Palmowski wins F1 Academy Opening Race in Austin as Larsen hands second back to Gademan
Payton Westcott led into Turn 1, two safety cars bunched the field, and Felbermayr finished fifth as Palmowski stretched her lead to 63 points
Update, 25 October 2026: Palmowski clinched the title the next day with second place in the Reverse Grid Race. Full story: Alisha Palmowski is F1 Academy champion after second place in Austin.
Alisha Palmowski won the F1 Academy Opening Race at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday, 1.985 seconds ahead of Nina Gademan, after MP Motorsport told Alba Larsen to hand second place back to her team-mate. Larsen finished third, and championship runner-up Emma Felbermayr was only fifth, so the Campos Racing driver now leads the standings by 63 points.
Start times (local, CEST and US Eastern) and how to watch: United States Grand Prix 2026 schedule
Westcott leads into Turn 1, Palmowski takes it back
Palmowski started from pole, but Payton Westcott made the better launch from second and led up the hill into Turn 1. Palmowski stayed alongside her through the esses and took the lead back a few corners later with a fine move. Westcott’s race unravelled at Turn 9, where she ran off the track and dropped to eighth. Gademan held third through the opening lap.
Further back, Rachel Robertson and Rafaela Ferreira collided at Turn 5. Robertson retired on the spot, and the safety car came out before the end of the first lap.
“She pushed me off track”
At the restart on lap 3 Palmowski pulled clear, while Gademan came under pressure from Larsen. On lap 4 Larsen went past at Turn 1, but she completed the move off the track, and race control put the pass under investigation.
On the team radio broadcast, Larsen protested that Gademan had forced her wide: “She pushed me off track.” Gademan was told to hold her position because the stewards would look at it after the race. Larsen kept attacking Palmowski for the lead in the meantime.
The race changed again on lap 10. Ella Lloyd and Ava Dobson touched at the exit of Turn 10 while fighting for twelfth. Dobson, racing at home, was out on the spot, and the second safety car came out. Under that safety car MP Motorsport told Larsen to give the place back to Gademan to avoid a penalty. Larsen did not agree, but she followed the instruction.
A one-lap sprint to the flag
The safety car came in for one last lap. Palmowski made another clean getaway, and Larsen let Gademan through at the restart. That did not end the fight: Larsen stayed right behind her team-mate through the final corners, and Gademan held on by 0.525 seconds.
Behind them L. Billard of ART Grand Prix kept Felbermayr behind for fourth. N. Granada was sixth and Westcott recovered to seventh.
Opening Race result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alisha Palmowski | Campos Racing | 30:48.056 |
| 2 | Nina Gademan | MP Motorsport | +1.985 |
| 3 | Alba Larsen | MP Motorsport | +2.510 |
| 4 | L. Billard | ART Grand Prix | +3.222 |
| 5 | Emma Felbermayr | Rodin Motorsport | +3.987 |
| 6 | N. Granada | PREMA Racing | +4.763 |
| 7 | Payton Westcott | PREMA Racing | +5.120 |
| 8 | E. Kosterman | MP Motorsport | +5.283 |
| 9 | E. Stevens | Rodin Motorsport | +5.530 |
| 10 | J. Jacquet | ART Grand Prix | +5.770 |
Top ten, 13 laps, gap to the winner. Source: F1 Academy provisional classification. Ella Lloyd received a five-second penalty for the contact with Ava Dobson, which dropped her from 14th to 16th. Rachel Robertson gets a three-place grid penalty for the Reverse Grid Race for the collision with Rafaela Ferreira. Wildcard Alexia Danielsson finished 15th.
Palmowski 161, Felbermayr 98
The win is worth 25 points to Palmowski, who moves to 161. Felbermayr scores 10 for fifth and has 98. Gademan takes 18 for second and closes to 89, nine points behind Felbermayr in the fight for runner-up. These are provisional totals: the official standings had not been updated with the Austin points at the time of writing. Our F1 Academy standings follow once they are.
Our read
MP Motorsport made the right call. Larsen’s pass was off the track, and giving the place back under the safety car protected both cars from a penalty that could have cost the team a double podium. It also showed that Gademan is the team’s best placed driver in the championship, and the team raced like it.
For Palmowski it was the kind of race a champion wins: she lost the lead at the start, took it back within a lap and survived two restarts without a mistake. With a 63-point lead she can wrap up the title as early as this weekend. What Palmowski needs to be champion.
Reverse Grid Race at 18:00 local, 01:00 CEST and 19:00 ET
The Reverse Grid Race starts on Saturday at 18:00 local time, which is 01:00 CEST on Sunday and 19:00 ET. The Feature Race follows on Sunday at 12:00 local, 18:00 CET after Europe’s clocks go back, and 13:00 ET. Palmowski starts that race from pole.
Sources: F1 Academy provisional classification; race events and team radio from the live broadcast as watched by RNT-Motorsports.
Was MP Motorsport right to make Larsen give second place back, or should the team have let the stewards decide? Tell us in the comments.
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