Former F1 Academy star faces uncertain future after racing plans 'fall apart'

Former Ferrari Academy driver and F1 Academy runner-up Maya Weug has lamented the "toughest year of my career" with racing opportunities falling through.

Weug was a front-runner in the F1 Academy, racing in Ferrari colours less than 12 months ago, but now the multi-national driver, who races under a Dutch licence, is struggling to find an opening. 

Sharing her troubles on social media, Weug conceded: "I don’t really know how to write this one. I’ve been trying to show you the positives all season, but the truth is this has been the toughest year of my career by far.

"One year ago I was fighting for a championship, taking wins and standing on the podium almost every weekend. I never thought that not even a year later I’d be in this position.

"There was a great plan going into this season. Shortly before it started it all fell apart, for reasons out of my control. By then it was very late to put something else together, and on my own it has been really difficult to get any racing at all.

"I was lucky to get three races in Belcar, and I’m really grateful to ART Racing for giving me that opportunity. We finished on the podium on my debut in a GT car. But the 24h of Zolder I had coming up isn’t happening anymore either. So right now, I have no races coming up."

Although no longer a Ferrari driver, Weug has spent time mentoring current Ferrari representative Alba Larsen, who currently sits ninth in the standings. 

Now in its fourth season, reigning champion Dorianne Pin has since become a Mercedes F1 development driver, a Hypercar development driver for Peugeot, and also holds the same position for Citroen in Formula E. She also competed in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours and races in other endurance categories. 

Season two winner Abbi Pulling is a rookie and simulator driver for Nissan in Formula E, and is in her second season in GB3, where she has taken one race win, and is seventh in the standings. 

"I’ve learned a huge amount and I’ve grown a lot as a person this year," added Weug. "But I don’t want to watch. I want to race. I want to be back on track at the highest level and show what I’m actually capable of. 

"That’s what I want to do for the rest of my life and I’m working every single day to get back in the car.

"Motorsport is a tough environment. I think I just expected that the results I put together over the past years would have counted for something. Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me through the tough times. The people close to me keep telling me that when one door closes another one opens, and I’m choosing to believe them."