Alisha Palmowski made a gala presentation in race 1 of the F1 Academy at the Canadian GP. This Saturday (23), the competitor started from pole position and dominated from start to finish to bring home the race victory.
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The one who crossed the finish line in second place was Megan Bruce, with Mathilda Paatz completing the podium positions in Montreal. In a consistent race, Brazilian Rafaela Ferreira finished fourth.
Start authorized and Palmowski maintained first place in a very positive start from the Red Bull representative on the grid. Megan Bruce was in second place, with Payton Westcott completing the top 3 at the beginning of the race.
Behind, in fifth place, Rafaela Ferreira was keeping a good pace, but the Brazilian had to deal with pressure from Alba Larsen, who was less than 0.3 seconds behind her.
And on the second lap, there was already damage to the first car. Lisa Billard, Gatorade’s representative in the pack, had a slight touch and was dragging the front wing on the asphalt.
The one having a complicated race was championship leader Emma Felbermayr. The Audi driver was only in 14th place, but fighting with wildcard Fisher Autumn, managed to move up to 13th.
A very exciting battle was for the second spot on the podium. Bruce, who was in second place, had to start driving defensively, as Westcott was already right behind her applying a lot of pressure.
On the sixth lap, then, a problem for Esmee Kosterman. The competitor had a puncture on the left rear tire, forcing the Lego driver to make an unscheduled pit stop and fall to the back of the pack.
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With seven laps completed in Montreal, Palmowski was still leading with a 4.5-second advantage over Bruce. Westcott was in third place, with Mathilda Paatz and Ferreira closing the top 5 of the battle.
Then, a lot changed in the race because of Westcott. The competitor was under investigation for leaving the track and not following the race director when returning to the circuit and, as a result, received a 5-second penalty and dropped many positions. Shortly after, she went to the pits with problems.
Rafa Ferreira, now in fourth place, still had to deal with Larsen’s attacks, but the Brazilian managed to defend herself from the Ferrari rival.
The big highlight of the race was Ella Lloyd. After a difficult qualifying and starting only in 16th, she was already seventh and inside the points zone, on lap 14 of the 17 scheduled laps.
Then, near the checkered flag, the race direction warned of an investigation after the race: Rachel Robertson and Natalia Granada for causing a collision at turn 1.
Race over and Palmowski secured a very dominant victory in the F1 Academy in Canada. Bruce and Paatz complete the podium, with Rafa Ferreira finishing in fourth place.
The competitors return to the track later this Saturday, the 23rd, for the second race of the Canadian GP at 7:05 PM Brasília time.
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