The brief

  • What happened: Alisha Palmowski led all 17 laps of the wet Montreal Feature Race on May 24, winning by 10.955 seconds over Emma Felbermayr. Megan Bruce completed the podium for Campos Racing.
  • Why it matters: Palmowski won both conventional races in Montreal and left the second round on 78 points, 25 ahead of Felbermayr. Her advantage came from controlling two very different races: a dry Opening Race and a slippery Feature Race.
  • What to watch: F1 Academy visits Silverstone for the first time on July 3–5. The British round will show whether Palmowski’s early control travels to a faster, more open circuit.

Fast context

The most recent F1 Academy race began on a cold, damp Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Palmowski did not make a perfect launch from pole, but she covered Payton Westcott into Turn 1 and never gave the lead away. By lap seven, the gap was already five seconds even as the racing line began to dry.

The official F1 Academy report records a final margin of 10.955 seconds, larger than the record Palmowski had set in the Opening Race one day earlier. A reported engine problem on the final lap added tension but did not materially reduce her control of the result.

Behind her, Felbermayr supplied the late movement. She passed Westcott for third after the Mercedes-backed driver ran wide on lap 14, then took second when Bruce brushed the wall exiting Turn 4. Bruce held third, giving Campos two cars on the podium, while Westcott and Reverse Grid Race winner Mathilda Paatz completed the top five.

Montreal’s new three-race format made the weekend look less one-sided than Palmowski’s pace actually was. She finished 10th in the reverse-grid contest, but topped both qualifying sessions and won the two races whose grids they set. The official results show the consequence: 78 points for Palmowski, 53 for Felbermayr and 37 for Bruce after two rounds.

What changes next

Silverstone is the first real defense of Palmowski’s championship lead. Felbermayr has limited the damage with consistency, but the field needs to interrupt Palmowski on a standard race grid. If she again converts qualifying pace into clean air, a 25-point cushion could become difficult to contain well before the season reaches its midpoint.