Payton Westcott converted a last-minute promotion to pole into a commanding F1 Academy Reverse Grid Race victory at Zandvoort, leading from lights to flag despite a late challenge from Alba Larsen. The Mercedes driver had originally been set to start ninth, but was promoted to pole after Zoe Florescu was disqualified from qualifying for a technical infringement.
With the sun beginning to peek through the clouds following a rainy qualifying session earlier in the day, Westcott made the perfect start and never surrendered the lead.
Westcott takes advantage of pole promotion
Florescu, this weekends Wild Card driver, was disqualified before the race after checks found that the engine lubricant in her Hitech car did not meet the required technical specifications. As a result, her qualifying result was removed and she was moved to the back of the grid. This promoted every driver behind her by one place, putting Westcott on pole, with Megan Bruce moving up to second and Rachel Robertson starting third.
Westcott made a clean getaway when the lights went out, immediately opening a gap at the front as the drivers behind battled for position. Gademan made a strong start herself, getting ahead of Robertson at the opening corner before turning her attention to Bruce. Gademan looked to the inside but decided against forcing the move, allowing Bruce to defend successfully and retain her position for the time being.
Robertson soon found a way past Bruce, however, with Gademan then following through to put Bruce under further pressure. By lap two, Gademan had completed the move on Bruce and moved into third, while Westcott continued to stretch her advantage at the front.
Palmowski suffers a nightmare start
While Westcott was enjoying a dream start, the same could not be said for championship leader Alisha Palmowski. The Red Bull driver suffered a double stall when the race began, dropping all the way to 17th and immediately putting herself on the back foot in the championship fight.
Palmowski attempted to work her way through the field but later reported that something was wrong with her car, saying it was not aggressive enough to make the overtakes she needed. With championship rival Felbermayr also starting in the points, the early drama threatened to have a major impact on the title battle.
The race was soon interrupted when Natalia Granada crashed into the wall on lap two after an aggressive move on Felbermayr, bringing out a yellow flag before the Safety Car was deployed. Westcott’s early advantage was wiped out as the field bunched together, giving Gademan and the drivers behind another opportunity to challenge for position once racing resumed.
Larsen charges through the field
The Safety Car period ended quickly, and Westcott immediately began working to rebuild her advantage. Gademan came under pressure from Larsen after the restart, with the Ferrari driver looking increasingly fast as she worked her way forward. Bruce, meanwhile, had a particularly difficult restart and lost three places in quick succession, falling further down the order as Felbermayr, Larsen and Kosterman all made progress.
Larsen soon found herself at the centre of the action, moving ahead of Felbermayr and into fourth before setting her sights on Robertson. She initially looked to the outside but was unable to complete the move, before eventually finding a way around the outside of the Ferrari driver to take third. Her pace was becoming increasingly difficult for the drivers ahead to match, with Larsen consistently setting some of the fastest laps as she closed in on Gademan.
The battle for second eventually arrived, when Larsen attacked Gademan from the inside. A heavy lock-up made the move far from straightforward, but the Ferrari driver still managed to complete the overtake and take second place. With Westcott continuing to lead, Larsen suddenly had clear air ahead of her and began the chase for the race victory.
Another Safety Car brings the field together
Just as Westcott appeared to have control of the race, another incident brought out the Safety Car. Jacquet went into the gravel and was forced to retire, giving Westcott another challenge as the field was compressed once again. The Williams driver handled the restart well, quickly pulling away from Larsen and ensuring the Ferrari driver could not immediately launch an attack.
Behind the leading pair, the battle for the remaining points positions was becoming increasingly intense. Felbermayr went wheel-to-wheel with Kosterman to take fifth and then began looking for a way past Robertson, knowing that every point could prove crucial with Palmowski struggling outside the points.
However, Felbermayr’s afternoon unravelled when she attempted to go around the outside of Robertson and the two made contact. The incident dropped Felbermayr down to seventh and then eighth, while Ella Lloyd capitalised on the chaos to move forward. Felbermayr was subsequently handed a five-second time penalty for the contact, pushing her out of the points altogether.
Westcott withstands Larsen pressure
The final laps saw Larsen begin to close the gap to Westcott, with the Ferrari driver getting to within around half a second of the leader. Larsen looked increasingly desperate to find an opportunity for the move, but Westcott refused to give her the space she needed and responded by setting the fastest lap of the race.
That pace proved crucial as Westcott managed to keep Larsen behind for the remainder of the race. Despite the pressure, the Mercedes driver remained composed and crossed the line to take victory after leading every lap, turning an unexpected promotion to pole into a perfect result.
Larsen finished second after one of the strongest drives of the race, recovering through the field to put herself in contention for the win, while Gademan completed the podium in front of her home crowd. Ella Lloyd also capped an impressive recovery with fifth after starting 11th, while Bruce’s difficult afternoon left her outside the leading positions.
For the championship contenders, it was a costly race. Palmowski could only recover to 12th after her disastrous start, while Felbermayr finished 13th after her five-second penalty. With both title protagonists failing to score, Westcott’s opportunistic victory became one of the biggest stories of a chaotic Reverse Grid Race at Zandvoort.
