© Oracle Red Bull RacingHamda races to the edge of the podium in QatarRed Bull’s Hamda Al-Qubaisi closed in on P5 in the Driver’s standings with a strong drive to fourth place in the Saturday night F1 Academy race in Qatar.
AnexcellentperformanceinqualifyingputtheEmiratidriverintofifthplaceonthegrid,andwhenthelightswentoutinthelate-nightrace,shegotawaywelltoimmediatelyputpressureonLiaBlock.TheWilliams-supporteddriverwasslowofftheline,andastheyarrowedtowardsTurn1,Hamdamadeherwaypastandforcefullyslammedthedoorshuttosealsixthplace.
With pace and grip in hand, she then started to press for a way past third-placed May Weug. But while the Ferrari academy driver initially looked vulnerable, she soon began to find grip on her warming tyres and she was able to slowly build a gap to the Red Bull driver.
With few further chances to overtake, Hamda settled into race management mode, and after 14 laps, crossed the line in a solid fourth place to take 12 points.
Elsewhere, Abbi Pulling finished second behind chief rival Doriane Pin to seal the 2024 F1 Academy title, while Red Bull Ford driver, Emely de Heus and VCARB’s Amna Al-Qubaisi finished 10th and 13th, respectively.
The valuable points earned in Race 1 put Hamda on 99 points in the Drivers’ standings, just four behind fifth-placed Chloe Chambers. And she might have gotten even closer in Race 2, as she was set to once again start from fifth on the grid, while Chambers was down in 16th.
However, the second race, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, had to be cancelled due to long barriers repairs from an earlier incident. The fight now moves to the final two-race round in Abu Dhabi next week.
