Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Max Verstappen is pumped up and ready for the second half of the Formula 1 season, which gets underway this weekend with the legendary Belgian Grand Prix.

This weekend’s race at Spa-Francorchamps kicks-off a European triple-header, the only triple-header this season actually. The reigning World Champion is taking an eighty point lead over Charles Leclerc into the second half of the year, with the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver hoping to build on that at his “favourite track”

The circuit has undergone a number of changes, which has seen a number of run-off areas replaced with “old school” gravel traps.

Verstappen is “feeling ready” for the weekend, with the Dutch driver having the “itch” to get going again.

“I’m feeling ready to race again after a good break. I definitely got the itch to get back to it. It will be a busy triple header but it will be okay to manage as we’ve all had a rest. The upgrades to the track have made it a little more old school with the gravel traps which I think is a good idea. It’s my favourite track so I’m looking forward to racing there this weekend. It looks like there might be rain around which will make it more tricky, but luckily as a Team we like a challenge.”

When the initial entry list for the NASCAR Xfinity Series‘ race at Daytona International Speedway was posted on Monday, Natalie Decker was tabbed as the driver of the #5 Ford Mustang for B.J. McLeod Motorsports. Two days later, however, the team announced Patrick Emerling has come aboard to pilot the car.

As Decker revealed later on Wednesday, the driver change came due to her sponsor Diesel Beverages not having been approved by NASCAR in time for the #5 to be wrapped in the branding. Diesel sells drinks made from terpene, an aromatic compound that can be found in cannabis plants, though the company stresses cannabinoids like THC and CBD are not present in their products. While drug sponsors have increased as NASCAR grows more accepting in recent years (notably with Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick being supported by hemp product company 3CHI), prospective sponsors must still undergo the approval process. Such steps are different for makers of cannabis and other related drug products due to federal laws surrounding them, which might evoke comparisons to the ban on tobacco sponsorship, and their legalisation is a fiercely debated topic in Congress.

“A lot of you have already seen that I’m on the entry list for Daytona racing in the Xfinity series,” began a statement posted by Decker. “I wanted to put this post out so there is no confusion, I will not be racing Daytona Because my sponsor is not cleared yet to be on a car in NASCAR.

“The product is having to go through testing and this is a standard protocol for any hemp/CBD company wanting to be apart of any NASCAR race. We had this deal come together very last minute and the testing takes a few days so with that being said we wouldn’t have gotten the results back in time for NASCAR to ok the paint scheme in time for the race. The product has gone through testing very similar because it’s sold on Amazon. I don’t want there to be any confusion to it not passing the test. NASCAR just has their own protocol and testing facility that they have to use in order to clear it.

“I’m really thankful and excited to have this opportunity with Diesel beverages and hopefully soon you will see me at a track near you with this paint scheme.”

It has been five years since Jeff Gordon last ran a motor race, and seven years since ending his illustrious NASCAR Cup Series career. On 2–4 September, he will once again return to the cockpit of a race car in a competitive setting as he enters the Porsche Carrera Cup North America round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will drive the #24 in the Invitational class, with leadership from his old NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham.

The four-time Cup Series champion and 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee won five times at Indianapolis during his twenty-five years in the division. After retiring from NASCAR in 2015 to transition into broadcasting, his lone racing action came at the 2017 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona where he won the overall for Wayne Taylor Racing. He is one of four drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Rolex 24 alongside Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, and Jamie McMurray.

Currently, he serves as Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports, whom he also co-owns. A longtime fan favourite who helped propel NASCAR into the mainstream, he has often been brought up by fans as a driver whom they wish to see competing again; indeed, in 2018, he expressed interest in competing in the Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville (where he won nine times) if the chance ever arose.

“I’m looking forward to getting back in a race car and competing against a talented field of teams and drivers,” Gordon stated. “It’s always special when I get a chance to compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ray and I have always talked about running another race together, and we felt like Indy was the perfect place. It’ll be a fun way to spend the holiday weekend and make some new memories.”

While his Indianapolis wins came on the oval layout, he drove a Williams FW24 on the infield road course in 2003 as part of a ride swap with then-Formula One driver and eventual NASCAR regular Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ahead of round eleven of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 championship at Spa–Francorchamps, Charouz Racing System have announced their new look driver line-up with Tatiana Calderón jumping into the vacant #23 car.

The announcement comes after the Cem Bölükbasi’s contract with the Czech team was terminated with mutual agreement during the summer break with no further explanation.

Team owner, Antonin Charouz spoke of the latest news, “I can confirm that Cem is no longer a member of our team, during the break we mutually agreed on terminating his contract and we wish him all the best for his future career.“

“On the other hand, we’re very happy to welcome Tatiana. We have been following her for a long time, she’s a very competitive driver and her experience will surely be really valuable for the team.“

The upcoming race weekend will be the Colombian racing driver’s first taste of Formula 2 racing since she last competed in the 2019 season with BWT Arden alongside the late Anthoine Hubert.

Team Penske has locked down their trio of NASCAR Cup Series drivers for the forseeable future. On Wednesday, the team announced Joey Logano has signed a “long-term contract extension” to remain the driver of the #22 Ford Mustang. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, which is routine for Penske.

Logano joined Penske in 2013, winning twenty-seven races including the 2015 Daytona 500 and the 2018 championship. He has made the playoffs every year save for 2017 since the introduction of the elimination format in 2014. Entering the twenty-sixth race of the 2022 season, he is fourth in points with two wins (Darlington and Gateway), twelve top tens, and a pole; he also won the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the start of the year.

“Over the last ten years, Joey has become such an important part of Team Penske and we know he will continue to be a leader and a winner with the #22 Ford team well into the future,” said team owner Roger Penske. “Joey is a great champion of our sport and we are proud of how he continues to produce for our team and represent all of our partners, including Shell, Pennzoil and Ford. He also brings veteran leadership to our programme, serving as a great mentor and teammate to both Ryan (Blaney) and Austin (Cindric). With all he has achieved in his career, he still has a lot left to accomplish with Team Penske.”

The news comes a week after Blaney signed his own multi-year extension to stay in the #12. The #2 car’s driver Cindric will likely not be going anywhere either as the son of team president Tim Cindric, though he has earned his spot on the grid as the reigning Daytona 500 winner and a virtual lock for Rookie of the Year honours.

“Since taking over the #22 car at Team Penske, I’ve had the opportunity to accomplish so many of my dreams both on and off the track,” Logano commented. “For the last ten years, Roger has provided me the resources to be competitive, a team that stands behind me and leadership that is second to none. I’m excited to be continuing our relationship together so we can keep focusing on winning races, more championships and doing what we do for many years to come.”

ABT Sportsline have announced an exciting driver line-up for their returning campaign in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with Robin Frijns and Nico Mueller hoping to take the team to great things.

The duo both know ABT incredibly well, having raced as team-mates in DTM with the top side. Mueller raced with ABT in the DTM as recently in 2021 and does have Formula E experience. The Swiss driver drove for Dragon/Penske Autosport in Seasons Six and Seven, whereas Frijns has spent a number of years in the series.

Frijns joins ABT after leaving Envision Racing, the Dutchman has previously raced for Andretti in the all-electric series, which he’s claimed two victories in.

The Dutch driver is expecting a “great atmosphere” in the team, as he prepares himself for Gen3.

“I know the ABT team and Nico from the DTM, where we had a great atmosphere in the team and were very successful,” said the three-time DTM race winner. “That’s exactly how we want to continue in Formula E.”

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team ended the first half of the season with two consecutive double podium finishes, with Lewis Hamilton alone having claimed five podiums consecutively.

Mercedes have come a long way since the start of the season, where they were well off the pace of both Scuderia Ferrari and Oracle Red Bull Racing; however, they are on the verge of being on the same pace as their frontrunning rivals.

Both titles are certainly out of reach, but second place in the Constructors’ Championship is a real possibility should the Silver Arrows continue on their recent surge. The side are still yet to claim a race victory in 2022, something they’ve achieved every season since 2012.

Team Principal Toto Wolff is hoping his side can continue to build their momentum this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Mercedes-AMG will be celebrating their fifty-fifth anniversary.

“We headed into the break off the back of a strong run of races and our biggest race weekend points score so far this year, in Hungary. While we’re still not quite in the fight for victories, we’re getting closer, so we need to keep the momentum going and the pressure on.
 
“The Shutdown is an important time for the team to take some time off, recharge and spend time with their families, whose support throughout the year is invaluable. There are few opportunities to do so during the season and the development race is relentless, so the break has been well deserved for everyone in the team.
 
“We’re set for an intense second half of the season, with nine more opportunities to find improvements, make progress and hopefully challenge Red Bull and Ferrari for wins.
 
“Spa-Francorchamps needs no introduction. A classic track with an old-school feel, the scene of many iconic moments in F1 history and an incredible challenge for both the car and drivers. We’re excited to be back there, hopefully we can put on an awesome show this year for all the fans in Belgium, and we’ll also be celebrating 55 years of Mercedes-AMG too, with some fun activities.”

With just nine races remaining in his illustrious Formula One career, Sebastian Vettel returns from the summer break hungry for another strong result at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion has historically gone well at the Belgian Grand Prix with one pole position and three victories to his name around the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit.

The Spa-Francorchamps Circuit can always throw up a surprise result and Vettel is hopeful he can benefit from another surprise result at this weekend’s Grand Prix.

“It is great to get back to the track after the summer break, and to get going again at Spa is fantastic. This circuit is incredibly fast and has a great flow; and every race here seems to throw up something exciting or unpredictable, which is also great for the fans.”

While lacking single lap pace, the AMR22 has shown strong race pace across the season and Vettel was keen to point out how the characteristics of the circuit could benefit his Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team this weekend.

“I think we have a car that performs well in races, and our team works well operationally, so hopefully we can string together another solid weekend.”

Lance Stroll: “Spa is such an awesome circuit”

Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, it has finally been announced that Daniel Ricciardo will leave the McLaren F1 Team at the end of the season, as has been predicted for a couple of months.

Apart from his victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo’s time at the Woking-based team has been largely disappointing, with the Australian having been kept very much in Lando Norris‘ shadow. Norris has outperformed the Honey Badger on a regular basis, with the team having become frustrated with Ricciardo’s poor results.

Despite being contracted till the end of 2023, Ricciardo demanded £17 million to relinquish his seat, so that BWT Alpine F1 Team reserve driver Oscar Piastri could take his place. It’s rumoured that Piastri has already signed a deal with McLaren; however, nothing has been announced yet.

It remains to be seen where Ricciardo will go next, perhaps to Alpine or to the Haas F1 Team, maybe he’ll even leave Formula 1.

Ricciardo has “no regrets” of his time with McLaren, and will announce his plans in due course.

Ballasts are used to weigh cars down to meet requirements, but install them improperly and it can seriously get someone hurt. To ensure this does not happen, NASCAR maintains strict penalties in the event of a ballast falling off a car while on track, and Cody Ware‘s #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford is the latest entry onto the dubious list of disciplinary action.

During practice for this past weekend’s Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International, a piece of lead ballast came off his car near turn two and landed near a group of photographers. One of the photographers Chris Owens posted a photo of the ballast, showing it to be a rectangular box-like chunk.

Although small, such weights are so dense that they can result in severe car damage if run over, if not injury to drivers. In a 2015 Xfinity Series race at Iowa, Jamie Dick‘s windshield was destroyed by a tungsten ballast dropped by Ross Chastain‘s car that also shattered his helmet’s face shield, though he was unharmed. That same year at Dover, Carl Long was not as lucky when he was hit by tungsten from Peyton Sellers and crashed, breaking his shoulder in the process. At the Cup level, Denny Hamlin lost his crew chief for a loose tungsten piece at the 2020 Coca-Cola 600.

Rule 12.5.2.7.d.4 of the rulebook reads, “Loss or separation of added ballast from the vehicle will result in a four Race suspension of the crew chief, car chief, and head engineer. If NASCAR cannot identify which series or vehicle the lost ballast originated from, all vehicles entered for that Event from and associated with the team organization identified on the lost ballast may receive the suspensions.”

As a result, Ware’s crew chief Billy Plourde, car chief Jamie Edwards, and lead engineer Steven Gray have been suspended for the next four races at Daytona, Darlington, Kansas, and Bristol. RWR competition director Ken Evans is listed as interim crew chief for Bristol; he served in the same position for the team’s #15 in March.

Kyle Koehler, Vice President of the Short-course Off-Road Drivers Association, died Monday night in a motorcycle accident. The series confirmed the news the following day.

Koehler spent the weekend attending the Championship Off-Road round at Bark River International Raceway in Michigan, where many of his SODA colleagues and drivers interacted with him. SODA Class 11 and COR 1600 Light Buggy racer Jeff Wolfe commented on Facebook that it was “sad news, glad we were able to hangout at Bark River Rip Kyle”.

He had worked with the SODA team since the inaugural season in 2021. As part of his duties as VP, he helped lead the media division such as providing footage for highlight reels and driver biography videos.

In his condolences, SODA President Willie Freshour quoted the phrase, “The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.”

“We will all miss Kyle, his enthusiasm and especially his friendship,” reads a statement from SODA. “He only knew one speed in life and was always on the move. He will be deeply missed by everyone in SODA. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his lovely wife, Tamra, and his children. RIP Kyle.”

Ahead of the new Bundesliga season, RB Leipzig midfielder Emil Forsberg teamed up with thirteen-time Formula One Grand Prix winner David Coulthard as a two-seater Formula One car made it’s way through the city of Leipzig for the very first time.

The Scot and the Swede took to the streets of Leipzig in an Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 two-seater to help generate further excitement ahead of RB Leipzig’s Bundesliga campaign.

Coulthard was placed in the driver seat at the front, while his co-driver Emil Forsberg was situated at the back of the two-seater.

Oracle Red Bull Racing’s F1 two-seater is a converted Formula One car powered by a V10 engine which can reach a top speed of 320 kph.

The pair took in the sights of the city, starting with the square in front of the Federal Administrative Court, before heading to the Könneritz Bridge and finishing off the tour at Club Elipamanoke.

René Rast, DTM Champion in 2017, 2019 and 2020, will drive for the BMW M Motorsport squad from 2023 after completing his switch from Audi, with details of the specific events and cars he will race in to be released at a later date.

Rast has dominated DTM over recent years, and is still in the title race with current team ABT for the 2022 season, sitting in third place in the drivers’ standings halfway through the year, with a win at Imola and podiums at the Lausitzring and Norisring.

On his move to BMW, the German driver said: “After so many successful years at Audi, I am looking forward to a new challenge, I followed what has been going on at BMW M Motorsport in the past years and a long time ago, I took my first steps in motor racing in #Formula BMW. Returning to BMW now, almost 20 years later, is a great story and a logical step for me.”

Out of the BMW backed teams competing in DTM this year, Schubert Motorsport have faired the best. With South African driver, Sheldon Van der Linde, winning both races at the Lausitzring as well as occupying the championship lead for a large chunk of the season.

Even without mentioning two time DTM champion, Marco Wittmann and 24 hours of Daytona winner, Philipp Eng, both factory BMW drivers currently competing in DTM. It is interesting to think where Rast fits into that equation. Will he even compete in the competition next year? Or will he only compete in a handful of races in DTM? As his schedule has been filled further after signing up to race McLaren’s new Gen3 Formula E car for 2023.

It was a great first half of the season for the Haas F1 Team, as they made their way back into the points places after a disastrous couple of years. The side are not only a somewhat regular points finisher again, but they are also truly in the midfield fight rather than amongst the backmarkers.

Team Principal Guenther Steiner is glad the team are back to “where we wanted to be”, but insists that they are planning to go even higher than before with sixth-place in the Constructors’ on the American team’s radar.

“We haven’t readjusted, we are just back to where we wanted to be at the beginning of the season, now being in seventh. Hopefully we can keep this position in the championship, that’s battle number one. Battle number two is trying to get to sixth, but let’s see. We will always do our best and try to improve or at least not fall back.”

The team introduced their first and only upgrade of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix; however, this weekend in Spa both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher will have the upgrade available to them, something only Magnussen had in Hungary.

“Yes, both cars will have the upgrade package. We had one kit ready before the shutdown so we said we’ll put it on one car to collect some data so when we’re back, we have that data and now we can already work on the set-up, getting out in Spa straightaway.” 

Van Amersfoort Racing have announced that the German racing driver David Beckmann will replace Jake Hughes for the remainder of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 season.

The Dutch racing outfit released the following statement on the matter to their social media accounts:

“Following evaluations made during the summer break, the decision was made to have David Beckmann take the wheel of our #24 FIA F2 car, starting at the upcoming race weekend at Spa–Francorchamps.

“David replaces Jake Hughes, who has indicated to increase his already strong involvement in FIA Formula E. Up to this point, Jake has played an essential role in our maiden FIA F2 season, for which we are grateful. He will always be considered family of our racing team and we wish him all the best on both a personal and professional level!

“German David Beckmann, who acted as Jake’s replacement during a Corona-related absence, already proved to be a valuable addition to the team and we look forward to continuing the season with him!”