UAE4: Emily Cotty leads, scores points in Yas Marina, as Felbermayr makes step forward
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Emily Cotty once again showed front-running potential and led the second UAE4 race at Abu Dhabi, before unpredictable weather denied her another fight for the podium, but still leaves Yas Marina eighth in the drivers’ standings, having added further points to her tally. Emma Felbermayr made a clear step forward, recording three top-15 finishes and her strongest race performance yet.
The second round of the 2026 UAE4 Championship brought once again the 39-car field to Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, using this time the technical Corkscrew layout for a weekend that proved unpredictable with sudden weather drama and featured again some highlights for several of the women on the grid.
Just one week after her maiden Formula 4 podium, Emily Cotty arrived with momentum and the realistic prospect of becoming the fifth female race winner in series history. Alongside her, Emma Felbermayr, Alba Larsen, Payton Westcott and Kaylee Countryman formed a group of five female drivers facing one of the most competitive fields of international F4 competitions.
The weekend began with a packed programme of free practice sessions, where teams worked to find the best setups for the demanding Corkscrew configuration. Among the top performances was Alba Larsen, who produced an excellent run in the fourth session to place inside her Evans GP Tatuus in the overall top five, coming off her first points the previous weekend.
Qualifying proved frantic and ultimately frustrating for some of the drivers. In the opening session, Emily Cotty was immediately on the pace, opening with a 1:49.7 before improving to a 1:47.4 that placed her solidly inside the top ten. Emma Felbermayr also broke into the 1:50s early on, while Larsen had a promising lap deleted for track limits. As the session developed, Larsen recorded a 1:47.6 to slot into P18, just ahead of Felbermayr, with Payton Westcott seeing a lap time removed as well.
With two minutes remaining, Maccagnani stopped on circuit, triggering a red flag that brought qualifying to a premature end. Cotty emerged as the top female driver in P15 with a 1:47.494. Felbermayr had just improved to a 1:47.537 to secure P19, with Larsen P22 on a 1:47.681. Kaylee Countryman qualified P34 with a 1:48.952, while Westcott was left without a representative lap and therefore forced to start from the back.
The second qualifying session saw Cotty immediately raise the bar, delivering a 1:47.160 on her first push lap before improving again to a 1:47.053, slotting back inside the top ten. Felbermayr responded with a 1:47.2 to move up into P15, while Larsen and Westcott both produced clean improvements. At the chequered flag, Cotty secured P12 and once again topped the female entries. Felbermayr would line up P16, Larsen P22, Westcott P25, and Countryman P34.
Saturday afternoon’s opening race began with immediate drama as pole-sitter Scott Lindblom hesitated, dropping to fourth. Cotty slipped to P17 on the opening lap, while Larsen made early gains to reach P18, with Felbermayr close behind in P19. Felbermayr, racing for PHM Racing, moved ahead of Larsen before the end of the lap, while Westcott produced an exceptional launch from the back of the grid, climbing into P26. Countryman settled into P33.
A multi-car incident involving Bernardo Bernoldi and Brock Burton at Turn 6 brought out the safety car. At the restart, Cotty immediately went on the attack, passing Iacopo Martinese for P16 and breaking into the 1:48s as she began to pressure the midfield. Westcott continued her charge, overtaking Tamas Gendler and later Simek, before benefitting from Elia Weiss’s spin to move into P23.
As the race developed, Cotty gained further positions through consistency and pressure, picking up P15 after Weiss’s incident and later inheriting P14 when Rowan Campbell-Pilling spun. Felbermayr and Larsen followed her through, both moving forward in the tightly packed midfield. Westcott found herself in intense three-wide battles with Kostin and Simek, briefly losing a place before resuming her charge.
With Cotty locked in a crucial fight with Smith and Al Sulaiti - positions that would determine reverse-grid implications - Larsen and Felbermayr were drawn into the same group. Larsen briefly jumped ahead of Felbermayr, but the late incident involving Pasquinetti brought out the safety car and froze the order.
The race ended under caution, with Cotty finishing P14 as the highest-placed female driver, initially narrowly missing out on a reverse-grid front-row start. However, post race penalties elevated her to 12th, thus securing a crucia pole position for the second race. Alba Larsen took P14, Felbermayr P15, Westcott completed a remarkable recovery from P39 to P22, and Countryman reached P28 after gaining several positions.
Race 2 offered Cotty a genuine opportunity, lining up on the front row alongside Bader Al Sulaiti. At lights out, she executed a perfect start, covering the inside and leading cleanly into Turn 1. Behind her, chaos unfolded as Al Sulaiti, Clark, Costoya and Aksoy battled fiercely, allowing Cotty to build a small advantage.
However, approaching the Corkscrew, rain began to fall - initially light, then increasingly treacherous. Caught out by the sudden loss of grip, Cotty slipped to third as Al Sulaiti and Maccagnani found their way through, though she impressively held off Clark. Felbermayr survived the opening lap turmoil in P14, while Westcott was P25. Larsen was unfortunately caught up in the mayhem and dropped down the order.
The conditions deteriorated rapidly. Larsen had made contact, forcing the Dane to pit for a new front wing. Heavy rain eventually prompted a red flag and a reset of the race clock.
When the field reassembled, Larsen gambled on wet tyres, while the rest of the grid remained on slicks.
The race resumed behind the safety car as the rain briefly eased, but multiple cars spun even at reduced speed. Cotty was among them, rotating and recovering to P9. Countryman also lost ground, falling to P36.
As the rain intensified once more, several teams dived into the pits for wets before a second red flag brought proceedings to an early conclusion. Al Sulaiti was declared the winner of a surreal contest; Emily Cotty salvaged P8 and valuable points once again after leading early, Felbermayr finished P13, Westcott P21, Larsen P29, and Countryman P33.
Sunday’s final race saw Cotty start P12, Felbermayr P16, Larsen P23, Westcott P25 and Countryman P34. An immediate incident on the grid brought out the safety car, and the field was routed through the pit lane before restarting with 15 minutes remaining.
From the restart, Cotty settled into P13 with Felbermayr close behind. Westcott began another forward charge, moving up to P21, while Larsen gained a position and Countryman passed Clark to reach P34.
As the pack remained tightly bunched, Felbermayr matched Cotty’s pace before executing a clean move on lap eight to take P13.
From there, the Austrian delivered the best drive of her UAE4 campaign. Setting a personal best lap of 1:48.911, she attacked the group ahead and made a bold double pass on Martinese and Costoya to move into P11, placing herself in contention for the top ten.
Westcott also continued to shine, gaining places as others ran into trouble, including Maccagnani’s damaged car, which allowed her into the top 20. In the closing stages, she climbed as high as P18 and began closing on Larsen, who was engaged in her own defensive battles against Zheng and Kostin.
At the chequered flag, Emma Felbermayr narrowly missed the top ten after losing out to Costoya on the final lap, but still crossed the line in a career-best P12, finishing as the highest-placed female driver for the first time. Cotty concluded a tricky weekend in P15 after a final-lap duel, Larsen finished P20, Westcott capped another recovery with P23, and Countryman completed the race in P34.
While the weekend was defined by what might have been for Emily Cotty, who showed front-running potential but was undone by sudden weather conditions, the R-Ace GP driver still leaves Yas Marina eighth in the drivers’ standings, having added further points to her tally.
For Emma Felbermayr, the round marked a clear step forward, recording three top-15 finishes and her strongest race performance yet. Payton Westcott emerged as one of the protagonists producing great recovery drives despite her qualifying misfortune. Alba Larsen showed flashes of speed, particularly in practice, and fought back from adversity across the races. Kaylee Countryman continued to build experience in her first international campaign, breaking into the top 30 in Race 1 and completing valuable race distance.
The championship now moves to Dubai Autodrome, a circuit where Westcott arrives with confidence after winning in the Formula Middle East Trophy last month, and where the female drivers will look to convert progress into results the upcoming weekend.
