Emma Felbermayr takes maiden F1 Academy win in hectic reverse grid race

Rookie Emma Felbermayr, in her first season of single seaters after stepping up from karting, secured victory in a hectic second F1 Academy race at Montreal, snatching the lead on the final lap by passing Nina Gademan who had led for most of the race until a late safety car.

Photo credits: F1 Academy Ltd

Rookie Emma Felbermayr, having just started her single-seater career after stepping up from karting, secured victory in a hectic second F1 Academy race at Montreal, overtaking Nina Gademan—who had led for most of the race—on the final lap after a late safety car.

The second F1 Academy race featured a reverse grid, with the top eight from Friday’s qualifying session starting in reverse order. This placed Chloe Chong on pole position for the first time in her F1 Academy career; the British-Canadian driver was looking to bounce back after an unlucky first race of the weekend, where she had been running inside the top ten before being taken out in a collision caused by Rafaela Ferreira, who later received a five-place grid penalty.

Nina Gademan lined up second on the grid, coming off her first podium finish in the series in Race 1. Emma Felbermayr also had a chance to turn things around after being denied her maiden podium due to a disqualification for a technical infringement just a few hours before. Tina Hausmann completed the second row. Alisha Palmowski and Chloe Chambers started on the fourth row, following a clash between the two Campos Racing drivers in Race 1, which resulted in a penalty for Palmowski.

At the start, Chong got away well and held off a strong challenge from Gademan, while Doriane Pin made up several positions with a lightning start. Ella Lloyd joined the battle for the lead, but Gademan struck first, taking the top spot. Lloyd and Felbermayr followed, while Chong ran wide, saved it, but dropped to P12.

Ahead, Lloyd slid wide at Turn 1, allowing Felbermayr to take second, with Race 1 winner Pin also sneaking past. Chambers was making big gains, charging through the field and already up to fifth place by the time she and her Red Bull teammate passed Hausmann. Chambers continued her charge and attacked Pin at the final chicane, pressuring her into a mistake: Pin locked up, allowing Lloyd to slip past again.

Out front, Gademan set purple sectors and pulled out a one-second gap to Felbermayr in the Sauber-liveried Tatuus. However, the fastest lap was set by Alba Larsen, who was also recovering and into P7 by lap 3.

Despite limited track time over the weekend and a disastrous first race, Maya Weug was making progress, climbing into P11 and looking to get back into the top ten.

Misfortune struck again when Chambers and Pin went side by side into Turn 1: Chambers went around onto the grass, rejoined, but her race was compromised as she fell to P14.

Larsen continued her charge by overtaking Palmowski for fifth. Ahead, Pin was pressuring Felbermayr but couldn’t find a way past, with the Rodin Motorsport driver defending well – which frustrated Pin, who also came under pressure from Lloyd. Both ran wide at the final chicane, and Prema instructed Pin to give up third place to Lloyd. Larsen and Palmowski joined the front group, and the Danish Tommy Hilfiger-backed driver made contact with the championship leader at the hairpin. Fortunately, all continued without damage.

Back inside the top ten after passing Lia Block, Weug began attacking fellow Ferrari Driver Academy member Aurelia Nobels. Nobels defended into Turn 1 on lap 8, but a couple of laps later the pair clashed under braking at the final chicane. Though both initially continued, Nobels later pitted with damage but managed to rejoin the race.

These intense battles played into the hands of race leader Gademan, who tried to build a gap. Felbermayr, however, wasn’t giving up and set a new fastest lap in 1:39.005—soon bettered by the recovering Chambers with a 1:38.772, as the American climbed back into tenth. Chambers kept improving her times and closed in on Weug and Block.

The action remained relentless. The fight for the podium reignited as Pin attempted to outbrake Lloyd into the final chicane but once again had to cut the corner and return the position. This opened the door for Larsen, who moved past, with Palmowski also looking to capitalize.

The hectic action was briefly halted on lap 13 when the safety car was deployed: the two Hitech GP cars collided at the hairpin, with Nicole Havrda clipping the back of Aiva Anagnostiadis’ car. Home hero Havrda went off with front suspension damage and retired.

The neutralization now gave Felbermayr a golden opportunity, as she had been steadily closing the gap to Gademan before the interruption. The race resumed with a one-lap dash to the finish.

At the restart, Gademan held off Felbermayr, who kept the pressure on, while Lloyd was also in the mix. Felbermayr made a decisive move for the lead, and five cars battled for the win into the final corner. Emma jumped over the kerb, lost momentum, but still managed to cross the line in first, securing her maiden F1 Academy victory with a dramatic final-lap pass on Gademan. Lloyd also snuck through for second, dropping Gademan to third at the flag.

Doriane Pin finished fourth after overtaking Larsen in the closing corners. Palmowski came home sixth ahead of Hausmann and Block. Maya Weug finished ninth, just ahead of Chloe Chambers in tenth.

Wild card Mathilda Paatz recovered from a disappointing Race 1 to finish a strong P11. Courtney Crone was P12, just ahead of Aurelia Nobels, who was brought back into the pack by the safety car. Aiva Anagnostiadis took P14, followed by Joanne Ciconte and Chloe Chong.

Nicole Havrda and Rafaela Ferreira were the two non-finishers.

Doriane Pin now leads the championship with 93 points: despite missing the podium in Race 2, her Race 1 victory allowed her to further extend her lead. Maya Weug sits second with 64 points, just ahead of Chloe Chambers on 62—both having endured unlucky days in Montreal.

The third race of the weekend will use the original qualifying order, with Chambers—who set the fastest lap in Race 2—starting from pole position on Sunday.