FEATURE RACE: Palmowski secures her fourth win of the season in Zandvoort with another commanding performance

Alisha Palmowski led from start to finish despite pressure from fast-paced Alba Larsen in the Feature Race at Zandvoort, claiming her fourth win of the 2026 F1 ACADEMY season and further extending her lead in the Drivers’ Standings.

Larsen and Nina Gademan brought home back-to-back double podiums for MP Motorsport, with the Alpine driver gaining two places to move up into third.

After a disastrous start in the Reverse Grid Race on Saturday, polesitter Palmowski was looking for redemption. However, the Red Bull Racing driver didn't get off the line well, sweeping across to the right to keep Larsen at bay. This left the Ferrari driver to go side by side with Natalia Granada in the run up to Turn 1, but managed to stay ahead before chasing Palmowski down the track.

By contrast, Gademan was on the charge from fifth, with the Dutch driver capitalising on the battle in front of her, lunging on the inside and squeezing past Granada after dispatching Emma Felbermayr for fourth off the line.

Meanwhile, Ella Lloyd made her way into the top 10, gaining three places at the race start and climbing into eighth place by Lap 3.

On Lap 4, Felbermayr and Granada made slight contact as Felbermayr attempted an overtake on the inside of Turn 1 after picking up a tow down the start-finish straight, with the Sephora driver holding her ground and maintaining fourth place.

Palmowski found herself under pressure from Larsen, with the pair putting over a second and a half between themselves and the rest of the grid by Lap 5. Continuing her charge, Larsen stayed on the wheels of the Red Bull Racing driver through the next few laps with Palmowski seeming to struggle, but the gap was too big for Larsen to put in an attack.

Further behind, Ella Lloyd found herself under pressure from Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race winner, Payton Westcott and the two battled for eighth place. Lloyd managed to pull away, finding some pace to close the gap between herself and Rachel Robertson, who was putting equal pressure on Megan Bruce up ahead in sixth.

Out front, Palmowski steadily built a gap by Lap 10 and her hold over the lead remained untouched as the Briton took the chequered flag almost three seconds ahead of Larsen. The Dane returned to the podium for the second race in a row. The pair finished a further 8.7s up the road from Gademan, who made it another double podium for MP Motorsport.

Granada managed to keep Felbermayr behind her in the closing stages of the race, with the Audi driver having to contend with fifth ahead of Bruce. Robertson finished with her second points finish of the weekend in P6, ahead of Lloyd. Westcott and Kosterman who completed the top 10, as the LEGO Racing driver brought home another points finish at her home weekend..

WHAT'S NEXT?

Palmowski holds a 48-point lead in the Drivers’ Standings as F1 ACADEMY returns to Austin for the first time since 2023. Join us for Round 5 of the 2026 season from October 22-25.