[AUTO] Every F1 Academy race will be free to watch in 2024

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Good News! Every single F1 Academy  qualifying session and race will be available to watch for free online in 2024, with the action also being shown in 160 countries.

It addresses one of the major criticisms of last year’s inaugural championship - which was won by Marta Garcia - where only the final three rounds at the Circuit of the Americas were broadcast to fans.

 

Anyone without access to their national carrier - Sky in the case of the UK - will instead be able to stream the championship via F1 Academy’s YouTube and X accounts.

 

The 2024 season will consist of 14 races over seven rounds, all of which form part of the F1 support bill in Saudi Arabia, Miami, Spain, Zandvoort, Singapore, Qatar and finally Abu Dhabi in December.

 

Just as in F1, the top 10 finishers score points on a sliding scale from 25 to 1, with a bonus point available for setting the fastest lap in each race. There are also two bonus points handed out to the pole-sitter in each race.

“Our mission at F1 Academy is to get more women participating in motorsport, both on and off the track,” said Susie Wolff, MBE and managing director of the series. “To do that we need to reach new audiences and prove to young girls there is a place for them in our sport.

“I want to extend a thank you to our broadcast partners for believing in our mission and for joining us on this journey to inspire a new generation of fans. You have to see it to believe it, now you can’t miss us.”

The first race takes place today - International Women’s Day, appropriately - with Mercedes-backed Doriane Pin qualifying on pole for both the curtain raiser and tomorrow’s second race in Jeddah.

All 10 F1 teams have nominated a driver for this year’s campaign, with Williams supporting Lia Block and Alpine throwing its weight behind W Series graduate Abbi Pulling. Five more independent drivers split across the Rodin, MP, Campos and ART teams complete a 15-strong  grid.

“The first live F1 Academy broadcast showed that there is a huge appetite amongst our fans to watch the fantastic wheel-to-wheel racing on display,” said Ian Holmes, director of media rights and content creation at Formula 1.

“With the support of our trusted broadcast partners, we look forward to creating a world-class viewing experience for fans at home and giving F1 Academy the platform it deserves to showcase incredible female talent and inspire fans.”

 

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