Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Oracle Red Bull Racing claimed both drivers’ and constructors’ championship titles in 2022 with seventeen race wins, including Max Verstappen’s most recent at the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner described the season as a “season like no other” with some excellent wins and some sad moments, such as the loss their founder Dietrich Mateschitz.

Verstappen took his record-breaking fifteenth win of the season with over eight seconds in hand over Charles Leclerc. It wasn’t the race weekend that Sergio Perez wanted as he failed to finish ahead of Leclerc in the race, meaning he couldn’t claim second in the Drivers’ Championship.

“What a season and what a way to end it. It’s just unbelievable. Winning 17 races as a Team. Five 1-2 finishes and being so close to 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship brings to an end what truly has been a remarkable year.

“It surpasses anything we have ever achieved. The drivers have been exceptional. A record-breaking 15th win this season for Max.“

Horner was pleased with a third straight victory in Abu Dhabi as he gave his thanks to everyone that played a part in a brilliant season.

Max Verstappen walks away from the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season as a two-time World Champion, after a record-breaking season with fifteen wins and he made no mistake on the final race of the season, coming home with yet another win for the Oracle Red Bull Racing team.

Despite both world titles already being wrapped up, Verstappen had an almost perfect Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, securing pole position on Saturday and winning the race without a real challenge on Sunday. As it has been multiple times this season, the win was a comfortable one for Verstappen, finishing over eight seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc.

“It was incredible to win here again and to get 15 wins in total this season is unbelievable. It was a good race, the one stop really worked for me, and it was all about tyre management today. “

Verstappen admitted the team tried everything they could to try and secure Sergio Perez second in the standings, but it just didn’t happen for the Mexican driver in the final few laps round the Yas Marina Circuit.

“As a Team, we did everything we could to get Checo up there ahead of Charles, we had split strategies, but it didn’t work out today. Overall, we’ve achieved a lot this year as a Team and we can all be proud of that, it’s great motivation heading into next year.“

Following a successful final weekend in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Logan Sargeant, Williams Racing has finally confirmed that the young American will be partnering Alex Albon at the Grove-based team for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Sargeant headed into the Formula 2 season finale in Abu Dhabi needing to finish at least fifth in the Driver Championship to obtain the final ten points required to secure his Super Licence. A sixth-place finish in the Sprint Race was followed up by a fifth-place finish in the Feature Race, allowing Sargeant to capture fourth in the Drivers Championship and a full-time drive with the Williams team in 2023.

The twenty-one-year-old becomes the first American driver to race in Formula 1 since Alexander Rossi, who undertook a five-race stint for the Manor Marussia F1 Team in 2015.

Sargeant’s impending arrival in the sport is potentially a very significant moment for Formula 1 as they look to continue expanding into the American market. With Formula 1 also set to race in the U.S. on three separate occasions next season, Sargeant has every chance of becoming a fan favourite within the American fanbase.

Speaking on the news, Sargeant was understandably delighted, giving thanks to the personnel inside the Williams team and to the owners of the team, Dorilton Capital, for providing him with the opportunity to race in Formula 1.

Williams Racing Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson reflected on a successful post-season test for the team, where Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant completed programmes that aimed to gather knowledge on Pirelli’s 2023 tyres. 

“We’ve had a very productive day to complete the 2022 season. Both cars ran reliably throughout, which allowed Alex and Logan to run their intended programmes. Alex ran through a series of tyre tests, exploring the 2023 tyres at various track temperatures and fuel loads.” 

Robson said that Sargeant was able to get far more running in during the full day test as opposed to the free practice sessions he partook in during the season, giving him a solid basis to work off of going into his first season with the team.

“Logan got his first experience of a proper day of F1 testing as well as some useful exposure to the 2023 tyres. We were able to do a lot more work with him than is possible during an FP1 session and everything he did will set him up nicely for the crucial pre-season testing that we will do next February.”

With both drivers putting in great laps on Pirelli’s softer compounds, Robson was happy with the team’s results relative to the rest of the grid, with Albon finishing the test as sixth fastest and Sargeant slotting in just behind in seventh. 

Logan Sargeant participated in post-season testing with Williams Racing, where he completed eighty-two laps for the team. Having acquired the necessary super-license points at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to qualify for a seat in F1, Sergeant will be joining Williams in 2023 to drive alongside Alex Albon. 

The test was successful for the American driver, as he was able to complete the entirety of their run plan with the team. Sargeant said that he was pleased to be able to get a whole day’s running in for the first time, which allowed him to fully acclimate to the FW43. 

Sargeant plans to use the time off from racing over the winter to ensure that he is as prepared as possible for his debut season in F1, from working out to putting in mileage on the simulator.

“Today went well. Throughout the day we gradually progressed, got through our test plan and completed all the laps we needed to do. By the end of the day I felt super comfortable.

“It was really nice to get a full day rather than a FP1 to properly get to grips with everything. My season hasn’t ended, there’s a lot of work to do over the next three months to prepare myself for next season.

Rick Ware Racing will switch Ford partners for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. After working with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2022, they have joined forces with RFK Racing. RWR announced the news on Monday, shortly after it was broken by Lee Spencer of Racin’ Boys.

Holding two charters, Ware fields the #15 and #51 Ford Mustangs full-time. While the #15 is split between multiple drivers, Ware’s son Cody Ware pilots the #51. The two cars finished next to each other in the owner points with the #15 ahead in thirty-fourth. Ware placed thirty-second in the driver standings with a top ten in the regular season finale at Daytona.

The partnership with SHR allowed RWR to find a permanent manufacturer after spending much of their Cup programme’s history running a mix of Fords and Chevrolets. Despite dissolving the SHR alliance, Ware will still work with Roush Yates Engines and Ford Performance for engines and support.

“Very excited to be a part of this alliance as we take another step as a team and myself as a driver,” Cody Ware tweeted.

RFK Racing spawned from Brad Keselowski purchasing a stake in Roush Fenway Racing ahead of the 2022 season. Although both Keselowski and Chris Buescher missed the playoffs, the latter scored his first Cup win since 2016 at Bristol to complete a non-playoff driver sweep of the Round of 16. Buescher finished twenty-first in points with ten top tens and a pole, while Keselowski was twenty-fourth with six top tens and also notched a pole. The duo also won the two Daytona 500 qualifying races.

2022 might have been a difficult year for Lewis Hamilton as a driver, but at least the seven-time F1 World Champion can still add a trophy to his collection as a team owner.

X44 Vida Carbon Racing‘s Cristina Gutiérrez and Sébastien Loeb finished third in Sunday’s Energy X Prix Final to secure their first Extreme E championship, taking advantage of a disastrous weekend for rival Rosberg X Racing. RXR, the defending champion and run by Hamilton’s former F1 team-mate Nico Rosberg, dominated the 2022 season but were set back by multiple errors and penalties before a disqualification in the Energy X Prix’s Crazy Race sidelined them for the Final.

The Rosberg team could only watch as Hamilton’s outfit needed a podium to take the championship for themselves. Amidst a cloud of dust, Loeb and Gutiérrez struggled to keep pace in their backup car, a predicament that developed after Gutiérrez rolled in qualifying, with the leaders ABT CUPRA XE, McLaren XE, Andretti United XE, and Veloce Racing. Matters finally improved when Veloce received a five-second penalty for Kevin Hansen hitting a waypoint flag followed by a seven-second addition to Andretti for speeding in the switch area. Gutiérrez was able to close the gap to Andretti’s Catie Munnings just enough that the penalty would swing in X44’s favour and promote the team to third.

“I am so blown away by this come back after such a difficult day yesterday,” Hamilton posted on social media. “The team rebuilding, staying positing and coming out fighting. Wow, I’m so proud of the team and these two amazing drivers.”

X44 ends the season with 86 points, just two ahead of RXR, with a win at the Copper X Prix. It was a reversal of 2021 when RXR claimed the championship via tiebreaker.

Rosberg X Racing looked like a juggernaut for much of their Extreme E championship defence, but a series of miscues in the Energy X Prix has blown the title battle wide open.

A poor showing in qualifying and a crash in their heat relegated RXR to the Crazy Race alongside fellow championship contender X44 Vida Carbon Racing. While precarious, it was not the end of the world for RXR as they simply needed to win the Crazy Race to clinch the title, but even that did not come to fruition. An early spin after contact with Tamara Molinaro forced Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky to regain lost ground, only to collide with Hedda Hosås and force JBXE into retirement. While RXR was able to repair the car in time, they were barred from continuing due to a switch bay violation.

With RXR out of the picture, X44 overcame their five-second chassis violation penalty and drove off to the Crazy Race win, which was cushioned by XITE Energy Racing receiving a thirty-second penalty for Molinaro’s incident with Åhlin-Kottulinsky. In order to leapfrog RXR for the championship, they need to finish at least second in the Final or third if they win the Continental Traction Challenge.

In the two Semi-Finals, Veloce Racing continued their strong weekend by winning the first while Andretti United XE took the second. ABT CUPRA XE and McLaren XE also punched their tickets by finishing second. ACCIONA | Sainz XE, who maintained an outside shot at the title entering the weekend, saw their hopes disappear after Laia Sanz rolled while trying to pass McLaren’s Emma Gilmour.

Race results

Semi-Final #1

Semi-Final #2

Crazy Race

As FIA’s Extreme E wraps up 2022 and prepares for Season 3 in 2023, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme‘s version will kick off its maiden season that same year.

The FIM E-Xplorer World Cup will début in 2023 with a six-race calendar in various parts of the world beginning in Barcelona on 13 May. The series uses electric all-terrain motorbikes that are capable of competing in off-road and urban environments.

“I am so pleased to share the inaugural calendar of the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup,” stated series co-founder Carina Munte. “The fact that we will be able to bring the thrill of electric bikes to fans across the world and showcase the skills of these incredible female and male riders makes me very proud. We are excited to work with the FIM, the teams, the riders and our local partners to deliver exceptional events and take this new discipline to huge heights.”

Besides the electric aspect, the E-Xplorer World Cup will take a page from Extreme E by fielding twelve teams with a male and female rider each. This equal-gender approach, an effort to close the gap between men and women in a male-dominated sport, has also been employed by CE Dealer Team in the fellow electric series FIA World Rallycross Championship.

“E-Xplorer is part of the electric motorsport revolution and will lead the electric two-wheel industry development, the same way we did with the four-wheel industry with Formula E,” said Extreme E founder Alejandro Agag. “The fact that the inaugural season will feature six races on three continents proves that it is a global sport that will bring the excitement of electric motorcycling to fans all over the world. I am very proud to be involved with E-Xplorer, a championship that stands for gender equality, innovation, exciting racing and sustainability.”

Saturday’s Energy X Prix qualifying shook up the Extreme E championship picture some more. After Rosberg X Racing and X44 Vida Carbon Racing, who comprise the top two in the standings, rolled in single-car qualifying, both were marred by poor finishes in the second round that relegated both to the bottom of the weekend standings. ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team, the only other team with a mathematical shot at the title, conversely has much of the momentum entering Sunday as do Veloce Racing.

Despite having a new driver pairing in Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor for the Energy X Prix and beyond, Veloce finished second in Round #1 of qualifying before winning Heat #2 ahead of JBXE. When combined, their nineteen points in the classification scored them their first qualifying victory and makes them the first team not named X44 or RXR to win the session overall since the series’ inception.

“It’s been a fantastic day,” said Hansen. “We did a really good job with the set up and driving improvement, and I think we could see that in the first qualifying. We stayed clean all the way through and had good pace, just half a second off P1. In the second round, we kept cool. We had a great position going into it and got a lead after the first lap and had a generally good run. We just need to make a few small improvements for tomorrow, but I think we can be really happy with this first day.”

Hansen and Taylor notched their first career XE qualifying victories, though Taylor previously won Round #2 at the 2021 Arctic X Prix as an RXR driver.

“[Veloce is] a great team and we’re having a great time, so to have a first day like this has been really encouraging,” offered Taylor. “There is still a lot of work to do on my side, but all in all we’ve been able to push where we could and manage where we needed to. Now we’re really looking forward to tomorrow.”

The desert racing community is mourning the passing of Ben Binckley, who suffered severe brain injuries in a crash last Wednesday while pre-running for the SCORE International Baja 1000. He was 44 years old.

Binckley had posted a video on social media of himself pre-running with friends hours prior to the accident. He was taken back to the United States and placed under care at the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. His life support was turned off a week later.

The son of Baja veteran Rich Binckley, he competed in SCORE races such as the Baja 500 and 1000. In 2012, Binckley won the Baja 1000’s Class 30 division alongside Mike Johnson, Rex Cameron, Jason Trubey, and Clint Braun. Six years later, he and Scott Myers‘ team finished fourth overall in the Baja 500.

“My heart is stomped into those Borrego rocks,” posted Binckley’s close friend and Pro Moto 60 winner Guy Laycraft. “There is no answers except we racers know the risks and like Rich Binckley texted me tonight ‘He died doing what he loved, with the people he loved, and in a place he loved.’ I thank God that he was able to stay at my home in San Felipe for a few days and got to know my señorita and my step children and we could support each other at our own Baja quests. I thank God that the Winkleman’s and Oscar Hale were at the awards and I know I leaned hard on them.

“My class win at this 1000 seems irrelevant now but I also I know how happy Ben would be for me, our team and for the diversity we overcome. I pray God for the family and the numerous people who loved Ben and are devastated by this tragedy to have the support and love to help and carry them through this trying time. This tragedies are nothing new for racers in Baja and I love to think there is a heaven and all the departed racers are shredding golf courses on KX 500’s. Gods Speed Ben Binckley I will never forget you my Baja Buddy.”

Turns out McLaren XE‘s Free Practice roll on Friday was not a one-time accident.

Saturday’s Qualifying Round #1 literally turned the championship battle upside down as the top two teams in points saw their cars roll over with Rosberg X Racing‘s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky followed by X44 Vida Carbon Racing‘s Cristina Gutiérrez. Hedda Hosås of JBXE also suffered a rollover, which she rationalised was the presence of “a small bump, and it’s hard to save that when you’re going uphill.”

None of those involved were injured.

“I came up and had too much weight on the outer wheel and just rolled,” said Åhlin-Kottulinsky. “Hopefully our car should be ready for Q2, and timing wise we were fine, so we take the good parts with us, make some changes, and work from there.”

The track is notably very slippery, especially in the grassy section which is a terrain that the primarily-sand/dirt series is not too familiar with.

Kush Maini will follow in the footsteps of his older brother Arjun Maini by racing in the FIA Formula 2 championship in 2023, the Indian racer joining Campos Racing.

Maini’s arrival means Campos’ line-up for next season is now complete, the Spanish outfit having already confirmed Ralph Boschung will remain with them for another season.

The twenty-two-year-old will step up from FIA Formula 3, where he raced with MP Motorsport in 2022, with Maini securing a solitary podium finish in Hungary amid a handful of top ten finishes.  However, he is excited by the challenge of racing in Formula 2 for the first time next season.

“Super happy to be joining Campos Racing team!” expressed Maini.  “I’ve spent sometime with the team at their workshop and really enjoyed the atmosphere and the professionalism, looking forward to the 3 day test at Abu Dhabi to officially start our relationship together!

“I would like to thank Mumbai Falcons, Omega Seiki Mobility and JK Racing for all their support.”

Clément Novalak will look to build on what he learned during his rookie FIA Formula 2 championship next season as he switches to Trident Motorsport.

Novalak was racing alongside 2022 champion Felipe Drugovich at MP Motorsport this year, but he will return to Trident, who he had moderate success with during his time in FIA Formula 3.

The twenty-two-year-old Frenchman secured one podium finish during his rookie season, and after a year of experience in Formula 2, he will be looking to make the next step and fight for outright victories.

Trident ran Richard Verschoor, Calan Williams and, for the final round, Zane Maloney during the 2022 season, with Verschoor securing a race win in Bahrain as well as two additional podium finishes on his way to twelfth place in the Drivers’ Championship.

Giacomo Ricci, the Team Manager at Trident, is delighted to be bringing Novalak back into the team for next season, and he hopes to see both team and driver build on what they learned and achieved in 2022.

Frederik Vesti was ecstatic after completing his maiden FIA Formula 1 World Championship test with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team during the post-season test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

As one of Mercedes’ sim drivers, the Danish driver was called up to run the young driver side of the test, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton sharing the driving duties in the Pirelli tyre test side, with all drivers running the W13 for the final time.

Vesti completed one hundred and twenty-four laps of the Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday, and he hopes the opportunity will help him progress with the next stage of his career, which will see him move from ART Grand Prix to Prema Racing for his second season of FIA Formula 2 in 2023.

“My first test in an F1 car has been the most incredible day, no words can truly describe how awesome it was!” Vesti is quoted as saying by PlanetF1.com. “I want to thank Mercedes for giving me this opportunity.

“Driving 260kph through the high-speed corners and experiencing 5G in the neck… the forces a Formula 1 car produces are remarkable. I’ve done 124 laps today learning the car and running on different compounds, so a massive amount of driving.