Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

I’m delighted to be writing a monthly column for this website throughout the year. This is the first one and so I thought I’d tell you a bit about myself. 

Being bought up in the Scottish countryside near Dumfries with nothing but fields and forests around me, my parents bought me a quad bike when I was three-years-old. I was always a bit of a nut when it came to anything with wheels and an engine. I wasn’t very good at football or golf, so I was always nagging them to get me into go kart racing.

Eventually they gave in and we started a bit of indoor karting for fun up in Clydebank and then we decided to get involved with outdoor karting at Larkhall. I did the Mini Max Kart Championship in 2004 and then the Scottish Junior Rotax Max Kart Championship the following year. In 2007, I won the Scottish Junior Rotax Max Kart and West of Scotland Club Kart Championships plus finished third in the Motors TV Karting Challenge.

The following year was also pretty successful, winning the Junior Rotax Max “British Stars of Tomorrow” Rotax Cup and West of Scotland Club Kart Championships plus took third in the Super One National Junior Max Kart Championship.

I spent another three successful years in karts, before turning to car racing in 2012 – wow, cannot believe that’s 10 years ago! It was the natural progression for me, motorsport is an addiction, and I was well and truly hooked at an early age. It was very much a family sport and remains so for me to this day.

Following a hard-fought battle with cancer, two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and European Rally champion Vic Elford passed away on Sunday 13 March.

Born in 1935, Elford had a varied motorsport career, mainly driving Porsche machinery. In 1967 he won the European Rally championship in a word Porsche 911. 1968 saw him take victory at the Rally Monte Carlo in a 911, before switching disciplines and taking Porsche’s first overall win at the 24 hours of Daytona in a Porsche 907.

Elford took part in 13 races in Formula 1, scoring a total of eight points between 1968 and 1971. During his time in F1 he drove a Cooper T86B, Cooper T86, McLaren M7B, and a BRM P160, with his best result coming at the French Grand Prix in 1968, where he narrowly missed out on a podium finish, taking fourth place on his debut.

The Brit took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times between 1967 and 1974, driving a variety of cars including a Porsche 906K Carrera 6, Porsche 908, Porsche 917L, Porsche 917LH, Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3, Ferrari 365 GTB/4 and a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR.

He scored a class win in 1967 and then repeated that in 1973, while he never won the race outright, he was part of the works team for four years. During his career he also won the Twelve houts of Sebring in 1971.

Alex Albon and Nicolas Latifi are both optimistic about their chances in the upcoming F1 season, as Bahrain pre-season testing has come to an end. It was an up-and-down handful of days for the British team, after a fire caused damage to the rear of Williams F1 Team’s 2022 challenger, but 142 laps of testing on day three has helped raise morale within the team.

Albon, who broke his contract with Red Bull to return to F1 with Williams in 2022, is looking forward to his first race back next week – “Pre-season testing is now finished and next time we’re out on track it will finally be a race weekend!”

“We got some good mileage in over the course of the test and I feel like we’ve ticked all our boxes, despite losing some time on Friday. In terms of the car’s performance, I think there’s some more to come from us and I’m excited to keep pushing next weekend and throughout the course of the season to get the most out of the FW44.”

“Overall, it’s been a positive and incredibly valuable test and the team have done a great job, especially in some challenging circumstances.”

With the 2022 F1 season being just a week away, Williams F1 Team believe they are in a good position as the final pre-season testing session in Bahrain comes to an end. Day 2 was a struggle for the British team when they experienced a fire at the rear of the car that would limit a lot of their running. However, 124 laps on day 3 for Nicolas Latifi and 18 laps for Alex Albon has raised spirits for when F1 returns to Bahrain next Sunday.

Head of vehicle performance, Dave Robson, said “The conditions throughout the test were warm and breezy, with the wind changing direction late on day two. With the change of wind direction came a drop in temperature, which gave us an opportunity to test the car and the tyres in a useful range of conditions.”

“Inevitably, the test was extremely busy and after the damage done to the car early on day two, we had to make a few changes to the plan. Although frustrating to lose a lot of track time, we exposed an issue which we have now been able to fix, and we were able to complete 142 trouble free laps on the final day.”

“We have a lot to work through over the next few days before we run the cars again here in Bahrain, but we are in a good position as we head into the 2022 race season.”

Michael Shin has been confirmed to drive for Virtuosi Racing in the 2022 British F4 Championship; the second member for their line-up. 

The South Korean driver will partner Edward Pearson at Virtuosi Racing for the 2022 British F4 season. 

He spent the early part of the year in the Middle East competing in the F4 UAE season but has made a full-time switch to the British F4 series, and recently tested during the British F4’s winter test at Brands Hatch on 8 March. 

Michael Shin commented, “I’m delighted to be joining Virtuosi Racing for the 2022 ROKiT British F4 season, they are such a high-level team, and I find it so valuable to be able to learn and develop in that proper environment from early on in my career.

“We have made so much progress in the few days we have done so far, and I am excited to keep the improvement going for the rest of the year.”

Team manager, Mark Salmon added, “We are delighted to welcome Michael to Virtuosi Racing, We have started very well in our test programme and I’m looking forward to working with Michael for the rest of the season.”

Haas F1 Team finished off their Bahrain Testing with both Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher running on Saturday. With three extra hours allotted to the team on the final day to make up for air freight delays, Magnussen completed 38 laps in the morning and Schumacher logged 85 laps during the later session. 

Magnussen began his day an hour earlier than the rest of the field, but unfortunately saw his programme end early as a fuel system problem kept him from running. In the limited laps he was able to complete, he set a best time of 1:38.616 on the C2 compound.

“The car has had a few issues and reliability is the main thing we’re working on to be able to run the whole race – that’s the biggest job for us to do. Performance-wise, we have a rough idea. We’ve seen some good trends in the car and we’ll see next week where we stack up but at least the feeling is pretty good,” Magnussen said. 

The issue was resolved in time for Schumacher to run in the afternoon session, during which he caused a short red flag, as he spun on the final corner’s exit. By the session’s end, he recorded a fastest time of 1:33.151 for eighth on the timing sheets.

Schumacher would, however, best that time in the two extra hours Haas was granted after the afternoon running ended. He set a 1:32.241 on the C4 compound and therefore moved up all the way to second.

As testing in Bahrain came to a close, Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner says he is looking forward to the season opener after a test full of action, with all three drivers taking the wheel of the VF-22 and the return of Kevin Magnussen to the team. 

“A very eventful second test this year with a driver change, and all three of our drivers were in the car and did laps.”

The team saw a relatively high amount of technical difficulty, which limited their ability to up their mileage. They did, however, see success on the timing sheets with Magnussen finishing the day as the leader on Friday and Schumacher moving up to 2nd on Saturday in the additional time the team was allocated. 

Steiner said that the team is preparing for the opening Bahrain Grand Prix by making minor repairs to the car to improve reliability. 

“We had some issues during the test but then we had some good running, successful outings, so for the whole team it was a tough time, but a good time. We’re really looking forward now to the first race. We still have some work to do because we had some reliability issues, mainly small things we just need to fix to be as prepared as we have to be for the first race. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Saturday’s 2022 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 Unlimited race was a test of reliability: even if one was the leader and far ahead of the field, that advantage could disappear in the blink of an eye the moment some sort of mechanical issue flared up. The race saw four different leaders, with the first three all experiencing a problem that lost them the top spot. Behind them, Kyle Jergensen methodically climbed through the order before capitalising on defending winner Rob MacCachren‘s belt breaking on the final lap to win the prestigious off-road race for the first time.

A part of the Unlimited Truck class, Jergensen and co-driver Shawn Shanks started sixth overall while three-time winner Justin Lofton was on the pole. However, Lofton’s hopes of winning a record fourth were dashed before he could even do anything as a flat left-rear tyre minutes in forced him to the side and Ryan Arciero drove by to take the lead. Arciero, seeking his first Mint, was in control for the first half before a flat tyre on lap three allowed MacCachren to decrease the margin. Although Arciero’s crew was able to change the tyre and he easily made up the lost ground with a truck that he described as being “on point all day,” his race ended on the lakebed after the vehicle lost power.

“About three-quarters of the way down the lakebed, all of a sudden, it developed a huge vibration and then I started pulling power out with the throttle and we started losing power,” Arciero told the race broadcast. “Got a little oil pressure light and then everything just turned off. I knew as soon as we had that vibration, we were losing power. I knew it was terminal. I knew it wasn’t something we were going to pull into the pits and fix.

“That was probably one of the most heartbreaking races that I’ve done, for the simple fact is the truck was just on point all day. It didn’t miss a beat.”

Arciero’s retirement shuffled the lead to MacCachren with Jergensen nearly a minute behind when he began the fourth and final lap. Both drivers briefly stopped on track due to flat tyres, which allowed Tim Herbst to shave valuable time off the leaderboard, before the belt problem halted MacCachren’s progress entirely. MacCachren, a twice winner of the Mint 400, commented on Instagram that “[t]hings we’re [sic] going great until they weren’t. But that’s racing right. We had a good run up top, but it just wasn’t our day.”

The GB4 Championship has announced that they will be awarding the ‘George Russell Pole Position Cup’ following an agreement with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 star and award founder John Cavill. 

During his campaign in 2014, now F1 star, George Russell, won both the BRDC F4 Championship and the Pole Position Cup, aged 16. Having remained in contact with Cavill, Russell has agreed to put his name to the equivalent prize in GB4. 

The ‘George Russell Pole Position Cup’ will award a trophy and £125 to the driver who earns pole position during each of the eight race weekends in 2022. The driver with the most poles at the end of the season will earn a cash prize of £1,000 and a trophy. The winning driver’s team will also receive £1,000 and a trophy. 

Formula 1 driver, George Russell, commented, “John Cavill has been very supportive since my earliest days in racing, and he became a familiar face in my BRDC F4 Championship winning season in 2014. He has given his backing to so many young drivers in junior race series, and it is an honour to accept his invitation to lend my support to his initiative in the new GB4 Championship.

“Winning the BRDC F4 Championship in 2014 was pivotal for my career, I don’t think I’d be where I am today without it, and I’m sure that GB4 will provide the same opportunities I received back then. I look forward to congratulating the 2022 George Russell Pole Position Cup winner at the end of the year!”

Pirelli’s final chance to test the new 18-inch tyres before the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix, concluded as the Official Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit came to a close.

The track temperatures at Bahrain were much higher compared to Spain, with ambient temperatures ranging from 22 to 39 degrees centigrade while track temperatures varied from 26 to 48 degrees. The second day (Friday) was the hottest.

The timing screen is somewhat irrelevant during pre-season, despite this the fastest driver at the Bahrain International Circuit was Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who set a time of 1:31.720 on the softest C5 compound right at the end of the final day of testing.

Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director, said that the tyre manufacturer have gathered plenty of data, but that the performance gap between the different compounds has been higher than initially predicted.

“The Bahrain test allowed us to gather additional useful data on the behaviour of our new 18-inch tyres on a circuit that’s very different to Spain in terms of layout, temperature, and asphalt characteristics. This was a test that you could split into two parts really: the first two days were very hot as well as windy, which meant that they weren’t so representative as the high temperatures accentuated degradation and distorted the true picture of tyre behaviour.

Scuderia Ferrari are for many the team to beat at the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend, after the famous team concluded what has been a brilliant test for them at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The final day of pre-season testing saw both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr behind the wheel of the F1-75, the Ferrari drivers completed 119 laps combined. Sainz Jr ran during the morning session, posting a best time of 1:34.905, the Spaniard did run however on mainly the harder compounds of Pirelli tyres. Leclerc on the other hand used the softer tyres in the afternoon session and into the evening, the Monegasques’ best time was a 1:32.415. Leclerc completed 51 laps, seventeen less than his team-mate.

Ferrari Team Principal & Managing Director, Mattia Binotto, doesn’t want the team to get too far ahead of themselves and draw any conclusions, Binotto believes it’s very difficult to predict where each team will be placed come the season opener next weekend.

“We cannot draw any definite conclusions, because it will take a few races before we can get a picture of the pecking order among the teams. However, what we can say now is that these past few days have been positive for us. We were well prepared for these test sessions, as can be seen from the fact we were able to run consistently, without any significant issues, which allowed us to complete more laps than any other team. Our main aim was to gather as much data as possible to understand this completely new car, correlating it with what we had from our tools back in the factory, primarily the simulator.

“It’s very hard to say where we are in performance terms and there’s no reason why the frontrunners from last season should not once again be the favourites. We will try to be ahead of the chasing pack, which I hope to be very evenly matched.

It has been a very difficult Official Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit for the McLaren F1 Team, with an absent Daniel Ricciardo and a number of reliability issues.

The final day at Bahrain was the best of the three for McLaren, with sole driver for the test, Lando Norris, completing an impressive 90 laps. The best of those was a 1:33.191, enough to put him ninth fastest, although the timing screen is somewhat irrelevant during testing.

Norris was glad that the team finally got some solid running in at Bahrain, the British driver is hopeful that the team can get on top of their problems before the first Grand Prix next weekend.

“A better final day. We ended with some more positives with thankfully a lot more running. The team made some good progress with the problems we’ve been having. There’s still a lot of improvements to be made for us to able to compete next week. We have a better understanding of the car, and we’ll try to implement all of that next week and improve everything going into the first race of the season. So, a tough three days, not what we wanted but good enough. We’ve learnt a lot and made the most of it, which is the most important thing.”

“We’ve had a very challenging test” – McLaren’s Andreas Seidl

It has been a very challenging test for McLaren, not helped by Ricciardo testing positive for Covid-19, or by an issue on the MCL36’s front axle. It comes as a disappointment to the team, who enjoyed a successful test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

It is no question that Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team have been sandbagging during the Official Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit, the W13 has been incredibly reliable but has supposedly struggled for outright pace.

Mercedes completed yet another strong day of testing on the final day of pre-season, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell who both got a final turn behind the wheel completed a combined total of 149 laps. Hamilton spent his final session focusing on race simulation, whereas Russell focused on one lap performance.

The Silver Arrows have sat mid-leaderboard throughout testing, onboard footage of the W13 does show however both drivers avoiding eighth gear at times, resulting in a significantly lower top speed compared to their rivals.

The W13 will be fully unleashed next weekend at the first Grand Prix of the season, only then will the paddock understand where Mercedes are in comparison to the other teams. Mercedes have gathered plenty of data across the three day test, the W13 is proving to be impeccably reliable.

Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director, does believe that there is still plenty of pace to be unleashed from the W13, which as mentioned has proven to be very reliable so far.

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team brought their pre-season to a close at the Bahrain International Circuit, with both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell believing that the team are currently behind their rivals.

Seven-Time World Champion Lewis Hamilton got his final pre-season session behind the W13 during the final morning in Bahrain, Hamilton completed 78 laps with the best of those being a 1:36.217. The British driver was some way down the timing screen, after focusing on race simulations during his running.

Hamilton believes the W13 has got potential, he does think however that the team are behind their rivals with the opening round just a week away.

“We have some hurdles to overcome and obviously next week we’ll get a much better showing of our pace. I’m sure everyone can figure out that we are not the quickest at the moment. There is potential within our car to get us there but we’ve just got to learn to be able to extract it and fix some of the problems, which is what we’re working flat-out on. I think everyone struggled out on this bumpy track and we come out of testing knowing that we still have a lot of work to do.

“There’s a confidence within the team that we can always work through whatever problem we’re facing and that’s what we’ll do. I have all the faith in the men and women back at the factories to get on top of our issues. One thing is for certain, we’ll be bringing our fighting spirit to the first race next weekend!”

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team enjoyed their most successful day of the Official Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit, on the final day of running.

Both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll had a final chance behind the wheel of the AMR22 on the last day of pre-season, with the pair completing a joint total of 134 laps as the test drew to a close. The final day saw the team complete their most mileage over a single day, it meant that across the entire test Aston Martin completed 352 laps.

The running order is difficult to predict due to how different the cars are this season, it does appear though that Aston Martin are towards the bottom of the midfield, based purely on their overall pre-season performance.

Mike Krack, Aston Martin Team Principal, does believe that it’s been a good test for the team, the new Team Principal is also looking forward to building a relationship with the famous outfit.

“It has been a positive test for us with only a few minor disruptions, which is to be expected in testing. We were able to achieve significant mileage, as well as complete some representative running in dusk conditions, which will prove beneficial for next weekend’s Grand Prix. The Bahrain circuit gives the car a good workout because the temperatures are high and the degradation of the track stresses the tyres, too.