Alisha Palmowski did it again! Race 3 in Canada was an extremely dominant showing for the Red Bull driver who finished 10.9 seconds ahead of the next competitor in P2. It is victory by the biggest margin in the series ever – a record Palmowski had just beaten in race 1 on Saturday.
“Come on, thats what I’m talking about! Mega stuff!”
Alisha Palmowski on the radio after crossing the finish line
The British racing driver had all the reason to be excited: Collecting double pole position, two flawless wins and points for the fastest lap, Palmowski now leads the championship fight by 25 points in total. Even her unfortunate end to the reverse grid race after contact with Campos teammate Megan Bruce has only slightly dented her tally and did nothing to shake her confidence. Keeping her lead at the start, Palmowski converted pole to win while constantly pushing out front.
Despite her early advantage, last years title fight proved how crucial every single race weekend can turn out to be, so Palmowski will look to keep her head down and repeat her performance at her home race in Silverstone next.
The race for the podium
While Palmowski seemed untouchable, behind her the fight for the remaining podium positions in race 3 was close throughout all 17 laps. Mercedes’ Payton Westcott did well to achieve her first ever front-row start during qualifiying but lost the position to Megan Bruce in the early laps. This made her vulnerable to Emma Felbermayr who started P4. What followed was a tight battle between the two, with textbook defending from Westcott and calm, calculated moves by Felbermayr. Ultimately, the Mercedes driver made an error on lap 14 and was unable to recover the place, finishing fourth overall. Still, it was an impressive showing of racecraft for the rookie.
Once she got ahead, there was no stopping Felbermayr: The Audi-backed driver kept her aggressive attacks going and managing to get ahead of Bruce close to the end. This sees her finish second in race 3, reflecting her position in the overall driver’s standings. After taking the early lead in Shanghai, Felbermayr firmly put herself into contention for the title but will have to dig deeper to make up ground to Palmowski. With only two points collected in the season opener, Megan Bruce can be hugely satisfied with her double podium finish in Montréal, boosting her to P3 in the standings.
The Ella Lloyd show
If there was one driver who caught attention all weekend long, without fighting at the front, it was Ella Lloyd. In her second year of F1 Academy, she finds herself in a unique position: Lloyd was hugely predicted to be a major player in this years championship battle, as she rounded out last season with an impressive run of podium finishes. However, this year has not gone to plan and she hasn’t managed to put it all together just yet.
Qualifiying did not play out her way again this weekend, a brush with the wall seeing her start in P16. A racing incident between her an Billard at the start did not make her life easier but once she was truly underway, Lloyd’s fighting spirit became clear. Already on the second lap she found herself up in P10. The tricky, wet conditions of the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit seemed to only boost her confidence and her race was shaped by a relentless battle with Ferreira and Larsen.
Going three wide through some corners, the second year driver’s did not gift each other an inch, taking a spot back immediately if one had to use the run-off area. Lloyd ended up finishing P9 with Ferreira behind her, gaining 21 positions in total across the weekend despite her penalty in the reverse grid race.
Onwards and upwards
Race 3 rounded out the weekend in canada similarly action packed to the other two races: Stevens stalled on the start, Countryman was shown the black and white flag for track limits, Kosterman and Robertson were noted for an incident on lap 12. Larsen and Gademan had a feirce battle for position and finished P6 ad P7 respectively, leaving Larsen with a reasonable points haul after she got penalised off the podium post race on saturday.
Despite the more than tricky conditions, the F1 Academy racers were the only series competing on the track that weekend that did not bring out a red flag. It made for a brilliant show across three races and sets an exciting foundation for the next rounds. With the championship fight heating up, Silverstone is next on July third to fifth!
