Maya Weug finished as runner-up in this year’s F1 Academy championship and made it to the podium in Las Vegas after a charge up the order. Aurelia Nobels recorded her best result of the year, coming home third in Race 1.

Maya Weug arrived in Las Vegas determined to fight for the championship title and while that goal was not achieved, she ended a brilliant season with a ninth podium finish. It came with a third place in Race 2, after she demonstrated the sort of pace that has seen her as a front runner this year. Her championship hopes took a serious knock when she did not even take part in Race 1, when the start was given behind the Safety Car. “It was a difficult weekend,” commented Maya. “We were in the fight for the title right to the very last race, but it just didn’t happen in the end. I am happy with the way the last race went, which isn’t easy to say given how things turned out in the championship. But I pulled off some nice overtakes and I deserved the podium finish. In the early laps, I struggled a bit to get on the pace, but then things improved and I was back to the performance level I’ve had in this final part of the championship.”

Montreal misery. “Looking now at the season as a whole, it’s clear how significant was the loss of points in Canada because of a problem that was no fault of mine nor of the team,” added Weug. “Even after a difficult weekend in Las Vegas I finished the season just 14 points behind the winner. Obviously, over the course of the year, there were other incidents that didn’t work in my favour, as was the case this weekend in Race 1, but I think in the end, all this is just part of motorsport.” Weug finished second in the championship on 157 points.

Ending in style. In Las Vegas, Aurelia Nobels enjoyed her best result of the season when she finished on the podium in third place for the very first time in the F1 Academy. Race 1 was held in very difficult conditions but Aurelia confirmed the progress she has made, particularly in the final part of the year. Aurelia then went on to finish tenth in Race 2, bringing her points tally to 17 points, to put her 13th in the championship.

Race-1. The rain arrived two hours before the race and so the decision was taken to have a rolling start following two laps behind the Safety Car. Weug was running third and as the cars headed for turn 14, the field bunched up in a concertina effect and that led to a misunderstanding, as Weug accelerated and found Tina Hausmann slowing in front of her to avoid running into the back of pole sitter Nina Gademan. There followed the inevitable collision which broke the suspension on Maya’s car, and her race was over before it began. “I was sure Nina was launching for the start,” explained Weug. “I looked in my mirrors for an instant to check I wasn’t going to come under attack and all of sudden, I had driven into the back of Hausmann, who had braked when Gademan slowed.” Six of the 12 laps were run behind the Safety Car, the track offering little grip which led to several drivers making mistakes. In this situation, Nobels produced a solid and fast performance, going from 16th on the grid to third at the flag.

Race-2. The final race of the season in Las Vegas was run in the dry with a linear start. Weug maintained her fifth place and after a Safety Car between laps 3 and 5, the race resumed. At this point Weug passed Alba Larsen to go fourth. On lap 10, she made a move on Dorian Pin round the outside of Turn 1, before then having a battle with Alisha Palmowski for second place. It was close all the way to the finish, ending with Maya tacking the final chequered flag of the season in third place. In this race, Nobels again proved she has learned a lot, working her way up to tenth to claim the final point on offer.