1489 replies to this topic

[Autodromo]

I notice that WouterF1 never did answer my question if he/she had a vested interest in this series.

 

If F1 is promoting it, I just don't understand why they don't put it on their web site/app.  This was what I couldn't understand about the W series; why can't I watch it on the F1TV app?

[milestone 11]

Sterzo, on 30 Apr 2023 - 10:50, said:

The hilarious part is there is a video on Youtube called:

THE PROBLEM IS WE CAN'T WATCH! Opinions on the Lack of Exposure for the New Academy Series
https://www.youtube....h?v=s7Dan5u3mjg

The races were on Sky F1 yesterday.

[Jellyfishcake]

Second race must have been a complete non event, think they got 30 seconds of highlights out of it 

 

I imagine without and DSQ Pulling should be able to win many of the next races

[Frood]

Well, Carlin didn't get disqualified this time, but García has taken both pole positions for this weekend. For race 1, she had a good three tenths on team-mate Bustamante, who joins her on the front row, with Pulling 3rd. For race 3, her nearest challenger was Hamda Al Qubaisi, whom García pipped by just under a tenth of a second. Bühler and Pulling are on row 2.

 

Looks like the combination of García and Prema is quickly turning into the one to beat.

[Ali_G]

Jellyfishcake, on 05 May 2023 - 09:38, said:

Second race must have been a complete non event, think they got 30 seconds of highlights out of it

I imagine without and DSQ Pulling should be able to win many of the next races

That wasn’t the actual highlights package that Sky were promising? Good interviews and all but the highlights of both races were a disgrace.

[FLB]

Meanwhile, I have no idea what the French are doing, but there is another female driver who's coming up:

 

Caroline Candas takes triple-podium, leads FFSA TC standings (racers-behindthehelmet.com)

[Muppetmad]

 

Valencia highlights! Again, some really nice racing in here. I must admit, Pulling isn't doing as well as I'd have expected. Garcia is doing as well as would be expected, but Hamda Al Qubaisi is keeping her honest, even if the gap in the points standings doesn't suggest that.

[Beri]

Al Qubaisi does a lot better that I would have guessed. But in general the racing is not even to be called bad. Its quite entertaining and mature. (Way) Better than the occasional shitshow in a regional F4 championship.

[jonpollak]

 

Jp

[Muppetmad]

The issue I see as things stand is how the series will meet its medium-term commitment to getting somebody into F3 in two/three years. Garcia is possible with the right support, but she's sadly a bit too old to be likely to go further than F3; Al Qubaisi was a backmarker in Formula Regional last year, despite being in a Prema. Getting somebody into F3 who is then a perennial backmarker wouldn't be great publicity for the series.

 

Chloe Chong strikes me as potentially promising: she's shown bursts of pace, but also made a few mistakes too. She's only 16 though, so there's time for her to grow.

[William Hunt]

Documentary series coming on F1 Academy:
https://www.blackboo...hine-docuseries

[Muppetmad]

Lots to unpack in that article, and I must say, none of it good. First of all: it's "quite challenging" to deliver live race coverage? Looking at the article to which this links, this line is unconvincing. If various small series can offer a YouTube stream, F1 Academy surely can, if the will is there. Next, and more significantly, "F1 Academy is set to join the Formula One support grid from next season [... this] will greatly reduce the available track time to the drivers" - if this is the case, then the series is failing to learn from the mistakes of W Series. Track time has to be the main selling point of the series to the drivers. If you don't have that track time, you might as well not bother.

 

A documentary series is nice, but that's the sort of thing you sort out once you have the fundamentals of the series sorted. Unlike a lot of people, I think the series as it was conceived has legs and isn't mere window dressing, but if F1 doesn't take it more seriously, it will become mere window dressing very quickly.

 

On the broadcasting front, I'll put it plainly: F1 is letting the drivers down right now. Since this isn't an issue of broadcasting rights, there really isn't any good excuse for not broadcasting the races. This hurts the drivers on two fronts: it prevents them from getting their names out there, and it also limits the scope for sponsorship, since sponsors are far less likely to invest when the only exposure on offer is a highlights video.

Edited by Muppetmad, 15 May 2023 - 18:53.

[FLB]

Looks like there was some pretty decent racing (video highlight)?

 

F1 Academy sur Twitter : "A famous racing driver once said, "If you no longer go for a gap which exists..." #F1Academy https://t.co/cO49wAwi8H" / Twitter

[Muppetmad]

 

I feel like a broken record, but there's some really nice racing in here; I just wish we could see it live. Garcia will surely win the title, but she's not dominating either, which is good for the series.

[Stephane]

Muppetmad, on 15 May 2023 - 18:16, said:

Lots to unpack in that article, and I must say, none of it good. First of all: it's "quite challenging" to deliver live race coverage? Looking at the article to which this links, this line is unconvincing. If various small series can offer a YouTube stream, F1 Academy surely can, if the will is there. Next, and more significantly, "F1 Academy is set to join the Formula One support grid from next season [... this] will greatly reduce the available track time to the drivers" - if this is the case, then the series is failing to learn from the mistakes of W Series. Track time has to be the main selling point of the series to the drivers. If you don't have that track time, you might as well not bother.

 

A documentary series is nice, but that's the sort of thing you sort out once you have the fundamentals of the series sorted. Unlike a lot of people, I think the series as it was conceived has legs and isn't mere window dressing, but if F1 doesn't take it more seriously, it will become mere window dressing very quickly.

 

On the broadcasting front, I'll put it plainly: F1 is letting the drivers down right now. Since this isn't an issue of broadcasting rights, there really isn't any good excuse for not broadcasting the races. This hurts the drivers on two fronts: it prevents them from getting their names out there, and it also limits the scope for sponsorship, since sponsors are far less likely to invest when the only exposure on offer is a highlights video.

 

Well, apparently, the goal of everything now is to make some soort of doc series. Talk about forgetting the core business....

[Muppetmad]

 

We have highlights from Zandvoort!

 

Spoiler

Hamda Al Qubaisi was clearly on top this weekend. Her strong form, combined with Garcia's technical failure in race 1 (unforgivable in a series like this), means she's only five points back in the title standings now. She could pull this one off.

 

Abbi Pulling continues to have good race pace, but never seems to have the qualifying pace. In all honesty, that doesn't bode well for her going further up the ladder. I was hoping she'd show good form in F1 Academy and potentially find her way into F3 in a few years, but with the form she's showing here, that sadly doesn't look likely to be on the cards.

Edited by Muppetmad, 26 June 2023 - 19:23.

[LolaB0860]

There was a race meeting? In Zandvoort?

[Jellyfishcake]

Not that I've seen any of it, but looking at the results this season Abbi Pulling is a massive disapointment so far, no wins just 3 podiums in 12 races

[jonpollak]

I'm for Amna.

Not a good weekend

Hamda however made the best of it !

 

Jp

Edited by jonpollak, 26 June 2023 - 23:28.

[LolaB0860]

Jellyfishcake, on 26 Jun 2023 - 20:58, said:

Not that I've seen any of it, but looking at the results this season Abbi Pulling is a massive disapointment so far, no wins just 3 podiums in 12 races

She's pretty much done for single seaters...

I thought you were joking when you said there's been 12 races already, but apparently not

[Frood]

I've also been disappointed with Pulling, though I do have question marks over Carlin's performance, given that team-mate Megan Gilkes is a race-winner on merit at F4 level (GB4), yet she's now slower than Chloe Grant who was nowhere near her pace last year in GB4.

[Frood]

Would have been nice if we could have seen this in a live broadcast... the finish of Race 1 at Monza this morning:

 

 

Edited by Frood, 08 July 2023 - 14:00.

[balage06]

Excuse my ignorance, I haven't really followed the developments in F4 level, but which model is that? I haven't seen that rear wing shape on an F4 car yet.

[Frood]

balage06, on 08 Jul 2023 - 13:57, said:

Excuse my ignorance, I haven't really followed the developments in F4 level, but which model is that? I haven't seen that rear wing shape on an F4 car yet.

It's supposedly the standard Tatuus T421 chassis, but they have a different wing setup.

[PlatenGlass]

The thread title - why is it not like W Series? There's at least one similarity.

[PayasYouRace]

PlatenGlass, on 08 Jul 2023 - 14:24, said:

The thread title - why is it not like W Series? There's at least one similarity.

The first title was “F1 Academy” and nobody knew what it was.

Then it was “F1 Academy (It’s like W Series)” and the OP got very angry because it’s nothing like W Series, apparently.

 

So this is the compromise.

[Jellyfishcake]

PayasYouRace, on 08 Jul 2023 - 14:49, said:

The first title was “F1 Academy” and nobody knew what it was.

Then it was “F1 Academy (It’s like W Series)” and the OP got very angry because it’s nothing like W Series, apparently.

 

So this is the compromise.

 

Other than the races not being on TV/internet

 

It has to be said, the name of the series is dumb, it's completely misleading 

 

Once again, judging from the result Pulling not exactly showing the level expected. 

[PayasYouRace]

Jellyfishcake, on 08 Jul 2023 - 15:05, said:

Other than the races not being on TV/internet

 

It has to be said, the name of the series is dumb, it's completely misleading 

 

Once again, judging from the result Pulling not exactly showing the level expected. 

Just re-read Page 1. You’re not alone.

[PlatenGlass]

PayasYouRace, on 08 Jul 2023 - 14:49, said:

The first title was “F1 Academy” and nobody knew what it was.
Then it was “F1 Academy (It’s like W Series)” and the OP got very angry because it’s nothing like W Series, apparently.

So this is the compromise.

OK but maybe a better compromise would be "F1 Academy (an all-female racing series)" because it's clearer and without subjective judgement.

[jonpollak]

ALL 3 MONZA RACES

 

Championship Standings after Monza

Jp

[Muppetmad]

A dramatic set of races, with some nice action, but a lot of inexperience on show too. Chloe Grant's accident was a big one: glad she walked away from that relatively okay. Hamda had a 'mare; that's surely her title challenge over. This was a weekend where simply keeping it on the road was a guarantee of solid points.

[Muppetmad]

 

Spoiler

Some truly dreadful racing around a truly dreadful circuit. I'm mystified that Buhler kept second place in race two: she ran Amna Al Qubaisi off the road, running off the road herself in the process, yet somehow was allowed to keep the position she gained. Same for De Heus in race three, who in general seemed to spend more time off the track than on it. Do we really want to reward drivers in the junior formulae for such ridiculous moves?!

 

Pulling was on pole for races 1 and 3, but lost out at the start of both races. She's been the biggest surprise of the year for me, but unfortunately not for the right reasons.

 

Garcia surely has this wrapped up now.

[Disgrace]

I'd like to know what Bustamante was thinking at the 11:16 mark. 

[Muppetmad]

Bustamante's driving standards didn't look great in general: after the inevitable contact from sticking her nose in to make it three-wide at Signes, she decided to try the same thing later in the same race...

 

Unfortunately, circuits with miles of run off lead to bad racing and bad driving standards.

Edited by Muppetmad, 01 August 2023 - 19:37.

[Bloggsworth]

I know, it's not worth watching.

[Muppetmad]

Several of the highlights videos this season have been worth watching, I think. Unfortunately, Paul Ricard rarely offers good racing in any series.

[balage06]

What I strongly dislike about this compared to W-Series is the presence of the junior teams, which is somewhat uncharacteristic for an Academy. Without trying to offend anyone, I would assume that driving for Prema or ART automatically gives you a better shot at the title than a Carlin or Campos seat and the current standings confirm exactly that.

[Frood]

This is why I'm not completely surprised that Pulling isn't performing as well as I thought she would - Carlin is the only team that haven't won a race this season, and generally they've been a bit all over the place for the last couple of years. They're okay in F2, one of the worst teams in F3, and haven't been particularly strong in F4 lately either.

[Jellyfishcake]

Yeah, I've been negatively suprised by Pulling this year, expected more from her, but actually maybe she's getting a bad hand here, with fighting against Prema, and Prema Lite (MP) alongside ART too, 

 

She has 6 of Carlin's 8 podiums.

 

The racing standards at that Paul Ricard round looked horrendous, they should not have been racing there to be honest.

 

Also, considering Harry Benjamin was in Belgium covering the F1 for BBC, does anyone get the feeling he was literally commentating on the eact highlights package we just saw, rather than the race in full? 

Edited by Jellyfishcake, 01 August 2023 - 22:19.

[FLB]

TV news. The COTA races will be shown live. Finally!

 

F1 Academy finale to be broadcast live on TV | RacingNews365

[jonpollak]

Big weekend starts NAO !!

Jp

[jonpollak]

Good 1st Practice session



Jp

[Muppetmad]

"You have to see it to believe it", said Susie Wolff. That's why it has taken all season to broadcast the races live...?

 

With my grumblings about the way the series is being run out the way, hopefully it should be a good weekend. Garcia should walk away as the title winner, and if she gets a FRECA seat in a solid team next year, that'd be a good outcome all around I think.

[Jellyfishcake]

I completely forgot that the season hadn't finished.

[Calum]

I’ve totally missed/overlooked this series.

I’ve only just noticed this series with Mclaren signing Bustamente and saying the new role involves representing Mclaren in F1 Academy Series.

Assumed 2024 was going to be the first running of it. Whoever is in charge has been absolute rubbish at advertising 2023’s version!

[jonpollak]

Ooh look.. posts. !!!!!
Jp

[jonpollak]

Marti’s car is on the track after the p2 incident.
Jp

[Jellyfishcake]

It's actually live on TV in a shocking development

 

Also fair play to Megan Gilkes, been studying whilst driving and has got a job working for Aston Martin in F1 and not as a for show role.

[Calum]

The COTA quali for this is on Sky F1 just now. I’ve kept it on after F1 quali.

[jonpollak]

1st race qualifying
2nd race 1-8 reversed.


Jp

Edited by jonpollak, 20 October 2023 - 22:59.