Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Marcin Budkowski, the Executive Director of the Alpine F1 Team, is looking forward to the next challenge that the British Grand Prix brings.

Silverstone will be the first track to trial the new sprint race format, giving a smaller thirty-minute race instead of a third practice session. How the track finishes that race will be how the grid lines up for Sunday’s race. And Budkowski is expecting there to be some unpredictability around the shorter races.

“We’re looking forward to trialling the new race weekend format for the very first time this weekend in Silverstone. It’s definitely something new and will create some action on all three days.

“For the teams, the main challenge will be to setup the cars and build the drivers’ confidence in one hour of practice on Friday morning only, as we then go straight into Qualifying,” said Budkowski.

“The cars will be in parc ferme from that point onwards, which means we can’t really touch them anymore. There are also different rules for tyre usage, including free choice for the race itself.

Esteban Ocon has not been having the easiest of times since he signed a three-year deal with Alpine F1 Team in mid-June. The Frenchman finished out of the top ten at the French and Styrian Grand Prix and was forced to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix.

Ocon is hoping to put his woes from the triple header behind him and hopefully get a good result at this weekends race, the British Grand Prix.

Ocon said: “The France-Austria triple header was not as successful as we had hoped. It’s good that we’re heading to a completely different circuit, taking on a new challenge and having a reset. The team and I have been working very hard behind the scenes to see what we can do to improve our performance.

“I know we’ll come back to the level we had at the start of the season and the hard work will only continue until we achieve that and even go beyond. I’m really motivated for a good result this weekend.“

“I suspect the gaps between the field won’t be as close” – Alonso

Fernando Alonso has been a stand out performer of 2021. The veteran returned to the field after a two-year hiatus and has proven that he still has what it takes to compete. To contrast his teammate, Alonso finished in the points in every race in the triple-header and has even had the pace to compete against McLaren F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari at times.

The Alfa Romeo name will remain in Formula 1 beyond the 2021 season after the Italian marque signed a new multiple year agreement with Sauber Motorsport.

The Alfa Romeo name returned to the sport back in 2018, first as a sponsor of the Sauber F1 Team, then as the new name for the outfit that currently fields Kimi Räikkönen alongside Antonio Giovinazzi.

The extension of the contract had been uncertain, but now the announcement has been made that they will stay united beyond this year and continue their work in moving up the grid – they finished eighth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2020 and currently hold the same position in 2021 after the opening nine rounds.

“We are delighted to be announcing the extension of this partnership,” said Frédéric Vasseur, the Team Principal of Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN.  “Alfa Romeo have been an incredible companion over the last few years, and we are even more excited about the chapters that are yet to come.

“The new regulations are giving us the chance to make another step forward and I firmly believe we are perfectly placed to make big gains together. We are looking forward to our future together and to keeping moving towards the front of the grid.

The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team failed to score points in either race of the New York City E-Prix, and Team Principal Ian James admitted it was not the kind of weekend the team needed so close to the end of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season.

Nyck de Vries has fallen to tenth place in the Drivers’ Championship after finishing thirteenth and eighteenth across the two races, while Stoffel Vandoorne retired from race one and could only finish twelfth in race two as he slipped down to thirteenth in the standings.

James says they will leave the Brooklyn Street Circuit disappointed, but he believes the team will fight to return to the kind of pace that took them to three victories in the opening five races.

“New York wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for,” said James.  “It wasn’t the weekend we needed or should have delivered either. Stepping onto the plane home tomorrow without having scored a single point this weekend is more than disappointing.

“We found ourselves in a difficult position this weekend. It hasn’t been the first time we didn’t score as good of a result as we hoped for, but it has been the first track this season on which we seemed to struggle to find the pace we know we normally have. That’s frustrating, but also an opportunity and challenge for the team to bounce back from.

The Stadium Super Trucks weekend at the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville will feature a grid of eleven trucks with heavy involvement from Crosley Brands, who will sponsor four drivers including a pair of returning faces after years away. On Wednesday, the series’ entry as a support round for the NTT IndyCar Series was formally confirmed by both race and SST organisers. The series’ participation was initially announced by the GP last week. Scheduled for 6–8 August, practice/qualifying will take place on the first day followed by a race on each of the next two.

Crosley Brands, a radio and record company run by SST driver Bo LeMastus, serves as the title sponsor for the series and will also sponsor their CEO. Arie Luyendyk Jr., a three-time race winner who most recently ran the season opener in St. Petersburg, will also drive a Crosley-sponsored truck, as will Ricky Johnson and Jeff Ward. Johnson and Ward, both motocross and off-road stars, make their returns to SST after last racing in the inaugural season in 2013, Johnson made four starts that year and scored a runner-up finish at San Diego, while Ward ran the first four races with a highest placement of eighth at Long Beach and San Diego.

“We couldn’t be happier to be in Nashville with the Crosley Stadium Super Trucks,” said LeMastus. “We just enjoy being involved and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix is going to be a huge annual event. Scott Borchetta from Big Machine is a big supporter of music and motorsports, and so are we at Crosley. We plan to be involved with this event for many years. In addition to being the title sponsor of the Stadium Super Trucks series, Crosley will also be the primary sponsor on four trucks in the race. Crosley will sponsor the trucks of Arie Luyendyk Jr., Jeff Ward, Ricky Johnson and myself. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The GP will be held on a 2.17-mile, 11-turn street circuit in downtown Nashville. Four ramps will be placed in various locations around the track.

“The addition of Robby Gordon‘s Crosley Stadium Super Trucks to the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix line up is very exciting, as we have added to the massive lineup of entertainment and racing stars coming to Nashville,” race CEO Matt Crews added. “Nashville is a world-class city and global entertainment capital and the SST trucks will be a huge hit on the streets of Nashville.”

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team go into their home grand prix on the back of a frustrating triple-header, however with new upgrades for this weekend they will be looking to start hunting down Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix.

Mercedes go into this weekend having been comfortably beaten by Red Bull at both rounds held at the Red Bull Ring, it leaves the team behind in the constructors and with work to be done.

Lewis Hamilton too has seen the gap between himself and championship leader Verstappen grow significantly, he will be hoping that the 140,000 British fans who will be in attendance on Sunday, will give him and the team the boost they need to start the comeback. Hamilton has always performed well at Silverstone, his home-race of course, this weekend will be even more special for the world champion though after having the newly named Hamilton straight named after the seven-time world champion.

Valtteri Bottas ended the triple-header as the faster of the two Mercedes at Spielberg, the Finnish driver who continues to be racing for his seat goes into this weekend full of confidence.

This weekend also see’s the first trial of the brand new weekend format, with qualifying on Friday evening and a sprint race on Saturday afternoon to determine the grid for Sunday’s race. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff is really looking forward to all the challenges the team face this weekend with the new format, and hopes the sold out crowd will give the team a much needed boost.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing go into this weekend’s British Grand Prix in imperious form, the championship leader became the youngest driver ever to reach fifty career podiums after his victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen will be doing all he can to make it four wins in a row at Silverstone this weekend, in front of a full capacity crowd on Sunday. The Dutchman is aware however that they will be fully behind title rival Lewis Hamilton, who will be looking to claw back some points on Verstappen.

The championship leader also has the new weekend format to deal with, he will be hoping for a clean sprint race on Saturday, to give him every chance on Sunday to extend his incredible run of form after an amazing start to the season.

“Having fans back will really make the difference at Silverstone and the British crowd love motorsport in general which means it is a special place to be. Last year we did two races with no crowds and the atmosphere was missing, it’s of course still an amazing track, but to have the fans back again is going to make it even better and even though I know they will be supporting the British drivers I love to see the passion that they have for all of us. I just hope that the race is going to be exciting for them too.

“We’ve started the season off really well and of course I’m very happy about that, but we have to keep on pushing, we can’t just be thinking about our results so far. It’s going to be really tight and a challenge for the rest of the year but that is what makes it exciting.

The Mclaren F1 Team go into their home race this weekend at the British Grand Prix, where for the first time since 2019 there will be a full capacity crowd at the Silverstone Circuit.

The team go into their home race on the back of a brilliant Austrian Grand Prix where Lando Norris collected another podium for his slowly growing collection, and Daniel Ricciardo had one of his best races yet for the team. It means the team go into their home race full of positivity and confidence as they look to keep their strong momentum going.

The team will also have the brand new weekend format to consider, with a 100km sprint race taking place on Saturday to decide the grid for Sunday’s main race. Mclaren Team Principal Andreas Seidl is looking forward to trialling the new weekend format in front of a packed out home-crowd, where the team will be doing all they can to add to their rapidly growing constructors tally.

“Following the conclusion of the first triple-header of the season, we now look forward to racing at our home grand prix this weekend. It’s great that the British Grand Prix will see a full-capacity crowd, with our fans and many team members supporting from the grandstands, while ensuring the appropriate measures are in place to keep everyone safe. 

“This weekend will also see the first sprint qualifying session of the year take place. We’re looking forwarding to trialling the new Saturday sprint format as we continue to see the sport develop and encourage closer and exciting racing for the fans. “

Lando Norris goes into his home race at the British Grand Prix on the back of an unbelievable triple-header, where he claimed his third Formula 1 podium.

Norris has undoubtedly been one of the star drivers this season, consistently topping the midfield and being capable of fighting with Red Bull Racing and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team. The British Mclaren F1 Team driver will be hoping to continue his extraordinary form into Silverstone, in front of 140,000 home supporters on Sunday.

After the horrific and disgusting ordeal Norris experienced when leaving the EURO 2020 final, where he was mugged and had his one of a kind watch stolen, the driver can be assured that the British fans will be fully behind Norris this weekend to give him as much motivation as possible.

Norris will do his best to put the horrible event in the back of his mind, and fully focus on extending his run this weekend of being the only driver this season to finish in the points at every race. It may not be as easy this weekend with the brand new Saturday sprint race for all the drivers to deal with.

Overall Norris feels good going into his home grand prix on the back of another podium, the Mclaren driver is also excited to see so many fans back in the grandstands.

Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda’s Pierre Gasly goes into the British Grand Prix having shown strong pace throughout the season so far, he will be hoping to keep his form going at a circuit he loves.

This weekend’s grand prix isn’t like any other, with the first trial run of the brand new weekend format, featuring a Saturday sprint race. Normal qualifying will take place on Friday evening and will decide the grid for a 100km sprint race on Saturday. The results of the sprint race will determine the grid for Sunday’s race.

The new format brings a new challenge to the majority of drivers on the grid who haven’t experienced a sprint race since their junior category days. Gasly has been working hard with his team to prepare for the sprint race, at a circuit which he rates as one of his favourites.

“We’ve worked a lot with the engineers, and I’ve been in the simulator, looking at all the possible scenarios for the new format with the Sprint Qualifying race. It should be good fun. We’ve also got new tyres from Pirelli. It’s been done mainly for safety and from what I experienced, trying them in Austria, I think they will feel pretty similar.
 
“I love Silverstone, it’s one of my favourite tracks, especially the run through Maggots and Becketts, which is one of the most exciting sequences of the season. Although overtaking is meant to be difficult at Silverstone, it is possible and I managed some good passes last year, having some enjoyable fights including passing Seb (Vettel) round the outside at the right hander before the chicane.
 
“I enjoyed racing in front of the fans in Austria and for Silverstone they’re announcing a full capacity crowd, the atmosphere should be great and I’m looking forward to it.”

“I am feeling fairly confident” – Yuki Tsunoda

After a difficult triple-header filled with errors, rookie Yuki Tsunoda goes into the British Grand Prix with previous success at the Silverstone Circuit in Formula 2 last season.

Sebastian Vettel says he is looking forward to racing at Silverstone once more this weekend, with the German aiming to return to the points for the first time since the French Grand Prix.

Neither race at the Red Bull Ring brought the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team driver a top ten finish, with his Austrian Grand Prix two weeks ago culminating in a final lap crash with his former Scuderia Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen.

Despite this, he sits tenth in the Drivers’ Championship heading into the British Grand Prix, and Vettel believes there will be plenty of opportunities for proper racing in what will be Aston Martin’s first time racing at their home venue since the team was rebranded during the off season.

“I’m looking forward to racing at Silverstone again,” said Vettel, who has won twice at Silverstone in 2009 and 2018.  “There’s a lot of high-speed sections at this circuit with good places for overtaking, so I think there will be opportunities for some proper racing.

“It’s an important weekend for the team as well, so I’m looking forward to getting started.”

After the highs of the Puebla E-Prix, Edoardo Mortara’s New York City E-Prix was one to forget for the Swiss racer, with the pre-race championship leader ending both races outside the points.

The ROKiT Venturi Racing driver took a win and a third place in Mexico three weeks ago to come to New York on top of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship standings.

But Saturday’s opening race was compromised in Qualifying as he was unable to use his full 250kW mode for his one flying lap, leaving him at the back of the field.  Despite feeling he had a strong car beneath him, he was only able to climb from twenty-third on the grid to fourteenth.

“We were able to show some really good pace in FP2 but an issue in qualifying compromised my race today,” said Mortara on Saturday.  “When I started my push lap, I wasn’t able to go into the 250kW mode so I did my group run with a 50kW power disadvantage to my competitors.

“Starting from P23, the only way was forward but we were able to do an intelligent race and I gained nine positions to finish P14.”

Alexander Sims scored a sixth-place finish in race two of the New York City E-Prix on Sunday, but the Mahindra Racing driver admits the race pace at the Brooklyn Street Circuit appeared to abandon them.

Sims was forced to retire from Saturday’s opening race after contact from behind caused a puncture, but he recovered on Sunday to score points, coming out first of a close battle between himself and Dragon/Penske Autosport’s Sérgio Sette Câmara to run seventh and then passing the damaged car of Mitch Evans on the final lap to take sixth.

Mahindra have often shown to have better race pace than it shows in Qualifying, but Sims feels it was not as strong as they had hoped it would be on Sunday, which left them scratching their heads to why they finished over sixteen seconds off race winner Sam Bird.

“Yesterday was frustrating with the puncture,” said Sims.  “I think I got hit by [Norman] Nato, but it was a bit of a racing incident, which was unfortunate as we were clawing positions back after struggling with pace at the start.

“Today was a solid race and I’m pleased with it – we had a lot of clean air so we just did our own thing and brought the car home.

Both the Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team drivers finished inside the top five in race two of the New York City E-Prix on Sunday, but both felt an even better result was possible around the Brooklyn Street Circuit.

Pascal Wehrlein started and finished fourth while André Lotterer ended up fifth after starting sixth. But the German pairing both felt this was below what they were hoping for.

DS Techeetah’s António Félix da Costa managed to jump both drivers when using his attack modes, and when Mitch Evans clipped the wall whilst running second and fell down the order, it was the Portuguese racer who was in prime position to take the final spot on the podium.

And Wehrlein says they will look into what went wrong in New York and come back stronger in the London E-Prix in two weeks time.

“We earned important points for the team,” said Wehrlein.  “Still, we always want the maximum and more would definitely have been possible today.

RAM Racing climbed to joint-top of the standings after a second-place finish in the third round of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship, having started from pole position at Donington Park.

The #6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was on the pace from the offset in Leicestershire, finishing FP1 and FP2 second and fourth respectively, giving Yelmer Buurman and Ian Loggie plenty of confidence going into qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

That confidence wasn’t unfounded, either, as the Pro-Am pair prevailed in the combined qualifying session by half a tenth from the WPI Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo of Phil Keen and Michael Igoe.

Their nearest challenger wouldn’t even see the second corner of the two-hour race, though, as it was spun by the Team Parker Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Nick Jones at Redgate, before being collected by Leo Machitski‘s Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini, putting both out of the race.

Though the Mercedes sat sixth in the warm-up session on Sunday morning, it had pace when it mattered, surviving a chaotic opening stint truncated by several safety car periods as over half of the GT4 entrants retired with damage or mechanical issues.