The Alpine Academy driver has marked her card as the ‘one to watch’ in winter testing, topping the timesheets at both Circuit Paul Ricard and Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona in pre-season.
New for 2023, F1 Academy is an all-female racing series backed by Formula 1 ®. Launched in November last year, it aims to develop female racing drivers and aid their progression into the higher categories on the ‘Road to F1’.
15 drivers will compete in identical Tatuus T-421 chassis across seven events, with 21 races in total across the season. The calendar features six high-profile European circuits, plus a high-profile support bill slot at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, this October.
Pulling, fresh from a starring role in W Series in which she finished fourth overall, just behind mentor and manager Alice Powell, will compete this year with Rodin Carlin, one of the most renowned outfits operating on the junior single-seater pyramid.
The Styrian mountains of Austria play host to the opening event, which takes place on the 2.68-mile Red Bull Ring. After two 40-minute practice sessions and an all-important qualifying session to set the grid, Pulling will have three races to navigate, the second of which features a reverse grid format.
Previewing the action, Abbi said:
“It’s always an exciting feeling, packing for the first race weekend of the year, and I’m excited to get to Austria – even more so because it’s the launch of a new championship in F1 Academy, which is really cool.
“I’m doing as much work as possible to familiarise myself with Red Bull Ring before the weekend. It’s not a circuit I’ve driven at before, but I’m confident in the prep that I’ve done, together with the team and Alpine, and we should arrive in a good place.
“In terms of expectations for the season ahead, we want to be running up at the front. Equally as important to me this year is that I’m doing everything on and off-track to get the most out of myself.
“I’ve been working with Gazing Performance Systems for the past year or two, and again this year, to make sure mentally and physically, I’m arriving at each weekend in the best condition possible to perform.
“It’s a long season, with a lot of races, a lot of seat time and consistency is going to be the key. If we can get that sorted, and be in the top three throughout, the rest should look after itself.”
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