Original subtitles

Qualifying for the final F1 Academy event of 2025 saw title contender Maya

and one -time race winner Ella Lloyd battling to establish their pace. But

times fastest qualifier Chloe Chambers was rapid immediately.

Everyone was trying to zap through the corners without clipping the barriers

hoping to get a toe down the straight.

Thankfully, there were no major incidents despite the occasional

ultimately, it was Chloe Chambers who snatched her fourth total position of

year.

The penultimate race of this season's F1 Academy is all set to take place at Las

Vegas in the United States. Welcome from me, Ben Edwards, as we prepare for the

13 -lap reverse grid race around the 3 .8 -mile, 6 .2 -kilometer road course.

And in the wet as well, we've been having rain falling.

and they are putting wets on, so it's going to make it even more challenging.

We've got the two title contenders, Dorian Pan and Mayerberg, lining up

and fourth on the reverse grid. There is plenty to look forward to here.

Whatever happens today, we'll not see the championship decided for the

It'll go down to the final race, but it could make a huge change going into that

last one.

Joining me is the highly accomplished single -seater racer, Alice Powell. And

Alice, you've been catching up with drivers and teams this weekend. How do

see it all turning out, especially now we've got a wet track where they've been

doing all their practice and qualifying and driving?

Yes, hello, Ben. It's quite crazy how the weather can change here in the

We had a Formula One free practice session just before this, and everyone

end of that session was on.

the slick tyres and now between that we had some rain come down.

And the circuit is now wet. However, a lot of the drivers did come to the grid

on slick tyres.

Pretty much all of them, bar my book, who opted... She was the first one to

and put on wet tyres, which I think is the correct decision. So she,

on the way to the grid, would have got a bit of heat into her wet tyres already.

Yeah, well, that's interesting.

And, of course, the battle between her and Dorian Pan is absolutely crucial to

what's going to happen. Let's have a look at the line -up then, starting at

back. Nicole Havrida from Canada and Wild Country this weekend. 16 -year -old

American Peyton Westcote competes in her first F1 Academy race.

Aurelia Nobles was 13th fastest but penalised three places for impeding Ella

Lloyd in qualifying.

Chloe Chong starts in 15th position.

American Courtney Crone is 14th after scoring her first point last time out.

Scottish -born Rachel Robertson is not a first -timer.

Starting in 12th place, Leah Block, winner last time out in Singapore.

We've got Joanne Chakonte on row 6. Then on row 5, Ella Lloyd from Wales.

They've had her lowest qualifying this year pretty much since the first event

anyway. And just missing out, Rafaela Ferreira from the top 8. Then the top 8

reverse. Chloe Chambers, fastest yesterday.

Alicia Palmowski, she starts 7th. She was 2nd quickest.

Alba Larson starting in 6th position there. Dorianne Pan starting 5th,

the championship by 9 points. Just ahead of her is her big rival, Maya Virg. She

starts in... In fourth position, Tina Hausman is starting in third and yet to

achieve a podium this year. Emma Felbermayer starts in second place. But

pole position is Nina Gaidman, the Dutch racer who won her first F1 Academy race

at a home event at Zandvoort. Well, that's a really interesting lineup.

you are looking at Nina Gaidman, who did take that victory at Zandvoort. Can she

do it again from pole position here? But of course, Alice, we will be keeping a

very close eye on what's going on for Dorian Pan. with the Mercedes backing

can see number 28 just a bit further down and of course the Ferrari back to

Mayerberg number 64 they're going to be fighting for the points and it'll settle

down in the championship for the second race tomorrow

Yeah, hello Kitty.

She's been around all weekend. She's got the great view next to Susie on the pit

wall. That's been a big part of Las Vegas, and apparently most of the

merchandise has been sold out, which is great to see.

Nicole Havarder starting from the pit lane.

Of course, we've just seen come up on the screen that the formation lap will

behind the safety car, but it's going to be the first time for all these drivers

to get a real feel, apart from Maivuk, who came round on the wet.

and I think that is the correct decision.

But it cannot be won, can it, Ben, in this race?

No, absolutely. The decision will be that the championship can't be sorted,

although the team's championship may well be sorted because Prema are looking

very, very strong at the moment and we will see if they're going to be able to

actually wrap it up.

But, yeah, what's also really interesting, the car's just heading away

formation line, but Emma Feldenmaier, obviously a problem there.

Oh, well, this is worrying for Emma. She should be starting from front. Yeah,

I'm not sure if she's obviously stalled unless it cut out before that.

So, yeah, that's hugely frustrating for her. She had strong reverse grid

showings throughout the season, in particular, of course, back in Montreal.

But that would be great for Nina Gaben to see because then she won't have Emma

charging her down. She's going to have her teammate instead.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yes, ironically, we've got the three Prema drivers for the Prema team.

One behind the other, behind the other, because Nina Gaidman starting from pole,

Gina Hausman is directly behind her starting third, then Dorian Pan is

behind her starting in fifth place. So the team, if they can work together at

all, I don't know whether that's going to work for them. We shall have to wait

and see. What do we think about this track layout? It's not looking super

is it? But obviously they are on wet tyres now.

They are.

The F1 drivers went out earlier on in pre -practice three, and the track

like it was dry, and you were thinking, they're still out on the intermediate.

And all the reports back were, it's so slippy, it's still so slippy to put on

the slick tyre.

So temperatures are really low here. Emma Felmwise made her way back into pit

lane.

So that's real disappointing. The Rona Motorsport team will try and get the car

fired up. She'll have to start from pit lane. So rolling start being confirmed.

But, yeah, it's tricky. Heavy braking zones, long straight, and we've seen

plenty of drivers overshoot in the dry conditions. That's going to be made even

harder in the wet conditions.

It is. Well, we shall see how this is all going to work. Nina Gaidman is

starting from this pole position on the reverse grid here in F1 Academy, and we

spoke to her just a little earlier.

I know once I'm leading the race, I'm pretty damn good. So hopefully tomorrow

can do that. And, you know, to think about it, if they have to pass me, they

have to run me off the track, otherwise they're not going to get past me.

So, yeah, let's see whether Nina's going to... She's led a couple of times. She

won that race in Zandvoort. She led the race in Shanghai earlier this year but

then had a problem with the car and the last two laps just dropped away.

But this is going to be very, very interesting to see how it goes. And, of

course, with a rolling start that has now definitely been confirmed, so they

aren't going to be stopping on the grid and then starting. They're going to be

doing a rolling start.

That will make actually overtaking more challenging, won't it, into Turn 1?

It will, and you're probably looking thinking, why are none of them weaving

to right? It is like ice out there. It's so slippy, and particularly you can see

riding on board with Nina Gaben now.

Some of the lines have been burnt out on track, the road markings, others

haven't, and it's just so treacherous. So they have to be ultra careful as

they're going to go round once again.

So they'll get obviously one more formation lap.

It's hard. The brakes, that's what you've got to use to try and generate

temperature, Ben, is really try and use the brakes. You don't want to overcook

them, of course, but that's the only way, really, you're going to get some

decent heat into your tyres.

Absolutely. So it's going to be a real challenge when this race does get

underway. But they've got another full lap to just get a feel for the track,

where the grip is, if there is any, and get a feel for where overtaking may be

able to take place.

So, as we know, Emma Felbermaier will not be starting up at the front.

but we will certainly be keeping an eye on everything that's going on.

Now, Chloe Chambers there, she is, of course, fastest.

Now, the Prema team, which you can see from TeamViewer in the pits right now,

they are certainly on target for taking the team title.

Alice, that would be a pretty amazing year. I mean, it is looking very likely

they're going to do it, but it's going to be three years in a row, isn't it,

F1 Academy with the Premier Team.

They've done very well in the team's championship.

Yeah, they have. They've been hugely strong across all three seasons. Marta

Garcia was their champion in 2023.

Can they get another driver's champion as well in Dorian Pan?

And they could get, well, they could potentially get a lockout. I don't want

jinx it for them, but we've got all three of their drivers starting up in

top four. So they'll be hoping that they're able to move forward. But

there.

she's not going to want to let that happen. She's going to desperately try

make her way forward.

I think particularly, you don't get the big point in this race.

The big points come tomorrow, so you get 10 points for a win in this race, eight

for second, and then one point all the way down to P8.

The big points come tomorrow in race two, so you don't... Personally, I

be doing anything too crazy in this race. She needs to...

Just keep Dorianne behind her. It's tomorrow that she needs to try and make

way forward, which is where you can get the big points.

Yeah, I totally agree with you on that.

You've got to survive it into the race tomorrow.

We're hearing it's a clutch issue for Emma Felbermaier, so that's really

disappointing. She obviously just tried to drop the clutch to get away on the

formation lap, but it has not worked, and that is desperately disappointing.

is a race winner this year. She won the reverse race in Montreal.

That's her only podium this year, and there was a chance. starting that far up

to get another podium today, perhaps in this reverse grid race, but we'll have

to wait and see how it goes. Maia Verg, she is now effectively third, having

been... Oh, no!

Maia Verg's made contact!

Oh, my goodness! This is critical!

It's the end of the race for her in the championship!

She now is not going to score any points today!

Oh, my goodness, Alice! The race hasn't even started!

That is disaster for Maia Verg.

I mean, they were obviously bunching up. It didn't look like Nina Gaiman had

gone, and that's a huge heartbreak, of course, for Tina Hausman as well. We're

going to have to, of course, get an on -board replay.

This was going to be straight into a safety car before the race has even

started. Oh, this is so sad to see. So let's ride on board with Maia Verg.

They're just picking up the throttle, getting things warmed up, and then bang!

Oh, my goodness.

And listen in.

Let's have a look from this top view, Alice. Is that what we see?

I mean, in all fairness, it did look like Nina was starting to go and then

stopped.

So potentially, well, that's obviously down to the stewards.

That's heartbreak. I was saying this is not where the big points, but you need

to still try and get some points.

So it's interesting to see what the tactics are going to be now from Prema,

because they've got Nina Gaidman, who of course is racing for herself. She's not

racing for the team. Alpine are paying for her to be there.

And then Dorian Pan is sat pretty in second place. We do have an MP car of

Larsson there in third place.

But that is, that's heartbreak for Maverick. She thought that, by the looks

it, that the train was going to go.

That really is sad for Mayerberg. I really feel for her. The Dutch driver,

points behind in the championship battle.

Susan Wolff keeping an eye on it.

Well, it is one of those things that can happen. We've all seen these things

happen in the past, mistakes made on a formation lap.

But it is desperately disappointing from the championship battle thing that

we're looking at because, as you say now, the championship leader, Dorian

is now second on the grid before anything has got going in this because

lost. Three cars, effectively, up at the top end. We lost Emma Felbermayer as

they first went away.

And now we've lost Tina Hausman and Maya Verg. Let's have another look at this,

Alice. Let's have a listen in.

I was going to say that maybe we got the earlier shot where she was putting her

foot down. From that, it doesn't look like she's gone.

Because she's still warming up her tyres.

I think Maya just thought it was going to go. Yeah.

Why? Why is she doing this?

Nina was stuck on goal all the time. You need to think about it as a team. What

the f***? Honestly, guys, no.

Well, from Tina Housman's point of view, she agrees from what we saw from that

aerial shot. It did look like Nina Gaiman was starting to go, and we've

that happen in Formula 1. It's a throwback to Piastri, wasn't it, back at

Silverstone, where he elected to go, and then...

decided not to and you can get a hefty penalty for for that so i hope the

tractor is going to uh move out the way which it should do as it's going to

retrieve uh myers car unless they don't realize that the train of cars is behind

them Yeah, they're slowing right down now, but hopefully it'll be okay. We

want any more damage between cars.

Yeah, that was really difficult. So this really does mean that in terms of the

championship, even if Maia Berg, well, obviously Maia Berg won't be taking part

in this, the gap between them means that Dorian Tang cannot actually secure the

title today. But if she's going to get a good result, which is very, very

likely, she's starting from second place.

It'll mean that going into that final race tomorrow, even as you say, with

points on offer, the chances are very much greater for Dorianne Pan here to

actually wrap up the title. I mean, she's been leading the championship for

long time now. It was Maya Verg who had technical problems in Canada earlier

this year, which really dropped her back down in the points.

But, yeah, this one is certainly a tough one for Mayerberg. And in terms of just

the battle, and they've got a good relationship, Alice.

We've seen them talking to each other several times, even after that last race

in Singapore. They talk to each other in a very composed way.

They get on well, but they've been racing hard. And I've been looking

the battle between them this weekend.

Yeah, we don't want it decided.

this way it can't be decided in this race but if the positions do stay as

are for example if Dorian Pan stays in second place her nine point advantage as

he had over Maya Berg would stretch to 17 points so that's then going into the

last race Maya would just have to move forward as best as she can in race two

and hope that Dorian does pretty much but still Still ten laps of the race

to go. Still a lot of things that can change.

But it makes her job a lot harder now.

Absolutely. I agree with that.

It's amazing that she's always scored points, hasn't she, in F1 Academy.

She's not had a non -finish. I mean, anything can happen in the last moment

going into tomorrow, of course. But she has been very consistent in just making

sure she gets to the end of the races. And I think if she can continue to do

that, then she's very much on target now for wrapping up the title this weekend.

But we're still in for an interesting reverse grid race. Don't forget that

Chambers. Number 14 was fastest in the qualifying. A reverse grid race that we

have in this form means that the top eight fastest are in reverse order. But

that means now that Chloe Chambers is fifth, because we've lost several cars

before this race has even got underway, good chance for Chloe Chambers to make

up some more places.

Alicia Palmoski will be starting fourth. Alba Larson starting in third place and

Dorian Pan starting in second. But Nina Gaidman has managed to stay up front

from that reverse grid so far.

And hopefully we will start seeing some racing shortly, Alice.

Yes, we hope so.

Great to see Marta Garcia, the first ever F1 Academy champion. She sat on the

pit wall with Prema. You see the MV Motorsport car of Maya Vergis being

out of the way so we definitely will have one more lap under safety car and

you would think i'm guessing tina houseman's is has been moved because she

quite close to an opening in the in the concrete barriers we could then get

racing underway the only driver really that can uh i'll say only driver this

the drivers can but certainly alba larson the mp motorsport driver was

quick yesterday um she gave my burger toe I wonder if she can help her out

by just getting in front of Dorian Pan and defending and having Dorian

under pressure. But as I said, they're all technically racing for themselves.

Yeah, well, we shall see how it all goes.

Yeah, it's been an interesting one. There is Dorianne Pant then, starting

second place now. And with the championship hopefully going to be

the course of this weekend for her, with a nine -point lead coming into this

race, as you say, that is very likely to go up a decent amount as long as she

gets a finish here.

We will wait and see. So Las Vegas.

Providing the first time that F1 Academy has raced at Las Vegas.

F1 Academy has raced in America a few times, and actually one of the season

finales was in America a couple of years ago. Also, Abby Pulling, another

champion, of course. Great to see her at Las Vegas. Keeping an eye on who's

going to be her replacement champion, Alice.

Yeah, she is.

Keeping the ears open for those on the road in motorsport.

Pit wall, which I'm assuming that's where she is at. But great to have both

champions here this weekend.

It's been busy for them doing plenty of social media on the fan stage as well.

And, yeah, Dorian Pan and Weider will be hoping to follow, at least one of them

will, in their footsteps.

That's right. Well, F1 Academy, it's the third year. It really has got bigger

and more popular throughout this, just coming towards the end of this third

year. Safety car is ending. So we are about to go racing in the reverse grid

race, the penultimate race of this 2025 season of F1 Academy.

We've had drama already before the race has even begun.

It's damp out there. They're on the wet tires.

You're sitting on board with Dorian Pan.

The safety car is ending, and it is all up to Nina Gaidman now to control the

pace up front ahead of Dorian Pan, who you're riding with now. And then Alba

Larsson in third place, number 12. You can just see her coming through. One of

the youngest competitors,

Ella Lloyd there. Keep an eye on Ella Lloyd. She didn't qualify particularly

well, but she has done well. Had a victory a number of times. podiums this

and she's scored well she's actually third in the championship at the moment

looks as though she's going to be the top rookie in the championship but she

will still be under threat for third place overall from Chloe Chambers who's

only a couple of points behind And we are now getting ready for the start.

Gaidman is controlling the pace.

Let's hope that this time everyone can just avoid each other before the race

gets underway.

They're weaving around.

Everybody looking for when is it going to go. You're on board with Alba Larsson

in third place at the moment. And Nina Gaidman's taking her time here, Alice.

Yeah, it's a long start. So they're on the strip now.

Las Vegas strip, turn 14.

will be quickly approaching them 1 .92 kilometers is this straight and weaving

left to right you can even see there's a few dry patches forming but don't be

fooled as i said because even with the f1 cars

They were really scrabbling for grip. We then are going to shoot out now of turn

16. Here we go, yeah. She's put the throttle down, but she got a kick of

oversteer, and it looks like Dorianne's got the better run.

Yeah, we are racing now at Las Vegas in F1 Academy, and immediately Nina Gaidman

is under pressure from championship leader Dorianne Pan, although Dorianne

just settles in behind. It might be worth her just trying to make that

bit of a break from the rest.

She's also got Abel Arsene behind, who's having a little look around. the

outside as they come through and that's a bit wide oh and you can see how

slippery through turns one and two and albert larson actually has managed to

alongside no not quite dorian pan there's still though virtually side by

there yeah she's done it albert larson's moved up in a second good move by her

Karting style. She went wide, got the cutback. That was a lovely move from

Larsson. But Dorian doesn't need to put up too much of a fight. But of course,

her championship rival is out. But Alba Larsson looks like she's got more grip

around those. But she's putting her car perfectly.

She's using a bit of the inside kerb there. She's clearly been exploring a

little bit more than the others on the laps around under the safety car.

Chloe Chambers ahead of Alicia Palmorski as well. Meanwhile, it's still Nina

Gaidman who is leading, but she's coming under pressure now from Alba Larsson.

Alba Larsson, 16 years old from Denmark. She has not had a podium yet so far

this year. Best finish fourth.

in china she did a great job in qualifying and now she's really putting

pressure on the race leader nina gaidman is gonna have to try and defend here

because alva larson has got a great move and she's got the grip but she's

straight through so alva larson takes the lead nina gaidman back down to

place and championship leader dorian pat holding on to third What a move for

Alba Larsson. Does she get it stopped?

She does.

So Nina Gaiman just hasn't been able to find the grip. Struggling in these

slippy conditions. Just doesn't seem to have the confidence of those around her.

And Alba Larsson, wow, she's almost checking out already. Now here, is she

to put up a big fight as Nina Gaiman? She's gone to the inside. But Dorian Pan

has got a better run out of turn 12. Down the strip straight now.

It's going to be who's going to be the bravest on the brakes.

Or is Dorian Pan already going to be ahead before the braking zone?

Yeah, good question. As they head down, watch out for Chloe Chambers behind as

well and Alicia Palmowski. But Dorian Pan, actually, that's quite a late break

from Nina Gaidman. So she has held on to it. As you said, it was going to come

down to the braking.

Nina Gaidman has held on to the same. But look how close this is. And Dorian

needs to be a little bit wary here because she doesn't want to make sure

gets a non -trimmage out of this. She's got to be a little cautious. But she has

still got stuck behind Nina Gaidman.

say alba larson is disappearing up front oh oh no larson's lost it oh as i spoke

alba larson has made her own mistake what a shame and that means nina gaben

still back to being the race leader doria pound of pressure from chloe

and alicia palmoski what a remarkable race day this is turning into what a

simple flat out corner it turns 17 in the dry but clearly not so much in the

and goes around uh alba larson and i think rafael Ferreira has dropped down

well, which is what was our yellow flag for in sector three. So back in the lead

goes Nina Gaben. Ella Lloyd, you can just see in the background there, she's

always handy in the wet. So maybe she will be thinking, I can win this race.

Let's have a look at this. As you say, she's going into a curve here, which is

normally easy flat out.

Let's have a look and see where it goes wrong.

So she has a lift.

oh she's got a wobble on the way in just was oh my goodness me lucky not to hit

anything oh she's so lucky she didn't hit anything and uh she's also so lucky

that no one else hits her so after all of those avoiding us selena gaben is

out front and we've got a breakaway train of the top five cars leah blocks

in in thick play she also enjoys these conditions and she's gained six places

already Wow. Well, look at this. Alicia Palmofsky having a little look down to

the inside of Chloe Chambers in the battle for third place. But Ella Lloyd,

much a part of it. Chloe Chong is into the pit. So she puts on or just trying

see there as she comes back out.

But Nina Gaetman is still.

leading this race as she started from pole position.

And having lost it at one stage, Dorianne Pan is still keeping on the

And Ella Lloyd in the background, number 20 there. The McLaren -backed British

racer up against another British racer, of course, Alicia Palmosky. They're

having a good fight right now for fourth position.

Now, this is an important battle as well. We've got to fight for the

championship on, but also Ella Lloyd is fighting Chloe Chambers for third in the

championship.

Chloe would have got two points for pole position yesterday, which would have

put her level on points with Ella Lloyd.

So Ella's got to try and get in front of Chloe Chamber if she can, which is, of

course, going to be easier said than done as they fly through the final

And it's a good run from Alicia Palmofsky. And I've just heard in my ear

well, Ben, that Chloe Chong has elected to go on slings. Yeah, so that's going

to be interesting to keep an eye on Chong's pace.

She's going to be able to make up any ground because being on slicks now, is

that actually going to be an advantage? Look at this fight that's going on in

this group up here. This is really interesting.

Nina Gaiman's doing a good job so far of holding on to that lead from Dorian

Pan, but behind for third, fourth, fifth, absolutely together between Chloe

Chambers, Alicia Palmowski, and Ella Lloyd. Ella Lloyd having a look down the

inside now. Oh, she's a break so late, though. I'm not sure she's going to make

the corner. No!

Oh, Ella Lloyd. it hits the barrier and it's amazing isn't it how how slippery

in certain areas because it didn't look as though she braked hugely late but

then it was all gone yeah and uh 10 second time penalty for chong for

collision one of that is with rafaela ferreira this is going to certainly

out the the safety car too keen got on that paint and there's the safety car

that's that's being called and i just wanted to point out uh leah block As the

fastest lap by over half a second, the second fastest driver was Ella Lloyd,

you can see now has made her way into the barriers.

She looked like a driver full of confidence. And here's a replay, and you

see that. She was already going straight ahead. She tried to save it, and once

you get onto that paint, it was never going to happen.

The best thing she would have done is elected to go down the escape road, but

all part of learning.

Yeah, I agree. Yes, going down the escape road would have been a sensible

This is another look from Alva Larsson. Something sounds when I hit the wall.

Ah. Ah.

That's interesting. She'd already tapped the wall then?

Yeah. Ah, okay.

So... Yeah, if you look at that right rear, I think she had actually damaged

that already. I hadn't realised that until now.

No. So... That's hugely frustrating for her because she looked the most

confident by far out there.

And she's a young driver.

She's got plenty to learn still, clearly, but...

got the talent that's for sure yeah and of course going into next year uh she

will be back i mean there are a lot of the rookies who are getting their first

season in f1 academy this year will be back again next year and of course

there's there's a group of drivers going into their very last f1 academy because

the rules always mean that you can only do two years in f1 academy after that

you must move on elsewhere mustn't you yes You must. So we've got around about

seven drivers that will be moving on.

Dorian Pan, Meyer Berg. If you're a champion, you have to move on anyway,

regardless if you've done one year or two years.

Tina Housman,

Aurelia Nobles, Leah Block, Chloe Chong will all be moving on.

So it's still been an exciting year next year with Alisa Palmofsky already

announced and signed up. Same with Ella Lloyd.

The two have been fighting with each other all the way throughout this year.

here's a replay of the start. And there was a bit of a wobble there, wasn't

there, on the paint from Dorian Pan through 17. And moves already happening

further back.

Nobles all over the back of Chloe Chong.

Ah, that's where Chloe... You see, that's why Chloe Chong presumably got

penalty. Courtney Crone was the one she tangled into, wasn't it?

Yeah, so I think Chloe was too busy looking in her mirrors, braked way too

and made an impact with Courtney Crone, as you said. And here was the bravery

and correct line to go on, at least for that point in the lap for Alba Larson.

It's just going to be a move.

Oh, and that's where the contact happened for Ferreira.

Giaconte just too late on the brakes, into the side.

That's where she ended up spinning round.

Okay. In fact, Leah Block's done a very good job because Leah Block running in

fifth place now.

And she started down in 12th position. So it's impressive how she has managed

move up as well. And Aurelia Nobles, to be fair, because Nobles had a three

-place penalty.

after qualifying because she had been seen to block Ella Lloyd.

And she started on the tenultimate row of the grid. And now Nobles is running

sixth position. So we've got an interesting mix. And also up there,

job, Rachel Robertson. We just saw her go through, number 56, who is driving

this weekend for the first time in F1 Academy, standing in for Eva

who had that injury.

And she's been replaced by a couple of other different... rookie drivers this

year, and it's Rachel Robertson, the 18 -year -old, born in Scotland, who has

made some useful ground, and in fact, at the moment, she's up into the points,

because you score points if you finish in the top eight in the reverse grid

race. She is running in eighth place right now. We've only had a effectively,

well, a wildcard entry. We've had one score point coming into this event, but

yeah, Robertson's done well, and Westcote, who is the wildcard entry,

running in tenth place.

So we're probably going to get one more lap under safety car. Ella Lloyd's car

should be moved by the time we come round.

Too late for the safety car lights to go off. Now they're going to come through

turn 17 to start another lap. But one thing to just note, we've got nine

and 20 seconds of the race remaining.

And we've completed seven laps out of 12.

So depending on the speed of this next safety car lap.

Potentially we might switch to a timed race because at the moment the fastest

lap of the race is a 2 .22 .1 from Lea Blanc. So we'll obviously

keep you up to speed if it does change to a timed race.

Yeah, that's a very good point. We shall have to wait and see. It has proved to

be a very challenging race. But the interesting thing is that Nina Gaetman

still up front. Well done to her for holding on to it so far. So she was

fastest in qualifying.

Reverse grid means she took that pole position.

She has won before this year. She's led several races. Can she get another

victory here today?

The Dutch racer, 22 -year -old, who is backed by Alpine.

and runs with the Prema team, which is looking to rough up the team

championship. Safety car coming in on this lap, so it is going to be up to

again to determine exactly how she does the restart.

It will, and you don't want to go too early because of the tow. I was chatting

to some of the teams earlier on in the paddock today, and some of them were

saying, oh, no, that's not a nice sight. It's poor Meyerberg.

head in hands, and it's quite chilly out there.

If someone could get her a coat, I'm sure she'll massively appreciate that.

they were saying that the tow is worth anywhere between eight tenths of a

to one second. That's dry conditions, of course.

Slightly different in the wet.

But still, that's a big chunk of time.

Interesting to see how Chloe Chong gets on. She is at the back of the group now,

but she is on slicks. The only one on...

Slicks, but she's not been able to catch it. Apparently she hasn't actually got

to the back of this group yet. She's still a long way behind them, so I'm not

sure we're going to see much progress.

No, she's doing two 35s, and all of the top

five are in at the 222s, so still got quite a chunk

of time to close down, so she won't be able to make it to the back of this lot.

The weaving continues down the Las Vegas strip. They've just gone past turn 13.

We'll see, Ben, when Nina Gaben puts the hammer down.

Yeah, absolutely.

Let's see how she does it again this time. She is going to try and pull away

from Dorian Pat.

Chloe Chambers in third place. Remember, she started from eighth originally

until we started losing some cars before the race even got underway because of

accidents that were taking place.

Green flag, safety car in. It's up to Nina now to determine when she's going

go for it again. She did it in a confident way last time.

Is she going to floor it coming out of this last section now? She's waiting,

waiting, waiting.

Now she goes.

And she got it straight, actually. There's always a risk that you're going

get a bit of a wheel spin pulling out somewhere like that. But actually, OK,

Dorianne Pant is with her. She's not lost. And behind, there'll be everybody

now. Jostling foot position trying to come through. I've just seen them go

my commentary box window. Chloe Chambers is under pressure from Alicia

Palmofsky. And further in the background, the two ALTs are fighting as

small lock -up from Dorian Pan. And also Nobles runs wide as well.

Nina Gaiman, though, perfect start.

Yeah, very good start again from Nina Gainbridge. She's doing a great job up

front. Dorian Pan in that second place. Chloe James ahead of Alicia Palmofsky.

But Aurelia Nobles. Now, Nobles went wide and then came back on.

Will she get a penalty there? She may have to let people through a little bit

there. And it looks like she might be doing that.

Alicia Palmowski, meanwhile, challenging Chloe Chambers for third place. Trying

to go around the outside.

Oh, very close to getting to the barrier there. But she held it extremely well.

But for the moment, Chloe Chambers still has the position. But now Alicia has an

inside line.

And Dorian Pan on the attack. Yes, Palmowski's got it to third.

Job done for Alicia. Lovely move there.

Nina's struggling, though. She's two,

three tenths slower than her teammate in that first sector. The driver that

looks like being most confident at the moment is Alicia Palmowski. But I have

say, Dorian Pan as well. She's searching for a way past. She doesn't have to

take a rift. She doesn't need to.

She ends up.

Staying in second place, which he said, around 17 points will be the gap. But

these are racing drivers, Ben. They want to win.

Yeah, absolutely. And sometimes when you get in front and you're not being

surrounded by other cars, you feel safer anyway because you've got a car behind

that might lock up and hit you. You've got a car in front that might make a

mistake. But Dorianne Pan is always, I find, very sensible in her approach,

trying to make sure she gets to the finish. But she's on the attack again.

Dorianne Pan is attacking for the lead. And I think she's got the real chance to

get it done this time. Nina Gaidman has been holding her off for many laps so

far. Rian Pan trying to squeeze her, trying to squeeze her. And she's done it

this time. She has taken the lead. Nina Gaben in second place. And look at that.

Battle for third. Chloe Chambers and Alicia Palmosky. Sidebar. Oh, no.

I could see that coming. Sadly, they were so side by side. I wondered how

that was going to last. And it's Chambers.

Hits the barrier.

Oh, and Leoblot's lost places too.

Leoblot was so unlucky. That's going to bring out the safety car once again. I

was literally just about to say they'll be pulling their hair out on the Campos

pit wall. As you would have thought, these two drivers would have been trying

make their way forward because they clearly did have the pace, but they were

scrapping amongst themselves.

And, yeah, our whole sitter for tomorrow's race is now in the barrier.

There will be some strong words, I can imagine, from Red Bull and from Campos

as one of their cards out, and Alicia potentially will have some damage. So

let's have a little look.

Yeah, it's probably, well, I'm not going to, I can't call it without saying the

onboard that I tell you this majorly benefits.

What a perfectly timed move for Dorian Pan there. She didn't know the safety

was coming out. She's got fastest lap as well at the moment. An extra point. An

extra point. So she's up for 11 points with Maia Ver scoring nothing at all. So

that will actually take it to 20 points advantage going into the final race.

So for Dorian Pan again, she's so...

sensible, cautious, she's not taken too many risks, but she's still taken the

lead. Gaeteman in second place, Pamoski in third, but that is going to be looked

into, of course, the incident with Chloe Chambers, as you say, her teammate for

the Campos team, but the incident between them. Now, Aurelia Nobels, who

wide, came back on, did allow...

a car or two through.

Kitty thoroughly enjoying F1 Academy here at Las Vegas.

Nobles, is it back in fourth place? Joachim Conte, she is currently in fifth

place. And that could be a good result. It could be her best result of the year,

in fact, for Joanne Ciquante. And also Rachel Robertson. Rachel Robertson doing

a great job. Her first ever F1 Academy race. She is in sixth place. Leah Block

in seventh. And final point could go to the wildcard driver as well, Peyton

Westcote. Another American.

She's only 16 years old. And she did a great job in the rookie test recently

F1 Academy. Could well be.

making herself shown to be a driver competing in next year's full series.

There's 1 minute 17 seconds left on the clock, Ben. So I'm not sure if this will

be the last lap or not, or if they're going to get one more.

Of course, that incident between Palmoski and Chambers will be

They will slow down to avoid the stricken car of Chambers being recovered

the marshals so i think you're right what a crazy race we did say didn't we

this could be uh quite eventful and it certainly has it's been very eventful

you're absolutely right but i it does feel as though i'm not sure they're

actually going to get to race again as you say because the time is ticking away

and they haven't picked up the the cars just yet um so we shall just have to See

how this goes. But for Dorian Pan, this is looking very, very good.

For Maya Verg, of course, bitter disappointment. She didn't even make the

of the race. Contact made when they were behind the safety car on the formation

lap before they actually got the race underway.

Maya Verg went out. We've lost several top drivers. Interestingly, the battle

for third in the championship between Chloe Chambers and Ella Lloyd. Well,

neither of them.

have ended up going to finish this race. Dorianne Pan just saying the rain has

increased.

It's gone to zero in terms of time, hasn't it, Alice?

It has, but, yeah, we've got no word that it's changing over to this

being the last lap, so we'll keep you up to date there.

And it's interesting to see how that recovery is going down because if they

don't switch it to...

this being the last lap, then potentially we might have one more

I would have thought that this will probably be it, seeing that the clock is

zero.

Well, let's see. It would be lovely if we could just get one more lap.

Hopefully. We are hoping.

Look at that. The rain falling, which is going to make the challenge even more,

but we are thinking we may get one more race lap, and that could change a lot

again, couldn't it?

It could. Dorianne will probably be thinking, please, no.

Please, no. Please slow down, recovery team.

She'll want to win this race under safety car because it runs a risk.

we get going again.

She will have the attack from her teammate behind.

And, of course, Lisa Palmowski was looking racy as well. That rain has

increased and falling even harder than it was before. So we're going down the

strip now.

We're through turn 13.

You can see Caesars Palace. Great view there from...

from the camera of the cars coming down the straight. So Chloe Chambers' car is

at the end of the strip at turn 16. So we'll see if her car has been removed.

We're getting no word if the safety car is coming in.

No, not yet.

We shall see. Remember, we've only got 13 drivers out of the 18 that started

this race still competing.

Chloe Chong is at the back of that group now, but remember, she's on slicks, and

now that there's more rain out there, it's going to be even more difficult for

her. Everyone else is still on the wet tyres that they chose at the start of

this race, but I've got to say, only 13 out of the 18. We've lost several of the

top drivers, most notably, of course, Maya Berg, the championship contender.

not scoring any points here today.

And basically going into the final race, if it's like this, going into the race

tomorrow, she would have to win the race with Pan basically

not scoring anything pretty much because she's going to have a very comfortable

lead going into that last race. And that's going to be interesting to see.

let's just see if they come over the line.

Lap 12, and we are still behind the safety car, so I can't see them going

racing.

So Duran will be pleased. This will be the final lap of the race, but just

back to what you mentioned there, Ben, with the championship. Oh, it's the

safety car ending.

It's the safety car ending.

Yeah, but they'll collect the chequered flag, won't they? So no more racing laps

for them. 25 points for a win.

in race two tomorrow. You get one point for fastest lap.

So if Maya wins the race and gets a point for fastest lap, all Dorianne

do is try and finish in, well, the top, no lower than sixth place.

Right, so, I mean, Dorian's in a great position here and going on, it looks

she's going to be, well, she is going to be taking the win because they're not

going to be allowed to overtake on this last lap.

Even though the safety car will be ending at the end of it, they won't be

to. So she will be on target for her fourth win of the season.

They were tied up on three wins each, her and Maia Verde, coming into this.

event, but for Dorian Pan, things have certainly gone her way. They have not

gone the way of Maia Verg, and it is looking more and more as though Dorian

going to become the first French driver to become a champion in F1 Academy, but

it won't be definite until we get into the main race tomorrow.

So actually, I think it's no lower than fifth place because you get 10 points

for P5.

And the gap as it would stand at the top would be 20 points because Dorianne

will get maximum points in this race, which is 10. And of course, she's got

point for fastest lap as well.

But this is F1 Academy, Ben, and we can see from this race and previous races

throughout this season, anything can happen. We've had some great racing all

way through F1 Academy.

starting from the very start in 2023 through 2024 and here in their third

in 2025.

So there's still hope for Maia Verg yet.

She will, of course, I expect, keep believing, but her task will be very,

difficult. It will, yes, absolutely.

But she'll just give it her best shot and see what happens.

But Dorian Pan is totally in control as they will be coming up towards the

chequered flag. But we've still got the yellow flags here, of course, at the

moment.

Nina Gaidman, she's on for another good result, but she's not going to get her

second win of the year. But it's still going to be a podium finish for her,

which will be very, very good to have.

She is currently sixth in the championship, just ahead of Alba

course, Alba Larsson, unfortunately, although she led the race early on, she

not going to be actually scoring any points. She went out earlier on as well.

And as you can see there, as I was expecting, she's going to take it gentle

around turn 17. And she will collect the chequered flag. And that is a

great job done for Dorian Pan.

It is. Because you're not allowed to overtake until you go over the line.

And so they get to check the flag. And we have Dorian Pan taking her fourth win

of the 2025 season and putting herself now into a tremendous place. But Prema

Racing, the team that she drives for, have now won the team's championship.

I'm sure that's fully wrapped up because that has worked out extremely well for

the Prema team. Dorian Pan, the winner.

Nina Gaetman is also prema. So they've scored some very, very useful points.

19, sorry, 18 points there. It is 19 points, actually, because it was the

fastest lap as well for Dorian Pan.

And that means, surely, they are now the champions in the teams. That's three

years in a row they have won the team's championship. But for the driver's

championship, that will come down to the last race tomorrow with Dorian Pan, a

very comfortable advantage.

Checkered flag, Dory. Checkered flag.

Good job.

You played very smart.

Good job.

Oh, my God. Yes.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

She played it smart. And you know what? She's been misconsistent throughout this

entire season.

And consistently, you obviously need to be consistently there. And that wins

championships. And she's been consistently there. She's played smart,

of trouble.

which is a lot easier said than done in these tricky conditions. We saw from the

very start between Maya and Nina, and Tina, sorry, and another podium for

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, for the team...

It is for the Premier Team. They've had a very good result once again. And for

Nina Gaidman, I was impressed with how she held on for quite a while.

And she's got the podium. Let's just have another look at that incident

on. That was Maya Verg.

Just before the race started, she accelerated away as the car in front

slowed down a bit and she slapped into the back. There were other incidents as

well, Alice, weren't there, early on?

There was, and it's so slippy out there, but I can imagine that, well, Tina

and Nina, similar names, Tina was a bit upset with her teammate,

interested to see what Maia's thoughts will be, and this is Albalas, and she

tapped the wall, something on the rear of the car broke, and around she went,

hugely unlucky, because she'd already, as you saw there, pulled a nice lead,

Dorian Pan just...

missed her how close was that that could have been well disaster for her and

then here's this incident between the two drivers alicia did have some room on

the left hand side let's have a look chloe did squeeze her though in into

the wall on the left there so i don't think alicia was really left enough room

on the inside there Yeah, absolutely.

It is something that was being looked into, but we shall see if there are

to be any penalties. But as you say,

there wasn't a lot she could do. Let's listen to Nina Gaiden. Are we close to

winning the team championship now, or did we just miss out on it? We should

won it now, right? Yeah, we have won it. I confirm we've won it.

Yeah, let's go. Congrats, guys.

Yeah, congrats to both of you guys. Made it work.

It's nice to hear the team celebrating that they have won the championship, the

Prema team.

which has now won it three years in a row. Italian -founded team, the Premier

team, founded back in 1983 originally, but many, many titles in FIA Formula 3,

in FIA F2 as well, many Italian Formula 4 titles over the years. But in F1

Academy in these last few years, as you mentioned, they took that first title

with Marcel Garcia.

And although...

Abby won the driver's championship last year with Rodin. It was still Prema that

won the team's championship.

And this year, it looks, Alice, as though they're going to win both

because they've won the team's championship. And here, Dorian Pan,

Prema, is very much on target to take the title tomorrow.

I mean, that was almost like she couldn't believe it, could she, that

the race and her championship rival was out of the race.

So, yeah.

Big smiles all around for Prema, not just for winning the teams, but also for

winning the race. And can that race, is that going to be pivotal? I expect it

will be for the championship. And great to see Valtteri Bottas down there as

well.

Yeah, definitely.

Well, Nina Gaidman, a fantastic job by her. Alicia Palmowski getting that third

place podium finish.

And that will be her fifth podium of the season.

As long as there is no problem with that possible investigation. But as you

said, I'm not sure she could have really got out of the way. Aurelia Noble's

finishing in fourth place.

And she has, that's matched her.

best so far, pretty much. And well done to Rachel Robertson.

who has done her first F1 Academy race and has finished fifth on her debut. And

that's the best finish for the high -tech team since joining the Academy

this year. So well done to her. And also a quick mention to the wildcard entry,

Peyton Westcote, who also scored points, finishing in seventh place.

So really, really good. And so both of the drivers making their first ever

in F1 Academy have managed to score today.

They have done a great job by then because it's so tough, really, really

conditions that we saw and it's great to see all the drivers congratulating each

other. But Dorian Pan, she made the move at the right time, was able to

slipstream pass, and that's just being in the toe. That's the slingshot effect

of being in that toe, probably getting a better run out of turn 12 as well,

better traction from her.

And you can see how dirty the front of her Mercedes Trevor machine is.

It's dirty out there.

Hello, Kitty.

She was braving the rain, along with all the mechanics and staff down there to

wave the chequered flag.

Yeah, and Dorianne Pan, who, remember, the qualifying had not gone perfectly

her. She had out -qualified Maya Vergh just about. She started down in fifth

place for this race, and she's ended up taking the victory.

So, a fantastic performance, but obviously it was partly because others

problems, had errors, mistakes.

And, well, this is certainly proving to be a very entertaining weekend.

And we're going to have another race still to enjoy, aren't we?

We are.

Do it all over again for the final time this year. But I'm hugely looking

forward to that, Ben.

Yeah, yeah. No, it's going to be great. So let's celebrate the podium here for

this last reverse grid race of this 2025 season.

And Alicia Palmosky taking the podium spot.

in third place. And she will be starting on the front row tomorrow with Chloe

Chambers. So it's quite possible that Alicia Palmowski could be on for another

podium and more points tomorrow.

Second place for Nina Gaidman having started from pole position.

But the winner of the reverse grid race, the championship leader who is now

looking comfortably as though she's going to take that title tomorrow.

The winner here today, Dorianne Pan.

And Dorianne Pan looking confident, happy, controlled as she was throughout

event. She is in top form going into one more race this weekend. Well done

to Dorianne Pan to lead that championship by quite a big margin now

Berg. Ellen Lloyd is still third in the championship, but didn't finish this

race. Second place, of course, to Nina Gaidman, who did a great job. Alicia

Palmofsky finishing in third place.

And the final points, of course, will be decided tomorrow.

But it is lovely for these three to be able to celebrate their podium together

after a very, very challenging reverse grid race at Las Vegas.

Yeah, it was challenging. And the rain is still chucking it down out there as

champagne flies now for the drivers.

Great things. Great to see. And I feel sad that we've only got one more chance

to do it all again tomorrow. If you're here in Vegas and if you're in Europe,

it's today.

Yeah.

Oh, we've got some Lego flowers now arriving. All part and parcel of what's

going on here at Las Vegas this weekend.

Yeah. Lego confirmed to being on the grid with Esme Kosterman.

Looks like Nina Gamers maybe got some champagne in her eye, which is not

comfortable. But great to see Lego.

They unveiled their car here a couple of days ago, and so it looks fantastic.

And so do those Lego flowers. It'll take me weeks and weeks, I would say, to

attempt to build that.

Yeah, that would be a real challenge, wouldn't it? But, yeah, they're being

reasonably careful with them. That's good.

And hopefully they can look after them.

Well, well done to Dorianne Pan.

And well done to Prema Racing, the team that has run her throughout the year.

They have now taken the team's championship. But let's just confirm the

then from this reverse grid race. It is Dorianne Pan who has taken the victory.

Second place, her teammate Nina Gaidman, who started from that pole position but

managed to hold on to second. And Alicia Palmosky finishing in third.

Aurelia Nobles coming from near towards the back of the grid, finished in fourth

place. Rachel Roberts in her first ever F1 Academy race in fifth, ahead of Leah

Block. And Peyton Westcott, her first ever race as well in F1 Academy.

Courtney Crone got the final point in eighth, ahead of Rafaela Ferreira. And

Nicole Havrida finished in 10th place. She started right down at the back. In

fact, she started from the pit lane, but got into 10th place. Emma Felbermeyer

was 11th, Joanne Cicconte 12th. And Chloe Chong was the final finisher in

But look, we lost a number of drivers.

Chloe Chambers, Ella Lloyd, Alba Larson, Tina Hausman, and...

Most significantly, championship contender, Maia Verde.

So that was the first of the two races here at Las Vegas this weekend. And it

certainly going the way of Dorian Pan with 20 -point lead now over Maia Verde.

We've got one more race, the final race, to go in the championship. Hope you can

join us then.

Goodbye for now.