Emma Felbermayr wins F1 Academy Reverse Grid Race in Silverstone

Credit: F1 Academy

On F1 Academy's first visit to Silverstone, the Reverse Grid Race was dominated by Audi driver Emma Felbermayr, who took a third victory in the series from Nina Gademan and Ella Lloyd.

The race was packed with closely fought battles, with drivers finding themselves in tantalising wheel-to-wheel battles as they contested for the top eight points-scoring positions, with the winner being awared eight points and points trickling down, the eighth-placed driver taking one point.

Here's how an action-packed F1 Academy Reverse Grid Race in Silverstone panned out.

Race Report

As the five lights went out, reverse grid pole-sitter Emma Felbermayr managed to maintain the lead ahead of Nina Gademan, while Ella Lloyd began to pile the pressure on the Alpine driver for second.

Further back, the fastest driver of qualifying, Wild Card entry Chiara Bättig, had a slow start, dropping down to 10th from eighth. Meanwhile, Alisha Palmowski who’d started just ahead of her had now moved up two positions.

Another driver with a rapid start was Alba Larsen, who had started 13 and was running in ninth by Lap 2. The Ferrari driver had to now defend from Bättig however, as the two drivers jostled for position through the opening laps.

Up ahead, Felbermayr continued to extend her advantage, nearly two seconds clear of Gademan. 

By Lap 5, the top eight points-scoring positions were held by Felbermayr, Gademan, Lloyd, Rachel Robertson, Palmowski, Lisa Billard, Megan Bruce and Ava Dobson.

In ninth and 10th, Larsen and Bättig’s battle continued, the two drivers going wheel-to-wheel through every corner. The Wild Card driver finally got past Larsen and could make the move stick at Brooklands.

As we approached the halfway point of the 13-lap race, Felbermayr’s pace began to drop as Gademan closed in on her, the gap coming down to 1.3 seconds on Lap 8. Another battle gaining traction was for fourth between Roberston and Palmowski.

With three laps to go, a three-car battle was being contested for seventh between Dobson, Bruce and Bättig. As Dobson and Bruce had a scrap, Bättig took advantage and passed Bruce, returning to eighth from where she started.

Meanwhile, Mercedes driver Payton Westcott was handed a five-second time penalty for moving before the signal at the start.

Palmowski’s hunt for fourth place continued into the closing laps of the race, the championship leader within a tenth of Robertson.

As the final lap closed out, Felbermayr took a comfortable win from Gademan and Lloyd, while Robertson managed to keep Palmowski at bay.

The rest of the points were collected by Billard in sixth followed by Dobson and Bättig.

Looking Ahead

The Feature Race is up next, with Bättig set to lead the grid from pole as Palmowski in second will attempt to secure a home win and extend her championship lead. Catch all the action when the five lights go out on Sunday at 10:00 GMT.