Payton Westcott stormed to her maiden victory in the F1 Academy Reverse Grid Race at Zandvoort with a stunning performance.
She reflected on her victory, revealing she intended to ‘prove to myself that I could do it’.
Payton Westcott has been hungry for her maiden win. Her season has been one of ups and downs, with two additional podiums and 49 points, but she has also had less fortunate weekends, such as at Silverstone, where she finished P14 in the Reverse Grid Race and P11 in the Feature Race.
After her strong performance at Zandvoort, the American shared that she felt ‘relieved’. She originally qualified in ninth place, but was bumped up to eighth and therefore took Reverse Grid pole after Wild Card Zoe Florescu was disqualified.
‘A big weight off my shoulders’
A solid start and a strong performance throughout the race helped her win. Even with disturbances and Safety Car restarts, she managed to bring it home.
“I feel great. It was a good race from my end,” she told F1 Academy.
“I managed to pull a gap in the first lap, and then we had the Safety Car after that, so I was a bit disappointed because I thought I had a nice gap.”
Despite the pressure from Alba Larsen behind, Westcott kept her cool and continued to focus on her own race. Towards the end of the race, it looked like there might be a battle for first. But the American was able to stride ahead and take the win.
“After the Safety Car restart, which I think I managed quite well, I had another nice gap and then watched Nina [Gademan] and Alba [Larsen] battle a little bit behind me. Then I managed to get another gap.
“I saw Alba got around Nina and then it was just me focusing on my race in front, trying to make a gap. Alba got pretty close at one point, but I kept going and kept focusing on myself.
“It’s incredible,” she said. “I feel so relieved to have won a race in F1 ACADEMY. It takes a big weight off my shoulders. I really did it to prove to myself that I could do it and I’m so happy.”
READ MORE: Zoe Florescu and Alexia Danielsson selected for the F1 Academy Rookie Test
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