Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

FIA Formula 1 World Championship President and CEO Stefano Domenicali has appeared to shut down persistent rumours of an eleventh team potentially joining the grid after the Italian stated that Formula 1 doesn’t need any more teams to join an already busy grid.

After an unsuccessful bid last year to buy the Sauber F1 Team, which currently competes under the Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen name, Mario Andretti announced in February of this year that his son, Michael Andretti, had filed the necessary paperwork with the FIA to become the eleventh team in Formula 1.

The Andretti’s have so far proved to be unsuccessful with their attempts to join Formula 1 and Domenicali’s recent comments will cast further doubts on the likelihood of the Andretti’s joining the sport.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 Domenicali stated that Formula 1 may have already met its limit in regard to having ten teams competing in the sport.

“As always, you need to be balanced, you need to see all the things that are around the table. Having more drivers… at the end of the day there is always a limit at which you can go.

“Adding one or two, you may open up some driving seats. But we need to also have the right dimension in what is successful for the sport.“

The former Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal refused to rule out the possibility of one day an eleventh team joining the grid. However, Domenicali did appear to shut down any possible chance of a team joining the sport in the near future, by stating that an eleventh team is not ‘really a need for Formula 1’ at this present moment.

Andrew Carlson has made a name for himself in short course off-road racing, but will get another chance to strut his stuff in rallycross vehicles when Nitro Rallycross returns to ERX Motor Park on 1/2 October. He will drive the #15 FC1-X for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC in his first foray into the nascent Group E category.

Carlson’s family owns and operates ERX Motor Park in Wisconsin, which had been the source of local scrutiny in the spring regarding a conditional use permit until new terms were outlined in July. During Championship Off-Road‘s round there later in the month, he finished ninth in both Pro 4 races and won once in Pro Turbo SxS. Carlson would finish sixth in both classes’ standings with two Pro 4 podiums at Antigo and Bark River and the ERX Pro Turbo victory; a second Pro Turbo win eluded him at Dirt City when a belt broke as he began the final lap while leading.

In 2021, he ran the Nitro RX Supercar round at ERX for Olsbergs MSE and finished fifteenth overall. Among his adversaries in the race were Tanner Foust and Travis Pastrana, both of whom also competed against him in the Crandon World Cup that year; Foust returned to the 2022 World Cup with a truck provided by Carlson.

Unlike the Supercars, the Nitro Rallycross FC1-X is touted as the most powerful rallycross car ever built with much larger and stronger specs, which Carlson finds comparable to his short course vehicles.

“I’m very excited to get into a car that is going to be closer to the weight and power level of the off-road truck I am used to racing,” stated Carlson. “The fact that the FC1-X is a spec car is cool because it allows guys that haven’t raced the earlier races, like myself, to know that we are not going to be way off on the vehicle setup.”

The first day of FIA Formula 3 post-season testing began with thirty cars out on track, including sixteen drivers, new to the F3 machinery.

In the opening hour, Italian driver Gabriele Mini went top of the times 1:31.217, followed Sebastian Montoya, freshly off impressing in the last two races of the Formula 3 season with Campos Racing.

Josep Maria Marti was the first driver to venture below the 1.31’s setting a 1:30.957. However, Mini claimed top spot back from the Spaniard later on in the session recording a 1:30.499 with just over an hour remaining of the morning session.

Red flags soon followed as Kaylen Frederick found the gravel at turn six.

Mini rounded off an eventful morning session by colliding with the barriers at turn ten to bring out the second red flag of the session.

Whilst everything is going perfectly for Oracle Red Bull Racing‘s Max Verstappen on the circuit, there could be a sizeable issue brewing off it, after the Dutchman’s long-time personal sponsor had their owner and CEO paid a visit by police.

According to Eindhoven news, the CEO and owner of Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo (which sponsors Verstappen), Frits van Eerd, had their house raided by police following what has been described as a “large money laundering scandal”.

Based on reports by Eindhoven news, money laundering by Van Eerd was detected through online transactions, including, motorsport. There is a very large chance that this has absolutely nothing to do with Verstappen; however, Van Eerd is an extremely influential figure in Dutch motorsport, with the Jumbo CEO and owner having connections to Nyck de Vries as well as being the main sponsor for endurance side Racing Team Nederland.

According to local reports from the area, nine people have been arrested, including, Van Eerd himself. Whilst all nine are currently only suspects, Van Eerd did spent a night in prison; however, Jumbo have since said that he was simply there as a witness.

Having helped drivers like Verstappen and De Vries through the junior categories, Van Eerd decided to give racing a go himself and created the endurance team in 2017. People such as De Vries, Rubens Barrichello, Guido van der Garde, Jans Lammers and Job van Uytert have all driven for the Racing Team Nederland.

With the Las Vegas Grand Prix having been announced as next season’s penultimate race of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, some fascinating details have been released regarding the schedule of the returning Grand Prix.

The famous strip last featured on the calendar in 1982, albeit in a car park; however, it’s going to be returning bigger and better than ever before with a somewhat questionable timetable.

Due to the time difference and with the ambition for Las Vegas to be a night race, it will have an official start time of 22:00 local time (PST) on Saturday 18 November.

It means that for viewers in the United Kingdom, they’ll need to have the TV on for a 06:00 (GMT) start on Sunday 19 November, with the vast majority of Europe needing to be awake by 07:00 (CET). With it not starting till 22:00 local time, the 2023 Las Vegas GP will be the latest in the sport’s history, whilst also being the fourth in its history to take place on a Saturday. The last Saturday race came in 1985.

The different schedule will see the usual Friday Practice sessions take place on the Thursday, with the final Free Practice session and Qualifying set to take place on the Friday. The effect this will have on TV audiences will be interesting to see, especially given the lateness of them and with them being towards the end of the working week.

With the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship official calendar having been released, the organisers of the Miami Grand Prix have shared their excitement of finally knowing when fans from across the world will be return for the second race at the Miami International Autodrome.

Next year’s race at Miami has been confirmed as a double header with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the sport to take its first trip across the pond next season from the 5-7 May. With the date being official, fans can already buy pre-sale tickets, which are set to sell-out extremely fast given how popular this season’s race was.

The Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens worked as the perfect centerpiece for the circuit, which twisted it’s way around the iconic stadium. The entire weekend had a sensational atmosphere, which, included a podium like never seen before, somewhat reminiscent of what takes place at the Mexico Grand Prix. Unsurprisingly, this year’s inaugural race in Miami was won by Max Verstappen, who claimed victory from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Over 243,000 fans made their way into the venue across the Grand Prix, a staggering number which will hopefully be beaten in 2023. Interested fans can expect a similar vibe to the race back in May, which saw plenty of DJs which turned the race into somewhat of a festival.

Tyler Epp, President of the Miami Grand Prix, is “excited” for “year two”, with further announcements due in the “upcoming weeks”.

Motorsport UK has announced they will be launching a new eSports series this October, with a twelve-round series of the ROKiT British F4 Esports Championship.

The series will take place on iRacing, using the Formula IR-04 car, which is based on the same machinery used by the real-life ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA series.

Twelve races will take place on virtual versions of the tracks used in the real series, taking place across six Friday nights with Donington Park, Oulton Park, Knockhill, Snetterton, Silverstone and Brands Hatch GP all featuring.

The series will be broadcast on RaceSpot TV for the first five events with the final round streaming live on iRacing’s YoutTube channel.

Whoever comes out on top of the championship will be crowned the inaugural ROKiT British F4 Esports Champion along with a share of the £6,000 prize pool and attend Motorsport UK’s annual Night of Champions awards ceremony at the Royal Automobile Club alongside champions from a range of disciplines of real-world motorsports.

Hugh Chambers, Motorsport UK Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Esports and real-life motor racing draw parallels, with transferable skillsets. Esports and simulation is embraced by teams and drivers and those that cut their cloth in Esports acquire attributes that can be applied out on track.

Rumours have been circulating in recent weeks that Pierre Gasly will be racing for BWT Alpine F1 Team next year, after Fernando Alonso announced he would leave the team for Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team.

A 2023 move to Alpine would see the Frenchman’s Scuderia AlphaTauri deal come to an end a year early, and see him leave the Red Bull family. The door has closed on a move back to Red Bull due to Sergio Perez‘s future being confirmed until the end of 2024, and the lack of impression he left in a short spell with the team back in 2019.

Gasly has been part of the Red Bull family since 2014, he impressed in his first short spell with Scuderia Toro Rosso (known now as AlphaTauri) and earnt a call-up to Oracle Red Bull Racing in 2019, replacing Daniel Ricciardo. However, the Frenchman’s time with the team was not what he had hoped, and halfway through the season he returned to Toro Rosso and secured his first podium in Formula 1 at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Gasly was replaced mid-season by the Austrian side for underperforming, with the pressure of driving alongside Max Verstappen seemingly having become too much for the French driver. Gasly and Alex Albon (who took Gasly’s seat at Toro Rosso), switched places.

He made his name in the 2020 season with the new rebranded AlphaTauri, putting in multiple strong performances and even his first victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix. His form improved further in 2021, securing yet another podium finish in a car well-off the pace of the frontrunners. Despite struggling in the 2022 season due to new aerodynamic regulations, Gasly has still out-performed team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, and the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen.

2023 will see a change in the lineup for the British GT and BTCC/TOCA support packages as Ginetta has announced a three-year partnership with SRO Motorsports Group to bring its three championships into one series package.

Currently the Ginetta GT4 Supercup and Ginetta Junior series race alongside the BTCC support races, with the Ginetta GT5 championship joining the British GT series. For 2023 a new structure has been proposed that will see a clear ladder of progression for Ginetta racers.

The Ginetta Junior Championship remains the UK’s longest-running junior series. Giving an opportunity to 14 to 17-year-old racing drivers looking to make the step up from karting, using the multi-disciplined Ginetta G40.

The Ginetta GT Academy will allow for entry-level GT Racing for those outside of the Junior age group. The field will be split between experienced drivers and novices, with drivers in the Rookie class benefiting from training and support from Ginetta factory drivers.

New for 2023 will be the Ginetta GT Championship, combining GT Pro and GT5, this series will feature a new car and championship structure to be announced in the future.

Isaac Barashi will be joining the Phinsys by Argenti this weekend at Silverstone as the ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA squad expand to four cars, with the seventeen-year-old racing alongside Mercedes-AMG F1 junior Daniel Guinchard, Aiden Neate and Adam Fitzgerald.

Barashi has been testing throughout the year, building his experience and mileage in the Tatuus T-421 with the upcoming weekend marking his competitive debut in the series.

“I’m very excited to compete in the final two rounds of the ROKiT British F4 season with Argenti,” said Barashi.

“I’ve had a really productive year so far, bedding in with the team and getting used to the challenges of a Formula 4 car.

“The ambition is to race full-time in the championship in the future, so with the winter months ahead, these races at Silverstone and Brands Hatch will put us in a good position to keep working during the off-season.

On 21 September FIA Formula 3 cars hit the track once again for post-season testing as teams prepare for the 2023 season.

Each day of the three-day test will consist of a morning and an afternoon session, with eighteen hours of track time available to the drivers to gather data across the three days. All cars will be provided with eight sets of slick tyres and three sets of wet Pirelli tyres for the duration of the test, and teams will test on the hard compound tyres.

The first day of testing will see a total of sixteen drivers who have never driven a Formula 3 car get behind the wheel, as they are joined by fourteen drivers with at least one Formula 3 race under their belt.

Of these fourteen drivers, ten are returning drivers who competed in the 2022 Formula 3 championship, including race winner Franco Colapinto and podium sitters Zak O’Sullivan, Reece Ushijima and Gregoire Saucy.

However, of the ten returning drivers only three, Gregoire Saucy, Josep Maria Marti and Rafael Villagomez will join back up with the same team they completed the 2022 Formula 3 season with.

Four female drivers have completed a two-day test in FIA Formula 3 machinery at former Grand Prix track Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, France.

 On the first day of the FIA Formula 3 test, Friday 16 September, Abbi Pulling and Hamada Al Qubaisi took to the track.

Each driver was provided with three sets of slick Pirelli tyres for the test, while F3 champion Victor Martins served as a coach and reference driver, joined by Magny-Cours racing School instructor Julien Guilbert.

The morning session got underway with Martins setting a reference lap time for the two drivers who were new to the machinery, and soon enough Pulling and Al Qubaisi took the track, where the goal was to get comfortable with the Formula 3 machinery.

The afternoon session was a more intense session made up of two qualifying runs followed by a race simulation of twelve laps, on race set-up and high fuel loads. 

In late August, Natalie Decker was scheduled to run the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona for Emerling-Gase Motorsports before abandoning the entry as NASCAR had not approved her sponsor Diesel Beverages, which sells drinks made from terpene. Now that NASCAR has formally signed off on the sponsorship, Decker has entered another superspeedway race as she joins Reaume Brothers Racing for the Camping World Truck Series event at Talladega Superspeedway on 1 October. She will pilot the #43.

Decker last raced in the Truck Series in 2020 when she made thirteen starts for Niece Motorsports, the first of which saw her score the first top five for a woman when she placed fifth at Daytona. She first entered the series in 2016 at Martinsville but failed to qualify, then focused on the ARCA Menards Series over the next two years before returning with a ninteen-race 2019 schedule with now-David Gilliland Racing. She finished sixteenth in her Talladega Truck debut that year.

She ran the Talladega ARCA race in 2018 and 2019, respectively finishing twenty-eighth and twenty-third.

While Decker has never raced for RBR’s Truck programme, she drove for the Xfinity Series arm in 2021 at the Daytona Road Course. Said stable was absorbed by Our Motorsports later in the season and she contested four races with her new team. Decker has attempted five Xfinity races in 2022 with RBR, RSS Racing, and MBM Motorsports, failing to qualify at Daytona and Talladega while recording a best run of twenty-seventh at Atlanta.

“We have been working with Natalie for awhile now, and we are all really excited to have her drive our #43 truck at Talladega,” said team owner Josh Reaume. “She brings a lot of great energy to the track and shop, which is very contagious, and we are looking forward to giving her a great opportunity when she returns to the Truck Series come October. I am very confident in Natalie that she will do an awesome job at Talladega.”

Chassis manufacturer KCMG will be funding a €10,000 prize fund for the upcoming FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 competition that will see drivers do battle for their country as they aim to secure Gold.

Following the maiden event at Vallelunder in 2019, KCMG will once again be providing a field of hybrid single-seaters for Formula 4 which is due to take place 26-30 October.

 “I’m really excited for the FIA Motorsport Games and delighted to see so much interest in the event,” said Paul Ip, KCMG Founder.

“KCMG and everyone involved are focused in preparing the cars, and we’re confident of having at least 20 cars on the grid again, which will make for a fantastic weekend.”

The carbon fibre composite monocoque for the Formula 4 cars and structural parts are manufactured by KCMG Composites in Taiwan. The KC-MG01 is powered by a 176bhp 1.4-litre turbo-charged engine with a 12kW battery.

Anthony Kumpen was one of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series‘ top drivers in the mid-2010s, winning the now-EuroNASCAR PRO championship in 2014 and 2016 and ten times before a suspension for failing a drug test in 2018 abruptly placed his career on hold. Over four years later, with his ban by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium having expired on 14 September, he is seeking a return to the driver’s seat with the NASCAR GP Belgium at Circuit Zolder on 8/9 October. While his team and number have not been revealed, he will likely race for PK Carsport, with whom he drove and now oversees as manager.

While pursuing his third NWES title midway through the 2018 season, Kumpen failed a doping test at that year’s 24 Hours of Zolder and received a four-year racing ban from the RACB. In an interview with Autosport.be, Kumpen explained a crash in the NWES weekend at Tours Speedway resulted in concussion-like symptoms that necessitated taking ADHD medication prescribed to him by a doctor, but a urine test subsequently revealed traces of amphetamines.

Kumpen did not deny the medicine’s contents but launched an appeal on grounds of the ruling being an administrative error, which ultimately failed. He told Autosport his “only mistake” had been failing to register the miedication for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), and decided against further appeals as he took responsibility for the matter.

While serving his suspension, he remained involved with PK Carsport as team manager. Under his watch, the team won the 2020 NWES title with Alon Day (who is also currently leading the PRO standings) and the 2022 24 Hours of Zolder overall.

“Now that I can race again, I want to race again, but competitively,” Kumpen told Autosport. “That’s why I’m opting for NASCAR again, especially because the next round is in Zolder, so for my own audience. I am very happy that all my sponsors are still behind me, because even the contracts for next year have already been signed.”