Palmowski makes F1 Academy history in Montreal with not one but two statement performances

Anny Wooldridge
4 hours ago
6 min read

Round 2 of the F1 Academy season took place this weekend in Montreal, as part of the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix support package. Alisha Palmowski took her second F1 Academy victory of the season in the Opening Race, with Mathilda Paatz taking her and Aston Martin's first-ever F1 Academy victory in the Reverse Grid Race. Palmowski rounded off her incredible weekend of racing with the Feature Race win and set the biggest winning margin in F1 Academy history, finishing a massive 10.955s ahead of her closest rival.

Round 2 of the 2026 F1 Academy season saw the 2026 drivers return to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve for the second time, with Canadian driver Autumn Fisher joining as the wild card. Drivers faced wet and cool track conditions with plenty of action across the three races.

Alisha Palmowski, Megan Bruce, Kaylee Countryman, Payton Westcott and Mathilda Paatz were the standout performers of the weekend. Rookies Bruce, Countrymann and Paatz took their first podiums, with Paatz also taking her F1 Academy victory, in the Reverse Grid Race, and Bruce taking P2 in the Opening Race and P3 in the Feature Race.

A special mention to Ella Lloyd, who gained 21 places over the three races with an impressive amount of overtaking.

Palmowski fastest in both Montreal qualifying sessions

Palmowski started off her weekend strong, securing pole position in both the Opening and Feature Races and displaying untouched dominance.

From the very start of the weekend, Palmowski aimed to prove why she was one of the favourites for the driver's title, leading the way in the only Practice session of the weekend, finishing two tenths ahead of her nearest rival, Felbermayr.

With the new weekend format of three races, the qualifying session decided pole position for both the Opening and Feature Races. The opening race grid was set from the drivers' second-fastest lap times, with the Feature Race using the fastest lap times from the session.

Palmowski led from the very start of the Qualifying session, even being the first out on track in the session. Palmowski's first lap time was beaten by Ella Lloyd, who set the benchmark at 1:40.316 seconds. Palmowski quickly responded with a lap time of 1:39.395, 0.4s clear of Rafaela Ferreira.

Alba Larsen and Bruce tried to close the deficit and managed to set lap times within two tenths of the Red Bull driver. Still, Palmowski wasn't finished and continued to set quicker lap times, lowering the time to 1:38.526, then ultimately to 1:38.466 in the closing stages of the session.

Meanwhile, further back, Ferreira, Westcott and Bruce fought over second, third and fourth, trading positions between the three of them right until the end of the session, when Westcott closed the gap to Palmowski to 0.390s, finishing the session in P2, with Bruce having to settle for P3.

Lloyd and Esmee Kosterman managed to avoid hitting the wall. Felbermayr made a late charge and moved from seventh to fourth at the chequered flag.

Palmowski took pole position for both races, but the squabble between Bruce and Westcott meant Westcott took P2 for the Opening Race and P3 for the Feature Race, while Bruce took P3 and P2.

Palmowski took her second and third victories of the season in the Opening and Feature Races

Palmowski dominated both the Opening and Feature Races, achieving the largest winning margin in F1 Academy history and then breaking it again in the Feature Race.

Palmowski started on pole for the Opening Race and retained the lead ahead of Bruce and Westcott into Turn 1, with Felbermayr stalling at the start and dropping back from fourth to last.

Untroubled throughout the whole race, Palmowski took the chequered flag 10.1s clear of P2. Further back, Ava Dobson and Esme Kosterman had slight contact, resulting in a puncture for Dobson. Rachel Robertson and Natalia Granada had an incident that sent Granada into a spin.

Ella Lloyd made a charge through the field, gaining five places before the end of lap 2. Paatz was also closing in on Bruce and Westcott, who were battling for the podium places. Still, Westcott's podium chances were dashed after receiving a five-second penalty for failing to follow the Race Director's notes earlier in the session, with Gademan also receiving the same penalty.

Palmowski had a similar experience in the Feature Race, starting from pole position and held onto the lead into Turn 1 despite the wet and slippery track conditions. By lap 7, she had built up a lead of over five seconds despite sliding around as dry patches appeared on the track.

In a dramatic final lap, it looked like it might have been all over for the Red Bull driver when she reported an engine problem on the final lap. Still, she managed to hold on to claim her second victory of the weekend and break her previously set largest margin again, winning by 10.9s, giving her a 25-point lead in the Drivers' Standings. Felbermayr and Bruce rounded out the podium.

Paatz takes her first F1 Academy win in the Reverse Grid Race

A dramatic ending to the Reverse Grid Race saw Paatz claim her and Aston Martin's first victory in the series. Ferreira was on course for her first win in the series after taking the lead during the race start, but she was handed a five-second time penalty for a false start, promoting Paatz to the top step.

Paatz lined up fourth for the Reverse Grid Race with Countryman starting on pole, but it was Ferreira who led off the line and into Turn 1. Felbermayr instantly put pressure on Larsen for fourth place, but in the tussle, the Ferrari driver bounced over the kerb and tagged Felbermayr, sending her into a spin and demoting her to the back of the field.

Dobson was forced to retire after contact with Wild Card driver Autumn Fisher at the same corner. Rachel Robertson was also forced to retire after Lloyd made contact with her car, causing it to collide with Ella Stevens and Kosterman behind her, triggering a Safety Car. Stevens was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty and an additional five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Jade Jacquet was also penalised for the same offence.

Ferreira got a great Safety Car restart to hold onto the lead, but was unable to pull away from a chasing Countrymann and Paatz behind her. Paatz pulled off an overtake at the final chicane and moved into P2.

Bruce forced out another Safety Car after Palmowski and Bruce made contact moving into Gademan in the process, who ended up in the barrier at Turn 2.

With one lap to go, the race resumed with Ferreira producing another solid restart. A few moments later, she received a five-second penalty, and although she took the chequered flag as the race leader, she was demoted to P10.

Countryman and Larsen squabbled over P2 in a drag race to the final corner, with Alba crossing the line in second, but was later demoted to P11, leaving Westcott to take the P3 podium position.

Girl celebrating her first race win — Paatz after her Reverse Grid Race win

Three rookies take their first podiums

Paatz impressed from the Opening Race, finishing third and taking her first podium ever in the series. She then did one better by taking her maiden victory in the Reverse Grid Race.

Megan Bruce took her first-ever F1 Academy podium in the Opening Race with a P2 finish and followed it up with a third-place finish in the Feature Race.

After eight top-five finishes, Alba Larsen took her first podium in the series, finishing P2 in the Reverse Grid Race; however, she was later demoted to P11 after receiving a five-second time penalty.

Rookie Countrymann joined the F1 Academy podium club, crossing the line in P3 for the Reverse Grid Race but was later promoted to P2 after Larsen's penalty.

Westcott, despite not being able to stand on the podium to collect her trophy, took P3 in the Reverse Grid Race after Larsen's penalty, adding a P3 finish to her Shanghai P3 podium finish.