Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

The second free practice session of the Miami Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen set the fastest time ahead of the Scuderia Ferrari’s, with Carlos Sainz Jr. finishing second and Charles Leclerc in third. Verstappen and Leclerc swapped fastest laps early on in the session, but Verstappen was able to solidify his lead on soft tyres.

Verstappen’s fastest lap was a 1m 27.930s, which was four-tenths of a second faster than Sainz’s time. Leclerc was only a tenth of a second behind Sainz but brought out the only red flag of the session when he crashed into the barriers at Turn 7.

Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari after wrestling with a snap of oversteer, locked up, and sent his car front-first into the barriers. The incident happened with only 10 minutes remaining in the session, meaning the Ferrari driver had no chance to return to track. Verstappen’s fastest lap was impressive, especially considering he had complained of discomfort from his ‘HANS protection device’.

Sainz finished second in the session, four-tenths of a second behind Verstappen, while Leclerc finished third and only a tenth of a second behind Sainz. Sergio Perez finished fourth, half a second off the pace, while Fernando Alonso finished fifth, seven-tenths of a second off the pace. Lando Norris briefly led the session when soft-tyred running began but ultimately finished sixth, with Lewis Hamilton in seventh.

Lance Stroll finished eighth for Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, a second off the pace, while Esteban Ocon was just 0.007s back in ninth for BWT Alpine F1 Team. Alex Albon was a whisker off in tenth for Williams Racing, with a brief lock-up hampering his qualifying simulation.

The opening practice session of the Miami Grand Prix saw George Russell set the pace, with his Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team teammate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc following in second and third place respectively. With track temperatures soaring up to 51C under the sweltering Miami heat, the drivers took to the resurfaced Miami International Autodrome for the first time to familiarize themselves with the track conditions, and it provided some interesting results.

Max Verstappen got off to a strong start, setting the early pace on the hard tire ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton. The session wasn’t all easy going for Mercedes though, Russell was forced to return to the pits after experiencing vibrations on his steering wheel. His Mercedes mechanics had to change the steering rack on his W14 to resolve the issue.

After the drivers completed their initial runs on the hard and medium tires, they switched to the softer rubber. Verstappen continued to lead the pack with a time of 1m 31.054s just before a red flag was waved after Nico Hulkenberg crashed. Following the break, the Mercedes pair left it late to set their times on the soft tire, with Russell crossing the line to set a time of 1m 30.125s, surpassing Hamilton’s brief time at the top by 0.212s.

Leclerc, who finished in third place, provided an early glimpse of the potential of the upgraded floor on the Ferrari. Meanwhile, his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. finished fifth, and Verstappen ended the session in fourth, sandwiched between the Ferrari drivers. Pierre Gasly finished an impressive sixth quickest for BWT Alpine F1 Team, who are looking to build some much needed momentum going into the weekend. The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll in seventh and eighth place respectively. Hulkenberg’s time was still good enough to secure him ninth place, while the other Alpine of Esteban Ocon rounded out the top-10.

Rather surprisingly, Sergio Perez, who won the previous race in Baku, finished in eleventh place, ahead of McLaren F1 Team’s Oscar Piastri in twelfth, and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in thirteenth place. Valtteri Bottas was the lead Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake driver in fourteenth place, ahead of the Williams Racing of Alex Albon and Lando Norris in the other McLaren. Zhou Guanyu finished in seventeenth place, ahead of the Scuderia AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda in eighteenth, with Logan Sargeant finishing nineteenth for Williams. Nyck de Vries finished the session at the bottom of the timesheets.

Round 2 & 3 of BTRDA Clubman’s Rallycross Championship took place at the home of Welsh motorsport, Pembrey Circuit. Most classes had multiple winners as the weekend taking its toll on some cars.

In the Super Modified class, it was Fred Ling who couldn’t be stopped on either day. He won four of the six qualifying sessions and both finals. On Saturday it was Gary Cook and Phil Chicken who completed the podium when both passed Chris Smith on track. Smith redeemed himself on Sunday with a second place ahead of Michelle Swallow. Her Porsche gearbox was destroyed on Saturday morning but the team was able to source a Boxster nearby. The road-going car arrived at the track that evening to much fanfare but took until late into the night to be removed and fitted into the race car. On Sunday, Chicken had a coming together with Todd Crooks which saw both cars roll multiple times. Both were uninjured from the dramatic accident and Chicken even raced a couple of hours later in the A-Final. He followed Swallow all race but retired on the final lap with steering failure.

The largest class, Classic produced close racing but it was Lee Wood who kept his 2023 unbeaten run up. John Cross had qualified on pole for Saturday’s final but lost out to Wood and Jamie McBain at the start. They finished in that order. For round three, Wood won every session with McBain and Cross finishing in the same order.

Crosscar again increased its field size, now with five cars. David Attiwell and Will Butler proved the class of the field with each topping qualifying and winning a Final, Attiwell taking Saturday and Butler Sunday. The remainder of the grid also stood on the podium, Paul Batson, Luke Holly, and Ethan Rouse. By the next round, at least nine eligible cars should be in the UK. It is expected that six or seven will race at Blyton Park.

Tyler McAlpin got the better of Will Ovenden in the Junior races on Saturday. Come Sunday it was Ovenden who took first place and the championship lead back away. Corey Padgett completed the podium for the third time in as many races this year. Martin Peters won round two of the Production class with a controlled drive ahead of Stuart Woollen and Mark Henry. After making a poor setup choice on Saturday when on pole, Alex Fletcher didn’t make the same mistake again on Sunday. He led from the front all race to take a commanding win, almost three seconds clear of Woollen and Henry.

Looking to bounce back after a disappointing tenure with the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, Mick Schumacher has been speaking on how he’s been using his new role inside the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team to help develop his craft ahead of a potential return to a full-time FIA Formula 1 World Championship seat in 2024.

Schumacher was dropped by Haas after a number of costly crashes by the young German driver in 2022, saw Team Principal Guenther Steiner look towards the more experienced hands of Nico Hülkenberg to partner Kevin Magnussen at Haas for the 2023 campaign.

After both Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries left their roles inside the Mercedes ranks, the team looked towards the young German driver to be their new reserve driver. Allowing Schumacher to join the team that his father made his Formula 1 comeback for between 2010 and 2012.

Speaking in his new diary column on Mercedes’ website, Schumacher touched on how he has been finding life inside his new team.

“Since I joined Mercedes, I’ve been settling in great. Everybody is just so open-minded towards me, and that made me feel welcome from the first moment I stepped into the factory in Brackley. I’ve spent a lot of time there in these first months. It’s a very impressive facility.

Mitch Evans started the Monaco E-Prix in perfect fashion, with the São Paulo and Berlin winner having topped Free Practice 1 thanks to a 1:30.361; however, elsewhere there were early issues for Porsche to diagnose.

As the sun rose over the mediterranean at the iconic and legendary Circuit de Monaco, it was rookie Jake Hughes who led the field out onto the circuit to kickstart an action-packed day. For the first time this season every session is taking place on the same day, meaning any mistake could be hugely costly.

It only took a minute for André Lotterer to bring out the first yellow flag of the weekend, with the German having entered the runoff at Mirabeau, before completing a stylish 180° and continuing on his way. Interestingly, with Monaco being perhaps the smoothest track of the season, there wasn’t a huge rush to gather data, with several big-hitters having remained in the pits for the opening handful of minutes.

All four Porsche-powered cars remained in the pits ten minutes into the session, with it having appeared that Lotterer’s lock-up on his out-lap was perhaps an issue for the German manufacturer in general. It certainly wasn’t an ideal scenario for championship leader Pascal Wehrlein, who sits in the lead of the standings by just four points. Evans also weirdly remained in the pits, suggesting that Jaguar may also have their own issues to deal with.

On the track and it was Stoffel Vandoorne who topped the session as it moved into its final twenty minutes, on what was a beautiful morning. It was his team-mate, Jean-Éric Vergne, though, who jumped to the front as the first session of the weekend hit its halfway mark, as all four Porsche-powered cars and Evans returned to the circuit. Vergne was quickly replaced at the top of the timesheets by Sébastian Buemi, who posted a 1:32.367.

Logan Sargeant will experience a home Grand Prix for the first time in his FIA Formula 1 World Championship career this weekend, with the young American set to compete in his maiden Miami Grand Prix.

The Williams Racing driver has shown good pace at times during his rookie season but has yet to break into the points, one of only two drivers on the grid not yet to have scored a top ten finish alongside Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries.

However, Sargeant is excited for what he is expecting to be a tough weekend at the Miami International Autodrome, and he is keen to enjoy it as much as he can.

“I’m really excited for my first ever home race,” said Sargeant.  “I’m expecting it to be a challenge with the heat and not knowing the track, but my energy and motivation to be at my best is topped up.

“It’s going to be a very special weekend for me that I will enjoy very much!”

Pierre Gasly says it is important to put the dreadful Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend behind him and fight back this weekend in Miami as he bids to add to the four points he has scored in the opening four races of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

The BWT Alpine F1 Team had a weekend to forget at the Baku City Circuit, the team failing to score points in either the Sprint race on Saturday or the main race on Sunday. That came after a mechanical failure early in the one and only practice session on Friday morning and a crash for Gasly on Friday afternoon in Qualifying.

Gasly hopes for a much better weekend at the Miami International Autodrome and a return to the top ten, both in Qualifying on Saturday afternoon and in the race on Sunday.

“It’s good we have an immediate opportunity to bounce back in Miami this weekend,” said Gasly.  “It’s a more conventional circuit with the normal format and we must be on it from lap one on Friday to put ourselves in a much stronger position to compete higher up the grid for the remainder of the weekend.

“After two disappointing races at the last two events, I’m so determined to put it right this weekend and return to the top ten as a minimum target.”

Fernando Alonso is hopeful of a return to the podium this weekend in Miami after finishing just over a second away from the top three last weekend in Azerbaijan.

The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team driver had finished inside the top three in the opening three events of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season but had a much more difficult weekend at the Baku City Circuit, a track that seemed to suit their rivals more than them.

Alonso remains third in the Drivers’ Championship thanks to his fourth-place finish last weekend, with the veteran Spaniard feeling Aston Martin performed well despite limited track time prior to Qualifying on Friday afternoon.

However, as Formula 1 heads to the United States for the first of three events in the country this weekend, Alonso remains confident of a positive weekend as they bid to continue their strong start to the season.

“It’s good to be back in Miami!” said Alonso.  “It’s a great place to visit for Formula 1 and we’re excited for our first Grand Prix of the year in the United States.

Reigning World Champion Stoffel Vandoorne returns to the venue where he claimed his only victory during his title-winning campaign this weekend, the iconic Circuit de Monaco.

This weekend’s ninth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is the famous Monaco E-Prix, a race which Vandoorne states as being the “most intense” of the season. After enduring a challenging start to life in Gen3 and at DS Penske, the Belgian has been showing significant progress over recent rounds; however, his title defence is all but over.

He was unfortunate to only score four points last time out in Berlin, with Vandoorne having been taken out of the first of two races in the German capital after being hit by Dan Ticktum, a collision the Briton was penalised for.

Despite the disappointment, he enters Monaco feeling “pretty optimistic” and hopeful of a good result at the race he refers to as “home”, where a win could bring his season to life.

“I am really looking forward to Monaco, as I consider it my home race. It is a unique and demanding track, dominated by slow and medium-speed corners. It is certainly the most intense circuit which demands 100% concentration and focus.I am pretty optimistic, I have seen great progress in the last few races, the Team keeps working and improving. The car has showed a strong pace so we’ll continue to work hard as we head into the race weekend.”

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen looks forward to the team’s first home race of the season, the Miami Grand Prix. The Danish driver said that the event brings a “unique” atmosphere, with lots of off-track excitement through the weekend and a track that he enjoys driving on. 

“The Miami Grand Prix is one of these new races in the US that kind of feels like a new type of Formula 1 event, where it’s taken to the next level. It’s very unique, it’s very hyped, there’s a lot of new things about it and I also think the track is fun.”

“There’s more activities during a US Grand Prix weekend being the only American team, plus having an American title sponsor. It’s also one of the races where we really want to do well in front of our home crowd, and also in front of many of our sponsor’s home fans as well.”

Between the Florida humidity and the variety of demanding portions on-track, Miami provides its own set of challenges, with Magnussen describing last year’s race as one of his most difficult.

“Last year was very hot and humid and also it’s a physical track. It’s not the most physical track in terms of the layout, but it is tough and with the weather on top it was so hard. I think it’s a tricky place to put a Formula 1 track and they’ve managed to make something that’s fun. The timing is very unique and last year it was being repaired over the weekend so it changed a lot during the weekend. 

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff said that he is excited to continue onto the Miami Grand Prix, which comes on the heels of last week’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Having experienced the FIA Formula 1 World Championship’s new sprint format, Wolff added that there is still discussion to be had regarding the “merits” of the session schedule. 

“From the streets of Baku to the streets of Miami. We’re looking forward to being back on track so quickly after an interesting, but challenging, weekend in Baku. The new sprint format threw up some surprises and we now need to evaluate the merits of it, and if there are any tweaks necessary.”

With only one free practice to prepare the car, Wolff felt that the team weren’t able to perfect their set-up for Baku City Circuit. This put the team on the back foot for the remainder of the weekend and hindered them from competing with their nearest competitors ahead– especially when paired with how difficult overtaking had proven to be. Ultimately, Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in sixth, and George Russell finished eighth. 

“Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get our car in the right set-up window during practice. That made the rest of the weekend more difficult. Our race pace looked competitive against the Ferraris and Aston Martins, but with overtaking so tricky, we couldn’t put this to the test. That’s about where our car is right now but we also know small differences can have a big impact weekend by weekend.”

Wolff said that the team will have to assemble the data they have from Baku in the short stint between race weekends to get ready to take on Miami International Autodrome, which has a wide variety of track features. 

ABT CUPRA Formula E Team are hoping to achieve their “next goal” this weekend at the legendary Monaco E-Prix, after the Kempten-based team’s return to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship finally came to life at home in Berlin.

Since having returned to Formula E, ABT CUPRA have been the unfortunate backmarker throughout the first half of the 2022/23 season. Ahead of their home weekend in Berlin, they were the only side yet to score a point; however, that statistic is no more. The second full day in Berlin is likely one the Germans won’t forget for awhile, with Robin Frijns and Nico Müller having locked-out the front row of the grid.

Frijns and Müller excelled in the wet qualifying conditions, whilst Müller even held on to finish in the top ten later that day in the race. It meant that in the space of a few hours, ABT CUPRA had claimed a pole position, a front row lock-out and their first top ten finish of the season, filling them with confidence.

With them officially being off the mark in the Constructors’ Championship, Team Principal Thomas Biermaier is keen for them to continue making steps in the right direction, starting at the Circuit de Monaco.

With overtaking likely to be a challenge, a strong qualifying in Monaco could prove to be very handy for ABT CUPRA, who proved in Berlin that they can be amongst the top ten. Biermaier is seemingly adamant that Berlin wasn’t the finished article for the team and that even better performances are possible, as long as the side “continue to work hard together”.

Robin Frijns and the entire ABT CUPRA Formula E Team enter this weekend’s “special” Monaco E-Prix with a newfound buzz of energy, after the German side claimed their first points and pole position of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Berlin.

It was a home weekend to remember for ABT CUPRA, given how challenging their comeback to the all-electric series has been. Frijns was on hand to elevate the whole team’s spirits ahead of the second race at the Tempelhof Airport Circuit, by claiming a shock pole position in treacherous conditions. In doing so, he not only claimed his first pole of the season but he also scored ABT’s first points of the season, with Frijns having been awarded three points for pole.

Those three points visibly meant so much to the entire side, with Frijns now believing that they can “take the positive momentum” from their home E-Prix into the legendary Circuit de Monaco this weekend.

“Monaco is different from everything you know in motorsport. The location is special, we have no practice on Friday for the first time this year and Monaco doesn’t forgive the slightest mistake.

“A trophy may not be within reach yet, but we want to take the positive momentum and spirit from Berlin and use it to start an upward trend.”

Bubba Wallace has joined TRICON Garage for his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races since 2021 when he drives the #1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro at Darlington Raceway on 12 May and North Wilkesboro Speedway on 20 May.

After being a championship contender in 2013 and 2014, Wallace has only made sporadic returns to the Truck Series since 2017, running five races and winning at Michigan that year. His last start was an eleventh at the inaugural Bristol Dirt Race in 2021 for Spencer Davis Motorsports, though he qualified Stewart Friesen’s #52 truck at Kansas last year. As a Truck driver, he has six victories.

“Having a Cup Series driver with his level of experience join us will only help elevate our programme,” said TRICON co-owner Johnny Gray. “We fully believe we will have multiple entries in contention for the win at both races and the #1 will be no exception.”

Wallace currently races in the Cup Series, now in his third season with 23XI Racing. He sits twenty-first in points with a pair of top ten and a best run of fourth at Las Vegas. In 2022, he placed nineteenth in the standings with a win at Kansas.

He has never raced at Darlington or North Wilkesboro in the Trucks, the latter only just appearing on the calendar for any NASCAR series for the first time since 1996. In nine career Cup starts at Darlington, his best finish was ninth in the 2022 fall race.

Matt Kenseth will return to the Superstar Racing Experience on 10 August when he races at Eldora Speedway.

The 2003 NASCAR Cup Series and 2004 International Race of Champions winner, Kenseth ran the final three races of the 2022 SRX season and impressed with third-place runs in two starts. The second came at Sharon Speedway, a dirt track, while he ran the other dirt race at I-55 but finished at the back after a crash.

While he is more than savvy on pavement, the two dirt starts were not his first foray into the discipline. From 2005 to 2011, he competed in the Prelude to the Dream late model race at Eldora, organised by SRX founder Tony Stewart, with a best finish of fifth in 2009.

“The first time I ever raced on dirt was Eldora, it was at Tony’s Prelude to the Dream,” said Kenseth. “My background was all asphalt racing and I remember how much fun I had that night, and said if I could go back and do anything different it would have been to race dirt earlier in my career.”

Since ending his NASCAR career after 2020, Kenseth has mainly done grassroots racing and even the Boston Marathon. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January.