Felbermayr Dominates F1 Academy Silverstone 2026 Reverse Grid Race to Secure Win

Emma Felbermayr controlled the F1 Academy Silverstone 2026 Reverse Grid Race from pole to take her second win of the season, beating Nina Gademan by just over two seconds as Ella Lloyd completed the podium for Rodin Motorsport. Behind them, Rachel Robertson scored her first points of the year, Chiara Bättig added fastest lap to her historic Wild Card weekend, and two PREMA Racing penalties shaped the lower half of the points fight.

Key Points: F1 Academy Silverstone 2026 Reverse Grid Race

• Felbermayr leads every lap from pole for her second win of the 2026 season, beating Gademan by 2.002 seconds
• Lloyd completes the podium in third, giving Rodin Motorsport a 1-3 finish at their home event
• Robertson scores her first points of the season in fourth for Hitech
• Palmowski gains two places on the opening lap to finish fifth, the biggest gainer among the points scorers
• Westcott handed a five-second penalty for a false start, with a second PREMA Racing penalty for track limits
• Bättig takes eighth and the fastest lap point, a day after becoming the first Wild Card driver to take pole in F1 Academy history

The Start: Felbermayr Covers Off Gademan

Felbermayr made it a textbook getaway from pole, cutting across to cover Gademan immediately and leaving Lloyd to apply the pressure from third. Palmowski found two places in the opening lap alone, while Billard worked to get back past the Red Bull Racing driver. Further back, Bruce got the better of Dobson through Maggotts and Becketts for seventh, and Larsen made up four places to move into ninth. Behind them, Kosterman and Jacquet both stalled off the line, but both were able to rejoin.

By lap two Felbermayr already had a second in hand over Gademan, and the Audi driver kept extending it from there. There was no response from behind. Gademan defended her position into Turn 1 as the gap out front continued to grow.

Bättig Makes Ground, Westcott Under Investigation

After losing two places early on, Bättig went straight back after them. She closed on Larsen, backed out of a couple of attempts, then got the switchback done at Turn 6 on lap six, making it stick into Luffield. Westcott, running eleventh at the time, was put under investigation for moving before the signal and was later handed a five-second penalty for a false start. A second PREMA Racing penalty for track limits followed.

Bättig kept finding time in clear air, cutting six tenths out of the gap to Dobson in a single lap. Dobson was already busy with Bruce by then. The pair brushed wheels twice through Maggotts and Becketts before Dobson came out ahead. The battle opened a door for Bättig, who slipped through and used the tow down the Hangar Straight to take eighth off Bruce.

Podium and Points Settle

Further up the order, Robertson closed on Lloyd for third on lap ten, with Palmowski waiting behind and starting to join the fight. Two laps later the cat and mouse battle between Robertson and Lloyd opened the gap back out to over a second, settling the podium fight.

Felbermayr took the chequered flag untroubled, Gademan and Lloyd completing a Rodin Motorsport 1-3 on home soil. Robertson banked her first points of the season for Hitech in fourth, ahead of Palmowski, Billard and Dobson. Bättig rounded out the top eight and added the fastest lap point to her tally, a day after taking the first Wild Card pole in the category’s history.

Provisional Classification: F1 Academy Silverstone 2026 Reverse Grid Race

Results shown are provisional. Westcott’s five-second penalty for a false start and the second PREMA Racing penalty for track limits are noted in the release, but not confirmed as applied to the times above. Final classification will follow official confirmation.

Coffee Corner Take

Felbermayr made this one look easy. A second in hand by lap two, the gap kept growing, and nobody behind her had an answer all afternoon. Second win of the season, no drama in getting it.

Rodin Motorsport locking out two of the top three at their own home race is the kind of weekend a team builds a season narrative around. Lloyd’s third adds to it. There will not be many cleaner Saturdays for that garage all year.

Bättig is the story running underneath all of this. First Wild Card pole in the category’s history, then straight back through the field to eighth and a fastest lap point after losing ground early. A 16-year-old doing that on a debut weekend is not a small thing, and it won’t be the last time her name is near the top of one of these reports.

Two five-second penalties inside the same top eleven tell you how tight the margins are at Silverstone this weekend. Westcott’s false start cost her track position she was never getting back.

Bättig starts the Feature Race from pole. That’s the one to watch.

What’s Next?