Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Oracle Red Bull Racing’s team principal, Christian Horner, has praised his team for creating such a competitive car in 2022, despite the team’s focus on winning the championship last season being ‘enormous’.

Horner’s comments come just after Sergio Perez surprised the world with a pole position in the final moments of qualifying, preventing a Scuderia Ferrari one-two. Max Verstappen will start the race on Sunday in fourth place, behind the two Ferrari cars.

“I am just so pleased for Checo, it is 11 years tomorrow after his F1 debut and 215 starts is simply incredible, he’s working harder than ever and that lap was fantastic. The Ferraris put down such a competitive marker and for Checo to put in a lap like that at this circuit was unbelievable,” Horner claimed.

“Max struggled with grip in Q3 and could not attack the corners as much as he wanted, but starting from fourth he’s still very much in contention.”

Horner continued, “Ferrari are impressive and their car is so competitive, they started early on this project last year, so for us to have Checo on pole and Max up there on the second row in race two, after such an enormous effort last season, is a real testament to the hard work of the entire team.”

Qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was not what the Williams Racing team were hoping for, as a red flag caused by Nicolas Latifi hitting the wall made added to the existing time pressure that is present at the longer Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Alex Albon was directly affected by this stoppage, meaning he was only able to set a time good enough for seventeenth place, while his teammate retired from the session and will start nineteenth.

Dave Robson, head of vehicle performance at Williams claims that the historic team made progress between Friday and Saturday’s practice sessions, but weren’t able to maximise it in qualifying, “We made some progress overnight with the setup and used the running in FP3 to determine the best run plan for Qualifying.

“Unfortunately, Nicholas touched the wall at the end of FP3 causing some minor damage to the front wing, which meant that he missed the grid start at the end of the session. Alex had a smoother session and confirmed that he was reasonably happy with the car.”

Robson continued “As we typically see on street circuits, qualifying can be very busy with a range of approaches to tyres and a constant risk of flag interruptions. With the lap being so long here in Jeddah, the run plans get squeezed and there is little slack.”

“We had a programme to get both drivers a good shot at the tyre preparation, but this went awry when Nicholas crashed at T13 causing a red flag. We will need to inspect the damage tonight and understand what needs replacing before the race tomorrow.”

The Williams Racing duo of Alex Albon and Nicolas Latifi both failed to make it through to Qualifying 2 in Saudi Arabia as a result of a red flag and struggles with the tyres. Albon, who was only able to qualify seventeenth after Latifi brought out the red flag, believes the pace to progress to the next session was there, but the cooler conditions and sensitive tyres made this a struggle.

“It was a tricky day. I felt we were capable of getting to Q2, but getting the tyres to work, especially at night-time when the temperature drops, becomes a little more difficult,” the British-Thai driver explained.

“We don’t have a bad car, but the tyres are very sensitive and we just missed the operating window. We have a bit of work to do but otherwise, in the race we should have good pace, so we can be positive on that side.”

“Overtaking is going to be tricky but hopefully we have a pace advantage.”

Latifi – “The car is feeling a bit better than it did in Bahrain, but we still have a lot of work to do

Latifi, who unfortunately hit the wall at turn 13 after losing the rear of the car under braking, brought out the red flag before all the drivers were able to complete their first runs of the session.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team’s principal, Toto Wolff, has claimed that Lewis Hamilton’s car setup in the Saudi Arabian qualifying session was an experiment, inevitably leading to the shock sixteenth place position for Mercedes’ most successful driver. A sixth place qualifying position for teammate George Russell was damage limitation for the German manufacturer, but the overall result was certainly not what Mercedes were looking for.

“That’s the second race of the season and another confirmation that we are not where we want to be, and need to be. On Lewis’s side we experimented with a setup that was worse, and the consequence was there was no rear grip and the car became [undriveable],” said Toto Wolff. “For George, I think today was a good effort considering we only had one soft tyre for Q3, so a solid job from him.”

“Nevertheless, the optimum scenario for us today was the no-man’s-land between the Red Bull and Alpine, and that’s certainly not acceptable.” 

Andrew Shovlin – “The car did look better in race spec“

Trackside engineering director for Mercedes, Andrew Shovlin, claims that the W13’s one-lap pace is not as good as its race pace, meaning tomorrow’s performance is expected to be an improvement.

“We know we aren’t quick enough at the moment and Lewis exiting in Q1 is just a symptom of that. We struggled here on single lap pace, it was more of a challenge than Bahrain and we weren’t fast enough in Bahrain.”

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. put in another exceptional performance for an impressively quick Scuderia Ferrari team on Saturday at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, lining up in second and third places respectively. Leclerc is confident in his abilities, and will be hoping to overtake pole-sitter, Sergio Perez, in the race to take victory in Saudi Arabia.

“It is disappointing to miss pole position today because I know that I put in a great lap. The risk Checo (Perez) took in the last sector paid off and his lap was exceptional. Congratulations to him for a job well done,” the Monégasque claimed.

“On our side, there is plenty to learn from this qualifying. We were quicker on used tyres than we were on new ones and we have to understand why that was, so that we can put them in a better window next time.“

“We were quick in our race simulation this morning and I feel confident for tomorrow. A race in warm conditions, taking place at night, on a very fast and narrow street circuit – it should be an exciting one.”

Sainz – “Maybe I should have also done my second push on Q3 on used tyres“

Sainz seemed rather deflated when climbing out of the car in third, after putting his car on provisional pole at the start of Qualifying 3; but quickly explained that he didn’t feel as strong on new tyres – “It was a good quali overall, putting good laps together every time we went out. Interestingly enough, I’ve been fast and more comfortable on a used set of softs than on the new set, so maybe I should have also done my second push on Q3 on used tyres. We’ll look into that for sure.“

After another excellent qualifying for Scuderia Ferrari, team principal and managing director, Mattia Binotto, believes the team is in a good place for Sunday’s race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, where they will start in second and third place.

Qualifying for the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia was a much longer session as a result of a red flag in Qualifying 2, caused by a scary accident involving Mick Schumacher; and the wellbeing of the young Haas F1 Team driver was the first thing on Binotto’s mind,“The most important thing today is that Mick is okay after his terrible accident.“

“As for qualifying, our gap to pole is really small, a few thousandths, so I think being fastest was within reach today, but never mind, because starting second and third is still a great result and even more important is the fact we are competitive. We proved to be quick on a track with different characteristics to the previous ones, which is what we wanted to see.“

The Swiss-Italian believes a victory at Jeddah will not come easily, and the pit wall will need an error-free race in order to win – “Everything could happen in tomorrow’s race – safety cars, red flags – therefore it will be important not to make any mistakes on the pit wall and to try and make the most of every opportunity and react quickly to whatever situations arise. To sum up, we need to be quick to react, keep on our toes and concentrate.”

The top four – two Ferrari and Oracle Red Bull Racing cars – are separated by just over four-and-a-half tenths, suggesting either team is in contention to take victory in Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening.

Lewis Hamilton surprised race fans around the world on Saturday, when the Briton was knocked out of the first qualifying stage in the dying moments of the session at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit – qualifying sixteenth on the grid. The 2021 runner up has claimed that the setup of the car “went the wrong way tonight” as Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team continue to struggle with their W13 car.

Hamilton, however, will start in fifteenth following the news that Mick Schumacher will not be competing in Sunday’s race.

Before analysing his qualifying performance, the seven-time world champion was quick to comment on the Qualifying 2 accident with Schumacher – “I hope Mick is OK, that corner is 170mph and it’s terrifying to see what’s happened – that’s the biggest crash we’ve seen at this track.”

“For me, I struggled with the balance of the car today, the rear end was snapping out and this isn’t where we want to be. We went the wrong way with the set up tonight and the car just wasn’t underneath me for this session,” Hamilton claims, after visibly struggling to keep the car stable during his onboard camera feeds.

“It’s strange because the car was feeling good in FP3 but in qualifying, it was difficult to drive all of a sudden and felt nervous. Everyone is working as hard as they can and trying to stay positive. I’ll try my best tomorrow and see what we can do.”

Sergio Perez believes that after today’s qualifying session in Saudi Arabia, he “could do another thousand laps” and not replicate that of his first career pole position, which he claimed on Saturday at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Teammate Max Verstappen finds himself in fourth place, putting his Oracle Red Bull Racing car behind the two Ferrari drivers.

“Today was very special to me, I achieved the best lap of my life. I feel like I could do another thousand laps and there is no chance I can get the same lap, with the amount of perfection and risk,” says the Mexican, who beat Charles Leclerc to pole position as the checkered flag was waved in Qualifying 3.

“This is probably the most difficult track for qualifying all season, you know if you’re on pole here then you nailed the lap. You have to be very precise, you must take all the risks and the risk to reward is extremely high but the positions you have to take around this place to get the perfect lap are so hard.”

“We came to Jeddah from a very difficult weekend in Bahrain and the Team have been pushing so hard out here and back in Milton Keynes, so I am extremely happy for them all. If anything, we were focusing more on the race pace so we felt Ferrari had the upper hand on us in qualifying,” the number eleven driver added.

“We will see if we have the pace to beat them in the race tomorrow. I need a good start and then I will try to control the race from there, it is going to be difficult because the Ferraris are quick and Max will be in the mix too. We have a long race ahead of us but I am confident we can come out on top again.”

Qualifying for the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a success for BWT Alpine F1 Team, with Esteban Ocon out-qualifying George Russell to take fifth on the grid for Sunday’s race, despite “almost putting [the car] in the wall”. Fernando Alonso remains competitive in seventh place.

“First of all, the most important thing is that Mick is OK. That was a big shunt, and I am glad to see that everything seems to be fine with him,” the Frenchman claimed.

“On our side, the car felt good and it’s good to see that we are quick around this track. It’s a very fast circuit, very technical and you do have to take some risks. I almost put it in the wall in Q3 but managed to just save it.“

“It’s only the second race with this new car and to qualify in fifth and seventh is great and we should be very happy about today. We’ve built up well all weekend and I am happy how the car has improved during all the practice sessions.“

“We’re in the mix to fight for a solid result tomorrow.”

Valtteri Bottas has qualified eighth for Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, marking a second consecutive Qualifying 3 appearance for Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN. Progress has been excellent for the Swiss team, after spending the majority of 2021 fighting to get out of Qualifying 1.

Setting a lap time of 1:29.183, Bottas will start on the fourth row of the grid for the second race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, and is happy with Alfa Romeo’s consistency:

“I am pleased to be in Q3, especially with our performance: we were very consistent, made good progress in each session and got a good spot on the grid for the race. The main thing today, though, is that Mick is ok after the heavy shunt. We hope to see him back in a race car as soon as possible.”

The Finn further explained that the team were unsure how competitive the C42 would be at the circuit, and that there was nothing left of the tyres at the end of the session – “Coming into the weekend, we weren’t sure whether the track layout would suit us, so to have a solid qualifying as a team is positive. I was perhaps hoping to be a couple of places higher, but everyone was so close: we stuck to our plan, which was to only use one set of tyres for Q3, and by the end there was nothing left.”

“Still, we delivered some good laps and I feel we are definitely in the fight that will be outside the top two teams. We can take the challenge to everyone around us tomorrow and I am looking forward to what will be an interesting race.“

Team principal for BWT Alpine F1 Team, Otmar Szafnauer, is “delighted” with a fifth and seventh place start on the grid for Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, though remains realistic, claiming that the job is not completely finished.

“We’re delighted with today’s Qualifying result with brilliant laps from Esteban and Fernando to put us well inside the top ten for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. We knew from the beginning of the weekend we had the pace to be very competitive, so to see the hard work from everyone at the team pay off is excellent,” says the new Alpine team principal for the 2022 season.”

Szafnauer claims that Alpine are going to work on the strategy for Sunday’s race overnight – “Only half of the job is complete, though, and points are only given out on Sundays. We’ve put ourselves in a great position to have a strong race and we’re looking forward to developing our strategy overnight to ensure both cars are very well placed and prepared to score points.“

Finally, the team principal showed his thoughts for Mick Schumacher, who suffered a high-speed accident at turn thirteen, bringing out the red flag and delaying the final five minutes of Qualifying 2. Thankfully the Haas F1 Team driver is okay.

“We also wish Mick well after a quite frightening crash during the session. We hope Mick recovers quickly and is in a position to race again soon.”

Frédéric Vasseur, team principal for Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN believes that the second consecutive Qualifying 3 entry for Valtteri Bottas and an impressive thirteenth place for Zhou Guanyu confirms that the good performance in Bahrain last weekend was not a one-off exception.

“First and foremost, the important news from the evening are about Mick Schumacher being ok after a very big accident. Full credit to the FIA for making these the safest cars in F1 history,” states the Alfa Romeo boss.

“As for us, we delivered a good performance that confirms our Bahrain result was not a fluke: both Valtteri and Zhou did well and we can see progress already compared to last week, which means we can expect to be in the fight to bring home points with both cars tomorrow,” Vasseur continued.

“It’s going to be a long race and we’ve seen tonight that this track doesn’t forgive any mistake: there are a lot of challenges, but also a lot of potential opportunities to take and it will be up to us to bring home a good result.”

The 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a hectic race, with multiple red flags and retirements. In order to get both cars in the points tomorrow, both Bottas and Zhou will have to avoid trouble at one of the toughest street circuits on the Formula 1 calendar.

It is no secret that A.J. Allmendinger is one of the top road course drivers not just in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but in stock car racing as a whole. The former open-wheel racer and sports car veteran bolstered this image in Saturday’s Pit Boss 250 at Circuit of the Americas when he took the lead with fourteen laps remaining and never looked back as he scored his Xfinity-record seventh road course victory. When combined with his two career Cup Series wins, his nine national series road triumphs are tied with Jeff Gordon for the most in history.

Pole winner Ty Gibbs led the opening lap before Ross Chastain did so. Allmendinger, who was a team-mate of Chastain at Kaulig Racing before Chastain moved up to the Cup Series, claimed the lead on lap four and led to the stage win ahead of Alex Labbé, Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Justin Allgaier, Preston Pardus, Jade Buford, Parker Chase, Jeremy Clements, and Gibbs.

Chastain continued to lead throughout Stage #2 while fellow Cup driver Bubba Wallace worked his way through the order to catch him. Wallace, who frequently saw little success on road courses, remained on Chastain’s tail before a transmission issue caused him to fall off pace and out of the order. With a lap before the stage’s conclusion, Chastain pitted and the lead cycled to Sam Mayer who won his first stage ahead of Buford. Allgaier, Josh Berry, Riley Herbst, Cole Custer, Sage Karam, Chastain, Allmendinger, and Noah Gragson followed, though Custer received a speeding penalty on his stop that bumped Scott Heckert into the top ten.

A pair of debris cautions highlighted the final stage, the first of which came after just one lap of racing. Allmendinger took the lead from Chastain on said lap. A debris caution came out with nine laps remaining, but Allmendinger kept his ground and was unbeatable as he secured his first win of 2022 and eleventh in the Xfinity Series.

Allmendinger’s seven Xfinity road course wins have come across six different tracks: COTA, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (thrice), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (twice), and Road America (once). Although he has yet to win an Xfinity race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway‘s infield road course or Watkins Glen International, both of his Cup victories came at those venues.

The news that the entire Formula 1 community and paddock had been waiting for, has finally been released. Mick Schumacher has taken to Twitter to inform the globe that he is okay, after suffering a horrific crash during Qualifying 2 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Schumacher’s high-speed collision with the concrete barrier, came between turns eleven and twelve. The Haas F1 Team driver’s impact with the concrete wall would’ve come at over 150mph, putting him through unimaginable G-force at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit upon impact.

Since Qualifying ended it was announced by Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner that the German will not take part in Sunday’s race, instead Schumacher will focus on resting up and getting back to full-fitness.

Bulky NASCAR Camping World Trucks on the twists and turns of Circuit of the Americas? What could go wrong?

For Zane Smith, not a whole lot. He won the first two stages of Saturday’s XPEL 225 and snuck by overtime contact involving leaders Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, and Stewart Friesen to win his second race of the season.

Xfinity Series rookie and 2020 Truck champion Sheldon Creed won the pole, but never had a chance as his #20 truck was plagued by mechanical issues throughout the weekend: a fuel pump change dropped him to the rear for the green flag, and he had worked his way up to the top ten in two laps before a transmission failure resulted in retirement. He is just the third pole-sitter in Truck Series history to finish last after Rich Bickle at Colorado 1996 and David Reutimann at Homestead 2005. With Creed out of the picture, the lead was held by Cup Series regulars as Bowman led the opening lap before Busch claimed it. Although Busch led much of the first stage, he and much of the field pitted before its conclusion which cycled the top spot to Smith. Smith, whose Front Row Motorsports team won the inaugural Truck race at COTA with Todd Gilliland in 2021, claimed the stage victory ahead of Friesen, Ben Rhodes, Derek Kraus, Tyler Ankrum, Matt DiBenedetto, Timmy Hill, Christian Eckes, Busch, and Parker Kligerman.

Dean Thompson‘s truck lost power shortly after Stage #2 began to produce the first race-related caution. Over the ensuing laps, multiple drivers spun or went off course, which culminated in another yellow flag for Chase Purdy spinning Matt Crafton through the gravel. Crafton retaliated later in the stage while Smith spun John Hunter Nemechek for the lead and eventual stage win. Rhodes, Kraus, Chandler Smith, DiBenedetto, Friesen, Carson Hocevar, Hill, and Kligerman followed.

Hailie Deegan‘s difficult month—which consisted of a crash at Las Vegas, a power steering failure in the Mint 400, and a ghastly fire at Atlanta—continued as her truck stopped twice on lap 29 for the next caution. DiBenedetto was the next victim four laps later when his rear end failed.