It was a difficult weekend for F1 Academy driver Rafaela Ferreira at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Now the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver is already looking forward to the Miami Grand Prix in two weeks as a chance to put everything she learned at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit into action.
Ferreira qualified in P13 for the F1 Academy races at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and finished the first race in that same position. In the second race she climbed up to P8 and was running in the points, but contact with Emma Felbermayr on Lap 2 saw Ferreira hit with a ten-second penalty, which dropped her down to P13 in the final classification.
“It was a difficult weekend for us, I think I struggled with the track a little, but we were improving every time we went out,” said Ferreira in the team’s post-race report. “Qualifying is something I need to maximize a little better. Race 1, I struggled a little but Race 2 was better. We overtook four cars on the start and got up to P8. It was a good race to be honest, I was pushing as much as I could every single lap to open up a gap.
“I hit the car in front which gave me a 10-second penalty which was a shame as we were in the points and we needed them.”
Ferreira now wants to take the lessons she learned on the quick street circuit in Saudi Arabia and put them into action in Miami, another street circuit.
“I’m now looking forward to Miami and I’m excited about it. We want to start the weekend there as we ended it here. I think we take everything we learnt here and take it into Miami,” added Ferreira. “It’s another street circuit and I’m excited to go racing there.”
F1 Academy, along with the rest of the F1 grid, heads to Miami for the Miami Grand Prix next week. SB Nation will have coverage on the ground all week long, so check back early and often!
