The opening round of the 2026 F1 Academy season at the Chinese GP continues as drivers prepare to head out on the Shanghai International Circuit for Qualifying.
Earlier, Free Practice delivered a tight session, with several drivers trading quick laps. In the end, it was Alisha Palmowski who set the pace with a 2:04.550 time, finishing ahead of Alba Larsen, Payton Westcott, and Ella Lloyd.
The session was also briefly interrupted by a yellow flag after wild card entry Shi Wei spun, though she quickly recovered and continued. Other drivers, meanwhile, struggled at times with lock-ups and minor off-track moments as they adapted to the cold and windy conditions.
Green light
With the green light displayed, all 18 F1 Academy drivers began to slowly make their way out on track for the 30-minute session. The first few minutes featured drivers warming up their tires, with warmer track temperatures than in the cold Free Practice. Aston Martin-backed Mathilda Paatz was the first to set a flying lap with a time of 2:08.275. Meanwhile, Emma Felbermayr soon hopped into P1 after completing two purple sectors.
Over time, more drivers found themselves improving, with Palmowski going fastest and Lisa Billard taking P3. After making a small mistake in her previous push lap, Alba Larsen finally stormed to the top with a 2:04.651.
With 15 minutes remaining, drivers began to make their way back to the pit lane for a tyre change.
Battle for the 2026 Chinese GP pole position
Going into the final 10 minutes of the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP qualifying session, rookie Kaylee Countryman brought out a red flag as her ART Grand Prix car stopped on track. Moments later, the American driver was able to slowly get moving and peel into the pits for the team to assess the issue. As all drivers sat in the pit lane, Race Control announced that the session would resume at 14:39 local time.
After the interruption, Larsen remained on top, with Palmowski in second, Billard in third, Gademan fourth, and Ferreira in fifth. Yet, as drivers began their final laps, Palmowski went 0.014 seconds quicker, to demote Ferrari-backed Larsen from P1. On another flying lap attempt, Palmowski improved further, creating a significant 0.469-second gap. In the meantime, Ella Lloyd suffered oversteer, while Westcott went wide.
Larsen launched a final attempt to challenge Palmowski, but she was unable to find any improvement. With the chequered flag out, a dominant Alisha Palmowski claims her first 2026 F1 Academy pole position of the season, ahead of Larsen and Felbermayr. Behind, Nina Gademan secures the Chinese GP Race 1 reverse-grid pole position.
