The opening race of the 2026 F1 Academy weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix delivered drama from the very first lap, but it was Britain’s Palmowski who emerged utterly untouchable, storming to the largest winning margin in series history.

Pole Position Converted into Total Control

Starting from pole position alongside Bruce on the front row, Palmowski converted her advantage perfectly when the lights went out in Montréal. While the pole-sitter launched cleanly into Turn 1, championship leader Felbermayr endured a poor getaway from fourth on the grid, immediately dropping out of contention at the front.

With no tyre warmers permitted in F1 Academy, the formation lap proved especially important as drivers aggressively weaved to generate temperature in the rubber ahead of the first of three races this weekend. By the end of Lap 1, Palmowski had already begun to break clear, while Ava Dobson’s race unravelled after suffering a puncture. Starting 11th, Dobson was forced to limp around and quickly fell to the back of the field.

The early order settled as Palmowski led Bruce, Westcott, Paatz and Ferreira, with the race leader already 1.4 seconds clear after only one lap. Larsen soon emerged as one of the movers in the field, climbing into the top six during Lap 2.

Early Drama and Penalties Shake Up the Order

Further back, Billard sustained front-wing damage which immediately compromised her pace, while Palmowski underlined her authority at the front by setting the fastest lap on Lap 3.

Race control soon became involved in the battle near the front. Westcott was noted for failing to follow the race director instructions at Turn 13 before eventually receiving a five-second time penalty later in the race. By Lap 4, Palmowski’s advantage had grown to over two seconds, while Dobson languished more than 1 minute 25 seconds behind after her difficult opening lap.

The fight for second between Bruce and Westcott intensified on Lap 5, the pair separated by only two tenths of a second. Yet their squabbling merely played into Palmowski’s hands, allowing the leader to stretch her advantage to three seconds. There was also an entertaining intra-team battle developing between Ella Stevens and Ella Lloyd. Stevens had slipped to 10th, but Lloyd closed rapidly, and the two teammates ran nose-to-tail in a confident but controlled scrap for position.

Meanwhile, Felbermayr quietly began recovering from her poor start. By Lap 6 the championship leader had already climbed back into 12th place and edged towards the points. Kosterman’s race then took a turn for the worse after she appeared to pick up front-wing damage, potentially from clipping the wall. She pitted for repairs and dropped to the rear of the field.

Westcott’s Drop Opens the Podium Fight

At the start of Lap 7, the top 10 stood as Palmowski, Bruce, Westcott, Paatz, Ferreira, Larsen, Gademan, Countryman, Lloyd and Stevens, with Felbermayr just outside the points in 11th. Westcott’s penalty soon changed everything. Attempting an overtake on Bruce during Lap 9, she ran onto the dirty line and was forced across the grass, dropping from a podium position down to sixth. Paatz inherited third, Ferreira moved into fourth and Larsen climbed to fifth.

Countryman then attempted to pressure Gademan for seventh on Lap 10, but a trip across the grass ended the challenge before it truly began. At the same point, the bottom five runners were Jacquet, Granada, Billard, Dobson and Kosterman, with the latter nearly 40 seconds behind even Dobson after her earlier stop and subsequent penalty. Paatz, representing Aston Martin, began to emerge as Bruce’s closest challenger for second by Lap 11, while Palmowski’s lead ballooned to 7.5 seconds.

Lloyd Stars with Stunning Recovery Drive

The drive of the race, however, arguably belonged to Ella Lloyd. Starting down in 16th, she first overtook Countryman for eighth before immediately piling pressure onto Westcott and sweeping past for seventh. Stevens followed her teammate through and began attacking Countryman herself as Westcott’s race continued to unravel.

By Lap 12, the order was Palmowski, Bruce, Paatz, Ferreira, Larsen, Gademan, Lloyd, Countryman, Stevens and Felbermayr. Westcott then headed to the pits with a more serious issue after grass collected in the radiator, causing overheating and a significant loss of pace. Palmowski, entirely untroubled at the front, added another fastest lap to her tally.

The battle for fourth tightened late on as Larsen closed to within two tenths of Ferreira on Lap 13, while further behind, Granada and Robertson became the subject of a post-race investigation after contact at Turn 1 left Granada spun out. Despite the incident, Granada recovered to 14th.

Historic Winning Margin for Palmowski

As the race entered its closing stages, the top 10 remained unchanged: Palmowski, Bruce, Paatz, Ferreira, Larsen, Gademan, Lloyd, Countryman, Stevens and Felbermayr.

A late investigation for Gademan regarding another Turn 13 infringement added further tension, but no dramatic changes arrived on the final lap. Instead, Palmowski completed a flawless drive to secure victory by an astonishing 10-second margin — the biggest winning advantage in F1 Academy history.

Bruce held onto second by just seven tenths from Paatz, whose podium marked a strong result for Aston Martin and brought the German driver her first points of the 2026 season. Campos Racing enjoyed a remarkable afternoon with first, second and fourth places courtesy of Palmowski, Bruce and Ferreira, firmly establishing them as the team to beat in Montréal.

Although her race ultimately collapsed, Westcott at least departed with the consolation of fastest lap honours, while Lloyd’s climb from 16th to sixth stood out as one of the standout recovery drives of the afternoon. And with two more races still to come this weekend in Canada, the tone for a thrilling F1 Academy round has already been emphatically set.