In just her second weekend in formula cars, young Italian Ginevra Panzeri showed speed in dry conditions to bounce back from 27th on the grid to finish in 17th place, claiming female trophy honours in the third Formula Winter Series race at Circuit de Barcelona.
AKM Motorsport driver Ginevra Panzeri enjoyed a superb weekend in the Formula Winter Series as she claimed female trophy honours in race three at Circuit de Barcelona. In just her second weekend in formula cars, the young Italian driver showed excellent speed in dry conditions to bounce back from misfortune in races one and two to end the event with a 17th place overall finish.
Panzeri became just the fourth different driver to secure the female trophy across the Formula Winter Series campaign and this underlined her significant progress to begin the 2025 season.
Panzeri made her single seater debut in the Formula Winter Series last time out at Motorland Aragon where she battled changeable conditions. It was a productive weekend for the young Italian racer who banked vital experience driving for AKM Motorsport. Panzeri achieved a best finish of 19th in race one, before twice finishing inside the top-25 in damp conditions, as she continued her adaptation to the Tatuus T-421 machine.
Now competing in the season finale at Circuit de Barcelona, Ginevra was eager to learn a new circuit while continuing her development. On-track action began on Thursday with a series of test sessions enabling the drivers to get up to speed. It was an extremely positive day for Panzeri who challenged the top-20 drivers, while setting a best lap of a 1:44.495 in session one.
On the second test day on Friday, there was further encouragement for Panzeri. In session one, she led the way amongst the female drivers which cutting her margin to the overall fastest time to less than two seconds. The AKM Motorsport driver also experienced some wet weather running at the end of the day in preparation for an uncertain weather forecast for the remainder of the weekend.
Friday’s wet practice sessions were beneficial on Saturday morning as both qualifying sessions were held in wet conditions. In session one, a number of red flag periods interrupted the rhythm of the drivers as they searched for grip. Nonetheless, it was an encouraging session for Panzeri whose quickest time was fast enough for 26th position, while her consistency resulted in her second fastest time placing her in 23rd.
The second qualifying session directly followed and although it was a challenging one for the AKM Motorsport driver, Panzeri continued to gain valuable experience. At the end of the fifteen-minute session, the young Italian driver had set the 27th fastest time and was looking to make progress in the three races across the weekend.
Conditions had improved for race one of the weekend with a dry track at Circuit de Barcelona. Therefore, all drivers fitted the slick tyres and despite Simon Schranz delaying the start following an incident on the warm-up lap, the race ran safety-car free. Panzeri made a clean start and held position on the opening lap, before battling Kornelia Olkucka for position.
Contact was made between Panzeri and Olkucka on lap two and this forced both drivers into the pits. Panzeri rejoined on the lead lap and although she was handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision, she was able to bank vital experience on her debut at the circuit. By lap six, Panzeri was up to 24th position following incidents for her rivals and her pace was comparable to those fighting for top-20 positions.
Although Maksimilian Popov overtook the AKM Motorsport driver on lap seven after he recovered from a separate incident, Panzeri maintained a consistent pace. Late-race retirements for both Thomas Bearman and Javier Herrera promoted Ginevra to 22nd and she was able to finish on the lead lap to complete a solid recovery in race one.
Race two of the weekend was held on Saturday morning with fully wet conditions at Circuit de Barcelona. Panzeri made a clean initial start from 27th on the grid before challenging Olkucka into the opening turns. Misfortune then struck as Ginevra spun off into the gravel on the first lap and was forced to retire from the race.
Looking to bounce back in race three, the AKM Motorsport driver lined up from 27th on the grid with conditions now fully dry. Gaining one position on the opening lap, Panzeri got into her rhythm in the early stages as she aimed to end her Formula Winter Series campaign on a high. On lap three, a recovering Fionn McLaughlin made his way ahead with Ginevra aiming to follow the Hitech TGR driver through the field.
On lap five, a fantastic double pass into turn one saw Panzeri overtake both Kornelia Olkucka and Teo Borenstein, while Payton Westcott also fell back with damage. Panzeri was now second in the female trophy classification and with rival Mathilda Paatz carrying front wing damage ahead, the AKM Motorsport driver seized her chance.
Overtaking Paatz on lap six, Ginevra now led the female trophy for the first time in her short Formula Winter Series career. Two laps later, incidents for Maxim Rehm and Andrija Kostic moved Panzeri into 21st as her lap times improved further. Following significant pressure applied to Simon Schranz, Panzeri passed her rival on lap nine as she entered the overall top-20.
The gap to the second-place female driver of Olkucka was now up to five seconds and this allowed Panzeri to focus forward on catching both Elia Weiss and Ludovico Busso. Panzeri’s pace during the middle portion of the race was superb as she consistently lapped on-pace with those inside the overall top-10. On lap 13, her middle sector was the second fastest of any driver as she managed her tyres well.
This speed enabled her to continue to make inroads on Weiss, while her margin to the top-10 drivers also continued to reduce. A late-race incident between McLaughlin and Aleksander Ruta enabled Panzeri to benefit and move into 18th and she held this position to the checkered flag, while claiming a sensational female trophy victory in just her second weekend of formula car racing. Her position was further improved by a penalty awarded to Javier Herrera and therefore also Panzeri secured a best overall finish of 17th.
It was an excellent recovery from the AKM Motorsport driver who thrived in the dry conditions to end the weekend on a high. By displaying top-10 pace in just her second weekend in the series, Panzeri underlined her significant potential despite her lack of experience. She will now be aiming to carry forward this momentum as she targets a full-season of formula car racing in 2025.
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