As Formula One arrives in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, F1 Academy will make its return for the first time in more than a month. The drivers will have three races at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, giving them plenty of opportunities to make their mark.
When they do take to the track, Alisha Palmowski will stand out.
Palmowski, a Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy driver, is one of the up-and-coming stars of the all-women’s racing series. In her first full season in the Academy, the 18-year-old Brit ranks fourth in the standings and has shown plenty of early promise, highlighted by a win in the opening race of the campaign in Shanghai.
In Canada, Palmowski will have a car design that matches her rapid rise in single-seat racing. In conjunction with sponsor 1Password, Red Bull collaborated with Canadian artist Kirsten McCrea to design a one-of-a-kind livery for this weekend’s races. Features of the car include nods to Canada and Quebec, as well as design elements that champion the advancement and ambition of women in motorsports, culminating in a powerful symbol for Palmowski to drive.
“I think that in both F1 Academy and the Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy Programme, what we have found is that commitment to breaking down barriers in motorsport for them, and in technology, for us,” Jeannie de Guzman, chief operating officer at 1Password, says. “There’s just so much alignment between the two of us… And then when you double click into kind of that deep meaning of what the design means, it just all totally makes sense. It was just the perfect way to bring everything together and to show the world like ‘Hey, this is our joint declaration of female excellence.’ Alisha belongs on the track. Ambition belongs on the track.”
Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Palmowski spoke with Sports Illustrated about how racing led her to the F1 Academy, as well as her thoughts on the meaning behind the livery and the outlook for this weekend’s races.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Sports Illustrated: I want to start by taking things all the way back to your start in racing. I know it’s in your blood with your grandfather and then it became a family affair. For you, how did it become something that went from being a part of your family’s life to wanting to actually get into the car and race?
Alisha Palmowski: I’ve always grown up with the influence of motorsport around me. I’ve been the biggest Formula One fan for as long as I can remember. I attended a lot of British Grands Prix as well in my upbringing, so I was just a huge motorsport fan. But I never actually realized that motorsport was a potential career avenue that I could pursue, to be honest. Probably due to the lack of female representation in general in Formula One, not just from a driving front, but a lack of female engineers, mechanics, it just seemed like a lack.
So it was by fluke that I actually got involved. It was the six-week holiday from school and I was staying up in the north of England with my grandparents and they just thought it was a fun activity to do. They’d take me to my local indoor karting track, just for a 20-minute session, just as a bit of fun. And it very much started off as a hobby, something to do with the weekends with my parents. But after we went back weekend after weekend, I started gaining more and more confidence, started winning races, getting quick and enjoying it as well, enjoying the journey. And it’s now, obviously, transitioned into a lifestyle. I got my own go-kart, raced in the national championship around the U.K., in the Daniel Ricciardo series actually, backed by Daniel himself. So it’s been an amazing journey so far.
SI: I have to imagine, there’s certain milestones as you move forward and I have to think one of them was getting recognition from somewhere as established as Red Bull Racing. How did that relationship start and how did you feel when it began to come about?
AP: Well, it’s a dream come true, honestly, to be racing with the Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy program this year. It was only my first year in single-seaters last year. I race in the GB4 championship in the U.K. and my whole philosophy behind joining that championship was with the aspirations to join F1 Academy, ideally with the supports and backing of a Formula One team, because having that opportunity to work with an F1 team, see how they operate within the pinnacle of the sport, it’s obviously an unequaled opportunity. It’s the best chance that you can get from a driver development perspective for my career as well.
When we started getting in touch with Red Bull, I went through the selection process last year to try and secure a seat. It’s very nerve racking because I’m aware of the scale of the opportunity that I’ve been given now. But what a huge chance. It’s honestly a dream come true. I’m still pinching myself to this day and I’ve been with them for six, seven months now.
SI: When it comes to racing at the highest levels of single-seat racing, sponsors obviously have a big effect on whether or not you’re able to continue going forward in the sport. How much do you allow yourself to think past your current situation about the future?
AP: Yeah, I mean it’s an expensive sport, absolutely. I should have picked golf or tennis or something… It’s always a challenge. But the support we have this year from Red Bull and all the partners is incredible. Also some personal partners that I have are extremely helpful and the only reason that I am here. I’ve got an extremely supportive family as well. My parents, they’ve been to every race that I’ve ever competed in for the last 10 years.
In terms of aspirations for the future, I’m reaching for the stars to be honest. I’d love to be, in an ideal world, the first female F1 driver, as I’m sure every other young female would love to be. But equally being realistic, I just like to take my motorsport career one year at a time because I’m aware it’s very much a results-based business and I need to deliver, perform and impress every year in order to be given opportunities in the future.
SI: What have you made of the start of your first full-time season in F1 Academy?
AP: It’s been a solid year so far. I always approach the year with a mentality of the first few rounds were always going to be a huge learning curve, just getting used to not only the car, but all the new circuits, working with a new team this year in Campos, new people around me. There’s a lot of pressure. We’re under the limelight a lot more racing on the global stage as a support series to F1, so there’s a lot more eyes on us. So just naturally getting in sort of used to the whole environment and getting more experience under my belt.
SI: Did the win in your opening race feel like a culmination of your past experience and help you feel like you belonged in this spot?
AP: Absolutely. I really race to win. I’ve got no interest in finishing second, third, fifth, seventh. I’ve got a real winning mentality and that’s what makes me happy. That’s why I turn up to race weekends. So to start the year off in that way was obviously a dream start. A bit of a shock as well, to be honest. I didn’t expect the bar that high for what else I want to achieve this year.
SI: I do want to talk about where you’re going from here with F1 Academy, starting with the Canadian Grand Prix. But first, I want to ask about the special livery; what was it like seeing that come together?
AP: I’m super excited to be driving with this new special livery in Montreal. Firstly, it’s incredible to see the support from Red Bull and 1Password in designing a bespoke livery, specifically for F1 Academy because that’s the first time that’s happened. And I think that really shows their sort of commitment and belief in the series… The livery itself is extremely bold. It’s got loads of bright vibrant colors, which I absolutely love. The red stripes as well on the rear of the car, I think that really represents a sort of ripple effect of how F1 Academy is inspiring the future generations and hopefully shaping the future of F1 for years to come.
SI: The collaboration is focused on championing women in different industries and designed by a woman artist. Why was that so important for you to have that partnership?
AP: I think it’s an amazing collaboration and it’s an incredible thing to see. I think it’s a real celebration of female excellence and talent within sport, design and technology. Partners like 1Password, they’re extremely important in creating opportunities and real chances for young emerging talent, whether that be for racers, engineers, women in tech, or in sport, all these different aspects. I think the livery being so vibrant with really bright colors fits with the vibe of F1 Academy as well. It’s quite a modern progressive series, with the audience generally quite young. So I think the livery really matches that. I think it’s incredible and I’m really honored that I’m the one that gets to drive the car.
SI: How are you feeling about your performance ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix?
AP: I’m really excited. It’s the first time this year that all of the drivers are entering the race weekend on an equal footing, because last season, Montreal wasn’t on the calendar. It’s a completely new circuit for all of the drivers and all of the teams, so the second-year drivers don’t have an advantage in the sense that they know the circuit. So being a rookie, I think it really gives me an opportunity to obviously try and maximize the points and try to really close in on the championship. The first race in Montreal, I’ll be starting from the front row in second, with my teammate Chloe [Chambers] in first… I’m sure there will be some rain in there at some point as well, I wouldn’t be surprised in Montreal. So who knows? It could spice up the weekend a little bit. We’ll see, but I’m super excited.
More on Red Bull Racing’s and 1Password’s custom F1 Academy livery for the Canadian Grand Prix can be found here.
More Racing on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alisha Palmowski Q&A: Rise to Red Bull’s F1 Academy Team, Canadian Grand Prix Livery.
