Chiara Battig makes F1 ACADEMY history at Silverstone

Chiara Battig just turned the F1 ACADEMY world upside down. In her very first weekend as a Wild Card driver, she did what no one in her position has ever done: she grabbed pole position. It is a stunning bit of driving, especially considering she set a blistering time of 2:01.775 to cement her status as the youngest polesitter in the series.

She looked at home from the first practice, but the pressure in qualifying is a different beast. Championship leader Alisha Palmowski pushed hard, closing the gap to just 0.177s, while Lisa Billard put in her best-ever qualifying performance to take third. It was a day for the history books, with the Hitech duo of Ava Dobson and Rachel Robertson locking out the top five.

Down the order, Lloyd ended up in sixth, with Nina Gademan and Emma Felbermayr securing the front row for the upcoming Reverse Grid Race. Megan Bruce took ninth, and Payton Westcott, driving for Mercedes, finished tenth. The action continues Saturday at 18:05 local time.