Palmowski and Campos Racing look to defend their championship leads at Silverstone in F1 Academy
The 2026 F1 Academy season reaches its halfway point this weekend at Silverstone Circuit with Campos Racing leading both the drivers’ and teams’ championships. Alisha Palmowski arrives at her home event as the championship leader, providing even greater motivation to continue building on her success so far this season. Fellow Briton Megan Bruce will also be inspired by racing in front of her home fans, while Rafaela Ferreira has consistently demonstrated both speed and maturity throughout the opening half of the campaign.
Palmowski, who carries the colours of the Red Bull Racing Academy Programme on her car, sits at the top of the all-female championship standings with 78 points. The British driver finished second in Shanghai after securing pole position and the fastest lap, while also claiming a fifth-place finish in the opening race weekend. However, her real breakthrough came in Montreal at the end of May. Two victories, two pole positions and a fastest lap propelled her to the top of the standings with a significant advantage over her closest rival.
Bruce has undoubtedly emerged as another title contender after the opening five races held in China and Canada. Having scored her first points at the start of the season, she truly showcased her potential at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where she guided her TAG Heuer-liveried Tatuus to a second and a third-place finish. Those results place her third in the championship standings with 37 points.
Visa Cash App RB Academy driver Ferreira has displayed remarkable consistency, as evidenced by the fact that she has scored points in every race contested so far this season. Two fourth-place finishes, one sixth, one eighth and one tenth currently place the Brazilian seventh in the standings with 27 points, although she has every opportunity to climb several positions depending on the results this weekend.
In the Teams’ Championship, Campos Racing leads the way with 142 points, holding a 54-point advantage over its nearest rival.
Silverstone Circuit features a total of eighteen corners, ten right-handers and eight left-handers, most of them high-speed and flowing in nature. The iconic Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence remains the most representative example of the circuit’s character. Thanks to its high-grip surface and the considerable lateral forces generated, the track is traditionally demanding on tyres.
Free practice will get underway on Friday at 08:45, with qualifying scheduled to start at 11:00. The reverse-grid opening race will take place on Saturday at 19:05, while the second race is set to begin on Sunday at 11:00. All times are CET.
Adrián Campos (Team Principal of Campos Racing): “We arrive at Silverstone very pleased with the work carried out during the first half of the season. Alisha has shown outstanding speed and consistency to move to the top of the championship standings, while Megan and Rafaela have also been enjoying a very solid campaign and are making a decisive contribution to the team’s lead. Silverstone is one of the most iconic circuits in the world and, moreover, a very special event for our British drivers. We know the competition will be extremely strong, but our objective is to continue scoring as many points as possible and to strengthen our positions at the head of both championships.”
