"Two good races, and a good weekend" - Nina Gademan made an impressive F1 Academy debut at Zandvoort, becoming the first Wild Card to score points by finishing fourth in Race 1 and battling fiercely at the front in Race 2, in a head-turning performance that shows potential for a future in the series.
Nina Gademan made a memorable debut in the F1 Academy as a wild card entry at the challenging Zandvoort circuit. The 20-year-old Dutch driver impressed with her strong performance, finishing fourth in Race 1 and achieving another points-scoring result in Race 2. Gademan’s impressive showing marked her as the first F1 Academy wild card entry to finish in the top ten, a significant milestone in the series.
The British Formula 4 regular, in her first season of single seater racing, was announced as the third wild card entry for the F1 Academy season, following Reema Juffali at Jeddah and Courtney Crone at Miami. Wild Card - a new addition to this year's F1 Academy format - are aiming to highlight and promote talents from the region of the host event promoter - and the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort was the perfect opportunity for Gademan to showcase her progression in F4 in front of a bigger audience.
The 20-year-old represented new F1 Academy's partner The Female Quotient (The FQ), in an eye-catching gold liveried fourth Prema car.
Gademan, who has a background in karting, a few races in touring cars, and esports, is currently contesting her rookie season in British F4, where she has shown steady progress in her first full season of car racing, recently achieving a personal best of P11 at Knockhill as well as rookie podium at Thruxton.
The weekend kicked off with two practice sessions on Friday, where Gademan quickly showed she had the speed to contend for the top ten. Despite entering F1 Academy midway through the season and with no experience of the slightly-different F4 car used in the all-female championship, the Dutchwoman posted competitive lap times, finishing the first session in seventh place.
Her familiarity with the technical Zandvoort circuit - including the participation in last month's round of British F4 in similar weather conditions - allowed her to further close in on the front-runners: by the end of the first day, Gademan had laid the foundations for a strong qualifying performance.
Qualifying on Saturday morning was marked by tricky, wet conditions. Running as high as third during the 30-minute session, Gademan was eventually caught out by a red flag on her final flying lap - still managing to secure sixth place on the grid for both races.
"We started the weekend very well in free practice, which was a good start to the weekend", Nina explained. "After FP we looked into the data and I knew what I had to do differently for qualifying, which went very well even if our best lap was red-flagged. Still, we got a double P6, a positive starting point for the races."
Saturday's Race 1 was initially delayed due to a heavy rainstorm while cars were about to start their formation lap - then ultimately rescheduled to Sunday morning once conditions significantly worsened. Once the race got underway on Sunday morning, now in dry conditions, Gademan overtook Nobels on the first lap, moving up to fifth place, then soon caught the group of cars ahead, including Marti and Weug.
She maintained a strong pace throughout the race, closing the gap to the podium positions - and was ultimately up to fourth when Doriane Pin was handed a penalty for a jump start.
This result was enough to secure her place in the history books as the first wild card driver to score points in F1 Academy.
"In Race 1, I went up to P4 quite quickly and the gap between me and the car in front stayed around the same", Gademan commented, with a mix of satisfaction and hunger for more. "That means the pace was getting much better than in FP2."
Her performance was not only a proof of her speed, but also her ability to handle pressure in her biggest race to date.
Just over an hour later, Gademan was back on track for Race 2. This time, she faced even more intense battles, as she had pace to catch the podium-contenders but had to clear Aurelia Nobels - as well as defend from Hamda Al Qubaisi.
Nina spent most of the race trying to find a way past the PUMA-liveried ART Grand Prix car of the Brazilian, who was defending hard on course to her best result of the season.
A critical moment occurred at Turn 11 when Gademan attempted a decisive move on Nobels; the two cars made slight contact as Gademan got past, then pulled away.
However, the stewards deemed the move too aggressive, and Nina was handed a 10-second time penalty.
Gademan initially crossed the line in fourth place again, but the penalty dropped her to tenth in the final standings. Despite the setback, she again managed to score points and end the weekend on a high.
"In Race 2, I got another P4, but unfortunately, I also got a penalty for a move in T11", she recalled. "The tyres were gone after following closely for so much, but I managed to keep the position. Two good races, and a good weekend", was nevertheless her summary of her F1 Academy debut.
Nina Gademan’s weekend at Zandvoort was a significant step in her racing career, having clearly proven a point in her guest entry.
"I think we absolutely maximised this weekend, even when things didn’t go our way", she continued. "My main goal for this wild card race was to show everyone what I am capable of. Joining a championship mid-season for a wild card entry is never easy, but we have done an excellent job!"
With a total of 13 points, she now sits 12th in the F1 Academy standings, an impressive feat for a wild card entry.
Gademan will now return to her British F4 campaign, where she continues to hone her skills as she aims for a full-time seat in the 2025 F1 Academy. Her performance this weekend not only turned heads but also solidified her reputation as a driver to watch in the coming years.
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