Another F1 Academy podium for Palmowski

Alisha Palmowski claimed a second podium of the season with a 3rd-place finish during Round 2 of the F1 Academy in Jeddah.

Glossop’s Queen of Speed battled from P5 on the grid to overtake Emma Felbermayr into second before dropping a place on the penultimate lap to Ferrari driver Maya Weug. 

Fellow Brit Ella Lloyd, driving for McLaren, kept Weug at bay to take a maiden win in the series. 

“[I’m] a little bit frustrated in all honesty – we obviously got up into P2,” Alisha said.  

“I had a great first half of the race, especially before the Safety Car, but then we just struggled towards the end. 

“I think I do have an idea why, so I’ll have a debrief with the team and I think we can make a change tomorrow to try and stay with them towards the end I reckon.  

“It was a good learning experience all round.” 

Dutch driver Weug wouldn’t be denied in the second race of the weekend on Sunday, though. 

Palmowski’s Red Bull teammate Chloe Chambers led the field home on a scorching afternoon, but a five-second penalty for forcing the Ferrari driver off the road saw her drop to second, leaving Weug to win her first race of the campaign. 

Chambers and Weug twice swapped the lead before the American left her rival with no road, temporarily dropping to third behind Doriane Pin. 

Despite posting the second fastest lap of the day, Alisha took the flag in 4th place, one second behind Pin and 3.8s behind the winner. 

Round 3 takes place in Miami over the weekend of May 2-4 with Palmowski 4th in the standings behind Weug, Pin and Chambers.