Leading the F1 Academy standings after the opening event. Setting fast times in British Formula 4 winter testing. There are clearly some encouraging early-season signs for Abbi Pulling this year.
But things have not always looked so strong for the Rodin racer. Just two-and-a-half years ago, she feared for her career after her British F4 budget ran out. And even last season she endured some wildly varying results.
But now, Pulling believes she has turned a corner. Putting the highly rated Mercedes-backed Doriane Pin under pressure in the Saudi Arabian F1 Academy opener was very promising. And things got even better when she inherited the race-two win thanks to Pin being penalised for not slowing down after failing to see the chequered flag. Pulling believes a fresh mindset is key to that improved performance.
“Me and Rodin Motorsport have put in a lot of work over the winter – I think they’ve done an incredible job and I’ve really enjoyed working with my engineer,” she explains. “It’s just been about going into the season feeling weightless.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself and I’ve tried to have a mentality of getting the monkey off my back and just being focused on the process. I’m not focusing too much on, ‘I need to finish here’, or on the expectations, but more on how to get the outcome.
“Last year I’d reset myself really well going into a race weekend. I’d let everything go and then something else would happen outside of my control and I would let that get to me. Motorsport is so unpredictable and so many things out of your control can happen. It’s about focusing on the controllables.”
Source: Autosport