Prema vs Rodin Motorsport: Is Prema's throne in junior motorsport about to end?
Source: f1academy.com
With the third round of the F1 Academy fast approaching, championship battles are heating up with only two points now separating the top two teams in the standings: Prema Racing and Rodin Motorsport. Despite there being 10 races left to go, the incredible performances of Prema’s Doriane Pin and Rodin’s Abbi Pulling are keeping the two teams neck-and-neck.
Team History
Since Prema’s inception in 1983, the Italian team based in Veneto currently have 80 championships under their belt within the feeder series’ i.e. Formula 3, Formula 2, FRECA. Prema Racing are currently the reigning F1 Academy team champions as they led Marta Garcia to the title and narrowly scraped the title by just eight points MP Motorsport. The Italian team have had some of the most elite drivers under the Prema name with Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lance Stroll, and Pierre Gasly all winning championships under them.
Rodin Motorsport has considerably less success, with 30 championships under their many names. Rodin Motorsport initially was branded as Carlin Motorsport in 1996 after founder Trevor Carlin. The British-based team have led Lando Norris, George Russell, Carlos Sainz Jr, and Logan Sargent to success with Norris winning the FIA F3 European Championship. In 2024, the team was rebranded as Rodin Motorsport from Rodin Carlin after Rodin Car’s founder David Dicker took full ownership of the team.
2024 F1 Academy season
Prema Racing went into the season with their eyes set on retaining the title. With a line-up of F4 UAE winner Pin, Ferrari Driver Academy member Maya Weug, and Aston Martin’s TIna Hausmann. Rodin Motorsport’s consisted of British pair Pulling and Jessica Edgar, Lola Lovinfosse.
Saudi Arabia was the first round of the season with Pin and Weug qualifying in the top three for both races while Pulling split the pair in second. After a controversial penalty, Pin and Pulling left the weekend with one win each after Pulling inherited the win after a 30-second demotion to P9. Weug was promoted to P2.
The second round in Miami was a Pulling special, taking both poles and qualifying to cement herself as championship leader. Pin was able to finish P2 and P3 on the podium with Weug, Lovinfosse, and Edgar all scoring points. Hausmann retired from both races and currently only has six points to her name.
Despite Prema having five podiums under their belt compared to Rodin’s four, three of those podiums are race wins courtesy of Pulling while Prema only has one. Each win earns the team 25 points. |Both teams also have two poles and one fastest lap which equals 5 more points (2 for each pole, 1 for FL).
With only 10 races left to go, it will be interesting to see how their battle rages along. Although Pin and Weug have earned podiums, will it be enough to stop the formidable Pulling? Can Rodin really win the championship with one driver's success?
