Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

It was a disappointing season finale for the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team, with both drivers missing out on a points finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel was top Aston Martin in eleventh with a frustrated Lance Stroll finishing in thirteenth at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Vettel was unlucky not to get a points finish, the German had good pace when in clean air but was unfortunately stuck behind Antonio Giovinazzi for just too long. Stroll too had good pace but was just unable to make enough progress through the field. The Canadian was left frustrated at the end of the race after being unable to unlap himself during the Grand Prix’s late safety car, ending his hopes of making up any places on the last lap.

It’s been a mixed year for Aston Martin who end the season seventh in the Constructors’ Championship, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer is incredibly thankful to both drivers but was hoping for more from the final race.

“Sebastian and Lance both drove fault-free races to 11th and 13th respectively. That was not what we were hoping for – a double points finish was our aim – but we simply did not have the race pace necessary to make the progress required and there was not enough attrition ahead of us. I want to thank them both though. They have worked hard and uncomplainingly throughout a very long and extremely tough season.

“They both deserve a good rest, after which they will return next year; by that time we intend to offer them a more competitive car relative to those of our principal competitors. I also want to thank our staff back at the factory, and at the races, who never gave up all season. They too will come back refreshed next year, ready to push for better results than we have had this year.”

It was a disappointing end to the season for Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, as both Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team drivers missed out on finishing the finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the points. Vettel finished eleventh with Stroll in thirteenth at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Sebastian Vettel was having a strong race, the German who started in a poor fifteenth place looked in a racey mood on Sunday. Unfortunately for the Four-Time World Champion, he was stuck behind Antonio Giovinazzi for too long, costing the Aston Martin driver valuable time.

It’s a frustrating way for the season to end for Vettel, who when in clean air had very good pace. Vettel recognised that he had good pace but that he was simply stuck behind Giovinazzi for too long.

“I think we had some decent pace today, but we were unfortunately stuck behind the Alfa Romeo of [Antonio] Giovinazzi for too long and that cost us too much time. When we were in clear air, the pace was good, but there was only so much we could do. The Safety Car situation at the end may have been unprecedented and we were just unable to end the season with points and finished P11. I also want to say congratulations to both Lewis [Hamilton] and Max [Verstappen] because both deserved the World Championship this year.”

“We were not waved through to overtake” – Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll was left very frustrated at the end of the season finale, after being one of the drivers who weren’t allowed to unlap themselves under the races late safety car. Stroll was hoping he’d be able to make up some last lap places but had the opportunity taken away from him.

The Alpine F1 Team secured a brilliant fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship after a double points finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso finished eighth with Esteban Ocon right behind in ninth at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Both Alpines battled hard throughout the race and for the majority of it were stuck in the same DRS train, Ocon pitted first whereas Alonso made the most of a VSC to gain a great amount of time on his rivals. In the end the pair crossed the line eighth and ninth respectively, securing fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship for the team.

It’s been a year of surprises for Alpine, with their win at Hungary and podium at Qatar, the team have shown signs of real pace at times this season. If they can perform more consistently in 2022, then there is no reason why they can’t battle for third in the Constructors’ next season.

Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, was one of many to congratulate Max Verstappen on his world title, before he spoke about what a year it has been for the team.

“Firstly, congratulations to Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for a fantastic finale to the season. It was a brilliant end to a captivating year in Formula 1 and the perfect advert for what an entertaining sport we have the privilege to compete in. The drama they created today only makes us hungrier to be up at the top of the grid fighting for wins and championships in the near future.

Fernando Alonso was at the centre of the biggest talking point of the season, after being one of the five cars allowed to unlap themselves on the penultimate lap of the race of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Alonso finished eighth with Esteban Ocon just behind in ninth at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Alonso was right in the thick of the action at the Yas Marina Circuit, and enjoyed a great near-on race long battle with Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo. When the Virtual Safety Car came out to allow the marshals to clear Antonio Giovinazzi’s stricken Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN car, Alonso took the opportunity to pit for fresh tyres.

After exiting the pits Alonso enjoyed some brilliant battles whilst in ninth, the Spaniard was promoted to eighth after Sergio Pérez retired. This is as high as Alonso would climb in the race, in what was a solid last race of the season for the Double World Champion.

Alonso thoroughly enjoyed the race and the battles he had throughout the Grand Prix, he is now ready to reset for next year.

“It was a fun race out there tonight and to see the championship fight go down to the last lap was exciting. For our race, we started on the Hard tyres and we did well to benefit from the Safety Car this time. I enjoyed the fights we had with the Alpha Tauris and to score double points for the team is a good result for Alpine. We weren’t quite as competitive this weekend, but we executed another strong race, so it’s a credit to the team.

The season finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wrapped up in disappointing fashion for the Mclaren F1 Team, with Lando Norris crossing the line in seventh and Daniel Ricciardo in twelfth at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Mclaren’s hopes of snatching third in the Constructors’ Standings were slim as it was, but a slow puncture to Norris ended any hopes. Norris was having a strong race and was in with a great shout of claiming a top five finish. A slow puncture though ended any hope for the British driver, who’s seventh place finish means he misses out on fifth in the Driver’s Championship, Norris ends the year in sixth.

Ricciardo struggled all race, the Australian was stuck in a DRS train with both Alpine F1 Team cars, the Ricciardo found it difficult to overtake at the newly configured Yas Marina Circuit. Twelfth place rounds off a very mixed season for the Honey Badger, who’s season highlight is of course his Italian Grand Prix victory.

Overall it’s been a great year for Mclaren who will feel hard done by after finishing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. Nevertheless the team achieved their best points total since 2012 and their first win in nine years.

Team Principal Andreas Seidl is extremely proud of Ricciardo and Norris, and incredible thankful to all the team and everyone involved in the sport.

Lando Norris suffered yet more bad luck at the season finale, after a slow puncture dropped the Mclaren F1 Team driver down the field, Norris eventually finished seventh at the chaotic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finished the year off with a disappointing twelfth at the Yas Marina Circuit.

It was yet further bad luck for Norris in what has been a challenging end of the season, the British driver was having a fantastic race and was well in the hunt for a top five finish. Tragedy struck yet again though for the Mclaren driver who suffered a slow puncture in the closing phase of the Grand Prix. This took Norris out of the battle for a top five and also ended the British drivers hopes of claiming fifth place in the Driver’s Championship, Norris ends the year in sixth.

Norris believes he drove a good race but that he was unlucky yet again.

“I thought from my side it was a decent race. I lost out a little bit at the start – I maybe just didn’t do the best job or place the car exactly where I should’ve done. After that, the race was going very well, I was keeping up with the Ferrari, the pace was pretty strong and then we had a slow puncture, which just took us out of the race and I lost a lot of points and a lot of positions because of that. Just more unlucky times! But the team did a good job today.

“I feel like I drove a solid race and it was just unfortunate again. There’s nothing we could’ve done, but I think we should still be happy with the way we ended the season. We weren’t quite quick enough at times, but that’s not down to a lack of effort.

Franz Tost congratulated his former driver Max Verstappen for winning the 2021 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, while Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda also ended the year on a high as both Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly finished inside the top five in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen raced for the team when it was known as Scuderia Toro Rosso between 2015 and round four of the 2016 season before he moved on to Red Bull Racing, and Tost, the Team Principal of the team now known as AlphaTauri, said he deserved the title for the way he performed throughout the season.

“What an unbelievable race for the final round here in Abu Dhabi,” said Tost.  “Congratulations to Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing and Honda for winning the World Championship title, they did an incredible job during the year and Max really deserved this.

“This year he was the fastest driver and the team did a fantastic job.”

Both Tsunoda and Gasly had superb drives in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, with the Japanese racer moving up from eighth to fourth and the Frenchman from twelfth to fifth.  The two drivers used different strategies, and both were able to pass Valtteri Bottas on the final lap to claim a season high twenty-two points.

Yuki Tsunoda ended his rookie Formula 1 season with his best finish of the season, with the Japanese racer taking fourth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver was on the pace all evening at the Yas Marina Circuit and was running inside the top six prior to the late race safety car.  Once Sergio Pérez retired, he moved into the top five, and he was able to pass Valtteri Bottas on the final lap following the late race restart.

Tsunoda feels he had a great end to the season in Abu Dhabi, which he feels will benefit him in 2022 where he hopes to build on his performances from 2021 and enjoy a much stronger year.

“I’m so happy, what an incredible result to end the season with,” said Tsunoda.  “I think overall this weekend the car has been really strong, I didn’t expect the race pace to be quite as good but in the end it has been a great day.

“It’s amazing to be finishing the season on such a high, it’s been a long journey getting back to this point, but I’ve really rebuilt my confidence and it’s great heading into the off-season with this incredible result.”

Christian Horner felt Max Verstappen caught the lucky break he needed in the final few laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that enabled the Red Bull Racing driver to clinch his maiden Drivers’ Championship on Sunday.

Verstappen had looked unlikely to take the title as title rival Lewis Hamilton appeared to have the race under control, but Nicholas Latifi’s crash with just six laps remaining at the Yas Marina Circuit turned the race on its head.

Once the lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen were cleared – controversially in the eyes of many including those within the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team – the tyre advantage that Verstappen had gave him the shot at passing Hamilton, which he did into the turn five hairpin, much to the delight of Team Principal Horner.

Horner did take the time to praise Hamilton for being a ‘phenomenal’ rival all season long, and defeating the seven-time World Champion makes Verstappen’s triumph even better.

“I said it was going need something from the racing Gods in the last ten laps and thank goodness for that safety car,” said Horner.  “It has been a great competition this season and for Max to win the World Championship, it is not just about the race here, it is about the whole year and how incredible and consistent he has been as a driver.

Sergio Pérez believes Max Verstappen is a deserving World Champion after the Dutchman claimed his maiden title during Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with a little bit of an assist from the Mexican.

Pérez showed excellent teamwork early on at the Yas Marina Circuit as he slowed Lewis Hamilton down sufficiently over a single lap to put Verstappen into touching difference, and when the safety car was deployed late in the day after Nicholas Latifi’s crash, it left Hamilton with a tough decision about whether to pit or not.

With the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver opting to stay on track, this allowed Red Bull Racing to pit both drivers for the soft Pirelli tyre for the final laps, and with the safety car going into the pits at the end of the penultimate lap, this gave Verstappen the chance of securing the win and the title.

Pérez was on course to claim at least a podium finish in Abu Dhabi but was a late retirement from the event due to an engine issue, but he feels Verstappen’s victory and championship title were both well deserved.

“First of all, I’m extremely happy for Max and for this Team because they have worked so hard throughout the year and for many years,” said Pérez. “Max really deserves this Championship with the level he has driven at.

Max Verstappen says it feels incredible to be World Champion after securing the title with victory in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, even if it was under controversial circumstances.

The Red Bull Racing driver appeared to have lost the chance of taking the crown after trailing title rival Lewis Hamilton for much of the evening at the Yas Marina Circuit, but a late safety car and an inspired change of tyre gave him the advantage.

Initially it looked as though Verstappen would be hindered by lapped cars as the stewards declared that the five cars between him and Hamilton would not be allowed to unlap themselves, however, that decision was reversed on the penultimate lap, with the safety car then coming in at the end of the same lap.

This gave Verstappen the time needed to make an attack on Hamilton and take over at the front of the field into the hairpin at turn five, a position he would hold on to until the chequered flag.

“It feels incredible to be World Champion and I couldn’t have asked for a more insane last race of the year,” said Verstappen.  “It was a bit of a rollercoaster, from not really having a chance of winning until the last lap, everything came together, and we had to go for it.

Two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine has not raced in NASCAR in over four years, and particularly not in the Trucks in over eight. While it was safe to assume the and current FOX analyst was retired for good, one little factoid was looming over him: he only needed six more races to reach 800 career NASCAR national series starts. Such a round number is so nice that Marcus Lemonis and Halmar Friesen Racing have signed him on for a six-race deal in the 2022 Truck Series season.

Lemonis, the head of Truck Series title sponsor Camping World, first entertained the idea on Twitter (which is not as preposterous of a premise as one might think) by launching a campaign called #goodsamOnion in which fans were to give Lemonis 800 reasons why he should fund a ride for Bodine. Many figure including Truck drivers Grant Enfinger, Zane Smith, and even HFR owner Stewart Friesen pitched in, with Friesen tweeting at Lemonis, “Here’s a reason. #goodsamOnion”. Bodine eventually confirmed the effort’s success in October.

His schedule begins on 4 March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by Darlington Raceway (6 May), Texas Motor Speedway (20 May), Sonoma Raceway (11 June), Nashville Superspeedway (24 July), and Pocono Raceway (23 July).

“We are excited for the opportunity to reach the 800-start mark with top equipment from the team at HFR,” said Bodine in a press release. “It’s also great to be back with Toyota. We have 23 wins and two championships with Toyota, so I’m proud to achieve this milestone in a Tundra. I have already heard from several Camping World Truck Series drivers, who have never raced against me in the past, they sound as excited to race me as I am to come out of the FOX Sports Studio for these six races and race them.”

Nicknamed “The Onion”, Bodine has raced in all three national series (Cup, Xfinity, Truck) from 1992 to 2017. He has 241 career Cup Series starts between 1992 and 2011 with twenty-one top tens, seven top fives, five poles, and a best finish of third at Atlanta in 1994.

Max Verstappen escaped sanctions after the stewards in Abu Dhabi dismissed both protests from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team about the result of Sunday’s race at the Yas Marina Circuit. 

Here is how the decision was made about the second of the protests, which was the way that certain lapped cars were allowed to unlap themselves and others were not, and the time between those cars being allowed to unlap themselves and the safety car ending:

“Protest filed by Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team against the Classification established at the end of the Competition Stewards Decision:

“The Protest is dismissed.

Procedure:

Mattia Binotto says ending the 2021 Formula 1 season with a podium finish in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the best way to conclude a year in which Scuderia Ferrari made a lot of progress from beginning to end.

Carlos Sainz Jr. secured his fourth podium finish of the year by finishing behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the Yas Marina Circuit, with the result securing Ferrari third place in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of the McLaren F1 Team.

Charles Leclerc may have only finished tenth in Abu Dhabi after a tricky race under the floodlights, but Binotto, the Team Principal of Ferrari, says both drivers have shown themselves to be up to the task to be a Ferrari driver, and he believes he has the best driver pairing on the grid.

“We wanted to finish this season with a smile and we did it,” said Binotto.  “Having Carlos on the podium was the best way to end a championship in which we made significant progress compared to last year.

“We are aware that the gap to those fighting for the titles is still very big, but it cannot be denied that we took a considerable step forward over the course of the season. Third place in the Constructors’ Championship was down to the efforts of everyone in the team, at the track and back in Maranello, who worked really hard with determination, humility and in a united fashion.

Scuderia Ferrari ended the 2021 Formula 1 season with another podium finish for Carlos Sainz Jr., with the result of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix confirming the team in third place in the Constructors’ Championship.

After Sergio Pérez’s late retirement with an apparent engine issue, Sainz was in prime position to end his first season in Ferrari red with a third-place result, with the finishing also securing him fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship.

Sainz was delighted to end the year on a high, and he praised the whole team for the efforts they’ve put in as they looked to outscore the McLaren F1 Team all season long.

“What a way to end my first year with Scuderia Ferrari!” said Sainz.  “We knew it was going to be a tough race for the tyres but we used our experience of the entire year to extend the life of my Softs in the first stint and then to look after my Hards until the end of the race.

“To sign off my first season with the Scuderia with a podium, a third place in the Constructors’ Championship and a fifth in the Drivers’ is a great way to head into the winter break. I want to thank all the tifosi and the entire team, including Charles, the management and every single member of the factory and race team for the welcome I’ve had this year.