Payton Westcott takes maiden F1 Academy victory in Zandvoort race 1

Payton Westcott converted reverse-grid pole into a maiden F1 Academy victory at Zandvoort in a dramatic opening race of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, holding off a determined challenge from Alba Larsen - who secured her first podium in the championship.

Photo credits: F1 Academy Ltd

Payton Westcott converted reverse-grid pole into a maiden F1 Academy victory at Zandvoort in a dramatic opening race of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, holding off a determined challenge from Alba Larsen - who secured her first podium in the championship. Nina Gademan completed the podium in third, while home racer Esmee Kosterman produced her best F1 Academy result with fourth.

The starting grid underwent a major change shortly before the race; Florescu Potolea had originally qualified seventh overall, which would have placed her on the front row for the reverse-grid race alongside Megan Bruce. However, the wildcard was subsequently disqualified from qualifying after her car was found not to comply with the regulations concerning engine lubricant.

As a result, Florescu was relegated to the back of the field, while Westcott was promoted from ninth to eighth in the qualifying classification and inherited reverse-grid pole. Bruce therefore moved alongside the Mercedes-supported driver on the front row, with the pair given a huge opportunity to fight for a maiden victory.

When the field finally got away under the Dutch sunshine, Westcott made a strong launch and immediately moved across to cover the inside line. Bruce remained alongside, but Westcott held the advantage through the opening corners.

Behind them, however, the biggest drama involved the championship leader. Palmowski in fact stalled on the grid and was forced to recover from the rear of the field, turning what had been an ideal opportunity after securing pole for Sunday's feature race into a major challenge in the reverse-grid contest.

Gademan immediately made the most of the opportunity in front of her. Starting fourth, the Dutch racer attacked Robertson and Bruce and quickly moved into contention for the podium. She completed the move on Bruce around the outside of Turn 1 to take second, although the battle allowed Westcott to establish an early advantage at the front.

The opening lap then produced another major incident, as Granada went off while battling Felbermayr and crashed heavily into the barriers at the banked Turn 3. Her Prema car came back towards the racing line after the impact, creating a dangerous situation for the approaching field, although the other drivers managed to avoid the stranded machine. The Safety Car was immediately deployed.

Behind the leaders, Robertson and Bruce had been engaged in a fierce fight for third, while Kosterman made an excellent start from tenth, climbing three positions to seventh. The neutralization also gave Palmowski an opportunity to close back up to the field after her disastrous start.

Florescu, meanwhile, was already making progress from the very back. The Romanian recovered to 14th during the opening laps, beginning an impressive comeback on her first-ever F1 Academy race.

The race resumed at the end of lap three, with Gademan immediately looking to close the gap to Westcott. The restart triggered intense battles throughout the field, with several cars running three- and four-wide into the opening corners. Kosterman produced one of the early remarkable moves, passing Bruce at Turn 3 as the TAG Heuer-sponsored car began to lose positions. Larsen and Felbermayr also moved past Bruce, who suddenly found herself under significant pressure after starting from the front row.

Further down the field, Billard executed a strong move on Countryman, while Dobson immediately tried to take advantage of the opening, demonstrating just how closely packed the midfield remained.

Felbermayr was particularly motivated, knowing that a strong result could see her gaining points on her main rival, and she began attacking Robertson for third. Larsen was also closing in rapidly, however, and the Ferrari-backed driver soon emerged as the more immediate threat.

On lap five, Larsen completed a clean pass on Felbermayr and moved into fourth, immediately becoming the fastest driver on track. Robertson was now under increasing pressure, while Bruce had Lloyd directly behind her. Larsen then closed rapidly on Robertson and produced another excellent move at Turn 1 to take third.

With clear air ahead, Larsen began rapidly closing the gap to Gademan as well. The Ferrari representative was now the fastest driver on the circuit and was visibly gaining on the Dutch home favourite, setting up a battle for second place.

Robertson, meanwhile, was fighting to keep Felbermayr behind, while Bruce still under pressure from Lloyd. Palmowski had made some progress from the back, passing Paatz to move into 16th, but the championship leader remained well outside the points.

The battle at the front was then interrupted on lap nine when Jacquet spun into the gravel, bringing out another Safety Car. The neutralization erased Westcott's advantage over Gademan and gave the Dutchwoman another chance to reset the race at the front.

Racing resumed at the end of lap ten, and it was Larsen to immediately demonstrate just how much pace she had. Gademan made a strong restart, but Larsen's superior straight-line speed allowed her to pull alongside and clear the Alpine driver into Turn 1. She was now second and immediately turned her attention towards Westcott.

Behind them, the battle for the final podium position became increasingly chaotic. Kosterman was attacking Gademan, while further back several drivers were fighting three-wide. Felbermayr made contact with Robertson and the latter was forced onto the gravel, allowing Kosterman to move into fourth. Felbermayr was then left defending from Lloyd and Bruce, with the positions from fourth backwards still very much up for grabs.

At the front, however, the race had developed into a two-way battle for victory. Larsen continued to push and set a new fastest lap, but Westcott responded with her own new benchmark, becoming the first driver into the 1:48s.

The final laps produced a tense battle between Westcott and Larsen. The Dane was clearly closing, but Westcott managed the gap sufficiently to remain in control, while behind them Gademan was fighting hard to keep Kosterman at bay. The two Dutch drivers battled for the final podium place, with Gademan refusing to surrender third despite Kosterman's strong pace.

Lloyd and Robertson were also closing in during the final laps, setting up an intense fight for the positions immediately behind the podium. Robertson attempted a move on Kosterman at Turn 1, but the maneuver opened the door for Lloyd, who took advantage to move into fifth.

At the front, Westcott kept her composure through the final corners and crossed the line to claim her maiden F1 Academy victory and second win in F4, while Larsen secured an outstanding second place, marking her first podium in the championship.

Gademan completed the podium in third, claiming her third podium of the 2026 season and another strong result at her home circuit. Kosterman followed in fourth, setting a new career-best F1 Academy result in her first appearance at her home track as a full-time driver. Lloyd finished fifth, ahead of Robertson and Bruce.

Felbermayr had been in contention for a strong points haul but was handed a five-second penalty for her contact with Robertson. The penalty dropped the Austrian outside the points, with Ava Dobson promoted to eighth. Countryman produced another determined performance to finish ninth, while Billard completed the top ten after a solid recovery drive.

Florescu's comeback continued all the way to 11th, an excellent result given that she had been forced to start from the back after her qualifying disqualification. Palmowski's recovery ultimately stalled in 12th, although she still finished ahead of Felbermayr, who was classified 13th after her penalty.

Ferreira finished 14th, ahead of Paatz and Stevens. Despite the disappointment of Race 1, Palmowski will have an immediate opportunity to respond: the championship leader will in fact start Sunday's feature race from pole position, with Larsen alongside her on the front row after the Ferrari representative's breakthrough second-place finish in Race 1.

The feature race, carrying the full points allocation, gets underway at 10:30 local time on Sunday.