Emma Felbermayr arrives at the 2026 F1 Academy Canadian GP with the championship lead, one year on from her emotional rookie-season maiden win in Montreal.
Felbermayr’s debut season featured important lessons and gradual progress. However, entering her second campaign, few focused on her development as she was overshadowed by the other five returning drivers.
Eager to make an early statement, she drove from P9 to P3 in the 2026 Shanghai round Reverse Grid Race, before claiming victory in the Feature Race by just 0.242 seconds. Now, Felbermayr looks to build on her momentum, despite having a big target on her back.
Securing her maiden F1 Academy win in Montreal
Looking back at her maiden F1 Academy victory at Race 2 of the 2026 Canadian GP, she shared: “It’s great to return to Montreal. We had quite a good weekend there last year. I think it was one of the strongest weekends last season for myself, both pace-wise and in racing.”
Notably, Felbermayr’s road to victory wasn’t easy. Having stormed from P8 to P3 in Race 1, she was disqualified post-race for her Rodin Motorsport car being underweight. Forced to reset with less than an hour before Race 2, she focused on redemption. Sticking close to the race leader, Nina Gademan in the closing laps, she bravely lunged for victory down the inside of Turn 9 after a final lap Safety Car restart.
“It was one of my proudest moments, not only for the win but also for doing it after the disqualification,” she noted. “Obviously getting the win in the main race would have been even better, but it was a good race, not a perfect race. It was so much better due to the race before and fighting back.”
“Nina left the door open, so I thought that’s the only chance I’ll get. I think she didn’t expect to get overtaken in that spot, so the unexpected ones are always the good ones.”
Rookie season improvement
Further reflecting on her F1 Academy rookie campaign, Felbermayr shared that the difficult lessons, her Montreal high, and her ultimately P10 Drivers’ Standings result proved crucial in unlocking the potential she always believed she had.
“From Shanghai to Jeddah and Miami, we saw so much improvement and I continued in Montreal. It was always gradually improving, so Montreal wasn’t the race where I thought I can be better, it was just an overall improvement over the season,” she said.
Continuing, she added, “I didn’t expect to win last season. I jumped from karting into F1 ACADEMY with only two races in F4, so it wasn’t easy. I didn’t really expect a lot at the beginning, but the start in Shanghai was already much better than what I thought it was going to be.”
The Austrian driver qualified P7 at the 2026 F1 Academy Shanghai GP, before finishing her debut race in P11, and claiming an impressive P5 points finish in Race 2.
She continued: “That gave me a bit more confidence and a bit more motivation because the level is quite high here and without a lot of test days in these cars it was not easy. In general, I think you really saw the improvement over the season and coming back for the second one, I know everything. I know how the weekend goes, which now puts me at an advantage compared to last year where I had the disadvantage.”
Untapped potential
Wrapping up her 2025 season, Felbermayr said that while mistakes and lessons were an important part of her rookie year, she did not fully show her true potential.
“There was definitely more potential last year,” she admited. “Both the team and I have grown more into the season. On both sides, there were some challenges, not only from my side with driving, but also as a team where we struggled a bit.”
“In general, our full potential wasn’t shown last year. I made mistakes, but I had to do them. It was my first year and you learn from mistakes. I’m better prepared for the season, I learnt from the mistakes and hopefully I can apply that now.”
Turning doubt into fuel
Despite being one of the six returning drivers, few considered Felbermayr as a potential 2026 title contender, unlike Palmowski, Larsen, and her teammate, Ella Lloyd.
“I saw the Instagram post from F1 ACADEMY with Abbi (Pulling) saying Alisha is going to be the Champion and so on and I thought nobody mentioned me,” she shared. “I want to prove them wrong because I know I have the potential.”
She quickly showed her overlooked potential with her impressive 2026 Shanghai result, later admitting it had boosted her confidence.
“Last year, we started strong in Shanghai, so I knew it was one of my strongest tracks. The other ones maybe not as much, so it’s great to leave Shanghai P1 in the Standings. My mindset and motivation do really change.”
However, despite the excitement, Felbermayr stressed the importance of remaining focused as she takes on the 2026 F1 Academy Montreal round:
“It was the first round of the season and I still want to keep the pressure low and just do what I always do. I try to be on the best form as possible for every weekend. For me, it’s important to be in that position at the end of the season and not now, but it’s always nice to be the hunted one.”
Aiming for a strong future
When asked what winning the title would mean for her, the 19-year-old concluded: “It would mean a lot. Doriane (Pin), Abbi and Marta (García) have won it so far and they’re big names. Doriane got her first F1 test, so there are a lot of possibilities you can have after.”
“It’s not the end goal, it’s just the goal for this season. I think it would help me in my career for the following years.”
