Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

The Uralkali Haas F1 Team go into the summer break after a frustrating Hungarian Grand Prix where points were all to play for, Mick Schumacher finished thirteenth whereas Nikita Mazepin was forced into retirement at the Hungaroring.

Team Principal Guenther Steiner was frustrated with the missed opportunity at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where with many drivers retiring early on some shock names managed to acquire an illustrious points finish.

Schumacher continued his run of finishing every race so far this season after a brilliant performance, the German fought with Antonio Giovinazzi and even Max Verstappen for a brief moment. Mazepin on the other hand was extremely unlucky, the Russian was hit by Kimi Räikkönen after the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN driver was unsafely released from his pit-box.

Overall it was another tough grand prix for Haas, despite his disappointment Steiner is at least glad that Schumacher put up a strong fight.

“A tough day for us today. It started promising, with all the mayhem that happened, we always had some hope. We were taken out for no reason by an Alfa Romeo which Nikita couldn’t do anything about – he just got taken out in a bad way. The good thing was to see Mick fighting for whatever was there and holding Giovinazzi behind, that was pretty good.

Mick Schumacher survived a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix to cross the line in thirteenth place, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi. Team-mate Nikita Mazepin was forced into retirement after being hit by Kimi Räikkönen.

Mick Schumacher continued his run of finishing every single race this season, after making his way through the carnage early on whilst others retired. As the red flag was flown at the end of the first lap to clean up the first corner damage, Schumacher found himself in tenth place.

The German drove superbly all race in tricky conditions and even battled with a wounded Max Verstappen. In the end the rookie didn’t have the pace for a points finish but does go into the summer break on the back of a positive race at the Hungaroring.

“Finishing in front of an Alfa is something that we weren’t anticipating and starting from last and finishing P13 is quite a decent result for us. We were keen on having a point but frankly we don’t have the car at the moment to do so but nonetheless this was great experience as I’ve been able to battle with the top guys and the championship leader.

“For me personally, from a growth point of view, it was very good. We always knew it was going to be tough but today was a very nice day and after having a disappointing day yesterday, we came back on a high. Ending this first half of the season on a high is very positive for everybody – the team and myself – and being able to battle with the top guys brought me so much experience and knowing that I can throw out my elbows, I’m glad I got that opportunity.”

Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN go into the summer break after dropping below Williams Racing in the constructors standings, the team now find themselves in ninth place after a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix.

Both Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi survived the opening lap, whilst many cars around them got caught up in the carnage at turn one.

This put both drivers in a great position to finish in the points with so many cars retiring after the opening lap, however when the race restarted the team experienced the worst of luck. Both drivers were awarded hefty penalties, first Räikkönen for being released from the pits unsafely and causing Nikita Mazepin to retire, and then Giovinazzi for speeding in the pit-lane.

The penalties left both drivers with too much work to do at a circuit where overtaking is almost as difficult as Monaco, Räikkönen crossed the line in eleventh and Giovinazzi in fourteenth. Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur was very disappointed with the result after their strongest qualifying of the season.

“It ended up being a very tough weekend for the team, after a promising start. We came into the race after a good Saturday in which we delivered the best overall qualifying performance of the season but the opening stages were chaos. We got blocked in turn one, trying to avoid the start incidents, and we had to recover from the back of the field on a track where overtaking is very hard.

Despite all his experience, Kimi Räikkönen failed to capitalise on the chaos at the Hungarian Grand Prix to just miss out on a points finish after crossing the line eleventh, team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi finished fourteenth at the Hungaroring.

Kimi Räikkönen’s race was virtually over before the race had even restarted, the Finnish driver was awarded a ten-second penalty for being released from the pit-lane unsafely. The unsafe release which was caused by an issue with the team’s traffic light release system, saw Räikkönen released from the pits right as Nikita Mazepin was entering his box. The two did collide with Räikkönen coming out of it unscathed, unlike Mazepin who immediately retired.

With overtaking being so difficult at the circuit, any hopes of a points finish were gone for the 2007 world champion, who was well inside the points after the opening lap crashes. The penalty just left too much work to do for the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN driver.

“The start of the race was a bit what you would expect in these conditions, with a hectic first lap and lots of things happening. We looked quite ok until the penalty, which pretty much compromised our race: there was an issue with the traffic light release system and we ended up colliding with Mazepin. Up until the penalty, we were deep in the points, but making it back from the bottom was just too much.”

“I spent a lot of time in traffic” – Antonio Giovinazzi

Antonio Giovinazzi had a similarly disappointing race, the Italian also received a penalty like his team-mate. The Italian’s penalty however was for speeding in the pit-lane and resulted in a ‘stop and go’ penalty.

Christian Horner says Red Bull Racing still have it all to play for despite a frustrating Hungarian Grand Prix saw them concede their advantage in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship.

Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez were caught up in a first lap, first corner crash initiated by Valtteri Bottas, and although the Dutchman was able to continue, the Mexican was forced to retire before the lap was out with significant damage to his RB16B.

Verstappen’s car also took a lot of damage in the incident that also involved McLaren F1 Team’s Lando Norris, and Red Bull’s mechanics worked wonders to fix the car under the red flag enough for him to be in with a chance of points.

Ultimately, Verstappen did struggle throughout the race due to the damage, but he was able to salvage two points by finishing ninth.  Unfortunately, Lewis Hamilton’s second place meant the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver took over at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.

“It is obviously an enormously frustrating way to end the weekend, but we are within 10 points of first place in the championship going into the summer break which means it’s all to play for,” said Horner, the Team Principal at Red Bull.

Max Verstappen admitted it was disappointing to be involved in a first lap crash for the second race in a row, with the Dutchman taking a lot of damage to his RB16B after being hit by Lando Norris at turn one at the Hungaroring.

Norris had already been hit by the out-of-control Valtteri Bottas heading into the turn on a damp track in Hungary, but the damage to Verstappen’s car was significant, and the Red Bull Racing driver was lucky to finish the race.

Verstappen struggled against cars he would usually breeze past, with a pass on Mick Schumacher proving difficult particularly telling as the Uralkali Haas F1 Team have regularly been the slowest team on the grid in 2021.

Ultimately, Verstappen finished on the road in tenth to score a single point, although Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification ahead of him moved him up to ninth and to two points.  However, he did lose top spot in the Drivers’ Championship to Lewis Hamilton.

“It was all out of our hands in the race and I can’t believe I got taken out for the second week running,” said Verstappen.  “The mechanics did what they could to get me back in the race but I was carrying a lot of damage on the car after the incident and it was super difficult to drive with, there was a lot of oversteer and understeer from the downforce loss.

14 August’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course will feature a duo of team-mates from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. On Thursday, MBM Motorsports announced Whelen Euro Series EuroNASCAR PRO regular Giorgio Maggi will attempt to make his NASCAR American début in the #42 Toyota Supra, serving as a team-mate to EuroNASCAR PRO championship leader Loris Hezemans. Maggi will be the first Swiss driver to race in a NASCAR national series.

“I’’s still really hard to believe because it seems so surreal,” said Maggi. “I first came into contact with NASCAR two years ago and honestly had no idea about this type of motorsport. Now I’m going to be right in the middle of it.

“I’m really looking forward to it, but I’m also a little nervous, I have to admit. I’m super excited to be the first Swiss to compete in a NASCAR national championship in the U.S.”

Currently in his second season at the EuroNASCAR PRO level, Maggi and his #18 Hendriks Motorsport car sits ninth in points with a best finish of fourth in the most recent race at Brands Hatch. As a rookie in 2020, he placed eleventh in the standings with a pole and runner-up finish at Croatia. The former ADAC GT Masters driver first débuted in NASCAR in 2019 when he finished runner-up in the Elite 2 (now EuroNASCAR 2) standings with three victories.

Hezemans, the 2019 EuroNASCAR PRO (then Elite 1) champion, has three career Xfinity starts in 2019 and 2021. After finishing twenty-second in his maiden race at Road America in 2019, he returned to America two years later with MBM at Phoenix, where he placed thirty-first in his first oval race. Another oval start came in June at Pocono with DGM Racing, finishing twenty-seventh.

Lawless Alan, holder of one of NASCAR‘s coolest names, has joined Niece Motorsports for a multi-race deal throughout the 2021 Camping World Truck Series playoffs, the team announced Thursday. His first start with the team will come in the playoff opener Darlington Raceway on 5 September, and he will also run the season finale at Phoenix Raceway on 5 November.

“We’re excited for the chance to get Lawless in our Chevrolets,” said Niece Motorsports general manager Cody Efaw. “He’s proven himself to be a talented driver, so we’re thrilled to have him behind the wheel. Darlington is one of my favorite tracks, and our team has run well there in the past, so it should be a great start to his races with our team.”

After racing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West in 2019 and 2020, Alan began a limited slate in the Trucks in 2021 for Reaume Brothers Racing. He finished thirty-sixth in his series début on the Daytona Road Course in February, and ran three more races with a best finish of twentieth at Pocono. He will drive the #34 in Saturday’s race at Watkins Glen, where he starts twenty-fourth.

“I’ve learned a lot in the Truck races we’ve run so far, and being able to continue that education with a championship-caliber team is a great opportunity,” Alan commented. “I appreciate Mr. (Al) Niece and Cody putting me in the seat, and I plan on making the most of it.  Darlington is a challenging track and another one that I’ve never been to, so I’ll be putting time in on the sim and watching film, and hopefully I can have a good showing in the AUTOParkit Chevrolet and learn some things for next year.”

Alan’s number was not immediately revealed but he will presumably pilot Niece’s multi-driver #45.

For the first time in thirteen years, A.J. Allmendinger will race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, even if in a substitute capacity. On Thursday, GMS Racing announced Chase Purdy has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him out of the #24 Chevrolet Silverado for Saturday’s United Rentals 176 at Watkins Glen International. Allmendinger has been tapped to take over the ride in what will be his first Truck start since 2008.

“Late yesterday afternoon, GMS Racing driver Chase Purdy tested positive for COVID-19 with mild symptoms,” read a statement from the team. “In accordance with NASCAR protocol and the CDC guidelines, Purdy will not compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Watkins Glen International. A.J. Allmendinger has agreed to substitute as the replacement driver of the #23 Barna Buggies Chevrolet. We wish Chase a steady recovery and hope to see him compete at the series’ next event at World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway.”

Allmendinger currently races full-time in the Xfinity Series, where he has two wins and sits second in points. He made thirteen Truck starts between 2006 and 2008, a transition period for him as he was learning to adjust to stock cars after climbing the open-wheel ladder. Driving for Bill Davis, Michael Waltrip, and Morgan Dollar, he scored three top tens with a best finish of second at Charlotte in 2007. His last Truck race was in 2008 at Fontana, where he placed seventeenth.

Placing Allmendinger in the truck for Watkins Glen seems like a no-brainer. In addition to being one of the top road racers in NASCAR, he scored his lone Cup Series victory at the track in 2014. The move also continues the interim driver relationship between GMS and Allmendinger’s team Kaulig Racing. In May, Kaulig driver Justin Haley was replaced by GMS racer Zane Smith at Dover after the former was placed in COVID-19 protocol.

The news comes on the heels of surging COVID-19 cases, which prompted NASCAR to reintroduce mask mandates when indoors on Tuesday. The development effectively knocks Purdy out of playoff contention as WGI is the final race of the regular season, whereas he is nineteenth in points with a best finish of fifteenth. Fellow Truck driver Kris Wright had also missed a race in March after a positive test.

As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International, Rick Ware Racing has enlisted R.C. Enerson‘s services in what will be his series début. Enerson, an NTT IndyCar Series part-timer, will drive the #15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen.

Enerson began dabbling in stock cars as a road course ringer in the Xfinity Series at Road America in 2020, where he finished twentieth for SS-Green Light Racing; SSGLR currently has an Xfinity alliance with RWR. As an IndyCar driver, he has three career starts in 2016 and 2019. He failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in May, but he and Top Gun Racing will run the following week’s Indianapolis Road Course event in what will be the team’s maiden race.

“We are very excited to support @RCEnerson while he runs the @NASCAR Cup Series Race at @WGI in the #15 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet,” tweeted TGR.

Interestingly, a Cup ride with RWR became available in what was virtually a trade between the NASCAR and IndyCar realms. Cody Ware, a Cup rookie who drives the #51, will be in Nashville to run IndyCar’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix which will be his second career start in the series. James Davison, himself an IndyCar-savvy driver who mainly drives the #15, moves to the #51 for WGI.

Enerson is the only Cup newcomer in Sunday’s race, while Kyle Tilley joins him as the event’s two road ringers.

Mitch Evans has ended speculation about his future within the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship by extending his contract with Jaguar Racing.

The New Zealander has signed a new multi-year deal with the British team having joined the outfit back in 2016 when the debuted in Formula E.  He has won two E-Prix and taken ten podium finishes in his time with Jaguar, and he heads to the season finale of season seven later this month still in contention for the title.

Evans says he was approached by other teams in recent months but is excited to remain with Jaguar, and he is looking to continue their upward swing and bring more success to the team.

“I’m not going anywhere!” said Evans.  “Having spent over five years with the team, I know exactly what we plan to achieve in the forthcoming seasons and I am excited to continue to be a part of the team’s journey.

“I have been approached by other teams but my home continues to be with Jaguar. We are seeing strong results on track, the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 boasts excellent performance and we are ready to rival anyone on the grid.

Robin Frijns will remain with the Envision Virgin Racing team for season eight of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship after signing a contract extension with the team.

The Dutchman joined Virgin back in 2018 and has been one of the stars of the championship in recent years, although he has not won a race since the second race in New York City back in the 2018-19 season.

Frijns is a championship contender this year and sits second in the standings heading into the final double-header of the season in Berlin later this month, and he is delighted to be remaining with the team for the 2021-22 season.

“I am very happy to stay at Envision Virgin Racing for another season,” said Frijns. “We have a great car and a very talented, dedicated team who are doing a phenomenal job.

“Together we’ve managed to achieve a lot of consistency in one of the most unpredictable and competitive racing series in the world, which isn’t easy and is one of the reasons that has got us to the top of the standings.”

Dave Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams Racing, was delighted the team finally scored their first points of the 2021 Formula 1 season on Sunday, with Nicholas Latifi and George Russell both breaking into the top ten in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The initial wet start helped them move up from their lowly grid slots as a number of drivers ahead were involved in incidents at turn one, and their placement in the pit lane aided them at the restart of the race following a red flag.

Latifi was able to run third in the early laps before finishing eighth on the road, while Russell ended ninth.  Both drivers then moved up one spot when Sebastian Vettel was disqualified due to a technicality from second place.

Robson says the team made the most of the situation at the Hungaroring, and despite being tight with fuel at the end, they were able to bring home their first top ten finish since the 2019 German Grand Prix and their first two-car points finish since the 2018 Italian Grand Prix.

“Today, a small amount of rain caused a big swing in fortunes for the field,” said Robson.  “We obviously benefited, not least from the crashes at the initial race start.

Amid the chaos in the Hungarian Grand Prix, perhaps the best feel-good story of the race was the first points of the season for Williams Racing, with both Nicholas Latifi and George Russell ending up inside the top ten.

Not since the 2019 German Grand Prix had Williams scored a point in Formula 1, and it was the first time that they scored points with both cars since the Italian Grand Prix of 2018.

Latifi ran as high as third in the early stages after capitalising on the multiple incidents at the start of the race, and although he was unable to keep some obviously quicker cars behind him, he was still able to finish eighth on the road for his first points in Formula 1.  This became seventh later in the day when Sebastian Vettel was disqualified.

“It is an amazing result for the team, and I am so happy for us,” said Latifi.  “The team has been knocking on the door of points for a few races now, so to get both cars in the points and to move up to P8 in the championship is amazing.

“The race from my side was very tough to manage, obviously the start in the first corner was what sealed it for me. We struggled in qualifying yesterday, so to come away with a result like this is better than anything we could have hoped for.

Pierre Gasly left the Hungarian Grand Prix disappointed, despite crossing the line in sixth.

The Frenchman managed to qualify in fifth, beating both of the Scuderia Ferrari’s and McLaren F1 Team’s drivers. Unfortunately for Gasly, he was in the wrong position when all the action happened on the first lap. Due to the race being a wet start, Valtteri Bottas wasn’t able to control his car going into Turn 1 and crashed into Lando Norris.

Gasly had to avoid all the chaos and found himself falling down the grid. He was able to cut his way back up to the top but was left annoyed with the result. Gasly was one of the many drivers that have benefitted from Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification and were promoted to fifth after the race.

Gasly said: “To be honest, I don’t really know what to think. We started P5, which is probably the best position we can hope for, but then I was almost taken out in the first corner incident and had to make my way back through the field to finish in P6.

“It’s good obviously to be finishing where we did, with everything that happened in the race, but I think it definitely could’ve been better. We were best of the rest in Quali and I was happy with the car, so there’s lots of positives to takeaway from this weekend but obviously we’ve lost a lot of points in the Championship which is disappointing.