A fifth win with the lead under control
Alisha Palmowski won the opening race of F1 Academy’s Austin weekend after 13 laps punctuated by two Safety Car periods. The championship leader completed the race in 30:48.056, finishing 1.985 seconds ahead of Nina Gademan, with Alba Larsen taking the final podium place a further 0.525 seconds back. It was Palmowski’s fifth victory of the season and another valuable result in her title campaign. The race took place on Friday, 23 October, in Texas, starting at 01:50 on Saturday, 24 October, for viewers in Romania.
Westcott strikes first before Palmowski responds
Palmowski had to reclaim the initiative before she could dictate the race. Westcott made the stronger launch and took the lead into Turn 1, but Palmowski responded through Turns 7 and 8 to move back ahead. Westcott’s opening lap then unravelled when she ran wide at Turn 9 and dropped to eighth. That sequence gave Palmowski control at the front, while the drivers behind her faced a race in which interruptions would repeatedly compress the field and make every restart important.
Two restarts shape the fight for second
An opening-lap collision between Robertson and Ferreira brought out the first Safety Car, with racing resuming on Lap 4. Larsen and Gademan’s contest for second then became a central part of the race. Larsen completed an overtake off the track and was subsequently instructed to return the position once racing resumed after the second Safety Car. That later interruption followed contact between Lloyd and Dobson on Lap 10. The final restart came on Lap 13. Palmowski launched cleanly, while the battle for second helped her establish the margin she needed to reach the flag unchallenged.
Billard fourth as Felbermayr recovers ground
Billard finished just outside the podium places in fourth. Felbermayr worked her way from 11th on the grid to fifth, salvaging a useful result for the title contender after a difficult starting position. Granada took sixth ahead of Westcott, who recovered one place from her opening-lap setback. Kosterman and Stevens finished eighth and ninth respectively. Jacquet completed the top ten and secured her first championship point, giving the final points-paying position significance of its own.
| Pos | Driver | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alisha Palmowski | 30:48.056 |
| 2 | Nina Gademan | +1.985 |
| 3 | Alba Larsen | +2.510 |
| 4 | Lisa Billard | +3.222 |
| 5 | Emma Felbermayr | +3.987 |
| 6 | Natalia Granada | +4.763 |
| 7 | Payton Westcott | +5.120 |
| 8 | Esmee Kosterman | +5.283 |
| 9 | Ella Stevens | +5.530 |
| 10 | Jade Jacquet | +5.770 |
Post-race penalties leave the top ten intact
The subsequent decisions concerned the incidents behind both Safety Car periods. Lloyd received a five-second penalty for the Turn 10 collision with Dobson, dropping her from 14th to 16th. Robertson was handed a three-place grid penalty for the next Reverse Grid race following the Turn 5 collision with Ferreira. That moves her starting position from tenth to 13th. Neither decision changed the order of the top ten finishers.
The title remains in play for Reverse Grid
Palmowski now holds a 63-point championship advantage, but the title has yet to be settled. Her next opportunity to secure it comes in the Reverse Grid race on Saturday, 24 October, at 18:00 in Austin: 02:00 on Sunday, 25 October, in Romania. Sunday’s Feature Race follows at 12:00 in Texas, or 19:00 in Romania. Those Romanian start times account for the switch to winter time between the two races, making the final day’s schedule particularly useful to check carefully.
