F1 Academy’s Alisha Palmowski on the 2026 season and racing at Silverstone on British Grand Prix weekend
30 April 2026After a successful debut round in F1 Academy as a wildcard entry at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix round, Alisha Palmowski was called up to make her full-time debut in the series for the 2025 season.
Another young British racing driver on the grid in the all-female series, Alisha finished fifth in race one in Qatar, qualifying in P4 for the second race which was ultimately cancelled as a result of extensive damage to the barriers. Regardless, Alisha’s strong performance in Qatar helped to secure her a full-time seat for the 2025 season with Campos Racing, supported by Red Bull Racing.
With F1 Academy gearing up to make its debut on British soil this July, Silverstone caught up with Alisha to discuss her 2025 season, how she has grown to become a better racing driver and her excitement ahead of racing in front of a home crowd at the 2026 Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix.
When Alisha joined the GB4 Championship back in 2024, her ambition ever since starting in the series was to try and secure a full-time seat in F1 Academy. The dream scenario, however, was not only to secure a full-time seat, but to do that with the support of a Formula 1 team.
She has been racing with Campos Racing since she made her full-time debut, with the support of six-time F1 Constructors’ Champions Red Bull Racing.
“It was an incredible feeling for me to secure the seat in F1 Academy,” Alisha says. “To have not only achieved that, but achieved it with the support of a World Championship winning team in Red Bull Racing, it really was a dream come true.”
Gaining her full-time F1 Academy seat lifted a lot of weight from Alisha’s shoulders because she and her family put a lot of risk into her GB4 Championship campaign in 2024. After becoming Vice Champion in the category, not only did this success help her secure a seat, but her performance as a wildcard entry at the Qatar round of the 2024 F1 Academy season gave Alisha the opportunity to showcase what she was capable of doing on a global stage.
“Having those solid results put me on Red Bull’s radar, which led to me securing the seat,” Alisha explains. “I still pinch myself now, thinking about the opportunity that I have.”
As she went into her debut season in F1 Academy last year, Alisha knew her 2025 campaign was going to be a huge learning curve.
“There were so many things that were new to me,” she says. “So many things I to adapt to: a new car, new environment, new group of people and new circuits.
“I was fully aware of that learning curve I needed to overcome, but equally, I just wanted to win last year. That was always my goal.”
A naturally competitive person, Alisha has no interest in finishing in any position other than first. Whilst she had an overarching goal of winning as much as possible, Alisha also found herself developing not only as a racing driver, but also as a person.
“That was also one of my goals, while trying to achieve good results,” she says. “Although it wasn’t exactly what I wanted in terms of the ultimate outcome in the championship, it was a very successful year in terms of my development as a driver and as a person.”
It didn’t take Alisha long to showcase her on-track talent in F1 Academy. At the first round in Shanghai, Alisha took her maiden victory, fending off the pressure on her shoulders which she felt going in to that first race weekend.
“It came as quite a shock to me to win the opening round of the championship,” she says. “There was a lot of pressure and nerves in that first race weekend and Shanghai isn’t a circuit that really comes naturally to me.
“Winning was a huge confidence boost for me, especially since I kickstarted the year with such a great result.”
However, despite such a strong result on her full-time debut, Alisha didn’t let her success cloud her vision. Whilst always being a level-headed driver, she always goes back to how long a motorsport season is and reminds herself that racing is unpredictable, with results swinging back and forth in her favour at any time. This is one of the reminders Alisha has brought into the 2026 season with her.
“Going into 2026, there were a lot less unknowns,” she explains. “I felt a lot more prepared, calmer and more confident.
“This season, I’m not trying to prove myself to anybody.”
Not only does Alisha know herself better as a driver and a person after 2026, but her team at Campos and Red Bull, and her competitors, know her better.
“We often talk about how much I learnt last year from a driver perspective and how much I learnt technically in terms of driving the car, tyre management and all these different elements,” Alisha says. “But equally, I learnt so much about myself as a person and how to extract the best performance from myself. I know what environment I thrive in and what triggers stress, and all these factors help me extract a better race weekend.”
This year, Alisha’s goal is the same as last year: to become F1 Academy champion.
However, she is in a much better position to achieve that this year compared to 2025.
Alisha is focusing more on herself and what she can do as a driver, instead of focusing on her competitors and what they are doing in each session or on track. Her full focus and control is on what she can do; the moves she can pull off and the decisions she can make to propel her to the championship lead.
“This year, winning the championship is a much more realistic, achievable goal,” she says. “I’ve worked on my mental space going into this year because there’s both less pressure, since it’s my second year, but also a lot of pressure because it’s hopefully my championship-winning year.
“There’s a lot at stake but I’m focused on taking it race by race because it’s never over until it’s really over and now, after last year, I really understand the importance of consistency.”
As well as dedicating her time to preparing herself mentally and physically as a driver, Alisha also has the support of Red Bull Racing, which has been unparalleled during her partnership with the team so far. Not only does she have support in making her a better driver through simulator time and being able to work with the individuals who have driven the team to their multiple World Championships, but she has support with her fitness, nutrition and media. Anything Alisha needs, she can go to someone at Red Bull for.
“Everyone at Red Bull has helped me gain self-awareness and how to extract more from myself, how to operate on a race weekend and where I should shift my energy and focus to,” Alisha explains. “Being with Red Bull in the last twelve to eighteen months, I’ve definitely learned more than in the last decade of my whole career.
“It’s an invaluable opportunity that I have and a huge confidence booster, to have such an amazing Formula 1 team but their belief and trust into me.”
This year’s F1 Academy calendar spans three continents, with races in Asia, Europe and North America. For drivers like Alisha, she was a Formula 1 fan first, which makes the opportunity she has – to travel the world living her dream and racing on the same circuits as the best racing drivers in the world – even more special.
The 2026 season sees F1 Academy make its debut at the home of British motorsport across the iconic British Grand Prix weekend, and Alisha is one of five full-timeBritish drivers on the grid this year.
“My passion for motorsport was unlocked at Silverstone, at the British Grand Prix,” Alisha explains. “So words cannot describe how excited I am.”
Alisha remembers being at Silverstone in 2015 for the first time, at the first ever motorsport event she attended: the British Grand Prix.
“My dad and I were queuing with our deck chairs so that we could get to the front row for the best view of the cars,” she says. “Now, to be on the other side of that fence and racing on the circuit on that same race weekend, I’m just pinching myself.
“I’ve got some family coming to the race as well and they haven’t seen me race before, so for their first experience to see me race as a support series for F1, going out on track straight before they’re out, it’s an incredible feeling.”
F1 Academy’s first visit to Silverstone will introduce more girls and young women to the possibility of becoming a racing driver, something Alisha never got to experience when she first visited the circuit over a decade ago. However, she now has the opportunity to be the role model she never had.
“Hopefully we can inspire them to realise that there’s no reason they can’t be in motorsport,” she says. “It’s a privilege to be involved in the series and I’m loving every second of it.
“Whilst F1 Academy isn’t my end goal and is very much a stepping stone on my journey, I probably wouldn’t be racing a single seater right now without the series. It’s given me a chance to showcase just exactly what I can do.”
With the goal of becoming F1 Academy champion this year at the top of Alisha’s list, and an important step in helping her continue her journey as a racing driver, Alisha hopes that one day she can reach Formula 1.
However, her focus right now is on exactly where she’s at, and that’s F1 Academy.
“Motorsport is a results-based business, and I have to perform to be given the next opportunity,” she says. “Therefore, I’m very much focused on what I’m doing right now, which is to hopefully win F1 Academy.
“I need to do that for my career, and then hopefully, I’ll be given the opportunity next year to make the step up. From there, I try to win the next thing and get as far as I possibly can.”
With British Grand Prix race weekend only two months away, F1 Academy is drawing closer to making its long-awaited debut at the home of British motorsport, with several racing drivers like Alisha preparing to race at their home circuit as a Formula 1 support series.
Get ready for the British Grand Prix by reading Silverstone’s ultimate guide to F1 Academy and checking out the British talent to watch out for in F1 Academy this season.
