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Current Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team reserve driver Mick Schumacher will get the chance to drive his father’s legendary Mercedes W02 from the 2011 season at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The W02, which played a vital role in Mercedes’ fourth-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship that year, holds great significance in the Schumacher racing heritage. Following his recent testing of the 2023 Mercedes W14 after the Spanish Grand Prix, Mick expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming event. He described it as a remarkable moment to drive his father’s car, even if it’s just for a short period of time.

“It’s going to be spectacular to run in my Dad’s 2011 car, the W02, even if it is only a short run. Just experiencing this generation of cars will be mega! Knowing that he raced this car makes it extra special, and there will be many emotions coming with it. I have been lucky enough to drive one of his Benetton cars and some of the Ferraris he raced, but this will be the first time behind the wheel of a Mercedes he drove. I am sure I will get out of it with a big smile on my face.”

The Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place at the historic Goodwood estate in England and is widely recognized as a prestigious motorsport gathering that attracts enthusiasts from around the globe.

This year, as the festival commemorates its 30th anniversary alongside the 75th anniversary of the Goodwood Motor Circuit, attendees can anticipate a weekend filled with awe-inspiring displays of automotive excellence. The event will feature a diverse selection of cars from various eras participating in the hill climb. Joining Schumacher will be former Haas F1 Team and Mercedes development driver Esteban Gutierrez, who will drive the championship-winning W12 from 2021, a year which saw Lewis Hamilton miss out on the Championship after a fight with Max Verstappen.

Mahindra Racing Team Principal Frederic Bertrand was “really happy for everyone” at the Banbury-based team last weekend, as the Indian manufacturer scored points at the inaugural Portland E-Prix.

Lucas Di Grassi ended his ten race point-less streak after finishing seventh at the Portland International Raceway, whilst his top-ten finish marked the team’s first points in general since the first race in Berlin. Unfortunately, rookie Roberto Merhi retired from the race early on, after simply grinding to a halt. The Spaniard looked good ahead of his retirement, with both drivers having been very happy with car’s performance.

Mahindra aren’t currently sure what caused Merhi’s car to stop, with Bertrand having revealed that the team are “still investigating what happened”. Di Grassi’s seventh place finish also moved the outfit up to ninth in the Constructors’ Championship, giving them something else to celebrate.

It was certainly a well-deserved points finish for Mahindra, who have worked tirelessly all season. Bertrand is hopeful that the team can now carry their performance over into Rome, as the season edges ever close to its climax.

“The race was very fun – it was full of strategy and suspense for us but we succeeded in getting into the points, which we are really happy with,” Bertrand said. “Lucas did a good job and managed to get P7 during the race. Unfortunately, on the other side for Roberto it was more difficult. Sadly, he didn’t make the end of the race and we are still investigating what happened.

Oracle Red Bull Racing are set to evaluate the pace of eight-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo in a Silverstone tyre test next month.

Ricciardo is now Red Bull’s third driver after returning to the team at the start of the season following McLaren F1 Team cutting his contract short due to his lacklustre performance during his two years with the team.

Pressure is building on Sergio Pérez, who isn’t performing up to standards for Red Bull. The Mexican driver hasn’t appeared in Q3 for three consecutive races and with Max Verstappen seemingly coasting to the Drivers’ Championship, many are questioning the performances of Pérez and his consistency since the first few races of the 2023 season.

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko recently told ORF, “We will have Ricciardo in the car for three days after Silverstone at the tyre test and then you can evaluate where Ricciardo really stands.”

Three days of driving the RB19 could give Ricciardo a really good chance to show what he can do and put further pressure on Pérez. Ricciardo previously drove for Red Bull and had an extremely successful stint with the team winning seven races in a period of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Lewis Hamilton domination. He left the team to join Renault for two years before moving on to McLaren, where despite winning the 2021 Italian Grand Prix he struggled to keep pace with young teammate Lando Norris.

Lucas Di Grassi finally returned to the points last weekend for the first time since the season-opener in Mexico City, following an excellent Portland E-Prix.

The Formula E veteran performed brilliantly at the inaugural event held at the Portland International Raceway, with him having qualified in thirteenth. Qualifying has been an issue for the Brazilian all season, who’s often shown very good race pace. By qualifying closer to the top ten, Di Grassi was able to use his good pace to progress into the points positions much easier, where he looked very comfortable.

He ultimately finished the race in seventh, to end his ten race point-less streak. It was certainly a great day for Di Grassi and for Mahindra Racing, with the former FE Champion having been “very happy” with the side’s progress in Portland.

“We had a good weekend in Portland. It was a very difficult, strategic race but we finished P7 and got six points. I’m very happy with the progress of the team that we were more competitive in this race. I’m looking forward to the next four races and to finish out this championship by hopefully scoring more points for Mahindra Racing.”

“We are still analysing the issue” – Roberto Merhi

For rookie Roberto Merhi it was a weekend to forget, as the Spanish driver retired from the race in its early stages. Merhi started in seventeenth and made up several places in the opening laps, with the car having “honestly felt fantastic”.

What do you get when you let loose a bunch of “ornery short course racers” at the mecca of short course racing? A lot of drama, obviously.

The Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run weekend at Crandon International Raceway was only the second round of the 2023 Championship Off-Road season, but both days provided plenty of chaos before culminating in the non-points Brush Run battle between Pro 2 and Pro 4. C.J. Greaves had an up-and-down weekend in a far cry from his dominant opener at Antigo two weeks prior, but wrapped up the Brush Run with his second straight victory.

After winning five of six races in Antigo across three classes, Greaves only won once on Saturday in Pro Stock SxS, and a sweep was ruled out when his Sunday was cut short by an engine failure. He was a non-factor in Pro Turbo SxS, where fellow Pro 4 drivers Andrew Carlson and Kyle Chaney were the stars of the show as they split the two wins. Pro 4 saw the reigning champion engage in a pair of dramatic battles with Jimmy Henderson; after losing out on Saturday, Greaves initially held off Henderson to win on Sunday before he was penalised three positions for forcing Henderson into the banking multiple times in a particularly hard duel for the win.

The damage from their battles disabled Greaves’ #33 truck for the Brush Run, prompting him to get into his father Johnny Greaves‘ #22 for the race. The #22 is being piloted by Pro Lite Saturday winner Kyle Greaves to start the season while Johnny recovers from his injuries in Antigo, but Kyle did not race in the Brush Run and as such turned the truck over to his cousin.

While aided by the head start given to them, the Pro 2s impressed in the Brush Run as John Holtger dominated the first half and Greaves tried to navigate through the order. Greaves caught Holtger before mechanical problems forced the latter to retire. Other victims of the race included Ricky Gutierrez, who led at the start before going off course and surrendering the lead to Holtger; Cole Mamer, who rolled over after entering a corner with too much speed; and Jay Schaefer, whose Pro 2 caught fire.

Trackhouse Racing Team is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, so it only made sense for Trackhouse driver Ross Chastain to turn Sunday’s race at Nashville Superspeedway into his finest outing as a NASCAR Cup Series driver to date. He started on the pole for the first time in his Cup career and led nearly a third of the race en route to his first victory of the 2023 season.

Chastain led 99 of 300 laps, nearly twice as many as the second most by Martin Truex Jr. Although Truex tried to catch Chastain in the closing laps, he was unable to do so.

“I first met Martin Truex Jr. at a Bass Pro Shops in Fort Myers, Florida when our local one opened,” recalled Chastain. “He signed a Chevy Trucks hat for me. Still have it on my childhood bedroom wall hanging up. The Sharpie has about faded off, barely still there. He was a hero, idol of mine.

“To go to battle against him, have criticism from him, go back and forth, then to have him air block me at Dover like he did, when I thought we were just as fast, was humbling. To go up against my heroes like that, to beat him tonight, drive by him and the #11 (Denny Hamlin), was definitely a statement. It felt good.”

Tyler Reddick and Hamlin won the first two stages, but the former was taken out of contention during green-flag stops on lap 140 when his right-rear wheel came off as he came to pit. He was held for a lap and rejoined the race two laps down, eventually having to settle for a distant thirtieth.

On lap 54, A.J. Allmendinger ended up sideways, but that did not faze him as he led the final twenty laps including double overtime to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.

The accident occurred when Ty Gibbs spun while fighting for the lead on a restart, and Allmendinger attempted to sneak by along the outside wall before Gibbs slid up and clipped him in the left rear. While Allmendinger was left sideways in the middle of the track, he re-fired the car and continued, drawing complaints from pole-sitter Cole Custer who accused him of gaining an aerodynamic advantage from the body damage.

Allmendinger’s car was eventually found to be legal in post-race inspection, meaning the pace he showed for the rest of the day to get back to the front was genuine. Still, he also had to put up with multiple restarts as nine cautions for wrecks including the lap 54 crash were flown, including three in the first twenty laps of the race.

Parker Kligerman‘s spin after a bump from Kaz Grala set up overtime, and two more cautions took place afterwards for Chad Chastain and Chandler Smith spinning. Allmendinger took off on both restarts while Riley Herbst was stuck battling with Sam Mayer and Austin Hill to hold onto second, enabling Alllmendinger to pull away.

The win is Allmendinger’s seventeen at the Xfinity level and sixth on an oval. He also won at COTA in March.

Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola said that the Canadian Grand Prix ended up harbouring a mixed bag of tyre strategies, with the podium finishers– Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton— electing to stick with the expected two-stop, while the likes of Scuderia Ferrari and a few other runners found success with the alternative one-stop. 

He added that Ferrari’s ability to manage the one-stop strategy is evidence of solid improvement on their part when it comes to the car’s balance and set-up. 

“It was a very interesting race, the most closely balanced so far this season, as can be seen from the results sheet, with four drivers from four different teams all finishing in the space of under 20 seconds. 

“Yesterday’s prediction that a two-stop strategy was the best option was confirmed as the top three all went down this route, even if they each managed it in different ways. However, the one stop proved to be a valid alternative, as demonstrated by the two Ferrari drivers: Leclerc and Sainz went to over half-distance on the Mediums without any significant degradation in terms of tyre performance, a sign that their car is making progress on the set-up front.”

Isola noted the dip in temperature on Sunday as opposed to Friday’s testing sessions as another factor that supported tyre management on race day, as well as the evolution of Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve through the Grand Prix. 

Maserati MSG Racing left the inaugural Portland E-Prix with “mixed emotions”, as a “small mistake” by Maximilian Günther resulted in team-mate Edoardo Mortara retiring from the race.

Both Günther and Mortara showed good pace at the Portland International Raceway and were on-track for a points finish, until the incident occurred with three laps remaining. Günther’s front wing cut Mortara’s right-rear tyre, resulting in a puncture. The Swiss driver retired as a result, robbing him of a great haul of points. He had been running in sixth at the time, costing Maserati in the Constructors’ Championship.

Günther was at least able to finish sixth to add some points to the team’s total; however, it could’ve been so much better had it not been for his collision with Mortara. It was a “deeply frustrating” incident, which meant the team weren’t fully rewarded for their “incredible strategy”.

Team Principal James Rossiter noted how Günther’s error had “points implications”, meaning Maserati left the West Coast somewhat disappointed.

“Unfortunately, we’re left to leave Portland with mixed emotions. On one hand, it was good to bring home another good haul of points, but on the other, deeply frustrating to miss out on what could have been a strong result for both of our cars. We saw the peloton style of racing reach a new level today, and our engineers pulled together an incredible strategy to put our drivers in the right position on track when it mattered.

Maximilian Günther claimed a solid sixth place finish at the inaugural Portland E-Prix to continue his recent run of good form, which saw him pick up a fifth top-six finish in the last six races.

The German was once again quick in qualifying and made it into the duels, where he claimed fifth on the grid for the twelfth round of the season. He made a solid start at the Portland International Raceway and remained amongst the frontrunners, until he was forced onto the grass in the closing laps. This left him in ninth as the race approached its end; however, he did well to recover to sixth.

Günther’s result saw him maintain seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, highlighting how well he’s been performing recently. The German was pleased with the “good points” given what happened in the closing stages, which robbed him of a potential podium.

“A good weekend for us. We were performing well across all sessions and put us in a great position with P5 in Qualifying. We were driving an intelligent race and we were in a strong position in P4 until a few laps to go. Unfortunately, a rival put me on the grass which made me lose some positions and put me on the back foot. I was in P9 but had good energy and good pace at the end, so I was able to recover some places to finish P6 – a good position with good points.”

Late Retirement a ‘Tough One to Swallow’ – Edoardo Mortara

As good as Günther drove on Saturday, he did unfortunately cause team-mate Edoardo Mortara to retire with three laps remaining. Günther’s front wing cut Mortara’s right-rear tyre, resulting in a puncture for the Swiss racer.

Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal James Barclay hailed Mitch Evans‘ recovery drive to fourth at the inaugural Portland E-Prix as a “great achievement”, after the New Zealander endured a disastrous qualifying.

To say it was disastrous is somewhat of an understatement, given that Evans didn’t even take part. The Kiwi suffered a battery failure ahead of the session, with his car having ultimately not been ready in time for the race. There wasn’t much to celebrate in qualifying on the other side of the garage either, as Sam Bird secured fifteenth on the grid.

Both drivers made excellent starts to the twelfth round of the season though, as Evans and Bird progressed into the top ten. The pair remarkably crossed the line in fourth and seventh respectively; however, Bird was awarded a five-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the circuit, demoting him to seventeenth. This was a difficult thing to hear for the Coventry-based team, who therefore lost crucial points in the Constructors’ Championship.

Jaguar still sit third but are now forty-seven points behind TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, ahead of Rome. In the Drivers’ Championship, Evans is still just within touching distance of the top; albeit, thirty-two points behind. Evans arguably kept his title chances alive with his recovery drive, although Barclay is aware that the team must “keep pushing”.

“A challenging day that ended well, with both cars in the top ten as the chequered flag fell. The team has been brilliant today, managing a circuit power cut this morning and then a battery failure on Mitch’s car put us on the back foot. To therefore come back with Mitch from 20th to finish fourth, just missing out on the podium, and securing fastest lap was a great achievement.

Mitch Evans managed to keep his title chances alive with a sensational performance at the inaugural Portland E-Prix, after the Kiwi recovered from last on the grid to fourth.

A battery failure and then a DC problem at the start of the day at the Portland International Raceway certainly wasn’t ideal for Evans, who failed to take part in qualifying due to the issues. It had appeared that his car was just about ready in time; however, he seemingly jumped out of his car not long after he got in.

It left him to start the twelfth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship from twentieth (last on the grid as both DS Penske cars started in the pits), putting his title chances in jeopardy. Knowing that a bad result would end his fight for the Season Nine crown, Evans put on a stunning display to fight through the field to fourth, keeping him just in reach of new championship leader Jake Dennis.

Evans was awarded ‘Driver of the Day’ and claimed the Fastest Lap, with him now sitting thirty-two points behind Dennis ahead of the Rome double-header, a venue he claimed both wins at last season. It was certainly a solid end to Evans’ birthday, with him simply being pleased that he “salvaged something” from what was a really tricky day.

“It’s been an interesting day – it doesn’t feel like my birthday! We had a problem after FP2, so it was a massive race to get the car ready again and the team did a great job. Even after all the hard work, I unfortunately still wasn’t able to qualify which meant I started at the back.

TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team narrowly retained the lead of the Constructors’ Championship at the inaugural Portland E-Prix, after Pascal Wehrlein endured a challenging race at the Portland International Raceway.

Porsche saw their lead over Envision Racing reduce from twenty-two points to just six, after they managed to finish first and fifth. The German manufacturer on the other hand had to settle for third and eighth, with António Félix da Costa‘s podium having somewhat saved the side. The Portuguese driver had a solid drive in Portland, as he finished third after starting in seventh. He even managed to briefly lead the race; however, he dropped back to preserve energy.

Wehrlein on the other hand experienced a frustrating day on the West Coast, as he started the race in eighteenth. The German did well to recover to eighth; however, he did lose the lead of the Drivers’ Championship once again. The result has left the team with work to do in both championships ahead of the Rome double-header, where Wehrlein will need a big performance to stay in the title fight.

Team Principal Florian Modlinger was impressed by how “admirably” Wehrlein fought, whilst he revealed that the team were “pleased” with D Costa’s podium. However, he did admit that the side struggled in qualifying again, something they desperately need to work on.

“That was a very challenging and strategic race that ended with a podium finish for António. Our qualifying wasn’t ideal. Pascal, however, worked his way up the field admirably but was repeatedly caught up in incidents that resulted in him losing ground. Had this not happened, it might have been enough for a top 6 result. Antonio’s race was great. He stayed among the frontrunners and sometimes led the field. We’re pleased with his podium result.

António Félix da Costa secured a solid third place finish on Saturday at the inaugural Portland E-Prix, where he found himself as the lead TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver.

Having gone six races without a podium, Da Costa returned to the rostrum at the Portland International Raceway, following an excellent performance. The Portuguese driver made it into the duels for the first time since São Paulo and started the twelfth round of the season from seventh, giving him a great chance of a strong result. His good qualifying meant he didn’t need to push overly hard to get amongst the frontrunners, with him having quickly made his way into the top three.

Da Costa actually went on to lead some of the race; however, he took the lead a “little too early” which caused a scare with his energy levels. He only just made it to the finish of the race, due to running very low on energy. As a result, there was nothing he could do about Nick Cassidy or Jake Dennis, with the latter having snatched second from him at the penultimate corner.

Regardless of dropping from first to third in the closing stages, Wehrlein was still “thrilled” to have finally returned to the podium.

“I’m thrilled with the podium. It was a great race with a great result. We fought hard but we possibly took the lead a little too early. As a result, it became a bit tight with the energy at the end. Still, we know what we have to improve on for the last four races of the season. We’ll continue to do our utmost to secure the title for Pascal and the team.”

For the first time since Diriyah back in January, Jake Dennis is once again the leader of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, after another sensational performance at the inaugural Portland E-Prix.

The Avalanche Andretti Formula E driver would’ve likely left team owner Michael Andretti very pleased indeed, as Dennis secured his first pole position of the season at the team’s home race. The three points Dennis was awarded for pole position actually saw him enter the race as the new championship leader, having entered the weekend just a point behind Pascal Wehrlein.

With the race having been all about energy management, starting on pole was somewhat irrelevant for Dennis, given that the race saw four-hundred three overtakes – a new Formula E record. He did brilliantly though to remain amongst the frontrunners, whilst he also avoided all the carnage that was going on around him. Similar to in previous races, Dennis saved his energy better than the majority of the field, giving him an advantage in the closing stages.

He pulled off an excellent move on António Félix da Costa for second with a couple of corners remaining; however, he hadn’t allowed enough time to catch winner and title rival Nick Cassidy. Dennis was initially a “little bit disappointed” with the result, as he is desperate to return to the top step. His result marked his third race in a row where he’s finished second, whilst it extended his podium streak to five consecutive races.

Despite missing out on the win, he does take a one-point lead over Cassidy into Rome, where he’s hoping to “taste the win again”.