Gademan seizes second F1 Academy win of 2026 with assured Austin feature race

Gademan takes control in Austin

Nina Gademan converted her third-place start into her second race win of the season in the F1 ACADEMY Feature Race in Austin, overtaking Emma Felbermayr to take second in the drivers’ standings with two races to go.

The Alpine driver took control at the first corner, overtaking both Payton Westcott and newly crowned 2026 F1 ACADEMY champion Alisha Palmowski around the outside of Turn 1.

Gademan put clean air between herself and the rest of the field, executed a perfect Safety Car restart, and held firm for her second win of the campaign.

Race shake-up and podium

An unfortunate collision between Palmowski and Alba Larsen forced both drivers to retire from second and third place. This allowed Westcott to take a podium on home soil, finishing in P2, while Natalia Granada rounded out the top three with her first podium since Shanghai.

Jade Jacquet found herself under pressure from Emma Felbermayr for the majority of the race. Still, the Williams driver held on to fourth, her best finish of the season so far, while the Audi driver settled for fifth.

Lisa Billard and Rachel Robertson finished P6 and P7, while Ella Lloyd charged from 13th to eighth to gain valuable points. Esmee Kosterman overtook two cars on the final lap to take ninth, while Megan Bruce took the final point, making it a double-points-scoring weekend for the TAG Heuer driver.

What’s next

The win takes Alpine’s Nina Gademan up to second in the F1 ACADEMY drivers’ standings with just two races to go.

F1 ACADEMY heads back to the bright lights of Las Vegas, as the 2026 season draws to a close with Round 6 from November 19-21.