Alisha Palmowski claimed a Grand Slam victory during the Feature Race at the 2026 F1 Academy Dutch GP, extending her championship lead with two rounds left.
The Red Bull Racing-backed driver endured a mixed Zandvoort round, having finished Free Practice in P10 before finding the pace needed for her fourth pole of the campaign. Palmowski’s weekend took another turn in the Reverse Grid Race as she stalled at lights out, eventually leaving her outside of the points in P12.
The Brit faced another challenging start during the Feature Race as Alba Larsen immediately put her under pressure despite leading the field through Turn 1. Larsen remained within DRS range throughout nearly the entire race until Palmowski set the fastest lap on Lap 13 and stormed off to claim victory by 2.8s.
Palmowski on her difficult Feature Race victory
Reflecting on her 2026 F1 Academy Dutch GP, Palmowski began by praising Campos Racing’s hard work, as she said:
“Very pleased, very relieved, as always, really. The team have put in lots of hard work, in particular this weekend, with the different weather conditions and loads of different factors being thrown at us.”
“We had some car issues yesterday, so the team worked extra hard last night to try and fix that ahead of this morning’s race. So to come out with a win, it wasn’t a straightforward race at all.”
Further speaking about the Feature Race, Palmowski explained how she stayed calm and focused despite a less-than-ideal launch and the intense pressure from Larsen.
“I had even more pressure from Alba this race than what I had from Chiara (Bättig) at Silverstone, especially for the first half. The launch off the line wasn’t actually that strong for me. Stronger than yesterday, but still not an ideal start.”
She continued: “I managed to maintain position and then just keep a cool, calm and collected head really. I know how difficult it is to overtake around Zandvoort, so I knew if I was consistent, made no mistakes, gave Alba no opportunity to get through, then it would be very difficult for her. Thank goodness I didn’t make any mistakes.”
Tackling difficult starts
After suffering from poor starts in both races, Palmowski acknowledged that this is an area she will need to improve ahead of the final two rounds in Austin and Las Vegas.
“Just too much wheel spin off the line, so it’s something I have got to look at and address ahead of Austin,” she noted, eyeing the round that’s set for October 23-25. “We do have some time, thankfully, to do that. I just knew if I could get the inside line to Turn 1 and if Alba wasn’t quite able to get the overlap on me, then I could then lead the race.”
“I was quite confident. It was fine margins, but I just got my nose in front of her, so I breathed a sigh of relief after that,” she said, recalling how she managed to keep Larsen behind through Turn 1.
Palmowski added: “I wasn’t 100% at the limit in the first half of the race. I would say we were 90-95%. I knew I still needed tyres towards the end of the race, which I think showed when Alba started struggling in the second half and that’s where I then made the gap.“
“Equally, I knew the closer that Alba was to me, the more she would struggle with her tyres. So a bit of a game I was sort of playing in those opening few laps. I wouldn’t say I was struggling though, it was tactical.”
Final stages of the 2026 F1 Academy title fight
Having secured her 4th win of the season, Palmowski has now extended her Drivers’ Standings lead, sitting 48 points clear of nearest rival Emma Felbermayr. With 104 points still available across the final two rounds, Palmowski could seas the title in Austin if she finds another perfect weekend.
Asked about the title fight, the Brit shared: “I think I’m not too stressed about it, to be honest. It’s a very privileged and nice position to be in. I have that buffer if something does go wrong, then I can still maintain the lead.”
Notably, Round 5 will mark Palmowski’s debut at the Circuit of the Americas, with Austin set to feature a three-race format and a more intense Qualifying.
With that in mind, Palmowski concluded: “Equally, it doesn’t change the approach that I take going into Austin. Just take it race by race. Obviously, the big focus is on Qualifying. It’s a more important Qualifying because it determines the grid for two races. I’ve just got to get that right and then take it from there.”
“I obviously can’t control what Emma does, what Nina (Gademan) does. All I can do is focus on myself and make sure I’m making no mistakes, can do a good job and then the title will come my way or not.”
