QUALIFYING: Bättig makes history as she rockets to first Wild Card pole at Silverstone

Chiara Bättig delivered on debut at Silverstone, becoming the first Wild Card to achieve a pole position and the youngest F1 ACADEMY driver to do so.

The 16-year-old took control of the timesheets just after the halfway mark in Qualifying and never looked back, with the Wella driver’s 2:01.775 putting her on top by 0.177s. Standings leader Alisha Palmowski narrowed the gap but had to settle for second while Lisa Billard scored her best Qualifying result to round out the top three.

After six on-track sessions between Practice and Qualifying, it was all about understanding the grip levels around the 5.891km circuit. Gademan set the initial benchmark at 2:03.348, but that was quickly beaten by Palmowski.

The Alpine driver responded with a 2:02.792, as Bättig slotted up into P2, just 0.080s behind. Despite being almost a tenth up on Gademan’s time on her next attempt, the Wild Card driver opted to pit with 19 minutes remaining, leading a train of cars.

Track limits were proving to be a problem for several drivers in the field, as Rachel Robertson, Natalia Granada, Megan Bruce and Palmowski all went wide at Turn 9.

Bolting on a fresh set of tyres, Billard staked her claim on provisional pole, breaking six tenths clear with a 2:02.180. Moments later, Bättig became the first driver to move into the 2:01s and wasn’t slowing down, improving further to a 2:01.775.

Languishing outside the top 10, Palmowski had to respond, jumping up to P2. The Red Bull Racing driver cut the gap down slightly to 0.243s heading into the final minute, while Bättig had to pit due to a mechanical issue.

Despite Esmee Kosterman bringing out a brief yellow flag after a spin at Turn 1, Palmowski posted one final improvement on her penultimate attempt but it wasn’t enough to deny Bättig, whose best effort remained 0.177s clear.

Billard secured third on her first appearance at Silverstone followed by Ava Dobson, who improved to a personal best result of P4 at the chequered flag. Robertson also celebrated her highest Qualifying result in fifth ahead of Ella Lloyd, Gademan and Emma Felbermayr. Rookies Megan Bruce and Payton Westcott completed the top 10.

The F1 ACADEMY action resumes on Saturday at 18:05 local time (UTC+1), with Felbermayr set to start on pole for the Reverse Grid Race.