F1 Academy: Emma Felbermayr storms ahead to claim Race 2 victory in Shanghai

Written by Teagan Strachan

Credit: F1 Academy

Sunday morning marked the beginning of the final F1 Academy race of Round 1 in Shanghai with the grid reverted back to qualifying positions for Race 2. The front row will be occupied by Red Bull Racing backed driver Alisha Palmowski and Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy’s Alba Larsen as the pilots compete across 13 intense laps and fight for a spot on the podium.

How it happened

As the lights went out, Palmowski had an unfavourable launch off the line dropping two positions to find herself in third, as Larsen comfortably took the lead. Emma Felbemayr had a strong start climbing one position into second after a small battle with Palmowski.

Larsen was quick to charge ahead of her opponents throughout Lap 1, finding a one-second gap ahead of pack looking to secure her first podium.

Whilst the top three were battling for top spot, down the line an early lock up from Rafaela Ferreira saw her go wide, finding herself in an intense battle with Lisa Billard as they fought for fifth. However, a few misjudgements from the two saw a door open for Ella Lloyd, allowing her to pass both drivers and secure fifth position.

Lloyd was quick to continue her hunt, challenging Nina Gademan for fourth position, with the McLaren backed championship favourite’s race engineer encouraging her to make a move as she continued to close the gap between the Dutch driver ahead.

Meanwhile, there was some chaos through the middle of the field as Granada suffered front wing damage, leaving her no choice but to retreat to the pit for repairs.

As Larsen continued to lead comfortably at the front, Felbermayr, Palmowski and rookie Payton Westcott continued their battle for second with the rookie bravely looking to go three-wide.

However, the battles were drawn to a halt as a miscalculation from Jade Jacquet saw her find the rear of Esmee Kosterman’s LEGO livery, making contact, resulting in an end to both their races.

As the safety car ended, Larsen was strong off the start but found the gravel after a snap oversteer into Turn 16, dropping her drastically to eighth.

Nearing the end of the race, a lock up from Rachal Roberston caused her to make contact with Wildcard Wei Shi, with Shi having an unfortunate end to her home race, bringing out the second yellow flag of the day.

Ahead in the battle for tenth, Ava Dobson, Mathilda Paatz and Ella Stevens found themselves racing wheel-to-wheel, Dobson coming out on top claiming the final points of the race.

Up the front, Felbermayr, Palmowski and Westcott comfortably lead the rest of the field, with the second-year contenders Felbermayr and Palmowski using their previous F1 Academy experience to fight it out for top spot throughout the penultimate lap.

However, a strategic move from the Audi driver to take a defensive stance through the final Turn saw her take top spot, securing her second win in her F1 Academy campaign, and her first feature race respectively.

Palmowski took second, with rookie Westcott finishing third to round off the podium. They were followed by Gademan in fourth and Lloyd in fifth.

Looking ahead

With Round 2 of F1 Academy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia cancelled due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle-East, as it stands, the next opportunity for the 18 drivers to race it out for the championship title will be in Montreal, Canada from the 22-24 of May.