F1 ACADEMY: Palmowski ends long wait to secure maiden pole position in Shanghai

Alisha Palmowski’s second season in F1 ACADEMY got off to a perfect start as she claimed her maiden pole position, rounding out a superb Friday in Shanghai for the Red Bull driver.

After coming close to the top spot in Qualifying on numerous occasions last year, Palmowski ended her wait in style, beating her rivals by over four tenths to kickstart a potential title challenge.

It was a day of firsts as Ferrari’s Alba Larsen, who was on provisional pole for over half of the session, claimed a front row start. She looked confident throughout Qualifying before Palmowski clocked an unassailable time of 2m 04.182s, maintaining the top spot she also held in Practice.

Mercedes driver Payton Westcott appeared on course to take the fight to the Briton as she began her final flying lap, which was delayed by a short red flag period for Haas’ Kaylee Countryman, who stopped on track. While Westcott couldn’t find enough improvement, she still finished Qualifying as the lead rookie, ending up in P4 behind Audi’s Emma Felbermayr.

Rafaela Ferreira was next for Racing Bulls, leading the way from Gatorade-backed racer Lisa Billard and Sephora’s Natalia Granada. Just behind was Nina Gademan, who will start on reverse pole position for the fourth time after qualifying in eighth place ahead of Ava Dobson and McLaren’s Ella Lloyd.

The Alpine driver will have a shot at her second reverse grid victory as she lines up on pole on Saturday, with Race 1 kicking off at 1345 local time (UTC +8).

You can read an in-depth report of the F1 ACADEMY Qualifying in Shanghai and catch up on any reactions on the official website here.