F1 Academy: Alisha Palmowski tops opening practice in Zandvoort
- RACERS
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Alisha Palmowski led the opening practice session of the F1 Academy Dutch round, edging Maya Weug and Chloe Chambers in a session marked by rapidly improving track conditions in the final minutes before a red flag interruption.
After topping the final day of testing at Zandvoort last month, Campos Racing’s Alisha Palmowski picked up where she left off and led the opening practice session of the F1 Academy Dutch round, edging Maya Weug and Chloe Chambers in a session marked by rapidly improving track conditions in the final minutes before a red flag interruption.
The all-female championship returned to action 75 days after its last race in Montreal, following a long summer pause in the calendar that saw several drivers take on partial campaigns in other regional F4 series to stay race-ready. A two-day collective test on 22–23 July at Zandvoort had already highlighted Palmowski and home hero Weug as the fastest drivers at the Dutch venue, which hosts the only European leg of the 2025 F1 Academy season.
To prepare, five full-time F1 Academy drivers entered the British F4 round at the same circuit earlier this month. That event also featured Esmee Kosterman, later selected as the Dutch round’s wild card entry, driving the #86 car operated by Hitech and supported by TeamViewer.
Two practice sessions are scheduled at Zandvoort, the first running for 40 minutes in the morning. The track was dry after heavy rain on Thursday, but still very green and dusty from the nearby beach.
After taking three podiums in the previous round in Canada, McLaren’s Ella Lloyd was the first driver to set a representative time around the tight, twisty, and technical circuit, clocking a 1:43.892 despite traffic.
Times quickly dropped: Kosterman briefly went to the top with a 1:40.316, before Felbermayr, Lloyd, and Chong all dipped under the 1:41 mark. Chloe Chong, one of the drivers who had competed in the British F4 round and who was also strong in Canada last time out, then led the timesheets with a 1:39.229 at halfway, while Kosterman improved to a 1:39.9 – before a quick spin at Turn 11. She rejoined without damage.
At that stage, the Prema, MP Motorsport, and Campos Racing teams were holding their cars in the pits, saving tyres as the track continued to evolve.
Aurelia Nobels and Lloyd also broke into the 1:39s, but Charlotte Tilbury-supported Chloe Chong remained on top. Nicole Havrda had a spin at Turn 11 in the still-dusty conditions, narrowly avoided by Lloyd who was following close behind.
Chong improved further with a purple sector, lowering the benchmark to 1:39.065 – just two-hundredths ahead of Chambers and Palmowski as the Red Bull-supported Campos drivers began their timed laps. Both improved across all sectors and became the first to dip below the 1:39 barrier, with Palmowski recording a 1:38.196.
Championship contender Maya Weug went fourth fastest before being edged by her MP teammate Alba Larsen, as Doriane Pin and Lia Block also set their first representative laps with 12 minutes remaining.
Weug then improved to 1:38.8 to climb to third, still half a second adrift of the Campos cars of Palmowski and Chambers. With a new fastest second sector, the Ferrari driver nearly matched Palmowski’s benchmark and took second, while Chambers was on course for a new personal best – before the red flag was waved when Joanne Ciconte made contact with the barriers after running through the grass with six minutes to go.
With the clock not stopping under red flag conditions, the session was not resumed. Palmowski therefore retained the top spot in FP1, just 0.005 seconds clear of Weug and two-tenths ahead of teammate Chambers.
Doriane Pin was fourth, with Chloe Chong showing strong pace throughout in fifth. Alba Larsen followed in sixth, ahead of home racer Nina Gademan – who had made her F1 Academy debut at Zandvoort last year as a wild card. Lia Block, Rafaela Ferreira, and Tina Hausmann rounded out the top ten.
Despite her off-track moment, Ciconte had a promising session in 11th, ahead of Aurelia Nobels and Ella Lloyd, who was unable to improve in the final stages. Kosterman and Emma Felbermayr followed, while Courtney Crone, Nicole Havrda, and Aiva Anagnostiadis closed the timesheets, around two seconds off.
The drivers will return for a second practice session at 17:30 local time.