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The Mclaren F1 Team go into this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix on the back of an Italian Grand Prix they will never forget, after finally stepping foot back on the top step of the podium.

Monza race winner Daniel Ricciardo still gets excited thinking about the last round. The Australian finally showed the pace he demonstrated on countless occasions during his period at Red Bull Racing. The team will be hoping his pace and confidence is back for good and that it wasn’t just a blip. Ricciardo on the whole has found his first season with Mclaren difficult, despite this he has put in the graft and in the end got the result himself and especially the team deserved.

The championship continues however and this weekend’s trip to the Sochi Autodrom, presents Ricciardo with a fresh opportunity to build on the performance shown in Monza, and target another big points haul.

“A week on from Monza, it still feels good thinking about being back on that top step of the podium. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect way to end a triple-header. I loved competing at the front of the grid and having the chance to fight for the win. The one-two finish is a product of hard work throughout the team and from myself. Since the start of my journey with McLaren I’ve been working through the challenges that come with adapting to a new car, but the team has been really supportive throughout.

“It’s great to have a result that completes that picture, and to have the team back in the winner’s circle has been a ride and I’ve only been a part of it for six months. It’s been the boost we all needed.

For the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, the Ford F-150 will sport a new look. On Thursday, Ford Performance revealed touchups for the F-150’s body to make it better resemble its street counterpart.

The most noticeable change on the new F-150 comes at the front, as the steel sheet metal hood is replaced with composite material (though the fender will stay steel). Development of the design came at the Ford Performance Technical Center in Concord, North Carolina, and the Ford design center in Dearborn, Michigan.

“We’re proud to be the first to show off our 2022 NASCAR truck today,” Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook stated. “The Ford F-150 is the pride of the Ford truck lineup so we’re glad to be able to update the race version to show off the dynamic front end styling that is truly F-150. We can’t wait for our teams to get on track with it next February in Daytona.”

Unlike rivals Chevrolet and Toyota, Ford maintains a fairly muted presence in the Truck Series with just two full-time teams in David Gilliland Racing and Front Row Motorsports, who field a combined three trucks for Hailie Deegan and Tanner Gray (DGR) and Todd Gilliland (FRM). Gilliland and DGR part-timer Ryan Preece have scored race wins for Ford in 2021 at COTA and Nashville, respectively; both races were special events as the former was the inaugural NASCAR’s inaugural foray at the Austin road course while the latter speedway was revived after a decade-long dormancy. Other teams to use the F-150 in 2021 include DCC Racing, NEMCO Motorsports, and Roper Racing.

Deegan, a Ford factory and development driver currently in her rookie year, débuted the new F-150 in a promotional video.

Fernando Alonso goes into his first Russian Grand Prix this weekend since 2018, hoping that the Alpine F1 Team can produce another double points finish like they did last time out in Italy.

Alonso is looking forward to returning to the Sochi Autodrom, a circuit where in the past he has struggled in qualifying but made up plenty of places during the race. The Spaniard is aware that double points finishes are going to be essential to beat their constructor rivals in what has already been a very long season for all the teams.

“I’ve raced in Sochi five times before and it’ll be good to return there this weekend. In the past I’ve not had a great Saturday there, but then in the race I’ve made up quite a few positions. So, let’s see if we can put it all together this year. We need to keep scoring double points finishes like we did in Italy and capitalise on any opportunities that arise.

“It’s been a long season already, but I am really enjoying being back racing. The cars are great to drive and the team atmosphere we are building is very positive. We have hopes for next season, but we need to enjoy the rest of this year and I will keep pushing to get the best out of myself and the car.”

“The atmosphere in Russia is always good” – Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon who celebrated turning twenty-five last week, is looking forward to the Russian Grand Prix this weekend. The Frenchman is a fan of the circuit which looks set to be a challenge this weekend with heavy rain forecast across the weekend.

Charles Leclerc will start at the back of the grid for this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix after Scuderia Ferrari opted to change to a new engine, one outside of his allocation for the season.

Regardless of where he qualifies on Saturday at the Sochi Autodrom, the Monegasque racer knows he will have a tough task on his hands to score points on Sunday, although the hint of rain gives him some hope that he will be able to make up some ground and bring home a top ten finish for the team.

Leclerc says the update is more aimed at gathering data for the 2022 season and doing the change this early into the season enables Ferrari to get as much information about it between now and the end of the season in preparation for next year.

“It’s not impossible to overtake at this track, so I’m ready to go on the attack,” said Leclerc.  “Also, the forecast is for rain maybe on Sunday, which could also produce an unpredictable and fun race. Obviously, our main rivals will be able to make the most of the fact I have a penalty.

“But apart from third place in the championship, I think our progress is clear to see. By Monza, the fourteenth race of the season, we already scored more points than we did last year after we had done three more races and we can be pleased about that. Also, as a team, we have come close to winning on at least two occasions, even if we didn’t quite make it.

It all comes down to this. After five long months, fifteen exciting races, the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season comes to an end, with a champion to be crowned this weekend on the iconic streets of Long Beach.

In only his second season in the sport, Chip Ganassi Racing‘s Alex Palou took the series by storm and sits atop the standings heading into the final race. Behind him is another young gun, Patricio O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP, 35 points behind. Finally, Team Penske‘s Josef Newgarden sits third as the massive underdog, but with his 48-point gap to Palou he’s mathematically still in the title fight.

For the sixteenth consecutive year, the championship will be decided in the final race of the year, so the question remains, “who will be crowned the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series champion?”

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR?

Like the other west coast races last season, COVID-19 restrictions meant that there was no Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2020. In 2019, Alexander Rossi put on an absolute clinic at Long Beach claiming the pole position and race win.

Sebastian Vettel feels the Sochi Autodrom is almost the complete opposite to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, with completely different characteristics meaning a completely difficult set-up.

The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team driver missed out on points two weeks ago in the Italian Grand Prix, finding himself shuffled down the order early and then finishing twelfth. However, he is eager to return to the top ten in Russia and bring himself back into contention for a top ten placing in the Drivers’ Championship in 2021. 

And Vettel knows that will only be possible if he is able to get into a rhythm early, which means maximising the track time available in order to perfect the set-up of the AMR21.

“Sochi is almost the opposite of Monza – plenty of corners and a constant challenge,” said Vettel. “There are some high-speed sections, and a huge main straight, but the slow, technical corners mean you need a good set-up if you’re going to feel comfortable across the weekend.

“We’ll be looking to maximise every lap on track and then fight for points on Sunday.” 

Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda will be hoping that their woes at the Italian Grand Prix last time out, won’t be repeated this weekend at the Russian Grand Prix as the team looks set to get back into the points at the Sochi Autodrom.

Despite qualifying superbly, Pierre Gasly suffered a torrid sprint qualifying after crashing out on the opening lap, before suffering an equally disappointing race after being forced into retirement in the opening laps due to a mechanical issue.

The Frenchman goes into the Russian Grand Prix hoping to bounce back strongly after performing so well this season. Sochi has been a successful venue for the Frenchman in the past, Gasly qualified in the top ten at the circuit last season and then finished the race in ninth.

Gasly is trying to remain positive despite the disappointment of what happened in Italy and is looking forward to Russia this weekend.

“What happened in Monza was regrettable, as I believe we could have done something good there, especially when you look at how the race went. The weekend ended very badly for the team, for me and for Yuki after our performance had been very good leading up to the race and I had a super Qualifying. A real shame, but there has been a positive trend after the summer break as our performance level was very good at all three races since then. 

George Russell says he feels rested and recovered after a week off away from the racetrack after the resumption of the Formula 1 season following the summer break saw a run of three consecutive races in three weekends.

Heading into the Russian Grand Prix this weekend, Russell is on a run of three top ten finishes in four races, and he is eager to break into the top ten once more at the Sochi Autodrom.

The Williams Racing driver is eyeing up another strong result around what he feels is a demanding circuit for both man and machine, with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team-bound racer looking to score points again on Sunday.

“I feel rested and recovered after the recent triple-header and ready to go back racing once again in Russia,” said Russell.  “It’s a demanding track with some tricky sections along with some fast corners which make it a challenge for both the driver and the car.

“The Olympic Park in Sochi is also a unique location to go racing and rushing past some of the venues for the Winter Olympics makes for a spectacular backdrop.

The Uralkali Haas F1 Team go into this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix hoping for better fortunes than the Italian Grand Prix last time out. Rookie driver Nikita Mazepin is also preparing for his first ever home grand prix in Formula 1.

Monza was a disaster for Haas with their drivers colliding yet again, something which Team Principal Guenther Steiner will not be wanting to deal. Especially this weekend at the Sochi Autodrom where a lot of eyes will be on Mazepin as the sole Russian driver on the grid. Not only this but the team’s title sponsor Uralkali, are also Russian and will be hoping for a successful weekend.

Steiner is aware that it will be a demanding weekend for Mazepin but is excited to see what the Russian fans bring to the atmosphere.

“I haven’t spoken with Nikita yet about it but obviously when I get there I will speak to him, if he’s got time for me! I’ve seen his schedule and what he’s got to do, only for media, and the attention he gets in Russia it will be quite a demanding weekend for him but hopefully a lot of people support him.

“Obviously, he’s not racing for the championship like Max is at the moment so the crowd may not be as big for him but I’m sure he has got a lot of fans there and let’s see what they come up with. I am interested myself in how far we can bring Formula 1 in Russia.”

Nikita Mazepin will get to experience his first ever Formula 1 home grand prix this weekend, as the championship rolls into the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom. The Russian will be hoping for a crazy race, and if the forecast is anything to go by then a crazy race might just be what we get.

Rain is forecast from Friday all the way through the weekend, in what looks set to be an extremely wet weekend for the Uralkali Haas F1 Team. Nevertheless Mazepin is extremely excited for his first ever Formula 1 home grand prix.

“First of all, I’m massively looking forward to going there. I’ve been in Sochi a few times, I went there for the first ever Grand Prix back in 2014 if I’m not mistaken, and back in the day, the country had a very different meaning for me. I didn’t race for my country, I wasn’t even in Formula 3 at the time. Obviously to have made it six years later means a lot to me and I’m one of the fortunate drivers who has a home race and I’m looking forward to experiencing the feeling of it.”  

Despite it being his first ever home grand prix in Formula 1, Mazepin believes that it’s positive pressure rather than negative.

“I think it’s positive pressure. The Sochi pressure for me is just giving me extra motivation and it gives me more endorphins and energy to power through the more difficult moments in the build-up to the race. Nevertheless, I’m going there with a clear mind to try and extract everything I can from myself and the car and I’m looking forward to seeing what the atmosphere is going to be like after what everybody has seen the Netherlands and what they showed us.” 

The Uralkali Haas F1 Team have confirmed that they have retained their 2021 driver line-up of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin for 2022, as the team look forward to what they hope will be a more successful campaign.

2021 has been a very challenging season for rookie drivers Schumacher and Mazepin, despite being in the worst car on the grid they have both shown glimpses of promise. A seat for 2022 is really the least they deserve, with both drivers hoping that all the work and time Haas have put into 2022 will allow them to fight further up the grid.

Schumacher who has shown plenty of potential this season, is very much looking forward to next year where he hopes the field will be closer together with the new regulations.

“By being part of the Formula 1 field, I am living my dream. The first year together with Haas F1 is very exciting and instructive, and I’m sure I can bring all the experience I’ve gained into the coming year. New technical regulations, the impressive ambition of the entire Haas F1 team and the support of Ferrari – of course I believe this will bring us closer to the field in the 2022 season and we will be able to fight for points.

“I’m looking forward to being part of a team that is getting stronger, and I’ll do everything I can from my side to move us forward. Finally, I would like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy for the trust they continue to give me and the support they have shown me over the years”

The FIA Formula One World Championship is back this weekend for round fifteen at the Russian Grand Prix, held at the Sochi Autodrom where for the first time since the Austrian Grand Prix, the softest Pirelli compound will be in use.

For the first time since Austria, Pirelli have brought the softest range of tyres the C3, C4 and C5 compounds, all of which were used at the Russian Grand Prix last season which was won by Valtteri Bottas. The softest compound is perfect for the circuit with its low severity and slowly maturing surface which is nearly ten years old now. Despite this there is a very strong chance that the C5 compound won’t be needed this weekend, with the forecast looking fairly wet to say the least!

The circuit features a number of ninety degree corners, making strong braking and traction critical for a fast lap-time around the rear-limited circuit. Teams tend to run a low downforce setup too, due to the two long straights which usually allow for plenty of overtaking. Drivers normally expect the circuit to be slippery on the opening day, during the year the Sochi Autodrom is rarely used, making the opening session a slippery encounter.

A one-stop strategy is typically the way to go, however last year a number of strategies were used throughout the field. Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing Mario Isola, is expecting a variety of strategies to be used come Sunday, where the extra rubber laid down on the surface by the additional support races should enhance the track’s grip.

“We’ve seen in the past that there’s been quite a lot of different strategic thinking, with all three compounds on the grid at the start of the race and varying tactics during the grand prix. Last year, the soft C5 performed better than expected and graining levels were reduced over all compounds between free practice and the race, due to high track evolution.

Max Verstappen maintains his stance that the clash with Lewis Hamilton during the Italian Grand Prix was nothing but a racing incident, but he goes into the Russian Grand Prix weekend knowing he will take a three-place grid penalty for being deemed responsible for it by the stewards.

The Red Bull Racing driver was battling with his championship rival into the first chicane at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza only for the two to tangle, with the Dutchman’s RB16B ending up on top of Hamilton’s W12.

Verstappen says the penalty for the race at the Sochi Autodrom is far from ideal, but he still believes he can have a strong weekend in Russia as he continues his bid for his maiden World Drivers’ Championship.

“I think you can reflect all you like but it’s important to look forward and keep pushing,” said Verstappen.  “I still believe it was a racing incident, but we have been given a three-place grid penalty and we just have to work with it now. The race in Monza definitely wasn’t our day for many reasons, but now I just plan to look forward to Sochi.

“The penalty is of course not ideal but nothing is lost, that’s how I look at it. As for the Drivers’ Championship, we still have a lot of races ahead of us and it’s a very tiny margin. We will try and make the most from the weekend and work with the package we have.”

Despite Lewis Hamilton ending his Italian Grand Prix in a turn two clash with title rival Max Verstappen, and Valtteri Bottas finishing only third, Toto Wolff says there were plenty of positives to take away from the Autodromo Nazionale Monza for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.

Hamilton’s amazing run of consecutive points finishes was ended by his incident with Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen, while Bottas was forced to battle from the back of the grid after a grid penalty for an engine change denied him pole position. 

Heading into the Sochi Autodrom this weekend, Wolff, the Team Principal at Mercedes, says the pace of the W12 has been competitive in recent races, and he hopes that continues into the Russian Grand Prix weekend as they battle to win both World Championships in 2021.

“After a demanding and intense triple-header, we are reenergised and ready to go,” said Wolff.  “Last time out in Monza was bittersweet – a commanding performance and strong result for Valtteri but a feeling of missed points for Lewis, who had the potential to fight for the win.

“The pleasing thing is that the W12 looks competitive and with just eight races to go, now is the time to use our experience and focus on the details and processes which will get us over the line.”

For the second straight round, thirteen drivers will make up a Stadium Super Trucks field (though there would have been more if additional trucks were available) as they head to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach for the eighth season and the first time since 2019 after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to COVID-19. The thirteen-person entry list is the second largest at Long Beach behind the fourteen in 2018, which itself is the most for an SST street circuit event.

Matt Brabham, Bill Hynes, Max and Robby Gordon, and Robert Stout continue their full-time campaigns. Brabham enters Long Beach as the points leader with thirty-two points over Robby Gordon, and both drivers are three-time winners at Long Beach including claiming the most recent races in 2019. Hynes’ best finish at Long Beach is sixth in Race #1 in 2019 while this will be Max’s first time competing at the street course. Stout, coming off his maiden SST win at Nashville, has Long Beach experience via sports cars.

After fielding five trucks at Nashville, Crosley Brands will have five: CEO Bo LeMastus, Jacob Abel, Brandon Parrish, Mads Siljehaug, and Jeff Ward. Abel surprised in his series début when he finished runner-up in Race #2 at Nashville. LeMastus is an SST newbie at Long Beach, while Ward finished eighth in the inaugural edition in 2013. Parrish and Siljehaug are new faces to SST; the former is an ex-Superbike rider who founded and operates RiderSurance and the latter is a sports car regular who mainly competes in Pirelli GT4 America.

Another series newcomer will be Christian Sourapas in the #9 VP Racing Fuels truck. Sourapas and twin brother Brett, the sons of former SCORE International great Steve Sourapas, have enjoyed success in SCORE and Best in the Desert off-road competition, winning the 2015 Class 6100 (Trophy Truck Spec) championship. On his own, Christian won the Laughlin Desert Classic in 2018.

“I’m STOKED to announce that I’ll be making my official @stadiumsupertrucks debut this weekend at the Long Beach Grand Prix!! I can’t thank Eric, Will, and Chris from @bajajerky enough for the opportunity. Make sure to come out and stop by the @bajajerky tent for some product and other miscellaneous items. I can’t wait to see how I stack up,” posted Sourapas on Instagram.