F1 Academy - What did we learn from Shanghai?
Brand new faces, returning favourites and an iconic location set the stage for an unforgettable first round of the 2026 F1 Academy Season.
The opening round of the 2026 F1 Academy Season got underway last weekend in Shanghai and gave fans a tantalizing glimpse into what we’ve got to look forward to for the rest of the season. With two race winners, two rookies on the podium and over half of the field scoring points in the opening round, let’s take a look at what we learned from F1 Academy’s trip to Shanghai.
Experience Delivers Results
Only six drivers on the grid this season competed in last year’s Championship full time. Of those six, all currently sit inside the top ten places in the Driver’s Championship, with three of them locking out the top podium spots.
Felbermayr, Palmowski and Gademan lock out the top of the standings and their consistency across the weekend was remarkable. Felbermayr impressed the most as the Austrian driver converted P6 to P3 for Race I and then took the win on Sunday for Race II after having started in third place following a strong qualifying effort.
Palmowski finished in fifth in the first race, but then finished in second place on Sunday, adding the accolades of Pole Position and Fastest Lap to her name to boot. Gademan meanwhile won Saturday’s race while under constant pressure throughout before finishing in a solid P4 on Sunday. Just nine points separate all three drivers as F1 Academy departs from Shanghai.
“I really liked Gademan - she stood out for me.” - Jenny Craig, Inside F2
Elsewhere, Rafaela Ferreira had her best weekend yet in F1 Academy, finishing in P4 and P6 across the weekend. Ella Lloyd finished inside the top ten in both races too while also getting the fastest lap of the race on Saturday. Experience is always key in motorsport but in this season of F1 Academy, it looks set to give us an extremely exciting and tightly fought Championship as a result.
Speed is Nothing without Control
The last of the experienced drivers to return full time in 2026 is Alba Larsen. Now backed by Ferrari, there is a large spotlight on the young Danish driver. Across the race weekend in Shanghai, Larsen demonstrated once again what she did all of last year - that there’s a lot of potential within her. But an unfortunate racing incident (along with a questionably late call from the team to return to the garage to fix damage to the car) ruined her race on Saturday.
On Sunday, Larsen had a blistering start and launched herself into the lead going into T1. But trouble came for her again after a Safety Car period. Taking too much kerb on the exit of the final corner on the Shanghai International Circuit, Alba found herself on an unplanned trip through the gravel trap on the opposite side of the track and haemorrhaging positions as she tumbled down the order. In the end, Larsen had to settle for P8.
Following both races, Larsen was quite critical of herself and rued the ultimate outcome of the weekend. But the seventeen year old has time on her side and appears to have the right kind of support around her. Such lessons are always tough in motorsport but they are ones that can be learned from if approached correctly. With a significant gap until F1 Academy goes racing again in Canada, it won’t be surprising if Larsen does all she can to ensure she doesn’t repeat the same mistakes again next time out.
Rookies on the Rise
Eleven rookies are on the grid full time this year. Three stand out in particular after the first race weekend in Shanghai. The first of those is, of course, Natalia Granada. Announced just days before the series hit the track in China, the opening round marked Granada’s first time competing in single seater machinery. What a fantastic story it was then when she proceeded to finish on the podium in P2 in her debut race. For a driver who just a short time ago had no idea if she’d even have a racing future, it’s a simply astounding turn of events.
Having finished in a respectable P6 on Saturday, Mercedes’ latest signing, Payton Westcott made her way onto the podium on Sunday by finishing in P3. The American was a Wild Card entry in Las Vegas at the end of last season and was only one of two rookies to score points in both races in China. The second of those was Lisa Billard. While a podium finish eluded her on this occasion, P8 and P7 were both excellent starting points for the French Driver’s full time debut in F1 Academy.
Last year, rookies such as Lloyd, Palmowski and Gademan impressed everyone up and down the grid. Might we be seeing more of that as we head into the 2026 season? It certainly looks like it.
More Action on Track
Even with six returning drivers, there was an air of rebirth about F1 Academy at its season opener. For dedicated fans, many of the names and faces on the grid, rookie or veteran (as much as one can be in this series) will have been familiar. But for the most part, there won’t have been any household names - and that’s a good thing. For the first time since F1 Academy made its debut back in 2023, it feels like it’s showcasing a full complement of unknown drivers that fans can embrace and support for the first time.
This freshness has transitioned into action out on track too as all eighteen drivers last weekend seemed hungry to prove themselves.
“There seems to be a lot more overtaking than usual and the series feels like it’s a lot less dominated.” - Jenny Craig, Inside F2
Without the presence of a dominant driver such as Marta Garcia or Abbi Pulling, it felt truly as if it was anyone’s game. All drivers, both rookie and experienced, had a legitimate chance to win the race or get onto the podium. Both podiums on Saturday and Sunday proved that by who was standing upon them. Even when moves didn’t go the driver’s way or rookie mistakes happened, such as Jacquet’s collision with Kosterman, it still felt more organic and more action packed than we’ve seen in past seasons. Tight battles throughout the field - and crucially the pressure on the drivers out in front - came across more naturally and it became harder to predict who would win. It’s what a series like F1 Academy needs and it’s brilliant to see.
Less Domination in 2026?
As mentioned, so far in 2026 there doesn’t appear to be a runaway driver in terms of the Championship. Sure, Felbermayr looks very strong but coming into the weekend, most people’s money would have been on Palmowski, Lloyd or Larsen. To get this shake up so early is a brilliant sign and a potential tease for the remainder of the season.
“I enjoyed both races actually quite a lot, it was more competitive and there were less crashes.” - Jenny Craig, Inside F2
In 2023 and 2024, it was all but a sure thing from the word go that Marta Garcia and Abbi Pulling would win their respective Championships. Last year, we knew it would be between Pin and Weug and despite it going down to the final round, it was all but guaranteed to be Pin’s time as top dog. That’s not the case in 2026 - at least not yet. The favourites had a mixed weekend and a different standout rookie from last season took the reins instead, while fresh rookies wasted no time in making names for themselves.
Can Felbermayr keep this momentum up and run away with the Championship or will one of the plethora of other drivers steal it away from her? We just don’t know. Isn’t that fantastic?
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F1 Academy returns May 22nd in Montreal, Canada.