This weekend, Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy Programme F1 Academy driver Alisha Palmowski will launch off the start line behind the wheel of a car boasting a gorgeous bespoke livery designed by Canadian muralist Kirstin McCrea — the first time a special weekend livery will be solely used in the series.

To celebrate the occasion, PlanetF1.com spoke with 18-year-old Palmowski about the importance of championing women across all disciplines and how F1 Academy is poised to change the world.

F1 Academy star Alisha Palmowski boasts bold bespoke livery for Canadian weekend

For the first time in F1 Academy history, one driver will boast a bespoke livery designed to touch on the heart of the female excellence across disciplines — in this case, between the worlds of art and motorsport.

Eighteen-year-old racer Alisha Palmowski is the driver behind the wheel of the custom car designed by Canadian muralist Kirsten McCrea, whose art can be found imbuing life into city streets and prominent buildings all across Canada. This is the first time McCrea has used a race car as her canvas, and she made a point of imbuing it with local heritage.

“I’m super excited to be driving with a new livery this weekend,” Palmowski told PlanetF1.com in a chat before her three-race weekend.

“Firstly, it’s just amazing to see the support from the Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy Programme and 1Password in creating a bespoke livery specifically for F1 Academy, because it’s the first time that’s happened, and I think it really shows their commitment and belief behind females in motorsport and celebrating female excellence and talent in sport, design, and technology.”

For her color palette, McCrea has adopted two tones reminiscent of the region: red to represent Canada, with a bold blue signifying the province of Quebec. But that’s only the beginning.

Wrapping around the nose and sidepods of the Formula 4 machine is a light blue backdrop dotted by a bold yellow pattern designed to reflect a stylized version of the dandelion seed intended to mimic the Expo 67 logo — an event that led to the creation of the Ile Notre Dame, which hosts F1’s annual Canadian Grand Prix.

Those seeds are fluttering around the cockpit, signifying both motion and, for many, the childhood act of making a wish on a dandelion plucked from the yard.

Emanating out from behind the driver are bold red ripples signifying progress and innovation — illustrating how the drive of one woman can radiate inspiration in her wake.

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Palmowski, too, is delighted by what she’s seen.

“It’s a really bold design — lots of bright, vibrant colors, which I love,” Palmowski told PlanetF1.com. “I’m really privileged that I’m the one that gets to sit behind the wheel and drive it this weekend.

“I’m hoping it’ll make me a bit faster, too!”

Though she’s just broaching her first year of competition in F1 Academy, Alisha Palmowski grew up on a steady diet of motorsport — but it took her several years to realize that she, too, could have a career in this sport she loved.

“I think I’ve always been a huge motorsport fan,” she said. “Always had the F1 on the TV; I was fortunate enough to go to the British Grand Prix a few times growing up.

“But I genuinely just never realized that I could be involved in the sport, let alone as a driver. I never considered that it was a potential career path.”

She pointed to a lack of female visibility as being the root of that experience: “You’ve got to see it in order to believe it.”

The last woman to take part in an F1 weekend was none other than F1 Academy director Susie Wolff, who participated in a practice session at the 2014 British Grand Prix — the first time a woman had done so in 22 years. Young Alisha Palmowski would have been just eight years old at the time.

F1 Academy was established to begin correcting the biases that have existed in the sport for generations. And even though she’s only been part of the program for a few months, Palmowski has noticed its impact.

“It’s providing loads of role models for the next generation,” Palmowski told PlanetF1.com.

“The amount of messages I’ve had from young females online, on social media, but also in person at the race track, has been incredible — saying that I’ve inspired them, or they’ve realized they can get involved in the sport and then started go-karting.”

And for Palmowski, both F1 Academy and her ties to the Red Bull Racing Pepe Jeans Academy Programme have proved extremely valuable in helping her find her footing in the world of professional motorsport.

“The support network is huge,” she said. “We get full access to the Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes, so I’m able to do simulator prep on the F1 sims in order to prepare for the weekends.

“I have a performance coach now, who’s supporting me on all my physical prep and nutrition, as well as on the media side.

“I’ve developed as a driver, but also as a person, massively this year through their support. It’s a real privilege, to be honest.”

This weekend, Palmowski will have three races in which to show off her gorgeous bespoke livery. While most F1 Academy weekends feature two events, a third has been added in Canada to make up for a rained-out second race in Miami.

The great news? Palmowski already knows she’ll be starting the first race from the front row of the grid — and because none of the F1 Academy drivers have raced on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve before, they’ll all be competing on a level playing field.

“I think it brings a new dynamic to the championship,” she said of the circuit. “It’s a new circuit for all the teams, all the drivers. There’s been no prior testing. It wasn’t on the calendar last year.

“In terms of simulator prep, we’ve probably done an extra 100 laps compared to what we normally do, just trying to maximize the opportunity we have because there’s a lot of points on the table.

“The pressure is really high, but we’re all on equal footing. I see it as a real opportunity, to be honest.”

Alisha Palmowski is entering this weekend fourth overall in the championship standings, just 20 points in arrears of championship leader Maya Weug.

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