Palmowski claims commanding Montreal feature race victory in wet race 3
- RACERS
- 44 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Alisha Palmowski completed a sensational Montreal weekend with a second dominant victory in the wet-weather Feature Race, leading every lap and securing another record-breaking winning margin, ahead of Emma Felbermayr and Megan Bruce, extending her championship lead.
Alisha Palmowski completed a sensational Montreal weekend with a second dominant victory in the wet-weather Feature Race, leading every lap and securing another record-breaking winning margin, ahead of Emma Felbermayr and Megan Bruce, extending her championship lead.
After a dramatic and action-packed Saturday that featured Alisha Palmowski’s dominant victory in Race 1 and Mathilda Paatz’s breakthrough reverse-grid triumph later in the day, F1 Academy returned to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday morning for the Feature Race, contested in completely different conditions as rain left the Montreal circuit wet and slippery.
Starting positions were based on Friday qualifying, with Palmowski lining up on pole position despite enduring a difficult reverse-grid race where contact dropped her to tenth. Alongside the Red Bull-backed Brit was Mercedes-supported Payton Westcott, promoted to third in Race 2 following post-race penalties, while rookie Megan Bruce and championship rival Emma Felbermayr occupied the second row.
Paatz, fifth on the grid, arrived into the final race with huge momentum after securing both her first podium and first victory on Saturday, while Alba Larsen sought redemption after losing what would have been her maiden podium to a penalty. Rafaela Ferreira, denied victory in Race 2 by a jump-start penalty, lined up seventh ahead of Kaylee Countryman, who had claimed her first podium in the series.
With colder temperatures and a wet track, all drivers fitted on wet tyres for a race that proved to be one of the most exciting and entertaining of the season so far.
Palmowski immediately handled the conditions superbly at lights out, launching cleanly from pole to retain the lead into Turn 1 ahead of Westcott. Megan Bruce also made an excellent getaway and initially found herself side-by-side with Emma Felbermayr in the battle for third place; the British rookie reclaimed the position by Turn 3 after an aggressive but clean opening exchange.
Further down the order, there was immediate contact in the midfield involving Lisa Billard and Ella Lloyd. Billard came off worse from the clash and dropped to the tail end of the field, while Lloyd continued despite the difficult opening lap. Behind them, several drivers ran wheel-to-wheel through the opening sector, but remarkably the race remained green despite the slippery conditions.
Bruce quickly demonstrated exceptional pace in the wet conditions and immediately began attacking Westcott for second place. Exiting the hairpin with superior traction, Bruce drew alongside the Mercedes-backed American and completed the pass into the final chicane before the end of lap one, moving into second place behind Palmowski.
Ahead, Palmowski immediately attempted to break away from the field. She opened with a 1:50.8 lap, while Bruce responded with a 1:51, remaining the second-fastest driver on track and initially keeping the gap manageable.
Behind the leading pair, the battles intensified almost immediately. Kaylee Countryman and Natalia Granada engaged in a close fight, with Granada climbing into eleventh position. Ella Stevens meanwhile recovered from a difficult launch by overtaking wild card entry Autumn Fisher, who also dropped behind Ava Dobson in the opening laps.
Mathilda Paatz soon began applying pressure to Felbermayr for fourth place, while Nina Gademan and Alba Larsen became involved in a close duel on lap four. Alpine-backed Gademan was forced to use the escape road at the final chicane after attempting a move, rejoining still behind Larsen, with Rafaela Ferreira and Ella Lloyd immediately closing onto the battling pair.
One lap later, Gademan attempted another move into the final chicane, this time decisively completing the overtake. Larsen was forced this time through the escape road and lost momentum, dropping behind both Ferreira and Lloyd in the process and falling to ninth place.
At the front, Palmowski briefly flirted with disaster under braking for the hairpin, nearly sliding off the circuit in the treacherous conditions. The Brit however kept the car under control and maintained the lead, though Bruce remained within one second distance.
The battle behind continued to provide some of the best action of the race. Lloyd launched a brilliant move around the outside at Turn 8 to pass Ferreira, but the Brazilian immediately responded with a late-braking attack into the hairpin. The move opened the door for Larsen to join the fight, creating a dramatic three-wide run down the back straight. Lloyd emerged ahead after the spectacular exchange, while Ferreira and Larsen continued battling alongside Natalia Granada.
However, Lloyd then made a mistake on the following lap, running through the grass and dropping back behind Ferreira, Larsen and Granada once more.
Further down the field, Jade Jacquet also endured a trip through the grass, opening opportunities for Rachel Robertson and Esmee Kosterman behind, as the challenging conditions continued catching out several drivers throughout the race.
At the front, Palmowski remained untouchable. The Red Bull driver became the only competitor consistently lapping in the 1:49s and by lap seven had built a commanding five-second advantage over Bruce despite several visible slides in the wet conditions.
Felbermayr meanwhile began closing rapidly on Westcott in the fight for third. This duel allowed Bruce to gain some breathing room in second place while the battle for the final podium spot intensified.
The fight for seventh place however remained one of the race’s most entertaining contests: Ferreira locked up heavily at the hairpin and both Larsen and Granada capitalized to move ahead. Ferreira then defended aggressively from Lloyd along the main straight and through Turn 1 in a prolonged wheel-to-wheel battle, ultimately retaining position.
Larsen soon found stronger pace and began catching Gademan once again. The Danish driver launched an excellent move into Turn 1 to take sixth place, with the Ferrari-liveried MP Motorsport car finally coming alive in the second half of the race.
Further behind, a three-wide battle erupted between Robertson, Kosterman and Jacquet. Light contact sent Robertson through the runoff area, while the incident later earned Kosterman a five-second penalty.
After Ferreira once again ran through the grass on lap eleven, Lloyd finally completed the move for position. Once in clean air, the Welsh driver immediately set a stunning 1:49.112 lap, at that stage the fastest lap of the race and enough to temporarily deny Palmowski the bonus point.
Ahead, Felbermayr’s pressure on Westcott finally paid off. The American defended aggressively, but eventually made a mistake at Turn 7, running wide through the grass. Felbermayr seized the opportunity to move into third place, while Race 2 winner Paatz also closed rapidly onto the struggling Westcott.
Once clear, Felbermayr immediately unleashed exceptional pace: the Audi-backed Austrian clocked a 1:48.801 to set a new fastest lap and rapidly closed the gap to Megan Bruce ahead. Entering the final lap, the pair were separated by just four tenths of a second.
Through Turns 5 and 6, Felbermayr launched a brilliant move around the outside to snatch second place away from Bruce, who had brushed the wall in an attempt to defend.
Further ahead, late drama unfolded as Palmowski reported engine issues on the final lap. Fortunately for the Brit, she had already built an enormous margin of over ten seconds and comfortably managed the final tour to secure victory.
Palmowski crossed the line to claim her second win of the weekend and became the first repeat winner of the 2026 F1 Academy season. The dominant performance also established another new record for the largest winning margin in F1 Academy history, with a 10.9 second gap.
Felbermayr finally ended her streak of bad luck in Montreal with a superb recovery to second place, reaffirming herself as Palmowski’s closest title rival. Megan Bruce meanwhile secured the second podium finish of her F1 Academy career in another strong performance from the rookie.
Payton Westcott held on to fourth place despite late pressure from Mathilda Paatz, with the German completing a breakthrough weekend in fifth. Alba Larsen recovered to sixth ahead of Nina Gademan and Natalia Granada.
Ella Lloyd once again produced a charging drive from 16th on the grid to ninth place; she finished ahead of Rafaela Ferreira following their race-long battle, with the Brazilian completing the top ten.
Jade Jacquet finished eleventh ahead of Ella Stevens in twelfth, while Esmee Kosterman crossed the line in thirteenth.
Rachel Robertson finished fourteenth ahead of Lisa Billard, who recovered several positions after her opening-lap contact. Billard ultimately finished ahead of Kaylee Countryman, Ava Dobson and home wild card Autumn Fisher, who rounded out the field.
Following the Montreal triple-header, Palmowski now leads the championship with 78 points, opening a solid 25 point advantage over Felbermayr heading into the third round of the season - which will mark F1 Academy’s first-ever visit to Silverstone on 3–5 July.
