Susie Wolff, Managing Director of F1 Academy talks on track guests on the grid during F1 Academy’s debut at Silverstone
Anni Graf – Formula 1/Getty Images
One Brit, Ayisha Palmowski, triumphed for Red Bull, extending her leadership at the top of the F1 Academy standings. ‘It means the absolute world, to be honest,’ she told Tatler following her victory, presented by the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, Malala Yousafzai. ‘I think if there’s any race this season that I wanted to win, it really was here today,’ she said. Her mum, who hadn’t been able to attend any races this season, was there to support. ‘It was super special to be on the historic Silverstone podium as well, I’ve watched this podium for many, many years.’ Alisha’s first visit to Silverstone was at the age of eight. As for racing, which she took up shortly after that first trip: ‘I got instantly hooked. The adrenaline, the sense of freedom, the sounds, the smells, everything. I just loved it.’
Audi Revolut’s Felbermayr, who heralds from a motorsport dynasty, (her family own the Felbermayr construction and transport company) has been racing since she was seven. She claimed third, which moves her up to a spectacular second in the championship. ‘My mum was here, my dad is racing himself with my brother this weekend,’ she smiled. ‘It’s in my blood.’ Emma’s boyfriend is even the 2018 European Karting Champion Hannes Janker. Allan McNish, Audi’s Scottish racing director, a three-time winner of Le Mans, was cheering Emma all the way around the track from Audi’s motorhome. Later she watched fellow Audi Revolut drivers Gabriel Bortoleto (who finished 8th) and Nico Hulkenberg in their Grand Prix.