Palmowski celebrates Silverstone success

Glossop motorsport sensation Alisha Palmowski extended her lead at the top of the F1 Academy standings over the weekend with a home race win at Silverstone. 

The 19-year-old was denied back-to-back pole positions by a superb qualifying display from Wild Card driver Chiara Bättig, but recovered expertly to take her third victory of the campaign. 

Lining up on the front row just behind her Swiss competitor, the Simmondley resident made a blistering start to the main feature race, snatching the lead at the very first corner. 

From there, she stood firm, finishing six tenths clear of Bättig and strengthening her grip on the championship in the process. 

Elsewhere, Palmowski had an equally impressive start in the reverse grid race. 

Starting in P7, the Red Bull Racing driver made her way up two places on the opening lap, a position she held until the very end. 

Following the triumph, Palmowski told the Chronicle: 

“It was an incredibly special feeling to win my home race at Silverstone in front of the home crowd.  

“The atmosphere was incredible - I may be biased but the British fans are the best!  

“We had a tricky start to the weekend on Friday missing out on pole in qualifying with a difficult car balance, but we made up for it with a great launch off the line on Sunday.  

“The safety car made my life more stressful than it needed to be but that makes it even sweeter!” 

The strong weekend sees the former St Phillip Howard open up a 30-point gap on championship rival Emma Felbermayr, going into Round 4 in Zandvoort next month. 

To top off the achievement, the talented teen has also received an invitation to this weekend’s iconic Goodwood Festival of Speed, where she will drive both her F1 Academy car and the new RB17 Hypercar up the hill.