Palmowski lands opening weekend podium

Glossop F1 Academy star Alisha Palmowski kicked off her 2026 campaign with a podium, finishing second in Race 2 in Shanghai. 

The talented teen made the perfect start to the weekend, sealing her first ever F1 Academy pole with a stellar performance in qualifying, finishing over four tenths clear of her competitors. 

Due to the reverse grid ruling, Palmowski started Race 1 from P8, but made her way up the order well to land a fifth-place finish. 

Despite lining up on the front row for Race 2, the Red Bull Racing driver was unable to convert her maiden pole into a victory, finishing two tenths short of Emma Felbermayr. 

The 19-year-old was made to pay for a poor start to Sunday’s race, which allowed both Felbermayr and Alba Larsen to edge past going into Turn 1.  

After Larsen veered off track going into the final corner of lap 9, the Simmondley resident rose back up to P2, and piled the pressure on her Austrian rival for the final five laps. 

But the Audi driver was up to the task, fending off the competition to seal her first ever main race victory, as Palmowski’s only consolation was landing the day’s fastest lap. 

The weekend leaves the pair first and second in the standings, with the former St Phillip Howard student trailing by six points ahead of May’s trip to Montreal. 

“All things considered, it’s not a bad result,” the Glossop speedster told the F1 Academy media team. 

“Obviously I’m disappointed because I ultimately lost it at the start, but we’ll review that.  

“We now know what I need to address going forward to ensure it doesn’t happen again. 

“It’s not a bad result, and it’s very much a long game. We’re one race down, and we’ve still got quite a lot to go so it’s all still to play for. 

“I was definitely the quickest driver at Montreal last year so there’s no reason why that would change this year.”