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History-making drives and momentum swings: How the race for the Drivers’ title has unfolded so far
Drivers’ Standings leader Alisha Palmowski and Audi’s Emma Felbermayr are separated by 48 points, with Nina Gademan closing in on the pair. With three races in Austin and two in Las Vegas still to be played out, the title fight isn’t over yet.
It won’t be long until the trio take on the challenging Circuit of the Americas for the first time, but before that we look back at how the title fight has unfolded across the four Rounds, from the season opener in Shanghai to the most recent battles around the fast corners of Zandvoort.
ROUND 1 - SHANGHAI
After coming close to claiming her first pole position on numerous occasions during her 2025 campaign, Palmowski took her long-awaited maiden pole straight off the bat in China, just over four tenths clear of Alba Larsen, with Felbermayr settling for third.
During the Reverse Grid Race, Palmowski and Felbermayr both made gains. But only Felbermayr made it onto the podium in P3 after battling through the field, snatching third from Rafaela Ferreira on the final lap. Alpine’s Nina Gademan took the first race win of the season and became the first to head the Standings.
In the Feature Race, Palmowski was immediately demoted to P3 on the opening lap as both Larsen and Felbermayr passed the polesitter. Larsen took the lead and held firm during the Safety Car restart, but a devastating error let both Palmowski and Felbermayr through, promoting Payton Westcott into third and allowing the Audi driver to move top of the Standings for the first time in her F1 ACADEMY career. The Austrian driver left Shanghai with a six-point lead over Palmowski, with Gademan a further three points back in third.
ROUND 2 - MONTREAL
The title fight took a dramatic turn in Canada. A dominant display in Qualifying saw Palmowski sweep the board, claiming her second and third consecutive pole positions ahead of Westcott and Megan Bruce, with Felbermayr settling for P4 in both timesheets.
Palmowski lined up on pole for the first of three races at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The Brit led the Opening Race from start to finish in a dominant drive, posting the largest winning margin in F1 ACADEMY history at 10.119s and securing Campos Racing’s first 1-2 finish of the season alongside Bruce.
Meanwhile, rival Felbermayr stalled off the line and dropped to the back of the field, finishing in P10, just behind Gademan. This allowed Palmowski to jump up into the lead of the Drivers’ Standings, 19 points clear of the Audi junior, while Gademan dropped behind Rafaela Ferreira to fourth.
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However, Palmowski was left empty-handed in the Reverse Grid Race. The Red Bull Racing driver was forced to take evasive action onto the grass to avoid collecting fifth-placed Larsen, leaving her with a broken front wing. The Brit also made contact with her teammate Bruce on Lap 13 after attempting a cutback on Westcott for P4.
Felbermayr and Gademan were unable to capitalise on their rival’s misfortune. Left with nowhere to go after the Palmowski-Bruce incident ahead, Gademan clipped Bruce and went off into the barriers at Turn 2. While Mathilda Paatz’s celebrated her and Aston Martin’s maiden F1 ACADEMY victory, Felbermayr could only settle for three valuable points, finishing behind an all-rookie top five.
Early morning showers left the field facing a slippery and cold Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve for the Feature Race. Palmowski converted pole position into a second impressive victory as she mastered the drizzly conditions to win by 10.955s, beating her own record for the largest winning margin.
Felbermayr snatched second from Bruce on the final lap to recover another 18 points after an unfortunate weekend. This left Palmowski firmly as the Standings leader, 25 points ahead of Felbermayr. A second podium in three races promoted to Bruce to third, 16 points adrift and knocking Gademan down to sixth behind Westcott and Paatz after a disastrous weekend for the Dutch driver saw her take P9 and P7 finishes.
ROUND 3 - SILVERSTONE
Knowing she had to be perfect from here on out to keep her title hopes alive, Felbermayr set out with high hopes for the Silverstone race weekend, needing as many points as she could to close the gap to Palmowski. What neither title contender accounted for was Silverstone Wild Card driver Chiara Bättig.
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After topping the only Practice session, Bättig took control of the timesheets just after the halfway mark in Qualifying and never looked back, with the Wella driver’s 2:01.775 putting her fastest by 0.177s.
The 16-year-old became the first Wild Card to achieve a pole position and the youngest F1 ACADEMY driver to do so. Palmowski had to settle for P2, with Lisa Billard in P3. Gademan was seventh quickest and Felbermayr qualified eighth, taking pole for the Reverse Grid Race. Bruce’s home weekend got off to a rough start after she missed out on the top eight by 0.082s.
Felbermayr returned to the top step of the podium, taking the Reverse Grid Race win in a dominant fashion. The Audi driver fended off Gademan at the start and managed the pace perfectly to win by two seconds. Gademan finished second ahead of Ella Lloyd, who completed a double podium for Rodin Motorsport. Palmowski started strong, gaining two places on the opening lap to finish fifth, while teammate Bruce was left empty-handed in P9.
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After missing out on pole position, Palmowski delivered a dream Feature Race drive on home soil. Getting the better of Bättig off the line, she seized the lead as the pair pulled away from the rest of the field. Bättig took the first-ever Wild Card podium in P2, with Felbermayr putting in a fantastic performance, climbing from eighth to third at the British circuit, ahead of Gademan.
Palmowski extended her lead to 30 points, becoming the first driver to break the 100-point mark. Felbermayr’s back-to-back podium weekend kept the Red Bull Racing driver within reach, while Gademan’s P2 and P4 finishes allowed her to regain P3 from Bruce, who only managed to pick up two points thanks to a ninth-place finish in the Feature Race.
ROUND 4 - ZANDVOORT
Palmowski left it until the last possible moment to take control of the timesheet in Qualifying. After navigating two Red Flags, a trip into the gravel in wet conditions, the Red Bull Racing driver’s 1:40.911 put her ahead of Larsen by 0.864s. Granada finished in P3, with Felbermayr in fourth and Gademan fifth.
Westcott survived the Reverse Grid Race start and two Safety Car restarts to take her first-ever F1 ACADEMY race win. Larsen was on a charge, gaining five places to achieve her first F1 ACADEMY podium finish in second. Gademan enjoyed a trip to the rostrum at her home event, securing a double podium for her MP Motorsport team.
Behind them, Palmowski stalled off the line but eventually finished P12, opening the door for her title rival. However, a three-way fight and a battle with Rachel Robertson left the Audi driver with a five-second time penalty, also pushing her outside the points — marking the first time both drivers had failed to score at the same time in 2026.
Out front, Palmowski was untouchable in the Feature Race, fending off Larsen to win by 2.7s. Larsen and Gademan completed the podium, with their back-to-back podiums keeping their top three hopes alive. Felbermayr finished fifth after battling with Granada for the duration of the race.
With a 48-point lead, Palmowski put a comfortable window between herself and Felbermayr. Gademan trails by 17 points, but her double podium in Zandvoort chipped away at the gap to P2 and Larsen’s strong haul of silverware has vaulted her up to fourth, 21 points behind her teammate.
WHAT THIS MEANS?
If things go her way, Palmowski can clinch the title in Austin after either the Reverse Grid Race or the Feature Race. A 40-point lead or more after the third and final race of the weekend will be enough to crown the 20-year-old Champion with one round to go.
Yet with a new track and three races, anything can happen. Felbermayr needs the weekend of her life in Austin, but with 104 points on offer, she still has a chance. The Audi driver hasn’t outscored her rival across a weekend since Round 1 in Shanghai, but she isn’t giving up the fight yet.
Mathematically still in the running, Gademan and Larsen’s hopes are more distant, relying on two terrible weekends for the leading duo. However, they’re primed to snatch crucial points and podium spots away from either, which could prove pivotal in both trips to the United States…