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STANDOUT STARS: Who seized their spot in Silverstone history?
Alisha Palmowski treated the British fans to a home winner as F1 ACADEMY made its long-awaited first appearance at Silverstone.
It wasn’t just the series’ debut at the British circuit that made headlines, but who leaves Round 3 and goes into the summer break with their head held high?
CHIARA BÄTTIG
If there was one driver who made the biggest impression at Silverstone, Chiara Bättig undoubtedly deserves the honours. The 16-year-old made an immediate impact, topping Practice by two tenths before becoming the first Wild Card driver to take pole position, beating Alisha Palmowski by 0.177s.
You would have struggled to tell that this was Bättig’s first appearance in the F1 ACADEMY car, as she claimed points with a P8 finish in the Reverse Grid Race. Although she lost the lead off the line in the Feature Race, she never let Palmowski out of her sight.
As the first Wild Card to achieve a podium, the Swiss racer also scored Hitech’s first piece of silverware in the series. Jumping up to P11 in the Standings in a single weekend, it’s clear to see why she was recruited to the Red Bull Junior Team. While her British F4 appearance in May would have helped her adjust to the track, Bättig still asserted her place as one of the brightest female talents to watch right now.
HITECH
While Bättig’s performance made waves, the whole Hitech squad also all deserve credit after their most notable weekend in the series so far.
Things hadn’t been looking great for Hitech heading into their home weekend, with a solitary point to their name up to Round 3. However, the whole trio excelled around Silverstone. All three drivers qualified inside the top five and delivered points finishes in both the Reverse Grid Race and Feature Race.
WATCH: HIGHLIGHTS: Palmowski fends off Bättig to win at home in Silverstone Feature Race
PUMA’s Rachel Robertson got her first points of the year on the board with P4 and P6 finishes, while American Express driver Ava Dobson improved on her best F1 ACADEMY result, finishing P7 in the Reverse Grid Race and added four more points to her tally with a P8 result in the Feature Race.
Tied with Rodin Motorsport as the weekend’s highest scorers with a 41-point haul, Hitech have jumped above ART Grand Prix in the Teams’ Standings. If they can recreate performances like these in Zandvoort, more silverware could soon be heading the British squad’s way.
ALISHA PALMOWSKI
The big winner on Grand Prix Sunday, Alisha Palmowski was riding high on home soil. Yet despite how the results appeared on paper, the Red Bull Racing driver was unsettled in her #21 car at first.
Second-fastest in Practice and Qualifying, Palmowski admitted her P2 result on Friday evening was a “miracle” after lacking confidence in her car. Working intensely with the Campos Racing team, the Briton gained two places in the Reverse Grid Race and returned to her best in Sunday’s Feature Race.
There, she perfected her start to snatch the lead off the line. Despite Bättig being firmly on her tail throughout the 13-lap race, Palmowski looked unbothered out front as the pair took the chequered flag a further 8.5s clear of third-place Emma Felbermayr.
It was her third win of the campaign and crucially, all three have been in the higher-scoring Opening Race or Feature Race. With Bättig finishing ahead of her nearest rivals Felbermayr and Nina Gademan, Palmowski has extended her advantage to 30 points. A five-point increase from Montreal might not look like much, but every point matters if she wants to wrap up the title before the season finale in Las Vegas.
EMMA FELBERMAYR
A weekend that started with frustration, Emma Felbermayr turned her trip to Silverstone around with two trips to the podium. Qualifying a disappointing eighth, 0.684s slower than Bättig, the Audi driver put together a mature drive in the Reverse Grid Race to convert pole into victory.
Climbing from P8 to P3 in the Feature Race, Felbermayr was the only driver to take two podiums at the British circuit. It continues a remarkable run for the Austrian, who has made consistency the hallmark of her campaign. The only one in the field to have scored in all seven races so far, she has missed out on the podium on just two occasions.
However, despite her best efforts, the deficit to Palmowski has grown. Felbermayr will need to sustain this pace in Zandvoort and beyond if she wants to keep her hopes of being crowned Champion alive.