Interview
Palmowski credits tireless overnight work for a ‘big step forward’ with Zandvoort podium
Alisha Palmowski admitted that she struggled to get to grips with the challenging Zandvoort track, but her relentless hard work more than paid off as she achieved her first podium on a Grand Prix Sunday.
The Red Bull Racing driver missed out on a potential maiden pole position by the smallest of margins as Maya Weug beat her time by just 0.039s on Saturday and was unable to carry that pace over to Race 1.
In the reverse grid format, Palmowski both started and finished in seventh place, admitting that she couldn’t find performance in the first half. That was far from an issue in Race 2 though, with the 18-year-old taking P2 behind Weug and her best result since Race 1 in Miami.
“We struggled quite a lot yesterday in the reverse grid race — started P7, finished P7,” she reflected. “Just struggled for outright pace in that first half so we worked really hard last night.
“We looked at hours of data just to try and figure out how to improve the car and what I need to adapt my driving to improve that pace in the first half. I think we addressed that issue really well today.”
Her race was characterised by an extended battle with McLaren driver Ella Lloyd, who passed Palmowski on the opening lap after benefitting from starting on the drier left hand side of the grid.
Palmowski kept within a second of her rival for the majority of the session, but it was Lloyd’s five-second time penalty for a false start that allowed the Briton to secure P2 at the chequered flag — her best result of the season in the traditional format.
READ MORE: RACE 2: Weug converts pole into commanding lights-to-flag victory in Zandvoort
Questioned about how she found the battle with Lloyd, she said: “It was stressful, definitely! It’s so hard to get close enough to be able to make a move but Ella made a few mistakes, went a little bit wide.
“I’d made a mistake at Turn 3 towards the end of the race. We’re so on the limit every lap and we’re talking tenths of a second, just half a metre here and there can make the difference.
“I think at any other circuit I probably would have been able to overtake her but it’s just so difficult around here with it being so tight, twisty and technical. We did a good job overall.
“I think I was a little bit quicker than her, but it’s just so difficult to follow and overtake around here. I think we maximised the opportunity really and it was a big step forward based on yesterday so I’m really happy.”
Lloyd was not only her nearest competitor on track — she is also 11 points ahead of Palmowski in the Standings, which is a narrow advantage with two rounds still left to battle it out.
The next sees F1 ACADEMY head to Singapore, a circuit which the Red Bull Racing driver has never competed at in her career. But the combination of her rapid learning skills and the improvement she found in Zandvoort has left racing there an exhilarating, rather than daunting, prospect.
“We’re going to have limited track time which will probably suit me to be honest — that’s one of my strengths, learning a new circuit quickly,” she said. “I’m not looking forward to the heat though!
“I think we made a really good, solid step forward today in terms of race pace. We just need to analyse what I did differently based on yesterday so that we can make sure we keep this improvement going forward. I’m excited.”