Alisha Palmowski reflected on the pressure of the F1 Academy Dutch GP weekend following her fourth victory of the season.
Palmowski began the weekend with a superb performance in qualifying, grabbing her fourth pole position of the season. The Red Bull Racing driver was set for a solid fight for the win.
But during the Reverse Grid Race, where she lined up eighth on the grid, her car stalled twice. Instead of a good launch off the line and fighting her way through the pack, her troubles led to a P12 finish.
Hard work and challenging races
Next came the Feature Race, which came with a new opportunity. Despite still not having a great launch, she managed to keep the lead. Increased pressure from both Alba Larsen and Natalia Granada at the start made it challenging. Throughout the race, the Dane and Nina Gademan lurking behind put her under more pressure.
However, eager to extend her championship lead, Palmwoski persevered brilliantly. The championship leader ended the Zandvoort weekend with a fifth podium and a fourth victory.
After the victory was secured, Palmwoski reflected on the hard work from the team and said: “Very pleased, very relieved, as always, really.
“The team have put in lots of hard work, in particular this weekend, with the different weather conditions and loads of different factors being thrown at us. We had some car issues yesterday, so the team worked extra hard last night to try and fix that ahead of this morning’s race. So to come out with a win, it wasn’t a straightforward race at all.
“I had even more pressure from Alba [Larsen] this race than what I had from Chiara (Bättig) at Silverstone, especially for the first half. The launch off the line wasn’t actually that strong for me. Stronger than yesterday, but still not an ideal start.
“I managed to maintain position and then just keep a cool, calm and collected head really. I know how difficult it is to overtake around Zandvoort, so I knew if I was consistent, made no mistakes, gave Alba no opportunity to get through, then it would be very difficult for her. Thank goodness I didn’t make any mistakes.”
Bad getaways and fine margins
The Red Bull Racing driver again had a poor start at the Feature Race. Palmowski reflected on her poor getaways and acknowledged them as an area for improvement.
“Just too much wheel spin off the line, so it’s something I have got to look at and address ahead of Austin,” she admitted.
“I was quite confident. It was fine margins, but I just got my nose in front of her, so I breathed a sigh of relief after that.”
The F1 Academy drivers put up a real fight at both the Reverse Grid Race and the Feature Race. Looking back on the Feature Race, Palmowski admitted she was not completely ‘at the limit’ in the first half of the race.
“I wasn’t 100% at the limit in the first half of the race; I would say we were 90-95%. I knew I still needed tyres towards the end of the race, which I think showed when Alba started struggling in the second half, and that’s where I then made the gap.
“Equally, I knew the closer that Alba was to me, the more she would struggle with her tyres. So a bit of a game I was sort of playing in those opening few laps. I wouldn’t say I was struggling though, it was tactical.”
“I think I’m not too stressed about it, to be honest. It’s a very privileged and nice position to be in. I have that buffer if something does go wrong, then I can still maintain the lead.”
Focus ahead of Austin
Ahead of the next round in Austin, Palmowski remains confident. Throughout the championship, the leader has demonstrated impressive performances, establishing her strengths. Despite her strong performances, F1 Academy can be unpredictable. Still, Palmowski emphasised that focusing on herself is all she can do.
“Equally, it doesn’t change the approach that I take going into Austin. Just take it race by race,” she continued.
“Obviously, the big focus is on Qualifying. It’s a more important Qualifying because it determines the grid for two races. I’ve just got to get that right and then take it from there.
“I obviously can’t control what Emma does, what Nina (Gademan) does. All I can do is focus on myself and make sure I’m making no mistakes, can do a good job and then the title will come my way or not.”
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