Interview
‘I had to really fight for it’ - Gademan reveals pre-planned approach to sealing the Austin Feature Race victory
Nina Gademan was ecstatic after claiming her second F1 ACADEMY race win of the season in Austin’s Feature Race, moving her up to second in the Drivers’ Standings.
Gademan started third for Sunday's race, behind newly-crowned Champion Alisha Palmowski and Payton Westcott, mirroring Friday’s Opening Race grid. At the race start, the Alpine driver pulled off a phenomenal move around the outside to take the lead out of the first corner.
The Alpine driver sped away but was immediately pressured by a fast-paced Palmowski and Alba Larsen behind her. As the top three put distance between themselves and the rest of the field, Gademan stayed calm as Palmowski and Larsen fought behind.
Contact between the pair forced both to retire and the field bunched up as the Safety Car came on track to retrive both cars. With one lap remaining Gademan executed a superb restart, leaving Westcott and Natalia Granada behind to secure her second race win of the year.
“I feel like it wasn’t easy today. I really had to fight for it,” she began. “Being under pressure from the champion of the grid, the best driver this year and then Alba Larsen as well. But I think I kept my head cool. I looked forward.”
During the race start Gademan was forced to the right-hand side, but took advantage of the drivers bunching up on the inside. The Dutch racer swept around the outside to take the lead out of Turn 1. Reflecting on the start, the Alpine driver admitted that’s what she planned all along after reviewing her Opening Race start.
“I planned to do that actually," she noted. "Last night, I actually couldn’t sleep for the first hour, but I went to bed early though. But I rewatched the start, what did I do wrong on Friday and what can I do to not do that again today.
READ MORE: FEATURE RACE: Gademan seizes second victory of the season with assured Austin drive
“I noticed that everyone cramps up on the inside of that corner every Safety Car restart, every start and I noticed that I have the space. From P3 I have got quite a lot of space in front of me that if I just go around the outside and take all the momentum around the corner, then I can overtake around the outside.
"Because Westcott is cramped up, she has to stop. She doesn’t take as much speed through the corners as I did. Then I pulled it off and I was like, wow, I pulled it off. I didn’t even expect to pull it off, because Payton’s start was really good, the initial launch, but then I just had a better Turn 1. It was good because I knew I had to be in front of Payton because I know I’m faster.
“I knew me, Alisha and Alba were just the strongest out this weekend and I knew I had to get in front because later on in the race it’s so hard to overtake, which you saw with Alba and Palmowski, because the track is so wide you can stick around and you can defend. I knew Lap 1 was the most important and the job was done in Lap 1.”
Gademan was under increased pressure from Palmowski and Larsen behind her, who followed closely until they started fighting. An unfortunate move forced the Ferrari driver and the newly crowned champion to retire, with the Safety Car brought out to retrieve both cars.
“I think they stayed with me because it’s easier to stay close in the tow," said Gademan. "But as soon as they started fighting from mid-race, I knew I could breathe a little bit and manage the tyres a little bit.
“I could feel that now that F1 has laid the rubber down and the fact we didn’t really have a safety car until the end, the tyres really started to degrade a lot at the end of the race. But then with the Safety Car, I was actually kind of annoyed it was so slow, because he was like driving second gear for us. I was like, are you doing this to give us another lap and it was like, you know what, I will give you one.”
WATCH: HIGHLIGHTS: Gademan storms to victory in Austin Feature Race as Larsen and Palmowski clash
The Alpine driver executed a perfect restart, catching Westcott off guard as the Mercedes driver and Granada dropped back allowing Gademan to pull away.
“The Safety Car restart was really good," she remarked. "I think I caught her off guard because I went quite late into the triple right, but the drivers behind expected me to go at Turn 19 or 20.
“I took full advantage of track limits in Turn 19 to open a gap. I don’t even think I did proper track limits, because you arrive with less speed because of the Safety Car, so I didn’t end up so wide, but my intention was to do track limits because I knew I had a bunch left and I didn’t really do any during the race.
“Then it was super easy because Payton Westcott behind me in P2 was under pressure from behind. I could literally just drive on 95% to make sure. Because the tyres pick up stuff from the safety car, they are always a bit on the edge on the first lap and I could just take it easy.”
Even though Palmowski was crowned the 2026 F1 ACADEMY champion, second place isn’t guaranteed. Gademan’s Feature Race win gave her 28 points in the Drivers’ Standings, jumping her ahead of Emma Felbermayr into second place with two more races left to go. The 23-year-old wasn’t just thinking about her own points, she was also rooting for her MP Motorsport teammate.
“I feel bad for Alba for not finishing because she’s my teammate and I obviously want her to fight for that P3 as well against Emma," she admitted. "But on the other hand, for me it gives me a lot of breathing room.
“It’s almost impossible to get out of the top three right now, which I think is really good. It’s good to get P2 and I think the most important thing now is to get a really good Qualifying in Las Vegas and score good points in the Feature Race again.
“I was so annoyed yesterday. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time with Jade (Jacquet) that spun and obviously I didn’t get the podium I wanted, but I knew my pace was really strong. Felbermayr was the strongest out of everyone, so I knew I just had to get it and now it’s all about repeating this in Las Vegas.”