PREMA Racing set for pivotal 2024 F1 Academy season
The highly-anticipated 2024 F1 Academy season will be starting from Jeddah Corniche Circuit this weekend, as PREMA Racing hopes to defend its dominant 2023 form with an all-new lineup.
For the new season, the series will make a significant leap forward, with a world-class calendar supporting Formula 1 and the contenders representing F1 teams and partners. For the series, which started with the goal of developing promising woman racers, 2024 is set to be a memorable year in many aspects.
To stay competitive at the highest level, PREMA Racing has chosen a high-potential trio.
After making her debut with the team in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship, Frenchwoman Doriane Pin will make a remarkable switch to single-seaters. Coming from impressive performances in the preseason, with two F4 wins over the winter, she aims to maximize the outstanding opportunity provided by Academy as a Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Junior.
Tina Hausmann will be joining the grid with PREMA representing the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team. The Swiss racer comes from a double Formula 4 program that saw her deliver great promise in 2023 and is looking to maximize her learning curve as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, Maya Weug will bring her impressive experience to the table. Competing under the Dutch banner as a Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member, she has raced in Formula 4 and Formula Regional in the last few seasons. While that will definitely benefit the whole team, she hopes to use it to make a difference and succeed at the front.
For the Opening round of the year, PREMA Racing will field a fourth car for a local wild-card, Reema Juffali. Born in Jeddah, she will return to single-seaters after founding her own GT team and achieving remarkable success.
The extremely fast Jeddah Corniche Circuit will be a challenging location. Despite hosting preseason testing, its 6.174-kilometer layout requires perfection, and it will be tricky to adapt to it, especially with the new-for-2024 weekend format featuring a single, 40-minute Free Practice session leading into Qualifying and two races. The fastest lap of Qualifying will determine the starting position of Race 1, while the second-fastest one will set the grid for Race 2. Both races will be 30 minutes long.
RENÉ ROSIN - Team Principal
"We cannot wait to get this F1 Academy season started. The series is making major steps forward and providing amazing opportunities to the drivers. We have a top line-up, fully supported by F1 teams, and we are also looking forward to a world-level calendar that will be a challenge for everyone involved. We are lining up as the champions, but to do it all again won't be easy especially with the changes we are facing, and thus we have ramped up our preparations and commitment, and we look fowrard to seeing how the weekend will go."
Weekend Timetable*
Thursday, March 7th, 2024
14:05 - Free Practice
21:30 - Qualifying
Friday, March 8th, 2024
15:10 - Race 1
Saturday, March 9th, 2024
15:05 - Race 2
*All times local (GMT+3)