Photo: Curt Smith from Bellevue, WA, USA via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
F1 Academy crowned its 2026 champion in Austin on Sunday, and then the champion crashed out of the Feature Race with a rival who was faster than she was. That left the weekend’s last race to a safety-car restart and a driver who had already done the hard part.
Alisha Palmowski, who drives for Campos Racing under the Red Bull Racing banner, wrapped up the title in the Reverse Grid Race. She started eighth, finished second behind Alba Larsen’s first F1 Academy win, and went into that race with a 63-point lead over Emma Felbermayr. The Feature Race and the Las Vegas finale on November 19 to 21 were both still to come.
Where the Feature was won
Palmowski started the Feature from pole. Payton Westcott passed her off the line, but Nina Gademan, starting third, went around the outside at Turn 1 on lap one and took the lead. Palmowski got back past Westcott for second on lap two. On lap 10, Larsen dived down the inside of Palmowski, locked up and ran wide, and the two touched. Larsen suffered front-left damage and Palmowski right-rear suspension damage, and both cars retired.
The safety car came out to recover them, and with the Feature set at 13 laps, racing resumed on lap 12 as a one-lap sprint. Gademan got the better restart and pulled away. Westcott was caught off guard, and Natalia Granada was left behind as well.
Why the restart was less of a lottery than it looks
Gademan did not inherit this one. The official timing shows her fastest lap among the classified finishers, a 2:08.735 on lap nine, which was not far off the 2:08.387 Larsen set on lap three before she retired. She had taken the lead at Turn 1 on the opening lap and was still in front when the safety car arrived, so the restart protected a lead rather than creating one. A one-lap sprint rewards whoever has clean air and a clear read on the restart point. Westcott, who started the restart in second, did not have that read.
Gademan, who races for MP Motorsport with Alpine backing, finished 29:28.429 clear of Westcott, who was 1.250 seconds back for PREMA Racing. Granada completed the podium for PREMA 1.963 seconds behind. Jade Jacquet was fourth for ART Grand Prix, her best result so far, and Emma Felbermayr was fifth for Rodin Motorsport. The win was Gademan’s second of 2026 and moved her to second in the Drivers’ Standings.
The injury footnote
Alexia Danielsson did not start the Feature. The Chief Medical Officer declared her unfit after a wrist injury suffered in a collision with Jacquet in the Reverse Grid Race.
The Austin round ran on the same weekend as the Formula 1 race, and our piece on how often a COTA win starts from the front row covers the main event. For readers following the next rung of the ladder, our look at Trident’s first 2027 F3 signing and the Hitech F3 move for Keanu Al Azhari show where the Formula 3 grid is being built for next season.
Lead image: Photo: Curt Smith from Bellevue, WA, USA via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
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