Alisha Palmowski could secure the 2026 F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship during Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race at the United States GP after extending her advantage with victory in Friday’s Opening Race. The Red Bull Racing-backed Campos Racing driver enters the second contest at the Circuit of the Americas with a 63-point lead over Emma Felbermayr and 72 points over Nina Gademan.
Palmowski’s fifth victory of the season increased her championship total to 161 points, while Felbermayr moved to 98 following a fifth-place finish. Meanwhile, Gademan strengthened her hold on third with 89 points after finishing second.
However, Palmowski also secured pole position for Sunday’s Feature Race, carrying a potential two-point bonus. Assuming officials have already awarded those points, Palmowski would begin Saturday with 163 points and a 65-point advantage over Felbermayr, giving her an opportunity to secure the title before Sunday’s final race in Austin.
Palmowski strengthens F1 Academy title advantage after Opening Race victory
Palmowski entered Austin with a 48-point lead over Felbermayr following her fourth victory of the season at Zandvoort.
The Briton subsequently claimed another victory in Friday’s Opening Race, overcoming an early challenge from Payton Westcott and two Safety Car interruptions to finish 1.9 seconds ahead of Gademan.
The result added 25 points to her championship total, increasing her advantage over Felbermayr by 15 points. Meanwhile, Gademan reduced her deficit to the Austrian to nine points but remains 72 behind Palmowski.
Crucially, Palmowski also secured pole position for Sunday’s Feature Race following the reinstatement of her fastest qualifying lap.
Under F1 Academy’s regulations, the driver occupying pole on the final Feature Race grid receives two championship points. The calculations below assume Palmowski receives those points before Saturday’s championship assessment.
How many points will remain after Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race?
The Reverse Grid Race offers fewer points than the Opening Race and Feature Race. Under the 2026 F1 Academy sporting regulations, the leading eight finishers receive points according to the following system:
- 1st — 10 points
- 2nd — 8 points
- 3rd — 6 points
- 4th — 5 points
- 5th — 4 points
- 6th — 3 points
- 7th — 2 points
- 8th — 1 point
An additional point goes to the driver recording the fastest lap, provided she finishes inside the top eight.
Assuming officials have already awarded Palmowski the two Feature Race pole points, 65 points will remain available after Saturday. Sunday’s Feature Race offers 26 points, while the Las Vegas finale provides another 39.
Consequently, Palmowski must hold a lead of at least 66 points over every remaining challenger after Saturday to guarantee the championship outright, without relying on countback.
What does Palmowski need to secure the Championship on Saturday?
The official F1 Academy standings place Palmowski on 161 points after Friday’s Opening Race. Adding the assumed two pole points increases her provisional total to 163.
Felbermayr remains second on 98 points, while Gademan holds third with 89. The provisional gaps therefore stand at 65 and 74 points respectively.
To guarantee the title outright on Saturday, Palmowski must outscore Felbermayr by at least one point while preventing Gademan from gaining more than eight points on her.
The following finishing positions would guarantee Palmowski the Championship, assuming no fastest-lap bonuses:
- If Palmowski wins: She secures the title regardless of Felbermayr’s or Gademan’s results.
- If Palmowski finishes 2nd: Felbermayr must finish 3rd or lower.
- If Palmowski finishes 3rd: Felbermayr must finish 4th or lower.
- If Palmowski finishes 4th: Felbermayr must finish 5th or lower.
- If Palmowski finishes 5th: Felbermayr must finish 6th or lower.
- If Palmowski finishes 6th: Felbermayr must finish 7th or lower.
- If Palmowski finishes 7th: Felbermayr must finish 8th or lower, while Gademan must not secure both victory and fastest lap.
- If Palmowski finishes 8th: Felbermayr must finish outside the points, while Gademan must score no more than nine points.
These scenarios guarantee the title through a points advantage alone. Fastest-lap bonuses could alter the required finishing positions, while smaller championship margins could also prove sufficient through countback.
Felbermayr must prevent Palmowski from extending her advantage
Felbermayr remains Palmowski’s closest challenger, but the Austrian faces an increasingly difficult task following Friday’s Opening Race.
The Audi-backed Rodin Motorsport driver recovered from 11th to fifth, collecting ten points. However, Palmowski’s victory increased their championship separation from 48 to 63 points before the pole-position bonus.
Felbermayr must therefore prevent Palmowski from gaining another point on her during Saturday’s contest to retain a mathematical opportunity to overturn the deficit.
If Palmowski finishes second, for example, Felbermayr would need to win to prevent her rival from establishing an unassailable advantage. Conversely, a third-place finish for Palmowski would require Felbermayr to finish at least second or secure enough additional points through fastest lap.
The Austrian starts ninth, outside the reversed top eight, while Palmowski lines up eighth. Consequently, Felbermayr must make progress through the field to keep her championship challenge alive.
Gademan also remains mathematically in contention
Although Felbermayr represents Palmowski’s closest championship rival, Gademan remains mathematically capable of winning the title.
The Alpine-backed MP Motorsport driver collected 18 points for second place in Friday’s Opening Race, increasing her championship total to 89.
Assuming Palmowski receives the Feature Race pole bonus, Gademan would trail the championship leader by 74 points before Saturday’s contest.
To retain an opportunity to overtake Palmowski outright, Gademan must reduce that deficit to 64 points or fewer after the Reverse Grid Race. She therefore needs to outscore Palmowski by at least ten points on Saturday.
An advantage of nine points would leave Gademan exactly 65 behind, allowing her only to draw level through maximum points across the remaining races. However, Palmowski’s superior victory record would prevent Gademan from winning on countback.
Gademan starts sixth on Saturday, giving her an opportunity to challenge for significant points, although her title prospects depend heavily on Palmowski encountering difficulties.
Fastest lap and pole-position points could influence the outcome
The additional points available through qualifying and fastest laps introduce further considerations into Saturday’s title calculations.
Palmowski’s assumed two-point pole bonus reduces the points remaining after the Reverse Grid Race from 67 to 65. Therefore, the outright title-clinching threshold falls from a 68-point advantage to 66.
However, the official 2026 regulations award those pole points to the driver occupying first place on the final Feature Race grid, rather than automatically crediting the fastest qualifier.
Consequently, these calculations assume Palmowski retains pole position and receives the bonus before officials assess Saturday’s championship standings. The standings immediately after the Opening Race show 161 points, without those two additional points.
Furthermore, Saturday’s fastest-lap bonus could change the title permutations by one point, provided the recipient finishes inside the leading eight.
Officials must therefore account for both the pole bonus and the final Reverse Grid Race classification before confirming any championship outcome.
What happens if Palmowski cannot secure the title on Saturday?
If Palmowski fails to establish an unassailable advantage during the Reverse Grid Race, she will have another opportunity during Sunday’s Feature Race.
The final race in Austin offers 25 points for victory and one additional point for fastest lap, with Palmowski currently holding pole position.
Following Sunday’s contest, only 39 championship points will remain available at the Las Vegas finale. Consequently, Palmowski must leave Austin with a lead of at least 40 points over every remaining challenger to guarantee the title outright.
Her substantial advantage means she could still secure the championship without winning either remaining race in Austin, provided Felbermayr and Gademan fail to reduce their deficits sufficiently.
However, Palmowski’s immediate opportunity comes on Saturday, when a strong recovery from eighth on the grid could allow her to become the fourth F1 Academy Drivers’ Champion, following Marta García, Abbi Pulling and Doriane Pin.
With the championship within reach, Saturday’s Reverse Grid Race could determine whether the title fight ends in Austin or continues into Sunday’s Feature Race.
