Glossop speedster closes in on F1 Academy title

Glossop motorsport sensation Alisha Palmowski strengthened her grip on the F1 Academy championship over the weekend with a stellar performance in Zandvoort. 

After a tough opening race, the Red Bull Racing driver bounced back superbly to land her fourth victory of the campaign, securing a maiden career Grand Slam in the process. 

The rare feat – which is achieved by a driver who takes pole position, records the fastest lap, wins the race and leads every single lap – saw the 19-year-old take a maximum 28 points from Sunday’s feature race. 

Under pressure from Ferrari’s Alba Larsen from the very first second, Palmowski kept her pace throughout to record a historic victory. 

This came after the teenage star had to settle for a lowly P12 in Saturday’s reverse grid race, slipping down the order after stalling at the start line. 

“It was a difficult reverse grid race,” the former St Phillip Howard student told the Chronicle. 

“Having stalled off the line, I was very lucky that it didn’t impact me at all in terms of the championship - I got a get out of jail free card with my rivals also struggling.  

“But we didn’t let it affect us - we bounced back as a team on Sunday and achieved a grand slam.” 

The Simmondley resident is now within touching distance of the title, having extended her lead at the top to 48 points with just two race weekends to go. 

Palmowski is bidding to become just the fourth driver ever to win the series and could seal the championship early when the F1 Academy heads to Austin in October. 

“I’m in a really confident place mentally approaching the final two rounds,” she revealed. 

“The team have never been operating better, so we’ll continue to work hard with our preparation.  

“One step closer!”