Palmowski Leads Every Lap to Extend Championship Command at F1 Academy Zandvoort 2026 Feature Race

Alisha Palmowski led every lap of the F1 Academy Feature Race at Zandvoort to claim her fourth win of the 2026 season, holding off sustained pressure from Alba Larsen across the opening half of the race before pulling clear in the closing stages. The Campos Racing driver got the launch wrong from pole, sweeping across to cover Larsen at Turn 1, but recovered to control the race from the front, crossing the line 2.765 seconds ahead of the MP Motorsport driver. Nina Gademan completed the podium in third, gaining two places from fifth to deliver MP Motorsport’s second consecutive double podium alongside Larsen. Natalia Granada held off Emma Felbermayr for fourth after contact between the pair on Lap 4. Palmowski’s win extends her championship lead to 48 points as F1 Academy heads to Austin for Round 5, the category’s first visit there since 2023.

Key Points: F1 Academy Zandvoort 2026 Feature Race

• Palmowski wins from pole despite a poor getaway, her fourth victory of the season and second in a row at Zandvoort weekend after the Reverse Grid Race stall
• Larsen finishes second, 2.765 seconds back, claiming her second consecutive podium after pressuring Palmowski through the first half of the race
• Gademan climbs from fifth to third, MP Motorsport’s second straight double podium alongside Larsen
• Granada holds fourth ahead of Felbermayr after contact between the pair at Turn 1 on Lap 4
• Lloyd climbs into the top ten early, gaining three places at the start to run eighth by Lap 3
• Palmowski’s championship lead extends to 48 points heading into Austin, F1 Academy’s first visit since 2023

Race Recap: F1 Academy Zandvoort 2026 Feature Race

The Start: Palmowski Covers, Granada Holds the Line

Palmowski, who races under the Red Bull Junior Team banner for Campos Racing this season, was looking for redemption after stalling in the Reverse Grid Race the day before. It didn’t come easily. She didn’t get off the line well from pole, sweeping across to the right to keep Larsen at bay into Turn 1. That move left Larsen briefly side by side with Granada in the run to the first corner, the MP Motorsport driver having to fight to stay ahead before turning her attention to chasing Palmowski down the road.

Behind the leading pair, Gademan was already on the move. Starting fifth, she dispatched Felbermayr for fourth off the start and then lunged on the inside of Granada, squeezing past to take third. Lloyd made her own gains at the front of the midfield, picking up three places at the start to run eighth by Lap 3.

Lap 4: Felbermayr and Granada Make Contact

Felbermayr picked up a tow down the start-finish straight and went for the inside of Granada into Turn 1. The pair made slight contact. Granada held her ground and kept fourth, the position that would define the finishing order between the two of them for the rest of the race.

The Pressure Phase: Larsen on Palmowski’s Wheels

By Lap 5, Palmowski and Larsen had put over a second and a half between themselves and the rest of the field. Larsen stayed on Palmowski’s wheels lap after lap through that phase, with the Campos Racing driver appearing unsettled at times under the pressure. The gap was there to be closed but Larsen could not find the space to attack. Further back, Lloyd found herself under pressure of her own from Reverse Grid Race winner Westcott, the pair trading spots for eighth before Lloyd pulled clear and set about closing on Robertson, who was applying equal pressure to Bruce in sixth.

Lap 10 Onwards: Palmowski Pulls Clear

Palmowski steadily built her advantage from Lap 10, and once the gap opened it didn’t close again. She crossed the line 2.765 seconds ahead of Larsen, who returned to the podium for the second race running. Gademan completed the podium a further 8.762 seconds back, MP Motorsport’s second consecutive double podium. Granada held off Felbermayr in the closing stages to secure fourth, with Bruce fifth. Robertson took her second points finish of the weekend in sixth ahead of Lloyd, Westcott and Kosterman, who claimed a points finish on her home weekend.

Classification: F1 Academy Zandvoort 2026 Feature Race

Coffee Corner Take

The launch went wrong off pole. Palmowski still led every lap that followed, from the cover move on Larsen into Turn 1 through to the chequered flag. That’s what separates a championship leader from the rest of this grid: covering for a bad start and still winning by nearly three seconds.

Larsen did everything right and still finished 2.765 seconds behind. She stayed on Palmowski’s wheels lap after lap and never gave her a moment to settle. It still wasn’t enough. That tells you where the gap is between these two right now, even when Larsen has her at her most vulnerable.

MP Motorsport now have back-to-back double podiums. Larsen and Gademan again, Gademan climbing from fifth with a move on Granada that was the pass of the race. MP Motorsport are building real momentum at exactly the right point in the season.

Granada holding off Felbermayr after the Lap 4 contact was the fight nobody will remember by Monday and the one that mattered most to both of them on the day. Fourth and fifth were effectively decided in that one corner, with Granada keeping Felbermayr behind for the rest of the race.

48 points gives Palmowski room most title fights don’t allow. Austin is F1 Academy’s first visit since 2023, a new circuit for most of this grid, and she arrives with enough in hand that a bad weekend still leaves her in control. Felbermayr needs something to change, and she needs it fast.

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