F1 Academy, Qatar & Abu Dhabi

F1 Academy, Qatar & Abu Dhabi

F1 Academy, Qatar & Abu Dhabi

Strong performances and championship points for Jess Edgar as F1 Academy campaign concludes.

Jess Edgar concluded her F1 Academy season in December, competing on consecutive weekends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with strong runs inside the top 10 at both venues.

After a break of over two months since her last outing at Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit, the 19-year-old undertook a productive test session to prepare for the final four races of 2024.

Driving her American Express-liveried car, Jess showed immediate pace at Qatar’s Lusail International Circuit, where she raced alongside the FIA Formula One World Championship. Just 0.3 seconds off the fastest time in Free Practice 1, she wasn’t quite able to replicate that form in qualifying, starting 10th for the opening race.

Jess gained a position with a strong start, and she executed a well-judged move to take eighth on the opening tour. On the final lap, she completed a skillful overtaking manoeuvre around the outside of turn one, finishing in seventh place and securing valuable championship points. Unfortunately, the second race on Sunday was cancelled due to barrier damage from another series’ event.

The cancelled race was added to the final weekend at Yas Marina Circuit, where Jess again displayed promising speed in practice but encountered challenges in qualifying, leaving her with ground to make up. The opening contest proved difficult, while in race two she skilfully avoided incidents ahead but suffered contact from another driver on the penultimate lap, resulting in damage and a forced retirement.

In the season’s final race, Jess made a strong start, moving into 10th place. She joined a fierce battle for the podium positions and gained places following contact among rivals ahead, but although she crossed the line in an impressive fifth place, a post-race penalty for gaining an advantage by exceeding track limits relegated her to 12th in the final standings.

Although the year didn’t unfold as Jess had hoped, it provided invaluable opportunities to expand her knowledge, refine her racecraft, and gain experience at circuits worldwide. This included her debut appearance in the F4 British Championship during the summer and joining the DS PENSKE Formula E Team for the first-ever all-women test session in November. She will now take some well-earned time off with her family before beginning preparations for 2025.

Championship: 13 (28 points)

Jess commented: “In Qatar, I had strong performances in FP1 and FP2, finishing just three tenths off the fastest time, which was a positive step forward. Qualifying was more challenging, unfortunately, as I couldn’t put a clean lap together, but in the race, I did everything I could, finishing P7 and scoring more championship points. It was disappointing that race two was cancelled, but I was pleased with how the weekend went overall.

“Abu Dhabi was a tougher weekend, as I struggled to find the pace from practice onwards, despite having a good test there a few weeks earlier. With the additional race, we needed to deliver three fast laps in qualifying, but I ended up P15, P15, and P12, which made the races difficult starting from the back. I lacked pace in race one, and in race two I was taken out, resulting in a DNF. However, race three went much better, and I finished P5 on track. Unfortunately, a penalty dropped me to P12 in the final classification.

“This year has been a challenging one, but I’ve learned so much, not only from competing in F1 Academy but also through my experience in British F4, which was a valuable opportunity. I’ll keep working hard over the winter, both in the gym and on the simulator, to ensure I’m as prepared as possible for any opportunities that come my way.”

Jess Edgar set for debut FIA Formula E World Championship test with DS PENSKE

Jess Edgar set for debut FIA Formula E World Championship test with DS PENSKE

Jess Edgar set for debut FIA Formula E World Championship test with DS PENSKE

Jess Edgar is set to make her debut in FIA Formula E World Championship machinery on November 7th, joining the DS PENSKE Formula E Team for the first-ever all-women test session.

A new initiative by Formula E, the first-of-its-kind test in the all-electric championship gives elite women racing drivers the chance to drive the GEN3 Evo race car, which is new for Season 11 (2024/25).

No stranger to international racing, Jess is currently competing in F1 Academy, where she claimed pole position, scored her maiden victory, and set the fastest lap at Circuit of the Americas during the US Grand Prix weekend in 2023, while she narrowly missed out on a podium in Saudi Arabia early this year.

The 19-year-old will tackle something very different to her usual machinery in the brand-new DS E-TENSE FE25, which is capable of 0-60 mph in just 1.82s, while for the first time, the GEN3 Evo introduces All-Wheel Drive, providing improved acceleration and control.

The test will take place at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste, near Valencia, Spain, a track that has hosted Formula E pre-season testing since 2017 and two ePrix in the 2021 season. While at the event, Jess will also participate in various media engagements, including press conferences, briefings, and interviews, aimed at raising her profile, along with that of the other drivers, within the wider sports industry.

The DS PENSKE Formula E Team will be on-site from Monday, November 4th, with Jess hitting the track during the exclusive afternoon session on Thursday, November 7th. The session will be open to the public, free of charge.

Jess Commented: “I am grateful for the fantastic opportunity from DS PENSKE Formula E Team to participate in the Valencia pre-season test in the exclusive session all-women session. It is super exciting to think that I will be able to drive a Formula E car and that it will be the DS E-TENSE FE25 GEN3 Evo makes it even more special. I will give it my all!”

F1 Academy, Singapore

F1 Academy, Singapore

F1 Academy, Singapore

Jess Edgar battles through frustrating F1 Academy weekend in Singapore.

Jess Edgar returned to F1 Academy action at the weekend (September 20-22), as she raced in the heat and humidity of Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Ultimately, it would be a frustrating visit to the country – located just north of the equator – for the 19-year-old, after a spin in the single 30-minute free practice session cost valuable time on track.

Under the lights during qualifying Jess improved throughout, finding time and moving up the order, but frustratingly ran out of time to climb further up the grid, finishing 13th quickest but a mere 0.038s from 11th.

Jess had a good start to the opening race in her American Express backed machine, but not feeling comfortable with the handling, wasn’t able to make forward progress, instead showing her skill to ensure she held onto 13th position, where she took the flag.

It was a similar story in race two where Jess started well but struggled with understeer, despite hard work by her Rodin Motorsport mechanics to improve the car. As the contest progressed under the heat of the afternoon sun, she fell back and crossed the line 15th.

Refusing to give up, Jess and Rodin Motorsport will work hard before back-to-back races to close the 2024 F1 Academy season, starting at Lusail in Qatar over the weekend of November 29 – December 1.

Championship: 10 (22 points)

Jess Commented: “It was a tough weekend and really frustrating. I pushed on my second lap in practice and spun, making contact with the barrier, which broke my rear wing and meant I could only complete one fast lap. That put me on the back foot for qualifying, where I was going faster and faster each lap, but I didn’t quite have enough time to show my true pace.”

“In the races I just couldn’t find a balance with the car that I felt comfortable with, and we thought there might be a mechanical reason for that, so the team worked super hard that night to fix. Unfortunately, I still had understeer in race two, so I fell back. We will be working hard over the next couple of weeks to find a solution for Qatar.”

F1 Academy, Zandvoort

F1 Academy, Zandvoort

F1 Academy, Zandvoort

Jess  shows promising promise in F1 Academy as weather plays its part.

Jess  showed good speed in F1 Academy at the weekend (August 23-25), as the series held its second and final race in Europe, at Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands.

The Cumbrian lined up once again in her American Express car, operated by Rodin Motorsport, for two races around the 2.646-mile (4.259-km) venue, which winds its way around the sand dunes to the north of the town.

In a blustery and later wet first practice session, Jess finished ninth quickest but only 0.6s from the fastest time, while in a dry FP2 she finished fourth, just 0.3s off. Unfortunately, in a fully wet qualifying she struggled with the car a little before a red flag and afterwards was unable to find a clear gap in traffic, finishing with an unrepresentative pair of lap times.

With the weather continuing to make things challenging on the North Sea coast, the first of the weekend’s races was postponed on Saturday afternoon, moving to early the following morning for a reduced 13 laps. Starting on the damper side of the grid, she fell back at the start and thereafter couldn’t find a clear route past the cars ahead, taking the flag in 12th.

After a quick turnaround, Jess was back out for race two, aiming to give it everything she had in the 17-lap contest. Frustratingly, she stalled at the start and while doing her best to recover, she caught a huge pack of cars stretching from fifth to 16th but would have to settle for where she was, finishing 16th.

With a shorter turnaround before the next round of the F1 Academy season, Jess will be working and training hard for the hot, humid, and physical challenge of the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, over the weekend of September 20-22.

Championship: 8 (22 points)

Jess Commented: “FP1 was the closest that I’ve been all year in Free Practice so, I think it was a step in the right direction and FP2 was a lot closer to where I feel like I should be. In qualifying I should have been a bit higher, but I gave it all I had. I was struggling a little bit with the car, and then after the Red Flag I was stuck in traffic, so it wasn’t how I’d have liked it to have gone.

“With a wet grid box in race one I had a bad start and dropped back, and I struggled to come back through. It’s quite a hard track to overtake on because there are quite a lot of fast corners. Race two I felt that I had nothing to lose and to do the best I could, and then I stalled at the start. I think there’s a lot to learn from the weekend and we will keep working hard up until Singapore and try to do a better job there.”

F1 Academy, Barcelona further points for Jess

F1 Academy, Barcelona further points for Jess

F1 Academy, Barcelona further points for Jess

Jess Edgar continued her run of point-scoring finishes to open the F1 Academy season as the youngster clinched an eighth-place finish at Barcelona this weekend (June 21-23).

After a six-week break in action after the previous races in Miami, the American Express-backed 19-year-old showed good speed in the single practice session, finishing sixth quickest, just 0.6s from the fastest time.

In qualifying, she again drove well, but was a little disappointed to finish ninth in both sessions as she struggled to switch on the tyres, finishing 0.7s and 0.8s from pole position.

Jess had a good start to race one, battling with Tina Hausmann for sixth place into the first series of corners but settled into seventh before the Safety Car was called. With the race resuming on lap seven of 16, she had a strong restart, getting ahead of Hausmann for sixth. From there she was driving comfortably in that spot, but was handed a five-second time penalty for a false start, dropping her to eighth in the final classification.

The Cumbrian racer had another good launch of the line for race two, but had to take evasive action into turn one, going up the escape road and losing momentum, settling into seventh. Unfortunately, Jess found the car handling tougher and slipped back a couple of places, running ninth until the final few laps, when the tyre degradation got too much and, unable to fend off the advances of her rivals, she crossed the line 15th.

Despite that setback, Jess leaves Spain buoyed by positive performance during practice and continuing to improve her driving in the car, working to refine the setup to her preference. She will return to F1 Academy action in August, after an eight-weak break, racing alongside the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Championship: 8 (22 points)

Jess Commented: “Free practice was good, and we finished closer than I have done in the previous races in Miami and Jeddah, so that was positive. In qualifying I didn’t quite manage to get the tyres in quickly enough, which left me with understeer and meant things didn’t go to plan, so I finished P9 for races one and two.”

“Race one was good, and I finished P6 on track, but that became P8 as I was penalised for a false start. In race two I struggled a lot with the car and dropped back unfortunately. I can take away positives that I have improved my driving a lot, for example trying to drive around things when it doesn’t feel quite right and making the car feel as good as it can be, which gives me optimism for Zandvoort in August.”