Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Williams Racing’s Alex Albon took seventh place at the Canadian Grand Prix after putting together a stellar drive from his ninth place starting position. Albon attributed the success of the team’s campaign in Montréal to the upgrade they brought, along with how well-suited FW45 was to the track. 

Albon was one of just a few drivers to take on a one stop strategy, moving from his starting mediums to hards under the safety car on lap thirteen and taking the set to the end. He was able to defend his position well from there, holding off several strong midfield contenders to secure the result. 

“It’s been a very strong weekend and I have to thank the team first and foremost because we had the upgrade on the car, and I think it shows that we made a good step and the circuit suited us.

“The work that has gone on at the factory to get this upgrade ready has been monumental and everyone has been working so hard. We also fitted a new PU, so we threw everything at this weekend.”

Having earned six points at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Albon’s result has allowed Williams to overtake Scuderia AlphaTauri for ninth in the constructors’ standings. 

The 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship will come to a close on 13–18 October with the Rallye du Maroc. The stage-specific breakdown was released Tuesday, over three months after the initial reveal, revealing the total route will run for 2,240 kilometres across five stages and the Prologue starting in Agadir before heading eastwards to Zagora and Merzouga. 1,470 km will be dedicated to racing as Special Stages.

The rally begins with a 90-km loop around Agadir along the east coast of Morocco as part of the Prologue. Agadir, a major urban centre and tourist resort of the country, will serve as the first hub like it did in 2022 when the rally began and ended there.

Stage #1 is the longest in both Special Stages and total distance as it goes to Zagora, totalling at 721 km with more than half of it being liaison to get to the racing area. Located in the Draa River valley, Zagora will be the bivouac location as competitors will spend the next two days there.

With Zagora as the main hub for the rally, Stages #2 and #3 both begin and end in the town. Unlike the Prologue, the route will not be a loop and instead run complex lines through the valley’s hills and mountains.

Stage #4 will take the field out of Zagora to the final stop in Merzouga. Situated near the Moroccan-Algerian border, the area will introduce Erg Chebbi, one of the largest ergs (a sweeping field of dunes and sand) in Morocco. The fifth and final stage is another loop of 152 km.

Maserati MSG Racing Team Principal James Rossiter knows that his side “can’t rely” on their sensational performance in Jakarta, this weekend at the inaugural Portland E-Prix.

The Monte-Carlo-based team head to what is expected to be “one of the most challenging races of the season” having brought their season to life in Indonesia, where Maximilian Günther claimed the side’s first win of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The Jakarta double-header was a weekend Maserati will never forget, given that they claimed two pole positions, a podium and their first single-seater victory since 1957.

Having been towards the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship, the side now find themselves in sixth, just a point ahead of the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team.

Rossiter is keen for Maserati to “stay focused” at the Portland International Raceway this weekend, with the venue being an actual race circuit, rather than a street track. This will offer an exciting new dynamic to the twelfth round of the season, where slipstreaming is expected to play a leading role once again.

The Maserati team boss is hopeful for another great weekend, ahead of what he expects to be a “highly strategic race”.

Maximilian Günther is expecting this weekend’s inaugural Portland E-Prix to feature an incredible amount of overtaking, similar to the recent double-header in Berlin.

The German heads into the twelfth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on the back of having claimed Maserati MSG Racing‘s first win of the season in Jakarta. Günther was the king of the Indonesian capital at the start of June, as he topped every session at the double-header, with the only exception being the first race.

In the first race in Jakarta Günther had to settle for third, before he claimed victory in the second race. It staggeringly marked Maserati’s first single-seater victory since 1957, and his first since 2021 in New York. It was a weekend which Günther and the team will never forget; however, it’s “back to business” on the West Coast.

Portland will be a fascinating affair given that the race is going to take place on an actual circuit, rather than a traditional Formula E street track. As a result, the Portland International Raceway is expected to be the fastest track on the calendar, resulting in an high amount of slipstreaming. Günther is expecting the race to be very similar to Berlin, with the Maserati driver targeting “another competitive weekend”.

“The weekend in Jakarta was truly special and the victory on Sunday meant a lot to me. I took a little time to enjoy, but then it was back to business. Portland looks very fast, and the flowing track layout will shape the race strategy and the style of racing heavily. I expect to see a similar level of slipstreaming to races like Berlin, but that challenge is something that I enjoy, so I’m excited to try and execute another competitive weekend.”

Antanas Juknevičius, Benediktas Vanagas, and Vaidotas Žala are among six ambassadors for a new campaign launched in their home country of Lithuania to donate car first aid kits to Ukraine. Known as “Milijonas vaistinėlių Ukrainai” (“Million Medicines for Ukraine”), the programme targets Lithuanian drivers being required to replace the first aid kits in their cars starting on 1 July, which are typically stashed away elsewhere but will now head towards Ukrainian military and civilian relief efforts.

The kits are typically bright red, orange, or black in colour and includes items like bandages, burn and wound dressings, and gloves while other goods vary by manufacturer. Due to the war in Ukraine creating supply chain concerns, the Lithuanian Ministry of Health announced in October 2022 that drivers have until July of the next year to get a new kit containing new items like a bag valve mask, pressure bandages, ice packs, and tourniquets. A full kit replacement is not necessary unless the old one was purchased before 1 January 2019.

They can be dropped off at participating Circle K and Lidl locations from 19 June through 3 July, from which they are picked up by domestic mail carrier DPD Lietuva and taken to the campus of energy electric supplier UAB Elektrum for storage before being shipped to Ukraine.

“Lithuania continues to hear the Ukrainians’ request for help. If we can replace broken, damaged things with new ones, one thing is priceless in Ukraine’s fight against the occupier: the lives and health of military and civilians,” said Lithuanian Minister of Transport Marius Skuodis. “We urge the people of Lithuania to donate first aid kits to Ukrainians.”

As the name suggests, the campaign hopes to acquire one million kits for donation. Seventy have already been picked up and accounted for as of this article’s publication.

Frédéric Vasseur reflected on a ‘good race’ for Scuderia Ferrari in Canada on Sunday, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. climbing from tenth and eleventh on the grid to take fourth and fifth place.

Crucial strategy calls played an important part in the result, with neither driver opting to pit when the safety car was deployed for George Russell enabling them to move up into the top five, and with tyre degradation for those behind them being quite aggressive, they were able to capitalise and maintain their positions until the chequered flag.

Vasseur, the Team Principal of Ferrari, says the pace the team were able to show on Friday reappeared on Sunday, and both drivers were able to push with confidence and show good pace, pace that at times matched the leading three drivers.

“It was a good race for us, confirming that we are working in the right direction,” said Vasseur.  “After a poor qualifying yesterday, we rediscovered the race pace we had seen on Friday, helped in this by a good strategy that took us out of traffic, so that Charles and Carlos had the confidence to push throughout the race.

“It was notable that in the second half our drivers were matching the lap times of the top three.”

Charles Leclerc believes Scuderia Ferrari got the best result possible from Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix from where they started, with the Monegasque racer claiming fourth place.

Leclerc started only tenth after struggling in Qualifying on Saturday but capitalised on the safety car at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the twenty-five-year-old opting not to pit when others ahead of him did.

With most drivers being forced to pit again due to the tyre wear in Canada, Leclerc was able to maintain his position inside the top four, and he was happy the strategy worked out for Ferrari, although fourth was probably as good as it was going to be.

“It was a solid race that confirmed the good feeling I had in the car on Friday,” said Leclerc.  “We stayed out during the Safety Car phase to be able to run in free air, because we knew that it would be key for us and our strategy proved to be the right one.

“We couldn’t have done better than P4 today considering where we started.  We must not forget that this is quite an unusual track, so we will keep pushing to reconfirm these positive steps in Austria.”

Mike Krack was full of congratulations to everyone within the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team for their performance and result in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso secured second place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after a great tussle with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s Lewis Hamilton, with a fuel system issue forcing him to lift and coast for a long spell of the afternoon.

Team-mate Lance Stroll recovered from a grid penalty to climb to ninth, with his race compromised by the timing of the safety car that came a lap after he made his pit stop and undid some of the progress he had made early on.  He profited from a penalty for Lando Norris to gain a position in the final result having passed Valtteri Bottas on the run to the chequered flag on the final lap.

Krack, the Team Principal at Aston Martin, was pleased to see the team take home twenty points from Canada as they continue their battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship with Mercedes.

“Congratulations to Fernando, Lance and the entire team on another great result,” said Krack.  “It was a very well-executed race with strong pace, clean pitstops, and important overtakes.

Lewis Hamilton was upbeat following the Canadian Grand Prix despite narrowly missing out on second place to Fernando Alonso, with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team looking much more competitive than they have done in recent weeks.

The seven-time World Champion was ecstatic with Mercedes’ achievement of consecutive podium finishes for the first time this season after achieving their first double podium of the season in Spain the race before.

After finishing behind Max Verstappen in the previous race in Spain, the seven-time world champion secured third place on the grid and maintained that position until the chequered flag at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Hamilton engaged in an exhilarating battle with his Aston Martin Armaco Cognizant F1 Team rival Alonso during the race, initially overtaking him at the start. However, as the race progressed, he fell back behind Alonso and ultimately crossed the finish line approximately five seconds behind him. Verstappen, on the other hand, had a lead of ten seconds.

“It’s been a great weekend. To have this consistency and to be up on the podium once again here is fantastic. It’s quite an honour to be up on the podium with two other world champions.
 
“We didn’t quite have the pace today to challenge for more. We knew this wouldn’t be our strongest circuit though as we struggle in the low-speed corners in particular. We’ve still got a lot of work to do to add more performance and efficiency. We are slowly chipping away at those ahead though. I do believe we will get there at some stage and we are going in the right direction.”

George Russell: “That’s at least 12 points that we’ve left on the table today”

George Russell was disappointed with himself following the Canadian Grand Prix, in which he was forced to retire early.

Fernando Alonso felt the Canadian Grand Prix was the most competitive race of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team as he claimed second place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Spaniard lost second place to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s Lewis Hamilton early on in Canada but had the pace to catch and re-pass the British racer. However, his former team-mate did not give up behind him, forcing Alonso to race as each lap was a qualifying lap.

“It was a great result for Aston Martin today and another podium for the team,” said Alonso.  “I think it was our most competitive race yet and the upgrades on the car are working well.

“I lost the position to Lewis [Hamilton] at the start, but we had some good pace and after a close battle we retook second. It was then like a qualifying session as Lewis was pushing at the end and we had to keep him there and not make any mistakes.”

Alonso ended under ten seconds behind Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in Canada, thanks to an upgraded aero package brought to the track by Aston Martin, and he hopes they can get even closer to the current championship leader next time out in Austria.

Christian Horner was thrilled to see Oracle Red Bull Racing secure their one hundredth win in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship on Sunday after Max Verstappen dominated the Canadian Grand Prix from pole position.

Red Bull’s first win came in the wet of Shanghai back in 2009 when Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag first, and Team Principal Horner says it was ‘amazing’ to reach one hundred races in Formula 1, let alone one hundred victories.

It was also Verstappen’s forty-first win – matching the tally of Ayrton Senna – and Technical Director Adrian Newey’s two hundredth in Formula 1.  And Horner was full of praise for everyone who was able to make these notable events possible.

“It’s a landmark day today and one for our history books, 100 victories for the team, 200 for Adrian and Max’s 41st putting him up there with Senna,” said Horner.  “An amazing result for the whole team, not just the people here, but everyone back at the factory who works so hard, ensuring we continue to perform at such a high level.

“I remember our first victory in China in 2009 and being happy that we’d won just one race, and here we are with 99 more. To get a century of victories is an incredible achievement, competing in 100 races is a feat in itself, but winning 27% of all races we have entered is something truly to be proud of.

Max Verstappen continued his remarkable run by taking victory in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, with the Dutchman now having led every lap of the past three races.

The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver held on to the lead at the start at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and controlled the race thereafter, with his advantage at the top of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship standings now sixty-nine points.

Verstappen took his forty-first victory on Sunday, matching the total set by the legendary Ayrton Senna, with the win also Red Bulls one hundredth since they joined Formula 1.

However, it was not a completely straightforward day for the two-time World Champion, with struggles to get his tyres to the right temperature window.

“I’m of course very happy to win here in Canada,” said Verstappen.  “It wasn’t an easy or straightforward race though, it was quite difficult to switch on the tyres and get them to the right temperature.

Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal James Barclay is very much aware that the Coventry-based outfit must “deliver to stay in the championship fight”, with this weekend’s inaugural Portland E-Prix marking the start of the final five races of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

It’s certainly crunch time for Jaguar, who head to the West Coast in need of a big points haul, following a very frustrating double-header in Jakarta. For the second time this season, Sam Bird took out team-mate Mitch Evans in the first race in the Indonesian capital, before the Briton failed to start race two due to a technical fault. Evans was able to claim a rostrum in race two, adding valuable points to the team’s total. The Kiwi also kept his Drivers’ Championship hopes alive.

Focusing on Jaguar, the British side enter this weekend third in the Constructors’ Championship, and forty-one points behind TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. With only five rounds remaining, Jaguar can’t afford another nightmare race like they did in Jakarta, given that it’d see them out of the title fight.

Barclay is confident that his side are focused on how to “execute the best performance” from the I-TYPE 6 in the final rounds of this thrilling season, and not buckle under the pressure.

“Everyone at Jaguar TCS Racing is looking forward to being back in the United States and racing on US soil in what will be our final new circuit of the season. Racing in Portland will bring the thrill of Formula E to a new audience and we embrace the challenges and opportunities that come with this high-speed and technical track.

With just four races remaining in the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, title contender Mitch Evans is keeping his “sights on the top spot”, starting this weekend at the inaugural Portland E-Prix.

Evans heads to Portland fourth in the Drivers’ Championship and twenty-five points behind leader Pascal Wehrlein, following a very mixed double-header in Jakarta. His championship chances looked to be over after retiring from the first race in Jakarta, after he was taken out once again by his team-mate. However, in the second race in Jakarta he put on a heroic display to finish third and most importantly, keep his title hopes alive.

With five races remaining starting this weekend on the West Coast, Evans can’t afford another retirement, with the Kiwi targeting to “keep building momentum” in Portland having claimed four podiums from the last six races.

“I was pleased to come away from Jakarta with a podium and some points, and hope to keep building momentum in Portland as we reach the final three locations. I’m looking forward to the new track, it’s well-known in American motorsport categories so it will be great to bring Formula E to this circuit for the first time. I can’t wait to get out there and keep my sights on the top spot!”

“I’m ready to bounce back” – Sam Bird

On the other side of the Jaguar TCS Racing garage, Sam Bird is “ready to bounce back” in Portland following a “frustrating” couple of races in Jakarta.

Benediktas Vanagas and Tiago Reis arrived at the Rally Greece Off-Road with top-of-the-line Toyota Hilux T1+ trucks, the former having seen his win with two different drivers in both the FIA World and European Cups for Cross-Country Bajas in 2023 while the latter was the European Cup points leader after winning the season-opening Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura. Both left with Vanagas’ caked in mud and cutting through shrubbery to tow Reis’ back to the bivouac.

The tenth Rally Greece Off-Road was far from the smoothest edition for its competitors as bad weather made the weekend a massive headache. Various team such as the T3 son/father duo of Miklos and Sandor Trebitsch reported suffering from eye pain after the race as dirt was slung into their face, having been forced to keep their helmet visors open in order to see through the mud.

While the T1 class is typically the class of the grid in any rally raid, the conditions instead favoured the SSVs of T3 and T4. Still, the latter weren’t exempt either as victims included reigning Polish Cup champion Piotr Otko, who was the T3 leader on Friday before a rough second and final day knocked him off the podium entirely.

Ironically, a T1 came out on top anyway, albeit due to further bizarre circumstance as the T4 of Amerigo Ventura held off T1 driver Krzysztof Hołowczyc for the win only to be disqualified for failing post-race inspection. The protective casing between the right-side fuel tank and the chassis of his Yamaha YXZ1000R had a smaller width between them than on the opposite side: the left tank met regulation as the housing was roughly 50 mm in width, but the right’s only maxed out at 38.7 mm in violation of Article 3.1 of Appendix J in the FIA International Sporting Code.

Ventura’s Quaddy Racing team accepted the penalty and explained the car had been fully rebuilt after crashing in the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura in April, but the crews mistakenly used smaller space rubbers to reconstruct the tanks. Besides spoiling co-driver Mirko Brun‘s birthday, the disqualification continued a streak of misfortune for Ventura in the European Cup as his Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura accident took place while leading the final day; that race was also marred by drama as a plethora of scoring errors forced the final classification to be released over a week after its conclusion. Hołowczyc described the disqualification as “a great pity” and asseted that “surely this technical issue was not intentional. I hope that we will have the opportunity to fight and see each other on the podium.”