Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Williams Racing revealed their 2023 livery for their new challenger on Monday, the FW45, alongside the announcement of a big new international partnership between Williams and Gulf Oil.

The FW45 was unveiled at the team’s ‘season launch’ event, which was hosted by popular Formula 1 presenter Will Buxton, he was was joined on stage by both Williams drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant, who will be hoping they can lift the team from the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship standings and make progress in the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The main news from the launch was the confirmation of the partnership with Gulf Oil, with the logos of the company appearing on the dark blue and black colour scheme of the FW45. The livery contains some smaller details such as the use of the Duracell colour scheme on the airbox, confirming the continuation of their partnership too.

The team confirmed that they had “taken the opportunity to heavily evolve the sidepod concept” on the new car as a result of “optimising the power unit cooling layout,” with Williams using Mercedes power for the tenth consecutive season. The team has also made promises that the car will be more aerodynamically efficient than it’s predecessor, with certain modifications being made to the front suspension layout, giving the car improved handling characteristics.

“As Williams Racing continues its transformation, we’re proud to unveil this year’s livery,” said Matthew Savage, the Chairman of the Boards at Williams Racing.

Kelvin van der Linde heads into this weekend’s inaugural Hyderabad E-Prix on the back of an impressive debut not only in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, but in single-seater racing altogether.

The South African replaced the injured Robin Frijns at the recent Diriyah double-header and certainly performed admirably, after finishing sixteenth in Race One and eighteenth in Race Two. He managed to beat his ABT CUPRA Formula E Team team-mate in both races and also managed to keep it out of the walls for good measure, further highlighting the impressive job he did.

Van der Linde is replacing Frijns once again this weekend in India, which is, of course, a brand new country for Formula E. With that in mind, this weekend offers the South African an interesting opportunity, given that the circuit is new to everyone. Given that everyone is starting from zero, this could work in ABT’s and van der Linde’s favour, something the driver seemingly recognises himself.

“I’ve never been to India before, so just traveling to this new culture is an adventure for me. After my laps in the simulator, I can say that the track is great, but it will also be a big challenge. I’ve also looked at onboard footage of other series that have raced there. There are some overtaking opportunities and so we can definitely expect a spectacular race. It’s a track that no one in the paddock knows – so we’re all arriving on a level playing field.”

“We all don’t really know what to expect” – Nico Mueller

Nico Mueller‘s returning year to Formula E certainly hasn’t gone as planned so far, with the Swiss driver having retired from both races in Diriyah. His second retirement of that weekend was as a result of crashing at Turn Eighteen, adding to his and the team’s woes.

Maserati MSG Racing Team Principal James Rossiter has warned that the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship “is a marathon, not a sprint”, with the Monte-Carlo-based team seemingly still in the starting blocks, following a challenging start to the Gen3 era. With this weekend’s Hyderabad E-Prix being a new venue for everybody, though, Maserati’s season could well and truly get up-and-running if they play their cards correctly.

It has been a really tough start to the season for Maserati, with the side having scored zero points at the season opener, only for things to get even worse ahead of the first race in Diriyah. Both Maximilian Günther and Edoardo Mortara hit a barrier hard during qualifying for Race One, putting enormous strain on the team to fix the cars. Mortara’s was miraculously fixed, whilst Günther’s damage was too severe for the race, meaning just one Maserati took to the grid for the race. Mortara ended up retiring from it late on following a puncture, just to add to the side’s disappointment.

Race Two, though, presented a new opportunity to the team, which Mortara in particular jumped at. The Swiss driver made it into the duels for the team’s first time of the season, before finishing ninth in the second race of the weekend to score the team’s first points of the year.

Whilst just two points on the board really isn’t what the side would’ve been hoping for from the first three races of the season, there is still so much time for things to change, which they will for sure given how new Gen3 is for everybody still. With that in mind, this weekend’s E-Prix presents a fantastic opportunity to the side, given that everybody is “starting from zero”, based on the fact the circuit has never been visited before.

This weekend’s race actually marks the first of three consecutive races at a new venue, which by all means will a “challenging period” for the team, but actually a great opportunity to move towards the front.

Edoardo Mortara is very much excited for what he believes is going to be a “really interesting” weekend at the first ever Hyderabad E-Prix, with the circuit itself having features which the Swiss driver hopes will “promote a lot of overtaking”.

Mortara enters the fourth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on the back of a very mixed Diriyah E-Prix, which started in the worst way possible. After hitting a barrier in qualifying ahead of the first of two races in Saudi Arabia, Mortara started right towards the back, before retiring during the race after getting a puncture. Race Two, though, was much more promising, as the Maserati MSG Racing driver made it into the duels, before going on to claim the team’s first points of the season in ninth.

Given that this weekend is a new circuit, it should present Mortara and Maserati with a great opportunity, with the thirty-six year-old recognising that whichever side can understand the new venue the quickest “will be the one to beat”.

“Hyderabad is one of the races that I’m most looking forward to this season, and after spending some time in the simulator, it’s a really interesting circuit to drive. Like other races this season, I expect qualifying to be very important, but the heavy braking zones in Turns One and Three should promote a lot of overtaking. Because the circuit is new, it will be very important to maximise our available track time in practice, and I think that whichever team is able to adapt and evolve the fastest will be the one to beat.”

“The track looks and feels awesome” – Maximilian Günther

On the other side of the Maserati garage, Maximilian Günther‘s tough start to the season continued in Saudi Arabia, with the German having missed Race One after his car was too damaged from a crash in qualifying. Race Two wasn’t much better for Günther, after finishing nineteenth.

This weekend’s fourth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is certainly a significant one for Jaguar TCS Racing and their title partner TCS, with it being the first-ever all-electric race in India.

The Hyderabad E-Prix is the first of three consecutive rounds situated at a new host city, with this weekend’s just so happening to be a home race for TCS. It marks an incredibly exciting run of races for Formula E, with Jaguar hoping to go particularly well this weekend. The side enter the weekend following a very productive double-header in Diriyah, where Sam Bird claimed a podium and a fourth-place finish, whilst Mitch Evans finished tenth and seventh.

The side certainly found something in Saudi Arabia, with the hope being that they can carry what they learnt at the double-header into this weekend. As well as this weekend being their title partner’s home race, Team Principal James Barclay has proudly announced that Jaguar have partnered up with revolutionary paint company AERO. AERO’s self-healing film system is actually used on the I-TYPE 6, with the company having a prime focusing on “pushing for environmental sustainability”.

Barclay is incredibly excited for the weekend ahead, with it meaning a “huge amount” to the side given that India is the home of TCS.

“Ever since the 2023 race calendar was announced, Hyderabad has been one of the tracks that the whole team has been looking forward to. The next three race locations are new in Formula E and we enjoy the challenge of new circuits as a team. Hyderabad is a new opportunity for our drivers and engineers to take on and importantly it’s also a home race for Tata and our title partner, TCS. It means a huge amount to us as a proud part of the Tata Group to race in India.

Sam Bird is hoping to “put on a show” this weekend at the first ever ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race in India, the Hyderabad E-Prix. It is an especially big weekend for Jaguar TCS Racing, given that their title sponsor, TCS, are based in Mumbai, making it somewhat of a home weekend for the British outfit.

Bird’s season came to life at the recent Diriyah E-Prix double-header, with the Formula E veteran having claimed a third and fourth place finish, more than making up for his retirement at the season opener. The Brit showed very strong pace in Saudi Arabia and will likely be many people’s favourites for a podium this weekend, with his energy management in particular having been exceptional.

Bird is aiming to take the “confidence” he gained at the recent double-header and use it to push himself on this weekend, where he’s targeting another strong result.

“I am really pleased with my performance in Diriyah, securing a podium and the fastest lap across the double-header weekend. I’m taking that confidence and channelling it into motivation to do even better in round four in India. Hyderabad is going to be such a big race for the whole team and I’m ready to put on a show.”  

Mitch Evans “excited by the prospect of a new track”

On the other side of the Jaguar garage, Mitch Evans is equally as “excited” for what is a new venue for the all-electric series, with the New Zealander having an excellent track-record at new hosts.

Kevin Harvick will continue the trend of retired NASCAR stars transitioning into broadcasting when he joins FOX Sports‘ NASCAR Cup Series coverage in 2024. He will be a colour commentator alongside his former team-mate Clint Bowyer and play-by-play announcer Mike Joy.

To prepare him, he will serve as a guest analyst for three 2023 Xfinity Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (4 March), Phoenix Raceway (11 March), and Richmond Raceway (1 April), as well as the Craftsman Truck Series events at Circuit of the Americas (25 March), Kansas Speedway (6 May), and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 June). He will also do play-by-play for the drivers-only Xfinity broadcast at Charlotte Motor Speedway on 27 May, while making appearances on NASCAR Race Hub during weekdays.

He has been a guest announcer for FOX’s lower series telecasts since 2015.

“I’m really looking forward to working with the FOX NASCAR team full-time,” said Harvick. “I’ve enjoyed the experience in the booth the last several years because it has given me valuable insight into what being in the booth is all about. Getting the chance to step into the booth with Mike and Clint in 2024 is an honor and a great way to stay connected to the sport and NASCAR fans.”

FOX has employed a three-person lineup since it acquired NASCAR’s broadcast rights in 2001, with Joy consistently being the play-by-play while Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds split colour duties. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon took over McReynolds’ slot in 2015 while Bowyer replaced Waltrip in 2021, though Gordon departed his role at the end of 2021 to focus on running Hendrick Motorsports. Multiple figures were used as the third announcer in 2022, including Gordon and Harvick’s boss Tony Stewart.

Kyle Busch‘s January vacation in Cancún prior to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season became a nightmare when he was detained at Cancún International Airport for gun and ammunition possession. The Prosecutor General’s Office of Mexico in Cancún convicted him on the aforementioned charges and he received a prison sentence of three years and six months along with a fine of 27,048 pesos. Despite the situation, Busch was permitted to return to the United States in time for this past weekend’s Busch Light Clash.

According to a statement from the Prosecutor General, the arrest occurred on 27 January when Busch and his wife Samantha were set to go home. As Busch went through screening at the FBO terminal for private jets, his firearm was detected along with six hollow-point ammunition cartridges, resulting in the Quintana Roo National Guard being summoned to detain him.

The case was presented by an agent of the Federal Public Ministry to the Control Judge two days later.

“In late January, Samantha and I enjoyed a several day vacation in Mexico,” reads a statement from Busch released Monday. “When departing the country, my handgun was flagged during routine screening at the airport. I have a valid concealed carry permit from my local authority and adhere to all handgun laws, but I made a mistake by forgetting it was in my bag.

“Discovery of the handgun led to my detainment while the situation was resolved. I was not aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing a handgun into Mexico. When it was discovered, I fully cooperated with the authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina.

This weekend marks perhaps the most special race in Mahindra Racing‘s history since they entered the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, as the all-electric series visits India for the first time.

The Hyderabad E-Prix represents Mahindra’s first home race in Formula E, meaning their wait for a home event will finally end. Given that the Indian outfit are a founding team in the championship, they’ve had to wait patiently for their moment in-front of a home crowd, with Mahindra CEO Frederic Bertrand hopeful that Oliver Rowland and Lucas di Grassi can “reward” their fans this weekend.

It’s been a mixed start to the season for Mahindra, after claiming pole position and a podium in Mexico, before scoring zero points in Diriyah. Given the importance of the weekend, the Banbury-based team will likely be hoping for a repeat of their performance at the season opener, something which would go down brilliantly with the crowd.

Bertrand is incredibly excited for the “team’s homecoming” and is eager for the side to bounce back from their disappointing weekend in Diriyah, to ensure that they remain in the title fight.

“It’s finally here! The team’s homecoming is something we have been preparing a long time for. Ever since it was announced that Formula E would head to Hyderabad, the team have been excited to be able to put on a show for our amazing Indian fans. We hope we can reward them for their support with a successful weekend.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen is likely to return to Netflix’s docu-series “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” for its fifth season covering the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, having agreed to be interviewed for the show after declining to participate in last season’s program. 

Verstappen discussed the impact that the show has had on the increase of viewership of Formula 1 in the United States and around the world at Red Bull’s car launch in New York City on 3 February. 

“They definitely have done an incredible job in boosting it in the US, and then of course also through Netflix, like I said, everyone in here has Netflix. 

“So, of course having the series on Netflix helped a lot to get a bit more of an insight of everyone’s racing career because it felt always like, probably, everyone was quite a closed environment you couldn’t really get into, so when you have a bit more behind the scenes cameras and footage I think that helped a lot that you can see a little bit more of the personality behind it as well.”

Though he praised the way the show made the sport more transparent and open to fans, he has been equally open about his criticisms of it in the past, especially with regard to how Netflix portrayed him in past seasons. This played a large role in his decision to not take part in season four of the series.

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile have confirmed the six manufacturers that will be power unit suppliers for the next cycle of regulation changes in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship from 2026 through to 2030.

The six manufacturers include; Alpine Racing, Audi, Ferrari S.p.A, Honda Racing Corporation, Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains Ltd and Red Bull Ford, who will provide the next generation of Formula 1 power units from 2026, with the FIA setting out the new regulations into three key pillars.

This includes maintaining the spectacle of F1, which is to create similar performance with improved reliability. Environmental sustainability, which will see an increase close to 50% of electrical power and 100% use of sustainable fuel. Finally, financial sustainability will reduce the overall costs of the power units for the teams.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has spoken on the confirmation of this news and the importance of the power unit within Formula 1.

“The confirmation that there will be six Power Unit manufacturers competing in Formula 1 from 2026 is testament to the strength of the championship and the robust technical regulations that have been diligently created by the FIA in close collaboration with Formula 1 and the Power Unit manufacturers.”

“The Power Unit is at the forefront of technological innovation, making the future of Formula 1 more sustainable while maintaining the spectacular racing. I am grateful for the confidence of world-leading automotive manufacturers demonstrated by their commitment to Formula 1.”

Jimmie Johnson will add some right turns to his 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. On Sunday, he announced he will enter the Chicago Street Race on 2 July in the #84 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Legacy Motor Club.

Johnson hopes to make his return to the Cup Series with the Daytona 500 on 19 February. He ended his legendary full-time career after 2020, which was followed by a two-year stint in the NTT IndyCar Series before joining forces with fellow seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty to create Legacy Motor Club from the latter’s Petty GMS Motorsports. His IndyCar sponsor Carvana followed him to NASCAR and will appear on his #84.

Until Sunday’s announcement, the Daytona 500 was Johnson’s lone confirmed date but he intends to run other races throughout the year. His #84 car does not have a charter, meaning he will need to qualify for each of his attempts if there are more than forty cars on a given entry list.

The inaugural Chicago Street Race will mark a change of pace for the Cup Series as its first pure street race. Johnson, who has one road course win (Sonoma in 2010), ran a healthy diet of street circuits during his time in IndyCar though with not much success compared to his oval performance.

Both Chicago and Daytona add to what will be an eventful 2023 for Johnson. In June, he will make his 24 Hours of Le Mans début in a Garage 56 entry, sharing a modified NASCAR Next Gen Cup car with Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller. The effort is overseen by Hendrick Motorsports, with whom Johnson won his eighty-three Cup races and seven titles.

Lucas di Grassi is hoping to put on a “good show” for the home fans this weekend, as Mahindra Racing prepare for their first-ever home race in India, the Hyderabad E-Prix.

This weekend marks a significant moment for Mahindra and for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with it having never ventured into India before. It will be a hugely symbolic moment for Mahindra, who’ve been in the all-electric series since the beginning, as has their Brazilian driver.

Di Grassi will be hoping that his weekend in India will be more similar to the season opener than the recent rounds in Diriyah, with the outfit’s powertrain having seriously struggled. Despite having claimed a pole position and a podium at the start of the 2022/23 season, the former Champion finished well outside the points in Saudi Arabia, with the thirty-eight year-old knowing that his side must bounce back in India as a result.

Given that it’s a new circuit and venue for everyone, the form book could be flipped inside-out, especially with Di Grassi having promised that the team are “going to try very hard and push the limit”.

“It is important for us to have a good race in India – not only for the fans, but for the championship as well. It’s a new track for us, as it is for everyone up and down the grid. It needs to be a good weekend for us. We are going to try very hard and push to the limit to get the best out of the car. We can’t wait to see all the Indian fans out in force to support us and we want to give them a good show.”

The Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was a tale of two halves: the first half was fairly clean, while the second looked more like the Busch Light Crash. Sixteen cautions were flown with all but three coming in the race’s second half, many of which were as drivers increased their aggressiveness despite the quarter-mile’s tight confines.

Martin Truex Jr., who last won a NASCAR Cup Series race in September 2021, took advantage of Ryan Preece‘s fuel pump failure to assume the lead on lap 126. He staved off advances from Bubba Wallace and the Richard Childress Racing duo of Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick to snap his dry spell, even if in an exhibition.

“Austin and Kyle raced clean, and for the most part I’ve never had really any big issues with those guys,” said Truex. “You come to a track like this, it’s pretty easy to just blow the corner and knock the guy out of the way in front of you. It’s just easy to do.

“Thankfully, they didn’t do that. They gave me a lap to get going, and obviously we were fast enough to drive away from them.”

Wallace probably disagreed with Truex’s sentiments. Despite leading fifty-nine laps including at the halfway break, he was spun by Dillon with seven laps remaining which relegated him to twenty-second; Wallace indirectly called out Dillon on Twitter by writing, “W3ll that was fun, till it wasn’t.” Dillon and Busch, his new team-mate after previously working alongside Truex at Joe Gibbs Racing, finished second and third to join Truex on a special podium created specifically for the Clash.

Aric Almirola, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and William Byron are off to strong starts to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, even if in a non-points context, as they won their heat races ahead of the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. After failing to lock their spots in the main race via the heats, Michael McDowell and Chase Elliott did so in the two Last Chance Qualifiers.

Pole winner Justin Haley finished third in Heat #1 after losing the lead to Almirola and Alex Bowman in the final six laps. Harrison Burton suffered the first incident of the day when he was turned in a stack-up involving Noah Gragson and defending Clash victor and series champion Joey Logano just three laps in.

Truex claimed the heat win after holding off former Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Kyle Busch and Busch’s new Richard Childress Racing colleague Austin Dillon on the last restart with five laps to go. The final sprint was set up by Austin Cindric‘s spin.

Heat #3 saw the most incidents of the four heats as Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell were both spun. The latter’s caution set up a three-lap run in which Hamlin edged out Chase Briscoe.

“It’s just bumper cars—guys that are desperate,” said Keselowski, who was turned by Daniel Suárez. “We just never could get the corner. We were just really loose in with both of our cars and just couldn’t turn the wheel.”