Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Santino Ferrucci‘s partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing continues once again, this time to pilot the No. 45 Honda at the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix of Nashville.

This partnership began with an entry at the Indianapolis 500, and continued through both races of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix as well as the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. In all of these races, the twenty-three year old American has not finished outside the top ten.

“I’m super excited to be back driving for RLL and Hy-Vee,” Ferrucci said.

“It’s going to be an incredible race as it’s our first time racing in the streets of Nashville.”

“The track has an incredible layout that has us racing over a bridge. I have been to the track before on a scooter so I at least know a little about the layout. I’m excited to get the chance to continue with consistent top-10 finishes for the team but I definitely think we can challenge for a win if the weekend goes smoothly.”

One of NASCAR‘s worst-kept secrets is finally official. On Tuesday, Roush Fenway Racing announced Brad Keselowski has joined the team as co-owner and driver of the #6 Ford Mustang for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. He will also serve on the team’s competition committee.

“This is an unbelievably unique arrangement for us and it’s something that, in our mind, solidifies and fortifies our future and guarantees that we’re going to be at the top and trying to excel for decades to come,” team president Steve Newmark said in a press conference at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “The transaction essentially has three pieces, it’s why we say it’s a little bit different than the normal arrangement we’ve entered into in the past.

“The first is that Brad will be behind the wheel of the #6 car starting in 2022 and will pilot that vehicle for years to come. He will also be purchasing a minority ownership stake in the company so, along with Roush Industries and Jack (Roush) and the Fenway Group, that triumvirate will lead us from a strategic perspective for years to came. And then very importantly, Brad will also be assuming a leadership mantle at our organisation. Even while he’s driving, he will be on the competition committee. Once his driving career runs his course, whenever that may be and whenever he decides that that’s the time, he will shift over into an even greater role leading our competition side.

“From our perspective, this is the next step in the evolution of our team and we’re extremely confident that this is going to facilitate and allow us to excel for years to come.”

After spending the last decade driving for and winning the 2012 championship with Team Penske, Keselowski confirmed his 2022 departure last Thursday as Austin Cindric is set to take over his #2.

The postponement of the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight last Thursday leaves the Boost Mobile Super Trucks without a race weekend for the month of August. While the event, held at Sydney Motorsport Park, is not off the books for 2021, it is unknown when it will take place or if the Repco Supercars Championship have a backup date in mind.

“Supercars advises that the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight, scheduled for 20-22 August will be moved to later in the year,” read a statement from Supercars on Thursday. “Due to current and evolving COVID-19 restrictions Supercars has determined a later date will provide a safe and preferable event experience for Supercars teams, spectators and officials. All other events scheduled on the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship calendar will proceed as scheduled.

“Tickets purchased for the event will remain valid for the new running dates, which will be announced soon.”

The capital of New South Wales has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as July progressed. The day before Supercars postponed the SuperNight, Greater Sydney was placed under lockdown in response to an outbreak in the city. Under the restrictions, entertainment facilities are closed to the public and travellers may not enter Greater Sydney without a “reasonable excuse”, such as returning home if one lives there or if eligible for a vaccination.

On Tuesday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian reported seventy-eight new COVID-19 cases, adding to a total of 1,400 since the first reports of a positive test on 16 June; twenty-seven of those seventy-eight came during the virus’ infectious period. Although Berejiklian stated the number decline is “always pleasing” to see, transmission in workplaces and homes remains an issue.

Following the controversial collision between title-rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix, Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi has discussed the importance of stewards not considering the consequences of an accident when awarding a penalty.

The statement from Masi came after Hamilton and Verstappen collided on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Hamilton was on the inside of Verstappen going into Copse but wasn’t quite ahead. Neither driver backed off meaning an inevitable collision occurred as they turned into the corner. Hamilton caught Verstappen’s right-rear, sending him hurtling into the barrier at 51G’s.

The incident saw Verstappen immediately retire from the race, the Dutchman also took a precautionary trip to hospital. Hamilton won the race despite being awarded a ten-second time penalty for the collision.

Not only Red Bull Racing but many fans too were angry with what they deemed to be a lenient penalty, considering Verstappen was out of the race as a result of the crash and had to go to hospital. In an interview since the race, Masi discussed that the stewards “judge an incident based on the incident itself” and “not consider the consequences in an incident”.

“I think one of the big parts that’s been a mainstay for many, many years, and this came through discussions prior to my time between all of the teams, the FIA and F1, and the team principals were all quite adamant, is that you should not consider the consequences in an incident.

Formula 1, the FIA and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, have all come forward releasing a joint statement condemning the disgusting racist abuse Lewis Hamilton has been subject to on social media, following his controversial victory at the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton took his eighth victory at Silverstone, after making an incredible comeback from serving a ten-second time penalty for colliding with championship leader Max Verstappen on the opening lap. As the drivers went into the terrifyingly quick Copse corner, Hamilton was on the inside of Verstappen but not quite ahead, the pair collided as they entered the corner with Hamilton hitting the right-rear on Verstappen’s car.

The collision sent Verstappen spinning into the barrier and experiencing an impact measured at 51G’s. The race was red flagged as a result and Hamilton was awarded a ten-second time penalty. After the crash Verstappen took a precautionary trip to the local hospital for a check-up. Despite the penalty Hamilton drove remarkably well to make up the time lost when observing the penalty, and claim another famous win at Silverstone.

Unfortunately when the race restarted, monkey emojis, racist slurs and death threats all directed at Hamilton, were being posted online at a horrendous rate in the comment section of Mercedes and Hamilton’s posts.

Verstappen added yet more drama to the already heated incident, after tweeting at his disgust that Hamilton celebrated so dramatically despite the Dutchman being in hospital. Red Bull Racing bosses including Helmut Marko and Christian Horner, both came forward as well to express their disgust at Hamilton’s actions on track.

The 2021 British Grand Prix produced a controversial win for Lewis Hamilton as he recorded his first win since the fourth race of the season. Hamilton cut Max Verstappen’s lead of thirty-three points by twenty-five points in the 2021 FIA World Drivers’ Championship.

On a scorchingly hot day at the Silverstone circuit, the two main title contenders Hamilton and Verstappen clashed at the high speed Copse corner on the first lap. Verstappen ended up in the barriers with a heavy crash of over 50G.

The Dutchman was heavily winded but walked away from the crash and was taken to hospital for a precautionary checkup. The incident will be heavily debated in the days to come and the gloves are off in the championship fight.

Top of the class…

Charles Leclerc – Scuderia Ferrari

Sprint Qualifying margin to team-mate: -36.520s | Race margin to team-mate: -39.583s

Charles Leclerc qualified in fourth position on Friday and retained that position in the Sprint Qualifying race. The Monégasque driver had a great start in the race and overtook Valtteri Bottas to take third position.

When the two main title contenders clashed in front of him, Leclerc took the lead of the race on the first lap. In an impressive first stint even as he battled with power unit issues, Leclerc held his own and maintained an over two seconds gap from Hamilton.

A race that started disastrously for NASCAR ended with the Cup Series playoff picture being turned on its head. Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway began with chaos as the race proceeded despite obvious rain conditions, resulting in the leader wrecking and a red flag. The lengthy delay from waiting out the weather led to the distance being shortened by ten laps as the track does not have lights, which bought Aric Almirola enough time to find a glimmer in what has been a difficult season by scoring his and Stewart-Haas Racing‘s first wins of the year.

Kyle Busch started on the pole and led the first six laps before Mother Nature kicked off the turmoil. The ensuing rain resulted in Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing team-mates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin spinning, with Busch hitting the wall and ending his race to give him the dubious honour of being a last-place-finishing pole-sitter. Busch made his frustrations known by bumping the pace car multiple times during the ensuing caution, an action that NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller said would not result in punishment as Busch was already retired from the race.

The decision to keep the race going despite the weather was slammed by many, who drew comparisons to the 2001 All-Star Race and IndyCar’s 2011 New Hampshire race as both sanctioning bodies elected to proceed in wet conditions. NASCAR had experimented with wet tyres on ovals in April, but opted not to bring them to the race. Truex said during the ensuing red flag that “slicks don’t stick to water. […]

“The lap before I went into (turn) one and about did the same thing and I hollered on the radio that the track is wet, like wet, wet. I tried to back it down and I got in there and it just kept going. I couldn’t even slow it down. At some point you have to turn the wheel and that’s when it spins out.”

“We started the race under a mist. It never should have gone green to begin with, but then it kept getting worse and worse lap over lap,” commented Bsuch. “The lap before I went into (turn) one and it shoved the nose really bad and I was able to keep it under control. It wasn’t bad enough. The next time I went down there, I lifted at the flag stand—maybe a little past the flag stand, don’t get too dramatic—and just backed it in. We’ve been talking about it for two laps that it was raining. There’s no sense in saying what I want to say, it doesn’t do you any good.”

Max Verstappen’s recent domination came to a dramatically sudden halt at Silverstone, after crashing out of the British Grand Prix on the opening lap after colliding with Lewis Hamilton at Copse. Verstappen as a result took a precautionary trip to the local hospital.

Max Verstappen’s championship lead has been cut to just eight points after Hamilton fought back to win the British Grand Prix after being awarded a ten second time penalty.

The talking point came on the opening lap at the incredibly fast Copse corner. Up until Copse, Verstappen defended well to keep an eager Hamilton just behind, both drivers knew how important it was to lead early on. Hamilton got a brilliant drive out of Luffield and pulled a dummy on Verstappen to go up the inside of Hamilton going into Copse.

Neither driver was prepared to yield as they headed into the corner, it was at this point it all went horribly wrong, the two collided mid-corner and Hamilton caught the rear of Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing car, sending him flying into the barrier and experiencing an impact measured at 51G, terrifying numbers to try and interpret.

As a result of the crash the red flag was flown and thankfully Verstappen walked away. Since the crash Verstappen took a precautionary trip to the hospital having experienced some concussion symptoms, however all is okay and the Dutchman has since been released from hospital.

Following Max Verstappen’s high speed crash at Copse Corner after colliding with Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing have released the following statement on the Dutchman’s current condition.

“Following a first lap incident at Copse Corner between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix, we can confirm that Max Verstappen walked away from his car and was immediately taken to Silverstone Circuit Medical Centre.

“Following an assessment by the trackside doctors at Silverstone Circuit Medical Centre, Max was taken by helicopter to Coventry Hospital for further tests and observation.

“We are pleased to confirm that Max was released from hospital at 22:00 this evening, following a thorough medical examination, without any major injuries. 

“Max and the Team would like to thank the trackside Marshalls and medical staff for their exceptional care both on-site at Silverstone and at Coventry Hospital.”

Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team finally brought an end to Red Bull Racing’s recent domination, with victory at the British Grand Prix. The race saw a high-speed collision between Hamilton and Max Verstappen on the opening lap, which saw Verstappen suffer a huge 51G impact at Copse Corner.

Lewis Hamilton drove an incredible comeback race to claim his eighth victory at Silverstone and close to within eight points of championship leader Verstappen, after the Dutchman crashed out at high speed on the opening lap.

The title-fighting pair finally collided! Verstappen defended well on the opening lap to just about keep Hamilton at bay, however on the run down to Copse for the first time, Hamilton pulled the dummy on Verstappen and moved to the inside as they headed into the corner. Then the impact came, as they both turned in Hamilton caught Verstappen’s rear tyre sending him flying into the barrier and experience a huge impact measured at 51G’s. Thankfully Verstappen is okay.

The crash saw the red flag come out and also saw Hamilton awarded a ten-second penalty.

The crash has left fans and drivers divided, some blame Hamilton for the collision for not taking a tighter line, whereas others blame Verstappen for cutting across the world champion.

Lewis Hamilton became an eight time British Grand Prix winner after an incredible comeback drive after a dramatic start at Silverstone, which saw a high-speed collision with title-rival Max Verstappen. Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team team-mate Valtteri Bottas rounded off the podium.

In what was one of the most intense opening laps to a grand prix in many years, Hamilton got the better launch off the line going into turn one. Verstappen did well to defend and continued to do so all the round to Copse corner, the pair both knew how important it was to lead early on.

Hamilton got brilliant drive coming out of Luffield and pulled the dummy on Verstappen, cutting to the inside of the Red Bull Racing driver as they headed into Copse at incredible speed. Drama then struck as neither driver prepared to yield as they entered Copse, Hamilton tagged Verstappen’s rear sending him flying into the barrier and experiencing impact at 51G’s of force, destroying his race and his Red Bull. Following the crash Verstappen went to the hospital for a check-up. The red flag was also flown.

The incident divided many people’s opinion, however there was still a race to be won. As a result of the crash Hamilton was awarded a ten-second time penalty to be taken during his pit-stop.

Incredibly as the grid lined up for the restart it was Charles Leclerc on pole from Hamilton. Hamilton sat behind Leclerc during the opening stint before taking his pit-stop. The stop saw Hamilton drop fourteen seconds behind leader Leclerc as well as drop the world champion to fourth behind Lando Norris and Bottas. Norris was easily overtaken by Hamilton, as too was Bottas who was instructed to let Hamilton by, this left Hamilton eleven laps to close what was then nine seconds to Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for a record 8th time in highly controversial style after a lap 1 clash with Max Verstappen. The Briton battled back from a ten second penalty to win the Grand Prix, but was very lucky not to have gotten a more costly penalty after the incident.

Hamilton and Verstappen sparred spectacularly throughout the opening lap of the race but made contact at Copse when Hamilton tried to make a pass up the inside of the corner. This attempt ended with Verstappen spinning hard into the barriers and out of the race. He was then brought to the hospital for precautionary checks due to the force of the crash, which reached 51G. Hamilton damaged his front-wing in the incident but was able to repair the car during the subsequent Red Flag required to fix damage to track structures.

Charles Leclerc lead the eventual restart having passed Valtteri Bottas into Village on the first lap. From the start, Leclerc aced his getaway in order to stay in front, with Bottas, Lando Norris and Hamilton following behind. Sebastian Vettel had originally made a strong start to the race, but all that was undone after he spun coming out of Luffield. Leclerc managed to maintain his advantage over the chasing cars despite incessant pressure, but was heard reporting engine cut-outs on lap 16. The issue recurred intermittently for the Monegasque throughout the race but he still managed to keep his cool. Norris held well in third but a slow wheel on his pitstop on Lap 21 cost him around an extra four seconds, allowing Bottas to scrape through.

On Lap 27 Hamilton came in for his Pit-stop and to serve the ten second time penalty he had recieved for the Lap 1 incident, subsequently coming out in fitfth behind Norris. Leclerc was having a sensational race and showing his true talent up front, but behind, Hamilton was on the charge, passing Norris for third on Lap 31. He had moved up to second place by Lap 40 with some help from his Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team teammate and was now just 7.3s adrift of the Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow car. Hamilton lapped relentlessly fast – and despite Ferrari giving Leclerc access to every inch of power that the car had, Hamilton had wound the gap down to just a second by Lap 50.

Then, the moment that the British crowd had been praying for all weekend came, as at the same corner where Hamilton had ended Verstappen’s race earlier, he sent his black Mercedes down the inside of Leclerc’s Red Prancing Horse, ending the Monegasque unable to hold onto his grip, catching the kerb and taking to the run-off as Hamilton swept into the lead. From here, he eased to victory, taking a Union Jack along with him as he passed the checkered flag and running to the infield section to celebrate this major turning-point in the championship, as Verstappen’s lead was cut to just eight points.

The F4 U.S. Championship made their first ever trip to Brainerd International Raceway this weekend, and in three chaotic races we saw championship leaders fall, Canadians dominate, and a first-time winner in Bryson Morris.

Nico Christodoulou sat on the pole for the first race of the weekend, his first of the season. He led the field to a two-by-two rolling start as the lighting system malfunctioned, chased down by fellow countryman Mac Clark. On the first lap of the race, Clark made contact with championship leader Noel Leon in exit of turn four sending him spinning. A separate incident on the entrance to turn four collected Seth Foley, Arturo Flores and Emily Linscott. The combined accidents brought out the first full course yellow of the day, and marked the end of the race for all but Leon.

Christodoulou cruised for the rest of the race, taking the victory from flag to flag. Clark finished in second and Louka St-Jean took his first podium of the year to round out the first all-Canadian podium in F4 U.S. history. Unfortunately, due to not enough laps being run under green, the race was not counted for points.

Frontrunner Bijoy Garg, who started fourth, was one of two other drivers not classified at the end of the race along with Jake Bonilla. Both retired after completing eight laps. Early championship leader Jason Alder continued to struggle in the first race, finishing twentieth one lap down. Bonilla, Flores and Foley were unable to be repaired in time for the second race.

Christodoulou led the field to green once again for race two, joined by Clark on the front row. The two dueled in a league of their own for the entire race, a full two seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. An early incident saw Chloe Chambers spin in the same tricky turn four area, ending her day after only two laps.

Kalle Rovanperä is a history maker. The 20-year-old Finnish Driver took top honours at this weekend’s FIA World Rally Championship event, Rally Estonia. The Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver led the Hyundai Motorsport pair of Craig Breen and Thierry Neuville. 

Rovanperä started the weekend strong, taking top honours in Thursday’s curtain-raiser. His pace continued in blistering form on Friday’s stages as he took two of the morning stages and the Rally Lead. 

There was no such luck for home hero Ott Tänak though, who slipped to 7th in the standings following a front tyre puncture on SS3. In the latter Kanepi stage, things went from bad to worse. An off for Tänak ending his day, dashing his hopes of a fourth consecutive victory in his homeland of Estonia. Similar poor luck befell M-Sport Ford’s Gus Greensmith on SS4, out with mechanical issues. 

Taking the challenge to Rovanpera was Craig Breen for Hyundai Motorsports. He was equal fastest in SS3 and 2nd fastest in SS4. The fight for the lead was tight, just 7.1 seconds separating Rovanpera and Breen after SS5. Championship leader Sébastein Ogier was the best of the rest in third, 33.5 seconds off the rally lead.

Friday’s afternoon stages saw Ogier and his teammate Elfyn Evans do their best to keep in touch with the rally leaders, especially had he not dropped time in the morning. Neuville made a charge, top-three stage times for the entire afternoon. However, at the top of the tree remained Breen and Rally leader Rovanpera. The battle between the pair was tight, just 8.5 seconds at the end of Friday’s running. Neuville was in a distant 3rd, 53.4 seconds off the lead. Ogier was a further 6 seconds behind the Belgian, Evans rounded out the top five.

The British Grand Prix has been red flagged after a high-speed crash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen left the Red Bull Racing driver in the barriers at Copse corner.

The two championship leaders were fighting in close quarters throughout the opening lap at Silverstone, with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver looking to find a way ahead of Verstappen on multiple occasions.

Hamilton appeared to get a run on Verstappen heading down the old pit straight and into the high speed Copse corner, only for the Dutchman to edge back ahead heading into the corner.  The two touched on the apex of the turn, with Verstappen coming off worse.

The right-rear wheel of Verstappen’s car was ripped off his RB16B in the incident and he struck the barriers hard.  He gingerly got out of the car but appeared to escape injury.  Hamilton reported damage to his front wing in the incident and blamed Verstappen for the accident over the radio.

Charles Leclerc is the current race leader after sliding in front of Hamilton on the exit of Copse.  The Scuderia Ferrari driver had jumped Valtteri Bottas at the start but is currently out of his Ferrari after the race was stopped to repair the barriers that Verstappen struck.