Following a strong showing in Canada, Aston Martin Aramco F1 ACADEMY driver Mathilda Paatz leaves Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with her maiden victory in the series and 35 championship points.
The latest round of F1 ACADEMY will live long in the memory of Mathilda Paatz, as she claimed victory in the Reverse Grid Race and picked up three top-five finishes over the course of the weekend in Montréal.
Across all three races, Mathilda demonstrated composure and confidence as she highlighted her speed behind the wheel.
After qualifying P5, Mathilda converted her pace into a third-place finish in the Opening Race before taking an impressive maiden F1 ACADEMY victory in the Reverse Grid Race – also Aston Martin Aramco's first win in the series.
She produced a determined drive from the outset, making an excellent launch off the line to immediately climb into P3. Showing strong pace throughout the race, she quickly established herself in the fight for the podium positions before the first Safety Car period neutralised the field.
When racing resumed, Mathilda continued to apply pressure to the cars ahead and executed a decisive move for P2 on Lap 12 shortly before a second Safety Car was deployed. Remaining calm at the restart, she held position and stayed firmly in contention for victory.
On the final lap of the race, a five-second penalty was applied to car No.18 driven by Rafaela Ferreira for a jump start, promoting Mathilda into P1 and sealing the win.
Finally, a wet-weather Feature Race on Sunday offered further challenges, but Mathilda delivered another measured drive to secure P5 and cap off an impressive weekend in Montréal.
Read on for what Mathilda had to say after a memorable few days...
I can't believe I'm going home with two trophies and my first win.
On securing her first F1 ACADEMY victory
"I'm pretty speechless!
"Having the first podium in the morning and now getting the win in the Reverse Grid Race, I think it can't get better and I'm so happy for everyone.
"I had an awesome start to the Reverse Grid Race, exactly the kind you want. Then the job was just to stay calm and ensure my overtakes were clean.
"It's been a better day than I could ever have imagined. I can't believe I'm going home with two trophies and my first win."
On the overtake for P2 and sealing victory
"I tried the overtake on the lap before and didn't really get the exit I needed, but on the next one, I prepped it really well. I had great slipstream and the confidence was there to just dive in. I knew it was now or never, and I knew we had the pace, so I made it stick.
"The Safety Car was a challenge to keep the tyres warm and ready, but I had a good restart.
"I was really pushing to get first place after that. I thought we had the pace, and I was actually thinking about doing a move. But after hearing that Rafaela Ferreira had a penalty, I backed off for the last chicane.
"I kept it cool and thanks to the penalty, we won."
I had to hold back some tears in the car.
On bouncing back after Shanghai
"After a tough week in Shanghai, this is exactly the kind of comeback I was hoping for.
"I can't believe it. I had zero points in Shanghai. To come here and get the first podium for Aston Martin Aramco and now my first win as well on the same day, it's quite overwhelming. I had to hold back some tears in the car.
"I worked really hard for this. It's great that it's paid off and we're getting results. We clearly showed we had the pace to be on top and at the front. We gained lots of points and we're definitely one to watch out for now.
"I can't thank Aston Martin Aramco and PREMA enough. The support has been amazing and I wouldn't be here without it."
Keeping an eye on proceedings in Montréal before achieving her own podium with P2 in Race One of the British GT4 round at Oulton Park, driving an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, was Jessica Hawkins, Head of F1 ACADEMY, Aston Martin Aramco. Discussing Mathilda's performance, Jessica said:
"I'm thrilled for Mathilda. Her achievements are so well deserved. She drove with real maturity and consistency throughout the weekend, and it's fantastic to see all her hard work and dedication paying off with her first podium, quickly followed by her maiden win in the series. It was a very solid performance across all three races, capped off by a strong P5 in tricky wet conditions.
"Overall, she emerged as the second-highest points scorer of the weekend, which is exactly the result she needed after a disappointing weekend in China, where a gearbox failure severely impacted her pace in Qualifying. She's bounced back brilliantly.
"There's still plenty of work to do and as racing drivers, we're constantly pushing for improvement. It's a long season ahead, and nothing will come easy, so the hard work continues. I'm very proud of all she's achieved so far, and I can't wait to see how she continues to develop and progress through the rest of the F1 ACADEMY season."
And Nuno Pinto, Director of Racing, Aston Martin Aramco Driver Academy, added:
"Mathilda has done a brilliant job, delivering intelligent drives around a challenging track to secure two podiums – Aston Martin Aramco's first in the F1 ACADEMY series."
Leaving Montréal with a maiden win and two trophies, Mathilda now heads to the next round in Great Britain on 3-5 July as her rookie F1 ACADEMY campaign continues.
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