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Emma Felbermayr left Silverstone with renewed confidence after transforming a difficult Qualifying into a double-podium weekend, underlining the consistency that has become one of the defining strengths of her F1 ACADEMY campaign.
The Austrian’s Round 3 began under pressure after she could manage only the eighth-fastest time in Qualifying. Yet she extracted the maximum from the format, converting pole position into victory in the Reverse Grid Race before producing another controlled recovery in the Feature Race.
Starting eighth, the Audi driver made immediate progress with a sharp opening lap that gained her four places. After the Safety Car restart, she then passed Rodin Motorsport teammate Ella Lloyd to complete her charge onto the podium.
That third place extended a run that has marked Felbermayr out as one of the most dependable scorers in the field. She is the only driver to have scored points in every race so far and enters the summer break second in the Standings.
Felbermayr was pleased with the comeback, but she was also clear-eyed about the limitation that defined the Feature Race: once in third, she did not have the pace to challenge Alisha Palmowski and Chiara Bättig, who finished 8.5 seconds ahead.
“It was a good race,” Felbermayr said. “We had a great start and great first lap. Also the Safety Car was on point, so it was definitely a good comeback from where we started. P8 was tough and I would have liked to have finished even further up, but overall it was nice.”
Her verdict was honest rather than celebratory. “Nothing really to say about the race, just that the pace was a bit poor. We couldn't catch up or hold the gap to the two girls in front but at least I was P3.”
For more on the Silverstone frontrunners and how Palmowski and Bättig shaped the weekend, read our F1 ACADEMY Silverstone highlights.
Felbermayr believes her parallel programme in Italian F4 is helping sharpen her racecraft. Although she cannot contest the full championship, she pointed to steady improvement as a key positive heading into the break.
“I'm going into the summer break confident,” she said. “I have another Italian F4 round, which we are also seeing really good progress in. Obviously, I can't do the whole championship, but the races are getting better and better, which I like to see.”
She also highlighted the upcoming F1 ACADEMY test at Zandvoort as useful preparation before taking time to reset at home.
The next round carries a clear reference point. Felbermayr endured the worst Qualifying of her rookie campaign at Zandvoort last year, lining up 10th, but she believes the underlying pace was stronger than the grid position showed.
“Last year, we had good pace there, just Qualifying wasn’t good,” she admitted. “Overall, it’s a nice track where you can overtake.”
With a stronger baseline than last season and a run of consistent results behind her, Felbermayr sees reason for optimism. “It’s been such a big improvement from last year in January to this year, so I'm confident that we are going to be faster.”
Ciara is a Dublin native, award-winning film producer, podcaster and writer with 20 years of storytelling experience. A lifelong Leinster and Ireland rugby fan, she turned her attention to the grid after moving to Berlin and co-founding Formula Live Pulse. Now, she applies her producer’s brain to Formula 1, navigating the highs of Oscar Piastri’s rise and the unique stress of being an adopted Ferrari fan. She loves talking and talking about F1, if you give her the chance!