F1 Academy: Austin Race Recap

(Photo by F1Academy)

F1 Academy made its return this weekend at the Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, USA. Iconic for the distinctive atmosphere, complete with cowboy hats and country music, this circuit returns to the F1A calendar for the third time since the first season in 2023, providing a fitting backdrop for another round of action-paced racing.

With a range of high and lower speed corners and plenty of wide areas of track to overtake, each of the 13 lap races promise for plenty of excitement.

Practise and Qualifying

Free practise was topped by Emma Felbermayr, whose Audi topped the tables with a lap time of 2:08:949. Pole position in qualifying was achieved by Alisha Palmowski with a lap time of 2:07:714. Her fastest lap placing her in last position in qualifying two being achieved by a lap time of 2:07:955, with Rafaela Ferreira starting on pole for the reverse grid race.

The Races

Palmowski once again dominated the track and took the win of the opening race, taking her fifth victory of the season, fighting Payton Westcott for the lead straight from lights out, but clinched her victory. The Alpine of Gademan crossed the line in second and the Ferrari of Larsen in third.

Alba Larsen returned to the podium, this time bringing a new name to  the top step for the first time this season in the reverse grid race. She achieved her maiden victory during this race after starting fourth on the grid. Palmowski’s dominance doesn’t stop here this weekend, as she clinched the championship title after charging from eighth to second place with three races to go in the weekend. She becomes the youngest championship in the series and the second British winner since Abbi Pulling in 2024. This achievement was a testament to Palmowski’s incredible performance across the season.  Lisa Billard finishes off the podium, retaining her third place starting position to stand on the podium for the first time in her rookie season, marking a promising start to her F1 academy career.

The final race of the weekend was owned by Gademan after a strong opening corner move into turn 1 helped propel her towards the top step. It was an impressive start from Mercedes’ Westcott who took second place from the front row. It was a weekend of firsts for the drivers, with Natalia Granada achieving her first feature race podium after finishing in third. The newly crowned champion crashed with the reverse race winner during a fierce battle between turn 12 and 13, forcing both drivers to retire from the race and costing Larsen a three place grid penalty for the next race in Vegas.

One Race Left

With the season finale in Las Vegas rapidly approaching, what does this mean for the championship? Palmowski has already claimed the title as hers, so she has nothing to lose going into this race weekend. Many drivers have much to prove still, all will want to clinch a last-minute victory.

For F1 Academy, the significance of the season doesn’t end at the standings. The series  aims to provide a gateway to other racing series’ to young female racers. Whether they have won the title or not, their experience and history this season will help prove themselves worthy of seats behind the wheel in the future. This last race still means so much to every driver on the grid to demonstrate a driver’s potential, so there is still everything to fight for.

Written by Olivia Trott (@livsf1diaries)