Round five of the 2023 F1 Academy season unfolded in spectacular fashion, with the high-speed Monza Circuit and its notoriously challenging slipstream putting all fifteen drivers to the test. As three races produced three different winners, Marta García, Léna Bühler and Bianca Bustamante spoke to Feeder Series about how they fought their way to victory on this iconic track.

By Nida Anis

A thrilling race weekend in Monza saw García extend her lead in the drivers’ standings to thirty-six points over her nearest title rival, Hamda Al Qubaisi, with Sauber Academy driver Bühler just seven points further down the order. With two rounds remaining and nine drivers still in contention for the title, it’s all still to play for in the championship.

The first race saw García start from pole and maintain her lead by the thinnest of margins. In a photo-finish that saw the top six separated by 0.612 seconds, the Spanish driver edged past Bühler by just nine-thousandths of a second at the line. Bühler fought back from fifth place on the reverse grid to take the win in race two, whilst in race three, Bustamante overtook polesitter and Alpine Academy driver Abbi Pulling for the lead of the race.

Speaking to Feeder Series after the third race, García, Bühler, and Bustamante looked back on their race wins in what was an action-packed event. The three drivers also shared their thoughts on the championship landscape as the first-ever F1 Academy season enters its closing stages.

García: ‘I’m not 100% happy in terms of results’

Despite extending her lead in the championship standings, García did not have a perfect weekend. The Spanish driver finished sixth and fifth in the second and third races of the Monza round, with a spin in race three costing her valuable positions.

“The weekend was a bit of mixed feelings, I think. The first race was quite okay, I was starting P1 from pole. On the start, there was a bit of a crash. We had a red flag,” she said, referring to a collision further down the order which overturned the ART of Chloe Grant. Despite being released from the medical centre with no major injuries, Grant was forced to withdraw from the remainder of the event.

“So yeah, to be fair, this race was a bit hard and tough because Léna was pushing a lot from the back as well, and I was defending.”

García looked back on a ‘cool fight’ with Bühler for the lead in the first race.

“I think it was quite clean. We had five to six laps of racing because of the crash. It was much more defending for myself, and to keep a good and clean exit. On the last lap, she was really close because I had a really bad exit out of Ascari. I think we might have some of this in the next races.”

Admitting that she was ‘too cautious’ in race two ‘with the bigger picture in the championship’, García reflected on a difficult third race.

“Lap two I got hit, actually by Léna, and I was spun, so I lost a lot of positions. I managed to recover to P5, but I lost a lot of positions. I’m not 100% happy in terms of results.”

The Spanish driver looked ahead to the next round of the championship at Le Castellet.

“I feel okay, I’m not relaxed at all though. You have to still go for it. I have to keep working. I know Paul Ricard [the venue of the next round] quite well, but maybe there’s less difference between drivers because it’s shorter. 

“We were testing there and we have good speed. We always have to work and push. We had this lead before Zandvoort [the venue of the previous round], but then I had an issue with the car and I was five points from Hamda.”

Bühler: ‘I can still fight for the title’

Bühler was upbeat about the race weekend. “Overall, the weekend was not that bad. Race one and two was good. I took good points,” she told Feeder Series.

The Swiss driver reflected on her battle with García for the lead in the first race. “She had good speed. She didn’t have the tow so it was quite difficult to stay in front,” she added.

“I tried my best to overtake her but it was so difficult, at the last lap it was very close. It was a good fight between me and Marta.”

Having raced at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza previously in FRECA, Bühler expanded on the differences between the F1 Academy and Formula Regional cars.

“The Regional car was different because we had a lot of drivers, 36. I was more on the last part so you have to be careful where you brake. The F1 Academy has less drivers so it’s less difficult than the Regional car, it’s easier to brake. It’s changed a bit but not so much.”

The weekend’s third race went less smoothly for the Swiss driver, who fell back to tenth after starting from eighth on the grid. However, she remained positive about her title hopes.

“Overall, it was a good weekend, so I can still fight for the title.”

Bustamante: ‘The car was mega this weekend’

The Monza race weekend saw Bianca Bustamante take her second win of the season with Prema. Despite appearances, the Filipina driver’s journey to the top of the rostrum was far from straightforward.

“It was a tough race. I think qualifying for me was a bit of a tough one,” she said. “We did a bad job in Q1, but in Q2, we were able to put a good lap together. That helped me have a clean race, the way I did.

“My strategy for the first few laps, me, Hamda [Al Qubaisi], and [Pulling] pulled away after the first few laps. I timed everything perfectly for my second attempt, forced [Pulling] to have a very bad exit at the end of T2. From then on, it was more about managing the race. Managing the race from P1 was difficult because you don’t have the tow, so you were worried about the drivers this weekend.

“The car was mega this weekend. The team was amazing, they were pushing a lot. The engineers, the mechanics, the team manager were all doing an amazing job. 

“The team did a mega job with having a strong car – and quite literally a strong car to withstand the damage,” she added, referring to an incident later in the race where Al Qubaisi was forced to retire after making contact with the rear of Bustamante’s Prema.

Conquering the challenges of Monza

Both García and Bustamante were keen to emphasise the challenges of racing at Monza Circuit, with the Prema drivers explaining how the F1 Academy round has helped them improve their driving and racecraft.

“Monza’s a race where none of the other tracks will be like this,” García said. “We’ve seen some crazy races where everyone was towing, slipstreaming, overtaking like crazy – maybe too crazy!

“I think defending as well. I think all of us as well defended quite a lot in the race, that’s something important as a racing driver. This race was quite tricky, anyone could win. The one who goes first doesn’t have any help [in terms of the slipstream]. Very good track and good overtaking, I think we all improved and learned some stuff for sure.”

Bustamante drew attention to the hurdles that younger, less experienced drivers stepping up from karting faced when racing at Monza.

“This weekend we knew it would be quite a new experience for a lot of the girls,” the Filipina said. “Some of us are stepping up from karting so it would be a new experience at a track like Monza. 

“The biggest issue was a lack of experience, managing the tow and getting used to the braking points. It was quite unfortunate as a lot of the girls missed the braking points. I was saved by the halo [in the first race]. There was a lot of safety cars as well,” she added.

“Monza is a track where you have to race smart. If you miss the braking point at Monza, you can take out another car. It takes two to tango – you’re not driving for yourself, you’re driving for the people around you. From this weekend, we gained so much as a driver, and that’s what prepares you for the next step moving forward.

“Monza gave us a really good learning curve.”

The next round of F1 Academy will take place from 29–30 July at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France. With this being the last round before an almost three-month-long break in racing, you can expect plenty of action as the championship battle intensifies.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency