Palmowski races to victory in F1 Academy debut

Glossop motorsport sensation Alisha Palmowski got her F1 Academy season off to a dream start on Saturday with a debut victory in Race 1 of the opening weekend in Shanghai. 

The 18-year-old started the race strongly, moving up to second place from fourth on the opening lap. 

From there, Palmowski stayed on the tail of leader Nina Gademan throughout, and with just two laps to go, she was rewarded for her perseverance. 

A technical fault saw Gademan retire on the penultimate lap, with Palmowski taking full advantage, fending off competition from Red Bull Racing teammate Chloe Chambers in second to pick up the win. 

“I’m feeling over the moon”, said the Simmondley resident following the triumph. 

“It feels like a whirlwind, I just feel like everything just happened so quickly.  

“It was a difficult race. Obviously, a lot of Safety Cars, which is tricky to get into your rhythm because this is such a momentum-based circuit that you like to get in a flow and be consistent with your lap time. 

“So, it was difficult to keep getting that flow disrupted. I feel very sorry for Nina as well because she did a great job.  

“She obviously had some issues, we were fortunate with that, but super happy to get a 1-2 for the team as well.  

“With Chloe behind me, there was a lot of pressure for those last few laps. I just really wanted the 1-2 for the team, so it was a perfect way to start the season.” 

After starting Race 2 in P5 on the following day, the former St Phillip Howard student lost a place on Lap 9, with 2024 F1 Academy runner up Doriane Pin racing to victory. 

The weekend leaves Palmowski fourth in the overall standings, on 18 points, going into the second race weekend in Jeddah, which takes place between April 18-20.