Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Sir Frank Williams, the owner and long-time Team Principal of Williams Racing, has passed away. He was seventy-nine.

He created his first team back in the late 1960s under the guise of Frank Williams Racing Cars and it began the dream of Sir Frank becoming a team owner in Formula 1.  However, the first time was not the charm for him, and he was left under a cloud after Walter Wolf bought into the team and pushed him to the side.

However, the dream was not over, and the late 1970s, alongside the equally important Patrick Head, he created a team that remains to this day an integral part of Formula 1, even if the Williams F1 Team is no longer under the management of the Williams family.

However, the team that he did create is one that has taken nine Constructors’ Championships, seven Drivers’ Championships, one hundred and fourteen race victories and three-hundred and thirteen podiums.

Sir Frank was much loved within the paddock, and he did the majority of his time there confined to a wheelchair after a car crash in March 1986 left him paralysed.  Despite a long absence from the pit lane, he did not let up and was still a major player in Formula 1.

When the 44th Dakar Rally launches on 1 January 2022 in Saudi Arabia, it will mark the start of a new era. On Sunday, the route map for the race was announced in conjunction with the inaugural schedule for the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship; Dakar will serve as the first of five rounds.

For the third straight year, the Dakar Rally will take place in Saudi Arabia. The 2022 edition boasts the longest distance of the three layouts at 8,375 km, with 4,258 being Special Stages. By comparison, the 2020 race which ran from Jeddah to Al-Qiddiya was 7,900 km (5,000 in Special Stages) and the 2021 event‘s loop around Jeddah was 7,646 km (4,767 SS).

The twelve-stage 2022 Rally will begin in Ha’il, which was the midway point of the 2021 race. Riyadh will serve as the halfway mark and rest day on 8 January, while Jeddah is the end.

After winners are crowned in Dakar, the new World Rally-Raid Championship will head to Abu Dhabi for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Held since 1991, the event is organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of United Arab Emirates. Rally Kazakhstan‘s inaugural event took place in 2017 with Aktau City as the main hub. Rally Andalucía in Spain became an FIA event in 2021 after first taking place the previous year. The final round will be the Rallye du Maroc in Morocco, which has taken place since 2000. Rally Andalucía and the Rallye du Maroc have traditionally been shakedown races for Dakar competitors.

Although the FIA has overseen the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies since 1993, the World Rally-Raid Championship aims to unify the sanctioning body’s rally raid portfolio and transform it into the seventh FIA world championship. The Amaury Sport Organisation, the organiser of the Dakar, Andalucía, and Maroc Rallies as well as the Tour de France, will be the new series’ promoter.

Dan Ticktum will switch from the FIA Formula 2 Championship to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship after being announced as Oliver Turvey’s team-mate at the NIO 333 FE Team for the 2021/22 season.

The British racer has come into replace Tom Blomqvist, who has left Formula E to concentrate on racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2022.

Ticktum has twice stood on the top step of the podium in Formula 2 in 2021 whilst racing with Carlin Motorsport, with wins coming in Monaco and Russia, while he also took a victory at Silverstone in 2020.  He currently sits fourth in the standings with just two rounds and six races remaining.

He is, however, excited by the prospect of racing in Formula E for the first time, starting with the Diriyah E-Prix in January in Saudi Arabia.

“I am very happy to be racing with the NIO 333 Formula E team,” said Ticktum, who in the past has been a part of the Red Bull Junior Team and Williams Racing Young Driver Programme. “It’s going to be quite a big challenge as I have not had long to prepare for the test next week, and Formula E is complicated, but it’ll be very exciting.

Oliver Askew will race alongside Jake Dennis for Avalanche Andretti in season eight of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Askew reunites with Andretti Autosport, who he raced successfully for in the 2019 Indy Lights championship, with the twenty-four-year-old becoming the first full-time American to race in Formula E.

He competed in the NTT IndyCar Series with Arrow McLaren SP in 2020, while he was a substitute driver at McLaren as well as for Ed Carpenter Racing in 2021.  He ended the year racing with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the final three events but has now found a new home in Formula E.

“I am beyond excited to return home and join Andretti Autosport full time again for the 2021/2022 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship,” said Askew. “I consider Andretti Autosport family and to be able to attack this chapter in my career with them means more than words can describe.

“To have a partner like Avalanche with us could not be a more perfect fit and being the only confirmed driver to represent the United States in Formula E is something I am very proud of. I look forward to getting to work as soon as possible.”

The Mahindra Racing team has unveiled its new car for the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season, which also sees a new livery for the new campaign.

Mahindra Racing will come into the new season with an all-British line-up for a second consecutive season, although Alex Lynn has been replaced by Oliver Rowland as team-mate to Alexander Sims.

Lynn leaves the team despite taking finishing ahead of Sims in the 2020/21 standings and with having taken his maiden Formula E victory in the London E-Prix.

Sims finished on the podium in the Rome E-Prix last season but only scored points in four other E-Prix, but he took a victory of his own in the 2019/20 season in the Diriyah E-Prix.

Rowland joins the team having left Nissan e.dams after two seasons, with the former Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion also having won a solitary race in Formula E, with his victory coming in the Berlin E-Prix in 2019/20.

Robert Kubica looks set to maintain his position as the reserve driver for Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN after PKN ORLEN extended their partnership with the team into 2022.

PKN ORLEN joined the team as lead sponsor in 2020, with Kubica joining the team as a reserve driver as part of the deal. The Polish racer has competed in a handful of free practice sessions and test days as part of his role, and he stood in for Kimi Räikkönen in this years Dutch and Italian Grand Prix as the Finn tested positive for COVID-19.

Frédéric Vasseur, the Team Principal of the Hinwil-based team, has welcomed the news that the partnership will continue in 2022, and he says PKN ORLEN wanting to stay shows that Alfa Romeo are on their way to being a team that can attract big name companies to their Formula 1 team.

“We are delighted to extend our successful partnership with PKN ORLEN into its third year,” said Vasseur.  “ORLEN are an instantly recognisable brand in a vast and growing market and they have proven a loyal supporter of the team; their presence underlines and reinforces our resolve to be one of the most attractive teams in the sport for global brands.

“Most importantly, we share a commitment to constant improvement, whether on track or in their business, and we are determined to keep growing together. Their activation campaign has been of the first order, reaching fans all over Europe and expanding access to the team and the world of Formula One and we can’t wait to unveil the next stages in this programme.”

Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel will form Team Germany for a second time in the 2022 Race of Champions, which will take place in Sweden at the beginning of February.

Vettel, a four-time Formula 1 World Champion who currently races for Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, has been a regular in the Race of Champions (ROC), and next year’s event will be his tenth appearance.  He was crowned the ‘Champion of Champions’ in the 2015 event, when he went one-on-one against 24 Hours of Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen in the final.

“I’m really looking forward to being back competing in the Race of Champions again and to represent Germany together with Mick,” said Vettel. “At ROC Mexico, we came 2nd in the ROC Nations Cup, so our aim is to do one better in Sweden.

“The competition will be very strong especially from the Nordic drivers who have a lot more experience than us driving on snow and ice.”

The 2022 event will be Schumacher’s second ROC, with he and Vettel teaming up in 2019 and finishing second behind Team Nordic when the event was held in Mexico.  

Robert Shwartzman will participate in the post-Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Young Driver Test next month with the Uralkali Haas F1 Team.

The Ferrari Driver Academy driver, who currently races in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Prema Racing and is an outside contender for the 2021 title, will finish the year with a Formula 1 test mere days after his regular campaign comes to an end.

Shwartzman will run one full day with Haas at the Yas Marina Circuit, and the young Russian is excited for the opportunity of stepping into a Formula 1 car again, having run some private tests in old machinery with Scuderia Ferrari in the past.

“First of all, I would like to thank Haas F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari and the Ferrari Driver Academy for this great opportunity,” said Shwartzman. “This will be my first test with Haas F1 Team and I’m really looking forward to getting to know a new team, environment and also to learn as much as possible from them.

“Having the chance to drive for another F1 team is just incredible and I can’t wait to work with everyone.”

Antonio Giovinazzi put behind him his disappointment of losing his drive with the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Formula 1 team by signing to race in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with Dragon/Penske Autosport in the 2021/22 season.

The Italian will line-up alongside Brazilian racer Sérgio Sette Câmara, who remains with the team for a second consecutive campaign.  Giovinazzi replaces Joel Eriksson, who competed in the final eight races of the 2020/21 season having replaced Nico Müller after the Monaco E-Prix weekend.

Giovinazzi revealed that Jay Penske, the Owner and Team Principal of the Dragon/Penske Autosport outfit, reached out to him after the news of his departure from Formula 1 was revealed, and it was an easy decision to make the switch to Formula E.

“As soon as it was made public that I would not be in Formula One next year, I have decided to participate in the Formula E world championship,” said Giovinazzi.  “It is a category which I always followed, I am thrilled to be part of DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT in this all electric racing series which I have already tested three years ago.

“I would like to thank Jay Penske who immediately showed great interest for having me on board.  I can’t wait until I will test my new electric single seater in Valencia at the end of the month.

Williams Racing suffered a nightmare end to the first-ever Qatar Grand Prix, after both George Russell and Nicholas Latifi suffered late punctures resulting in Russell finishing seventeenth and Latifi retiring.

It was a disappointing way for Williams’ race to end, the team had opted for an aggressive one-stop strategy with both drivers, at a circuit where they knew the tyres would be pushed to their limit. Unfortunately for the Williams’ duo their tyres went over this limit, dropping Russell to the back of the field and leaving Latifi out of the race.

It brings a sad end to the final-triple header of the season for the team, who now look ahead to the final two races of what has been a memorable season for them. Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson highlighted the disappointment in both drivers suffering punctures, and that they deserve better from the final races.

“Having lost positions on the opening lap, we were keen on executing a one-stop race, which nearly half the field completed successfully. The first stint tyres were in good condition when we made our stop and so, with management, the one-stop race was viable and was our best opportunity to make progress.

“The car was working well and both drivers were comfortable and so to suffer the punctures so late in the race was a shame. Nicholas’s was especially annoying as it happened shortly after the pit entry and meant that he couldn’t negotiate his way back to the pit lane.

“Despite being at the final event of a tough triple-header, the team has worked tirelessly and performed well throughout, delivering a good race car to both drivers. We were unfortunate today and deserved better. However, we did a lot of things well and can be pleased with our work this week. We will be back in two-weeks’ time for the final events of the season, starting with the challenge of the awesome new circuit in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

It was an unfortunate end to the Qatar Grand Prix for both George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, after both Williams Racing drivers suffered sudden front-left punctures. Russell eventually finished in seventeenth whereas Latifi retired from the race.

Russell started the race in fifteenth and opted for an aggressive one-stop strategy at the Losail International Circuit. The track was expected to be hard on tyres due to it’s fast flowing corners but no one could’ve predicted the quantity of punctures which would occur.

Russell suffered his puncture on lap forty-eight, which immediately ended his hopes of a good finish. Russell knew the tyres were going to be pushed and was disappointed for his race to have been affected by it.

“We had an aggressive strategy today and we were trying to push our final stint as long as possible. With the really high-speed right-hand corners at this circuit, the tyres were always going to be pushed to their limit but we had to be that aggressive to be in the fight with the Alfa Romeos.

“Unfortunately, the left front tyre punctured a few laps from the end so it’s one of those things. It was a shame for our race to end that way but ultimately, it’s nothing gained nothing lost, as our nearest rivals didn’t score any points.”

The Uralkali Haas F1 Team enjoyed a promising Qatar Grand Prix, with their car looking the most competitive it has been all season. Mick Schumacher finished sixteenth with Nikita Mazepin in eighteenth at the Losail International Circuit.

Haas enjoyed a solid race at Qatar, with both drivers completing a risky one-stop strategy, whilst others around them who went for the same strategy suffered sudden punctures. Schumacher was close to the Williams Racing and Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN duos for parts of the race, the German managed to finish above both Williams drivers who suffered punctures.

Mazepin did well to gather data during the race after a horrid weekend, the Russian’s weekend was ruined by technical issues restricting him to only around fifteen laps across Friday and Saturday.

Team Principal Guenther Steiner enjoyed the race and was happy to see the team in the mix.

“The race today was one of our better ones this year, if not the best. Both drivers did a good job – Mick was fighting with the Williams and Alfa Romeo’s which is unexpected. We didn’t get by them but at least we were in the mix, which was good for the whole team to see.

Mick Schumacher enjoyed a good race at the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, finishing in a respectable sixteenth place ahead of both Williams Racing cars. Team-mate Nikita Mazepin finished eighteenth after an unfortunate weekend.

Schumacher had a great weekend at the Losail International Circuit, with the Uralkali Haas F1 Team car looking the most competitive it has been all season. The German made a great start on his soft tyres after starting nineteenth, and managed to pull-off a risky one-stop strategy. Others who tried the strategy suffered from front-left punctures, including both Williams drivers.

Schumacher was happy with his performance after the race and is amazed by all the hard work being done by his team.

“It was good, and we can be happy with what we achieved today. We made the strategy that we chose and committed to work. The start was pretty decent, we got Latifi at the beginning. The performance of the car was there, and we were right in the window. We were very close to the Alfas which is what we were expecting but on the other hand, not from the beginning of the year.

“It’s down to our teamwork committing to understanding the car as well as we do and having to work with what we have. We’re still now finding new things, finding new ways of improving.”

Elite Motorsport announced the second of a three-car GB3 Championship line-up on Thursday, with Ginetta GT5 Challenge runner-up John Bennett moving into single-seaters with the Norfolk outfit for 2022.

Bennett joins 2020 Ginetta Junior champion Tom Lebbon at Elite, finishing seventh in the GT5 Challenge standings as Lebbon took his title.

That first campaign in car racing started in Junior Rotax karting, and yielded three GT5 podiums and seven overall top-six finishes.

The 2021 season went even better, bringing a second-placed finish in the standings, with ten podiums and five wins at Thruxton, Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Snetterton and Donington Park.

His GB3 testing regime with Elite began in October, the 18-year-old trying out the outgoing Tatuus BF3-020 at Pembrey Circuit, Silverstone and Donington before teams receive the full upgrade package to make up the Tatuus MSV-022 over the winter.

Weeks after Kyle Busch finished fourth in his Nitro Rallycross début, another NASCAR Cup Series champion has thrown his hat into the ring. On Tuesday, NRX announced Chase Elliott will make his maiden rallycross start in the season finale at Florida International Rally and Motorsports Park on 4/5 December. He will drive the ZipRecruiter #GoNitro car that Busch piloted.

Elliott is a household name in NASCAR, having won the 2020 Cup championship and the Most Popular Driver Award in every year of NASCAR national series full-time competition. In 2021, he scored two wins and reached the Championship Round before finishing fourth in points.

While Elliott almost exclusively competed in stock cars, his schedule began to diversify in 2021 as he began competing in other disciplines. In January, he ran the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time, finishing sixth in the DPi class and eighth overall, followed by winning his lone Superstar Racing Experience start at the Nashville Fairgrounds in July. Elliott has also started dabbling in sprint cars and the USAC National Midget Championship.

It goes without saying that rallycross will be quite a different experience for Elliott. While he is the top Cup driver on road courses with seven of his thirteen career wins coming on such tracks, it will obviously take a bit more than prowess in turning left and right to succeed. Nevertheless, he expressed much interest in taking part, including posting on Instagram that he needed “to get in on this!!!”. When NRX founder Travis Pastrana visited the Cup race at Martinsville, he recruited Elliott to take part.

Busch scored a fourth-place finish in his first NRX start at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in mid-November. The following week at Glen Helen Raceway, the ZipRecruiter car was filled by FIA World Rallycross Championship ace Andreas Bakkerud who finished third. Both races were won by Pastrana, a former NASCAR full-timer.