Abbi Pulling has put the world of motorsport on notice in 2024. The 21-year-old made history by becoming the first woman to win in British F4 and leads the F1 Academy Championship after two rounds.
It’s been an action-packed start to the season for Pulling, who has thrown down the challenge to her competitors with four wins across the F1 Academy and British F4.
Pulling’s red-hot form to start the season kicked off in Jeddah in March. Two years on from becoming the first women to drive an F1 car in the country, Pulling secured her maiden F1 Academy win in Saudi Arabia.
Pulling performed strongly throughout the F1 Academy weekend in Saudi Arabia and crossed the line in P2 in both Race 1 and 2.
However, when original Race 2 winner Doriane Pin was disqualified for failing to slow down after the chequered flag, Pulling was promoted to the top step of the podium to take her maiden F1 Academy win.
“The Jeddah race weekend was incredible, I was consistent throughout and ended up P2 and P1,” Pulling says. “Obviously that’s not how I want to be winning races, but you have to take the points when you can.
“It’s a long old championship, and it’s a very close competition at the front. So you definitely have to take it where you can.”
It was a poignant moment in Pulling’s young career, who waited over three years to gain her first senior win.
She wouldn’t have to wait long for her second.
Pulling backed up her first win with two victories in Miami, where she crushed her opponents throughout a dominant weekend. The 21-year-old has thrown down her title challenge, and it’s now up to the rest of the field to respond to her impressive form.
Leading the championship is a new challenge for Pulling, who has gone from the hunter to the hunted.
“I’ve tried not to think too much about leading the Championship. I’ve been preoccupied and distracted with other things, which I think is a good thing,” she says. “I think if you’re sitting at home constantly thinking about it, it can hinder you more than it can help you.
“Obviously it’s amazing to be leading, but I’m not going to get complacent. I’m going to keep working and make sure that I stay there.
“The mindset for the rest of the season is to go into every weekend with a fresh slate. I’m not going to panic just because I’m the Championship leader! I’m going to do the best job that I can, and score as many points as possible, that’s the goal.”
Pulling’ credits her form to working with the Alpine Academy over the last two seasons.
“Its amazing working with Alpine,” she says. “I’ve worked with them for a couple of years now so I know the boys and girls there pretty well. Its like a second family helping me technically and physically both on and off the track.”
Pulling’s form has made people take notice, and the British star’s fan base has grown rapidly since the start of the season. Whilst still just 21 years of age, Pulling now finds herself in a position where people consider her to be a role model.
“I can’t believe it to be honest,” she says. “If 8-year-old me was told that lots of girls would look up to me, I wouldn’t have believed it.
“It’s amazing, when I was younger, motorsport was still very male dominated. My racing hero was Valentino Rossi, it was a man! There weren’t too many females in the limelight to look up to.”
Pulling believes the F1 Academy will help to reduce the gender gap in motorsport.
“To have the F1 Academy now is huge. There’s 15 of us for young girls to look up to, and so many more in other categories,” says Pulling. “There’s so many more female mechanics and engineers now too, which shows motorsport is about more than just the drivers.”
The next race of the F1 Academy season will see Pulling head to Barcelona from the 21st-23rd of June. It will be the third of an eight round Championship campaign that Pulling hopes will end with glory in Abu Dhabi, in December.
