Emma Felbermayr won the Race 2 of the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Rodin Motorsport driver held off Alisha Palmowski in a tense finale, after Alba Larsen lost the lead at the restart to hand Felbermayr her first main race victory in F1 Academy.
Alisha Palmowski started from pole position after a dominant qualifying session. The Red Bull-backed driver headed Alba Larsen on the front row. Emma Felbermayr and Payton Westcott locked out the second row. Westcott’s qualifying time was initially deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 2. However, the stewards reinstated her lap after the session, keeping her in fourth.
Rafaela Ferreira and Lisa Billard shared the third row in fifth and sixth. Natalia Granada lined up seventh, with Nina Gademan in eighth. Gademan, who had taken victory in Saturday’s Race 1, headed into the feature race as the championship leader. Amelie Dobson and Ella Lloyd completed the top ten. Stevens, Robertson, Jacquet, Bruce, Kosterman, Paatz, Countryman, and wild card entry Shi Wei filled the remainder of the grid from eleventh to eighteenth.
Lights out for Race 2 at the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP
Palmowski got away poorly from pole position on the right-hand side of the grid. In contrast, Larsen made an excellent start from second and immediately applied pressure. Felbermayr also got away well, coming down the inside to move into second place. As a result, Palmowski dropped from first to third and found herself under pressure from Westcott. However, Palmowski held her position, nudging Westcott onto the kerb slightly at the exit of Turn 1. Despite the battle behind, Larsen had already built a clear gap at the front.
Further down the order, drivers jostled for position through the opening corners. Billard held off Lloyd in the early exchanges, while Paatz made progress from her starting position. Meanwhile, Westcott picked up a tow and remained in contention behind Palmowski. Nonetheless, the F1 Academy Chinese GP Race 2 opening lap ended with drama for Natalia Granada. She lost her front wing and headed straight into the pitlane.
Early battles throughout the F1 Academy field
Lloyd took full advantage of the chaos around her and produced an impressive move to gain positions. Dobson also pushed forward to get involved in the battle. Granada, meanwhile, rejoined from the pits with a new front wing, dropping to 18th place.
Robertson showed her hunger for positions, diving down the inside of Jacquet with a clean, smooth move to take the place. Gademan, who had won Saturday’s reverse-grid Race 1 from pole position, also made progress through the field.
Lloyd ran sixth, sitting just behind Gademan, and recorded a personal best lap as she closed in on the group ahead. When Ferreira ran wide, Gademan took the place. Lloyd then capitalised brilliantly, picking up two positions in one move. Although qualifying had not gone to plan for Lloyd, her pace during Race 2 of the F1 Academy Chinese GP pointed to a championship contender finding her feet.
Meanwhile, at the front, Felbermayr began to find her rhythm and started to close the gap to Larsen. Nevertheless, with all 18 cars still running and the gap sitting close to two seconds, Larsen looked comfortable in the lead.
Safety Car interrupts Race 2 of the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP
Felbermayr had been charging hard, setting personal best sectors and pulling Palmowski along with her. As a result, the gap fell from two seconds to just 1.1 seconds. Lloyd also ran strong laps and moved ahead of Gademan in the process.
However, further back, Kosterman and Jacquet made contact. Jacquet locked up and drove into the back of Kosterman in the braking zone, leaving Jacquet without a rear wing. Consequently, both drivers retired from the Race 2 of the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP, and the Safety Car came out to allow marshals to clear the cars.
The Safety Car bunched the field back up and brought several drivers back into contention. Lloyd moved into play at the front of the midfield pack. Furthermore, Ferreira, who had dropped back slightly, rejoined the battle alongside Billard. Bruce had also charged up to the top ten from fourteenth on the grid.
Larsen had already crossed the finish line when the Safety Car was deployed. She was instructed over the radio to slow down through the damaged section of track.
A change of lead after the Safety Car restart
As the Safety Car returned to the pit lane, Larsen led the field to the restart. However, disaster struck at Turn 16. Larsen ran wide with a snap of oversteer on the apex, sliding through the gravel and dropping out of the top seven. It was a cruel moment for the Dane, who had controlled the race up to that point.
As a result, Felbermayr inherited the lead of Race 2 of the F1 Academy Chinese GP. Palmowski moved into second, though Felbermayr was faster at this stage and pulled away. Further back, Paatz made a move on Robertson and made it stick. Robertson then ran wide through the gravel, dropping her down the order. Bruce also pushed forward, looking to take advantage of the chaos at the restart.
Meanwhile, Larsen fought back hard and worked her way up to eighth place. She pushed on the inside of Bruce, looking to recover as many positions as possible. With Felbermayr now leading from Palmowski, the F1 Academy Chinese GP Race 2 had a new complexion entirely. The gap between the pair sat at just over half a second, setting up a thrilling final phase of the race.
Battles rage through the field in lap 10 of Race 2
Lloyd pushed hard in fifth, sitting right behind teammate Gademan and looking for a way through. Frustration built for Lloyd as Gademan defended strongly, with Lloyd nearly running into the back of her at one point.
Further back, Robertson locked up while battling Granada into Turn 14, collecting wild card entry Shi Wei as an innocent bystander. The incident brought out a yellow flag, and Shi Wei pulled her damaged car to safety. Robertson, who had already run wide through the gravel earlier, dropped further down the order as a result.
Dobson and Paatz fought over the final points-paying position, with Stevens also joining the battle. At the front, the yellow flag worked in Felbermayr’s favor, preventing Palmowski from pressing her attack at Turn 14 as the F1 Academy Chinese GP Race 2 entered its closing stages.
Felbermayr holds on to win the Race 2 of the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP
As the closing laps arrived, Felbermayr, Palmowski, and Westcott had pulled clear of the rest of the field. The top three set near-identical lap times as the race entered its final stages. Behind them, Gademan and Lloyd ran three to four tenths off the pace of the leading trio. Ferreira also closed in on the group, keeping the midfield battle alive.
Robertson pitted to retire from the race, leaving 14 cars still running. With one lap remaining, Palmowski closed back in on Felbermayr. The gap sat at around half a second, and Palmowski pushed hard in the final sector. However, Felbermayr was visibly struggling with rear grip on her Audi-backed Rodin machine. She went slightly defensive into the final corner but held her line cleanly.
Palmowski went for it on the final lap but Felbermayr did just enough. She crossed the line to take victory in the F1 Academy Chinese GP Race 2. It was Felbermayr’s first win in a main race in F1 Academy, having previously taken a reverse-grid victory in Montreal. Palmowski finished second, with Westcott completing the podium in third.
