F1 ACADEMY: Weug beats Palmowski to pole position in incident-filled Zandvoort Qualifying

Ferrari driver Maya Weug returned to the top of the timesheets in Zandvoort as she secured pole position in a remarkably competitive and eventful F1 ACADEMY Qualifying session.

Weug triumphed in the ever-changing conditions to finish just 0.039s ahead of Red Bull’s Alisha Palmowski, who came within touching distance of claiming her first pole. McLaren driver Ella Lloyd was the next to narrowly miss out as she rounded out the top three around the Dutch circuit.

Earlier rainfall had left the track damp, but the clear skies indicated that the drivers’ decision to start on wet tyres wouldn’t last for too long. With lap times initially 10 seconds adrift of those recorded in practice, Aiva Anagnostiadis was the first to fall victim to the challenging conditions as she skidded into the gravel after making contact with her Hitech TGR team mate Nicole Havrda.

Once Anagnostiadis’ car was recovered, the surface rapidly dried out and Williams’ Lia Block was the first to make the gamble of switching onto slick tyres, but it would take a while before she saw any drastic improvement.

As the transition away from wet tyres continued, plenty of drivers took time to get used to the slippery track, with many taking the escape road at Turn 1 while others tapped the barriers and locked up. This came to a head with the session’s second red flag, caused by Aurelia Nobels driving wide and beaching her car in the gravel.

With just a handful of minutes remaining, it was impossible to predict who would finish in pole position as the times tumbled dramatically, but it was ultimately Weug whose final effort of 1m 38.834s was enough to seal the top spot.

Behind Palmowski and Lloyd, three-time polesitter Chloe Chambers was fourth, with Mercedes’ Doriane Pin in P5. Block ended in sixth position ahead of Aston Martin’s Tina Hausmann, and Nina Gademan will start on reverse pole position in Race 1 for Alpine after taking P8 – this will get underway at 1705 local time.

You can read an in-depth report of the F1 ACADEMY Qualifying in Zandvoort and catch up on any reactions on the official website.