Palmowski Drives Into the Distance for Lights-to-Flag Victory at the F1 Academy Canadian Grand Prix 2026 Race 1

Alisha Palmowski converted pole into a lights-to-flag victory in the F1 Academy Montreal Opening Race, the Red Bull Racing driver finishing 10.1 seconds clear of Megan Bruce to record the largest winning margin in F1 Academy history. Campos Racing secured their first 1-2 finish of the season through Palmowski and Bruce, with Paatz splitting the Campos pair for her maiden podium in third, while Rafaela Ferreira finished fourth for the team. Emma Felbermayr stalled at the start from fourth and fell to the back of the field. Ella Lloyd recovered from sixteenth to sixth. Palmowski never looked troubled from the moment the lights went out.

Key Points – F1 Academy Montreal Opening Race 2026

• Palmowski wins lights to flag, 10.1 seconds clear of Bruce — the largest winning margin in F1 Academy history
• Campos Racing secure their first 1-2 of the season through Palmowski and Bruce, with Ferreira fourth and Paatz third for Prema
• Paatz takes her maiden F1 Academy podium in third, benefiting from Westcott’s penalty and off-track moment
• Felbermayr stalls at the start from fourth and drops to the back of the field, recovers to tenth for the final championship point
• Lloyd recovers from P16 to P6, gaining ten places across the race distance
• Westcott receives a five-second penalty before running wide while battling Bruce and dropping out of the top six

The Start

Palmowski got the launch she needed. Clean off the line from pole, comfortable into Turn 1, the lead never seriously threatened. Bruce tucked in second, Westcott third behind her. The front three already looked settled.

Felbermayr did not get the same start. The championship leader stalled in fourth and dropped to the back of the field before the race had properly begun. From that moment the opening race became a recovery exercise for the driver who arrived in Montreal leading the standings.

Further back the first lap delivered its usual chaos. Kosterman’s slight contact with Dobson at Turn 6 left the Hitech driver with a punctured right rear. Robertson dived up the inside of Granada and spun her. Billard attempted the switchback on Larsen for sixth, Larsen moved to defend, and the contact left Billard with front wing damage. Four drivers caught up in incidents before the race had found its rhythm.

Lloyd was already moving in the opposite direction. From sixteenth she was into eleventh by the end of Lap 2, the Rodin driver finding gaps where others were stuck.

Palmowski Pulls Clear

Up front there was no story. Palmowski managed the gap, managed the tyres, and controlled the race from the position she had taken at lights out. The gap to Bruce grew steadily. By the time the midfield was sorting itself out behind her, the result at the front was already beyond question.

Paatz closed on Bruce and Westcott through the middle phase. The battle for the podium places had genuine shape to it, three drivers close enough that one mistake would reshuffle the order. Westcott provided it. A five-second penalty for failing to follow Race Director instructions after going off at Turn 13 changed her afternoon. She tried to respond with a move on Bruce around the outside, went wide over the grass, and dropped to sixth. From podium contender to sixth in two incidents.

Paatz inherited third and held it cleanly. Bruce secured her maiden F1 Academy podium in second, crossing the line 10.1 seconds behind Palmowski. Nobody got close.

Midfield

Gademan overtook Countryman for seventh on Lap 10 but ran off at Turn 13 in the process and collected a five-second time penalty for failing to follow Race Director instructions. The Alpine-backed driver classified ninth.

Westcott’s collapse opened the door for several drivers. Gademan, Lloyd, Countryman, Stevens and Felbermayr all moved past in quick succession before Westcott eventually pitted, her afternoon complete well before the flag.

Countryman and Stevens scored their first championship points in seventh and eighth respectively. Felbermayr’s recovery from the back of the field ended in tenth, the final point, which given where she started the race represents damage limitation at its most disciplined.

Opening Race Classification

Coffee Corner Take

There was no debate about this one. Pole, perfect launch, gap building from Lap 1, and a margin at the flag that the series has never seen before. She was simply in a different race to everyone behind her.

The more interesting story is Felbermayr. Championship leader, stall at the start, last place before the first corner sequence is done. Tenth at the flag. One point rescued from a morning that could have been a zero. The gap to Palmowski has closed, but the damage is contained. How she manages the Reverse Grid Race and the Feature Race this afternoon and tomorrow will say more about her title credentials than anything that happened in the Opening Race.

Paatz’s maiden podium is worth noting. She has been building across the opening rounds and third here is the result that reflects it. Westcott opened the door for her, but Paatz had to be close enough to take it. She was.

Westcott’s afternoon is one to forget quickly. The penalty came first, then the move on Bruce that sent her onto the grass, then the slide through the order. She arrived in Montreal with momentum. The Opening Race took most of it.

Lloyd’s drive from sixteenth to sixth is the kind of result that builds a season. Ten places, no incidents, just clean racing through gaps that others were not finding. Rodin had Felbermayr and Lloyd both scoring. In a championship where points compound, that matters.

What’s Next?