Qualifying:

Alisha Palmowski dominated the 2026 F1 Academy season opener in Shanghai, securing her first-ever pole position for Sunday’s Race 2. Representing Campos Racing and backed by Red Bull Racing, Palmowski posted a blistering time of 2:04.182, finishing over four-tenths of a second ahead of her nearest rival, Alba Larsen.

The session was not without drama, as a later red flag caused by ART Grand Prix’s Kaylee Countryman brought qualifying to a temporary halt. When the session resumed with less than ten minutes on the clock, many drivers struggled to find clear track space to improve their times. 

Less than half a second separated second place from sixth, with Alba Larsen and Emma Felbermayr rounding out the top three, proving that MP Motorsport and Rodin Motorsport have the pace to challenge for podiums.

There was some post-session tension involving PREMA Racing’s Payton Westcott, whose fastest lap was initially deleted for a track limits violation. However, following a formal steward’s review, the lap was reinstated, moving her back up to P4. This decision shuffled the middle of the top ten, pushing Rafaela Ferreira and Lisa Billard down to fifth and sixth, respectively.

The reverse-grid format for Race 1 means that 8th-place qualifier Nina Gademan will start from the front of the pack on Saturday.

Qualifying Top-10:

1. Alisha Palmowski (Campos Racing): 2:04.182
2. Alba Larsen (MP Motorsport): +0.403
3. Emma Felbermayr (Rodin Motorsport): +0.489
4. Payton Westcott (PREMA Racing): +0.498
5. Rafaela Ferreira (Campos Racing): +0.517
6. Lisa Billard (ART Grand Prix): +0.534
7. Natalia Granada (PREMA Racing): +0.732
8. Nina Gademan (MP Motorsport): +0.735
9. Ava Dobson (Hitech): +0.825
10. Ella LLoyd (Rodin Motorsport): +0.827

Race 1:

Nina Gademan took a commanding lights-to-flag victory in Race 1 at the Shanghai International Circuit to kick off the 2026 F1 Academy season. Starting from the reverse-grid pole position, the Alpine-supported MP Motorsport driver controlled the pace from the beginning, successfully managing a mid-race Safety Car restart to secure the race win.

Representing PREMA Racing and Sephora, Natalia Granada stunned on her debut in the Championship. Pressuring eventual winner Gademan throughout the 13-lap sprint, she eventually finished just 0.6 seconds behind at the chequered flag. Her podium finish saw Granada become the first driver in F1 Academy history to secure a podium in their single-seater debut.

The final podium place went in the way of Emma Felbermayr, who pulled off a late-race surge to recover after contact. On Lap 7, Alba Larsen made a late dive up the inside of the Austrian driver at Turn 3, clipping the rear of the Audi-backed MP Motorsport and damaging her front wing, which broke off a few corners later. 

The Safety Car neutralised racing, as marshals took to the track to recover the debris of the front wing, eliminating Gademan’s 1.5s advantage over Granada. Returning to racing conditions on Lap 9, Gademan timed her restart perfectly to keep the Spanish rookie at bay, trying to break the tow down the straight.

Racing Bulls-backed Rafaela Ferreira secured her career-best result in fourth ahead of Alisha Palmowski and Payton Westcott. McLaren-supported Ella Lloyd made her way through the pack from P10 to finish seventh, alongside scoring the fastest lap point, with Lisa Billard taking the final points paying position in eighth – after starting in third and suffering a poor launch.

Race 1 Top-10:

1. Nina Gademan
2. Natalia Granada
3. Emma Felbermayr
4. Rafaela Ferreira 
5. Alisha Palmowski
6. Payton Westcott
7. Ella Lloyd
8. Lisa Billard
9. Ava Dobson
10. Rachel Robertson

Race 2:

Emma Felbermayr claimed victory in Race 2 around the Shanghai International Circuit, keeping her cool in a thrilling final lap sprint to the chequered flag, with the Audi driver moving to the top of the Drivers’ Championship after Round 1 of the 2026 season.

Alba Larsen took to the cooler track conditions easily, as the Ferrari-backed driver immediately demoted polesitter Palmowski to P2 at lights out. The Briton lost out further to Felbermayr, before Mercedes’ Westcott also got involved in the fight for the top three. 

Natalia Granada, who scored a P2 finish on debut in Race 1, made contact with Racing Bulls’ Rafaela Ferreira on the opening lap, forcing the former to make her way to the pits for a new front wing. Although Larsen had extended her lead to around two seconds, Palmowski looked eager to reclaim a position, putting pressure on Felbermayr, with the latter easily defending P2 with some late braking.

Larsen’s advantage was soon neutralised on Lap 6 after the Safety Car was deployed following an incident between Esmee Kosterman and Jade Jacquet. The Williams driver locked up heading into the corner before making contact with the rear of Kosterman’s car, eliminating both drivers from Race 2.

At the restart, Larsen ran wide at Turn 16 after suffering a snap of oversteer which sent her sliding through the gravel, handing the lead to Rodin Motorsport’s Emma Felbermayr, with Palmowski moving up into second. More drama in the closing stages of the race came in the way of contact on Lap 10 between Hitech teammates, Shi Wei – the Wild Card entry for Shanghai – and PUMA-backed Rachel Robertson, as the latter locked up whilst taking the inside line.

Felbermayr continued to drive calmly under pressure and eventually took the chequered flag ahead of Palmowski, with the Red Bull driver managing to stay within striking distance as she attempted to close the gap, with PREMA Racing’s Payton Westcott rounding out the final podium position.

Nina Gademan crossed the line fourth for Alpine ahead of Lloyd and Ferreira, with rookie driver Billard taking P7. Larsen managed to recover from her earlier misfortunes to finish in eighth, whilst Megan Bruce and Ava Dobson were the last of the points finishers to cross the line.

Race 2 Top-10:

1. Emma Felbermayr
2. Alisha Palmowski
3. Payton Westcott
4. Nina Gademan
5. Ella Lloyd
6. Rafaela Ferreira
7. Lisa Billard
8. Alba Larsen
9. Megan Bruce
10. Ava Dobson