OPENING RACE: Palmowski drives off into the distance for lights-to-flag Montreal victory

Alisha Palmowski converted pole position into a dominant drive in the Montreal Opening Race, maintaining full control to achieve the largest winning margin in F1 ACADEMY history.

The Red Bull Racing driver finished 10.1s clear of Megan Bruce, with Campos Racing securing their first 1-2 finish of the season. Mathilda Paatz took advantage of a mistake by teammate Payton Westcott to take her maiden podium in third.

Palmowski got a perfect launch from pole to retain a comfortable lead into Turn 1 ahead of Bruce and Westcott. Just behind, Emma Felbermayr stalled in fourth and dropped to the back of the field.

Tussles further back left Ava Dobson with a punctured right rear tyre following slight contact from LEGO Racing’s Esmee Kosterman at Turn 6, whilst Rachel Robertson’s dive up the inside ofNatalia Granada sent the Sephora driver into a spin.

After a disastrous Qualifying, Ella Lloyd was on a charge, making her way from P16 to P11 by Lap 2. Up ahead, Lisa Billard tried to pull off the switchback on Alba Larsen for sixth, but as the Ferrari driver moved to defend, the pair made contact, leaving the Gatorade driver with a broken front wing.

By Lap 6, Paatz had closed in on Bruce and Westcott’s battle for the podium. However, Westcott was soon handed a five-second penalty for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions after going off-track at Turn 13 earlier in the race.

Three laps later and an error for Bruce seemed to open the door for Westcott. The Mercedes driver tried to go around the outside of the TAG Heuer but misjudged the move, going wide over the grass and dropping down to P6.

On Lap 10, Gademan overtook Countryman for P7, but went off track at Turn 13 in the process and the Alpine driver was later handed a five-second time penalty for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions.

Meanwhile, Westcott’s day continued to unravel as the American was overtaken by Gademan, Lloyd, Countryman, Ella Stevens and Felbermayr in quick succession before eventually pitting.

Up ahead, Palmowski looked untroubled as she took the chequered flag ahead of Bruce and Paatz, who both achieved their first podiums in the series. Rafaela Ferreira ensured all three Campos cars finished inside the top four ahead of Larsen.

Lloyd’s recovery drive was rewarded with P6 followed by Countryman and Stevens, who each scored their first points in seventh and eighth respectively. After crossing the line in ninth, Gademan classified in ninth and Felbermayr secured the final point in P10.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Countryman will be looking to bring home her first F1 ACADEMY podium when she lines up on pole for the Reverse Grid Race this afternoon. Lights go out at 18:05 local time (UTC-4).