Alisha Palmowski F1 Academy Driver Profile: Red Bull’s British Title Contender in 2026

Alisha Palmowski F1 Academy is, right now, the most compelling story in junior motorsport. At 19 years old, the Derbyshire-born Briton leads the 2026 F1 Academy championship by 48 points after four rounds, racing for Campos Racing under the Red Bull Racing banner with car number 21. She is fast, consistent, and increasingly difficult to ignore.

Alisha Palmowski F1 Academy: Fast Facts

• Nationality: British
• Date of birth: 21 September 2006
• Born in: Glossop, Derbyshire, England
• Series: F1 Academy
• Current team: Campos Racing, under the Red Bull Racing banner
• Car number: 21

Career Path: From Karting to Red Bull Academy

Palmowski made her competitive karting debut in the 2018 BirelART UK Series and moved to the Daniel Ricciardo Series, finishing runner-up to the title in both 2020 and 2021. The momentum carried into cars. She won the 2022 Ginetta Junior Scholarship, joining Jamie Chadwick as the only women to earn the honour. “Winning the scholarship is my career highlight and it always will be, no matter what I go on to achieve, because without winning the scholarship, I wouldn’t be in single seaters now,” she said in an interview with Silverstone.

Named as a BRDC Rising Star in 2024, Palmowski scored three wins, two pole positions and 11 podiums, the most in the field, on her way to the GB4 Championship Vice Champion honours. From there she made a memorable first impression in F1 Academy as a Wild Card entry in Lusail, qualifying sixth and fourth before finishing P5 in Race 1. Red Bull had seen enough. They signed her immediately.

2026 Season: Alisha Palmowski F1 Academy Championship Lead

Palmowski dominated qualifying at the Canadian GP to secure pole for both the Opening Race and Feature Race, topping every stage of the session and finishing almost four tenths clear with a 1:38.466. The wet Feature Race at Montreal told an even sharper story. Wet-weather racing has long been viewed as one of the clearest indicators of raw driver talent, and Palmowski looked entirely at home, with fans on social media comparing her relentless pace to Max Verstappen, jokingly dubbing her ‘Alisha Palstappen’.

Then came Silverstone. Greeted by cooler morning conditions, Palmowski beat polesitter Bättig off the line to snatch the lead by the apex of Turn 1, and her hold over that lead was unshakeable as she took the chequered flag six tenths ahead. She collected 26 points during the day to bring her total to 108 units.

Of the two title contenders, Palmowski has been the benchmark over one lap with three poles to her name, but rival Felbermayr’s consistency is a major threat, as the Audi junior is the only driver to have scored in all seven races. Responsible for 62.06% of Campos Racing’s 174 points, Palmowski holds the highest average finishing position on the grid at 3.57. Those numbers define a title campaign, not just a hot streak.

Driving Style and Personality

Always bubbly away from the car, once the visor goes down Alisha Palmowski has a singular focus: settling her unfinished business by taking home the title. Her qualifying pace is her sharpest weapon. Four poles and four wins from the first four rounds of 2026 confirm it. But what has matured most noticeably is her race management. She has spoken about how much she has learnt in terms of tyre management and technical driving, and equally how much she has learnt about extracting the best performance from herself, knowing what environment she thrives in and what triggers stress.

That self-awareness is rare at 19. It is what separates drivers who accumulate wins from drivers who convert championships. “I’d love to make it to Formula 1 and I’d love to be World Champion,” she has said, adding that a successful career simply means still being a racing driver in 30 years and enjoying it. Grounded. Clear-eyed. Dangerous for the rest of the field.

Palmowski heads into the summer break with a commanding 30-point lead in the Standings over Felbermayr, with Round 4 heading to Circuit Zandvoort on August 21 to 23. The Briton achieved P2 finishes in Race 2 at Zandvoort and Las Vegas and swept the board during in-season testing at the Dutch circuit this month. The form line points in one direction.

For more on the series that is shaping Palmowski’s path, read about Susie Wolff and F1 Academy 2026, and follow her rivals including Nina Gademan, who sits third in the standings, and Esmee Kosterman in the chasing pack. Track every result and the live standings on our GT World Challenge standings page.

Championship position after Zandvoort

After four of the six rounds Palmowski leads on 136 points, 48 clear of Emma Felbermayr and 65 clear of Nina Gademan. She has four wins and four pole positions from the nine races run so far, and at Montreal she won by the largest margin in the history of the series.

The title can be settled at the Austin round on 24 and 25 October, which carries three races because of the cancelled Jeddah weekend. Las Vegas in November is worth a maximum of 39 points, so if Palmowski leaves Austin more than 39 points clear she is champion with a round to spare.

Zandvoort also showed where it can still go wrong. She took pole and won the feature race, but her car stalled twice on the grid for the reverse grid race and she finished twelfth. Asked about her championship buffer afterwards she was unbothered: “I think I’m not too stressed about it, to be honest. It’s a very privileged and nice position to be in.”