F1 Academy Round 1 – Shanghai

Hinwil, 28 March 2025 – KICK Sauber F1 Team driver Emma Felbermayr made an impressive debut at the F1 Academy season opener in Shanghai last weekend, the first Austrian to compete in the series. In her first-ever qualifying, Emma secured seventh place on the grid, putting herself in a strong position heading into the two races of the weekend.

Per the reverse grid rule, introduced ahead of the new season, Race 1 saw Emma starting from the front row alongside Nina Gademan. Despite dropping to third after a pass by Alisha Palmowski, she remained in the battle, going wheel-to-wheel with series veterans, Chloe Chambers and Maya Weug. An unfortunate late-race clash caused by Alba Larsen on the penultimate lap came as Emma was running in fifth place, with an additional hit from Tina Hausmann spoiling her chances to score a points finish on debut.

A multi-car incident early on in Race 2 on Sunday brought out the Safety Car, but that didn’t affect the young Austrian, who kept her composure and fought her way up the grid, eventually securing a strong fifth place finish after a late race overtake on Race 1 winner Palmowski – and her first points of the season.

Emma will return behind the wheel next week in Jeddah, as the series travels to the Middle East for in-season testing; racing will resume in April, with Round 2 of the 2025 F1 Academy season as support of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
 

Emma Felbermayr (car number 5)
KICK Sauber F1 Team operated by Rodin Motorsport
Qualifying: 7th
Race 1: 11th
Race 2: 5th

"While I was expecting something more from this weekend, I think it’s safe to say I am satisfied with how my debut F1 Academy round has unfolded. Pre-Season testing went well, and considering it was my first full single-seaters race weekend, I gave it everything I had. Overall, I am happy with the progress so far, and I am confident that as I gain more on-track experience, we’ll be able to consistently aim for top five finishes and hopefully podiums as well. The speed is definitely there, and I am excited for what’s to come. A big thank you to KICK Sauber F1 Team and Rodin Motorsport for their support – I can’t wait to build on the learnings from this first weekend together and keep pushing forward.”