Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Laurent Mekies says Scuderia Ferrari can be satisfied with the result of Saturday’s Qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. locking out the front row for Sunday’s race.

Leclerc took his fifth pole position in seven races, and his second consecutive pole for his home event, with the Monegasque racer showing dominant form when it mattered around the streets of the principality.

And Mekies, the Racing Director at Ferrari, says Leclerc could have gone even quicker on his final attempt had it not been for a crash on track behind him that caused the red flags to fly and the session to be concluded.

“We are very pleased with how qualifying went,” said Mekies. “The Monaco circuit is one of a kind and the fact that, even here the F1-75 was very much on the pace, shows that Maranello has produced a really good car. Congratulations to all the team and the drivers who were excellent.

“The Monaco weekend is always particularly tricky and Charles and Carlos dealt well with the pressure and the traffic, managing to make the car and tyres work at their best. Once again, Charles produced a superlative performance and, but for the red flag, could have gone even quicker.”

For the second consecutive year, Charles Leclerc secured pole position for his home Grand Prix in Monaco, but unlike last year, he managed to stay out of the barriers to do so!

The Scuderia Ferrari driver has been on fire in Qualifying all year around and pole in Monaco is his fifth of the season in just seven races and his fourteenth of his career.

Leclerc felt like he was driving at the limit during the session, particularly on his pole position lap, even if the F1-75 had a lot of oversteer to contend with.  However, the pole position was secured despite a late red flag, and he will go into Sunday’s race hopeful of rebounding from his Spanish Grand Prix retirement from last weekend.

“I am very pleased with our overall performance so far this weekend,” said Leclerc.  “I felt confident in the car and started pushing a bit more in Q3. The first lap was good.

“I think that the second was one of the best laps I have ever done in qualifying. It was so much fun to drive and I was really on the limit. I had a lot of oversteer, so the rear was quite loose. Still, I knew that the lap was coming together nicely and that felt particularly good.

Hadrien David controlled the opening race of the Monaco weekend to take his first victory of the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine season on Saturday.

The R-ace GP driver held off the challenge of championship leader Dino Beganovic despite a mid-race red flag, caused when a collision between Esteban Masson and Sami Meguetounif blocked the track at the Grand Hotel Hairpin.

Despite the intervention, David was able to pull a gap at the restart and was able to close out the victory ahead of Prema Racing’s Beganovic, who continues his record of finishing inside the top two in every race of the season to date.

Closing out the podium was Van Amersfoort Racing’s Kas Haverkort, with the Dutchman holding off the challenge of ART Grand Prix’s Gabriele Mini to finally take his maiden top three finish in the championship.  Haverkort had finished third in the last round at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari but was later disqualified on a technicality.

Mini ended fourth ahead of MP Motorsport’s Michael Belov and R-ace GP’s Gabriel Bortoleto, while Mari Boya placed seventh for ART Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Laurens van Hoepen, the Dutchman claiming his first points of the season and the rookie victory at the same time.

Max Esterson took his first podium in the GB3 Championship in a chaotic Race 1 at Donington Park on Saturday.

He came home third for Douglas Motorsport‘s second podium of the year, behind the Carlin pair of Callum Voisin and Roberto Faria.

The American driver profited from a collision between Joel Granfors and Matthew Rees at McLeans after the pair spent much of the first ap side-by-side.

Granfors was out on the spot after spinning across the track but Rees was able to recover to ninth.

“Bit of a rough start, I fell down to sixth but luckily in front of me there was a big crash I wasn’t involved in.

Callum Voisin took his first win in the GB3 Championship as he profited from a first-lap incident to win Race 1 at Donington Park.

The Carlin driver started third, but jumped up to first as Joel Granfors and Matthew Rees collided at McLeans and caused hefty repair bills up and down the order as drivers scattered to avoid Granfors.

We caught up with The Checkered Flag columnist after the podium celebrations.

“I didn’t expect my first win to come that way. I knew I was starting in a good position and a podium was the goal, but I was just given the win on a plate, really.

“I got through the incident pretty unscathed and a couple behind me didn’t so that meant I had a massive gap after Lap 1 and then it was just about managing the gap. But I’m over the moon.

Charles Leclerc clinched pole position as he led a Scuderia Ferrari 1-2 at the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz was in second position, 0.225 seconds slower than Leclerc.

Sergio Pérez was in third position even as he brought out the red flags at the end of the final qualification session (Q3) as he crashed on his second flying lap.

Leclerc took pole position last year but could not start the race at his home Grand Prix. The Monégasque driver will have another chance for redemption this year.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris rounded off the top five positions in the qualification session at this hard to overtake track.

The qualifying session started under hot conditions with air temperatures at 25 degrees C and track temperatures at 47 degrees C.

Callum Voisin won Race 1 at Donington Park on Saturday afternoon for Carlin ahead of team-mate Roberto Faria.

Joel Granfors started on pole and hung Matthew Rees out to dry at Redgate, with the pair making contact at McLeans and going into the gravel.

Granfors then spun back across the track and was incredibly lucky not to be collected by any of the 22-strong grid behind.

Granfors’ spin forced Luke Browning off in avoidance, though; the Hitech GP driver skipped across the gravel and went into the barrier with broken suspension.

Rees was able to continue, while Nico Christodoulou and Javier Sagrera retired with broken suspension.

Joel Granfors took pole for Race 1 in the GB3 Championship‘s first visit to Donington Park this season.

The Championship leader will line up third in Race 2 on Sunday morning, with that grid determined by each driver’s second-quickest time.

The Checkered Flag spoke to the Swedish driver ahead of Race 1.

“It was very, very tight, hundredths to [Matthew] Rees, but I’m happy with that,” he said.

“P1 for the first race and P3 tomorrow, I think.”

Sergio Pérez led the third and final free practice session of the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix as he clocked the fastest lap time in the dying minutes of the session.

Charles Leclerc finished in second position, just 0.041 seconds slower than the Mexican driver. Leclerc’s Scuderia Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz finished in third position, 0.370 seconds behind the leader.

Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly rounded off the top five positions at the end of the session.

The third free practice session started in sunny conditions with air temperatures at 27 degrees C and track temperatures at 51 degrees C.

The softest tyres in the Pirelli range of tyres has been designated for this race – white-striped hard compound tyres (C3), yellow-striped medium compound tyres (C4), red-striped soft compound tyres (C5).

Joel Granfors and Max Esterson took pole position for the first two GB3 Championship races of the weekend at Donington Park on Saturday morning.

Branden Oxley set the first representative time, similar in pace to last year’s pole time in the old Tatuus BF3-020, but Luke Browning quickly smashed it with a 1:24.064.

Oxley also improved, setting a 1:24.102 before Javier Sagrera and Callum Voisin put their Carlin cars in the top two positions, separated by just 0.006s.

Nico Christodoulou, running with Arden Motorsport this weekend for his first GB3 action in partnership with Velocity Racing Development, shot up the order to go fourth.

Championship leader Granfors then went quickest, with Matthew Rees and Max Esterson getting up to third and fourth respectively.

Carb Day serves as the final practice session for the NTT IndyCar Series field before Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, though it was a session to forget for Colton Herta and David Malukas as both were involved in wrecks. For Herta, the only practice he got was being an aeroplane pilot as he found himself flying through the air before landing on his roof, though he walked away without injury.

The two crashes only capped off an inauspicious day that began with a rain delay, and the colder temperatures prompted Rinus VeeKay to only run eighteen laps before concluding his run. Once the weather cleared, Malukas’ day ended when he made contact with Santino Ferrucci in turn one, shooting him into the wall.

Later in the session, Herta lost control of his car and clipped the outside turn two wall, and the ensuing lift caused the vehicle to flip onto its roof before coasting down the backstretch and hitting turn three nose-first. Herta’s accident was very similar to Dan Wheldon‘s blowover in the 2003 race, with both taking off at nearly the same position and angles. Despite the scary nature, he was released from the medical centre without issue.

“Well first off I’m fine,” Herta subsequently tweeted. “More importantly we’re moving to the backup car and will be ready to race Sunday. Thank you to everyone at the medical center and of course the on track safety team.”

While Herta’s flight dominated the day’s airwaves, Chip Ganassi Racing continued its strong Month of May as Tony Kanaan, Marcus Ericsson, and 500 pole winner Scott Dixon were respectively first, second, and fourth quickest. Kanaan set a best time of 39.6277 seconds, ahead of Ericsson’s 39.6468. Fellow Ganassi driver Jimmie Johnson was the fastest rookie in seventh.

Pato O’Ward is not going anywhere anytime soon. On Friday, Arrow McLaren SP announced the Mexican driver has signed a contract extension through the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season.

Since joining the McLaren family in 2020, O’Ward has blossomed into one of IndyCar’s top young drivers. After a two-win campaign and third-place points finish in 2021, he provided a glimmer of hope in what has otherwise been a difficult start to the 2022 season for McLaren by winning at Barber. He currently sits seventh in points.

“The entire team is excited that Pato is on board for the long haul,” said team president Taylor Kiel. “He is an important part of our plan here at Arrow McLaren SP, his energy and work ethic is infectious. Having watched him develop since he joined the team, I look forward to building on these foundations to increase our performance and achieve our common goals in the years to come.”

His involvement with McLaren has also extended beyond the IndyCar programme with tests for the Formula One arm, including the Young Drivers Test in Abu Dhabi in late 2021. While the path to F1 is open, he would have to earn the seat by enjoying sustained success in IndyCar. Until then, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown is more than happy to have him and fellow IndyCar driver Colton Herta as the team’s TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) drivers.

“Pato is an important part of McLaren’s future in IndyCar and we are happy that he will be a key part of Arrow McLaren SP for years to come,” commented Brown. “He is an incredibly talented driver who has already shown what he is capable of in IndyCar and I look forward to watching him take the next step in his promising career.”

The NTT IndyCar Series continues its quest for environmentally friendly racing by announcing Friday that its new partnership with Shell Pennzoil will see the creation of a fully renewable fuel for use in the 2023 season. This will make the series the first major North American motorsport to use such a type of fuel.

Shell Pennzoil became the new official fuel supplier for IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, with the deal set to begin in 2023 and replacing Speedway. The company is a longtime sponsor of IndyCar head Roger Penske‘s Team Penske in both IndyCar and NASCAR, and the combination has resulted in two Indianapolis 500 victories with Rick Mears (1983 and 1988) and a NASCAR Cup Series championship with Joey Logano (2018). In 2021, Shell was named IndyCar’s official oil and lubricant provider.

“The fuel and lubricant, and energy solutions developed through our strategic relationship with IndyCar and Penske Corporation can ultimately help accelerate reduced carbon emissions from transport in many sectors of the economy,” commented Carlos Maurer, Shell’s executive vice president of Sectors and Decarbonisation. “Shell’s motorsports technical alliances around the world provide a testing ground for fuel and lubricant technologies and products in demanding road conditions.”

Shell’s new concoction for 2023 will be a blend of ethanol and various biofuels. The ethanol, which comes from the remains of sugarcane, is provided by Brazilian company Raízen. By being fully renewable, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by at least sixty percent.

“This race fuel development for IndyCar is a great example of how fuels technology is pivotal in helping decarbonize the sport,” commented Shell Global Solutions president Dr. Selda Gunsel. “Today’s development takes us one step closer to that goal.”

As Ross Chastain continued his strong 2022 by adding a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win to complement his two Cup Series triumphs, his Niece Motorsports team-mate Carson Hocevar was in the crosshairs of Ryan Preece. Hocevar and Preece were fighting for the win late when the latter was squeezed by his adversary into the wall, leading to choice words from Preece.

Hocevar, who has come so close to scoring his maiden Truck Series win on numerous occasions but fell short each time, was eager to make Friday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway the night where it all came together. He led a race-high fifty-seven laps, five more than Stage #1 winner Zane Smith, before facing a challenge from Preece. A wreck involving Jesse Little and Tyler Ankrum with four laps remaining resulted in overtime, which began with Hocevar and Preece comprising the front row.

As they ran through the first two turns, Hocevar went up the turn three banking and sandwiched Preece between his truck and the outside wall. After crossing the backstretch, further contact between the two caused Hocevar to spin and Preece to fall off pace. Chastain, who was running third, slipped by and took the lead before the caution came out; he would lead the final two overtime laps to secure his fourth career Truck win.

Preece, who finished eleventh, was far from pleased with the incident.

“All you kids watching right now wanting to get to this level: don’t do that,” Preece told FOX Sports. “Race with respect, don’t wreck the guy on the outside if you’re trying to win your first race. It doesn’t get you anywhere.

McLaren F1 Team had a bitter-sweet afternoon on Friday, with Lando Norris finishing fifth in both practice sessions, while Daniel Ricciardo put his car in the wall at the start of his Free Practice Two stint.

Currently fourth in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship constructors standings, McLaren are hoping to score more points at the Monte Carlo circuit – a circuit that has famously become almost impossible to overtake at in recent years due to the increased size of F1 cars.

In order to maximise the number of points they leave the weekend with, McLaren will be hoping for a good result in qualifying on Saturday – but with crucial data collection being missed from the second practice session as a result of Ricciardo’s accident, the Woking-based team have a bit more difficult of a job on their hands.

Andrea Stella, the Executive Director of Racing at McLaren, is optimistic about the MCL36’s pace so far this weekend.

“Monaco is always a challenge for drivers and for teams and, this year, that challenge seems even greater with a new generation of cars which seem quite temperamental. Lando’s sessions today were relatively clean, while Daniel lost most of FP2 with a crash at the Swimming Pool, the causes of which we are still investigating.”