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Lando Norris says it is exciting to be racing on a brand-new track to Formula 1 this weekend as the final race of the final triple-header of 2021 takes him to the Losail International Circuit for the Qatar Grand Prix.

The McLaren F1 Team driver has scored only two points across the past two weekends, with Scuderia Ferrari moving well clear of the Woking-based squad in the Constructors’ Championship as a result.  Norris, himself, remains fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, but is now only three points ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Norris says it is important McLaren put behind them the disappointing results in both the Mexico City and São Paulo Grands Prix and to come back fighting this weekend in Qatar.

“After a tough race in Brazil last week, I’m hoping we can bounce back as we head to Qatar for the first time in Formula 1 this weekend,” said Norris.  “We’ve got one last race of this demanding triple-header before Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, so we’ll be pushing hard to try and end it on a high. 

“I’ve been able to drive the Losail International Circuit on the simulator to get a feeling of what to expect this weekend. It’s a pretty fast and fun track with a few big braking zones which should make for a physical race.

Before becoming one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history, Jimmie Johnson was strutting his stuff in the off-road world. In 2022, he will once again break away from non-paved racing as he throws his name into the lineup for the snowy Race of Champions in Sweden. He will drive alongside Travis Pastrana for Team USA in the Nations Cup.

Johnson made his ROC début at Gran Canaria in 2002. Fresh off a fifth-place points finish in his Cup Series rookie season, he was joined on Team USA by NASCAR team-mate Jeff Gordon and World Superbike star Colin Edwards. He was defeated by France’s Sébastien Loeb in the semi-finals and Italy’s Renato Travaglia in the final, though the Americans went on to win the Cup. Johnson was eliminated by Marcus Grönholm of Finland in the individual ROC’s knockout stage.

“To win the ROC Nations Cup was something really unique: the only event where I represented my country,” Johnson said. “I’ve been able to accomplish a lot in my career, but that’s the only experience I’ve had like that. I’m really looking forward to returning to ROC and competing with Travis. He’s a tremendous talent and we have such fun competing together. Hopefully, we can go have some fun and success on the snow and ice.”

2004 at Stade de France saw his second run in the event after paving runner-up in the Cup standings, with another stock car team-mate in Casey Mears. Once again racing against rally stars, he lost to Armin Schwarz of Germany in the individual tournament and Britain’s Colin McRae in the Nations Cup.

He skipped the 2006 ROC due to a wrist injury he sustained after falling off a golf cart, which aborted a team-up with Pastrana. The two finally got their partnership the following year, shortly after Johnson won his second consecutive Cup title, in Wembley Stadium. Frenchman Sébastien Bourdais bested Johnson in the Drivers Cup’s opening round while Michael Schumacher defeated Johnson and Pastrana in the Nations Cup quarter-final. 2007 was Johnson’s last participation to date in ROC.

Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton’s victory in the São Paulo Grand Prix was ‘stunning’, with the Briton putting in a sublime performance to climb from the back of the grid in Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying to finish fifth before starting tenth and winning Sunday’s main event.

Hamilton had been disqualified from Qualifying on Friday evening due to a technical infringement surrounding his Drag Reduction System (DRS), but he put in two excellent drives, the first coming from twentieth on the grid to finish fifth on Saturday.

He took another five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race, but again he was a man on a mission, and he fought through all of his rivals, including title challenger Max Verstappen, to take his sixth victory of the season and the one hundred and first of his career.

Wolff, the Team Principal at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, says he could not have been prouder of the team in Brazil after overcoming such adversity.  The team picked up forty points on Sunday thanks to Hamilton’s win and Valtteri Bottas’ third place, while the latter also took three additional points on Saturday by winning Sprint Qualifying.

“Last weekend in São Paulo was a triumph through adversity and I couldn’t be prouder of the fighting spirit from every member of our Team,” said Wolff.  “Through each setback, our determination grew stronger, and this already close team grew tighter with every challenge thrown our way.

Max Verstappen is looking to put the disappointment of finishing behind title rival Lewis Hamilton in last weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix behind him this weekend in the first ever Qatar Grand Prix.

The Red Bull Racing driver led for the first part of the race in Brazil but was overhauled by Hamilton, with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team racer then going on to dominate until the chequered flag.

The gap at the top of the Drivers’ Championship has reduced to just fourteen points with three races remaining, but Verstappen remains confident that he can fight back against Hamilton and Mercedes across those remaining races.

“Yes, it was a tough weekend, in general we were a little bit off pace to Mercedes but nevertheless we only lost a couple of points so it’s not too bad,” said Verstappen.  “Of course I would always like to win but we had a good battle and to come home in second is okay.

“We’ve got three races to go so it’s all about pushing and doing everything we can as a Team to maximise performance on track.”

In February 2021, Noah Gragson‘s hopes of making his NASCAR Cup Series début in the Daytona 500 fell short after being caught in a crash. A year later, he will get another chance. On Tuesday, Beard Motorsports announced Gragson will return to the team’s #62 Chevrolet Camaro for the 2022 500.

Gragson has just completed his third full season in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, enjoying his best campaign to date as he won three races and reached the Championship Round, where he finished third in points. He has five career wins in NASCAR’s second tier.

His 2021 Daytona 500 entry was plagued by misfortune as early as qualifying when he was unable to set a time due to failing inspection three times. A wreck with four laps remaining in his Duel qualifying race knocked him out of the 500 grid. The 500 effort came shortly after Beard Motorsports owner Mark Beard passed away, but the team has remained alive with hopes of returning for the 2022 edition by acquiring a Next Gen car. As the #62 does not possess a charter (being a part-time operation), Gragson will once again have to race his way into the 500.

Beard Motorsports, which began racing at the Cup level in 2014, added ex-team driver Brendan Gaughan as vice president of racing operations while crew chief Darren Shaw is its only full-time employee. Gaughan scored a pair of top tens in the #62 in 2020 at both Daytona races.

“Beard Motorsports has proven that it can run with the big teams there at Daytona, and I’m just really looking forward to getting another crack at it,” said Gragson. “We know we have to race our way into the Daytona 500, and I’m very appreciative of the faith the Beard family has in me.”

Andreas Seidl admits the first two races of the double-header in Mexico City and São Paulo have not gone the way the McLaren F1 Team would have hoped, with Lando Norris scoring the teams’ only point of a challenging weekend at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.

McLaren have slipped thirty-one-and-a-half points behind Scuderia Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship as a result of scoring only two points in two race weekends, although the performance by the team in Brazil was much stronger than the results appear.

Norris was attacking Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. at the start but made contact with his former team-mate and suffered a puncture, meaning he was always playing catch up for the rest of the afternoon.  He was able to capitalise on the safety car to catch the back of the pack, and he used his good pace to climb up the order to take tenth.

Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was on course for a better result, perhaps as high as sixth or seventh, only to suffer a loss of power, which was caused by a cracked chassis. 

And with Charles Leclerc and Sainz finishing fifth and sixth, it puts McLaren on the back foot in the battle for third place in the Championship with just three races remaining, with Seidl hoping for a fightback starting this weekend in Qatar.

Lando Norris admitted it was a disappointing day for both himself and the McLaren F1 Team in the São Paulo Grand Prix as the Briton could only score a single point for tenth place.

Norris made a good start and attempted to pass Carlos Sainz Jr. on the outside only to collide with the Scuderia Ferrari, with the Briton suffering an immediate puncture as a result.

A slow opening lap crawl to the pits left him at the back of the pack, although he was given a chance to fight through the field thanks to the safety car.  He eventually claimed tenth, although Ferrari’s fifth and sixth place means McLaren have slid thirty-one-and-a-half points behind them in the Constructors’ Championship with only three rounds remaining.

“A disappointing day for all of us as a team, as well as for myself,” said Norris.  “I had a really good start and as I tried to come back onto the track there just wasn’t enough room and I ended up getting the puncture.

“We could’ve scored some good points. We’ll review it and try to do a better job next time. The fight back through was good, managing to score a point, which is better than nothing.

A new era has begun for Jack Roush‘s NASCAR operation. On Tuesday, Roush Fenway Racing announced the rebranding to RFK Racing, highlighting the arrival of new driver and minority owner Brad Keselowski. Keselowski will drive the #6 Ford Mustang, which also receives a new livery and number font, beginning with the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

RFK Racing can be regarded as the third “chapter” in Roush’s NASCAR endeavours. He founded the team as Roush Racing in 1988 before becoming Roush Fenway in 2007 with the addition of the Fenway Sports Group (via John W. Henry) as an owner. The team won the 2003 and 2004 Cup championships with Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch, respectively, along with five Xfinity Series titles and the 2000 Truck Series crown.

Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, announced in July that he would join Roush for 2022, a position that also includes working in the team’s competition department. He had spent much of his career with fellow Ford organisation Team Penske, and finished his final season with the team with a sixth-place points finish. RFK will not be his first foray into team ownership as he previously owned the Truck outfit Brad Keselowski Racing.

“The heritage and innovation of Jack Roush, the championship swagger of Fenway Sports Group and the passion for racing of Brad Keselowski are what merges together to create RFK Racing,” said team president Steve Newmark. “These principles form and drive the fundamentals of our team and the new brand, as we lay out the roadmap that will lead us into the future.”

Chris Buescher will serve as Keselowski’s partner in the #17. He won the 2015 Xfinity title with Roush.

The Alpine F1 Team did everything they could to maximise their race result in Sunday’s São Paulo Grand Prix, although team orders were not enough to deny Pierre Gasly seventh place.

Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso were both running inside the top ten throughout the race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace and were running seventh and eighth after Gasly had made his second pit stop.

Ocon allowed Alonso through to try and keep the Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver behind them until the chequered flag, but Gasly’s fresher tyres meant he was able to pass both, while Alonso allowed Ocon back through late in the day to take eighth.

“I’m happy to be back in the points today after a very busy race,” said Ocon.  “Today was all about our strong teamwork between all of us.

“We tried to maximise everything the best we could, and we pushed everything to the limit both from a performance and tactical point of view. When Gasly pitted for the second time, I gave the place to Fernando to see if we could hold him behind by giving me a tow. It worked for a couple of laps, but it was not enough in the end and Fernando returned the place.

Pierre Gasly believed he got the best result possible in Sunday’s São Paulo Grand Prix with seventh place, with the Frenchman enjoying the battles he had on track throughout the race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver had on-track battles with the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel in the early laps before battling with the two Alpine F1 Team drivers later on, but he was able to beat them all to seventh place and six more points.

Gasly says it is important AlphaTauri continue to build the points as they battle Alpine for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, with the two teams continuing to be locked on the same number of points heading into the final three races of 2021.

“I’m really happy, it’s been a very intense race, but I think we can be pleased with today,” said Gasly.  “There were some really nice battles, with Daniel and Seb, then at the end of the race with the Alpines.

“It was so fun to be racing with them, as we don’t often get to do that in F1. It was of course hard, but today we finished in the best position we could, behind the top three teams, and that’s the most important thing, as we continue our fight for fifth.”

Mattia Binotto remains cautious about Scuderia Ferrari’s advantage over the McLaren F1 Team in the Constructors’ Championship despite seeing the team open up a thirty-one-and-a-half-point advantage over their rivals following the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished fifth and sixth at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace to score eighteen points in the Constructors’ Championship, while Sainz’s third place in Sprint Qualifying on Saturday gave the team an additional point.  McLaren on the other hand only scored one point in Brazil thanks to Lando Norris’ tenth place on Sunday.

Binotto, the Team Principal at Ferrari, says it was pleasing for Ferrari to have had such a positive weekend in Brazil, but they cannot feel third place is a certainty despite the big gap over McLaren, especially with how some races have gone for each outfit this season.

“A good result in terms of the championship, given that we have doubled our lead over our closest rivals in the Constructors’ classification,” said Binotto.  “Having said that, a 31.5 point lead doesn’t mean that it’s done and dusted, far from it.

“We know the situation can change in an instant and that our opponents are very strong.”

Red Bull Racing saw themselves slip further behind the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team in the Constructors’ championship, after coming so close to overtaking them in the standings. Max Verstappen finished second and Sergio Pérez crossed the line in fourth at Brazil.

Team Principal Christian Horner believes the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was damage limitation for the team, after Lewis Hamilton won the race with Valtteri Bottas rounding off the podium. It brought an end to Red Bull’s run of double podium finishes and saw the gap between themselves and Mercedes grow, whereas Verstappen saw his lead shrink to fourteen points.

Both Red Bull’s fought valiantly to keep Hamilton behind, with Verstappen even appearing to run the world champion off the track, both though eventually fell to the speed with which Hamilton carried all weekend in Brazil. Pérez was unfortunate to slip off the podium after being caught out by a VSC, allowing Bottas a cheap pit-stop ahead to jump the Mexican driver.

With three races to go it is still all to play for but Horner does believe that his team have some catching up to do.

“To come away with second and fourth today, plus the fastest lap was damage limitation this weekend. We scored 20 points for Max this weekend versus their 25 for Lewis in the Drivers’ Championship, so we’ll take that. We put up as good a defence as we could, Max did his best and raced hard, and Checo made Lewis have two goes to get past, and he came back with a great move to reclaim the place after Lewis’ first effort.

Charles Leclerc was positive after the São Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday after climbing from seventh on the grid to finish fifth, the best of the rest behind the leading two teams.

The Scuderia Ferrari driver had been disappointed with his performance during Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, but he felt he performed better on Sunday, with his start giving him track position over his nearest competitors.

Although well behind the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and Red Bull Racing on Sunday, Leclerc was pleased to end fifth and to score good points in the Constructors’ Championship for Ferrari as they battle the McLaren F1 Team for third place.

“That was a really nice race,” said Leclerc.  “We weren’t satisfied after the Sprint Qualifying yesterday, so we worked hard last night to analyse where we could make some improvements. And that’s what we applied today, so I am very happy with the performance.

“I had a very good start, which was my first target. After that, the race was all about managing the tyres well and maintaining the gap to those behind me.

Max Verstappen saw his championship lead drop to just fourteen points at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, after second place finish behind championship rival Lewis Hamilton. Sergio Pérez’s run of consecutive podiums came to an end with fourth place finish at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace Circuit.

Verstappen endured another titanic battle with Hamilton, this time with both drivers coming out of it unscathed, just! Verstappen took the lead of the race after making a better start than pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas. The Dutchman extended his lead to almost five seconds, whilst Hamilton was charging through the top ten after starting in the middle of the pack.

It wasn’t long till Hamilton was up to second place and only a couple of car lengths behind the championship leader, as the battle begun to commence. Neither of drivers pit-stops could break the pair apart, with Hamilton clearly having more pace than Verstappen in front. Hamilton’s first attempt at overtaking Verstappen came around the outside of Turn Four. Verstappen however appeared to run both drivers off the circuit though, and kept hold of the lead.

Only a couple laps later though and Verstappen finally dropped to second, with Hamilton this time completing the move down the back-straight before Turn Four, the Dutchman had no answer and had to settle for second place on the podium.

Verstappen enjoyed the race and believed the racing between the pair was fair, you’d like to think we will see more fighting between the two in the remaining three races.

After three seasons at the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team, Antonio Giovinazzi will be leaving not only the team but Formula 1 at the end of the season, with Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou confirmed to be taking his place.

Giovinazzi became the first Italian driver to complete a full season in Formula 1 since 2011, and has started fifty-nine races to date. His first came in 2017 after replacing the injured at the time Pascal Wehrlein. Giovinazzi has grown to become popular both on and off the track with his likeable character and effort to the sport. The Italian’s best result came in Brazil two years ago, when he finished in fifth.

Alfa Romeo Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur wishes Giovinazzi all the best for the future.

“Saying goodbye to a driver is never easy, especially so in the case of Antonio, who has been part of the team for so long. As we part ways, we will cherish the memories of the good times and learn lessons from the bad ones, knowing these moments all made us grow together as a team. We wish Antonio the best for his future after the 2021 season: before then, we still have three races to achieve some good results together and finish the year strongly.”