F1 ACADEMY action resumes for in-season testing at Silverstone

After short break following the action-packed opening round in Shanghai, the 2026 F1 ACADEMY paddock heads to Silverstone for in-season testing.

With over a month since Round 1, teams and drivers will be aiming to quickly get back up to speed and gather as much data as possible before the series makes its debut at the iconic British circuit in July.

WHAT TO EXPECT

There's lots to watch out for at the biggest-ever F1 ACADEMY test with three days of activity from April 26-28, including 11 hours of on-track running across Monday and Tuesday.

Morning running commences at 09:00 local time (UTC+1) and will run until 12:00. On Monday, the cars will be back on track at 13:30 for another three hours of action, before the chequered flag is waved at 16:30.

On Tuesday, the afternoon session will commence at 13:30 following the lunch break until the test draws to a close at 15:30.

Pirelli have allocated five sets of dry-weather tyres per car for the duration of the test, plus two sets of wet tyres should they be required.

Alongside the on-track action, F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE will be connecting with local children and students through its off-track activities, with over 800 attendees. The three days will feature workshops alongside STEM and career panel discussions with figures from across Formula 1, F1 ACADEMY and the wider motorsports industry.

Students will get a hands-on experience with a unique immersive garage where they can test their skills on the simulators and Batax Wall. 2024 Champion Abbi Pulling will give students an insight into a lap of Silverstone and then in collaboration with the Silverstone Circuit, students can also try their hand at pit stop practices alongside programming and coding activities.

Pit lane and garage tours will give attendees a chance to meet the 2026 drivers, whilst a Driver Development Workshop will see 24 up-and-drivers gain new insights to support their development.

THE FIELD

• For the first time in her F1 ACADEMY career, Emma Felbermayr leads the Drivers' Standings on 31 points after taking one win and a third-place finish in Shanghai.
• The Austrian's efforts have helped give Rodin Motorsport a four-point advantage over Campos Racing in the Teams' Standings.
• The top three in the Drivers' Standings is made up of entirely second-year drivers, with Felbermayr leading Red Bull Racing's Alisha Palmowski and Nina Gademan for Alpine.
• Payton Westcott is the highest-placed rookie in fourth after the Mercedes driver achieved her maiden podium in the Feature Race.
• This marks the first time that F1 ACADEMY cars will be driving around Silverstone, with the series using the 5.891km Grand Prix layout is 5.891km long which features 18 turns.
• Of the 2026 grid, seven drivers have previously raced around this configuration of the Silverstone track — Nina Gademan, Esmee Kosterman and Ella Lloyd in British F4, Megan Bruce, Alisha Palmowski and Ava Dobson in GB4 and Rachel Robertson in the Radical Cup UK.

KEEP UP TO DATE

In-season testing from Silverstone will be covered on the official F1 ACADEMY website with end-of-day reports after the chequered flag on each of the two days, followed by driver reactions. You can also keep up to date with all the activities going on via the official F1 ACADEMY social media channels across the three days.