Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

George Russell has led calls for the way penalty points are handed out in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship to be looked into as Pierre Gasly nears a possible race ban.

Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Gasly has racked up ten penalty points on his Superlicence during the 2022 season and is only two points away from picking up a race ban, something that has yet to happen since the penalty points system was introduced.

But Russell, who races for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and is a director on the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), does not feel Gasly deserves to be as close to a ban as he is.

And Russell has called for an overhaul of the penalty system, with the wish to only see points awarded for dangerous driving rather than for things like exceeding track limits.

The penalty doesn’t fit the crime, especially in Pierre’s case,” Russell is quoted as saying to BBC Sport.  “He has some for Safety Car infringements and incidents in practice sessions.

Dr. Helmut Marko has revealed that Liam Lawson will race in Super Formula in 2023, while Dennis Hauger will share the reserve driver duties with the two Red Bull teams in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship with the New Zealander next season.

Lawson will bring to an end his time in the FIA Formula 2 championship after next weeks round in Abu Dhabi and will switch to competing in Japan, following in the footsteps of current Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly and former Formula 1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne, amongst others, in making the move.

Marko, a long-time advisor to Red Bull, says Lawson will benefit from racing in Japan even though he will face fierce competition from the Japanese racers that know the Super Formula championship inside out.

“He will do Super Formula,” Marko said to Motorsport.com.  “It’s a difficult place to be. The Japanese drivers know every centimetre, they know all the tracks, it’s not easy.”

Lawson, who has participated in two free practice sessions with AlphaTauri in 2022 and will run in the first session in Abu Dhabi with Oracle Red Bull Racing next week, will act as the reserve driver for both teams next year, with Norwegian driver Hauger stepping in when he is unavailable.

Enzo Fittipaldi has joined the Red Bull Junior Team programme and will race with Carlin in the FIA Formula 2 championship, it was announced on Saturday.

The Brazilian, who used to be a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy before stepping away from that programme at the beginning of 2021, has been competing with the Charouz Racing System team in Formula 2 this year, and despite being in a team not usually noted for fighting at the front, he has secured six podium finishes and sits sixth in the standings heading into the final round of the season.

Fittipaldi revealed that the serious talks began with Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko after impressing during the Hungarian round of the season in July, with the first meeting taking place a few weeks later in Belgium. From there on, talks have been ongoing and during his home event in Brazil, the deal was unveiled.

“I think after my result in Budapest where I got two podiums in the same weekend, we started (talking),” said Fittipaldi to RACER. “I’ve always had a bit of contact since last year with Dr. Helmut Marko and then in Spa this year we had a meeting – so after Budapest – and we were talking and I’m very happy to announce I’m now part of the Red Bull family.

“The junior team is an amazing opportunity for me.”

As Bristol Motor Speedway continues to pursue a revitalisation project for the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, they and Nashville Metropolitan Mayor John Cooper have reached a so-called ‘landmark’ deal to set the terms for how the process will work. Notably, the track will see the NASCAR Cup Series return for the first time since 1984 with a race there every other season for thirty years.

“Partnering with Bristol allows Nashville to preserve our 131-year tradition of racing at the Fairgrounds and bring the legendary speedway back to life as a valuable and exciting part of the modernised Fairgrounds,” Cooper stated. He signed a letter of intent to launch renovations in March 2021. “Recognising our obligation to maintain the track, we are leveraging investments from the state, the tourism industry, and facility users to make this a financial success for the city. We can put this landmark back on the national stage. I look forward to working with the Fair Board, Sports Authority and the Metro Council in the months ahead.”

Once coming into force, Bristol would take over operation for thirty years that entails organising the aforementioned Cup race (and support events such as the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series) and paying for pre-development expenses and a fraction of design costs. Bristol will also designate four weekends as “significant event weeks” with major events like races; while the first three weeks permit Bristol to use nearby areas such as the convention centre, the fourth only allows them to use the speedway.

To alleviate local concerns about noise, race weekends can take place ten times at most per year, while practices can only be held on twenty weekdays. Such sessions also have a schedule to follow, with track action on Monday through Thursday being four hours long (3 PM to 7 PM) while Saturdays allow for 9 AM to 9 PM. Non-Cup races must start after noon and end before 10 PM (an hour later is granted in case of weather).

“This is a tremendous step forward for Mayor Cooper’s office, the city of Nashville and our company to preserve history with a revitalized Fairgrounds Speedway,” Speedway Motorsports head Marcus Smith added. “It’s time to establish a bright future for NASCAR’s return to the fairgrounds and create impactful new entertainment that will benefit the city and region. We’d like to thank the NASCAR community, local racers, business and non-profit partners who’ve helped us reach this point, and we look forward to working with Fair Board and Metro Council in the coming weeks to make this vision a reality for Nashville.”

Oscar Piastri will be allowed to run in the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship post-season test in Abu Dhabi with the McLaren F1 Team after the Australian was released early from his contract with the BWT Alpine F1 Team.

Since the dispute over his contract for 2023 that ultimately went to court, there were doubts that Alpine would release him in time to run in 2022 machinery, but the two teams have come to an agreement that will allow the 2021 FIA Formula 2 champion to run in McLaren’s MCL36 at the Yas Marina Circuit later this month.

McLaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl confirmed earlier this weekend to Sky Sports F1 in Brazil that Piastri has already started his duties with the team with a test at the Circuit Paul Ricard on board their MCL35M that raced in 2021 and that has already been tested this year by Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou.

Alpine will not allow McLaren to run Piastri during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend as technically he is still part of the Enstone-based team until the end of the season, but they will not stand in his way to run in the young driver test the following week.  O’Ward will get his first free practice run in Abu Dhabi to complete McLaren’s mandatory young driver practice runs in 2022.

“There was a negotiation on an agreement as to how to part ways,” Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com.

Esteban Ocon led the way in the second and final free practice session of the São Paulo Grand Prix as teams did their homework ahead of the third and final sprint race of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season on Saturday afternoon.

With times meaning very little due to cars being in parc ferme conditions and most of the running being done on higher fuel levels, Ocon set the best time of 1:14.604 in his BWT Alpine F1 Team A522 to best Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez by just under two tenths of a second.

It was quite a clean session, with the odd lock up here and there, but everyone got through unscathed ahead of the twenty-four lap Sprint race later in the day, and the promised rain never materialised, although is still a possibility for the race.

George Russell, who will start third on the grid for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team on Saturday afternoon despite ending his Qualifying in the turn four gravel, placed third, with Fernando Alonso showing that Alpine have a good set-up for this part of the weekend by setting the fourth best time.

Max Verstappen, who is aiming for a fifteenth win of the season on Sunday, was fifth in the second Red Bull having left it late to switch to the soft tyres, with the team focusing on gathering data on the harder compounds that will help them across Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s main race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.

Sebastian Vettel was disappointed to miss out on a Q3 appearance in his final visit to the Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Friday, with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team racer finding himself only thirteenth on the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race.

The German, who will retire from the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the end of the season, set a time good enough for the top ten towards the end of the session only for others to also find more time on their final runs to relegate him down the order.

Despite the disappointment of Qualifying, Vettel feels there is a lot to play for still this weekend in Brazil as he looks to end his career on a high.

“I always like these conditions,” said Vettel. “It was slippery out there, and very tricky to correctly judge the weather.

“We missed out on getting through to Q3 by a tenth – maybe even a bit less – which makes you think about where you could have made up that time.

Pierre Gasly was the first driver to risk slick tyres during Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix on Friday, and the Frenchman felt the gamble paid off as he was able to advance into Q2.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri driver took a couple of laps to get on the pace on the slicks but immediately hit the front of the field when he did, which prompted everyone else in the field to switch away from the intermediate tyres.

Gasly was disappointed to find himself eliminated in Q2 and will start Saturday’s Sprint race from twelfth on the grid, but the Frenchman was pleased with his performance and feels AlphaTauri can fight for points from this position.

“We took the risk in Q1, as the first to fit the Slicks, and it really paid off,” said Gasly. “We knew it would be really tight as the track dried in Q2, and we missed out on Q3 by just four tenths today but overall, I think it’s been a positive Quali and I have to be happy with the laps I have done.

“The pace was obviously there, so it’s a bit of a missed opportunity that we weren’t able to get through to Q3, especially when you see who’s on pole.

Alexander Albon showed again what he is capable of during Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix on Friday, even if the Thai driver was on the wrong side of the cut-off point at the end of Q2.

The Williams Racing driver was only a few tenths of a second away from the top five at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, but with how close the field was during Qualifying, the gap meant he was out of the session.

Albon hopes the good grid spot for Saturday’s Sprint race can open up opportunities for Williams to score points, something that has been hard to come by in the opening twenty races of the season.

“As a car, what makes our tyres work is different to most people, so we were really doing our own thing today,” said Albon.  “We did a really good job with P11 and at a track like this, it’s not easy and it was really close out there.

“We were only a couple tenths behind P5, so I’m really proud and think we did a great job. This hopefully sets us up for the rest of the weekend, but we’ll see what we can do out there tomorrow.”  

Esteban Ocon made it through to Q3 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace for the first time in his FIA Formula 1 World Championship career on Friday, with the Frenchman pleased the BWT Alpine F1 Team managed their tyre choices well throughout the Qualifying hour.

Q1 started damp meaning intermediate tyres were initially needed before it dried up enough to switch to the slick tyres, while Q2 was dry throughout.  Ocon was able to get through both sessions to get into Q3, which became a one-lap shootout as the rain closed in.

Ocon says the mixed-up grid for Saturday’s sprint race gives them a good chance of fighting for points, with Alpine looking to extend their advantage over the McLaren F1 Team as the two outfits battle for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

“I’d like to first congratulate Haas and Kevin [Magnussen] for their result today,” said Ocon.  “They took a risk and it paid off, so I am happy for them.

“For us, it was of course a challenging Qualifying session but, in the end, it’s a good result for the team, finishing in sixth and seventh. It was very tricky today with the weather and we managed tyre choices well, which was important.

Laurent Mekies admitted Scuderia Ferrari did not get all of their calls right during Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix on Friday, particularly when it came to Charles Leclerc in Q3.

Ferrari appeared to have good pace in the one practice session prior to the Qualifying hour, but when the weather changed ahead of Qualifying, the session became more of a lottery for everyone.

The team opted to put Leclerc onto intermediate tyres to start Q3 – the only driver not to go out on slicks – and as a result, he was unable to set a time meaning he will start tenth.  Carlos Sainz Jr. did get a lap in, but it was only good enough for fifth.

“Today’s qualifying was something of a lottery,” said Mekies, the Racing Director at Ferrari. “The whole session was hard work and we got some calls just right and others less so, as was the case with Charles at the start of Q3.

“We split the strategies because we knew rain was imminent. In fact, the drivers on Soft tyres only just had time to put in a lap before the rain became heavy. It’s clearly frustrating for Charles and for all of us, because, this season, we have had some great qualifying sessions in equally difficult conditions. We will try and move forward, learning from today.

Carlos Sainz Jr. admitted it was a tough Qualifying session for the São Paulo Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari, with the Spaniard ending the day only fifth on the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race.

Sainz, who will take a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s main race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace following a pre-race engine change, was able to get through to the top ten shootout on Friday but was unable to maximise his one run in Q3.

He hopes to make gains on Saturday afternoon to minimise his pain with the penalty, with Sainz also taking time to congratulate Kevin Magnussen and the Haas F1 Team for taking their first ever pole position.

“A tough day for the team in a tricky qualifying,” said Sainz. “We had one shot in Q3 with the Softs before the rain arrived and we will be starting from P5 tomorrow.

“We will try to use the sprint race to gain some positions before serving the penalty on Sunday. Congratulations to Kevin and the entire Haas team for their first pole position.”

Andrea Stella admitted that the result of Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix was ‘bittersweet’ for the McLaren F1 Team as Lando Norris qualified fourth and Daniel Ricciardo only fourteenth on Friday evening.

With a different format being used this weekend due to the third of three sprint races taking place on Saturday afternoon, Qualifying took place after just a solitary hour of free practice, and Stella, the Executive Director of Racing at McLaren, admitted they were unsure going into the qualifying hour how strong the pace of the MCL36 would be.

When it came to the Qualifying hour, Norris was one of the standout stars of the session, topping Q1 before finishing inside the top five in Q2 and Q3.  However, Ricciardo was lucky to escape Q1 before falling in Q2. 

Stella says they will review why Ricciardo was unable to unlock the kind of pace Norris was able to on the slick tyres at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ahead of the Sprint race so they can help him move forward and close on the points-paying positions.

“It’s a Sprint weekend here in São Paulo, so already on Friday evening we are discussing the outcome of Qualifying,” said Stella.  “It was a tricky session today with changeable weather demanding some difficult decisions.

Lando Norris put in a superb performance during Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix on Friday despite not feeling one hundred per cent after a bout of food poisoning leading up to the weekend.

The McLaren F1 Team driver had been a doubt going into the weekend, with Nyck de Vries having had a seat fitting on Thursday in Brazil as a precaution.

However, Norris put it all behind him to put his MCL36 onto the second row of the grid for Saturday’s sprint race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, with the British racer having been strong all through all three stages of the Qualifying hour.

“I’m extremely happy with today,” Norris said after Qualifying.  “I think we did the best job we could have done throughout the whole of qualifying.

“I think the only thing we could have done a little bit better was going out first in Q3 – but there was also some risk to that. So, apart from that, we made perfect decisions, and the team did an excellent job.

It was a solid qualifying session for Oracle Red Bull Racing but one they would be disappointed with considering their recent rich vein of form.

Max Verstappen lines up on the first row just behind Kevin Magnussen, who claimed a shock first pole position after the chaos caused by rain and a red flag that was brought out due to George Russell going into the gravel.

Sergio Pérez’s only attempt in the third qualifying session was a compromised one, with Ferrari’s decision to keep Charles Leclerc on the intermediate compound costing the Mexican valuable lap time, that may have seen him claim at least a second-row start.

Red Bull Team Principal and CEO, Christian Horner was not overly pleased with his team’s performance, but he was quick to congratulate Haas F1 Team and Magnussen on their shock achievement.

“Firstly, well done to Kevin Magnussen and Haas on pole. Conditions were tough, the rain was all around us throughout Q1, Q2 & Q3 but the guys did a good job of navigating their way through to Q3. Unfortunately, a small mistake at turn 8 cost Max a bit of time but nevertheless, being on the front row is very positive for the sprint race.“