2026 F1 Academy season

The 2026 F1 Academy season is the fourth edition of F1 Academy, an all-female, Formula 4–level, open-wheel racing championship founded and organized by Formula Motorsport Limited. For the third year running, it supports selected rounds of the FIA Formula One World Championship. 10 of the 18 cars sport liveries sponsored by 10 of the 11 Formula One teams, with new entrant Cadillac supporting an eleventh F1 Academy livery starting in 2027.[1]

Three-time champion Prema Racing entered the season as the defending teams' champion.

Entries

F1 Academy is a spec series; all teams competing with an identical Tatuus F4-T421 chassis and tyre compounds developed by Pirelli. Each car is powered by a 123-kilowatt (165 hp) turbocharged 4-cylinder engine developed by Autotecnica.[2][3]

Full season entries
Teams No. Driver Supporting F1 team Rounds Ref.
MP Motorsport 3 Nina Gademan Alpine 1 [4]
12 Alba Hurup Larsen Ferrari 1 [5]
32 Esmee Kosterman N/a 1 [6][7]
Campos Racing 4 Megan Bruce N/a 1 [8]
18 Rafaela Ferreira Racing Bulls 1 [9]
21 Alisha Palmowski Red Bull Racing 1 [9]
Rodin Motorsport 5 Emma Felbermayr Audi 1 [10]
20 Ella Lloyd McLaren 1 [11]
28 Ella Stevens N/a[a] 1 [11]
Prema Racing 8 Mathilda Paatz Aston Martin 1 [12]
9 Payton Westcott Mercedes 1 [13]
19 Natalia Granada N/a 1 [14]
ART Grand Prix 14 Lisa Billard N/a 1 [15]
91 Kaylee Countryman Haas 1 [16]
95 Jade Jacquet Williams 1 [17]
Hitech 55 Ava Dobson N/a 1 [18]
56 Rachel Robertson N/a 1 [19]
Wildcard entries
Hitech 24 Shi Wei N/a 1 [20]
Sources:[21]

Driver changes

Wildcard entries

  • Chinese driver Shi Wei returned to race as the wildcard entry for the first round in Shanghai with the support of Juss Sports.[20]

Calendar

The calendar for the 2026 season was announced on 10 December 2025. All six rounds will support the 2026 Formula One World Championship.[27]

Round Circuit Race 1 Race 2
1 Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai 14 March 15 March
2 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal 23 May 24 May
3 Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 4 July 5 July
4 Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 22 August 23 August
5 Circuit of the Americas, Austin 24 October 25 October
6 Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Paradise 20 November 21 November
Source:[27]

Cancelled races

Circuit Race 1 Race 2
Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah 18 April 19 April

Calendar changes

Season Summary

Round 1: Shanghai

Alisha Palmowski took her maiden pole position ahead of Alba Larsen in qualifying. Nina Gademan qualified in eighth place, which gave her the reverse-grid pole for Race 1.[29]

Alpine-backed Nina Gademan led every lap of the reverse-grid race. In lap 7, Ferrari-backed Alba Larsen collided with Audi-backed Emma Felbermayr. The safety car was called on lap 8 to retrieve debris from Larsen's front wing. Larsen fell to last place after pitting to change her front wing. Despite finishing last, Larsen set the fastest lap.[30] On the closing lap, Felbermayr overtook Rafaela Ferreira to claim third. Gademan won the first race of the 2026 F1 Academy season. Rookie driver Natalia Granada finished in second place, while Felbermayr rounded out the podium.[31]

In the main race, Red Bull driver Alisha Palmowski had a bad start from pole position. Larsen and Felbermayr overtook Palmowski in the opening lap.[32] Granada sustained front wing damage after she collided with the back of Ferreira in lap 1. Williams-backed Jade Jacquet locked up and collided with the back of Esmee Kosterman on lap 6, triggering the safety car. Larsen had a bad restart after the safety car, losing the lead of the race and falling to eighth place. On lap 10, Rachel Robertson collided with wild card driver Shi Wei, leading to a retirement for Wei. Felbermayr won Race 2 ahead of Palmowski and Mercedes-backed rookie Peyton Westcott, respectively.[33]

Results and standings

Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team
1 R1 Shanghai International Circuit Alba Hurup Larsen[b] Nina Gademan MP Motorsport
R2 Alisha Palmowski Alisha Palmowski Emma Felbermayr Rodin Motorsport
2 R1 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
R2
3 R1 Silverstone Circuit
R2
4 R1 Circuit Zandvoort
R2
5 R1 Circuit of the Americas
R2
6 R1 Las Vegas Strip Circuit
R2

Qualifying

The fastest laps from qualifying set the grid for Race 2. The top 8 on the qualifying grid are reversed for Race 1, with the driver that qualified P8 starting from pole position. P9-P18 remains the same for each race.[34]

Scoring system

Two points are awarded to the driver who starts Race 2 from pole position. Fastest lap points are also handed out in each race to the driver and team who achieved the fastest valid lap time and classified inside the top 8 for race 1 and top 10 for race 2. No points are given to the driver who clocked in the fastest lap time but finished outside the points.[34][35]

Race 1 points

Points are awarded to the top eight classified finishers, including the fastest lap point.[34]

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   FL 
Points 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 1
Race 2 points

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. Bonus points are awarded to the pole-sitter and to the driver who set the fastest lap and finished in the top ten.[34]

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   Pole   FL 
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 2 1

Drivers' championship

Pos. Driver SHA
 MTL
 SIL
 ZAN
 COA
 LAS
 Points
R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2
1 Emma Felbermayr 3 1 31
2 Alisha Palmowski 5 2PF 25
3 Nina Gademan 1 4 22
4 Payton Westcott 6 3 18
5 Rafaela Ferreira 4 6 13
6 Ella Lloyd 7F 5 13
7 Natalia Granada 2 14 8
8 Lisa Billard 8 7 7
9 Alba Hurup Larsen 18 8 4
10 Megan Bruce 12 9 2
11 Ava Dobson 9 10 1
12 Rachel Robertson 10 Ret 0
13 Ella Stevens 11 12 0
14 Mathilda Paatz 14 11 0
15 Kaylee Countryman 16 13 0
16 Jade Jacquet 13 Ret 0
17 Esmee Kosterman 15 Ret 0
18 Shi Wei 17 Ret 0
Pos. Driver R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Points
SHA
 MTL
 SIL
 ZAN
 COA
 LAS
Source:[36]
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Other points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Did not enter (empty cell)
Annotation Meaning
P Pole position
F Fastest lap


† — Did not finish, but classified

Notes

  1. ^ Although Stevens is a McLaren Driver Development Programme member, her entry is not directly supported by the F1 team.
  2. ^ Alba Hurup Larsen set the fastest lap but did not finish in the top 8, so she was ineligible to score the point for it. Ella Lloyd scored the point for setting the fastest lap amongst the top 8.

References

  1. ^ "All F1 teams reaffirm commitment to F1 ACADEMY". Formula 1. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  2. ^ "F1 Academy - Rules and Regulations". F1 Academy. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  3. ^ "F1 ACADEMY drives forward with full F1 team support in continued multi-year partnership". F1 Academy. 13 November 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Nina Gademan and MP Motorsport join forces for F1 Academy attack in 2026". MP Motorsport. 14 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Alba Larsen to Compete in F1 Academy in 2026 with Scuderia Ferrari HP colors". Ferrari. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b Cleeren, Filip (20 November 2025). "LEGO to release F1 Academy car, field team on 2026 grid". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  7. ^ a b Jaeggi, Erwin (30 January 2026). "MP Motorsport runt LEGO-auto van Esmee Kosterman in F1 Academy". Motorsport.com (in Dutch). Motorsport Network. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Megan Bruce joins the 2026 F1 ACADEMY grid with TAG Heuer". F1 Academy. 24 February 2026. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  9. ^ a b "Red Bull Racing's Alisha Palmowski and Racing Bulls' Rafaela Ferreira retained for 2026 campaign". F1 Academy. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Emma Felbermayr continues with Rodin Motorsport to complete 2026 F1 Academy lineup". Rodin Motorsport. 5 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  11. ^ a b c Mitchell-Malm, Scott (17 November 2025). "Ella Hakkinen joins expanded McLaren female driver programme". The Race. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Aston Martin Aramco announces Mathilda Paatz as its 2026 F1 ACADEMY representative and Driver Academy member". Aston Martin F1 Team. 29 November 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  13. ^ a b Coleman, Madeline (9 February 2026). "16-year-old American Payton Westcott to represent Mercedes in 2026 F1 Academy season". The New York Times. The Athletic. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  14. ^ a b Tucci, Kaitlin (11 March 2026). "Glamour Comes to the F1 Academy Grid With Sephora Partnership for the 2026 Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  15. ^ a b "Lisa Billard earns full-time seat in F1 Academy at ART GP with Gatorade support". Racers - Behind the Helmet. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  16. ^ a b "MoneyGram Haas F1 Team Announces Kaylee Countryman to Race in 2026 F1 Academy Season". Haas F1 Team. 16 December 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Jade Jacquet to drive for Atlassian Williams Racing in F1 Academy". Williams Racing. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  18. ^ a b "American Express confirms Ava Dobson for 2026 F1 ACADEMY campaign". F1 - The Official Home of Formula 1® Racing. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  19. ^ a b Mee, Lydia (13 January 2026). "PUMA announces 2026 F1 Academy driver after impressive 2025 stand-in performance". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  20. ^ a b "Shi Wei returns as first 2026 F1 ACADEMY Wild Card driver". F1 Academy. 10 February 2026. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  21. ^ "Teams & Drivers - F1 ACADEMY™ Racing Series". F1 Academy. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  22. ^ "Doriane Pin will compete in the ELMS with Duqueine in LMP2 PRO/AM". autohebdof1. 9 February 2026. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  23. ^ "2026 KYOJO CUPエントリーリスト". Kyojo Cup (in Japanese). 5 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  24. ^ Du Manoir, Louise (20 September 2025). "Ella Stevens : qui est la jeune pilote avec le meilleur temps du Rookie Test ?". AutoHebdo (in French). Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  25. ^ Evans, David (24 November 2025). "Lia Block leaves F1 Academy and targets WRC". DirtFish. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  26. ^ "Promising driver Aurelia Nobels signs up for Hillspeed". Derbyshire Times. National World. 9 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  27. ^ a b "F1 ACADEMY unveils calendar for 2026 season". Formula 1. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  28. ^ "Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs will not take place in April". Formula One. 14 March 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  29. ^ "QUALIFYING: Alisha Palmowski clinches maiden pole position in lively Shanghai session". F1 Academy™. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  30. ^ F1 Academy (14 March 2026). Race 1 Highlights | Shanghai 2026 | F1 ACADEMY. Retrieved 16 March 2026 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ "Gademan takes F1 ACADEMY Race 1 victory in Shanghai". www.formula1.com. 14 March 2026. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  32. ^ F1 Academy (15 March 2026). Race 2 Highlights | Shanghai 2026 | F1 ACADEMY. Retrieved 16 March 2026 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "Felbermayr pips Palmowski to Race 2 victory in Shanghai". www.formula1.com. 14 March 2026. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  34. ^ a b c d "F1 Academy - Rules and Regulations". F1 Academy. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  35. ^ "F1 ACADEMY announces the return of reverse grids from 2025". F1 Academy. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  36. ^ "Standings - F1 Academy™ Racing Series". F1 Academy™. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
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