Alisha Palmowski claims the maiden pole of the 2026 F1 Academy season in a dramatic qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Behind her, Alba Larsen slotted into second while Emma Felbermayr starts Sunday from third. Nina Gademan will start from pole for Race 1 on Saturday after qualifying eight. While, with less than one second separating the top 12, it was a tense 30 minutes.
Palmowski Leads Practice
Alisha Palmowski hit the ground running for her 2026 Season. The Red Bull supported driver topped the timesheets for the only practice of the weekend. Four and a half tenths ahead of second, the 19 year old will be looking to keep that same pace during Qualifying.
It was experience that pushed Alba Larsen into second. While a promising debut session for Payton Westcott the ended the session in third.
Green Lights on Qualifying
Mathilda Paatz, led the field out for Qualifying at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix. After the first flying runs, it was Emma Felbermayr who settles at the top with a 2:05.362. Experience led the way as Palmowksi topped the Austrian driver by 0.487s, claiming two purple sectors in the process.
At their first F1 Academy weekend, it was the Rookie drivers who were impressing. Lisa Billard and Ella Stevens both slotted themselves into the top five after ten minutes on track.
Once on track, Alba Larsen and Ella Lloyd showed why they were favourites heading into the season. Alongside Palmowksi, the three returning drivers traded pole positions before diving into the pits. The returning drivers, who raced in Shanghai last year, were showing why experience matters. All six drivers were sitting in the top seven after the first qualifying runs.
Disrupted Push for Pole
With 10 minutes left on the clock, Kaylee Countryman brought the only red flag of the session. The Haas supported driver came to a stop on track with mechanical failures. However, after a minute on track, the ART Driver was able to get her car going again.
After a few minutes in the pits, F1 Academy was back on track. Larsen was still sitting at the top of the standings, however the times started to drop. Palmowski picked up a purple sector to go onto pole. Only 0.014s ahead of Larsen, the hunt was on as only five minutes remained in the session.
Westcott shot up to third on the standings, just over one tenth behind. Elsewhere, Palmowski extended her lead to almost half a second ahead of Larsen. After mistakes early in the session, Rafaela Ferreira jumped up to third.
Palmowski Claims Pole in Shanghai
The times continued to tumble as it was anyones game with a minute on the clock. Felbermayr jumped up to third, only two tenths behind Larsen. As Larsen failed to set a personal best in her final run, it was Palmowski who held onto her pole position.
After a small lock up from Westcott, she was able to recover to fourth. However, she was the final mover of the session, as Lloyd failed to improve on her tenth position.
Heading into Sunday’s Race 2, Palmowski will lead Larsen and Felbermayr. Westcott was the top performing rookie in fourth, while Billard slotted into sixth behind Ferreira. Gademan will start tomorrow’s reverse grid race from pole after qualifying eighth. Spehora’s Natalia Granada will join her on the front row after qualifying seventh.
F1 Academy returns on Saturday at 1:45pm local time (5:45am GMT) for Race 1 of the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
Feature Image Credit: Red Bull