Fourth place reward for Jess Edgar on opening F1 Academy weekend

Cumbrian based racer Jess Edgar claimed a well-earned fourth place finish on the opening weekend of the F1 Academy season, taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

After securing her maiden series victory in Austin last year, the teenager returned with Rodin Motorsport for the new campaign, which will race solely alongside the Formula 1 World Championship in 2024.

Battling for pace through practice and qualifying, the 18-year-old was a little disappointed to line up 10th and ninth for the two races on the streets alongside the Jeddah coastline.

In the opening contest Jess ran well, looking to find a way past those ahead. After six of the planned 12 laps, as Lia Block and Tina Hausmann held each other up, the teenager saw the opportunity to gain two places, getting a good drive out of the final corner and pulling alongside down the pit straight to pass both.

Sadly, Hausmann then made contact with Jess’ rear wheel, causing a puncture which was compounded by the fact that she then had to complete a full lap before being able to pit. By that point, a lap down, there was little she could do make up ground, finishing 15th.

Jess had a good start to race two, coming out of the first chicane in seventh position. Sitting right behind Lola Lovinfosse and Chloe Chambers, she swept past both as they tangled into turn one to gain fifth, and almost pulled moves on Nerea Martí on two occasions, before settling for that spot at the flag. However, with post-race penalties applied, Jess would be moved up to fourth in the rankings.

She will return to F1 Academy action over the weekend of May 3rd-5th, as the series heads to Miami International Autodrome, racing around the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida.

Championship: 7 (12 points)

Jess Commented: “It was great to start the F1 Academy season with Rodin Motorsport. Jeddah was a tough weekend as we weren’t quite on the pace, so finished qualifying with P10 and P9, which meant it was going to be tough to get a result.”

“In race one I had a puncture after contact from another driver, so ended up finishing a lap down. In race two I think I made the most of the opportunities I had and was really happy to finish P4, as I’m not sure we could have done much more with the pace we had. Looking ahead to Miami, we will work hard over the next eight weeks to see where we can find a bit more pace, so hopefully we will be fighting at the front.”