QUALIFYING: Palmowski pips Westcott at the chequered flag to sweep both pole positions in Austin

Alisha Palmowski secured both pole positions with a momentous final lap in Austin Qualifying, despite a lap time deletion initially costing her pole.

The Red Bull Racing driver fought hard for pole for the Opening and Feature Races throughout the 30-minute session, with Payton Westcott leading in the closing stages. The Mercedes driver looked to have taken her maiden pole after Palmowski's lap was deleted for track limits at Turn 20.

However, the Briton's lap was reinstated, securing pole position with a 2:07.714, just 0.098s ahead of Payton Westcott. Alpine's Nina Gademan was third, rounding out the top three for both races.

After only one Practice session and no Formula 1 running in between, Qualifying was all about understanding the grip levels and where to push around the 5.513km circuit. Ava Dobson set the opening benchmark at 2:12.723 after Rachel Robertson, Ella Lloyd, Emma Felbermayr and Kaylee Countryman all had their initial lap times deleted for track limits.

Dobson’s early effort was quickly beaten as Gademan posted the first competitive lap with a 2:09.904. Rafaela Ferreira was next to top the timesheets, followed by Palmowski with a 2:09.088. She immediately lowered it again to break into the 2:08s, ahead of Alba Larsen by 0.616s before heading into the pits to change tyres.

Westcott was the next driver to challenge Palmowski but just missed out by 0.143s as Felbermayr also tried to close the gap but could only manage a lap fast enough for P3.

Ferreria and Robertson both knocked Felbermayr down to P5 in quick succession as Palmowski lowered the benchmark again to 2:08.337 at the halfway mark.

Lisa Billard briefly hopped up to P2, as Gademan and Larsen fought over the second row. Hometown hero Westcott then took provisional pole with a 2:07.812 after setting the fastest Sector 2 with two minutes left on the clock.

There was late drama for Palmowski, who snatched pole away from Westcott by 0.098s as she crossed the line at the chequered flag. The Red Bull Racing driver initially had her lap time deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 20, demoting her to P2.

However, the lap time was reinstated and Palmowski took her fifth and sixth poles of the season, with Westcott having to settle for P2 and Gademan finishing in third. Consistency paid off for the top three, as the trio secured identical positions for the Opening Race.

Natalia Granada put it all together on her final lap, jumping up from eighth to fourth at the chequered flag. Larsen secured fifth ahead of Billard, Jade Jacquet and Ferreira, who will line up on pole for the Reverse Grid Race. Felbermayr was ninth-fastest and Robertson rounded out the top 10 for PUMA.

For the Opening Race, Billard’s second-fastest lap time moved her to fourth. Larsen's lap time was reinstated, elevating her to fifth ahead of Jacquet. Granada will line up seventh ahead of Ferreira, Robertson and Megan Bruce.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The F1 ACADEMY action resumes on Friday at 17:50 local time (UTC-5), with Palmowski set to start on pole for the Opening Race.