Interview
Larsen admits ‘there’s a little bit more to find’ in Shanghai following her best-ever Qualifying result
Alba Larsen sealed her first front row start in Qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit but revealed that there are still improvements to be made over the rest of the weekend.
The Ferrari driver held onto provisional pole for the first half of the busy Qualifying session, eventually conceding to Alisha Palmowski who found an advantage of four tenths, which Larsen couldn’t overhaul after making an error on her fastest attempt.
Larsen was nevertheless overjoyed with her P2 finish, representing her best one-lap performance in the series so far, and outlined how it will give her the momentum to hunt down her first podium finish.
“I’m very happy overall with qualifying P2 and on the front row – my best start in F1 ACADEMY,” she summarised. “It’s a really good start in the partnership with Ferrari and I think they’re also very happy.
“Obviously the gap needs to be a bit closer but I did make a mistake on my best lap so I think there’s a little bit more to find from my side. I know the race pace is good so with a front row start, I’m definitely very happy and for the races, it means there’s a lot that can happen.”
Like Palmowski, who won in the reverse grid race at this circuit in 2025, Larsen achieved her best result of last season here as she crossed the line to take a hard-fought fourth place in Race 2.
The previous experience has encouraged the 17-year-old to go one step further this year and set her sights on some silverware, which would put her in strong contention for the title early on.
Prompted on what exactly about the circuit suits her, Larsen replied: “I don’t know! It’s a very nice track. Charles Leclerc said to me that for him, it’s the most challenging track but I seem to be quite good here, so I’m very much looking forward to the races.
“The races last year were really good, and I definitely hope I can do better than last year where P4 was the best. I definitely hope I can stand on the podium and maybe go for the win as well.”