Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Lando Norris admits he did not enjoy driving the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship cars with the McLaren F1 Team driver admitting they were far less comfortable than their predecessors.

2022 saw a massive overhaul of the aerodynamic regulations within Formula 1, with designs changing to try and bring the field closer together and enable drivers to be able to run closely to the car in front without going through too much turbulence.

But Norris, who took the only podium finish in 2022 not earned by drivers from Oracle Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Ferrari or the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team when he took third place in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, dislikes the feeling of the new cars, and believes there is a bigger challenge to set them up than there had been in 2021.

“I hate driving the cars compared to last year,” Norris is quoted as saying by RacingNews365.com.  “They’re a different challenge.

“I wouldn’t say they’re as enjoyable as previous years’ cars, just in terms of how comfortable they are and how much you can play around with hitting the kerbs and lines and stuff like that. You’re a bit more limited now.

Mohammed ben Sulayem, the President of the FIA, believes the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team are creating a team and infrastructure that will eventually make them race winners in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The team are currently in the process of building a new factory to replace their undersized and outdated one at Silverstone that is due to open later this year, while they are also going to build their own wind tunnel, although that will not be operational until midway through 2024.

Under the ownership of Lawrence Stroll, they have also invested in high-profile staff such as former Red Bull Racing engineer Dan Fallows, and for 2023, they will have the benefits of having the vastly experienced Fernando Alonso as race driver alongside Lance Stroll.

Ben Sulayem believes all this will help Aston Martin become a bigger force within Formula 1, although he knows it will take time for everything to gel before they become genuine contenders for race victories.

Since the Racing Point Formula 1 Team was rebranded as Aston Martin back in 2021, the team have seen just one podium finish, courtesy of Sebastian Vettel in that season’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but ben Sulayem predicts more are on the way.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT will be heading to the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season-opener in Rallye Monte-Carlo with two titles from the last season in the bag after a successful Rally1 debut winning seven out of thirteen rounds.

The team is looking to secure a third successive WRC triple crown and have worked hard over the off-season to improve the winning package, for this season the team has brought some upgrades to the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 with the obvious change being a new rear fender bodywork with a newly revised air intake for the hybrid system and an upgraded engine with a higher output.

The team will field two world champions for the Rallye Monte-Carlo, with the defending champion Kalle Rovanperä, who became WRC´s youngest-ever champion last season at the age of 22, going for the lead driver role this season. Jumping in for the first round will be the eight-time champion Sébastien Ogier, where he will target a record ninth Rallye Monte-Carlo victory.

Takamoto Katsuta will jump up to the main team this season and share the third car with Ogier but for Monte-Carlo, he is going for the fourth car outside the team to gain more experience, while Elfyn Evans is joining another season after taking two runner-up spots in the championship in 2020 and 2021 for the team.

The former works driver and current team principal Jari-Matti Latvala is expecting this season to become tougher when all three teams now have at least one driver that can challenge for the title: “As a rally fan the start of the season is always a very exciting moment and this year is no different. Every team is able to win so we expect that this season is going to be tougher and more challenging. But we like this challenge and we enjoy having to really fight for victories. Of course, we have to have the three titles as our target once again.”

The Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT is going for the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship with a new line-up of drivers but also a new team principal of the experienced Formula 1 team principal Cyril Abiteboul.

91st Rallye Monte-Carlo will play host for the 2023 WRC season-opener next weekend and is famous for being challenging and an unpredicted rally. The Alzenau based team worked throughout the offseason to improve the overall package of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car for 2023, which sees an upgraded aerodynamics package compared to last season.

It is expected that the condition of the tarmac roads will be less wintry once again due to the current warmer temperatures in the European region but ice and snow are expected in the mountains, anyway, still the event remains one of the more demanding on the WRC calendar.

For 2023, Hyundai has selected Abiteboul to take over the leading role in the team after the deputy team principal Julien Moncet was absent for only one year, and Abiteboul is excited to get started with his new team after being dropped out of Renault Sport F1 Team after the 2020 season.

“Everyone in the team is excited to start what we hope will be a strong year for Hyundai Motorsport in the FIA World Rally Championship. So far I have only had a short visit in the factory in Alzenau, but what I saw was very impressive.”

M-Sport Ford WRT will be only fielding two full-time drivers this season but despite having fewer drivers on the start grid for the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season-opener in Rallye Monte-Carlo next weekend, they do look strong after securing Ott Tänak to be the lead driver for this season.

M-Sport`s only win during the new regulations was actually in Rallye Monte-Carlo last season with the nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb behind the wheel. After a successful test around the area of Gap, where some of the stages of the rally are located, the team is ready and is looking strong to be a candidate to clinch another Monte-Carlo win.

For the 2023 season, the 2019 WRC champion Tänak has returned to the team, where he started his WRC career back in 2011. He will be joined by the Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet, who is going for his first full season in the series after competing for seven rounds with the team last season while the Greek Jourdan Serderidis is going outside the team in a privateer-entered Ford Puma Rally1.

Team principal Richard Millener is looking forward to another season in the WRC: “We’re thrilled to be starting this new season with Ott leading the ranks. It’s been a productive few months, culminating in the pre-event test this week, and we’re ready to take on what is to come. I think we’re already seeing the benefits of working with Ott, and I hope Pierre comes to gain from this as well.”

“Everyone back at Dovenby has been hard at work on both the Rally1 and Rally2 programmes to get us ready for this new season. I want to thank everyone for their commitment so far and together we should be able to deliver some very strong results this year.”

Toto Wolff says the joint venture between Andretti Global and General Motors over a bid to join the FIA Formula 1 World Championship grid is a ‘statement’, and he has slightly changed his stance on whether Michael Andretti’s team is worthy of becoming the sports eleventh team.

Andretti’s initial plans did not gather the support needed to be successful in joining the Formula 1 grid, potentially as early as 2024, but the announcement that they are joining forces with Cadillac has opened more eyes and made the whole idea more feasible.

Wolff, the Team Principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, had questioned the initial plans and discussing whether Andretti joining the grid would be beneficial to the sport.

“Andretti is a great name but this is sport, and this is business, and we need to understand what is it that you can provide to the sport,” Wolff is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com last year. 

“And if an OEM or a multinational group joins F1 and can demonstrate that they are going to spend X amount of dollars in activating, in marketing; that’s obviously a totally different value proposition for all the other teams.”

Kevin Magnussen could miss his planned outing in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona later this month after announcing he will be having surgery on his hand ahead of the start of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Magnussen is set to compete at the Daytona International Speedway across the final weekend of January alongside his father Jan as well as Mark Kvamme and Trenton Estep for the MDK Motorsport team on board a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

But Magnussen recently visited doctors complaining of a sore wrist and was diagnosed with a cyst that needs to be removed prior to the start of the Formula 1 season, the opening race taking place on the first weekend of March in Bahrain.

He has announced that he will undergo a ‘harmless procedure’ before resting for a couple of weeks, meaning he could miss out on racing at Daytona.

“I had a sore wrist so I went to the doctor to have it looked at and they found a cyst that needs to be removed now so I can be ready for the F1 season,” Magnussen is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com

The FIA Junior World Rally Championship have now announced the 2023 drivers line-up which consist of 9 drivers from all around the world taking on the five round calendar that starts with the snow rally of Rally Sweden next month.

The drivers will drive an identical car that is the M-Sport Poland built Ford Fiesta Rally3 car. The series went from a long period of two-wheel-drive cars over to four-wheel-drive Rally3-spec last season.

The prize which is up for grab by winning the title is to arrive and drive outings on four European WRC rounds in 2024, driving the sharper Ford Fiesta Rally2 car and the winner also receives a tire support package from the series tire supplier Pirelli.

William Creighton is one of the favorites to take the title this season, he confirmed his entry last week and will be going for a third year in a row in the series. Returning to the series after one outing in 2016 is the 27-year-old Frenchman Laurent Pellier, he is the only driver in the series who has a 100% winning record after he won the only outing 2016 Tour de Corse.

Another favorite for the title is the M-Sport Ford WRT driver Gregoire Munster, he will also be running a program in the WRC2 this season for the team but also made a surprise entry to the JWRC in search of gaining more experience.

The ownership group of Mike Harmon Racing will now be a triumvirate. In addition to their eponymous owner, Gary Keller and Michael Clayton Sr.‘s arrivals as partners have prompted the team to change their name to CHK Racing for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

Harmon, as an owner/driver for over two decades, will oversee day-to-day operations. Keller and Clayton, who own disaster relief companies Disaster Services of Environmental Specialist, LLC, and ServiceMaster by Disaster Relief, will work on the business and marketing sides. Clayton has also

Keller formerly ran Gary Keller Racing, which competed in ARCA, the Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series in the early 2000s. From 2012 through 2022, he was a partner in fellow Xfinity team JD Motorsports, dubbing them “JD Motorsports with Gary Keller”. He joined Harmon in November which tentatively created the full name “Mike Harmon Racing with Gary Keller”.

“Gary and Mike coming on board is a blessing to MHR which will be known now as CHK Racing,” said Harmon. “I’m very happy that Gary and Mike believe in us and sees the passion and the hard work that we put into our racing. It’s the shot in the arm we need here at CHK Racing. Gary is a can do, get it done type of guy with a great vision and sense for business. Mike feels blessed to be part of CHK Racing for many years to come.”

The team will field the #74 on a full-time basis in 2023, returning to the number after attempting much of the 2022 calendar with the #47. MHR struggled that year as the #47 failed to qualify for eighteen of thirty attempts with multiple drivers; of the races the car made, Gray Gaulding scored its best finish of twenty-first at Talladega. The entry finished forty-third in owner points. The #74 only entered the 2022 season opener at Daytona with Tim Viens but missed the show.

On Friday the reigning driver´s and manufacturer´s champions Toyota Gazoo Racing officially revealed the 2023 specification Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 ahead of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season-opener in Rallye Monte-Carlo next weekend.

Kalle Rovanperä became the youngest ever WRC champion last year after winning Rally New Zealand at the age of 22 and 1 day old, driving in a GR Yaris Rally1. The team won a total of seven rounds out of thirteen in last year´s calendar with Rovanperä taking six wins and Sébastien Ogier one in RallyRACC Catalunya – Costa Daurada while the team took a second consecutive manufacturer title.

Toyota will stick with the usual black and red livery they are using on all cars in several different motorsport series worldwide. However, as we reported at the beginning of the week. The car will have a new look for 2023, the most visible change is the large air intake scoops in the rear have been removed and the rear fenders have been smoothed out. Also if you have an eagle eye, you could spot that the rear wing is also new for this season.

Besides the visible parts, Toyota technical director Tom Fowler has also revealed they are bringing a new engine upgrade for 2023.

In addition to Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta will drive a full season in the 2023 season, while Ogier will continue to do selected events. When Ogier is not driving the fourth Toyota, the car can be rented by an external driver. For example, Italian millionaire Lorenzo Bertelli will be seen at the wheel of a rented Toyota in Rally Sweden in next month.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff is confident in James Vowles’ ability to lead Williams Racing as Team Principal, having been a key asset to the Mercedes team for over a decade. 

With Vowles leaving the Mercedes outfit, Wolff outlined the impact that his talents have had on the team and praised how far he has come over the years. 

“James has been a highly valued member of our team in his role as Motorsport Strategy Director, playing an integral part in our success in recent years. Having worked with him since I first joined the team in 2013, I know how diligent, capable and talented he is and have taken great satisfaction from watching James develop and grow over the past decade.”

Wolff said that Vowles’ recent efforts at Mercedes have allowed their strategy team to develop greatly, an asset that will benefit the team into the future. 

“Since stepping back from the pit wall mid-season last year, he has continued to build the capability of our strategy team at Brackley, and we have a fantastic group of talented strategists who will continue their superb work in the years to come.”

James Vowles is set to become the team principal of Williams Racing ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Leaving his current post of Motorsport Strategy Director at Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team to take on the leadership role, Vowles brings twenty-one years of Formula One experience and expertise, having played a crucial role in securing a total of nine constructors championship victories during his time with both Mercedes and Brawn GP.

Excited to take on the challenge of leading a team, Vowles said that he is proud to join the storied outfit and help them reach their full “potential.”

“I cannot wait to start with Williams Racing. It’s an honour to join a team with such an incredibly rich heritage. The team is an icon of our sport, one I greatly respect, and I am very much looking forward to the challenge.

“Williams Racing have placed their faith and trust in me, and I will do the same in return. Williams has tremendous potential, and our journey together starts in a matter of weeks.”

Vowles also touched on the profound impact that his time with Mercedes had on his professional career and the support he has received from the team. 

Double Formula E Champion Jean-Éric Vergne took the honours of topping the first Free Practice session of the new ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season, as the third era of the all-electric series got underway in Mexico City. Rookie Jake Hughes claimed second spot, whilst Sérgio Sette Câmara claimed third, as five teams featured in the top six of the timesheets.

It was the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team duo of rookie Hughes and the returning René Rast who led the entire field out to kick-off Gen3 and Season Nine of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, as twenty-one drivers got onto the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit as quickly as possible. It was Rast who set the first lap-time of the new season in Free Practice One, as Hughes entered the pits at the end of his out-lap. Sam Bird was the sole driver who didn’t exit the pits at the start.

Vergne quickly replaced Rast at the top of timesheets, briefly, before André Lotterer suddenly shot to the top, as it quickly became apparent that the times would tumble throughout the first practice session of the new season. Being the first session of running in Mexico, the Full Course Yellow system was trialled momentarily five minutes into the session, to ensure that all the systems were working as they should. A key thing that was identifiable at the start of the session was just how quick the Gen3 challengers were down the main straight, with a clear speed difference over its predecessors being visible.

As the session returned to green flag running, Vergne and reigning World Champion Stoffel Vandoorne made it a DS Penske one-two at the top, with the DS-powered drivers the early favourites going into not only this weekend, but this season in general. The timing sheets continued to change as each minute past, with former Formula E Champion Sébastian Buemi having jumped to the top with twenty minutes remaining; however, he was quickly replaced by Vergne once again, with the Frenchman looking noticeably quick.

It was then Pascal Wehrlein‘s turn to hit the top, though, with the German targeting back-to-back wins in Mexico City. Bird finally joined the circuit as the session reached it’s halfway point, with the Brit having lost crucial running. Another new feature of Season Nine is the tyres, with Hankook having replaced Michelin as the championship’s tyre manufacturer. It was clearly evident at just how hard the new rubber is, with the sound of tyres squealing having been deafening, with a lack of grip being very obvious.

Hattori Racing Enterprises will run it back with Tyler Ankrum for the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season as he returns to the #16 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for a second season.

Ankrum joined HRE in 2022 after spending the last two years with GMS Racing, marking a return to Toyota with whom he won the 2018 championship in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East. He finished twelfth in Truck points with eight top tens and a best finish of sixth at Indianapolis.

“It’s an honour to return to HRE and the Toyota family in 2023,” said Ankrum. “There was already a solid foundation in place at HRE, and with the addition of Doug (Randolph) to the organisation, I know we can achieve our goals as a team: get back to Victory Lane and be a strong playoff contender.”

The California native made his Truck début in 2018. During the 2019 season, he became the first driver born in the 2000s to score a national series race when he won at Kentucky.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Tyler back for his second season with our team and continuing the partnership with Toyota Racing,” stated team owner Shigeaki Hattori. “Tyler has been through the playoffs and has a lot of Trucks Series experience. With Doug coming on board for the 2023 season, we look to build great chemistry with Tyler and the team. We want to get him back to victory lane and be a strong playoff contender.”

Ricky Brabec was one of the favourites for the Dakar Rally Bike win in 2023, and the 2020 champion got off to a strong start when he won Stage #1. Two legs later, however, he was out with a crash that left him with fractures of his T1 and T2 vertebrae and a disc bulging near his spine. Despite the injuries, he is hopeful of recovering in time for the second round of the World Rally-Raid Championship: the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on 25 February – 2 March.

Brabec returned to the United States for further evaluation after his crash.

“Days like today make me wish I was still in the Dakar competing with the rest,” wrote Brabec on social media. “It’s been a slow few days and after everything is said and done we have a few breaks along our spine.

“In the beginning of all of this the pain was there and brutal, after a quick check in Saudi I was really starting to feel like a whimp when they said nothing was wrong which left me wondering what was actually going on with myself.

“Getting home on the earliest flight and directly to the Dr we discovered T1 and T2 broke but stable condition, and a disc pushing close to the spinal cord. Dr says a few weeks of recovery and we should be able to go, see you guys at Abu Dhabi!!!”