Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Noah Gragson has been the target of fan scrutiny for his on-track driving style and personality, which came to a head during Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America when he intentionally turned Sage Karam while fighting for position and caused a thirteen-car accident. Although he was not immediately penalised for the action, NASCAR announced Wednesday that he had violated Sections 4.4.C and E of the rulebook concerning “member code of conduct”, resulting in a thirty-point deduction in both the driver’s and owner’s standings and a $35,000 fine.

“We understand today’s penalty,” reads a statement from JR Motorsports co-owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller. “Noah is a passionate racecar driver, and his actions occurred in the heat of the moment. Learning how and when to keep emotions in check is all part of the learning experience.”

On lap 25, shortly before the end of Stage #2, Gragson and Karam were fighting side-by-side before the former hooked to the right. The shot caused Gragson to ricochet and turn sideways while Karam hit the Sargento-sponsored bridge before partially sliding back onto the racing surface. As cars behind them attempted to weave through the wreck, Landon Cassill was turned and briefly went airbourne upon being impacted by Tyler Reddick, who in turn got hit by Brandon Brown and Andy Lally. Josh Bilicki notably garnered attention from Sargento when he avoided the wreck by driving through the grass and getting the cheese maker’s signage attached to the front of his car.

The wreck forced Brown to exit his car and sit along the wall to catch his breath while Myatt Snider attended to him. In the end, thirteen cars were involved with the eight mentioned, Jeremy Clements, Bayley Currey, Daniel Hemric, Brett Moffitt, and John Hunter Nemechek.

Despite being the catalyst for the pile-up, Gragson did not receive any on-track penalties from NASCAR and would finish eighth. The action attracted widespread condemnation from fans and those involved in the crash, with Karam’s boss Tommy Joe Martins saying he was “sure” Earnhardt Miller would be “embarrassed to even be associated with that.”

Santino Ferrucci is giving NASCAR another go as he rejoins Sam Hunt Racing for the Xfinity Series races at Pocono Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 23 July and 30 July, respectively. He will once again drive the #26 Toyota Supra.

Ferrucci made his NASCAR début in 2021 on a seven-race schedule for SHR, during which he scored top-twenty finishes in all but two starts with a best run of thirteenth at Las Vegas. While much of his career was spent doing circuit racing in the FIA formula ladder and NTT IndyCar Series, all of his NASCAR starts until Indianapolis have been on ovals.

A IndyCar full-timer in 2019 and 2020, Ferrucci has contested three races in 2022 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Texas), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (Indianapolis 500), and Juncos Hollinger Racing (Detroit). He scored a ninth and tenth at Texas and Indianapolis—both ovals—before placing twenty-first at Detroit as a substitute driver for the injured Callum Ilott.

“It’s been a long time coming since last year, and I’m excited to be back behind the wheel of an Xfinity car with Toyota,” said Ferrucci. “I think the momentum from the past two years has been really good. I’ve been in a good spot mentally, and I am driving the best I ever have. I think having the experience of both IndyCar and NASCAR is very helpful. It will be easier to go to an Xfinity car this year instead of last year’s transition from an Xfinity car to an IndyCar and vice versa.”

His D&R team-mate Sage Karam also races in the Xfinity Series for Alpha Prime Racing. The pair, Conor Daly, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Jimmie Johnson comprise drivers who have run at least one 2022 IndyCar race and has NASCAR experience.

The FIA Formula 3 Championship visited Silverstone for the first time in two seasons last weekend (1-3 July), with the British circuit bringing some surprise results.

Kush Maini put his MP Motorsport car at the top of the times in Free Practice, ahead of team-mate Caio Collet. That session, like the subsequent three F3 outings of the weekend, was contested on a dry track, with W Series drying the circuit after early-morning showers.

One of the success stories of the weekend came from Zak O’Sullivan and Carlin.

In his home weekend, and that of his team and the Williams F1 Team whose Racing Driver Academy he is part of, he ended Practice in seventh, putting 1.3s and 1.6s on team-mates Enzo Trulli and Brad Benavides respectively.

He was surprised but cautiously optimistic when The Checkered Flag spoke to him before Qualifying.

Campos Racing have announced that their FIA Formula 2 driver Ralph Boschung is to be replaced by former Manor Marussia F1 driver Roberto Merhi due to recurring neck issues which have hampered the Swiss drivers progress throughout the season.

In an official press release, Team Principal Adrián Campos Jr. explained,

“Unfortunately our driver Ralph Boschung won’t be able to contest in Spielberg as his season turned into a nightmare after Imola and we haven’t delivered our full potential yet. I feel very confident because he will work a lot to be back with us as soon as possible and at his 100%.“

“Besides, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Roberto, who will be temporarily replacing Ralph. We expect a quick adaptation and let’s complete a positive weekend together.“

Boschung initially withdrew from round four of the 2022 F2 season in Barcelona after suffering from neck pains he sustained during round three in Imola. He then missed races in Monaco before managing a points finish at the following round in Baku, but had to withdraw again from round seven at Silverstone.

Toto Wolff hopes the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team can build on the momentum from Silverstone when the FIA Formula 1 World Championship rolls into the Red Bull Ring this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton drove a strong race at Silverstone to claim third place behind Carlos Sainz Jr. and Sergio Pérez having spent time in the lead for the first time in 2022, with the Briton claiming a thirteenth home podium finish.

George Russell was unable to compete at Silverstone after being caught up in the first lap crash involving Pierre Gasly and Zhou Guanyu, but Wolff felt that the second Briton within the team had the pace to climb up from his eighth place on the grid.

Wolff, the Team Principal at Mercedes, admits the Red Bull Ring has not always favoured the team across the years, but with 2022 aero regulations completely different, this year could see a strong performance from them.

“Austria up next! A quick turnaround is always welcome when you’re in a learning race and need track time,” said Wolff.  “It was a spectacular weekend at Silverstone, with amazing support and a more competitive showing.

For over a year, Extreme E had only known the feeling of X44 topping qualifying with Cristina Gutiérrez and Sébastien Loeb. That changed on Wednesday as for the first time ever after six races, the series had a different overall qualifying winner as Rosberg X Racing held the honour for the first Island X Prix.

RXR, the current championship leader, continued its momentum by topping the first round of qualifying with Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Johan Kristoffersson setting a time nearly twelve seconds quicker than runner-up ACCONA | Sainz XE, followed by winning the first heat race in Round #2. With a maximum Intermediate Classification points payout of twenty, RXR will be placed in the first Semi-Final on Thursday.

X44’s qualifying dominance saw its demise during Loeb’s qualifying run in Q1 as his left-rear tyre suffered a puncture and resulted in substantial body damage, placing the #44 seventh. The team rebounded in the first heat by finishing second, though not without some scrutiny regarding a potential yellow flag zone overtake by Loeb on XITE Energy Racing‘s Tamara Molinaro that ultimately ended without penalty.

The second heat saw the Sainz outfit lead both laps after avoiding an early pursuit by McLaren XE. During the halfway driver swap, Veloce seemingly beat McLaren back onto the course despite being behind by twelve seconds, a drastic and sudden margin reduction that unsurprisingly prompted question on whether the team sped on pit road. Veloce would physically finish second with Lance Woolridge while McLaren’s Emma Gilmour held off the charging JBXE of Kevin Hansen for third. The investigation is still ongoing as of this article’s publishing, and provisional results currently list Veloce in second.

Regardless of where Veloce is ultimately classified, it will still have to run the Crazy Race, being weighed down by a lack of qualifying time in Round #1 after the suspension failed during Woolridge’s lap. McLaren and Chip Ganassi Racing were also unable to set times as the former also suffered a suspension problem while the latter’s vehicle stalled. CGR also retired from Heat #1, capping off a difficult day after dominating Tuesday practice.

Qualifying results

Intermediate Classification

Round #2

Heat #1

Heat #2

Round #1

Pirelli is bringing their softest tyre range to the Austrian Grand Prix, which Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola expects will bring added drama and excitement to the race through increased degradation and overtaking opportunities.

Mario Isola said that Red Bull Ring’s short distance and “busy” layout made for thrilling races in past seasons. He also said that the “low-severity” circuit allows them to bring softer compounds that are ideal to produce racing action.

“The asphalt at the Red Bull Ring offers reasonably low grip on a low-severity circuit, which makes it possible to bring the softest tyres in the range. This helps us in putting the focus on entertainment, at a venue that has often delivered exciting races in the past, thanks to a busy and compact lap that’s essentially a series of short corners.”

Two race weekends were held at the Red Bull Ring last season, the Styrian Grand Prix and the Austrian Grand Prix, with the latter running the same step of compounds that will be used at this year’s event. 

Max Verstappen won last year’s Austrian Grand Prix with a two-stop strategy, starting on mediums followed by two stints on the hard tyre. Isola said that the nomination will, however, open the door to several possible strategies– especially with the added element of it being a sprint weekend.

On Point Motorsports has elected to ditch its full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaign to return to the drawing board. On Tuesday, the team announced plans to skip Saturday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and prepare for the next round at Pocono Raceway on 23 July.

“After much consideration, On Point Motorsports has decided to skip the upcoming race at Mid-Ohio to regroup and focus on improving our program,” reads a team statement. “We are confident that this is the right decision for us at this time and we will come back strong at Pocono Raceway.”

The team’s #30 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro began the 2022 season with Tate Fogleman, who was coming off a win at Talladega the previous year, running every race from the opener in Daytona to Gateway in June. Across the first eleven races, he recorded three top-twenty finishes and was twenty-third in points. However, he stepped aside at Sonoma in what the team said was a planned move rather than a midseason driver change and Colin Garrett took over, though he was not cleared to race due to delays in his drug test and Josh Bilicki would fill in. Joey Gase and Camden Murphy then piloted the #30 in the next two races at Knoxville and Nashville, respectively, though Murphy wrecked out.

Fogleman’s twentieth at Kansas in May remains the team’s most recent top twenty. He finished twenty-second, twenty-ninth, and twenty-first across the next three rounds before Bilicki retired at Sonoma, Gase placed twenty-fourth, and Murphy thirty-fourth. The #30 is currently twenty-seventh in owner points.

Debuting in 2018, On Point was a part-time operation across its first two years before running all but one race in 2020 with Danny Bohn, Scott Lagasse Jr., and Brennan Poole. The #30 then contested the entire 2021 slate with Bohn, Poole, and Michele Abbate en route to twenty-sixth in the owner’s championship.

Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi finished twelfth place at the British Grand Prix, while Alex Albon retired after an intense multi-car crash on the first lap. 

Williams Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson said he was glad that none of the drivers were injured as a result of the incident, and that it was a “shame” to see Albon out of the race so early. 

“Following the incident at the start of the race, we are grateful that nobody was seriously hurt. It was a shame that Alex suffered contact as a result of the crash ahead of him, and that this put him out of the race after just a few corners and before we had a chance to see how the new upgrades were working.” 

Robson praised Latifi’s efforts to bring home points after his season-best qualifying result of tenth place, but said that the car lacked the pace to secure a top ten– due in part to the damage done to the floor mid-race.  

“However, Nicholas backed-up his strong drive yesterday with a very good race today. He showed good pace and took advantage of opportunities that came his way, including the late safety car. 

The Extreme E‘s Island X Prix began with shakedowns and free practice on Tuesday ahead of the doubleheader’s first round on Thursday. GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing set the early momentum by leading both FPs.

CGR, who won a Semi-Final at the season opener in NEOM five months ago and finished one spot shy of its first podium, hit the ground running as Kyle LeDuc and Sara Price led the way with a four-second advantage over second-placed Genesys Andretti United XE in FP1 and three over Rosberg X Racing in FP2. While FP1 commonly features slower runs as drivers learn the track, the Americans were the only outfit to set a time below ten minutes in the session even with a two-second penalty for speeding in the switch bay.

“Last year we didn’t have that great of a start, so it’s great that we are off to a good one,” said Price. “Consistency is key for us this year. I am very confident in the team, I think we have a good setup and we’ve learned a lot in the time we’ve been in Extreme E, so we’re in a good position.”

XITE Energy Racing and Veloce Racing did not run the full FP1 as the former struggled with vehicle issues, though new driver Timo Scheider rebounded with the second-best time in FP2; Scheider helped design the 2021 course while working as Extreme E’ Championship Driver. Veloce did just one lap with Christine GZ as she continued to be evaluated for the foot she broke in NEOM; the series also provided her with a buggy for pre-practice track reconnaissance, which is normally done by walking, and permitted Veloce to be the last team to run FP2 until she completed medical examinations.

Points leader Johan Kristoffersson of RXR set the best overall time with a 3:45.380 in FP2.

Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi finished the British Grand Prix in twelfth place, missing out on the chance to convert his tenth place grid position to a points finish on race day. He enjoyed being able to compete in the midfield on race day rather than filling a backmarker position, and said that he was surprised by his ability to keep up with the pack at the start of the race. 

“From lap one we were always fighting an uphill battle. At the beginning I was surprised at how much I could stay with the cars ahead but in reality, there was a little DRS train that was keeping me there because the cars behind were much quicker. It felt really nice to be properly racing in the pack.”

Latifi said that the car ultimately didn’t have the competitive edge to allow him to fight for a points finish. Floor damage further hindered the Canadian, who said that points weren’t “meant to be” this weekend. 

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the basic pace in the end alongside managing the car towards the end of the race. The car’s lacking downforce compared to the others with us missing pace in the high-speed corners, which wasn’t helped by some floor damage today.

“We put up a good fight, but it wasn’t meant to be today. Frustrating in the end but overall a positive weekend.”

Ayumu Iwasa and Enzo Fittipaldi finished in second and third place, respectively, in Silverstone’s Sprint Race during round seven of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 championship and both rookie drivers have something in common: it was their second podium of the season.

The Red Bull junior, Iwasa, previously took second place in the Barcelona Sprint Race with Fittipaldi claiming his maiden podium during Imola’s Feature Race.

While the Japanese driver has put in some stellar performances including an overtaking clinic during round one in Sakhir, the results haven’t come as easy due to one reason or another.

Following his podium in Britain, Iwasa was asked if a set-up change was the reason for his increase in pace to which he answered, “Actually, the car was quick all the time for me, I just could not get enough results with it.”

“I had a bad Quali in Baku and Monaco and then also I had a bad race, so I was making the bad situation myself. The car was quick, just I couldn’t manage the weekend myself, so I think this is a good point to change everything and also to get one good step forward. I think this weekend will be important.”

Frédéric Vasseur admits the most important result of Sunday’s British Grand Prix was seeing Zhou Guanyu emerge unhurt after a horror crash at turn one on lap one at Silverstone.

The Chinese driver was pitched into a terrifying roll by Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s George Russell, with Zhou’s car going through the gravel trap upside down before it was launched over the tyre barrier and into the catch fencing.

Vasseur, the Team Principal of Zhou at Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, says the safety improvements made by the FIA in recent years paid off at Silverstone and enabled his driver to escape the huge crash without any injury.

“I think we can all agree that the most important thing today is seeing Zhou come out of such a huge crash without any injury,” said Vasseur.  “What we witnessed were dramatic scenes, and once again we have to thank the great improvements in safety spearheaded by the FIA and Formula 1 for a positive outcome.

“The work to improve safety in our sport is never done and today reminds us of just how important this is: Zhou is ok and fit to race in Austria next week, and this is the big victory of the day.”

Zhou Guanyu walked away from the huge crash that red-flagged the British Grand Prix on the opening lap on Sunday, and the Chinese driver was thankful to the marshals and medical team for their quick response to the incident.

The Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN driver was pitched into a frightening roll after being hit by George Russell as they approached the first corner at Silverstone, and upside down he went across the gravel trap.  He dug into the gravel and was launched over the tyre barrier into the catch fencing before coming to rest between the two.

Luckily for Zhou, the halo head protection device did what it needed to do and protected him from harm, and the marshals and medical crew were able to extract him from the car and take him to the medical centre where he was cleared of injury.

“It was a big crash and I’m glad I’m ok,” said Zhou.  “The marshals and the medical team at the track were fantastic with their quick response, and I also owe my thanks to the FIA and Formula 1 for all the work they have done, and they keep doing, to improve the safety of our cars: the Halo saved me today, and it goes to show that every step we take in improving our cars has real, valuable results.

Zhou is already eager to get back behind the wheel of his C42-Ferrari and will get the chance this coming weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Mike Krack believes the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team needed to do better with its race management during Sunday’s British Grand Prix as he believes they did not maximise their result at Silverstone.

Sebastian Vettel scored two points thanks to a ninth place finish on Sunday, whilst Lance Stroll missed out on points in eleventh.  This was despite both driver starting well outside the top fifteen after both were eliminated in Q1 during Saturday’s wet Qualifying session.

However, Krack, the Team Principal at Aston Martin, believes they could have scored better results with both drivers had they maximised their race performance, and they will be doing everything they can to understand why things did not go as well as they could at Silverstone.

“If you had told me after qualifying yesterday that we would score two points today, we would have been pleased to hear it,” Krack said after Sunday’s race.  “However, we did not manage Sebastian’s and Lance’s races perfectly and we need to analyse that in detail.

“Next up is Austria, a circuit whose characteristics should suit our car better than Silverstone, and where we have to do a better job overall.”