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Rodin Motorsport enjoyed a stand-out weekend in Montréal, Canada, as round four of the F1 Academy got underway. Sauber-backed Emma Felbermayr took her maiden win during the second race of the weekend, while teammate and McLaren Development driver Ella Lloyd claimed an impressive trio of podium finishes around the challenging Montréal street circuit. Charlotte Tilbury racer Chloe Chong had a mixed weekend: after securing a brilliant reverse grid pole position, she was subsequently taken out during the opening race of the weekend. However, she fought back in race three to claim strongpoints with a fifth-place finish.
Race one on Saturday gave the drivers a chance to finally start the race originally scheduled in Miami, which had been cancelled last month due to heavy rain. Lloyd was quick to capitalise on the melee ahead and rapidly turned her seventh-place start into second position. Felbermayr followed suit and soon slotted in behind her Rodin Motorsport teammate.
However, drama struck in the closing laps when Rafaela Ferreira took to the escape road and rejoined the track at speed - hurtling into the side of the unsuspecting Chong and sending her into the wall. The collision caused damage to the car and ended her race early. With the race ending behind the safety car, Lloyd secured her first podium of the weekend in second, while Felbermayr crossed the line third but lost the position following a post-race scrutineering decision by the stewards.
With a point to prove in race two, Felbermayr quickly capitalised on a fast car and her growing confidence. Both she and Lloyd were racing at the sharp end of the grid, with the Austrian racer gaining the upper hand over her teammate as she carved her way through the field. Sitting in second, she began hunting down the race lead. Her opportunity came on lap 14when a safety car bunched up the field, allowing her to fully set her sights on Nina Gademan.
At the restart, Felbermayr stuck with the Alpine driver and pulled off arguably the move of the season to clinch the race lead—before Lloyd followed through to secure an incredible Rodin Motorsport one-two finish. However, the effects of Chong’s earlier incident were still evident, as she struggled with the feel of the car after the tight turnaround between races, finishing 16th.
One final race around the challenging circuit came o nSunday, which once again saw another brilliant performance from Welsh racer Lloyd, who took her third second-place finish of the weekend—completing a clean sweep of podium appearances and securing a fantastic haul of points for her championship campaign. Chong recovered well from her frustrating Saturday to take fifth place, while Felbermayr crossed the line in 10th.
