F1 Academy | 2026 Chinese GP | Qualifying results

Spread the love

Alisha Palmowski claimed pole position for the 2026 F1 Academy Qualifying session at the Chinese GP, with the full results listed below.

Following Friday’s Free Practice session, where Palmowski topped the times ahead of Alba Larsen and Payton Westcott, track evolution played a major role during Qualifying, with grip levels improving significantly as the session progressed.

As the circuit continued to rubber in, Palmowski initially led the standings with a 2:04.875, with Felbermayr and Gademan close behind.

Larsen then surged to the top of the timing screens, setting purple sectors throughout the lap to go two tenths of a second clear of Palmowski in second place.

The session was briefly interrupted when Countryman brought out the red flags with just under 10 minutes remaining. However, she was able to reset the car and return to the pit lane. She was unable to get back on track for the remainder of the session

When the session resumed, Palmowski was the first driver to head out and immediately set a purple first sector. She improved on her previous benchmark to move back ahead of Larsen.

Westcott, who had been running down in P13 before the red flag, produced a strong lap with a purple first sector to climb up to P3. Ferreira also improved to briefly move into third.

However, Palmowski ultimately proved untouchable, putting four tenths of a second between herself and Larsen in P2.

With just two minutes remaining, several drivers improved their times, but none could challenge Palmowski, who finished the session four tenths clear at the top. Larsen secured second place, with Felbermayr completing the top three.

Westcott’s fastest lap time was deleted during Qualifying after failing to negotiate Turn 2 using the track, dropping her from P4 to P6. However, post session, the Stewards determined that the in-session lap deletion was incorrect and reinstated her lap.