In F1 Academy’s second trip to the infamous and unforgiving Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, it was Alisha Palmowski who rose to the occasion, taking another pole position in 2026.
The drivers have faced a prolonged break before this round, with their last race for the series taking place in March during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. Due to the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian round, the series announced there would now be a third race added to the schedule, making qualifying more important for crucial championship points.
Lights out for qualifying
Drivers set out for early exploration laps of the track, with many rookies never having raced here before. This gave the experienced drivers a much-appreciated advantage against their rivals. Red Bull’s Palmowski was among the first drivers to set a representative lap time.
However, it was short-lived as McLaren-backed Ella Lloyd quickly moved to the top of the order by 0.174 seconds. ART Grand Prix driver Lisa Billard slotted into third ahead of Campos teammate Megan Bruce in fourth, while Aston Martin’s Mathilda Paatz completed the early top five.
Further back, Canadian Grand Prix Wild Card Autumn Fisher was completing her first representative laps in the series. However, her inexperience was evident, as the rookie was not able to break into the ever-competitive top eight.
Second runs
Drivers soon made their way into the pits with twenty minutes remaining in the session. Preparing for their ever-important second stint.
When on-track action resumed, Lloyd made an error on her next flying lap. This caused the McLaren driver to be on the back foot for the rest of the session. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Alba Larsen also struggled. With her two main competitors struggling with mistakes, Palmowski managed to keep a clean run and top the timing sheets once more.
Palmowski’s team-mate and Racing Bulls-supported Rafaella Ferreira climbed into second ahead of Billard, with Bruce fourth and Lloyd dropping to fifth.
With just 10-minute remainunbg in the session, most of the field returned to the pit lane for fresh tyres and adjustments. Larsen recovered from her earlier error with a strong lap to move into second after surviving an excursion through the final chicane. Behind Palmowski and Larsen sat Ferreira, Billard, Kaylee Countryman and Rachel Robertson. The Scottish driver clipped the wall heavily at the exit of Turn 9 during her lap, compromising the rest of her session.
At the front of the field, Bruce surged into second place behind Campos’ teammate Palmowski, recreating a familiar sight from last season’s qualifying session in Canada. Palmowski, Bruce and Ferreira all improved their times during the next sequence of runs, briefly locking out the top three positions for Campos Racing. Ferreira held second place, though she remained more than half a second adrift of Palmowski’s benchmark.
The Campos 1-2-3 did not last for long, however, as PREMA Racing’s Payton Westcott jumped into second with a strong lap. Palmowski responded immediately, continuing to extract more pace from the Canadian street circuit and extending her advantage at the top of the order.
Campos dominate qualifying in Canada
As the final minutes approached, drivers continued to push the limits around the iconic circuit. Felbermayr began to recover from a quiet start to the session, climbing into the top five ahead of Paatz and Larsen. Elsewhere, Lloyd’s difficult qualifying continued after another mistake at Turn 1 forced the McLaren driver back into the pits without improving further.
PREMA’s Westcott remained Palmowski’s closest challenger, improving once again to secure second position provisionally. However, the Campos driver produced yet another flying lap. Extending her advantage at the top of the timing sheet.
Further down the order, Gademan briefly moved into reverse-grid pole position for the reverse-grid race before Countryman snatched eighth place away in the closing moments.
At the chequered flag, Palmowski secured a commanding pole position for both the opening and feature race this weekend. Finishing nearly four tenths clear of Westcott. Bruce completed an impressive session for Campos Racing in third, with Felbermayr and Paatz rounding out the top five.
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