Audi-backed Emma Felbermayr insists she has “nothing to lose” as she attempts to keep her 2026 F1 Academy championship hopes alive during the United States Grand Prix weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). The Austrian began the penultimate round by topping Thursday’s Free Practice session, finishing 0.178 seconds ahead of championship leader Alisha Palmowski.
Felbermayr arrived in Austin trailing Palmowski by 48 points following a difficult Dutch Grand Prix weekend at Zandvoort. With her rival potentially able to secure the Drivers’ Championship before the season finale in Las Vegas, the Rodin Motorsport driver knows she must deliver strong results across all three races to remain in contention.
Despite the substantial deficit, Felbermayr has adopted an uncompromising approach. Rather than focusing on protecting second in the standings, the Austrian is determined to maximise every available point and challenge Palmowski for the title.
Felbermayr refuses to settle for second in F1 Academy championship
Felbermayr entered Austin second in the Drivers’ Championship on 88 points, trailing Palmowski on 136. The 48-point deficit represents the largest advantage the British driver has established during the season, following strong performances in Montreal, Silverstone and Zandvoort.
The Austrian had previously led the standings after winning the Shanghai Feature Race, but Palmowski subsequently gained momentum. The Campos Racing driver dominated the expanded Montreal weekend before adding Feature Race victories at Silverstone and Zandvoort.
The championship situation entering Austin leaves Felbermayr facing a difficult task, although the additional race provides an opportunity to recover valuable points.
Rather than allowing the deficit to affect her confidence, Felbermayr believes she can approach the weekend without the pressure of defending a championship lead.
“To be honest, the whole weekend for me is all in or nothing, everything or nothing. I have nothing to lose this weekend,” she explained to F1 Academy.
“I think second place in the Standings is the first loser, so I want to win, or otherwise I lose. Alisha Palmowski could win the title this weekend, so I really need to put my best performance out this weekend. So I’m just trying to do that.”
Her comments reflect an attacking mindset as she attempts to reverse the championship momentum. However, Felbermayr must also remain aware of Nina Gademan, who sits third on 71 points, just 17 behind her.
Every championship point could prove decisive
Felbermayr recognises that maintaining her championship hopes will require more than simply challenging Palmowski during the races. With only two rounds remaining, every available point could become important in determining whether the title battle continues to Las Vegas.
The Austrian has demonstrated competitive race pace throughout the season, claiming victories in the Shanghai Feature Race and Silverstone Reverse Grid Race. However, Palmowski has converted her strongest performances into larger points hauls, gradually establishing a substantial advantage.
The difference between the championship contenders has therefore become increasingly significant, particularly as the opportunities to recover points diminish.
Felbermayr entered Austin determined to maximise her performance throughout the weekend, identifying a maiden pole position as another opportunity to strengthen her championship challenge.
“I’m aiming for pole in Qualifying. Even for pole, you get points for the Standings, so I will really try to get every point out of this weekend and for pole position. It would be my first and I have tried every weekend, but so far it hasn’t worked out. So pole position is the goal.”
Although the championship deficit remains considerable, Felbermayr’s approach demonstrates her determination to challenge rather than concede the title.
Her immediate objective is to capitalise on the opportunities available in Austin and ensure Palmowski cannot secure the championship before the final round.
Felbermayr tops Austin practice despite difficult initial adaptation
Felbermayr enjoyed an encouraging start to the weekend by setting the fastest time in Thursday’s only Free Practice session.
The Audi-backed driver recorded a 2:08.949 around COTA, finishing 0.178 seconds ahead of Palmowski and 0.252 clear of Gademan. Payton Westcott and Rachel Robertson completed the top five, with the three leading championship contenders occupying the first three positions.
The practice result provided a positive indication of Felbermayr’s competitiveness, particularly after a series of difficult weekends.
However, her performance was not entirely straightforward. The Austrian admitted that she initially struggled to adapt to COTA, with the circuit’s characteristics proving different from those she had anticipated during simulator preparation.
“In the beginning, I struggled quite a lot, to be honest,” she admitted. “We did some preparation on the sim, but the track felt totally different and also compared to 2023 when F1 ACADEMY was here. We have Abbi Pulling here to support us this weekend and we have onboard videos, but it was quite a bit different.”
Felbermayr gradually improved throughout the session, establishing a stronger rhythm before setting her fastest lap during the closing minutes.
The result demonstrated her ability to adjust quickly to an unfamiliar circuit, an important development given the limited practice opportunities available during the weekend.
Felbermayr remains cautious despite setting fastest lap
Although Felbermayr finished practice ahead of her championship rivals, she was reluctant to place too much importance on the result.
The Austrian acknowledged that different approaches to tyre management and the timing of push laps made it difficult to determine whether Rodin Motorsport held a genuine performance advantage.
Her initial struggles also demonstrated how challenging the Circuit of the Americas could be, particularly with the circuit differing from the references available during preparation.
“I expected it to be more like it was in the references, but in the end it was totally different. At the end of the session, we got a good rhythm, but I also don’t know what the other teams did with tyres and also pushing, so obviously it’s great with the pace, but we still need to find some more bits.”
Her comments reflect the importance of continued improvement, even after an encouraging result.
While the fastest practice time provides confidence, Felbermayr recognises that maintaining competitive pace throughout the weekend will require further adjustments.
The limited running also places greater importance on making effective use of the available information, with drivers having fewer opportunities to experiment with alternative approaches.
For Felbermayr, the session nevertheless represented a welcome return to the top of the timesheets. Having struggled to match Palmowski’s recent results, the Austrian demonstrated that she remains capable of challenging her championship rival.
Abbi Pulling provides valuable guidance at COTA
Rodin Motorsport has benefited from the presence of 2024 F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling, who has been supporting the team during the Austin weekend.
Pulling competed at COTA during the championship’s inaugural season in 2023, providing valuable experience at a venue unfamiliar to most of the current grid.
With only one Free Practice session available, her knowledge has been particularly useful in helping Felbermayr and the team understand the circuit’s characteristics.
Felbermayr explained that Pulling’s guidance extends beyond simply knowing the layout. The British driver can also identify areas where she struggled during her previous appearance and offer alternative approaches based on those experiences.
“Abbi’s weekend here wasn’t the best she had,” said Felbermayr. “But she knows what to improve from her lap and from her weekend in general because at that time her car wasn’t the quickest. She can help us quite a lot with what to do differently and also the different ways she tried in her race. It’s great to have her with Rodin Motorsport here, especially on a track where we only have one Practice session and then straight to Qualifying.”
Pulling’s involvement provides Rodin with additional insight as it prepares for the challenges of the weekend.
For Felbermayr, that support has become particularly valuable given the importance of adapting quickly and the need to maximise her remaining championship opportunities.
Felbermayr highlights precision required through Austin’s opening sector
Felbermayr also discussed the technical demands of the 5.513-kilometre Circuit of the Americas, identifying the opening sector as particularly challenging.
The circuit begins with a steep climb towards Turn 1 before transitioning into a sequence of high-speed corners that require precise car positioning.
For F1 Academy’s smaller single-seater machinery, the unusually wide first corner makes judging the apex particularly difficult. Felbermayr explained that the consequences of an imperfect line can extend well beyond an individual corner.
“Turn 1 is so late, it’s so much time until you get to the apex because it’s that big and our cars are relatively small. Also, as the track is so long, you really need to make every corner well, especially the flowing part in Sector 1 from Turn 2 to Turn 6.
“There, it’s all about positioning the car. If the first position at the first corner is bad, the other sections are going to be bad as well. For the hard braking zones, there isn’t a lot of time to prepare for the first corner, but on a flowing track it’s pretty hard to position the car at the first corner to make sure it’s at the correct position at the last corner.”
Her assessment highlights the importance of anticipating several corners in advance, particularly through the flowing opening sector.
Small mistakes can compromise an entire sequence, making consistency and precision essential for producing competitive lap times.
The circuit’s characteristics also help explain why Felbermayr initially struggled despite extensive simulator preparation, before gradually improving throughout practice.
Expanded Austin weekend offers opportunity to reduce championship deficit
Austin’s expanded three-race format provides Felbermayr with an additional opportunity to reduce Palmowski’s advantage.
The weekend features an Opening Race on Friday, followed by the Reverse Grid Race on Saturday and the Feature Race on Sunday. With 65 championship points available across the event, a strong weekend could significantly change the standings before Las Vegas.
However, Palmowski’s 48-point lead means Felbermayr cannot rely solely on consistently finishing near the front. She must substantially outperform the championship leader to preserve a realistic title opportunity.
The Austrian’s previous results provide encouragement. She claimed victory in Shanghai before adding another win during the Silverstone Reverse Grid Race, where she converted a difficult weekend into two podium finishes.
Nevertheless, Palmowski’s stronger performances in the full-points contests have allowed her to build an increasingly comfortable advantage.
Felbermayr must therefore combine her demonstrated race pace with the consistency required to maximise her points across all three races.
Her practice-topping performance offers an encouraging starting point, although the Austrian remains aware that her championship hopes will depend on sustaining that competitiveness throughout the weekend.
Felbermayr determined to keep title battle alive until Las Vegas
Felbermayr’s approach to Austin reflects the contrasting positions of the two leading championship contenders.
Palmowski arrives with a substantial advantage and multiple opportunities to secure the title before the final round. Felbermayr, meanwhile, must attack the remaining races while avoiding mistakes that could eliminate her championship hopes.
The Austrian has already demonstrated her ability to compete against the championship leader, securing two victories and five podium finishes across the opening four rounds.
However, a difficult Zandvoort weekend allowed Palmowski to extend her advantage to 48 points, creating a significant challenge with only Austin and Las Vegas remaining.
Thursday’s practice provided an encouraging response. Felbermayr adapted to an unfamiliar circuit, gradually improved her pace and finished ahead of both Palmowski and Gademan.
The support of Pulling and Rodin Motorsport’s preparation could also prove valuable as the Austrian continues familiarising herself with COTA.
Nevertheless, Felbermayr recognises that practice pace alone will not determine the championship outcome. She must translate her performance into strong race results while hoping to reduce Palmowski’s advantage sufficiently to extend the title battle.
With her championship ambitions firmly focused on victory rather than second place, Felbermayr enters the remaining sessions determined to make the most of every opportunity.
Her message is clear: she has nothing to lose and intends to approach the Austin weekend accordingly.
