By Steven Oldham Cover photo: F1 Academy
Jump to:
Top five start for Palmowski in Shanghai
Glossop’s Alisha Palmowski put in a strong performance in F1 Academy’s season-opening qualifying after setting the fifth fastest time in Shanghai.
The 18-year-old recorded a best time of 2:04:143 in her Campos car, as MP Motorsport’s Maya Weug took her first pole position in the series. Prema’s Doriane Pin, MP’s debuting Alba Larsen and Palmowski’s team-mate Chloe Chambers rounded out the top five.
A top five position provides Palmowski a good chance of points in both races – and with the competition’s reverse grid format for the top eight qualifiers, she will line up in fourth place in Saturday’s first race.
READ MORE: F1 Academy: Alisha Palmowski to make full debut
Palmowski improved by over 1.4 seconds from her time in free practice, where she was ninth fastest. Last season’s title runner up Pin was quickest.
Weug seals first pole position
Ferrari-backed driver Weug was in a class of her own at the front, recording a time almost 0.5 seconds quicker than Pin – with the Dutch driver circulating the track in 2:03:379 . A strong qualifying session for MP saw all three of their drivers in the top six – with the impressive Larsen taking third and Australian Joanne Ciconte in sixth.
Maya Weug wasting no time setting the pace for her second season.
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) March 21, 2025
Nicely done, Maya. 👊#F1Academy #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/lsTpxDN38V
Gademan on reverse grid pole
Prema have work to do on Sunday if they want to emerge as the top team from the opener, with the reigning champions’ remaining drivers Nina Gademan and Tina Hausmann only making P8 and 9 respectively. Gademan has a good opportunity for at least a decent haul of points on Saturday with reverse grid pole.
Debutant Ferreira handed grid penalties after practice collision
Campos had a strong start with Chambers and Palmowski’s top five results, but it was a debut to forget for Brazil’s Rafaela Ferreira, who was handed a three place grid penalty for both races after causing a collision with ART’s Lia Block in free practice.
The Racing Bulls driver was weaving to generate heat in the tyres between turns 13 and 14, and collided with Block who was attempting to overtake while on a flying lap.
Ferreira – who qualified 13th before the penalty was added – was deemed wholly responsible for the smash, which left Block unable to compete in qualifying, but the American will be allowed to compete in both races.
Felbermayr tops Rodin team-mates
Rookie Emma Felbermayr struck the first blow in the Rodin inter-team battle, landing a seventh place in her first F1 Academy qualifying session. The returning Chloe Chong was tenth, with Ella Lloyd one place behind in the sister car.
Canada’s Nicole Havrda was the pacesetter for the new HiTech TGR team, and she’ll line up in P12. Team-mate Aiva Anagnostiadis was 16th, with wild card Shi Wei 17th and last of those who set a time.
With Block put of action, Aurelia Nobels won a very close contest with her team-mate Courtney Crone to emerge as the top ART – with less than a tenth separating them. They qualified 14th and 15th.
When are the F1 Academy races?
Race one gets underway at 5:45 am on Saturday morning and race two is at 2:40 am on Sunday morning. All races are live on Sky Sports F1 and all times are in GMT.
Leave a Reply