Alisha Palmowski to drive for Red Bull Racing in 2025

Alisha Palmowski has become the eighth driver locked in for the 2025 F1 ACADEMY campaign, with the Briton joining the Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy Programme for next season.

The 18-year-old will be driving for Campos Racing alongside Red Bull Ford’s Chloe Chambers and RB’s Rafaela Ferreira, who are all part of the Red Bull Academy Programme.

Palmowski has already had her first taste F1 ACADEMY, competing as the Wild Card entry for Round 6 in Lusail, Qatar. A promising weekend saw her qualify sixth and fourth, before going on to score a P5 finish in Race 1.

Starting her career in karting back in 2018, she achieved the Junior Vice Champion title in the Daniel Ricciardo Series in 2020 and 2021. Stepping up to cars in 2022, the following year saw her finish fifth in the Ginetta Junior Championship with 10 podiums.

Selected as a BRDC Rising Star this year, Palmowski brought home more success in her first year in single-seaters, becoming the Vice Champion in the GB4 Championship with three wins, two pole positions and 11 podiums — the most in the field.

Speaking about her 2025 plans, Palmowski said: “I am incredibly excited and honoured to be joining the Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Programme in F1 ACADEMY for 2025. Oracle Red Bull Racing is one of the best teams on the grid, and to see the talent they have brought through the doors and to get to be a part of that next generation is something that I could never have imagined.

“The Team has been incredibly supportive so far, and I can’t wait to get fully underway with them in 2025 with the ultimate goal of winning the championship. I have already been working in the sim and with the Team to get a jumpstart on next year and have full focus on performing and delivering results.”

Red Bull Academy Programme Manager, Sarah Harrington, added: “Alisha impressed us from the start and has already proved herself on the F1 ACADEMY grid as a Wild Card entrant in Qatar. We are very excited to welcome her to the Red Bull Academy Programme for 2025, and she is a great addition to complete our line-up as we look to next season. We’ve taken a lot of key learnings from our first year in F1 ACADEMY and are looking forward to building and pushing harder with a fresh challenge.”

The Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy Programme also took the opportunity to thank Hamda Al Qubaisi for her hard work and dedication over the 2024 season, with the Emirati driver departing the series following her two-season campaign.