Rachel Robertson’s first full F1 Academy season got underway at the 2026 Chinese GP as the Hitech driver showed strong pace in Shanghai before a retirement ended her Feature Race.
Robertson joined Hitech for the 2026 season after a standout substitute appearance in Las Vegas, where she claimed P4 in Race 1 and Hitech’s best result of the 2025 season. Her standout performance was enough to secure her a full-time seat for the 2026 F1 Academy season.
Robertson demonstrated promising pace
Robertson was competitive from the get-go in Shanghai, demonstrating strong pace in Free Practice. She would then narrowly miss out on the top 10 during qualifying and found herself fighting in a three-way battle for points in Saturday’s reverse grid race. Ultimately, Roberston was forced to settle for a P10 finish.
“It’s very positive – there are lots of glimpses of corners I’ve done which is really good and on par with Alisha (Palmowski) on pole,” she reflected. “The big thing was adapting to that Formula 1 grip that they put down for Qualifying and the races.”
“It’s all a learning experience, especially in the first round, but that was a big step up. In the first race, it kind of all came together the more understanding I had. With both races, the racing was really good.”
Robertson finished just behind her Hitech teammate Ava Dobson in the reverse grid race at the F1 Academy Chinese GP. The entire field was split across half a second throughout the race.
“My teammate and I and a few others were battling the whole way and the times were very close – pretty much everyone on the grid was within half a second of each other, so it was really good racing. It really unveiled a lot of things to work on further, especially with F1 Academy supporting Formula 1. There are a lot of differences that that brings,” she stated.
Feature Race retirement ends Robertson’s hopes
Unfortunately for the rookie, Robertson’s hopes for points at the F1 Academy Chinese GP ended on Lap 10. Her race ended prematurely after she made contact with Wild Card driver Shi Wei. The incident resulted in a five-place grid penalty for Round 2 in Montreal.
Yet, Robertson highlighted the progress made since her Las Vegas debut. She emphasized that there have been “massive improvements” in her “driving technique and the racecraft element.”
“Compared to last year when the times were so spread out, now it’s so competitive with everyone, so it really does matter how you race and put together a lap in Qualifying,” she explained.
“Everything is almost needing (to be) finetuned, whereas last year it was still a bit unknown. It was almost that I don’t know what I don’t know, so now it’s about learning.”
Preparations for Montreal
After a promising showing at the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP, Robertson now turns her focus to the challenges that lie ahead in Montreal. The next round presents a different test, with the introduction of a three-race format following earlier disruptions to the calendar. A new opening race will award full points. This creates more chances to score heavily and could have a big impact on the standings.
When asked whether Montreal will be a greater challenge, with no previous testing at the track, Robertson replied: “Definitely. I think with everyone on the grid, especially all the rookies that haven’t raced there or tested there before, it’s going to be new for all of us.”
“What I have with racing in Las Vegas last year is that little bit of knowledge of you can’t really expect anything, because it is a street circuit.”
“The tarmac is going to be completely different – it’s got road cars being driven on it, it’ll be dusty and it’s going to have a completely different feel. Just going into it and having that open mind – you can’t have tunnel vision of ‘I want to brake here, I want to turn here’,” she stated.
Although Montreal differs from Las Vegas, Robertson is still applying the same open-minded approach. The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve layout is unfamiliar, but one that is unlikely to faze her. With strong foundations already laid at the F1 Academy Chinese GP, Robertson now aims to turn her progress into steady points. She will aim for consistency across the expanded weekend format.
