Alisha Palmowski took a massive stride toward the 2026 F1 ACADEMY title by claiming her fifth win of the campaign in the opening race in Austin. It was a proper fight out there, with the Red Bull Racing driver forced to dig deep right from the start.
Things did not go smoothly off the line, as Palmowski immediately lost the lead to Payton Westcott. Thankfully, a poor Sector 1 from the Mercedes driver let Palmowski bite right back, reclaiming the position at Turn 9.
Drama struck early when contact between Rachel Robertson, Rafaela Ferreira, and Megan Bruce brought out the Safety Car. Palmowski handled the restart with total composure, though the action was far from over. Behind the leader, Alba Larsen managed to get past her teammate Nina Gademan and started hunting down the Briton. That battle hit a snag when the Ferrari driver was ordered to give the place back after completing the move off-track.
A second Safety Car period set up a nervous final-lap sprint to the finish, but Palmowski held firm once again to secure the victory. That brilliant drive extends her championship advantage to a commanding 63 points, with Alpine junior Gademan and Ferrari's Larsen rounding out the podium spots.
Further down the order, Lisa Billard drove to her best result of the season in fourth, staying ahead of title contender Emma Felbermayr. Natalia Granada came home in sixth, while Westcott slipped back to seventh following a mistake in the wake of Palmowski's early overtake. Esmee Kosterman brought the LEGO Racing car home in eighth ahead of Ella Stevens, and Williams driver Jade Jacquet scraped into the points for the first time in tenth.
Now, the stage is set for a potential title decider. Palmowski could clinch the championship in Saturday evening's reverse grid race at 1800 local time, lining up in P8 just one spot ahead of her nearest rival Felbermayr. Meanwhile, Racing Bulls driver and Campos Racing teammate Rafaela Ferreira will start from reverse grid pole as she hunts for her maiden podium.
