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‘It’s a shame we couldn’t get a podium’ – Palmowski laments car changes in underwhelming Jeddah outing
Alisha Palmowski left Round 2 eager to move forward after the frustrating weekend saw her miss out on a double podium finish, although her strong points haul sealed her spot as the top rookie in the series so far.
After claiming a remarkable victory on her debut in Shanghai, the Red Bull Racing driver was set on replicating that success in Jeddah. P3 in Race 1 was an assured first step, but she was unable to improve on her Qualifying position of P4 in Race 2.
Nevertheless, Palmowski equalled her tally from Round 1, to establish herself as the current lead rookie, as she sits 11 points behind second-year driver and her Campos Racing teammate Chloe Chambers in the Standings.
Asked whether she was happy with how Race 2 panned out, the 18-year-old replied: “I don’t know whether I’d use the word happy! I think ‘solid’, it’s been a solid weekend, solid performance today, good points.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t get a podium in the end, it was just such a tricky race. We made a change to the car for today compared to yesterday and we didn’t quite get the balance exactly right, but it was just so close between the top three.
“I could see Doriane (Pin) was having snaps of oversteer in places similar to me so we both struggled a little bit compared to Chloe and Maya (Weug) who were obviously extremely fast. Difficult weekend but solid points, and I think I’ve made a step forward in terms of driving as well, so lots learned, lots to analyse ahead of Miami, but overall positive.”
It was a tense battle for all of the podium positions as the order was not decided until the chequered flag, when Chambers’ five-second penalty for forcing Weug off track was applied.
Palmowski confirmed that, at the point the penalty was announced, she was within five seconds of her teammate and was encouraged by her engineer to close the gap down.
“It was just a case of pushing as hard as you can, be as fast as you can, try and remain within that five seconds,” the Briton said. “We just lacked overall pace. Similar to Doriane, there was just nothing left to give.
“I was trying to do a Qualifying lap every lap but we just lacked a little bit overall. It’s a shame, but it is my teammate so I’m glad for Chloe that she managed to keep a podium in the end.”
Palmowski will have another chance to return to the top three next time out in Miami, where she is hopeful she can close the gap to her nearest rivals and continue building on her already impressive rookie season.
“The guys ahead of me are all second-year drivers so they have a lot more experience than I do,” she explained. “They know how to handle situations better, but overall it’s a good place to be in P4.
READ MORE: STANDOUT STARS: Who lit up the streets of Jeddah across Round 2?
“I think we can definitely be in the fight for the top three. I think I need to just keep learning, keep gaining confidence. Looking forward to Miami. No prior testing obviously, just the two Free Practice sessions so that will be a different dynamic for a lot of the rookies who have no experience around Miami.
“A lot of work next week in terms of preparation on the simulator at Red Bull to make sure we’re ready to go. The team (Campos) have got amazing data from last year from the likes of Chloe.
“I’m sure I’ll be able to learn from her. We’ll compare data, do a lot of sim work. It’s even more important than it normally is so I’m looking forward to the challenge. I think the less testing the better for me to be honest. One of my strengths is normally learning a track and getting to grips with it quite quickly.”