Interview
‘I’ve definitely learned a lot’ – Westcott proud of how she adapted across her Wild Card performance in Las Vegas
It was a rollercoaster Las Vegas weekend for the season’s final Wild Card entry Payton Westcott, as she went from a spectacular points finish to a race-ending collision.
The 16-year-old stepped on to the grid after an impressive performance during the inaugural Rookie Test. Driving the #15 Visit Las Vegas car, the American undoubtedly succeeded in making an impression over the limited number of sessions on home soil.
With just one short Practice, which ended prematurely after Chloe Chambers brought out the Red Flag, to adapt to the unfamiliar car, track layout and changeable conditions, Westcott went on to qualify 17th on the grid.
In Race 1, she executed a clean race, capitalising on the chaos to improve to P6 at the chequered flag, netting three points in the process along with the highest-placed finish for a Wild Card driver this season.
“Race 1 was definitely a very good race for me,” Westcott summarised. “I just had to keep it clean and keep it on track. I made a few moves and went up quite a bit, so I’m very proud of that.”
Keen to carry the momentum into Race 2, Westcott gradually caught up to Wella driver Joanne Ciconte on the opening laps. However, the pair were unlucky after an attempted double overtake by Rachel Robertson forced Ciconte into a collision with the Wild Card driver on her outside.
Conceding that she was “not as lucky” as she was in the reverse grid race, the American added: “I was moving up quite a bit – I was up four positions and making a pass for five on Lap 3, so I had good, steady pace. I was just unlucky, there was nothing I could have really done. I’m ok with it.”
Despite the frustrating end to her debut weekend, the experience of the high-pressure environment has proved to be incredibly informative for the young driver, giving her several lessons to take into the next step of her career.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot,” Westcott concluded following Race 2. “It was my first time ever in the F1 ACADEMY car in the rain, so that was very helpful to get the experience.
“Also, how the weekend progressed – I’m used to just doing multiple Practice sessions instead of the one, and then Qualifying. Adapting to that will be helpful and it gave me a lot of experience.”