F1 Academy China: Ferrari’s Alba Larsen impresses in competitive practice session
Will Alba Hurup Larsen win in Shanghai? Explore Larsen’s fastest lap, weekend prospects, and my takeaways from her F1 Academy China practice session performance.
The 2026 F1 Academy season kicks-off in China, with a 40-minute practice session getting the Formula 1 race weekend started. The fastest driver in practice was Alisha Palmowski, with the Red Bull-backed driver setting a 2:04.550. Alba Hurup Larsen came second, finishing the session 0.4 seconds behind Palmowski, with Payton Westcott coming third. However, as Alba Hurup Larsen is the only Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy representative on the grid, my focus was solely on her performance.
Alba Hurup Larsen’s F1 Academy China Practice Session Results
- Alba Hurup Larsen’s Session Result: 2nd
- Alba Hurup Larsen’s Fastest Lap: 2:05.017
- Gap to Pole: +0.4
- Key Highlight: One of the fastest drivers in sector 2, and set consistent clean lap times to claim 2nd in practice.
- Weekend Prospects: Alba Larsen is an F1 Academy China GP podium contender
Alba Hurup Larsen 2nd Fastest In Shanghai F1 Academy Practice
The start of what is an important season for Alba Hurup Larsen’s formula racing career began in Shanghai, with F1 Academy practice kicking-off a busy weekend of racing. Larsen is competing in both F1 Academy and F4 British Championship this season. Most of the Tifosi supporters are expecting Larsen’s best results to come via the F1 Academy, and if her early practice pace is anything to go by, they might be correct.
Despite the limited grip out on track in the earlier part of the session, Alba Larsen was flying around Shanghai. The Danish driver was the first competitor to get a 2:06 lap time with a 2:06.598 after just five laps. Larsen immediately looked comfortable behind the wheel of her MP Motorsport machine, in what is her second season driving for the team in F1 Academy. However, these times didn’t remain competitive for long, with the Ferrari Driver Academy prospect setting a best lap time of 2:05.248 after 25 minutes of running.
Although it seemed like Alba Larsen had the pace to claim the top spot in practice, this was made difficult because she had done so many laps on her single set of tyres for the session. But this didn’t hold Larsen back from improving her session best time in Shanghai, with the Danish driver setting a 2:05.017 after 13 laps of running. However, this wasn’t good enough for pole position in this session, with Alisha Palmowski claiming the top spot with a 2:04.550. Let’s just hope that Larsen is saving her pace for where it matters!
The next F1 Academy session is qualifying. To keep track of the full F1 Academy China schedule, check out my guide for this weekend’s racing here.
To catch-up on the complete Alba Hurup Larsen Ferrari timeline, read her journey to the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy here.
