In Barcelona, Ferrari-supported F1 Academy driver Maya Weug spent both races at the back of the field, a long way from her back-to-back podiums to start the season. Ahead of F1 Academy’s fourth round in Zandvoort, the home hero spoke about what she’s doing to regain her form and why she joined the all-female series in the first place.

By Calla Kra-Caskey

Weug, who is currently seventh in the F1 Academy drivers’ standings, was a title contender heading into the season. For good reason: Weug’s single-seater résumé is perhaps the most impressive among her competitors.

After winning the inaugural Girls on Track – Rising Stars programme in January 2021, Weug became the first female member of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy. She competed in Italian F4, the most competitive national F4 series, in 2021 and 2022 and scored regular points in her second season with Iron Dames to finish 14th in the championship.

In 2023, she graduated to Formula Regional Europe, where she scored all 27 of backmarker team KIC Motorsport’s points. Weug finished 17th overall and third in the rookie standings. 

Instead of continuing in FR Europe for 2024, Weug moved to F1 Academy, an F4-level championship, with Prema Racing. But speaking at a pre-event roundtable on Thursday in Zandvoort, the Dutchwoman rejected the notion that going from Formula Regional to Formula 4 was a step down. 

“I don’t think it was a step back. In the end, F1 Academy is a series where the level is really high this season and probably people underestimate it,” she told Feeder Series. 

While Weug has driven only in F1 Academy in 2024, teammate Doriane Pin and championship leader Abbi Pulling have both taken race wins in mixed-gender Formula 4 series. In Pin’s FR Europe campaign with the Prema-run Iron Dames team, however, she has yet to score points, which could point to the difference in level. 

Weug also noted the off-track differences between F1 Academy and FR Europe. 

“In the end, I think [F1 Academy] is also a championship that gives you a lot of reach and for sponsors, and it’s always difficult to find the budget every season,” she said. “Having that reach and having that media attention helps us as drivers to be able to then proceed into other series.” 

Since joining the Formula 1 paddock this year for its second season, F1 Academy has skyrocketed in popularity. As in F2 and F3, every session is available on F1TV, and F1 Academy also streams races on X – formerly Twitter – and YouTube.

The series has 714,000 followers on Instagram, nearly 30 times the follower count of FR Europe. Weug herself has amassed 113,000 Instagram followers, an attractive figure to potential sponsors. 

In FR Europe, teams are allowed to run a fourth car if it is driven by a top-three finisher from the previous F1 Academy season. Last year’s top two finishers, Marta García and Léna Bühler, both graduated to the series.

Weug sits 30 points out from third overall. After starting the year with two podiums in Jeddah, Weug finished seventh and fifth in Miami and failed to score points in Barcelona.

In Zandvoort, Weug will attempt to find the pace she lacked in the past few rounds. 

“We did a lot of work on the simulator and with the team in the background,” she said. “We changed some stuff to be ready for this weekend, and overall, I’m confident that it will be much better. So I’m going to push a lot, especially being a home race. I really want to have a good one.” 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency