Alisha Palmowski storms to maiden F1 Academy pole in Shanghai as Nina Gademan secures reverse-grid pole

Alisha Palmowski claimed a dominant maiden F1 Academy pole position in Shanghai ahead of Alba Larsen and Emma Felbermayr, while Nina Gademan secured reverse-grid pole for the season’s opening race of 2026.

Photo credits: Red Bull Content Pool

With a commanding performance, Red Bull-supported Alisha Palmowski secured her first F1 Academy pole position at the Shanghai International Circuit, leading the opening qualifying session of the 2026 season by over four tenths of a second ahead of Ferrari driver Alba Larsen.

Nina Gademan’s eighth-place result meanwhile earned the Dutch racer reverse-grid pole for Saturday’s opening race, setting up an exciting start to the championship’s fourth campaign.

Earlier in the morning, the opening free practice session of the 2026 F1 Academy season saw drivers quickly get up to speed in the weekend’s only practice outing, with 40 minute time to fine-tune setups ahead of qualifying later in the day. Early benchmark laps came from new Ferrari driver Alba Larsen who moved to the top and traded fastest times with Payton Westcott as track conditions improved and lap times rapidly fell. It would be contender Alisha Palmowski ultimately to deliver the dominant performance, finishing half a second clear of Larsen and Westcott, in an uninterrupted session that kicked off the series' fourth season, just a few hours ahead of the 30 minute qualifying.

The British driver's dominant form would carry directly into qualifying.

The session began with Mathilda Paatz recording the first representative lap, before Palmowski quickly moved to the top with a 2:05.5. Moments later, Emma Felbermayr lowered the benchmark further with a 2:05.362 as improved grip levels allowed drivers to immediately surpass practice pace.

Palmowski responded decisively, producing a 2:04.875 to reclaim provisional pole. Larsen, despite setting the fastest middle sector, initially slotted only fifth behind Felbermayr, Lisa Billard - fastest in sector one - and Ella Stevens.

Midway through the session, Larsen demonstrated her speed by improving across all three sectors to post a 2:04.651 and move to the top of the timing screens. Ella Lloyd joined the leading group inside the top five, while Rafaela Ferreira continued her impressive form by running fourth before being narrowly displaced by Gademan as the field returned to the pits for fresh tyres.

As drivers prepared for their decisive final runs, the session was however briefly halted when Kaylee Countryman’s Haas-backed car stopped on the back straight, bringing out the first red flag of the 2026 season with nine minutes remaining. Countryman was able to restart the car and return to the pits under her own power, allowing the session to resume shortly afterward.

With new tyres fitted, Palmowski was among the first drivers to begin her final push laps. Despite moments of oversteer, she improved to a 2:04.637 to retake provisional pole, while Westcott climbed to third.

The Red Bull driver then delivered the defining lap of the session, a 2:04.182 that extended her advantage significantly, mirroring the pace advantage she had shown in practice.

Behind her, Ferreira briefly held third ahead of Westcott, while rookie Natalia Granada impressed on her first-ever Formula 4 qualifying session, placing herself close to the top five.

In the closing minutes, several drivers found further gains. Felbermayr climbed into third place, while Billard set the fastest final sector to move into the top five. Westcott improved again to secure fourth despite running wide with oversteer at Turn 1.

No one, however, could challenge Palmowski’s benchmark as the chequered flag fell.

Palmowski therefore secured her maiden F1 Academy pole position with a solid four tenth's margin over Larsen, while Felbermayr completed the top three. Westcott qualified fourth ahead of Ferreira and Billard.

One of the highlights came from Spanish rookie Natalia Granada, coached by Iron Dames driver Michelle Gatting, who claimed seventh place in her first single-seater qualifying session and will therefore start from the front row of Saturday’s reverse-grid race.

Nina Gademan’s eighth position secured reverse-grid pole, giving her the opportunity, just as in 2025, to lead the field away at the start of Race 1.

Ava Dobson produced a strong late lap to finish ninth, narrowly missing reverse-grid pole by a tenth of a second, ahead of Ella Lloyd, who was unable to improve after the red-flag interruption.

Ella Stevens was classified eleventh ahead of Rachel Robertson, Jade Jacquet, Megan Bruce and Esmee Kosterman. Paatz finished 16th, while Countryman’s earlier technical issue prevented her from completing a final run, leaving her 17th on the grid. Local wildcard Shi Wei completed the 18-car field.

With Palmowski emerging as the early benchmark and Gademan set to start from pole under the reverse-grid format, the first race of the 2026 F1 Academy season is scheduled to go green at 13:45 local time on Saturday, officially opening the new title fight in Shanghai.