Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Lando Norris was once again the best McLaren F1 Team driver on Saturday at the Mexico City Grand Prix; however, he wasn’t best of the rest in qualifying at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

That honour went to Valtteri Bottas, who staggeringly split the Scuderia Ferrari‘s, perhaps making the Finnish driver Norris’ target on Sunday. Importantly, Norris did manage to out-qualify both BWT Alpine F1 Team drivers, with the Woking-based team in a desperate position to try and claw some points back in the battle for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Norris was overall “very happy” to qualify eighth place, and is aware that at the circuit in Mexico City “many things can happen”.

“I’m very happy, it was a good day today and I’m pleased with P8. I did a very good lap in Q3 to put us ahead of both the Alpines, which is the best we could do in the conditions. We’re too far off the teams ahead, but that’s usual, so I’m happy because we’ve given ourselves a good chance going into tomorrow’s race.

“It’s a long run down to Turn One, many things can happen. We’ll switch our concentration to the race and focus on having a clean start, getting away, getting our heads down and having a clean race from then on.”

This weekend, Carlos Checa Carrera and Laia Sanz are competing against each other in the FIA World Rallycross Championship RX2e round at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. In January, however, the Spaniards will join forces with Óscar Fuertes to attempt the 2023 Dakar Rally.

The 2011 Superbike World Champion and a MotoGP veteran, Checa made his début at Dakar in 2022 with MD Rallye Sport. While his performance was mainly in the twenties for the T1 category, a string of early retirements including a Stage #3 rollover relegated him to an overall finish of sixty-sixth.

While Checa is more known for his pavement racing, Sanz has extensive experience in off-road and rally raid. Since her first Dakar start in 2011 through 2021, she was one of the top riders in the Bikes, including a ninth-place run in 2015 and consistently being the highest finishing woman. Sanz switched to four wheels for 2022 and raced a Mini Cooper for X-raid Team, notching a general classification of twenty-third.

Fuertes finished thirty-fourth overall in T1 at the 2022 Rally. It was his fourth attempt at the race after running the 2018 through 2020 editions, notching a best finish of twenty-fourth in 2020. His maiden start saw him as the second-best finisher of the newcomers in thirty-second. In the 1990s, Fuertes was a member of the Carlos Sainz Junior Team, a rally academy whose head is currently Sanz’s partner in Extreme E.

Astara Team is the racing arm of Astara, a mobility company formerly known as Bergé Auto that distributes cars in Europe and Latin America. The team has received support from the city of Madrid along with Nebrija University, the latter of whom is working with Sodicars to design their 2023 Dakar challenger.

Valtteri Bottas appeared to drive Saturday like he was still part of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, after not only making it into Qualifying Three but splitting the two Scuderia Ferrari‘s.

It meant that the Finn was unbelievably the second Ferrari-powered driver on the grid, with there being no reason why he can’t do it again on Sunday at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Incredibly, Bottas was on the brink of beating Carlos Sainz Jr for fifth, highlighting just how well the former-Mercedes driver is performing this weekend.

Bottas explained that the reason for the strong pace was that the car has been “good from the get-go”, with only small tweaks having been made to the set-up.

“We had a really good qualifying, on top of a weekend in which we have consistently been in the top ten. It’s a good result ahead of tomorrow and I’m personally pleased with having delivered the best lap of the whole weekend when it mattered, at the end of Q3. The car was good from the get-go, all we needed was to refine the setup to extract even more performance; the track layout did help, with slow-speed corners that really work well for us.

“I’m optimistic for tomorrow: we need points for our battle in the championship and we’re in an excellent position to have a good fight. It’s F1, so everything can happen, but we’re up there and that’s what matters today.”

Scuderia Ferrari have work to do should they wish to claim a podium on Sunday at the Mexico City Grand Prix, after Carlos Sainz Jr qualified fifth and Charles Leclerc seventh.

Both Sainz and Leclerc appeared to struggle with the driveability of the F1-75, with replays having shown the duo sliding and drifting over the kerbs around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The F1-75 really does appear to be a handful, something that could be an issue on Sunday in regard to tyre degradation.

Both Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team look considerably stronger than the Italians, despite Sainz having actually topped Free Practice One on Friday.

Ferrari’s Racing Director, Laurent Mekies, admitted that the car is “struggling more than usual” in Mexico City, but that the team will “bring home plenty of points”.

“It was a tight qualifying today. This season, we’ve got used to being higher up the grid, but today we had to settle for 5th and 7th. It’s probably fair to say that we were not totally satisfied with the behaviour of our cars on this track, and that there are perhaps a few things we still need to crack around here to be more competitive.

Carlos Sainz Jr ended qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix as the top Scuderia Ferrari driver, following what was a seemingly challenging day for the Maranello-based team.

Sainz will line-up fifth for Sunday’s race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, after ending up almost six-tenths of a second behind polesitter Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s woes are somewhat of a shock, considering that the Spaniard led a Ferrari one-two Friday morning.

However, it does appear that the Italians turned the engines down during qualifying, over concerns that their unreliable power units might suffer a less than surprising fate. Given that Ferrari are battling Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team for second in the Constructors’ Championship, the team can’t afford for either driver to retire on Sunday.

Sainz admitted that Saturday was “difficulty”, with the F1-75 appearing to be a handful over the kerbs around the circuit.

“It was a difficult qualifying. Riding the kerbs was very tricky for us, especially in the first two sectors, which meant it was challenging to put together the perfect lap. I tried everything out there today to get a better result but couldn’t make it. Nonetheless, the weekend is not over and we will fight hard all the way to the chequered flag.“

Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix might just be the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team‘s final chance of victory in 2022, something they so desperately desire.

This season has been dreadful, woeful, and painful for the Silver Arrows, as they’ve had to watch on as Oracle Red Bull Racing have stormed to glory for the first-time since 2013; however, one victory will give the Germans something to hang onto.

Sunday looks set to be the team’s best bet to claim their first win of the season, given how strong George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have locked all weekend. The duo qualified second and third respectively in what was the side’s best Saturday of the season, although, the points aren’t awarded till Sunday.

Both drivers did make mistakes in Qualifying Three, demonstrating that there is more pace on hand in the W13.

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff hailed the team’s “mega car” on Saturday, and is hopeful that the side are finally “creeping back to the front”.

George Russell is going to be right in the mix for victory in Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, after qualifying second at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, three-tenths behind polesitter Max Verstappen.

Russell has looked strong all weekend in Mexico, topping Free Practice Two and Free Practice Three prior to the all-important Saturday session. The Brit was on-track to claim pole position as he exited the second sector, but ran wide at Turn Twelve, both ruining his final lap and deleting his lap due to exceeding track limits.

Pole isn’t necessarily the place to be, though, at this circuit, with the last four polesitters having gone on to finish outside the top three on Sunday.

Russell “felt like pole” was possible and was left “kicking” himself after making the crucial error on his final lap.

“It feels like the team deserved more today – the car has been great this weekend and it’s a testament to the hard work that has been going in for so long. At this high altitude, drag is less of a factor for us on the straights, and the update we brought to Austin is performing well. We saw last week with Lewis what the car was capable of, and this weekend, it felt like pole position was there for us.

Dino Beganovic will join PREMA’s FIA Formula 3 driver lineup for the 2023 season, making it the eighteen-year-olds fourth consecutive season driving for the team, after representing them for a season in Formula 4, followed up by two years in FREC.

Beganovic clinched the 2022 Formula regional European championship title by forty points, beating out Italian driver Gabriele Mini to secure top spot in his second season in the series.

The Swede also impressed in the PREMA car at Formula 3 post-season testing in Jerez, where he completed a monumental two hundred and thirty-nine laps across the three-day test.

Beganovic expressed his delight towards receiving the call-up to the team as he said, “I am extremely happy to be racing with Prema, my team, in the 2023 FIA F3 Championship, it will be our fourth year together, and I’m very proud to continue working together. 

“Prema has an amazing history in F3 and won at least one championship per year there. I think it is definitely a step in the right direction for my future and for the team, as we have been working for a long time together. Testing in Jerez put us in a good position with the preparations for next year, and we want to continue from that.”

After claiming his sixth pole position of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Max Verstappen has spoken on his surprise to be leading the pack into turn one for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.

Oracle Red Bull Racing had feared that the nature of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez would not suit the characteristics of the RB18 and after the Dutchmen had finished behind both Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team cars in Qualifying One and Two, it had indeed appeared that Red Bull and Max Verstappen would not be contending for pole position.

However, come the time of Qualifying Three and the two-time world champion stepped up and put his RB18 on provisional pole by over a tenth of a second to George Russell. Verstappen would improve his original time by just under two tenths of a second and it would prove to be enough to claim pole position after both Mercedes cars would fall marginally short of Verstappen’s time.

Speaking after qualifying, Verstappen attributed his pole position to a number of late changes to the setup of his RB18 after practice.

“To be on pole here is amazing. It was a tricky start to qualifying as the track was a bit warmer than FP3, I didn’t expect to be on pole here. Around this track it’s hard to nail a lap and we’ve been struggling to find a good balance in the car. After practice we made quite a few adjustments and we got into a better rhythm.”

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner has spoken on what he has described as a ‘remarkable final lap’ from Max Verstappen at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to claim his sixth pole position of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Red Bull had initially been trailing Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and Scuderia Ferrari across the weekend but late changes to the setup of the RB18 would see the Constructors Champions claw their way back into the fight.

Verstappen had trailed both Mercedes drivers in Qualifying One and Two but was able to set down a marker in Qualifying Three by claiming provisional pole, after his first run in Q3 would see him more than a tenth of a second ahead of George Russell.

The two-time world champion would then turn provisional pole into his sixth pole position of the season as he would improve on his original time by just under two-tenths of a second. Both Mercedes cars would push Verstappen close, but the improvement to his time would prove to be too much for both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

An electrical issue for Sergio Perez throughout qualifying would deny the home crowd favourite any chance of contending for pole position as the Mexican driver was without any reference to his lap times and also without any information on his brake balance.

While Ty Gibbs‘ talent is undeniable, he has not been doing himself any favours with his driving style. Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway did little to assuage that reputation when he broke the cardinal rule of wrecking his team-mate for the win.

Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Brandon Jones needed to win to advance to the Championship Round, and was leading when the final lap began. Gibbs, who was already locked into the last round on points, decided to go for the win anyway and gave Jones a bump in turn one, causing him to spin into the wall. As Gibbs took the checkered flag, Jones was unceremoniously classified twenty-third and eliminated from the playoffs.

Gibbs was promptly booed by the fans and roundly criticised by fans and peers. While he has established himself as a racing prodigy with ten Xfinity Series wins at the age of twenty, racing for his grandfather’s team and his on-track conduct—the latter of which already resulted in fines at both the Cup and Xfinity levels—have turned him into an increasingly unpopular figure.

“Jesus was hated first and among all the people. That’s a part of it,” said Gibbs, an outspoken Christian, about the boos. “Just silencing out the crowd, I feel like that’s what you have to do as a professional athlete and some of the best people are going to get booed. You can’t let all those opinions drive your actions and make you feel bad or anything. It’s just part of life. If I did let them eat me up, then I would be weak on my part.

“There’s definitely things to learn. There are situations where you have to learn from. You might be able to let it eat you up just a little bit just so you learn from it. Same stuff like what happened at Texas and stuff like that, even earlier this year when I got in a scuffle (coincidentally, also at Martinsville). There’s just some stuff that you might let get it to you just so you can learn from, but besides that, it’s wins are wins and you can’t let it get to you.”

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix after a divisive battle for the top spot in Saturday Qualifying. Mercedes AMG-Petronas F1 Team’s George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are set to line up second and third after showing particularly competitive pace in Mexico City, while home-town favorite Sergio Pérez slotted into fourth place. 

Q1 – Aston Martin, Williams face early elimination

Haas F1 Team and Williams Racing were first out on the high-elevation track, followed by Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, to set their initial times. Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen led the early pack, with times of 1:21.024 and 1:21.043 respectively. 

The entirety of the grid were setting out to complete their first laps by the ten minute mark, with 2022 World Champion Verstappen quickly rising to the top spot with a 1:19.222. Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was about three tenths behind, while Valtteri Bottas put together an impressive effort to place his Alfa Romeo in third place. 

Pérez saw his first lap complicated as his Drag Reduction System did not open, hindering his performance significantly to place him around tenth position once all drivers had a representative lap on the board. 

With six minutes to go in the first session, both Williams cars and Haas cars were at risk in the bottom five– Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel also found himself in the elimination zone, and team-mate Lance Stroll was just on the edge. 

It may have taken until round 8 of the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship, but 2019 world champion Timmy Hansen finally has a win under his belt in the all-new RX1e class. Johan Kristoffersson will have to wait until Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to claim his fifth world title, having been ruled out of contention at turn 1 by Hansen’s brother and teammate Kevin Hansen.

Timmy had a great launch off the line, leading the pack into turn 1. From the spectacular drone footage we have been enjoying all season, it looked like there was not much room at all in turn 1 as the two Hansen World RX Team drivers rotated their cars in. Kristoffersson was holding the inside line and unfortunately he and Kevin touched, possibly nudging Kristoffersson into the wall. As Kristoffersson tried to turn his car in, he took both himself and Kevin deep into the gravel trap, from which they both emerged well out of contention. From then on for Timmy, it was a simple enough case of defending from a very rapid Niclas Grönholm, who along with the rest of the CE Dealer Team should be very proud of the pace they demonstrated today, and who pushed hard all the way to the checkered flag. For the second event in a row, third place went to the Swedish teen superstar Gustav Bergström, who continues to go from strength to strength in his KMS Volkswagen Polo RX1e.

Speaking after the race, Hansen said “I’ve wanted nothing more than to win…I’ve come so close so many times and today was the day!…We didn’t beat him [Kristoffersson] in SuperPole and he is still the fastest, I would say. But we have definitely come closer, and it’s nice just to be in that fighting range.” Addressing the contact between his brother and Kristoffersson, he explained “I don’t know what happened in the race overall; I just knew I was fighting Niclas and he was very fast so I needed to put in some good laps.”

Kristoffersson will be naturally disappointed with the final result, having looked so strong all day. He took the SuperPole and Heat 1 victories with ease, finishing the latter some 2.5 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Times were more inconsistent across the board in Heat 2 as the event organisers had watered some of the track to try and improve visibility in the very dusty sections, playing into Kristoffersson’s hands as he went out in the last race of the heat. He was 2 seconds slower than in Heat 1 but still over 3 seconds ahead of Kevin Hansen.

The Progression Race showed the first signs of what was to come, with some truly spectacular racing. Timmy Hansen pulled off a stunning move on Kristoffersson, sticking to the inside line at turn 1 and getting a better drive out of the corner. Later, at the Joker Merge, Hansen and Kristoffersson were absolutely alongside each other, their electric machines screaming down the back straight before attacking the long sweeping downhill left hand turn side by side. They made contact, again because two cars into one simply does not go, spinning Kristoffersson and allowing Hansen to head to a race win.

The last time Parker Kligerman was a full-time driver in any NASCAR national division, he was a 22-year-old driving a Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Nationwide Series. The next time he runs a full schedule, he will be a 32-year-old in a Chevrolet, KBM no longer has a programme in said series, and it is now the Xfinity Series.

On Saturday, Big Machine Racing announced Kligerman will drive the #48 Chevrolet Camaro for the full 2023 season. He did a one-off with the team at Talladega, where he finished sixth.

“Parker Kligerman is coming to Big Machine Racing at the perfect time,” said team owner Scott Borchetta. “As our team continues to grow and put up real results, Parker has the experience and talent to take us next level. He has also become a staple in the NASCAR world with fans and industry alike and he will be a great ambassador for Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers and our other brands.”

The opportunity arose when the two parties made contact shortly after Kligerman won the Camping World Truck Series race at Mid-Ohio in July. He has run limited schedules in the series for Henderson Motorsports since 2017, scoring two wins. In twelve races in 2022, he notched eight top tens, four top fives, and the Mid-Ohio victory. Kligerman has three career wins in the Trucks, including two at Talladega.

He raced for the Truck title in 2011 and 2012, finishing fifth in points in the latter, before graduating to the now-Xfinity Series in 2013 with KBM. Despite placing ninth in the standings with thirteen top tens, he was out of a ride when KBM shuttered their arm in that series. In the decade since, he has run just five Xfinity races, mostly on road courses, with a pair of top tens.

The fourth round of the 2022/23 Nitro Rallycross season returns to Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California. It is the second leg in the three-race United States stretch after ERX earlier in October and preceding the Wild Horse Pass round in mid-November.

Travis Pastrana, winner of the Supercar round at Glen Helen in 2021, will have all the momentum as he seeks to score his second straight Group E victory after triumphing at ERX. He will have to make up some considerable ground in the standings as he sits fourth with 103 points behind Robin Larsson (161 points), Andreas Bakkerud (140), and Fraser McConnell (114). Bakkerud scored a Supercar podium in the 2021 edition.

Oliver Bennett‘s team-mate Jenson Button continues his America-only schedule after finishing ninth in his series début in Minnesota. Kevin Eriksson, who made his first start of the year at ERX after missing the start due to injury, had a disappointing end to said round after crashing out but was strong throughout with three battle bracket wins.

With the NEXT Europe class having wrapped up its season at ERX, drivers exclusively competing on that side like champion Tommi Hallman will not return for Glen Helen. Nevertheless, Americans who raced the European rounds will unsurprisingly continue their seasons on home soil like George Megennis and Lane Vacala, as will Swede and 2021 NEXT champion Casper Jansson.

Eric Gordon, who finished sixth in last year’s NEXT points, is back after finishing seventh in Minneapolis. For the second consecutive round, a Championship Off-Road Pro 4 driver appears as Jimmy Henderson will make his maiden NEXT start; fellow Pro 4 racer Andrew Carlson placed sixth in Group E at ERX.