At the Marina Bay circuit, Maya took her third win of the season, reducing the gap to championship leader Doriane Pin to just nine points. Aurelia Nobels also had a strong weekend, finishing in the points in the first race.

Mission accomplished for Maya Weug. In the penultimate round of the Formula 1 Academy season, the 21-year-old Dutch driver took her third win of the year, starting Race-2 from pole as well as coming home second in Race-1. Maya has now closed the gap to the leader Doriane Pin to just nine points, which means Weug has a real shot at the title going into the season finale in Las Vegas.

Fighting back after a slow getaway. Maya was slow off the line from pole position in today’s Race-2, losing the lead to Pin in the opening metres but tailing her rival throughout the race. When the rain came, Weug made the most of it, pulling off a brilliant overtake on the final lap to secure a win that could prove crucial for the championship and none other than Lewis Hamilton made a point of attending the podium ceremony. “I don’t really know what happened,” she explained after the race. “It felt like I had a good start, but I saw Doriane closing in and passing me just before the first corner. Then the rain came and I was a bit worried seeing those dark clouds approach before the start, but we never considered switching to wet tyres as there were only a few laps to go. I knew the restart after the last Safety Car would be key, so I focused on keeping the tyres up to temperature and it worked out.” Aurelia Nobels also had a strong start, gaining a position in the opening stages to move up to sixth. However, Aurelia opted to pit for new tyres, which dropped her out of the points.

Race-1. The first race of the weekend featured a reverse grid, with Maya starting from eighth and Nobels lining up on the front row alongside Lia Block. At the start, Aurelia held onto second place, while Maya made a lightning start, moving up to sixth at the first corner and fifth by the end of the opening lap after overtaking Doriane Pin, Ella Lloyd, and Lisa Billard. After a Safety Car period, Weug’s charge continued as she passed Emma Felbermayr, Chloe Chambers, and then Aurelia. In the closing laps, Maya closed right up on Lia Block but couldn’t find a way past. She finished second, while Nobels came home fourth, her best result of the season.

Standings. Maya’s strong weekend brings her points total to 142, continuing a positive streak that includes two wins in the main races in Zandvoort and Singapore, a second, and a third place from the last four races. “We’ve managed to put ourselves in a position to go to Las Vegas with everything to play for,” Weug concluded. “The goal is clear, we want to keep up the performance levels we’ve shown at Zandvoort and confirmed here in Singapore, and try to make up those final nine points that separate me from the title.” There will be 39 points up for grabs in Las Vegas.