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Who is Red Bull Racing's Alisha Palmowski?
F1 Academy driver Alisha Palmowski is rapidly becoming one of motorsport’s brightest young stars after a stunning wet-weather masterclass in Montreal.
Backed by Red Bull Racing and rising rapidly through the junior ranks, Alisha Palmowski is emerging as one of the most exciting prospects in female motorsport. But who exactly is the British teenager, and how did a self-described “normal girl from Manchester” become one of racing’s names to watch?
01
Palmowski’s shining moment at Montreal
Alisha Palmowski – jubilant after winning at Montreal
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Montreal, May 2026: On a soaked and slippery Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, F1 Academy driver Alisha Palmowski delivered the kind of performance that instantly changes how a paddock views a young driver.
Starting from pole in the Feature Race, Palmowski controlled the race from lights to flag in treacherous wet conditions, stretching her lead lap after lap while others fought simply to keep their cars on the road. By the time the chequered flag fell, Palmowski had won by a record-breaking 10.9 seconds – beating the benchmark she herself had already set earlier that same weekend.
Montreal was not her first victory of the season, but it felt like an arrival moment. Wet-weather racing has long been viewed as one of the clearest indicators of raw driver talent, and Palmowski looked entirely at home. Fans on social media compared her relentless pace to Max Verstappen, jokingly dubbing her ‘Alisha Palstappen’.
02
Who is the rising Red Bull Racing talent?
Alisha Palmowski is a driver to watch at F1 Academy
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Competing as part of the Red Bull Racing programme in F1 Academy, Palmowski represents one of the brightest prospects in the female driver pipeline. The all-female series, spearheaded by Susie Wolff, was designed to accelerate women toward higher levels of motorsport by giving young drivers better visibility, funding and development opportunities. Palmowski has embraced that pathway quickly.
The 19-year-old races with Campos Racing under Red Bull colours, and her trajectory over the past few years has been steep. Before stepping into single-seaters, she built her reputation in karting and junior GT racing, eventually finishing runner-up in the 2024 GB4 Championship with three wins and 11 podiums.
03
How did Palmowski get started in F1?
Palmowski's performance brought her the win in Montreal
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Palmowski grew up in Glossop, near Manchester in the UK, in a family where motorsport was always present in the background. Her great-grandfather, Mario Palmowski, raced BriSCA F1 Stock Cars, while her father and grandfather both loved racing and worked in the motor trade.
“I feel like I’ve had racing in my blood since I was born,” she told Goodwood Road & Racing. “Coming from my great-granddad and that racing link. That’s where it all really stems from for me.”
But unlike many modern racing drivers, Palmowski did not arrive with huge financial backing or a family racing empire behind her. In interviews, she has repeatedly described herself as “just a normal girl from Manchester.”
The hard work is paying off for Palmowski
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
I feel like I’ve had racing in my blood since I was born
The pivotal moment came in 2015 during a school holiday outing with her grandparents. Palmowski went indoor karting for the first time – even though she didn’t even know what a go-kart was at the time. “As soon as I sat in the kart, I knew I felt at home. It was what I wanted to do,” she told Goodwood Road & Racing.
From there, the obsession escalated quickly. She raced in local karting championships before moving into the Daniel Ricciardo Series, where she twice finished runner-up in the UK standings – in 2020 and 2021.
Palmowski greets fans in Montreal
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
One of the biggest turning points arrived in 2022 when Palmowski won the prestigious Ginetta Junior Scholarship, becoming only the second female driver after fellow Brit Jamie Chadwick to claim the prize. That scholarship effectively opened the door to car racing. “Winning the scholarship is my career highlight and it always will be, no matter what I go on to achieve, because without winning the scholarship, I wouldn’t be in single seaters now,” she said in an interview with Silverstone.
04
Who is Alisha Palmowski off the grid?
Keeping fit is Palmowski's main off-track activity
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Interviews and public speaking are part of the job of a racing driver
© Wei Huang / Red Bull Content Pool
Away from the track, Palmowski comes across as fun-loving and grounded, while also being hard-working and self-disciplined. Her social media feeds – you’ll find her on Instagram and Facebook – show her mixing race weekends with snapshots of normal teenage life: gym sessions, travel days, coffee stops, family moments and downtime with friends.
Fitness is a major focus. Like most modern junior drivers, Palmowski spends much of her time training, particularly on the neck strength and endurance work needed for single-seater racing. But she has also spoken about enjoying quieter moments away from the circuit after the intensity of race weekends.
05
What does the future hold?
The cockpit is home for Alisha Palmowski
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As for the future, Palmowski has never hidden her ambition. “Every young driver will say that they’d love to be in Formula One, as would I, and that is the end goal,” she told Goodwood. “I’d love to be champion. I do believe it can happen.”
In the short term, though, her focus is simpler: winning races, developing consistency and fighting for the F1 Academy title. After Montreal, her championship credentials look stronger than ever. Dominating in wet conditions, handling pressure from pole and delivering record-breaking margins are exactly the kind of indicators that Formula One teams notice.
