Two rounds left, four victories and 48 points clear: Alisha Palmowski’s 2026 F1 Academy title charge
With just two rounds of the 2026 F1 Academy season left, Alisha Palmowski finds herself in a commanding position at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. The British driver has built a 48-point lead after four rounds, earning four victories along the way and consistently proving she's one of the top drivers.
From a strong opening weekend in Shanghai, a dominant performance in Montreal, a memorable home victory at Silverstone and another win at Zandvoort, the Red Bull driver has combined speed with consistency throughout this season. With the title now firmly within her reach, the final two rounds taking place in Austin and Las Vegas will decide whether her efforts will end with a championship win.
But how did Palmowski build such a comfortable lead? Here’s a look into her season so far.
Round 1: Shanghai
Palmowski had a flying start to her 2026 season in Shanghai. She topped the Free Practice session before going one step further and taking her maiden pole position, providing her with the perfect start to the opening weekend.
The races proved to be more of a challenge; Palmowski started in eighth for the reverse grid finishing in fifth getting her first points of the season.
The feature race was particularly close, with Palmowski finishing in second being just over two tenths behind Emma Felbermayr. She finished in the points in both races, leaving Shanghai with 25 points.
Although she missed out on a victory, this opening weekend demonstrated that she has the ability to fight at the front. Palmowski finished the first round standing second in the championship, only six points behind then leader Felbermayr.
Round 2: Montreal
Shanghai showed Palmowski had the pace, with Montreal showing how dominant she can be. The Canadian weekend featured three races, and Palmowski was at the top throughout the weekend. She not only topped the free practice session but both qualifying sessions before taking the win in the opening race from pole.
Palmowski was particularly impressive during the Opening Race, where she dominated from start to finish — finishing 10.11 seconds ahead of her teammate Megan Bruce, setting the largest winning margin in F1 Academy history at the time, and also taking the fastest lap.
However, she had an unlucky Reverse Grid Race where she experienced some damage, finishing in 10th with no points.
She bounced back during the Feature Race, where she mastered the wet conditions out on track. Starting from pole she dominated once again and broke the winning margin record she had previously set that weekend.
This incredible weekend was a huge championship boost shifting the current standings. Palmowski left Montreal with 78 points, taking the championship lead with a 25-point advantage over Felbermayr who dropped to second.
Round 3: Silverstone
This weekend took place on home soil for Palmowski, and she continued to show consistency that would keep her top of the standings. She qualified second only 0.177 seconds behind Wild Card driver Chiara Bättig.
The Reverse Grid Race left her starting further down the grid, and she struggled to make up places settling for fifth, earning four points.
The Feature Race is where she delivered. Starting in second, Palmowski had a brilliant launch and passed Bättig before Turn 1 to take the lead. From there, she was in complete control of the race, holding off Bättig to claim another victory and the fastest lap.
Her successful home round added 30 points to her championship total, leaving her at the top with 108 points. More importantly, her performance extended her advantage over Felbermayr by 30 points.
Round 4: Zandvoort
Zandvoort was another weekend where Palmowski combined raw speed and the ability to recover from setbacks. She had an outstanding qualifying performance despite the difficult wet-to-dry conditions, claiming her fourth pole position of the season and adding another crucial two points to her championship. Her final lap put her 0.864 seconds clear of Alba Larsen.
However, Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race proved to be a challenger for the championship leader who struggled to get away from the line and ultimately finished outside the points. This is the second time this season where she has left the Reverse Grid Race with no points.
She bounced back exactly how a championship leader should.
Starting from pole for the Feature Race, Palmowski led from start to finish despite the continuous pressure from Larsen behind.
The Ferrari driver stayed close on Palmowski’s tail most of the race, but Palmowski kept her lead with another excellent dominant drive to secure her fourth victory.
The Red Bull driver left Zandvoort still leading the championship with a total of 136 points, with Felbermayr still behind on 88. This means she now has a 48-point lead heading into the final two rounds, which will take place in Austin and Las Vegas.
Palmowski’s championship lead has been built through both dominance and resilience which has been shown through all she has achieved during the first four rounds.
With two rounds remaining, she has already given herself a substantial advantage, but the championship is not secured yet. Austin is next before the season finale in Las Vegas, giving Palmowski two more race weekends to convert her impressive season into an F1 Academy championship title.
Edited by Meghana Sree
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