Interview
'A big weight off my shoulders' - Westcott relieved to have proven herself with a maiden F1 ACADEMY win
Payton Westcott was ecstatic following the Reverse Grid Race in Zandvoort, taking her maiden series win with a dominant lights-to-flag performance.
Westcott initially qualified in ninth place, but was promoted to P8 and the Reverse Grid Race pole position after Zoe Florescu was disqualified from Qualifying after her car was found to be in breach of the Technical Regulations.
Despite dealing with the start and two Safety Car restarts, Westcott had a fairly straightforward race starting from pole. Covering Megan Bruce off the line and into Turn 1, the Mercedes driver pushed ahead and created gaps during each restart despite the field closing up.
The 17-year-old driver concentrated on her own race and kept her cool during a brief challenge from Alba Larsen in the closing stages of the race. Separating herself from the rest of the drivers, she finished almost two seconds clear of her closest rival.
“I feel great. It was a good race from my end,” she began. “I managed to pull a gap in the first lap and then we had the Safety Car after that, so I was a bit disappointed because I thought I had a nice gap.
“After the Safety Car restart, which I think I managed quite well, I had another nice gap and then watched Nina and Alba battle a little bit behind me. Then I managed to get another gap.
“I saw Alba got around Nina and then it was just me focusing on my race in front, trying to make a gap. Alba got pretty close at one point, but I kept going and kept focusing on myself.”
Westcott’s joy comes off a series of unlucky results for the American driver, finishing in P14 in Silverstone’s Reverse Grid Race and P11 in the Feature Race. However, she remained optimistic and felt ecstatic to finally get that race win after two third-place podium finishes, one in Shanghai and the other in Montreal.
“It’s incredible," she said. "I feel so relieved to have won a race in F1 ACADEMY. It takes a big weight off my shoulders. I really did it to prove to myself that I could do it and I’m so happy."
Westcott will line up in P8 on Sunday for the Feature Race, but is now more optimistic about her chances of moving up through the field, especially with the threat of rain on the forecast.
"Obviously, P8 isn’t exactly where I would want to start, but I think that we can keep moving up," she explained. "This is definitely a big confidence builder going into tomorrow, so I think we can make some improvement," she said.
"I think a wet race will be interesting. It will definitely shake up the field. I personally like driving in the wet, so I’m excited to see how it goes."