HEAD-TO-HEAD: How Palmowski and Felbermayr stack up in the battle to become the 2026 Champion

Alisha Palmowski is on the verge of glory, as the Red Bull Racing driver could be crowned the 2026 F1 ACADEMY Champion at the penultimate round in Austin. However, second-placed Emma Felbermayr will do all she can to turn things back in her favour and with 104 points still on offer, nothing is settled yet.

Mathematically, Palmowski can clinch the title after the Reverse Grid Race or Feature Race, but can Felbermayr close the gap and push the fight to the Las Vegas finale? The battle has been simmering all season long, but who looks to be in the stronger position when it comes to their head-to-head record?

QUALIFYING HEAD-TO-HEAD

Palmowski 5 - 0 Felbermayr

The numbers show Palmowski has dominated Qualifying this season, taking four pole positions out of the five on offer, including for the Opening Race in Montreal. Compared to Felbermayr’s zero, the Red Bull Racing driver has a firm advantage.

The Briton hit the ground running, taking her maiden pole position in Shanghai, beating Alba Larsen by four tenths and followed that up with both poles in Canada. Silverstone Wild Card Chiara Bättig has been the only driver able to challenge the Brit for the Qualifying top spot so far.

Palmowski had to settle for P2 on home soil, as the Wild Card driver took control of the timesheets just after the halfway mark, setting a 2:01.775 to beat the Red Bull Racing driver by 0.177s.

The Brit's largest pole margin came in Zandvoort, when she put 0.864s between herself and Larsen. This fell just 0.003s short of the series record set by Marta García at the inaugural F1 ACADEMY weekend at the Red Bull Ring back in 2023.

Despite staying consistent, Felbermayr claimed her best Qualifying position of P3 in Shanghai. Since then, the Audi driver has yet to return to the top three, qualifying P4 on three occasions — twice in Montreal and once in Zandvoort. During her worst Qualifying session of the season, she managed P8 in Silverstone, 0.684s adrift of Bättig’s pole position time.

RACE HEAD-TO-HEAD

Palmowski 4 - 5 Felbermayr

The title contenders are remarkably evenly matched in terms of consistency in the all-important Races, with Felbermayr pipping Palmowski on five instances out of nine.

Felbermayr has taken victory in two races - most recently in the Silverstone Reverse Grid Race, with an earlier triumph in Shanghai’s Feature Race. Until the Zandvoort Reverse Grid Race, the Austrian was the only driver to have scored in all seven races up to that point, while five podium finishes have kept her in title contention.

With both coming to the end of their second season in the series, they’ve honed their winning ways, with four of Palmowski’s five podiums being victories, including the Opening Race in Montreal and the Feature Races in Montreal, Silverstone and Zandvoort.

However, her latest race win would prove to be her most difficult yet, with Alba Larsen hounding her from the lead from the start. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old held her nerve to take her first Grand Slam, becoming the seventh F1 ACADEMY to do so in a full Grand Prix points-style race.

Speaking about the victory, Palmowski said, "I managed to maintain position and then just keep a cool, calm and collected head, really. I know how difficult it is to overtake around Zandvoort, so I knew if I was consistent, made no mistakes, gave Alba no opportunity to get through, then it would be very difficult for her. Thank goodness I didn’t make any mistakes.”

REVERSE GRID RACE HEAD-TO-HEAD

Palmowski 0 - 4 Felbermayr

Qualifying at the top is, of course, exactly where a title contender wants to be for the Feature Race. Understandable as a win is worth the more points, 25 compared to 10 in the Reverse Grid Race. However, Palmowski and Felbermayr understand that the points on offer in the Reverse Grid Races are also extremely important in the bigger picture of the season.

With the top eight drivers from Qualifying flipped in every Reverse Grid Race, Palmowski has found herself starting around the fourth row more often than not, while Felbermayr’s lower-place Qualifying finishes gave her an advantage by starting closer to the front. But their starting grid places have done little to dissuade them from charging through the field, with Felbermayr outscoring her rival on all four occasions.

The Audi driver has finished on the podium in two of four Reverse Grid Races, even sealing the win in Silverstone. Palmowski has struggled to match that progress, with P5 finishes in Shanghai and Silverstone marking her best finishes.

Interestingly, Zandvoort marked the first time in the series' history that both of the top two drivers in the Standings failed to score points, with Palmowski and Felbermayr finishing outside the top eight in the Reverse Grid Race.

MOST POSITIONS GAINED

Palmowski - 3 in Shanghai Reverse Grid Race Felbermayr - 5 in Silverstone Feature Race

Shaking off the disastorous Qualifying in Silverstone, Felbermayr bounced back in style, recovering five positions to finish on the podium in the Feature Race. It rounded out a double podium for the Audi driver, who also took the Reverse Grid Race win the day before.

“It was a good race,” she said after the weekend. “We had a great start and great first lap. Also, the Safety Car was on point, so it was definitely a good comeback from where we started. P8 was tough and I would have liked to have finished even further up, but overall it was nice.”

By contrast, Palmowski hasn't needed to recover after a disappointing Qualifying, but at the same time, she hasn't been able to make the same inroads up the grid. The first Reverse Grid Race of the season in Shanghai was her most successful in terms of overtakes.

After Qualifying on pole position, the Red Bull Racing driver lined up in P8 and capitalised on a poor start from Lisa Billard and contact between Larsen and Felbermayr to move up to fifth by the chequered flag.

MOST POSITIONS LOST

Palmowski - 4 in Zandvoort Reverse Grid Race Felbermayr - 8 in Zandvoort Reverse Grid Race

Palmowski and Felbermayr’s myriad of victories and podiums have undoubtedly been countered by some heartbreaking lows, especially for the Austrian driver.

A disastrous weekend in Zandvoort saw the Audi driver receive a five-second penalty for contact with Rachel Robertson in a fierce battle, dropping Felbermayr to P13 and her worst result of the season. A P5 finish in the Zandvoort Feature Race saw her pick up just ten points from the race weekend, allowing Palmowski to strengthen her advantage to 48 points.

The Zandvoort Reverse Grid Race didn’t go any better for Palmowski, who stalled off the line after starting in P8. The car eventually got started, but the Red Bull Racing driver could only recover to finish P12, her worst finish of the season so far and her second non-points scoring finish after the Montreal Reverse Grid Race.

In total, Palmowski has lost a net one position compared to her starting grid spots in the nine races so far. Similarly, Felbermayr has lost four places overall.

FINAL THOUGHTS

No matter what happens in Austin and Las Vegas, Palmowski and Felbermayr have shown time and time again why they each deserve to become the 2026 Champion.

Both would be worthy winners to follow in the footsteps of García, Abbi Pulling and Doriane Pin. But of course, only one can win the ultimate prize.

Palmowski has achieved a record-breaking season, breaking the record for the largest winning margin in F1 ACADEMY history twice, winning by 10.1s and 10.9s, both in Montréal. In Zandvoort, the Red Bull Racing driver accomplished her maiden Grand Slam and no driver can score more pole positions than her this season, with only three poles still on offer.

If she can maintain her momentum and gain pole position in Austin, she'll be in the best possible position to secure the title at the Circuit of the Americas. However, holding the penultimate race weekend at an unknown track for these F1 ACADEMY drivers will undoubtedly provide some challenges and level the playing field.

Reflecting on her points buffer, Palmowski said: "It's a very privileged and nice position to be in. I have that buffer if something does go wrong, then I can still maintain the lead.

"Equally, it doesn't change the approach that I take going into Austin (...) I obviously can’t control what Emma does, what Nina (Gademan) does. All I can do is focus on myself and make sure I'm making no mistakes, can do a good job and then the title will come my way or not."

However, nobody should underestimate Felbermayr. Overlooked in many fans' pre-season predictions, the 19-year-old has continued to prove her doubters wrong. Constantly pushing herself to achieve more, she won't give up easily, asserting that: "The fight is not won until mathematically I'm not able to."

If anyone can switch their focus to the unique and tricky circuit, it’s this pair of incredible racers. Palmowski heads into the weekend with 136 points to Felbermayr’s 88, but both will have their sights set on silverware. The only certainty in this title fight is that fans won't want to miss a single second of the unmissable action to come in Austin and Las Vegas.