Emma Felbermayr celebrates first F1 Academy podium in Silverstone and defends second place in the championship

Podium battle at Copse and Maggotts

The victory in the main race was secured by the 19-year-old local favorite Alisha Palmowski, who thereby celebrated her third win of the season. Behind Palmowski, the 16-year-old sensational debutant Chiara Bättig (2nd/Hitech) from Switzerland crossed the line in second place, followed by Felbermayr in third. Bättig was completing only her first race weekend in the F1 Academy at Silverstone and immediately caused an upset with her podium finish.

Felbermayr, who competes for Audi in the championship, collected valuable points with her Audi over the weekend and extended her position in the overall standings. „Emma Felbermayr bleibt auf Meisterschaftskurs", the organizers stated, after the woman from Wels had driven onto the podium on both days.

One week after her first outing in a Formula 1 car in Spielberg, Felbermayr showed another strong performance in the F1 Academy. The experience in the Formula 1 car is considered an important milestone in driver development, and the driver had recently completed a first test at Austria's Spielberg.

Championship: Palmowski out front, Felbermayr holds on

Palmowski continues to lead the championship. The 19-year-old local favorite now has 108 points to her name, while Felbermayr holds 78 points in second. Felbermayr is therefore 30 points behind the top and, after the Silverstone weekend, still has realistic chances of the title.

The F1 Academy uses only Formula 4 cars and sees itself as a central platform for female talent in motorsport. The races are broadcast on the free YouTube livestream of the F1 Academy, with which the series is also reaching a growing audience beyond traditional TV channels.

Series, cars and broadcast

The Silverstone weekend was also the start of an intense summer phase for the series. The women's series continues on August 22 and August 23 at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, where the next championship round is on the schedule after a short summer break. The track on the North Sea coast is considered technically demanding and could further intensify the title fight.

The starters in Silverstone presented a heterogeneous picture across the weekend: experienced drivers such as Palmowski and Felbermayr, young debutants such as Bättig, and established junior pilots such as Ella Lloyd or Nina Gademan, who competes for Alpine. It is precisely the mix of experienced regulars and newcomers that makes the F1 Academy interesting for observers, because it shows early on which talents might make the leap into higher racing series.

Looking at the overall standings, it should be noted that Felbermayr has further consolidated her second place after the double of victory and podium. Should she score points again in Zandvoort, the gap to Palmowski could shrink further and keep the title race open in the coming weeks.

Outlook on Zandvoort

The F1 Academy's premiere weekend in Silverstone also underscored the growing importance of the series on the international motorsport calendar. The traditional British circuit provided the fitting backdrop for the first meeting of the drivers on this track and produced international headlines with Palmowski's home win and the podium finishes of Felbermayr and Bättig.

Overall, the weekend showed that the F1 Academy is gaining sporting profile. The density of overtaking maneuvers, the emergence of new names such as Bättig, and Felbermayr's consistency at a high level suggest that the upcoming races in Zandvoort and beyond will gain in excitement.

The F1 Academy officials see Silverstone as an important milestone for the visibility of the series in the United Kingdom. Through the free broadcast on YouTube, motorsport fans worldwide can follow every race live, which further increases the reach of the event.

Looking at the rest of the season, Palmowski remains the driver to beat, but Felbermayr has impressively demonstrated with her performances in Silverstone that she can close the gap. After five of eight race weekends, the championship fight in the F1 Academy is wide open once again.