QUALIFYING: Palmowski clinches maiden pole position in lively Shanghai session

Alisha Palmowski conquered Qualifying in Shanghai to claim her long-awaited maiden pole position, starting her second year in the series on a high.

After coming close to pole on numerous occasions last season, the Red Bull Racing driver was untouchable as she continued to better her own efforts, finishing with a rapid time of 2:04.182. Ferrari’s Alba Larsen settled for second place, marking her first front row start in F1 ACADEMY, with fellow sophomore driver Emma Felbermayr lining up in P3.

Following a short delay to the start, the drivers were keen to hit the track and build temperature in their tyres as they adapted to the changed grip levels. With F1 Free Practice taking place before Qualifying, the surface was significantly different compared to the F1 ACADEMY session earlier today.

Aston Martin’s Mathilda Paatz jumped to the top of the timings early on, with her teammate Payton Westcott – who impressed with a spot in the top three in Practice – tucking in just behind her. However, the rookies’ times were quickly eclipsed by Palmowski and Felbermayr as the Audi driver set the pace with a time of 2:05.362.

Palmowski’s next effort showed that there were plenty of improvements still to come as she took P1 before Larsen leapt from fifth to first, building a buffer of over two tenths to the Briton.

At the halfway mark, the Ferrari driver was firmly on provisional pole while all of the drivers returned to the pits to bolt on a set of fresh tyres, preparing for more runs. But before anyone could find a major improvement, the Red lags were waved as Haas’ Kaylee Countryman slowed to a halt on track.

She soon got going again and joined her competitors in the pit lane, but the temporary disruption meant that everyone had to complete another out lap with less than 10 minutes to go, adding another element of pressure to the proceedings.

Palmowski was the first to set her eyes on pole position and despite a small mistake, she drove the fastest lap of the session so far, albeit by less than a tenth to Larsen. Westcott, meanwhile, demonstrated that her pace in Practice wasn’t a fluke as she began to challenge for the top spot.

The Mercedes driver couldn’t improve in Sectors 2 and 3 and remained in third place, but it was a different story for Palmowski as she extended her advantage to four tenths over Larsen.

Her lap proved to be impossible to beat in the final seconds and she held onto pole ahead of Larsen and Felbermayr, who improved late on to demote Rafaela Ferreira to fourth. Gatorade rookie Lisa Billard was next on the timing sheets, taking fifth place.

A lap time deletion saw Westcott demoted from P4 to P6 ahead of Natalia Granada while Alpine’s Nina Gademan secured P8, earning her fourth reverse pole position for Race 1. Rounding out the top 10 were Ava Dobson and McLaren’s Ella Lloyd.

What’s next?

Before the Qualifying order battles it out in Race 2, Nina Gademan will start from reverse pole position for Saturday’s Race 1. With the top eight qualifiers flipped around, lights go out at 13:45 local time (UTC +8).