Red Bull F1 Academy driver Alisha Palmowski enjoyed a weekend of improvement on her Formula Winter Series debut at Portimao, completing each race inside the overall top-15 and gaining a phenomenal 30 places from her starting positions across the event, overcoming adversity in qualifying.
Alisha Palmowski enjoyed a weekend of improvement in the Formula Winter Series at Portimao as she gained 30 places during the course of the event. The Campos Racing driver battled changeable conditions in Portugal and ended the weekend by finishing in 12th position after starting race three from 27th on the grid.
Palmowski carried the livery of Red Bull Racing throughout the event in preparation for her debut F1 Academy season where she will represent the six-time Formula 1 World Constructors champions.
In preparation for her 2025 F1 Academy campaign, Palmowski opened her year with the first of two appearances in the Formula Winter Series. Nine female drivers lined up on the grid in Portugal with Alisha driving for Campos Racing alongside F1 Academy teammate Rafaela Ferreira.
Racing in the Formula Winter Series provided Palmowski with the ideal opportunity to work with Campos Racing in a competitive environment, while also gaining experience of the Tatuus F4-T421 machine. This is the same chassis which is used in F1 Academy, albeit with some aerodynamic variations. However, it is a different car to the Tatuus F4-T014 used in the GB4 Championship where Alisha was crowned vice-champion in 2024.
Portimao was a new circuit for the Campos Racing driver and therefore utilising the six collective test sessions across both Thursday and Friday was vital. Setting the eighth fastest time in the first session of the event, this laid the foundations for a strong weekend. Palmowski was consistently inside the top-15 throughout the remaining sessions and was looking to build upon this momentum in qualifying.
Qualifying for all three races was split over two back-to-back sessions on Saturday morning. Palmowski battled technical issues during the sessions and was therefore unable to show her full potential. In the first session, Alisha set a best time of a 1:47.398 which placed her 21st overall.
Persistent issues then kept her in the pit lane for the majority of the second session, before she was able to set a flying lap of a 1:48.406 which was 28th quickest out of the 30 drivers.
The first race of the weekend took place just a couple of hours after the conclusion of qualifying and Alisha was targeting solid progress from the 11th row of the grid. Palmowski launched off the line well and although drivers ahead stacked up on the exit of turn two, she ended a strong opening lap in 17th position. The Campos Racing driver was quickly ahead of Aleksander Ruta on lap two, before starting the third lap directly behind Dante Vinci.
A great move into the opening turn saw Alisha move inside the top-15, now gaining six positions from her grid slot. As the battles in the midfield intensified, Palmowski lost out as Vinci and Kiril Kutskov also moved ahead on lap six. The middle portion of the race was challenging for the Red Bull backed driver as she fell to 20th at the end of the ninth lap, however she was keen to end the race on a high.
By lap 12, Palmowski was back up to 18th position and after a spin for Enea Frey, the safety car was deployed to retrieve his stricken car. This led to one final lap of green flag running and Alisha was already up to 17th position after Simon Schranz entered the pits on the restart.
Palmowski was overtaken by Teo Borenstein, however a spin for Vinci saw her take the checkered flag in 17th position. Post-race penalties for Ruta, Sebastian Bach and Artem Severiukhin moved Palmowski up to 14th position, later promoted to 13th following Maxim Rehm’s disqualification, while finishing as the runner-up in the Female Trophy division.
For race two of the weekend Palmowski was due to line up from 20th position, however with Kiril Kutskov starting from the pit lane and Kabir Anurag battling technical issues, she was promoted two positions.
Another good start from Alisha saw her gain two further positions on lap one, before the safety car was deployed as Mathilda Paatz had stopped on the exit of turn one. When the racing resumed, a number of incidents through the field saw the race neutralised once again with Alisha now into 14th position.
Under the safety car, debutant Fionn McLaughlin pitted his Hitech TGR machine for a new front wing which elevated Palmowski to 13th on lap nine. A fast restart from Palmowski saw her overtake Simon Schranz, however the powerful slipstream effect allowed the Renauer Motorsport driver to remain in close contention. Schranz re-passed Palmowski with the Campos Racing driver shuffled back to 15th at the end of lap 11.
Palmowski was aiming to push back towards the top-10 in the closing stages and overtook fellow female driver Alba Hurup Larsen for 14th position. While completing the overtake, Palmowski was faster than all-but three drivers on track and showing improved race pace from earlier in the day. A strong end to the contest saw Alisha take the checkered flag in 14th, before being promoted to 13th following Rehm’s disqualification from the weekend.
For the final race of the event, conditions had changed with a damp track and therefore Palmowski fitted the wet tyres along with the majority of her rivals. After her challenges in qualifying, the Campos Racing driver lined up from 27th position and was aiming to make significant progress. As the race got underway, a malfunction with the starting lights led to the red flag being displayed on the opening lap.
Although Alisha had made a good start, all drivers returned to the pit lane and were ordered in their original grid positions. Palmowski remained on the wet tyres with the race resuming behind the safety car with 22 minutes remaining.
An exceptional restart lap saw Alisha gain 12 positions with a series of impressive overtakes to move inside the top-15.Despite her limited experience in the car and at Portimao, Palmowski was using all her wet weather knowledge to good effect.
Now in clean air, Alisha was faster than the next four cars ahead and on lap five, she made this speed count. Overtaking both Simon Schranz and Dante Vinci, Palmowski was up to 13th position as she closed in on Artem Severiukhin. In the middle portion of the race, Severiukhin was the fastest driver on track and therefore Palmowski lost touch with the Jenzer Motorsport machine.
As the second half of the race progressed, Alisha remained in 13th position and was lapping extremely consistently while further extending her gap to the drivers behind. Palmowski held this position to the checkered flag, later promoted to 12th following Rehm’s disqualification, to complete an encouraging debut weekend in the Formula Winter Series.
Palmowski finished as the runner-up in the Female Trophy category in all three races at Portimao, while completing each race inside the overall top-15. Gaining a phenomenal 30 places from her starting positions across the three races, Alisha displayed her racecraft while showing good determination to overcome adversity in qualifying.
Palmowski’s next appearance in the Formula Winter Series is scheduled to come at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on the weekend of 15th/16th February.