Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Former Formula 1 racer Jos Verstappen will be making a comeback in motorsport as he makes his rally debut on 26 February.

Verstappen, who last raced in Formula 1 in 2003 before going on to take part in A1GP and competing in prototype racing, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will try rallying for the first time as he enters Rally van Haspengouw in the national Belgian rally series in a Citroën C3 Rally2.

Sitting right beside Verstappen will be the experienced co-driver Kris Botson and the pair will be entered for DG Sport Competition

“I look forward to the competition, because I have found that I really enjoy this sport and its unpredictability. I have a great team in the background, but at the same time I have to understand my own limits.” Verstappen commented about his rally debut.

“In the rally, experience is very important, getting it is my biggest challenge. The rally is completely new to me and there has been nothing like it in my career. Everything in the car is new, as is the notation. I don’t have time to get acquainted with things, so I have to drive full speed right away, but at the same time we need to avoid unnecessary risks.”

Following on from his record-breaking third-straight Porsche Carrera Cup GB Am class title, Justin Sherwood will be returning to the series as he looks to add further to his impressive tally of victories.

Sherwood has an impressive record in Porsche racing, along with his titles in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Am class in Carrera Cup GB, he also claimed the Pro-Am 1 title in 2014 and the year before secured the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge GB championship.

Over the seven seasons in Carrera Cup GB, Sherwood has taken part in 112 races, taking 30 victories and finishing on the podium in 68.75% of those races.

The 48-year old will return to the series with Team Parker once again in the Am class, this time in the new ‘Type 992’ 911 GT3 Cup car.

“It will be an interesting experience as we get to grips with the new 992-style 911 GT3 Cup car this season. It’s a fresh start for everyone so it should be tough, but fun out on track,” said Sherwood.

NACON and its development studio KT Racing, in collaboration with WRC Promoter have announced that the 2022 eSports WRC Championship will get underway on 4 February across multiple platforms.

Now in it’s sixth season, the virtual championship will be run on WRC 10, the official video game of the FIA World Rally Championship across PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5 and PlayStation®4.

The championship is open to all WRC 10 players and in 2021 saw more than 15,000 players compete in 13 rounds, culminating in a live final from Athens during EKO Acropolis Rally Greece.

Amongst the casual gamers and eSports drivers will be top level teams Race Clutch, Virtual Best Racing and Team Williams, promising a competitive season.

Racing alongside his Race Clutch teammates, three-time (virtual) WRC winner and 2021 champion Lohan ‘Nexi’ Blanc will be returning to defend his title.

Following a successful debut in 2021, which saw 21-year-old esports star Sebastian Job crowned as its inaugural champion, the Porsche Esports Carrera Cup GB returns for its second season in 2022.

While the series is virtual and played out on the iRacing platform, it is a fully-backed Porsche Motorsport GB series, which runs alongside Porsche Visit Cayman Islands Sprint Challenge GB and Porsche Carrera Cup GB in the Porsche Pyramid.

The 2022 calendar will (virtually) visit the same tracks that the real life Carrera Cup GB series will race at with the following schedule:

Each event will feature a one hour practice session, 17 minute qualifying session and two 25 minute races. New additions to the championship for 2022 is the Knockhill circuit and the new ‘Type 992’ Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, which will see it’s debut in the UK this season.

Pre-qualification has already see some of the world’s best sim racers go head-to-head with a 240 minute open practice session and a three-lap race around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit as the entrants bid to secure one of the 26 places on the grid.

21-year-old Ricardo Feller will join René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde at ABT Sportsline for the 2022 DTM series, driving one of their three Audi R8 LMS Evo II’s.

Despite his young age, the Swiss has been competing in GT3’s since he was 16 and is looking forward to his first outing in early April at the official DTM test at Hockenheim.

“DTM has been my dream from the very beginning,” Feller said. “It is cool that this dream is becoming reality at ABT Sportsline. I am aware that 2022 will be a challenge. Irrespective of my teammates, competition in DTM will probably be even stronger than last year. I want to pit myself against the best, and these are currently racing in DTM.”

Born in Oberbözberg in the Swiss canton of Aargau, Feller started in karts before moving on to Formula 4 and then GT3 in ADAC GT Masters in 2017, winning the title with Christopher Mies in the Audi in the past season.

“It is mega that we can run three cars in DTM this year as well,” ABT CEO and team principal Thomas Biermaier said. “With René, Kelvin and Ricardo, we have three drivers who can all battle for the title.

DTM race winner Manuel Reuter will be returning to the series as the new manager of Grasser Racing, who will be entering four Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVOs into the DTM this year.

The 60-year-old raced in the series from 1986 to 2005, taking four victories from 86 starts and finishing the 2000 championship in second place behind the dominant Bernd Schneider. Away from his DTM exploits, Reuter has taken victories in karting, formula racing, and sportscars, including two wins at the 24 hours of Le Mans, a first place at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race along with the ITC title in 1996.

While Reuter has hung up his helmet, he has continued to be involved in motorsport as a media pundit, team consultant, coach and official. He has already proven his worth as a team manager, leading Rutronik Racing to drivers’ and team championships in the 2019 ADAC GT Masters.

“Gottfried [Grasser] contacted me at the end of last year and laid out GRT’s plans for the DTM. I immediately found the project interesting, and we soon came to an agreement about working together,” said Reuter.

“The team is a permanent fixture in GT3 racing, so making the step up to the DTM is the logical thing to do. The racing series has developed extremely well with the GT3 regulations and has regained much of its former appeal.

The future of the Tag Heuer Porsche FE Team in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship for the long term will likely be defined by their parent companies’ decision about whether to join Formula 1, according to the vice-president of motorsport at Porsche, Thomas Laudenbach.

The Volkswagen Group, of which Porsche are a part of alongside the likes of Audi and Lamborghini, have been linked with joining Formula 1 when the new engine regulations come into effect in 2026, and this is likely to have an effect on the German marque’s other motorsport programmes.

The success that Porsche were hoping to have in Formula E has also fallen short at this time, and although they have committed to run in the championship until at least season ten, Laudenbach admits that anything beyond then is up in the air.

“The success wasn’t as good as we expected, or as we wanted to have. That’s a fact,” Laudenbach is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com.  “The goal is we want to win races in Formula E, and [that] we are for sure heading for a championship.

“For us, it’s clear we will at a certain stage decide about the future of our Formula E engagement so far.  Throughout the next year we will decide if we want to carry on, if we want to extend it.

The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship saw the first season of the new Hypercars take to the track, showcasing the future direction of the top class in the series. Although one team ran an old LMP1 car and still gave the Hypercars a run for their money, the Hypercars dominated at the top. Were the Hypercars the right way to go and is it just that more competition needed at the front? Ahead of the start of the 2022 season, TheCheckeredFlag discusses this.

In the history of the WEC, the top tier class has always been well populated with competition, keeping viewers hooked on the action that usually continues to the final race of the season. The smallest field in WEC’s history of five full season entries were seen in 2021, and two of those cars dropped out the latter half of the season. For all intents of purpose, it was a weak year for the top class in WEC, with Toyota Gazoo Racing dominating once again, as they have done since the departure of Porsche LMP1 Team in 2018.

Alpine Elf Matmut stayed in the game to take the fight to Toyota until the final race of the year in Bahrain, but in their ‘grandfather’ LMP1 car, the odds were against them. They did have some strong performances and notably stole pole position from Toyota at the 8 Hours of Portimao, but in terms of the full season they didn’t have enough to stop the Japanese manufacturer from taking their third consecutive double championships.

The only other team to take part in the Hypercar class was Scuderia Glickenhaus Racing. Having a late start to the season, only entering one car into the second round of the season when there were due to be two after delays prevented them from completing homologation tests, the Glickenhaus did exceptionally well for their first half season in the top tier category. Coming in as a privateer against works teams is a tall order, and not only did both cars manage to complete the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing fourth and fifth overall, but they also claimed a podium at the 6 Hours of Monza.

The Hypercar class seems an exciting one, but to reach that potential it needs competition. This year, Peugeot will be joining the WEC as a full season entry with two of their Hypercars, so we shall see if they are able to take the fight to Toyota and knock them off the pedestal they have sat upon for the past four years. This new addition to the class and the promise of the return of Audi, Porsche and Ferrari to the top class in 2023 thanks to the WEC/IMSA hybrid rules, it would be safe to assume that after 2022, the Hypercar class will likely capture the hearts of sports car fans once again.

On 10-12 February, the second round of the 2022 FIA Middle East Rally Championship will be held in Qatar with the 47th running of the Qatar International Rally; Former Citroën World Rally Team colleagues Mads Ostberg and Kris Meeke will team-up once again to take on the event.

Previously it was announced that Patrik Barth will become the new co-driver for Ostberg this season as Torstein Eriksen parted ways, but for this rally it will be Austrian Ilka Minor who is sitting beside Ostberg.

Chris Patterson will be the co-driver for Meeke as he makes his rally comeback, the Irishman sat last time together with Meeke in 2013. Patterson has been the co-driver for Gus Greensmith the last two seasons.

Both Ostberg and Meeke will compete with Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo with both entered for the Latvian SRT team.

The rally will be held over two days with the first stage to feature almost a 100km test and a total of 220 kilometers dividend in 13 stages.

Nitro Rallycross has debuted its all-new car, the FC1-X, ahead of its appearance at the Race of Champions. Testing just ahead of this weekend’s race, the FC1-X is the most powerful rallycross car ever built and will be NRX’s premier-level car.

Built by First Corner and in collaboration with QEV Technologies, the car is the first of its kind, fully electric with more power and capability than the current supercars. Joining the new car class of Group E, the FC1-X boasts a fully electric engine with a whopping 1,070 horsepower (800 kW), 811 ft-lbs of torque (1,100Nm), and can accelerate in 0-60 in just 1.4 seconds. Along with the step-up in what’s under the hood, the FC1-X improves upon the previous generations handling with a new and longer suspension that helps in its added 12 inches of suspension travel. Powering this electric powerhouse are four batteries on each corner of the car developed by BEV. 

With the introduction of the new cars, one driver seems particularly keen on the new car, namely founder Travis Pastrana. 

“Our goal for the FC1-X was to create the best rallycross car possible. One that can put down more power than anything seen in competition and durable enough to thrive in the Nitro Rallycross. With more torque, acceleration, and top speed than any gas-powered Supercar.”

With its first live debut this weekend at the Race of Champions Snow + Ice, the FC1-X is set to make a good first impression upon prospective drivers and teams. With the 2022 NRX season yet to be announced, the anticipation will only build as fans and drivers alike watch to see how it performs.

The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team will remember the 2021 season as the one that was stolen from them, at least in the Driver’s Championship. The team’s eighth consecutive Constructors’ Title was overshadowed by the controversial final laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton looked all but certain to clinch his eighth World Championship, only for a Michael Masi intervention to effectively take it away from him.

The fact Mercedes were even in the position to be fighting for both titles come the final round of the championship was miraculous, considering how poorly pre-season testing went for the Silver Arrows. Mercedes endured the 2021 season as the underdog, not as the favourite. Red Bull Racing took the fight to Mercedes and actually had the better package across the season, leaving Team Principal Toto Wolff scratching his head at times.

Despite it all though, the Brackley-based team stuck together and rose to the challenge, with Hamilton almost completing the perfect comeback in the final rounds of the championship. Max Verstappen may have taken one of the titles away from Mercedes but the Constructors’ Crown firmly remains in the Brackley camp. Valtteri Bottas’s season summed up his last couple of years at the team, the Finnish driver on too many occasions simply didn’t deliver when the team needed him most. Bottas has been a valiant member of the Mercedes team though, and leaves to Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN having accomplished many things with the Silver Arrows.

The Highs:

Mercedes can still look back on the 2021 season and relish in their highs, with perhaps the biggest of the lot coming at the Brazilian Grand Prix and the comeback drive of dreams from Hamilton. After taking pole on Friday, Hamilton was disqualified from the session due to a rear-wing infringement and forced to the back of the grid for the sprint race, with a further five-place penalty to be taken for the main race on Sunday for an engine change. The Seven-Time World Champion more than rose to the challenge.

Hamilton made up fifteen places in the sprint race, resulting in a tenth-place start for the Grand Prix, which he incredibly won after hunting down Verstappen. It was one of the drives of his career and one which sent a statement to Red Bull, that Hamilton and Mercedes weren’t done yet!

2021 will go down in history as one of the greatest world championships that has ever been seen in Formula One, the excitement, the controversy and the incredible climax. Red Bull Racing played a huge part in the monumental season, a year which saw the team just miss out on their first Constructors’ Championship since 2013 but did see Max Verstappen achieve his lifelong dream and become a Formula One World Champion, the first Dutchman to ever do so. Verstappen joins a small group of drivers to beat Lewis Hamilton to the title, albeit in controversial fashion.

Controversy aside, Verstappen raised his game in 2021 with the help of the breathtaking RB16, the Dutchman claimed ten victories across the twenty-two rounds as well as ten pole positions. Verstappen wasn’t the only Red Bull driver to take victory this season, with his new team-mate for 2021 Sergio Pérez claiming a memorable victory at Azerbaijan. Pérez has had a mixed year, the Mexican took his time adjusting to the RB16 stating at the start of the season just how different it was to any F1 car he had driven in the past.

When he got up to speed though, Pérez was mighty fast and played a key role in Verstappen’s championship triumph, after slowing Hamilton’s momentum at important stages in the championship, most notably at the Turkish and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix’s. The Mexican enjoyed many podiums in 2021 as well as his single victory, however none would’ve felt more sweet than his third place at the Mexican Grand Prix. In the end Pérez claimed fourth place in the Driver’s Championship.

The Highs:

There were many highs for Red Bull in 2021 but the biggest high for the team is of course the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Verstappen’s championship winning victory, where he made that last lap overtake on Hamilton to claim the title. The race summed up the immense partnership Verstappen and Pérez have built for each other, the Mexican’s defence against Hamilton after the British driver had made his opening pit-stop was unbelievable. Pérez’s defending allowed Verstappen to close an almost ten-second gap to Hamilton, down to under a second.

Had this not happened Hamilton would’ve had a big enough gap most likely come the dramatic late safety car, to pit for fresh tyres and remain in the lead. This wasn’t the first time that the pair had worked together, as they did so back at the French Grand Prix where the team’s strategy and the drivers teamwork made the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team look defeated. The team’s strategy saw them close on both Mercedes drivers in the closing stages of the surprisingly thrilling race at the Circuit Paul Ricard, with Verstappen overtaking both Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton in the final laps to take victory, with Pérez getting past Bottas to take third.

Scuderia Ferrari didn’t really have much to lose going into the 2021 season. They had an absolutely disastrous 2020 thanks to a woefully underpowered car and a demotivated Sebastian Vettel, making them the butt of many jokes from Formula 1 fans the world over. Thankfully, 2021 turned out to be quite a bit better! Whilst there were still issues floating around in the team and neither of its two drivers managed to pick up a race win, there was definitely a much more positive feeling about the future by the end of the season. Ferrari managed to finish 3rd in the constructors’ championship, beating out its upper midfield rivals McLaren (who many tipped to be the best of the rest again this year). This was no doubt helped by some fresh blood coming into the team in the form of Carlos Sainz, who more than delivered in his first season driving the red car. Charles Leclerc was no slouch either, but once again he seemed to struggle with bad luck. This bad luck was especially true when it came to Formula 1’s return to Monaco (Leclerc’s native country) for the first time since 2019 and when a potentially huge win at Silverstone didn’t come to him due to issues beyond his control.

The Highs

Perhaps the biggest positive that Ferrari gained from this year was having a competitive car again. After a year of fighting for points, Ferrari was finally able to mix it up with the upper midfield and even legitimately fight for wins at times! Whilst the car didn’t really change at all from the SF1000 in terms of the chassis and aerodynamics, the power unit was massively improved and even got an upgrade midway through the season that made it better. It’s when the upgrades came in when things especially started getting great for the Scuderia, giving them that little bit of an extra push that it needed to get past McLaren in the constructors’ championship and cement that third-place finish.

The other huge high that Ferrari experienced this year was the superb performance of its newest signing Carlos Sainz. Whilst people did expect Sainz to be very good due to his previous form at adapting very quickly to whatever team he finds himself in, he still did better than anyone expected. In fact, he actually beat his teammate Charles Leclerc (who has been with Ferrari since 2019 and is on a long-term contract that runs out at the end of 2024) in the drivers’ championship standings! Rumour has it that Ferrari was so impressed with what Sainz was able to do in his first year at the team that it’s going to extend his contract a little bit longer. If that’s the case, then I’m pretty sure the Tifosi will be very happy to see him around for a little bit longer.

Another rather unexpected high for Ferrari was the redemption of Mattia Binotto as a team principal. Whilst the long-time Ferrari man (he’s been with the company since he graduated from university in 1995) had been regarded as a bit of a joke as a team boss in 2020, 2021 saw him mature into the role Ferrari had placed him in. He wisely decided to stay out of much of the fight between Mercedes and Red Bull, only stepping in to make a comment when he was asked about the potential legality of Mercedes’ rear suspension (even then, he stated that he thought it was totally legal). He has also learned how to deal with the media much better and it seems like the replacement of Vettel with Sainz has re-energised him too. Whilst he’s not got the charisma of Toto Wolff, Christian Horner or Zak Brown and never will, what he does now carry with him is a firm assurance about Ferrari’s F1 future. That can only be a good thing.

The Lows

Whilst in many ways 2021 was a return to form for Ferrari, it was a season where the Scuderia was still winless. Admittedly, this is down more to sheer bad luck than anything else. Charles Leclerc came a cropper due to unreliability at Silverstone, having to deal with engine problems that lost him a considerable amount of pace every time they reared their heads. He also wasn’t able to start his home race of Monaco due to his car being too damaged from the crash he’d had in qualifying the previous day. Still, though, it’s not a brilliant look that Ferrari had its first back-to-back winless seasons since the bad old days of the early 1990s.

The Mclaren F1 Team found a new-level of confidence in 2021, and demonstrated some of the form seen in the team’s glory days. Yes, the British team did agonisingly miss out on third in the Constructors’ Championship to Scuderia Ferrari but nevertheless it was a year to remember.

Out of the shadow of Carlos Sainz Jr, Lando Norris drove his heart out all season long, and was just a meer few laps away from victory at the Russian Grand Prix, where he also claimed his first Formula One Pole Position. The British driver was consistently capable of battling not only both Ferrari drivers but also the Red Bull Racing and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team line-ups. Norris was unfortunate to just come short of finishing fifth in the Driver’s Championship, the British driver ended the year in sixth despite actually being third for the vast majority of it.

Daniel Ricciardo’s first season at Mclaren was it’s fair to say, eventful! The Australian took too long adjusting to the MCL35M, and was beaten far too many times by his less experienced team-mate. As always though the Honey Badger gritted his teeth and dug-deep, eventually finding his way towards the top half of the grid. Of course the height of Ricciardo’s year came at the Italian Grand Prix, where he claimed his first victory since 2018, and the team’s first since 2012. This Grand Prix was the peak of Ricciardo’s season, who from then on continued to trail behind Norris.

The Highs:

The Italian Grand Prix was of course the team’s greatest moment from the 2021 season, a race which not only saw Ricciardo claim his first win since the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix but was also Mclaren’s first win since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. That’s not all, with Norris completing a one-two for Mclaren at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, it was Mclaren’s first one-two finish since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix. Mclaren were the only team in 2021 to achieve a one-two finish, neither Red Bull or Mercedes could match this feat.

Ricciardo’s victory in Italy was so nearly followed up by victory in Russia by Norris, only for a sudden change of weather condition to snatch his first Formula One win away from him. The Russian Grand Prix is both a high and low moment for the team, Norris famously claimed his first-ever F1 pole in similarly rapidly changing conditions and looked in complete control of the majority of the Grand Prix. Norris would’ve almost certainly taken victory had the rain not arrived, or if he had pitted sooner for Intermediate tyres. It was the bravest of risks to stay out on Slicks, a risk that was clearly not favoured by the elements.

Alpine F1 Team’s return to Formula One was met with a relatively successful 2021 campaign, the team achieved an incredible victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix as well as an excellent podium at the Qatar Grand Prix. The team’s line-up of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, the latter who rejoined Formula One after two years away, has proven to be a strong one with both drivers demonstrating during the season that they are more than willing to help each other for the good of the team.

The season actually started poorly for the team, however as the year went on Alpine began to demonstrate the potential which was predicted by many. By the end of the year Alonso claimed tenth in the Driver’s Championship on eighty-one points, with Ocon just missing out on a top ten finish in eleventh. The Frenchman who claimed his maiden victory at the Hungaroring, ended the year on seventy-four points. As a team they just about clinched fifth in the Constructors’ Standings, after a late season battle for the spot against Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda. Only thirteen points separated the two, however it was the French team who sealed fifth on 155 points.

It was a big call by Alpine to sign Alonso, the Spaniard was extremely vocal during his time at the Mclaren F1 Team, leaving many wondering if the two-time world champion would be a handful for the team. Those who pondered couldn’t have been anymore wrong, Alonso seemed very happy throughout the season but more importantly demonstrated that he still has the speed which took him to countless victories during his glory days. Alonso hasn’t dominated proceedings at the team though in 2021, Ocon has proven himself more than worthy of his spot in F1, after arguably his strongest season yet in the series.

The Highs:

The Hungarian Grand Prix was clearly the highlight of Alpine’s season, the team were clinical enough to make the most of others misfortune, with the race seeing a number of drivers suffer significant damage. Ocon amazingly found himself in second place when the red flag was flown for the opening corner collisions, however it was his and the team’s call to pit under the race restart for Slick tyres, which arguably won him the race. Not only this but the consistent pace which he demonstrated at the Hungaroring was of the highest quality. Ocon’s victory though was also hugely down to the phenomenal defending by Alonso, who kept the charging Lewis Hamilton incredibly at bay for far longer than the seven-time world champion desired.

At the Qatar Grand Prix however it was Alonso who stepped foot on the podium, albeit the third-step, for the first time since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix. Alonso started in third after a number of drivers were awarded penalties due to Qualifying infringements, the Spaniard was past Pierre Gasly and up to second though after the first few corners, Alonso yet again demonstrated the incredibly speed and skill, which has seen him enjoy so much success over the years. There was nothing the veteran could do about the much quicker Max Verstappen, who easily moved the Spaniard aside. Alonso’s podium was ensured after his team-mate returned the favour of Hungary, and defended well against the stronger Sergio Pérez.