Alisha Palmowski crowned 2026 F1 Academy champion as Alba Larsen takes maiden victory at COTA
Alisha Palmowski secured the 2026 F1 Academy title with a second-place finish in Saturday's reverse-grid race at Circuit of The Americas, becoming the fourth champion in the all-female series' history, while Alba Larsen claimed her maiden victory in the series after a string of consecutive podium finishes.
Alisha Palmowski secured the 2026 F1 Academy title with a second-place finish in Saturday's reverse-grid race at Circuit of The Americas, becoming the fourth champion in the all-female series' history. The Campos Racing driver finished behind Alba Larsen, who claimed her maiden victory after a string of podium finishes, while Lisa Billard completed the podium with her first top-three result in the championship.
Palmowski's result was enough to put the title beyond the reach of her closest rival, Emma Felbermayr, with three races still remaining in the season.
Palmowski entered Saturday's race with a commanding championship lead after winning Friday's opening race, where she held off the competition through two safety car periods to secure her fifth victory of the season. The result extended her advantage over Felbermayr to 63 points, putting her within reach of the title at the penultimate round of the championship.
The British driver needed to outscore Felbermayr by five points in Saturday's reverse-grid race to clinch the crown, with the opportunity to become the second F1 Academy champion crowned at COTA following Marta García in 2023. With the reverse-grid format putting the top eight from qualifying in reversed order, Palmowski lined up eighth, directly ahead of Felbermayr in ninth.
Rafaela Ferreira started from pole position alongside Jade Jacquet, who had been enjoying a strong run of form in both F1 Academy and French F4. Billard and Larsen shared the second row, with Natalia Granada and Nina Gademan behind them. With both title contenders starting in the middle of the pack, the race promised a tense battle from the outset.
There was already drama before the start, as Granada's Prema-operated car came to a halt on the formation lap. The Spaniard managed to restart the car but lost the opportunity to line up in fifth. Despite the issue, she returned to her original grid slot instead of the pit lane as per rules, setting up a costly infringement.
At lights out, Ferreira made a strong launch and held the lead into Turn 1 ahead of Jacquet, while Larsen immediately moved into fourth and began attacking Billard. The French driver locked up and ran deep, opening the door for Larsen and Granada to challenge. The three cars went nearly side by side, with Larsen completing the pass on the back straight to move into third.
At the front, Jacquet made her move on Ferreira and took the lead, but the two collided a few corners later. Jacquet was hit and spun out of contention, while Ferreira sustained damage, allowing Larsen to seize the lead. Further back, wild card Alexia Danielsson was unable to avoid Jacquet's stricken car, suffering a near head-on impact that sent her airborne before she came to a halt. The safety car was deployed, bringing an abrupt end to Jacquet's hopes of a maiden F1 Academy victory.
Larsen led the field ahead of Ferreira, Billard and Granada, while Palmowski had already climbed to sixth, just ahead of Felbermayr in seventh. The two championship contenders had engaged in an intense side-by-side battle through the esses after the start, with the Austrian initially managing to get ahead. However, Felbermayr had to take evasive action to avoid the incident involving Jacquet and went wide, allowing Palmowski to reclaim the position on the inside.
There was further disappointment for Ava Dobson, who stalled on the grid and was forced to retire with a technical issue, leaving three cars out of contention after the opening lap.
The race resumed on lap five, with Larsen making an excellent restart and immediately beginning to pull away. Ferreira, meanwhile, struggled to keep the pack behind her with the damage sustained in the opening-lap collision. Billard took advantage, passing the Brazilian around the outside of Turn 1 to move into second.
Behind them, Palmowski again came under pressure from Felbermayr. The Austrian launched another attack, with the pair running side by side through the esses in a thrilling fight for position. Gademan was also battling Westcott, creating a four-car fight as the drivers jostled for places in the middle of the field.
Palmowski held firm and then made her move on Ferreira, advancing into third and strengthening her position in the championship battle. Felbermayr also passed the Brazilian, who continued to drop down the order. Granada's race was predictably compromised when she was handed a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for the starting-grid infringement.
Further back, the intense battles continued, with contact between Ella Lloyd and Rachel Robertson after Lloyd ran deep. Robertson then collected Ella Stevens, leaving the Scottish driver with front-wing damage as the midfield fight grew increasingly chaotic.
At the front, Larsen continued to build her advantage, setting the fastest lap of the race with a 2:08.546 and opening a 2.6-second gap over Billard. The Ferrari driver was chasing her first F1 Academy victory after a run of consecutive podiums and looked increasingly comfortable at the head of the field.
Palmowski, however, was not prepared to settle for third. She responded with a 2:08.460 to take the fastest lap, closing on Billard and putting the French driver under pressure. With the additional point for fastest lap potentially decisive in the title fight, the championship leader continued to push despite already holding a strong position relative to Felbermayr.
Running in Billard's slipstream, Palmowski made her move at the end of the back straight and completed the pass for second. The overtake not only put her in position to secure another podium but also strengthened her points advantage over Felbermayr, who was now seeing her championship hopes slip away.
With three laps remaining, Felbermayr came under further pressure from Gademan. Palmowski, meanwhile, continued to set a relentless pace, recording another fastest lap of 2:08.294 after clearing Billard. She gained a further half-second on Larsen, although the leader still held a gap of around 2.5 seconds heading into the final lap.
Larsen ultimately crossed the line to take her first victory in F1 Academy, capping an impressive run of form that had already delivered several consecutive podiums. Palmowski finished second, a result that confirmed her as the 2026 champion, succeeding Marta García, Abbi Pulling and Doriane Pin in the series' honours list.
The title marks a significant milestone for Campos Racing as well, with Palmowski becoming the first driver to win the F1 Academy championship with the Spanish team. After a consistently strong campaign, the British driver has converted her qualifying speed and race pace into a title-winning season.
Billard completed the podium in third, earning her first top-three finish in F1 Academy. Felbermayr finished fourth after another impressive recovery drive from ninth, but it was not enough to keep her title hopes alive. Gademan took fifth ahead of Westcott and Megan Bruce, while Lloyd recovered to eighth to claim the final point available in the reverse-grid race.
Mathilda Paatz finished ninth, followed by Kaylee Countryman in 10th. Esmee Kosterman was 11th ahead of Stevens, while Ferreira crossed the line in 13th after also receiving a five-second penalty for her incident with Jacquet. Granada finished 14th after her penalty, with Robertson completing the classified finishers.
Palmowski's championship victory provides a fitting reward for a season of excellence, with the Campos Racing driver now able to approach Sunday's final race without the pressure of the title fight. The Austin weekend is not over yet, in fact, with one more race scheduled for Sunday at 12:00 local time.
