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Championship leader Max Verstappen will start the Russian Grand Prix from the back of the grid, after Red Bull Racing decide to fit fourth power unit for the grand prix at the Sochi Autodrom.

Despite the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team dominating the opening day in Sochi, all eyes were on Verstappen as the news broke that the team will make the expected engine change, resulting in an engine penalty meaning a back of the grid start for Sunday’s race.

With this in mind, Verstappen’s approach to the opening two Free Practice Sessions was different compared to a normal weekend. The Dutchman was third after the morning session but ended the day sixth after Free Practice Two. Verstappen focused solely on set-up and having the best possible race car for Sunday, with a lot of overtaking ahead of Verstappen come race day.

Verstappen believes that taking the penalty in Russia is the right decision, and that hopefully they can make something work on Sunday.

“We thought it would be best to take the engine penalty here in Russia, we took everything into account before making the decision and we of course considered the weather for tomorrow. We had to take the penalty at some point so if we didn’t take it here, we would have taken it somewhere else.

It was a strong start to the weekend for the Alpine F1 Team at the Russian Grand Prix, with Esteban Ocon ending the opening day in fifth and Fernando Alonso in eighth at the Sochi Autodrom.

Ocon made an excellent start to the Russian Grand Prix, a round the Frenchman always enjoys. He made excellent progress in the afternoon session to end the day in fifth place, building on his eleventh place finish in the morning Free Practice Session in Sochi.

Alpine were busy all day gathering as much dry-running data as possible, with Saturday looking like a potential washout. Ocon is very pleased with the progress made on the opening day and believes the team have a good idea on what they can do with their set-up.

“It’s good to be back in Sochi as it’s a track that I’ve always enjoyed racing at. It’s high grip, especially in comparison to Monza last time out. We have the Softest tyres on the range here, so that gives us some things to try and understand. It’s been a very busy day for us, busier than a usual Friday, with half an eye on the weather tomorrow and we aimed to be as productive as possible.

“Things could be interesting tomorrow, so optimising today was important. We completed quite a few runs – low fuel and high fuel – and we have a good idea on what we can do on car set-up. Let’s see what the rest of the weekend brings but so far, I’m pleased with our progress.”

Lando Norris had a fairly successful opening day at the Russian Grand Prix, whereas Mclaren F1 Team team-mate and Italian Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo crashed back to earth with day to forget at the Sochi Autodrom.

It was a solid opening day in Sochi for Norris, the British driver found himself in fourth place come the end of Free Practice Two, four places higher than his eighth place in Free Practice One. By the end of the day Norris was half a second behind fastest man Valtteri Bottas but crucially ahead of both Scuderia Ferrari’s.

Despite the predominantly positive day, the morning did end in embarrassing style for Norris. The British driver managed to spin when entering the pit-lane at the end of the opening session, brushing the wall in the process. Thankfully no real damage was done to his Mclaren.

Norris doesn’t believe the team are as competitive as they were in Monza but is still confident that they have a good package to fight those around them.

“Today was a bit up and down – we struggled quite a bit in P1, but we made quite a few changes on the car for the second session which improved things. That progress has made me feel a bit more confident in the car this afternoon and given us a more positive feeling going into tomorrow.

Pierre Gasly had an almost perfect opening day at the Russian Grand Prix, the Frenchman ended the day in an incredible third place but didn’t get to run his Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda in the closing minutes.

Gasly has well and truly put the disappointment of Monza behind him, the AlphaTauri driver was sixth after Free Practice One and then a mighty third come the end of Free Practice Two. The Frenchman clearly has strong pace this weekend at the Sochi Autodrom, and with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen starting at the back of the grid due to engine penalties, a podium could potentially be on the cards.

The day didn’t end as planned though for Gasly, the Frenchman sat out the closing minutes after hitting the sausage kerb on the exit of turn two, destroying his front wing in the process. All in all a very positive opening day for Gasly who is aware that there is a big opportunity this weekend for strong points.

“It’s been a positive day in terms of performance, this car seems to be working well here so far and it’s a good start going into the weekend. Whilst the performance is there, I’m not 100% comfortable with the balance inside the car yet so we’ve got a few things that we can take away and improve tonight.

“We know both Charles and Max are taking penalties for the race, so there are definitely some opportunities for us this weekend. Our main focus though is on our own package and maximising what we can do to help in our tight midfield battle.”

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team continued their domination of the Russian Grand Prix, by taking a one-two in both of the opening Free Practice Sessions on what was a very successful Friday at the Sochi Autodrom.

Valtteri Bottas who appears to be the king of the Sochi Autodrom after so much success at the circuit, was the man to beat on Friday. The Finnish driver topped both Free Practice One and Free Practice Two and looked strong on the opening day.

Bottas will be hoping to continue being the driver to beat on Saturday at a circuit he enjoys, however with the weather almost definitely going to be wet, it will present a brand new challenge for all the drivers.

“If you look at the timings and based on my own feeling in the car, it was a good day. From the first run, I had confidence in the car and the balance was very good so I could focus on my driving, looking for small gains. Tomorrow looks like it will be wet, so it’ll be a completely different experience. The main thing is the car feels good on the long runs so that’s encouraging for Sunday which should be dry. I really find my flow on this track and I enjoy it – when the car works well here, it’s great fun to drive.”

“We ticked off as much as we could” – Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton completed a Mercedes one-two in both Friday sessions and like his team-mate looked strong. Hamilton ended the opening day just +0.044s behind Bottas on a weekend where he has a monumental opportunity to regain the championship lead from Max Verstappen. Verstappen will be starting from the back of the grid after having to have a fourth engine fitted to the car, therefore exceeding his allocation of three engines.

After months of speculation, Andretti Autosport announced today that Romain Grosjean will drive the No. 28 DHL Honda for the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season following the departure of Ryan Hunter-Reay.

“We are thrilled to welcome Romain to the Andretti Autosport family,” said Michael Andretti, CEO and Chairman of Andretti Autosport.

“He already had an impressive resume before coming to IndyCar and watching what he’s been able to do in his rookie season here has been exciting to say the least. His vast motorsport experience will be beneficial to the team alongside our already strong 2022 driver lineup.”

In just one season since making the switch from Formula 1, Grosjean has immediately become a fan favorite and competitive driver as a part of Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing. The Swiss-born Frenchman has fallen in love with the series so much that he stated that his family will be moving to the United States for next season while working with one of the most prestigious names in motorsport.

“It’s a big honor to be joining such a great team as Andretti, anyone in the motorsport world knows the name Andretti,” he said.

Indy Lights, the final rung of the Road to Indy before the premier NTT IndyCar Series, will have its promotional responsibilities taken in-house. During the Penske Entertainment Corporation’s Year in Review News Conference on Friday, company CEO Mark Miles announced Indy Lights will come under full IndyCar control beginning in 2022.

“For many years, Dan Andersen has been integral to the success of Indy Lights,” said Miles. “His leadership since his group took over promotion in 2014 was crucial. However, with the Penske acquisition of IndyCar, we have an opportunity to bring the series in-house, which we think can provide greater opportunity for the growth of the top level of the ladder series. […]

“It is about strengthening the pipeline to the NTT IndyCar Series. We want to grow Indy Lights into an even stronger link and final step for drivers, teams and sponsor partners leading to the most audacious and competitive open-wheel series on the planet.”

Andersen Promotions was tasked with operational duties for Indy Lights in 2014. The company also operates the Indy Pro and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championships, the latter of which was founded by Andersen in 2010 after a three-year dormancy. Both series will remain under Andersen sanction.

Until 2011 to focus on running the divisions, Andersen also fielded his own team in the lower series. Active IndyCar drivers who have competed for Andersen Racing include Graham Rahal and Conor Daly in Indy Pro.

Callum Ilott‘s transition into the NTT IndyCar Series will be completed in 2022. On Friday, ahead of the series’ upcoming Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced Ilott will race full-time next season in the #77 Chevrolet.

With a ride in Formula One not turning up, the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship runner-up and Scuderia Ferrari test driver elected to take his services to the United States. After testing an IndyCar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Juncos, Ilott made his début at the Grand Prix of Portland on 12 September, where he quialified nineteenth and finished twenty-fifth after struggling with mechanical trouble.

While Portland was initially intended to be a one-off, his schedule was expanded to include the final two races of the 2021 season at Laguna Seca and Long Beach. In the former, he finished twenty-second and a lap down.

“Coming into the final weekend of our three-race run on the West Coast, it’s great to announce that I will be continuing next year with Juncos Hollinger Racing for the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season,” said Ilott. “Obviously, we have had a steep learning curve here the last few races to try to put everything together. We have had some real positives and know the things we need to work on. Knowing what Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger have in place for next season and especially over the winter of what we can do in testing, I definitely feel we can put ourselves in a great position to start off the 2022 season strong. I look forward to continuing the work that we are doing and heading into the winter to start a new journey over here and I would like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy for allowing me to take this opportunity.”

Juncos Hollinger Racing, formerly just known as Juncos Racing when Ricardo Juncos was the sole operator, began competing in IndyCar in 2017. After being a part-time operation for the first three years, the team took a year off from 2020 due to COVID-19 before returning with Hollinger and Ilott’s arrivals. 2022 will mark the team’s maiden season as a full-time unit.

Valtteri Bottas made it two out of two on Friday at the Russian Grand Prix, by topping the Second Free Practice Session from team-mate Lewis Hamilton, as they did in the opening session at the Sochi Autodrom. Pierre Gasly rounded off the top three.

The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team continued their domination of the Russian circuit whilst Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen lingered in sixth. However the biggest story to come out of Friday was that Verstappen would be starting the race from the back of the grid, Red Bull Racing made the decision to give the championship leader a full engine change, his fourth of the season.

Verstappen’s sixth place doesn’t necessarily correlate to his true pace, the Dutchman ran a very different programme compared to the Mercedes, due to his engine change. Verstappen and Red Bull spent the second session focusing on gathering data, to help the team setup a car which can overtake and catch the top of the field on Sunday, although the weather may play the biggest part!

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Silver Arrows, as the team’s front jackman was sent tumbling to the floor after being knocked over by Hamilton, the seven-time world champion was quick to ask the team if the jackman was okay, he thankfully was. Other than that it was the perfect afternoon for Mercedes, with only +0.044s separating Bottas and Hamilton.

The next closest to the Mercedes was the Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda of Pierre Gasly, the Frenchman had an impressive afternoon ending the day +0.252s behind Bottas, setting his fastest time on the same tyre as both Mercedes. The session ended prematurely for Gasly though after ripping off his front wing after a trip over the sausage kerbs.

Former FIA World Rally Championship driver and current Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT team principal Jari-Matti Latvala is looking to test the team’s brand new Toyota Yaris Rally1 hybrid rally car before the end of the year.

Latvala, has the record for being the most experienced rally driver in the history of the championship and has been a factory WRC driver throughout the last two major homologation updates in the WRC class. He started driving for M-Sport Ford in the early days when the 1600cc engine era was ongoing and later followed in the team when the two-litre category replaced it in 2011.

In 2017 Latvala joined Toyota when the Japanese manufacturer made a comeback to the championship after about 20 years absent and scored the first win for the team in Rally Sweden that year, only the second-ever round for the back-to-then new Yaris WRC car.

Until now, it is only the team´s test driver, a former team-mate to Latvala, Juho Hänninen who have driven the new Yaris Rally1, the current drivers Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä did test the car in France last month, driving on the same asphalt roads which will be used on the debut rally of Rallye Monte-Carlo in Gap, 2022.

“Of course, I would like to drive it, but I have to talk to Tom [Fowler, technical director], he’s the one in charge of this.” Latvala admitted.

The former Czech karting driver Dominik Stříteský has risen to become one of the elite drivers in the Czech Rally Championship within a short period of time. Now after many podiums finishes in the series and his international rally debut in Italy in the FIA European Rally Championship he will make his FIA World Rally Championship debut in Spain at the RACC Rally de Espania together with co-driver Jiří Hovorka.

Together with Toksport WRT and support by Skoda Motorsport as part of the brand´s 120th anniversary celebrations, the duo will be entering the WRC3 class in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, which is the newest specification of the rally car supplied by the Czech manufacturer. Stříteský will be starting the rally together with the teams leading drivers Andreas Mikkelsen and Marco Bulacia Wilkinson, those two are entered in the WRC2, which is a similar class to WRC3 but for manufacturer teams.

“He has established himself very quickly as one of the front runners in the domestic championship. However, it is absolutely essential for him to also gain experience with rallies in foreign countries.” Michal Hrabánek, head of Skoda Motorsport, said.

“We are convinced that Dominik in the future will use the experience he will now gain in the same way many of his predecessors have done in the past. He has been given a clear target – he has to learn and collect new knowledge.”

“I appreciate the chance to compete on World Championship level. Together with my co-driver, I want to gain as much experience as possible in Spain and cover as many kilometres as possible in competition.” Stříteský added,

The French rallycross and off-road outfit GCK Motorsport have revealed the first renderings and additional information about their GCK e-Blast H2 hydrogen fuel cell powered SUV which they are aiming to debut at the 2024 edition of the world famous cross-country rally Dakar.

Next year the team are set to be introducing a prototype that will be running in Dakar 2022 before the final machinery will be set to take the stage in 2024. The project, which are developed by the parent company Green Corp Konnection will also be recieving support by 21 experts from FEV, a company which is a global specialist in electric powertrains.

FEV will design, build and intergate the new fuel cell system in the team´s current prototype meanwhile GCK will test the fuel cell system and its powertrain in tough conditons as part of their race program before it can be intergrated in other vehicles.

“The new visuals mark a key milestone in the journey to 2024 and the progress to a greener future in cross-country motorsport and beyond. The innovations behind the e-Blast H2 are a driving force to help scale up the efforts of green technology across motorsport and industrial sectors alike.” Guerlain Chicherit, President of Green Corp Konnection, said.

“This is another piece in a very large puzzle, and I’m excited to see how the finished vehicle will look. I really look forward to being able to test this future vehicle which perfectly reflects our project philosophy combining green technology, performance and design!”

Valtteri Bottas topped the opening free practice session of the Russian Grand Prix weekend on Friday, with the Finn edging out Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team team-mate Lewis Hamilton by two-tenths of a second.

Under blue skies, the twenty drivers took to the track for the opening running of the weekend at the Sochi Autodrom, which included Kimi Räikkönen after the Finn’s two-race absence following a positive COVID-19 test during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.

Bottas, who will be leaving Mercedes at the end of the season, hit top spot early on when running on the hard compound Pirelli tyre and then improved significantly on the soft, with his best time of 1:34.427 edging out Hamilton by 0.211 seconds and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by 0.227 seconds.

Charles Leclerc, who will take a grid penalty on Sunday following an engine change, was the only other driver to get within one-second of Bottas’ time, with the Scuderia Ferrari driver fourth, 0.690 seconds back.

Sebastian Vettel will be encouraged by the performance of his Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team machine as he placed fifth, just ahead of Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda’s Pierre Gasly, while Carlos Sainz Jr. was seventh in the second Ferrari.

The entries for the sixth round of eight in the 2021 FIA World Rallycross Championship have now been revealed by the FIA as the rallycross drivers are back at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps track on 9/10 October.

Like for most part of this season, the entries have been relatively low to what we are used to see in the World RX class and this time again there are 11 drivers confirmed to take part.

Joining the event held at Ardennes forests of Belgium will be the defending world champion Johan Kristoffersson in an Audi S1 driving for the Swedish powerhouse KYB EKS JC and will be joined alongside by the local hero Enzo Ide, who made his rallycross debut in Spa at the last visit in 2019.

The Hansen brothers of Kevin Hansen and Timmy Hansen, who have been unstoppable so far this season with back-to-back one and two on the podium in Barcelona, Höljes and Lohéac are also in and looking to close in on the championship title.

GRX-SET World RX Team have been struggling with their pace in the early-season but after the podium finish for Niclas Grönholm in Lohéac and two final appearances for Krisztian Szabo, and with a track that suits the Hyundai i20’s which was proven by their win with Timur Timerzyanov on the last time in Spa, this could be the chance to take one more.

Ken Block has announced partnership with the German car manufacturer Audi to help the brand with the electric car developments; the news comes just under a year after he and his company Hooningan announced the split of their longtime partners Ford.

American rally driver Block has become known over the years not only for his athletic accomplishments, but also for his Gymkhana videos he has made as an ambassador for Ford.

The partnership of Block and Ford have included 19 wins and 17 other podium finishes in both rally and rallycross, two X Games medals and the first points taken by an American driver representing Ford in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Block and Ford’s Gymkhana videos, as well as various breath taking projects from the Ford Mustang “Hoonicorn” to the Ford F-150 “Hoonitruck”, have garnered well over a billion views on social media.

In January 2021, Block announced that the partnership with Ford would end after 10 years. The matter was not insignificant for Ford either, as the end of the partnership was announced in a video in which CEO of Ford, Jim Farley himself warmly thanked Block for his years together.