Palmowski expecting close-fought Qualifying in Zandvoort as she aims to hunt down first pole

Alisha Palmowski was satisfied with a job well done across both Friday Practice sessions, but the Red Bull Racing driver reckons she’ll have a fight on her hands in Qualifying.

The Briton narrowly topped the opening Free Practice session, going 0.005s quicker than Maya Weug. Benefitting from further running later on, Palmowski clocked in the fourth fastest time of FP2 on a 1:37.349.

Despite the 0.476s deficit to Campos Racing teammate and pacesetter Chloe Chambers, Palmowski isn’t concerned and believes she knows exactly where she can make the difference in Qualifying.

“A solid day,” she began “The car's feeling great, I've got a lot of confidence. Campos have done a fantastic job. I love the circuit, I'm just really enjoying myself out there on track. We lacked a little bit in FP2, but I know exactly where that time is.

“It probably looks worse on the timing screen that it actually is. I've had scenarios this year where I might have been four tenths off and I've got no idea how to find the time. Whereas sat here now, I'm super confident that I know exactly where that time is before even looking at the data.

“The times totally there, who knows what's going to happen with the weather tomorrow? That session was just crazy. We had dry, wet, mid, everything in between, so who knows what will happen, but I’m feeling confident.”

A shower during the middle of FP2 provided the field with their first chance at completing some wet running this year, albeit on a track that quickly began to dry. For Palmowski, the ever-changing conditions have provided a useful test of what could unfold in Qualifying and the races ahead.

READ MORE: PRACTICE 2: Chambers sets the pace in rain-hampered FP2 at Zandvoort

“It was a shame really because it downpoured that it was too wet for slicks but too dry for wets,” she said. “We don't want to wreck our wets, so we did a few laps on the full wet tyres just to scrub them in. Then we did some sort of greasy running on slick tyres but with a greasy damp track, so that was really beneficial because we may be in the same scenario tomorrow.

“For Qualifying, it may rain throughout the night and then be damp and greasy. I really enjoy it. It's just like being in the UK because there's no grip, it’s really cold and it’s horrible. It's a different challenge for the drivers, but we can look through the data now and see if we could have done a better job. The team changed the setup as well and we made a really good compromise for those conditions straight out the blocks.”

The Red Bull Racing driver has qualified inside the top two in the last two rounds but has been pipped to her maiden pole position by teammate Chambers. Optimistic about her chances around Zandvoort, the 18-year-old is predicting that there’ll be little room for error at the top of the order.

Asked whether she can contend for pole tomorrow, Palmowski replied: “I think we can, there’s no reason why not. It’s going to be really tight, especially between the top four.

“We’ll see, it could be anybody’s honestly. I definitely think we’re in the hunt 100%. It’s just going to be about who can piece it together the best. Ultimately, we're all the same pace. It's just about who can be the smoothest and deliver a solid clean session, so it'll be close but I’m up for the fight.”