Alisha Palmowski continued on her strong run of form during F1 Academy Qualifying at the 2026 Dutch GP, securing yet another pole position; full report below.
The fourth round of the 2026 F1 Academy season got off to a strong start for home hero Nina Gademan, who topped the timings in Free Practice, one year on from claiming her maiden victory at the circuit as well. Behind the Dutch driver, Rafaela Ferreira and Alba Larsen completed the top three.
As the season passes its halfway mark and enters its closing stages, Gademan looks to close the points gap to Emma Felbermayr in the standings as she targets her maiden pole position and aims to continue her successful run of results on home soil at Zandvoort.
Qualifying time at Zandvoort!
With thirty minutes on the clock, all drivers headed out onto the cold and damp track on wet tyres. Opting for several exploratory laps before setting their first representative times, the drivers focused on bringing their tyres up to temperature.
The first driver to set a representative lap time was Jade Jacquet, who crossed the line with a 1:49.384. On a rapidly drying track, Ferrari-backed Larsen moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1:48.188, lowering the benchmark by more than a second.
However, championship leader Alisha Palmowski could only manage P5 on her first representative lap, with the Briton posting a 1:48.791. Running wide on her cooldown lap, Palmowski ran through the gravel traps at Turn 11 and rejoined in front of Gademan, who appeared to be on a fast lap.
The Dutch driver found significant improvement on her second lap, slotting herself into P2 with a 1:48.218. However, it was not long before Palmowski improved on her next lap to catapult to the top with a 1:48.038. As it stood, Palmowski, Larsen, Ella Lloyd, Gademan and Rachel Robertson made up the top five.
Track dies down ahead of final runs of the session
Ahead of the final runs of the session, Lloyd was one of the few drivers left on track. Behind the McLaren driver, Natalia Granada lit up the timings, setting a purple first and second sector. However, unfortunately for Granada, a lap that could have significantly improved her position was brought to a halt when a red flag was brought out after Lisa Billard ended up in the barriers.
Ahead of the restart, the majority of the field opted to switch to slick tyres for the final laps of the sessions, including Palmowski. Improving on her final lap, Lloyd jumped to the top of the timings with a 1:45.181.
However, bringing out a second red flag of the session, a snap of oversteer heading down to Turn 2 saw Ferreira lose control of her car as she slid into barriers. With five minutes left on the clock, it was a final-lap shootout for pole. In the midst of the action, Wild Card entrant Zoe Florescu found herself in P2 with a 1:46.752.
Lloyd sole wet tyre runner
With most drivers opting for a set of slick tyres for their final runs of the session, Lloyd struggled for grip. Improving on her final lap, Gademan was setting personal best times. However, behind the Alpine-backed driver, Larsen lit up the timings and set two purple sectors. The Ferrari Junior shot to the top of the timings with a 1:41.775.
Finding a significant amount of time on her final lap, Palmowski’s last effort was enough to secure pole position once again with a 1:40.911, putting eight tenths between herself and Larsen in P2, while Granada completed the top three.
