My 2026 F1 Academy Predictions
- Linus O'Howell
- 12 minutes ago
- 7 min read
From this weekend, F1 Academy will officially be back for a new season, and that means that predictions need to be put out into the world! I will say that predicting where each woman in this field is going to finish is pretty damn impossible, given their relative experience! However, I did correctly predict last year’s Top 3, so let’s hope for more of the same this time around!
P17: Kaylee Countryman
After recently competing in the Middle East, Kaylee Countryman is ready to make her F1 Academy debut! The 16-year-old American racing driver is driving for ART Grand Prix in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was third in the FRP Atlantic Championship Series – USF Jr! Kaylee is being supported by Haas this season, and I know her having a best finish of P3 is pretty strong, but I had honestly never heard that Championship, with her other performances being pretty poor! I should be wrong with this prediction, but this is just the feeling that I have!
P16: Natalia Granada
Natalia Granada is set for her first competitive season in single-seaters! The 16-year-old Spanish racing driver is driving for Prema Racing in 2026, and this will actually be her first full season since Karting! Natalia is being supported by Sephora this season, and it’s worth mentioning that Granada did pretty well in the F1 Academy Rookie Test last year! Despite that, though, this is going to be quite the learning curve for Natalia Granada, and it feels a lot safer to predict her to finish this low down!
P15: Jade Jacquet
Jade Jacquet is hoping to come out on top in the ART-French teammate battle! The 16-year-old French racing driver is driving for ART Grand Prix in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 24th in last year’s French F4 Championship! Jade is being supported by Williams this season, and it’s worth mentioning that French F4 last year was the first time that Jacquet had ever competed in single-seaters! There’s really nothing to go off with Jade Jacquet, but the reason I haven’t put her to finish last is actually down to her being backed by Williams (and we all know how I feel about that)!
P14: Lisa Billard
Out of the three ART drivers, Lisa Billard is the most likely to score the most points! The 16-year-old French racing driver is driving for ART Grand Prix in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 19th in last year’s French F4 Championship! Lisa is being supported by Gatorade this season, and it’s worth mentioning that Billard showed good pace in her Wildcard appearance in Singapore last season! However, there are still plenty of other drivers that I find to be stronger than Lisa Billard right now, but I could end up being completely wrong!
P13: Mathilda Paatz
After appearing in Canada last year, Mathilda Paatz is set for a full-time drive! The 17-year-old German racing driver is driving for Prema Racing in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 8th in last year’s Formula 4 CEZ Championship! Mathilda is being supported by Aston Martin this season, and it’s worth mentioning that Paatz failed to score points in any of her Wildcard appearances last year! There are a lot of Rookies in F1 Academy this year, and I find there to be better ones than Mathilda Paatz!
P12: Payton Westcott
Payton Westcott is another 2025 Wildcard Driver that’s getting a full shot at F1 Academy in 2026! The 16-year-old American racing driver is driving for Prema Racing in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 10th in the 2025 Formula Trophy Championship! Payton is being supported by Mercedes this season, and she does deserve some respect following a good P6 finish in Las Vegas last year! However, despite that, I’m not convinced that Payton Westcott is going to be uber competitive, although she will win the Prema teammate battle!
P11: Rafaela Ferreira
Rafaela Ferreira is ready to improve in her second F1 Academy campaign! The 20-year-old Brazilian racing driver is driving for Campos Racing in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 4th in the 2024 F4 Brazilian Championship! When it comes to F1 Academy, Ferreira scored 18 points across her Rookie Season, finishing 12th overall! Rafaela is being supported by Racing Bulls this season, and she needs to find more performance after last year’s struggles! However, I’m not convinced that Rafaela Ferreira will improve massively, although she could still get her first Podium!
P10: Emma Felbermayr
Emma Felbermayr is back for her second year in F1 Academy! The 19-year-old Austrian racing driver is driving for Rodin Motorsport in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 10th in F1 Academy last year! When it comes to F1 Academy, Felbermayr achieved 1 win in her debut campaign! Emma is being supported by Audi this season, and it would make sense for her to grow following last season! However, I’m not sure how competitive Felbermayr is in comparison to some of the new drivers on the 2026 grid, hence why I’ve actually got her to finish in the same position as last year!
P9: Megan Bruce
Megan Bruce feels old in comparison to a lot of these drivers! The 21-year-old British racing driver is driving for Campos Racing in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 11th in the 2024 GB4 Championship! Megan is being supported by TAG Heuer this season, and it’s worth mentioning that Bruce has competed as a Wildcard Driver in F1 Academy before! Whilst Megan Bruce didn’t manage to score points in Singapore last year, she should grow into this series!
P8: Ava Dobson
Ava Dobson is aiming to be America’s Number 1 driver in 2026! The 17-year-old American racing driver is driving for Hitech TGR in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 11th in last year’s F4 Saudi Arabian Championship! Ava is being supported by American Express this season, and unfortunately for her, she only got to do one Race as a Wildcard Driver last year due to the second Miami Race being cancelled! I think it’s going to be quite the battle for Hitech’s Number 1 spot, and I’m definitely not counting out Ava Dobson to win that fight!
P7: Rachel Robertson
Rachel Robertson will win the Hitech head-to-head, just! The 18-year-old British racing driver is driving for Hitech TGR in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish came when she finished third in the 2025 Radical Cup UK! Rachel is being supported by Puma this season, and she pulled off quite the debut performance in Las Vegas last year, finishing 4th in Race 1! That impresses me, and that’s why I think Rachel Robertson will perform well in 2026!
P6: Esmee Kosterman
Esmee Kosterman is being supported by one of the biggest brands on the entire planet! The 20-year-old Dutch racing driver is driving for MP Motorsport in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was third in the 2023 Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup (Benelux)! Esmee is being supported by LEGO this season, and that’s just awesome! For me, Esmee Kosterman will be up there in the battle of the best Rookies; I think she’s shown her quality in both her Wildcard appearance last year and in Saudi F4, but it’ll be tough for her to beat her MP teammates!
P5: Ella Stevens
Ella Stevens is my pick to win the battle of the Rookies! The 19-year-old British racing driver is driving for Rodin Motorsport in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 44th in this year’s Formula Winter Series! Ella is being supported by McLaren Oxagon this season, and it’s worth mentioning that Stevens has only competed in 3 single-seater Races heading into F1 Academy! So, you may be wondering why I’m backing Ella Stevens to be the Number 1 Rookie in 2026, and it’s simple: she’s with McLaren! Ella absolutely smashed the Rookie Test last year, and McLaren wouldn’t have signed her without seeing serious potential!
P4: Alba Larsen
Alba Larsen goes from Tommy Hilfiger to Ferrari! The 17-year-old Danish racing driver is driving for MP Motorsport in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 7th in F1 Academy last year! When it comes to F1 Academy, Larsen had a successful first season to finish 7th overall, although she failed to appear on the Podium once! Alba is being supported by Ferrari this season, and that’s a testament to the hard work that she put in last season! Ultimately, Alba Larsen will get her first F1 Academy Podium this year; in fact, I think she’ll get her first win too!
P3: Nina Gademan
Nina Gademan is the first driver that I genuinely think has a chance at winning F1 Academy this year! The 22-year-old Dutch racing driver is driving for MP Motorsport in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was 6th in last year’s F1 Academy Championship! When it comes to F1 Academy, Gademan has achieved 1 Win and 4 Podiums so far, with her finishing 6th in last year’s standings! Nina is being supported by Alpine this season, and we know the history that that team has in this series! I think there’s a lot more to come from Nina Gademan; she performed well last year, but it may still not be enough for her to become Champion!
P2: Ella Lloyd
Ella Lloyd could bring Championship glory back to Wales! The 20-year-old British racing driver is driving for Rodin Motorsport in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was second in the 2023 Ginetta GT5 Challenge – Pro Series! When it comes to F1 Academy, Lloyd has 1 Win and 5 Podiums to her name after her Rookie campaign, a year where she finished 4th overall! Ella is being supported by McLaren this season, and she arguably deserves to be the Championship favourite given the fact that she was the top Rookie in last year's field! However, as close as I think it’s going to be, I think Ella Lloyd may just miss out on the Title (by points)!
P1: Alisha Palmowski
Whilst it’s going to be super close, Alisha Palmowski is my pick to end 2026 as F1 Academy’s latest Champion! The 19-year-old British racing driver is driving for Campos Racing in 2026, and her highest-ever Championship finish was second in both the 2022 Ginetta Junior Winter and the 2024 GB4 Championships! When it comes to F1 Academy, Palmowski has achieved 1 Win and 5 Podiums so far, with her finishing 5th in 2025’s Championship! Alisha is being supported by Red Bull this season, and I do genuinely feel like it’s a toss-up as to who wins this year’s Championship! However, I’m going with Alisha Palmowski, for no real reason other than vibes (we’re so finished)!
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