The Penultimate weekend: Could Alisha Palmowski bring home the championship this weekend?
F1 Academy returns for round 5 of the season, and this weekend we are at none other than the Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, Texas. This is the first time since the 2023 season that we see the return of this track, - and the cherry on the cake? Alisha Palmowski is on course to take home the championship by the end of the weekend.
Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) has a total length of 5.513 km, which is 3.426 miles long with 20 fast and slow-speed corners and has an elevation point reaching 30.9 metres. The previous winners of this circuit were Marta Garcia, Hamda Al Qubaisi and Jessica Edgar.
The format for this weekend consists of a single practice session on Thursday as well as Qualifying later on in the afternoon, which gives the drivers limited time to learn and adapt to the track and could easily add challenges to the championship battle. On Friday we will see the opening race, followed by the reverse grid on Saturday and the feature race on Sunday.
A total of 25 points per race for first place can be awarded in the feature and opening races, with reverse grid races only rewarding 10 points to first place which means that between round 5 in Austin and round 6 in Vegas, there are 120 points still up for grabs across both races and while many think that the championship is over, Alisha still has a few drivers in her mirrors to watch out for this weekend.
The current championship standings sit as follows:
Palmowski - 136 points
Emma Felbermayr - 88 points
Nina Gademan - 71 points
Alba Larsen - 50 points
Payton Westcott - 49 points
If Alisha Palmowski is able to win the championship this weekend, it would also mean that she wins it by the lowest amount of points that the series has ever seen. Since its inauguration in 2023, each champion has won by as follows:
2023: Marta Garcia - 278 points
2024: Abbi Pulling - 338 points
2025: Doriane Pin - 172 points
Emma Felbermayr who stated in an interview that she “has nothing to lose” is putting all her cards on the table in a final attempt to challenge Alisha Palmowski for first in the standings. Both drivers have exhibited exceptional pace and grit during the season, taking multiple wins and podium finishes. Even though Alisha has a bigger margin in the championship, she cant afford to make any mistakes so she’ll need to keep a cool head going into the weekend no matter whats thrown her way.
With a long run up to turn 1, can we expect to see the brit pull off another flawless weekend?