F1 Academy: Palmowski and Lloyd fastest in Jeddah tests
The drivers completed two days of intensive testing in Jeddah, with Alisha Palmowski dominating by setting the fastest combined time, but Maya Weug and Ella Lloyd were on cue in a day disrupted by multiple red flags.
Ella Lloyd made a remarkable entrance at the Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, placing at the top of the standings during the first day of testing. The McLaren driver was able to make the most of the conditions to set the fastest time and show a promising pace ahead of the second round of the season.
Doriane Pin also took the lead, achieving a time of 2:06.543, placing her just ahead of Maya Weug by a minimal margin of only 0.049 seconds. The battle for the top 3 quickly intensified, with Alisha Palmowski and Chloe Chambers joining the fray. Lloyd, meanwhile, was getting accustomed to a circuit she was discovering.
The second session took place in cooler conditions conducive to improving times. Palmowski briefly took the lead before Lloyd clocked an impressive 2.05’912″, propelling her to first position.
A red flag, caused by Alba Larsen’s stoppage on track at turn 2, disrupted the drivers’ rhythm but didn’t stop Lloyd’s momentum. Ultimately, with a time of 2.05’367”, achieved in the final minutes of the session, the McLaren driver confirmed her domination. This time allowed her to surpass Tina Hausmann, who rose to second place with only a 0.033-second delay.
Renewed confidence for Lloyd
Satisfied with her performance, Ella Lloyd expressed her excitement about her adaptation to the Jeddah circuit and the improvement of her car. “I find the circuit quite good,” she stated. “It suits my driving style much better than in Shanghai. The car is clearly in a better position than in Shanghai.”
She added: « I settled for that. I learned the circuit this morning, and it went pretty well. Then I attacked this afternoon with the new tires. I had a good lap, but I still obviously have a lot of time to gain. »
Second day
Alisha Palmowski once again demonstrated her talent by dominating part of the second day of testing in Jeddah. The Red Bull driver confirmed her potential by setting the fastest combined time of the two sessions, although Maya Weug fought back by taking the top spot during the night session.
Palmowski struck hard from the start of the day, clocking a time of 2:05.040 and beating Maya Weug by 0.041 seconds.
If the competition on the track was intense, the day was also marked by several red flags.
A first delay occurred after Rafaela Ferreira went off track and hit the barriers at turn 9. The session then resumed.
In the last 35 minutes, two more red flags disrupted the session. First, Palmowski hit the barrier and came to a stop on the track. Then, Lloyd, in an attempt to avoid Palmowski’s crashed car, was also involved in the incident, causing another interruption.
In addition to the complexity of the track, the drivers had to perform under intense heat and sandy winds. Temperatures exceeded 35°C in the air during the first session. Tomorrow will be the last practice session before meeting the girls for the Jeddah Grand Prix in 2 weeks.
