Ella Lloyd and Rachel Robertson have received penalties following separate collisions during the 2026 F1 Academy United States GP Opening Race at the Circuit of the Americas. The stewards issued Lloyd a five-second time penalty for causing contact with Ava Dobson, while Robertson received a three-place grid drop for her collision with Rafaela Ferreira.
The decisions affect both Friday’s final classification and Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race. Lloyd drops from 14th to 16th, while Robertson will start Saturday’s contest from 13th instead of tenth.
Both incidents prompted Safety Car interventions during an eventful Opening Race, which saw Alisha Palmowski claim her fifth victory of the season ahead of Nina Gademan and Alba Larsen.
Lloyd receives five-second penalty following Dobson collision
Lloyd received a five-second time penalty after the stewards determined that she caused a collision with Dobson at the exit of Turn 10.
The McLaren-backed Rodin Motorsport driver was battling Dobson for position when the pair made contact during Lap 10. The incident triggered the second Safety Car intervention and forced Dobson to retire, although Lloyd recovered and continued racing.
Following their investigation, the stewards established that Dobson had run wide exiting Turn 9, allowing Lloyd to draw alongside on the outside of Turn 10.
However, Lloyd subsequently moved left after exiting the corner. Dobson maintained her line and began moving left away from Lloyd’s #20 car when the contact occurred.
Consequently, the stewards assigned Lloyd full responsibility for the collision and imposed a five-second penalty.
Lloyd drops two positions in revised Opening Race classification
Lloyd initially crossed the finish line in 14th after recovering from the collision, but her penalty drops her to 16th in the final classification.
As a result, Campos Racing’s Rafaela Ferreira moves from 15th to 14th, while Hitech Wild Card driver Alexia Danielsson gains one position to finish 15th.
The penalty does not affect the points-scoring positions, as Lloyd had already finished outside the top ten.
Nevertheless, the decision concludes another difficult race for the McLaren-backed driver, who entered the Austin weekend seeking to improve her championship position.
Meanwhile, Dobson leaves Friday’s contest without points after sustaining race-ending damage during the incident.
Robertson receives three-place grid drop for Ferreira collision
Robertson also received a penalty following her opening-lap collision with Ferreira, which brought out the race’s first Safety Car.
The PUMA-backed Hitech driver attempted to overtake Ferreira around the outside of Turn 4 but could not complete the manoeuvre. Both drivers ran wide on the exit, with Ferreira maintaining a slight advantage as they approached Turn 5.
Robertson remained outside the track limits but continued following the edge of the circuit rather than cutting across the corner to rejoin further ahead.
As she attempted to negotiate Turn 5, Robertson collided with Ferreira, sending the Racing Bulls-backed Campos Racing driver into a spin.
Robertson sustained damage and retired from the race, while Ferreira continued after losing several positions.
The stewards subsequently investigated the contact and determined that Robertson held primary responsibility for the incident.
Stewards consider mitigating circumstances before imposing penalty
The stewards concluded that Robertson had no entitlement to additional space on the inside of Turn 5 because Ferreira remained ahead through the preceding corner.
However, they also considered the circumstances surrounding the incident, particularly the opening-lap congestion and the presence of other cars.
Robertson had limited opportunities to avoid contact without leaving the racing surface and rejoining the circuit further ahead.
Consequently, the stewards considered these mitigating factors when determining the appropriate sanction. Although they held Robertson predominantly responsible, they imposed a three-place grid penalty rather than a time penalty following her retirement.
The decision means Robertson drops from tenth to 13th on the grid for Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race.
Penalties add to challenging Austin weekend for Hitech
Robertson’s grid drop compounds a difficult opening to the United States GP for Hitech, with two of its drivers involved in separate incidents during Friday’s race.
The team lost Robertson on the opening lap before Dobson retired following her collision with Lloyd.
Furthermore, Dobson had already received three-place grid penalties for all three Austin races after failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags during Thursday’s Practice session.
Those earlier penalties mean Dobson will start Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race from 18th, while Robertson now lines up 13th following her latest sanction.
Both drivers will therefore face challenging recovery drives as they attempt to regain positions and collect valuable championship points.
F1 Academy prepares for Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race
The post-race decisions leave Friday’s podium unchanged, with Palmowski retaining her victory ahead of Gademan and Larsen.
However, Robertson’s penalty reshuffles the midfield for Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race, adding another challenge for the Hitech driver after her early retirement.
Meanwhile, Lloyd will look to recover from Friday’s setback as she continues her Austin campaign.
The second race of the weekend will begin at 18:00 local time on Saturday, 24 October, with Rafaela Ferreira starting from pole position following the reversal of the top eight qualifiers.
Palmowski will start eighth as she attempts to secure the 2026 F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship before Sunday’s Feature Race.
