QUALIFYING: Palmowski overcomes wet-to-dry drama in Zandvoort to take fourth pole of the season

Alisha Palmowski delivered once again as she secured her fourth pole position of 2026 on her final lap during a dramatic session in Zandvoort.

The Red Bull Racing driver left it until the last possible moment to take control of the timesheet after navigating two Red Flags, a trip into the gravel and wet conditions with her 1:40.911 time putting her ahead of Alba Larsen by 0.864s.

With dark cloud cover and a wet track after a period of rain before the session, it was all about understanding the grip levels for the drivers around the 4.259km circuit on wet tyres as the session got underway.

Lisa Billard was the first driver to set the initial benchmark at 1:52.874, but Jade Jacquet and Larsen quickly beat her time after she made a mistake at Turn 11 and went straight on following the race directors' instructions.

Larsen continued to improve on the next two laps, moving the benchmark to 1:48.188 with Ella Lloyd slotting in just behind her. Palmowski only managed a time good enough for third on her first flying lap as drivers continued to search for as much grip as possible.

Turn 11 proved a problem for several drivers, with Billard, Esmee Kosterman and Emma Felbermayr all experiencing lock-ups and having to go straight on to avoid the gravel. Palmowski left it too late and had a quick trip through the gravel, rejoining the track just ahead of Nina Gademan.

Despite her excursion, the Briton was the next to take the top spot, posting a new benchmark of 1:48.038, just 0.150s ahead of Larsen with 19 minutes remaining in the session. As teams debated whether it was time to change for slick tyres, Lloyd headed into the pits to drop her tyre pressure and found herself back out on an empty track with everyone else in the pits and slotted into third place.

Billard brought out the first Red Flag of the session, running into the gravel after losing the rear of her car at Turn 2, with the stoppage catching Natalia Granada out after she set the fastest first and second sectors of the session before having to bail on the lap time.

Running resumed with 10 minutes left in the session, with many drivers opting to go back out onto the track on slick tyres. Lloyd was the first to set a lap time but stayed on wets, lowered the benchmark to 1:45.181, almost three tenths ahead of Palmowski.

However, running didn’t last long after a second Red Flag was shown with Rafaela Ferreira locking up into Turn 1, snapping into Turn 2 and ending up in the wall.

Running resumed with five minutes left on the clock and, this time, most drivers opted for slick tyres. Larsen took provisional pole, lowering the time to 1:41.775, on slicks and she remained in the top spot until Palmowski's final lap. The Red Bull Racing driver found some space and became the first driver to set a lap time in the 1:40s, snatching pole position at the chequered flag, with Larsen having to settle for second.

Granada secured third, followed by Felbermayr, who improved on her last lap, moving from 15th up into fourth. Gademan qualified fifth for her home race, with Rachel Robertson, Wild Card driver Zoe Florescu, Megan Bruce, Payton Westcott and Jade Jacquet completing the top 10.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The F1 ACADEMY action resumes this afternoon at 14:35 local time (UTC+2), with Megan Bruce set to start on pole position for the Reverse Grid Race.