Pin to claim her third win of the season, closing the championship gap to just nine points ahead of the Las Vegas finale.

Photo credits: F1 Academy Ltd

A rain shower in the final minutes set the stage for a dramatic finale to the second F1 Academy race in Singapore, with Maya Weug making a last-lap move for victory after losing out to title rival Doriane Pin at the start — now significantly closing the championship gap with one round left to run.

After a spectacular reverse-grid contest on Saturday that saw Lia Block claim her maiden win — and first-ever single-seater victory — attention turned once again to Weug and Pin, who would share the front row for Race 2 following an incredibly close qualifying session on Friday.

While reverse-grid races have produced five different winners so far — Palmowski, Lloyd, Felbermayr, Gademan, and Block — the main feature races have largely been dominated by Weug, Pin, and Chambers, the latter still mathematically in contention heading into the final stretch. Pin had a chance to seal the title in Singapore if she won and Weug failed to score, but the Ferrari Driver Academy racer, buoyed by a strong recovery in Race 1, was determined to take the championship fight to Las Vegas.

Chloe Chambers, lining up third, also remained in the hunt and, given her racecraft, could not be ruled out as a podium contender. After her crash in Race 1, Alisha Palmowski’s car required a chassis, engine, and gearbox change, meaning she would again start from the back. Meanwhile, wild card Lisa Billard, who impressed in qualifying but suffered a technical issue on Saturday, aimed to make an impression in her second F1 Academy start.

As the lights went out, it was a difficult start for Weug, who found Pin alongside into Turn 1; the French driver made the move stick to take the lead. Behind them, a three-way fight unfolded between Lloyd, Chambers, and Felbermayr, with Chambers losing third to Lloyd after some robust defense. The leading duo quickly began to pull away, with Weug locking up as she tried to keep the pressure on her title rival.

Further back, there were battles throughout the field: Palmowski made strong progress, climbing to P14 on the opening lap, while Billard lost out to Nobels and then had to defend from Lia Block — but was soon surprised into Turn 1 by a late dive from Nina Gademan, who moved up to eighth. A small mistake from Block at Turn 14 saw her clip the barriers; she was able to continue without damage but dropped to the back of the pack.

Palmowski’s charge continued as she pressured Joanne Ciconte, making a move stick over the Anderson Bridge. Ciconte however fought back, and Palmowski later went deep at Turn 1; the Briton had to use the escape road, losing places to Ciconte, Bruce, and Hausmann. Undeterred, Palmowski regained positions over the next few laps, climbing back to P12.

At the front, Weug set a new fastest lap in 2:04.797, but Pin immediately responded with a 2:04.478 to re-establish a one-second cushion. Light rain began to fall, raising the tension as teams readied wet tyres in anticipation of worsening conditions.

The battle for third intensified between Ella Lloyd and Chloe Chambers, with the Red Bull Ford driver applying relentless pressure. Their duel allowed the leading pair to extend their advantage to over five seconds. Palmowski, meanwhile, cleared Ciconte once more and, after a lengthy scrap with Chloe Chong, broke into the top ten — leaving Chong defending from Ciconte and Hausmann.

By lap 9, however, rain began to fall more heavily in certain sectors. Palmowski was the first to gamble, pitting for wets, followed by Lia Block. Despite the slippery surface, Chambers pushed hard and nearly passed Lloyd into Turn 5, though the Welsh driver held firm.

Moments later, Nicole Havrda went off and hit the wall, bringing out the safety car — just as several cars dived into the pits for wet tyres, anticipating the neutralization.

Pin and Weug, on the other hand, anticipated the race might finish under caution and opted to stay out on slicks to retain track position.

After the pit stops, Lloyd ran third ahead of Emma Felbermayr, with Alba Larsen, Nina Gademan, and Chloe Chong next in line — all on slicks. The biggest loser was Chambers, whose stop dropped her to P11, the first runner on wet tyres.

In a dramatic twist, the race resumed for one final lap. Pin got a clean restart and led into Turn 1, as the cars on slicks held on bravely. With a decisive move into Turn 5, though, Maya Weug dived down the inside of Pin and made it stick, snatching a last-lap victory over her championship rival.

Behind them, Ella Lloyd completed the podium, while Emma Felbermayr narrowly held off Alba Larsen for fourth. Nina Gademan and Chloe Chong finished sixth and seventh respectively, the latter delivering one of her strongest drives of the season.

Joanne Ciconte scored her best-ever F1 Academy result in eighth, followed by Rafaela Ferreira, who overcame a weekend of technical setbacks to claim P9 and her fifth points finish of the season. Courtney Crone rounded out the top ten, scoring her first points of the year after holding off Chloe Chambers, who couldn’t make up enough ground on wets during the final lap.

The tyre gamble didn’t pay off and Aurelia Nobels finished P12 ahead of Megan Bruce, Tina Hausmann, and Alisha Palmowski in P15. Lisa Billard missed out on points in P16, ahead of Lia Block, who had all pitted for wets.

With her last-lap pass, Maya Weug took her third win of the season and dramatically closed the points gap — now just nine points behind Doriane Pin. Chloe Chambers’ non-scoring result dropped her behind Ella Lloyd in the standings and officially out of title contention.

The championship will now be decided in a two-driver showdown at Las Vegas on 21–22 November, where the third F1 Academy title will be decided — and either Doriane Pin or Maya Weug will join Marta García and Abbi Pulling in the history books.