EMILY COTTY Delivers Season-Best Qualifying, PAYTON WESTCOTT Shows Recovery Magic

February 2, 2026

• EMILY COTTY delivered her strongest qualifying performance of the season with fifth place at Dubai Autodrome, translating that pace into two points-paying finishes across the weekend. The British-New Zealand driver sits ninth overall in the UAE F4 championship with 37 points, maintaining her position as the top female competitor while consistently running in the top ten throughout her second season with R-ace GP.
• PAYTON WESTCOTT proved her recovery drive prowess once again, earning her first points of the season with back-to-back top-ten results despite challenging qualifying positions. The Prema Racing driver, fresh off a victory at Dubai Autodrome in the Formula Middle East Trophy just weeks earlier, showed the racecraft that’s become her calling card by gaining multiple positions in each race to move up to 18th in the overall standings.
• ALBA LARSEN impressed during practice and qualifying, running consistently in the top ten during testing and securing competitive grid positions throughout the weekend. Despite contact on the final lap of the reverse-grid race that cost her a strong result, the young driver demonstrated the pace that earned her a top-ten finish in the championship’s opening round, keeping her in contention as the series heads to its finale.
• EMMA FELBERMAYR and KAYLEE COUNTRYMAN showed continued development at the challenging Dubai circuit, with Felbermayr breaking the 2:02 barrier in qualifying and mounting impressive recovery drives despite technical setbacks. Countryman, in her first international campaign outside the United States, secured her first top-30 result of the weekend while adapting to the highly competitive UAE F4 environment as the championship prepares for its Qatar finale.

dubai autodrome, prema racing, r-ace gp, uae f4 series