Alisha Palmowski keeps winning after the summer break with another victory at Zandvoort
The 2026 campaign crossed its halfway point at Circuit Zandvoort this weekend, but as far as Alisha Palmowski is concerned, little has changed since before the summer break. The British Campos Racing driver claimed her fourth victory of the season, doing so in her trademark fashion by dominating from start to finish. The Red Bull Racing Academy Programme driver further extended her advantage at the top of the standings and strengthened her title aspirations.
Megan Bruce, at the wheel of her TAG Heuer Tatuus, secured a valuable haul of points in the Netherlands and remains among the leading contenders in the championship. Rafaela Ferreira, meanwhile, saw her weekend compromised after qualifying, as had already happened at Silverstone. With overtaking particularly difficult at Zandvoort, the Visa Cash App RB Academy driver was forced to fight back throughout the weekend.
In Friday’s free practice, which provided the drivers with their first opportunity to get acquainted with the track, Ferreira was Campos Racing’s highest-placed driver, finishing second with a lap time of 1m38.840s. Palmowski and Bruce were further down the order as they continued working with their engineers on their respective set-ups.
However, the picture changed completely in Saturday’s qualifying session. High levels of moisture remaining on the track after overnight rain meant the drivers initially took to the circuit on wet-weather tyres. Conditions improved as the session progressed, but it was very easy to make a mistake. Two red flags were subsequently triggered, the second coming with five minutes remaining after an incident involving Ferreira, which left the Brazilian with no chance of improving her position.
The final stages were run on slick tyres, and Palmowski produced a sensational 1m40.911s lap, the only time to break the 1m41s barrier, leaving second-placed Alba Larsen almost eight tenths of a second behind. The British driver also collected the two additional points for pole position. Bruce stopped the clock at 1m43.683s to qualify eighth, while Ferreira was forced to start both races from the back of the grid.
Saturday’s race, run over 17 laps with a reversed grid, did not get off to an ideal start for the Campos Racing drivers. Palmowski was the biggest casualty, stalling as the lights went out and dropping to the back of the field. Bruce, who had lost two positions at the start, slipped further down the order at the restart following the first two laps behind the Safety Car. The British driver fought back, however, and established herself in seventh, a position she defended all the way to the chequered flag. Palmowski made several overtakes to climb to 12th at the finish, while Ferreira took the flag in 14th.
Sunday was the important day for Palmowski, with everything to play for. Starting from pole position, she kept Larsen at bay when the lights went out. Behind them, Bruce was running sixth, while Ferreira had already overtaken a couple of rivals. It quickly became clear that only Larsen could match Palmowski’s pace. The British driver was faster through the technical and twisty sections, while the Dane had the advantage on the straight thanks to a higher top speed.
Despite Larsen applying maximum pressure, Palmowski remained unflappable. After trading fastest laps during the first two-thirds of the race, the Campos Racing driver stepped up her attack. Having saved her tyres, she continued lapping in the 1m37s during the final stages, at a point when Larsen was beginning to fade. Palmowski set the fastest lap with five laps remaining and opened a gap of almost three seconds, which she maintained to the finish.
Bruce spent the entire race defending from Rachel Robertson and proved an impenetrable wall for her compatriot, eventually securing a valuable sixth-place finish. Ferreira crossed the line 15th.
Palmowski now has 136 points after adding the points for victory, pole position and fastest lap, giving her a 48-point advantage over Emma Felbermayr. Bruce is sixth with 49 points, while Ferreira is tenth with 27 points. In the Teams’ Championship, Campos Racing continues to hold a commanding lead with 212 points, 73 more than its closest rival.
The next F1 Academy round will kick off the championship’s American leg at Circuit of the Americas – COTA on 24 and 25 October. Unlike most other meetings, and similarly to Montreal, the event will feature three races, giving it a significant bearing on the outcome of the championship.
Alisha Palmowski (Campos Racing Driver in F1 Academy): “I knew how difficult it is to overtake around Zandvoort, so my goal was to be consistent, make no mistakes and give Alba no opportunity. I also knew I needed to save tyres during the first part of the race so I could attack towards the end. It was tactical, and I think it worked really well. I’m in a privileged position in the championship, but that doesn’t change my approach. I’ll take Austin race by race, focus on qualifying and do the best job.”
Photos: Getty Images
