Nina Gademan began her 2026 F1 Academy season in encouraging fashion at the Chinese GP. She claimed a Race 1 victory and a P4 finish in Race 2 to leave Shanghai third in the Drivers’ Standings with 22 points.
The MP Motorsport driver, backed by Alpine, faced an early setback in Qualifying when traffic limited her to P8 on the grid. However, the reverse grid format gave her an opportunity in Race 1, and Gademan took full advantage. From there, she controlled the race from the start and converted it into a lights to flag victory ahead of Natalia Granada.
Gademan reflects on a measured Feature Race in Shanghai
The Feature Race brought a different challenge. Having used her best tyre set in Race 1, tyre management was always going to be key. Gademan gained positions early and capitalised on mistakes ahead.
A Safety Car restart made the closing stages difficult. Reflecting on her F1 Academy Chinese GP weekend, her approach in the Feature Race underlined her focus on consistency over risk. Gademan said: “We used our really good set of tyres yesterday and obviously the people around me at the front did that today, so we were expecting to lack a bit of pace at the end of the race because the fronts were dead, basically.”
“Up until then, I was just playing it smart – I had a good start and gained two positions, and another one on the opening lap, then I was just following and profiting from other people’s mistakes.”
Reflects on her late Race 2 battle with Lloyd
Gademan’s MP Motorsport teammate Alba Larsen ran wide at the restart and dropped down the order. The Dutch driver soon found herself fighting for a podium but faced late pressure from McLaren’s Ella Lloyd.
“At some point on the Safety Car restart I knew it was going to be tough because my tyres were dead. Still, the pace was really good. It’s just I had to defend a bit from Lloyd, which was a nice battle.”
“I finished P4 and I think it was a good points haul, good damage reduction that we had to do. The goal was to fight today which we did, which is good. A little bit gutted to miss out on the podium, obviously, but we’re P3 in the Standings. It’s a good start, and from there we can work our way to P1,” she stated.
Gademan sets sights on strong second F1 Academy round at Canadian GP
With racing resuming in Canada in May, Gademan is already looking ahead. Montreal is a happy hunting ground for the 22 year old. She took two P3 finishes there in 2025, one of her best weekends that season.
After a strong weekend at the 2026 F1 Academy Chinese GP, Gademan now carries momentum into the next round. Montreal will also bring a new challenge after earlier race cancellations, with a three race format introduced for Round 2. A new opening race will offer full points, creating more chances to gain ground in the standings.
When asked whether she can go even further and fight for the Feature Race win this time, Gademan was confident. “Yes, definitely. I think I need to figure out what we can do better than last year because we were just not able to win it. It’s a track I had two podiums at last year so that’s good, and I can hopefully get another win there,” she stated.
“We’re going to do some work behind the scenes, going to do some karting to stay in shape. We’re just going to go full focus on Montreal and get P1 in the Standings there,” she concluded.
Gademan currently sits nine points between championship leader Emma Felbermayr heading into Montreal. With five rounds remaining, Gademan’s 2026 F1 Academy title challenge looks very much alive.
