Palmowski and Chambers predict ‘tough’ Race 2 as they aim to deliver back-to-back double podiums for Campos

Alisha Palmowski and Chloe Chambers scored Campos Racing’s second double podium of the year in Miami Race 1, but the pair recognise there’s a bigger prize at play as they target the win in Race 2.

Lining up alongside each other in seventh and eighth, the duo both managed to steer clear of trouble early on. Finding her way up into P2, Palmowski tried to apply the pressure on to leader Pin, whilst Chambers put clear air between herself and fourth-placed Weug to earn her fourth podium in five races.

Their 15-point haul, including Rafaela Ferreira’s eighth-place finish, have strengthened Campos’ hold over the lead of the Teams’ Standings, with the Spanish team 12 points ahead of MP Motorsport.

Quizzed as to whether she thought a top-three finish was possible, Palmowski replied: “The podium was always the aim. Although starting from P7, it’s the lowest grid spot that I’ve started from this year, so I knew I’d got my work cut out.

“I was really surprised by the pace that we had. I think it was really solid, it didn’t drop off towards the end, I think we were in the fight the whole way. Even on to that last lap, we were close to Doriane, so it’s a shame we couldn’t quite get the win, but a great result for the team with Chloe in P3 as well.”

Now looking to bring home another win after her Shanghai Race 1 victory, Palmowski isn’t expecting a straightforward affair after the events of Race 1 in Miami.

“Today was a great confidence booster,” she remarked. “I've got a lot of good data in terms of the car set-up as well and how it evolved throughout the race run. I know what more I need from the car, I know what more I need from myself as well.

“It'd be great to bring home a 1-2 for the team tomorrow. That's the aim, but I know that we can equally fight for the win.”

She added: “Hopefully, we’ll just drive off into the distance, that’s the plan. But I’m sure with Safety Cars and anything else, who knows what will be thrown at us. We’ll just keep our head down, focus on ourselves and hopefully bring home a good result.”

With the Teams’ title hopes looming over their battle, Palmowski isn’t worried about going side-by-side with Chambers and is determined to race hard but fair.

“I always like to race everybody with respect, but especially your teammate,” she explained. “Me and Chloe, we've had some wheel-to-wheel really close racing, in that race as well. We both gave each other room and we raced really respectfully, so I see no reason why we can't continue that tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Chambers is crediting her quest to go from eighth to third to her eye-opening experiences last year, which prevented her getting caught up in the Turn 1 melee at the start. “I started seventh and eighth last year so I kind of knew what to expect from that point on the grid,” she said. “I literally did the same exact thing at the start as I did last year when I started in P8.

“Obviously it worked, it was the right choice and it really paid off because I made up a bunch of positions at the start. Then, just had a little bit of work to do from there.”

She added: “It’s being smart about it, trying to predict where people are going to go. This track is quite easy to lock-up a front tyre on, so you can expect people to go into Turn 1 trying to make up positions, trying to keep positions and to have a little lock-up here and there.

“That’s kind of what happened, then everybody pushes out a little bit wide and you can just find the openings and squeeze on through there.”

Whilst both drivers hunt down the win, it’ll be Chambers in the driving seat starting from pole. Although the circumstances may be different, the Red Bull Ford driver isn’t underestimating the task ahead of her.

“It’s going to be a tough,” Chambers admitted. “The race pace today wasn’t amazing but it was enough to get up into the podium positions. So, I know the race pace is decent, but we just have to do a couple of changes on the car. I definitely have some more time out there in the car and I think tomorrow, it'll be tough, but I feel pretty confident (…) I would love to go for the win.”