Payton Westcott Secures Three Class Podiums at Imola
IMOLA, ITALY — 6 SEPTEMBER 2026 — Payton Westcott continued her 2026 Italian F4 Championship campaign with R-ace GP at the fifth round of the season at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, securing three Women’s Trophy podiums across the weekend, including a class victory in Race 1.
Returning to action following the summer break, Westcott arrived at Imola as one of four drivers contesting the Women’s Trophy and entered the weekend second in the category standings behind Emma Felbermayr. The American driver had already collected a Women’s Trophy victory earlier in the season, including at the previous round at Mugello.
The weekend began with two Free Practice sessions on Friday, where Westcott steadily built her pace around the historic Italian circuit. She finished P13 in Free Practice 1 before improving to P8 in Free Practice 2, placing herself among the stronger performers as the field prepared for qualifying.
Westcott was classified P16 in her Qualifying group, setting her starting position for the first race of the weekend.
In Race 1, Westcott produced a strong recovery drive to finish P13 overall, while taking victory in the Women’s Trophy. The result added another class win to her 2026 campaign and provided an important boost in the championship battle.
The second race proved more challenging in terms of the overall classification, with Westcott finishing P22. Despite the result, she remained competitive within the Women’s Trophy and secured P2 in class, adding another podium to her weekend tally.
Due to the championship's race groupings, Westcott did not participate in Race 3. She returned for the weekend's final race, where she was classified P21 overall and once again finished P2 in the Women’s Trophy.
The three class podiums mean Westcott completed the Imola weekend with a victory and two second-place finishes in the Women’s Trophy from the three races she contested.
Westcott's Italian F4 programme forms part of a dual 2026 campaign alongside her F1 ACADEMY commitments. She is racing for R-ace GP in Italian F4 while representing PREMA Racing as the Mercedes-supported driver in F1 ACADEMY. Mercedes has highlighted the dual programme as an opportunity for Westcott to continue developing her race craft, technical understanding and experience across a second competitive single-seater championship.
The Imola round was the fifth of seven rounds on the 2026 Italian F4 calendar, with the championship set to return to Misano for its next round from September 18–20.
