Emma Felbermayr’s 2025 F1 Academy rookie campaign has been a mixture of frustration, redemption and promise. Most recently, she earned her maiden victory in Montreal at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. After completing four rounds in the championship, the Sauber-backed driver sits in 9th in the championship, with a total of 21 points scored.
A challenging debut
Felbermayr made her debut at the season opener in Shanghai back in March. A strong qualifying of P7 provided a solid starting point for the weekend. Race 1 began well, and there was hope of a points finish, however contact from Alba Larsen and Tina Hausmann dropped her out of the points. She finished the race disappointed in P11.
Race 2 provided an opportunity for redemption. A clean drive through a safety-car-filled race found her finishing in P5. This provided the Austrian with her first points in the championship.
Missed opportunities in Jeddah
At the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Round 2, Emma Felbermayr once again showed flashes of front-running pace. For Race 1 of the weekend, Felbermayr started on reverse-grid pole. A good start meant that she was able to hold the lead at the beginning of the race. However, as the race unfolded, she gradually slipped back and finished in P9 outside of the points.
Race 2 was disappointing for Felbermayr yet again. Contact on Lap 2 caused her to spin, dropping her outside of the points. Whilst she tried to recover the positions lost, Felbermayr finished in P15, then receiving a 10-second penalty for causing the incident post-race.
Heartbreak in Miami
After a pointless weekend in Jeddah, Felbermayr was hoping for a more positive outcome from Round 3 in Miami. Qualifying in P8 secured Felbermayr reverse-grid pole once again. In Race 1, she held the lead off of the line, and drove a very strong race to hold onto this. She looked set to take her first win, until disaster struck. Felbermayr experienced mechanical issues, which forced her to retire from the race.
Race 2 was then postponed due to extreme weather conditions, although being pushed to a third race in Montreal.
Montreal Magic
Things finally started to look up for Emma Felbermayr in Montreal. During Race 1, she stormed through the field to finish the race in P3. However, the car was found to be underweight. This meant that disqualified from the race and forced to forfeit her podium finish.
Emma Felbermayr came back filled with determination in Race 2. Late in the race, a safety car bunched up the field. This provided Felbermayr with an opportunity. A last-lap overtake allowed her to take her maiden F1 academy victory. This was made even sweeter by being able to share the podium with her teammate, Ella Lloyd.
In Race 3, she collided with Gademan, which dropped her towards the back of the pack. Fresh from her victory, Felbermayr was not about to give up. She put in a strong recovery drive. After penalties were awarded post-race, she finished in P10.
Looking Forward
Emma Felbermayr will be back on track at Zandvoort in August with the rest of the F1 Academy grid. Despite coming home empty-handed from two rounds, Montreal showed promise in her abilities. She has momentum on her side, and will be looking to carry that into the second-half of the season.
However, Felbermayr must prioritise driving a clean race if she wishes to consistently score points. She has adapted well to single-seaters and shows promise to continue to improve on her speed and race craft.
