The storylines to watch out for in F1 ACADEMY’s Shanghai season opener

The stage is set for what should be a closely contested campaign, as the third F1 ACADEMY season is about to kick-off in style.

As the series’ pays its first visit to Shanghai, China and with lots to look forward to, here are a few of the biggest talking points ahead of the 2025 season opener.

Rookies versus returnees

Of the 17 full-time drivers, 10 of them are about to embark on their rookie seasons and they’ll all be eager to carve out a place for themselves towards the front of the field.

Four of last season’s Wild Card entries made a strong enough impression to earn seats this year, with Haas’ Courtney Crone, Alpine driver Nina Gademan, McLaren junior Ella Lloyd and Alisha Palmowski for Red Bull Racing all making the step up.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 07: Maya Weug of Netherlands and MP Motorsport (64), Ella Lloyd of Great — 10 of the 17 full-time F1 ACADEMY drivers in 2025 are rookies

Kick Sauber’s Emma Felbermayr is preparing for her first season of single-seaters with Rodin Motorsport alongside Lloyd and 2023 returnee Chloe Chong. Rookies Alba Larsen and Joanne Ciconte are getting behind the wheel for MP Motorsport, with Racing Bulls’ Rafaela Ferreira completing an all-Red Bull Academy Programme supported trio at Campos Racing.

As last season’s Vice Champion, Doriane Pin will be looking to stake her claim on the title with Mercedes, whilst Maya Weug dons the Ferrari race suits once again after her third-place finish in 2024.

This pair are hotly-tipped to be two of the leading protagonists, but with familiar names such as Chloe Chambers, Lia Block, Aurelia Nobels and Tina Hausmann also back for a second year, you can’t count out any of the returnees at this early stage.

How will newcomers Hitech fair?

Hitech TGR are a well-established name in junior categories, with wins and titles across several series. However, as the newest team on the F1 ACADEMY grid, they enter 2025 as underdogs.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 07: Aiva Anagnostiadis of Australia and Hitech TGR (11) poses for a photo — Aiva Anagnostiadis will be turning out for newcomers Hitech TGR

Fielding two rookies in the form of American Express driver Nicole Havrda and TAG Heuer’s Aiva Anagnostiadis, it’ll be a team effort to make up ground on their more experienced rivals.

In addition, the British squad are also running the Wild Card entry at every round. Becoming the first Chinese driver to race in F1 ACADEMY, Shi Wei will have the home crowds cheering her on this weekend.

Whilst Shanghai will be Hitech’s first opportunity to put their pre-season preparations into action, the sole Free Practice session means they’ll have to find the limit quickly and predict how the track will evolve without previous benchmarks of their own.

Reintroducing reverse grid races

It’s not only drivers making a comeback as reverse grid races return to the schedule, having been absent from the 2024 season. Recreating a dominant campaign like Abbi Pulling’s last year will be made that much harder as the round’s leading contenders will need to battle their way through the pack in Race 1, with the top eight qualifiers being reversed.

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 04: A general view of the grid preparations during race 1 during Round 2 Miami — Reverse grids are back for the 2025 F1 ACADEMY season

Although both races are of equal length at up to 30 minutes plus one lap each, the points allocation for both puts a bigger focus on rewarding outright performance in Race 2.

Only the top eight finishers in Race 1 will receive points, going from 10 for the winner down to one point for eighth. Race 2 is keeping the full Grand Prix points system, with points sliding down from 25 for first to a point for P10.

Can anybody end PREMA Racing’s Teams’ title dominance?

Reigning Champions PREMA Racing have sealed back-to-back Teams’ titles and won’t see any reason why they can’t go for a third. Despite being the series’ most successful outfit, PREMA were beaten to the Drivers’ crown by Abbi Pulling and Rodin Motorsport.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - MARCH 08: Doriane Pin of France and PREMA Racing (28) looks on in the garage — 2024 Vice Champion Doriane Pin will hope to go one better this term

Undoubtedly wanting to regain it, they are hoping that Pin, Hausmann and Gademan will be the trio to take them back to the top.

The Italian squad will have more than one team to watch out for as race winners Campos Racing will be hoping to go better than their third-place finish. Both MP Motorsport and ART Grand Prix are keen to bounce back after an underwhelming season, whilst Hitech TGR will want to make a fast start to their life in the series.

Round 1 of the 2025 F1 ACADEMY season kicks off on Friday, March 21 with Free Practice at 09:10 local time (GMT+8), followed by Qualifying that afternoon at 14:05. Saturday’s action sees the first reverse grid race of the year take place at 13:50, followed by Race 2 at 10:45 on Grand Prix Sunday.