Interview
‘That’s where the race was lost for me’ – Palmowski determined to find positives after missing out on Race 2 win in Shanghai
Alisha Palmowski was left disappointed after she was unable to convert pole position into victory in Race 2 at the Shanghai International Circuit, blaming the result on her poor start on the opening lap.
The Red Bull Racing driver ticked off a milestone as she started on pole for the first time in her F1 ACADEMY career, but she was passed by Alba Larsen and Emma Felbermayr on the run down to Turn 1, with the latter going on to win the race.
Although Palmowski also came under pressure from Mercedes’ Payton Westcott, she defended her position well and took the chance to move back up to P2 when Larsen went wide on the Safety Car restart.
Explaining why her rivals got a much better start at lights out, she said: “I just fell into a lot of wheelspin to be honest. That’s where the race was lost for me today. There are a lot of positives today – I think the balance of the car seemed a lot better than yesterday, and the overall pace was a lot better than yesterday.
“Huge steps forward from last year in terms of my driving, so there are a lot of positives. I think this track has always been my weakest circuit to be honest. I’m not a fan. It just doesn’t click for me for whatever reason, so it was always damage limitation coming into this weekend for me.
“All things considered, it’s not a bad result. Obviously I’m disappointed because I ultimately lost it at the start but we’ll review that. We now know what I need to address going forward to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
On the final lap, she came tantalisingly close to passing Felbermayr for first place, but the challenge came too late and Palmowski ended up finishing just two tenths behind her Audi-backed competitor.
Despite losing the win, she was eager to focus on the positives from their battle, which did not dent her confidence or desire to fight for the title this season.
Reflecting on the result, she said: “I needed to be a tenth closer to be able to make that divebomb. I did think about it on that final lap but equally, P2 is 18 points which I can’t afford to lose.
“It’s not a bad result, and it’s very much a long game. We’re one race down. We’ve still got quite a lot to go so it’s all still to play for.
“I was definitely the quickest driver at Montreal last year so there’s no reason why that would change this year. I’m more determined than ever to keep racking up the points. Obviously try and get another few wins, another pole position – that would be great. I’m very confident.”