Nina Gademan converts pole into victory in F1 Academy season opener as Granada impresses on debut

Nina Gademan converted reverse-grid pole into a lights-to-flag victory in the opening race of the 2026 F1 Academy season in Shanghai, holding off an impressive rookie Natalia Granada while Emma Felbermayr secured third with a late overtake.

Photo credits: F1 Academy Ltd

The fourth season of the F1 Academy began with an exciting and competitive opening race at the Shanghai International Circuit, where Nina Gademan converted reverse-grid pole into victory. The Dutch driver led every lap to secure her second career win in the championship, successfully capitalizing on an opportunity that had slipped away in similar circumstances the previous year due to a technical problem.

Gademan was flawless this year, but behind her, rookie sensation Natalia Granada produced a remarkable drive on her first-ever start in single-seaters, finishing second after applying pressure to the race leader for most of the contest. Emma Felbermayr completed the podium with a late overtake to claim third place.

Under sunny skies in Shanghai, Gademan lined up on pole thanks to the championship’s reverse-grid format after qualifying eighth on Friday. Despite disappointment with her qualifying result, having targeted a position among the top three, she had a clear opportunity to control the race from the front.

Alongside her on the front row was Granada, the Spanish rookie making her first appearance in formula cars after progressing through karting.

When the lights went out, the front row launched cleanly and Gademan immediately secured the lead into Turn 1, ahead of Granada and Rafaela Ferreira. Behind them, Payton Westcott made a strong start to gain a position and quickly began pressuring Ferreira for third.

Further back, the midfield was immediately alive with battles. Lisa Billard was slow off the line from the second row, while Ella Lloyd, starting tenth after a difficult qualifying, began carving her way forward. Lloyd found herself in a close fight with Ava Dobson, who initially passed the McLaren-supported driver before Lloyd reclaimed the place, with Megan Bruce also joining the battle at the hairpin during the opening lap.

Meanwhile, Mathilda Paatz struggled after suffering gearbox issues in qualifying. The German driver was forced to defend from wildcard entry Shi Wei before eventually sustaining damage and making a pit stop that dropped her to the back of the field.

At the front, Gademan immediately began setting the pace, recording the fastest lap of the race as she attempted to break clear. Granada, however, kept her cool and kept the Alpine-backed driver within half a second, refusing to allow the leader to escape.

Lloyd soon responded by setting an even quicker lap time as she attempted to distance herself from Bruce and close the gap to Billard ahead.

Further up the order, championship contender Alisha Palmowski, who had dominated both practice and qualifying, was steadily working her way forward from eighth on the grid. Palmowski ran in the slipstream of Alba Larsen, but the Danish driver defended well while also fending off pressure from Billard and Lloyd behind. Lloyd would become the first driver to dip into the 2:05s pace during this phase of the race.

The tightly packed field produced intense racing throughout the early laps. On lap four, Westcott attempted a move on Ferreira for third place at the hairpin, but Ferreira managed to reclaim the position on corner exit, with Felbermayr lurking close behind ready to capitalize.

Moments later, a late lunge from Larsen into Turn 2 while attempting to pass Felbermayr resulted in contact that damaged the Ferrari driver’s front wing. The loose wing soon detached from the car, prompting race control to deploy the safety car.

The neutralization was unfortunate for Gademan, who had begun to establish a rhythm at the front and was slowly building a small margin over Granada.

Racing resumed at the end of lap eight, with Gademan attempting to catch Granada off guard on the restart. However, the Spanish rookie executed an excellent restart of her own and remained glued to the leader’s gearbox, immediately applying pressure for the lead.

Behind them, Larsen - still struggling with the damaged front wing - ran wide at the final corner and slid into the gravel due to the loss of front-end downforce, effectively ending her chances of competing for points.

The fight for third intensified as Westcott again attempted to challenge Ferreira. The American driver ultimately lost momentum in the battle, allowing Felbermayr to seize the opportunity and move ahead of Westcott, while Palmowski also slipped past to gain another position.

Action was equally intense further down the order: Dobson, Billard and Rachel Robertson ran three-wide in a thrilling midfield contest, while Ella Stevens passed Bruce before becoming involved in another tight fight with Dobson and Robertson, the latter ultimately emerging with a gained position.

Following her earlier pit stop, Paatz used the safety car to close back onto the pack and began recovering positions, overtaking Shi Wei, Kaylee Countryman and Esmee Kosterman to climb to 14th.

As the race entered its final lap, the top six cars remained closely bunched. Felbermayr, showing strong pace, made a decisive move into Turn 3 to overtake Ferreira and secure third place.

At the front, however, Gademan remained composed despite Granada’s pressure; the Dutch driver defended calmly and pulled out a small gap in the final corners to secure her second victory, leading every lap of the race.

Granada completed a sensational debut to finish second, displaying maturity and racecraft well beyond her experience in her first single-seater outing.

Emma Felbermayr’s late move secured the final step on the podium after starting sixth.

Ferreira finished fourth, narrowly missing out on what would have been her first podium in the series but nevertheless achieving her best result to date.

Alisha Palmowski executed a clean recovery drive from eighth on the grid to finish fifth, ahead of Westcott in sixth. Lloyd claimed seventh, while Billard secured the final point in eighth place.

Dobson finished ninth ahead of Robertson in tenth, with Stevens eleventh and Bruce twelfth. Jade Jacquet completed her first F1 Academy race in thirteenth position.

After her earlier setback, Paatz recovered to fourteenth ahead of Kosterman in fifteenth, Countryman in sixteenth and Shi Wei in seventeenth.

Although Larsen recorded the fastest lap of the race with a 2:05.645 after pitting for a new front wing, finishing outside the top ten meant the bonus point instead went to Ella Lloyd, who set the quickest lap among the top 10 with a 2:05.862.

The opening race of the 2026 season delivered close, clean racing throughout the field and set the stage for an exciting fourth year of the all-female championship. The second race of the weekend, which awards full championship points, is scheduled for Sunday at 10:40 local time, with Alisha Palmowski set to start from pole position.