Palmowski and Felbermayr win in F1 Academy at Silverstone

Anny Wooldridge
1 hour ago
5 min read

Round 3 of the F1 Academy season took place this weekend in Silverstone, as part of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix support package. Alisha Palmowski took her third F1 Academy victory of the season in the Feature Race, with Emma Felbermayr taking the Reverse Grid Race win.

Round 3 of the 2026 F1 Academy season saw the 2026 drivers head to the iconic Silverstone Circuit for the first time, with Swiss driver Chiara Bättig joining as the wild card.

Alisha Palmowski, Chiara Bättig and Emma Felbermayr were the standout performers of the weekend. Bättig made history by taking pole position and a podium as a Wild Card driver, earning Hitech its first podium in F1 Academy.

A special mention to Lisa Billard, who secured her first top-three result in qualifying. Her best lap time of 2:02.180 was four tenths away from polesitter Bättig.

Billard during qualifying — Lisa Billard during Qualifying

Bättig fastest in Silverstone practice and qualifying sessions

Bättig started off her Wild Card weekend incredibly strong, becoming both the first Wild Card driver to secure a pole position and also the youngest F1 Academy driver to do so at 16 years old.

From the very start of the weekend, Bättig aimed to prove why she deserved a place in F1 Academy, leading the way in the only Practice session of the weekend, finishing almost two tenths ahead of her nearest rival.

From the start of the Qualifying session, Palmowski and Gademan looked strong, with Gademan setting the initial benchmark lap time of 2:03.348, but Palmowski went even quicker, and Gademan responded again with a lap time of 2:02.792.

Bättig started the session slowly, making her way up to P2, finishing 0.080 seconds behind Gademan with 19 minutes left in the session.

Many drivers struggled with track limits, and Rachel Robertson, Natalia Granada, Megan Bruce and Palmowski all went wide into Turn 9, with their lap times subsequently deleted.

Billard, donning a set of new tyres, set the benchmark even higher with a lap of 2:02.180 seconds, establishing a new provisional pole time. Bättig wasn't happy and responded by becoming the first driver into the 2:01s, then improved again, setting a new provisional pole time of 2:01.775.

The rest of the drivers needed to respond, with Palmowski sitting outside the top 10; she needed to put in a good lap, which she did, but it was only good enough for P2. Her second flying lap cut the time even more, but Bättig's time was unreachable. Palmowski remained 0.177s clear of the Swiss driver, who was unable to set another lap time after a mechanical issue forced her to pit.

Billard secured her highest qualifying spot in P3, with Ava Dobson taking her best result in P4, followed by Robertson, who also celebrated her highest place finish in fifth.

Chiara Bättig in a wella race suit — Chiara Bättig

Felbermayr led from start to finish in the Reverse Grid Race

Starting from pole position for the Reverse Grid race, Felbermayr showed dominance from start to finish, holding off a charge from Gademan off the line to take her second win of the season, with Ella Loyd rounding out the top three for a Rodin Motorsport 1-3.

Felbermayr got a great start, cutting across to the left to cover an incoming charge from Gademan, who lined up second on the starting grid, but found herself immediately in trouble from Lloyd behind her.

Palmowski equally had a great start, making up two places in the opening lap and holding off an incoming Billard behind her.

Further back, Bruce overtook Dobson for P7, with Alba Larsen gaining four places moving into ninth in the opening part of the race. Luck wasn't on the side of Esmee Kotersman or Jade Jacquet, who both stalled off the line, but managed to eventually get going.

Felbermayr had built up a second gap between herself and Gademan by the end of lap two and continued to extend her lead. Wild Card Bättig didn't get the start she was looking for, losing two places at the start, but by lap six she had overtaken Larsen, moving back into the top ten.

Payton Westcott received a five-second time penalty for a false start after she moved before the signal, while Bättig capitalised on a battle between Bruce and Dobson, slotting between them and moving into P8.

Lloyd, running in third, found herself under pressure from Robertson on lap 10, with Palmowski close behind the pair, with Lloyd coming out on top and securing her podium position.

Felbermayr was untroubled all the way to the chequered flag, with Gademan finishing in P2, Lloyd in P3, and, further behind, Robertson claimed her first points of the season in P4, with Palmowski, Billard, and Dobson close behind the front runners.

women on the podium — Emma Felbermayr Reverse Race Winner

Palmowski took her third victory of the season in the Feature Race

Palmowski dominated the Feature Race, taking her third win of the season after overtaking pole sitter Bättig at the race start.

Bättig lined up in pole position for the first time, with Palmowski lining up in P2. The Red Bull Racing driver snatched the lead at the line heading into Turn 1. Third-placed Billard stalled at lights out, with drivers having to quickly change direction to avoid the Gatorade driver.

Lloyd and Felbermayr made up significant places at the race start with Lloyd moving to third from sixth, as Felbermayr also gained four places.

Going into lap two, a safety car was deployed after Rafaela Ferreira and Ella Stevens made contact at the start-finish line and both were forced to retire with damage.

The race restarted on lap five, with Palmowski leaving it late and having to deal with Bättig behind, who was wise to her plans and stayed with her as the pair put space between themselves and the rest of the field.

Lloyd, running in third place, quickly came under attack from Felbermayr, going side by side with her teammate, allowing Gademan to move up into fourth with Lloyd dropping to fifth.

Palmowski and Bättig were in a league of their own, putting over three seconds between them and Felbermayr, running in third, and the pair continued to battle. Palmowski, however, came out on top, crossing the line six tenths ahead, with the pair finishing over 8.5s ahead of Felbermayr in third place.

Gademan followed behind in fourth, with Lloyd in fifth, followed by Robertson, Granada, Dobson, Bruce and Larsen rounding out the top ten.

Alisha Palmowski on the podium — Alisha Palmowski Feature Race winner

Bättig earns first Wild Card podium

Bättig was the clear standout performer of the weekend, becoming the first Wild Card driver to top a session in the only Practice session of the weekend.

She then took pole position for the first time, two tenths clear of the Standings leader Palmowski, rounding out her weekend with a second-place finish over 8.5s clear of the rest of the field in the Feature Race.

She became the first Wild Card driver and the first Hitech driver on the podium, scoring 22 championship points in the process and putting her in 11th place.