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Meet the new F1 Academy champion, Alisha Palmowski
After delivering a standout 2026 season, Alisha Palmowski has won the F1 Academy championship – the youngest title-winner so far. Here's how she did it.
Alisha Palmowski – a rising British racing driver who competes in the F1 Academy series as part of the Red Bull Academy Programme – has won the championship at the penultimate race of the season. At 20, the Campos Racing driver is the youngest F1 Academy driver, and only the second British driver, to win the championshipship title.
"It’s just a dream come true," Palmowski said afterwards. "We’ve worked so hard as a team, Campos Racing and Red Bull Racing, and we’ve really left no stone unturned. It’s been a really special journey."
Palmowski has dominated the track in 2026, turning potential into performance. At the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, she went into the US Grand Prix weekend with four wins under her belt and 48 points in the lead. To win the championship title in Austin, she needed to finish the weekend with a 40-point lead.
Palmowski claimed pole for both races at the Austin weekend
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
It's just a dream come true
Palmowski gained 36 points at the weekend, which brought her lead to 53. Her only rival for the championship title ahead of Austin – Austria’s Emma Felbermayr, who drives for Rodin Motorsport and is supported by the Audi F1 team – won 25 points. That meant that Felbermayr can no longer catch Palmowski, despite there still being one more race in Las Vegas in November.
Top three in the F1 Academy standings after Austin
- Alisha Palmowski: 172 points
- Nina Gademan: 119 points
- Emma Felbermayr: 113 points
01
Palmowski’s winning 2026 season
The British driver has been turning heads all season, combining raw pace with the composure to deliver when it matters most. From mastering the rain in Montreal to dominating in front of her home crowd at Silverstone and holding off pressure at Zandvoort, her performances show exactly why she’s been one of the standout drivers of the season and why she's a deserving champion.
Palmowski won Race 1 in Austin, but was forced to retire the Feature Race
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
US Grand Prix, Austin, Texas
Palmowski secured pole position for both Race 1 and the Feature Race and turned her pace into a controlled Race 1 win. After losing the lead at the start, she overtook Payton Westcott and managed two Safety Car restarts to claim her fifth win of the season. Starting eighth in the reverse-grid race, she made several overtakes to finish second and secure the fastest lap.
The Feature Race ended in disappointment for her, however, as a collision with Alba Larsen forced both drivers to retire. Although she missed out on a final-race victory, Palmowski scored enough points in Austin to claim the F1 Academy championship title.
Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort
At Zandvoort, Palmowski started from pole and led the Feature Race from lights to flag, but it was far from plain sailing. Alba Larsen kept the pressure on during the opening phase, forcing Palmowski to manage her pace and tyres carefully. Palmowski succeeded in pulling away and took the chequered flag almost three seconds ahead of Larsen, thereby securing her fourth win of the season.
Alisha Palmowski celebrates on the podium at Zandvoort
© Anni Graf/Formula 1 via Getty Image
British Grand Prix, Silverstone
In front of her home crowd, Palmowski started second in the Feature Race, but launched past polesitter Chiara Bättig before the opening corner. From there she led every lap – displaying the characteristics she’s become known for: controlled, fast and relentless – and won by a close margin.
Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal
Palmowski won two races in Montreal: the Opening Race and the Feature Race. Conditions at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve were wet, but Palmowski kept her nerve in the treacherous conditions. In the Feature Race, she crossed the line an astonishing 10.9 points ahead of the second driver. Fans on social media compared her relentless pace to Max Verstappen, jokingly dubbing her ‘Alisha Palstappen’.
Alisha Palmowski won the Feature Race at Montreal
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
02
Who is the rising Red Bull Racing talent?
F1 Academy champion Alisha Palmowski is a driver to watch
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Competing as part of the Red Bull Racing programme in F1 Academy, Palmowski represents one of the brightest prospects in the female driver pipeline. The all-female series, spearheaded by Susie Wolff, was designed to accelerate women toward higher levels of motorsport by giving young drivers better visibility, funding and development opportunities. Palmowski has embraced that pathway quickly.
The 19-year-old races with Campos Racing under Red Bull colours, and her trajectory over the past few years has been steep. Before stepping into single-seaters, she built her reputation in karting and junior GT racing, eventually finishing runner-up in the 2024 GB4 Championship with three wins and 11 podiums.
03
How did Palmowski get started in F1?
Palmowski's performance has ultimately won her the championship title
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Palmowski grew up in Glossop, near Manchester in the UK, in a family where motorsport was always present in the background. Her great-grandfather, Mario Palmowski, raced BriSCA F1 Stock Cars, while her father and grandfather both loved racing and worked in the motor trade.
“I feel like I’ve had racing in my blood since I was born,” she told Goodwood Road & Racing. “Coming from my great-granddad and that racing link. That’s where it all really stems from for me.”
But unlike many modern racing drivers, Palmowski did not arrive with huge financial backing or a family racing empire behind her. In interviews, she has repeatedly described herself as “just a normal girl from Manchester.”
The hard work is paying off for Palmowski
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
I feel like I’ve had racing in my blood since I was born
The pivotal moment came in 2015 during a school holiday outing with her grandparents. Palmowski went indoor karting for the first time – even though she didn’t even know what a go-kart was at the time. “As soon as I sat in the kart, I knew I felt at home. It was what I wanted to do,” she told Goodwood Road & Racing.
From there, the obsession escalated quickly. She raced in local karting championships before moving into the Daniel Ricciardo Series, where she twice finished runner-up in the UK standings – in 2020 and 2021.
Palmowski greets fans in Montreal
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
One of the biggest turning points arrived in 2022 when Palmowski won the prestigious Ginetta Junior Scholarship, becoming only the second female driver after fellow Brit Jamie Chadwick to claim the prize. That scholarship effectively opened the door to car racing. “Winning the scholarship is my career highlight and it always will be, no matter what I go on to achieve, because without winning the scholarship, I wouldn’t be in single seaters now,” she said in an interview with Silverstone.
04
Who is Alisha Palmowski off the grid?
Keeping fit is Palmowski's main off-track activity
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Interviews and public speaking are part of the job of a racing driver
© Wei Huang / Red Bull Content Pool
Away from the track, Palmowski comes across as fun-loving and grounded, while also being hard-working and self-disciplined. Her social media feeds – you’ll find her on Instagram and Facebook – show her mixing race weekends with snapshots of off-track life: gym sessions, travel days, coffee stops, family moments and downtime with friends.
Fitness is a major focus. Like most modern junior drivers, Palmowski spends much of her time training, particularly on the neck strength and endurance work needed for single-seater racing. But she's also spoken about enjoying quieter moments away from the circuit after the intensity of race weekends.
05
What does the future hold?
The cockpit is home for Alisha Palmowski
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As for the future, Palmowski has never hidden her ambition. “Every young driver will say that they’d love to be in Formula One, as would I, and that is the end goal,” she told Goodwood.
With the F1 Academy title now secured, Palmowski’s focus shifts to the next step in her single-seater journey: continuing her development and climbing the motorsport ladder. Her ability to dominate in the wet, convert pole positions into victories, manage pressure and fight her way through the field has underlined her speed, consistency and racecraft. For a driver with ambitions of reaching Formula One, she has made a compelling statement – and the question now is just how far she can go.
