Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Jacques Villeneuve celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his FIA Formula 1 World Championship triumph by testing a 2021 car provided by the BWT Alpine F1 Team ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Canadian, who won the World Title back in 1997 whilst driving for the Renault-powered Williams Racing team, took to the track at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on board Alpine’s A521, a car that took victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix last year in the hands of Esteban Ocon.

Villeneuve took seven victories in 1997 with Williams and came out on top of a fantastic battle with Scuderia Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher, with the title battle going down to the wire at season finale in the European Grand Prix at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain.

The now fifty-one-year-old completed eighteen laps of the Monza track under the watchful eyes of Ocon and was also reunited with current Sporting Director at Alpine, Alan Permane, who acted as his race engineer when he raced for the Renault F1 Team for three races in 2004.

“Testing the 2021 Alpine F1 car at Monza was an incredible experience,” Villeneuve said.  “The last F1 car I drove was in 2006 and the cornering speed of the modern cars is unbelievable.

Williams Racing’s Alex Albon retired on lap twenty-six of the Singapore Grand Prix after a lock up saw him crash into the barrier at turn eight. In sixteenth place before the incident occurred, the Thai driver lost his front wing and consequently took to the pits, ultimately unable to rejoin the race. 

Albon admitted that the crash was driver error and a direct result of the track’s damp conditions, which made it hard to gauge how the brakes would react. 

“It’s a bit frustrating and was difficult out there tonight. It’s confusing with nothing different from the previous lap, however I just locked up on the front left with the wet making it difficult to predict the brakes. 

“Whilst there wasn’t an issue and ultimately it comes down to driver error, the brakes are very tricky in the wet and it’s hard to get them in the right window.”

Though disappointed in the end result, Albon wasn’t expecting a points finish for the team at Marina Bay. He will, however, be looking to fight for a better finish in the second half of the double header, the Japanese Grand Prix. 

After months of it being unofficially known, Season Two Champion of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Sébastien Buemi has been announced as Envision Racing‘s new driver for the start of the new era of the all-electric series.

The Swiss driver joins Envision on a multi-year deal having left the side formerly known as Nissan e.dams, who are now known simply as the Nissan FE Team. The highly successful driver who has tasted success in both Formula E and is a four-time Le Mans 24 Hours victor, replaces Robin Frijns at the British side and will feature alongside Nick Cassidy.

Buemi joins Envision having spent the entirety of his Formula E career with e.dams, who had their operational arm in the Nissan team bought out by the Japanese manufacturer back in April.

It means that Buemi will have to accustom to a number of new faces, something it’s safe to say he will have been doing during pre-season. The thirty-three year-old is one of the most successful drivers in the all-electric series’ eight-year history, boasting an impressive thirteen victories, twenty-nine podiums, fourteen poles, and, of course, the Season Two title which he famously won at the London E-Prix.

The Aigle, Switzerland born driver is, of course, also an ex-Formula 1 driver for the team known now as Scuderia AlphaTauri, but were formerly known as Scuderia Toro Rosso. The Swiss driver made fifty-five starts in the championship across 2009-2011, before losing his seat at the Oracle Red Bull Racing owned side.

Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway saw a frightening crash on lap 20 when Jordan Anderson’s truck burst into flames before hitting the inside wall, with Anderson unbuckling himself and escaping from the burning vehicle moments before impact. He suffered second-degree burns to his neck, face, right arm, hands, and both knees, necessitating medical attention.

He was airlifted to the nearby University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital before being discharged later in the day. His treatment continued over the next two days which included a brief hospital stay on Sunday. He intends to visit the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s burn ward on Tuesday for further evaluation.

“Thank you everyone for the texts, calls, and prayers,” Anderson posted on social media Monday. “Haven’t been able to be on my phone, but I am so humbled by the overwhelming support.

“Had to go to the ER last night for some side effects, so heading to the Wake Forest burn center tomorrow. Getting better by the day!”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. lent his private plane to Anderson’s family for easier travel on Saturday night. Anderson described the generosity as having “made the trip home a lot easier and now have been trying to get as much rest as possible.”

Coming off his first Extreme E podium in Chile, Nasser Al-Attiyah intends to return to the series in 2023. He revealed the plans in an interview with Motorsport Network’s multimedia manager Alberto De Armas, which was published on Monday.

“The future for Extreme E is very much about being nature friendly, and they are doing a lot of things to help various causes,” said Al-Attiyah. “Of course, I will be part of Extreme E next season.”

Shortly after winning his fourth Dakar Rally, Al-Attiyah joined ABT CUPRA XE for the 2022 Extreme E season. Teaming up with Jutta Kleinschmidt, the duo was plagued by misfortunes that included a time penalty after winning the Island X Prix #1 Crazy Race, disqualification in the Island X Prix #2 Final, and Kleinschmidt suffering an injury while practicing for the Copper X Prix. However, Al-Attiyah and interim team-mate Klara Andersson quickly found their stride at the event when they finished third. ABT CUPRA sits eighth in the championship.

“Extreme E for me is totally new, I have tried to adapt to the new things for the category, and I think I have the pace and I am strong,” he told De Armas. “I just need to learn, and next year we can win the championship.”

Besides Extreme E, Al-Attiyah is competing for the World Rally-Raid Championship, where a single point separates him and fellow XE driver Sébastien Loeb in the T1 class standings. In the ongoing Rallye du Maroc, Al-Attiyah won the prologue and is currently seventh overall after two stages.

NASCAR and Formula One fans know all too well about races being shortened by weather, but having the stage of a race whittled down due to an error in the roadbook is a new one.

The Hills of Russia Baja, the fourth round of the Russian Rally-Raid Championship, saw the final twenty-one kilometres of last Saturday’s second stage in Ulyanovsk struck from the official result due to the navigation devices given to all competitors having the wrong coordinates for the finish line inserted. Consequently, the 271-km stage was whittled down to 250.

When teams crossed KM 250, the incorrect coordinates resulted in them driving around looking for the final waypoint. As the rest of the field caught up to the leaders, an “anthill of cars” began to develop before race officials realised the problem. It was another bizarre and comedic chapter for the 2022 Russian Rally-Raid Championship, whose Silk Way Rally in July was marred by multiple vehicles being trapped in water while trying to cross a ford.

“We drove exactly according to the legend,” said Sergey Krenev, the co-driver to KAMAZ-master‘s Bogdan Karimov, after the stage. “The only thing is that after twenty kilometres, there was confusion with the points, perhaps a mistake of the organisers. We lost time due to this, but quickly got our bearings and went to the finish line. We met Andrey Karginov, apparently, he was also trying to take the point and is still not at the finish line.”

Once the predicament was sorted out, the T1 of Vasilyev Racing Team‘s Vladimir Vasilyev won the overall in the stage with a time of 2:34:35. MAZ-SPORTauto‘s Sergey Vyazovich was the Truck category victor with 2:41:37 ahead of Karginov.

Stage #1B of the Rallye du Maroc did not go according to plan for Sébastien Loeb, but he made the most of Stage #2 on Monday as he and Bahrain Raid Xtreme team-mate Orlando Terranova set the two fastest T1 times in the run from Tan Tan to Laâyoune.

Loeb’s time of 2:56:54 topped Terranova’s 3:07:09, completing a strong rebound after the previous leg saw him finish ninth following various mechanical trouble. Guerlain Chicherit, racing for his own team with a BRX alliance, was third at 3:15:02 to secure a 1–2–3 class finish for Prodrive Hunters.

“After yesterday’s troubles, we had a really good stage without many mistakes at all; just one puncture in over 300 kilometres wasn’t bad at all to make it a clean run,” said Loeb. “They’d made the navigation very difficult in there, really making you work to find the way points, but that’s rally raid and that’s why it’s so satisfying to win a stage like this.”

Stage #1B T1 winner Yazeed Al-Rajhi finished seventh in class. Nasser Al-Attiyah, who had the upper hand on Loeb in the World Rally-Raid Championship T1 points battle when he won the prologue, was plagued by four tyre failures (exacerbating matters was the rule stipulating teams only have two spare tyres at a time) and finished a distant eleventh at 3:50:52.

Guillaume de Mevius topped the T3 category after having “no big issues issue. We’re focused on getting all the mileage we can ahead of the next Dakar.”

Following on from his post-Season Eight move in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship from Dragon/Penske Autosport to the NIO 333 Racing Team, Sergio Sette Câmara has begun getting used to life with his new team, who he revealed have “welcomed” him “very well”.

“I have been welcomed by everyone in the team very well and there seems to be a very good working environment here. I’m really looking forward to the season ahead!

The Brazilian driver had a mixed Season Eight, where he was arguably one of the stars of the Qualifying Duels throughout the season, but had a tendency to fall outside the points places through an issue or a lack of pace.

He grew in confidence as last season went on, though, with his best result having been at the London E-Prix, which was his sole points finish of the season. However, at just twenty-four years-old, he has plenty of time to build in stature and ability, making his move to NIO 333 a smart one by the Shanghai-based side. If he can turn his Qualifying pace into excellent race pace, then he could be on for a very strong Season Nine.

It’s obviously all change for 2023, with the introduction of the new-look Gen3 cars representing the start of the third era of the all-electric series. The new cars which are both more efficient, powerful and drastically faster, will provide an excellent test for all the drivers.

Once Chase Elliott advanced to the NASCAR Cup Series‘ Round of 12, it seemed like he would be a lock for the Round of 8 due to the presence of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval as the second race in the R12. As it turned out, despite non-playoff drivers sweeping the Round of 16, Elliott could do it at the most unpredictable race on the postseason calendar.

After Daniel Hemric‘s car stalled on the exit of pit road with two laps remaining, Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones comprised the front row for the ensuing green flag. Blaney, restarting on the inside line with fellow Ford driver Michael McDowell pushing, had the early advantage while Jones dropped behind Elliott. Once Elliott caught Blaney on the final lap, the latter found some ground in turns three and four before Elliott received enough of a draft from Jones to power past him in the tri-oval and secure the victory.

“He was able to give me a really good shove,” said Elliott in his post-race press conference. “I didn’t feel like I did anything special. I think just the timing of how he got connected, and the two guys on the bottom were also connected, so they weren’t aggressively side drafting us, trying to pull us apart. He did a really good job. I think he deserves a ton of credit for that. Obviously I’m very thankful he was that committed to me for the last lap and a half.

“I have a lot of respect for Erik. I’ve raced with him long enough to trust him in that situation to not turn me around. We certainly pushed right to the limit. It was a handful, but that’s kind of what you have to do in those scenarios. I thought he balanced that well.”

The win is the eighteenth of Elliott’s career and second at Talladega, where he first won in 2019.

It was a difficult FIA Formula 1 World Championship Singapore Grand Prix for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both making bad mistakes from either end of the grid.

Hamilton looked to be battling for a podium in the first half of the race, but as he was chasing down Carlos Sainz Jr. he hit the barriers, meaning he had to repair his damaged front wing. While trying to work his way back through the field, he went too deep into a corner losing a position late on to Max Verstappen, meaning he finished in a disappointing ninth place despite nearly snatching pole position on Saturday.

Russell started from the pitlane due to some reliability concerns and a poor performance in qualifying on Saturday, which saw him knocked out in Q2. A number of errors and a switch to slicks too early saw Russell finish last of all of the runners that saw the chequered flag.

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was disappointed with the team not maximising the car’s race pace, and also explained the gamble to switch Russell to the slick tyres earlier than the rest.

“This season has given us several tough lessons – and today was another one. We started from opposite ends of the grid with our two cars, but we couldn’t capitalise on the car’s race pace with either of them, when it came to an end result. Lewis was fighting for the podium for much of the race – but also battling a car balance that was on a knife edge today, in difficult conditions and on the bumpy surface.

Despite Scuderia Ferrari securing their fourth FIA Formula 1 World Championship double podium finish of the season at the Singapore Grand Prix, Mattia Binotto has admitted that he leaves the Marina Bay Street Circuit with a sense of disappointment after the team failed to secure the race victory.

Charles Leclerc failed to convert pole position into the race win for the seventh time this season after a slow start from the Monegasque driver off the line allowed Sergio Perez to reach turn one in the lead of the race.

Leclerc was largely able to stick with the pace being set by the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver out front but was unable to put himself in a position where an overtake would have been possible. By the time of the changeover point onto the slick tyres, Ferrari and Leclerc opted to do the opposite to Perez, which would see Leclerc bring his F1-75 in for a set of medium tyres the lap before Perez.

A slow out-lap from Leclerc, who was struggling to generate any grip on his new set of medium tyres, would allow Perez to rejoin the grid still in first place. Even with the late threat of a penalty to Sergio Perez for a safety car infringement, which the Mexican was later awarded a five-second time penalty for, Leclerc was unable to pull close enough to Perez that the penalty awarded to the Mexican did not affect the final standings of the race.

For Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard struggled considerably in his first stint of the race on the intermediate tyres and found himself more focused on keeping Lewis Hamilton at bay in fourth place than attempting to join the fight at the front. Hamilton’s mistake which saw him head nose first into the barriers at turn seven, allowed Sainz the necessary respite to get to his second stint still in third place.

Despite achieving his third consecutive podium of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc has been left ruing his poor start to the race, which the Monegasque driver stated put him on the back foot for the remainder of the race.

Leclerc’s work to secure pole position on Saturday at the Marina Bay Street Circuit had been undone by the time the Scuderia Ferrari driver reached turn one as the Monegasque suffered from wheel spin at the race start, allowing Sergio Perez to claim the lead of the race.

The Ferrari driver was able to stick with the pace being set by the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver but was largely unable to threaten the Mexican for the lead of the race. In an attempt to overtake Perez in the pits, Ferrari and Leclerc opted to do the opposite to the race leader, which would see the twenty-four-year-old pit before the Red Bull driver. With Leclerc struggling to generate any grip on his out-lap, the attempt at the undercut would prove unsuccessful as Perez, who pitted a lap later, would rejoin the race still in the lead.

Even with the late possibility of a time penalty being applied to Sergio Perez for a safety car infringement, Leclerc was unable to close the gap to the race leader and would finish seven and a half seconds behind Perez, the deficit would later become just two and a half seconds as Perez was handed a five-second time penalty for the safety car infringement.

Putting the disappointment of once again failing to convert pole position into the race victory to the side, Leclerc stated that he felt the team had taken a step forward in terms of their race execution.

Mike Krack, the Team Principal of Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team, has heaped the praise on both of his drivers after both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel were able to work their way through the tricky conditions of the Singapore Grand Prix to claim the team’s second double points finish of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

Both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel were able to make their way up into the top ten on the opening later, with Vettel particularly enjoying a remarkable start to the race with the German climbing five places to eighth by the end of the opening lap. The Aston Martin duo had taken advantage of Max Verstappen’s poor start to the race but the Dutchmen would soon be passing Lance Stroll on the second lap and would eventually make his way past Sebastian Vettel at the safety-car restart on the eleventh lap of the race.

A mistake from Yuki Tsunoda on lap twenty-one would allow Stroll to rejoin the point-paying positions and just moments later both Aston Martin drivers would be moving up a place in the order as Fernando Alonso’s race came to an abrupt end.

The Aston Martin pitwall followed the rest of the grid in electing to pit both drivers onto a set of medium tyres on lap thirty-four, with Sebastian Vettel coming in first, followed by Lance Stroll a lap later. A slow out-lap from Vettel would subsequently allow Stroll to execute an overcut on his teammate and rejoin the grid in seventh place.  

In the closing stages of the race Vettel was able to fend off an attack from Lewis Hamilton, with the Brit making a mistake into turn eight with just one minute remaining in the Grand Prix, allowing Verstappen to mount a late charge towards the German driver. Verstappen was successful in his pursuit for seventh place as he passed Vettel on the run into turn seven on the final lap of the race but the Dutchmen was unable to pass Lance Stroll, who finished two seconds ahead of the championship leader in sixth place.

After securing his best finish of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, Lance Stroll has hailed his team’s efforts around the Marina Bay Street Circuit as the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team driver was able to secure a sixth-place finish at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Starting from the sixth row of the grid in eleventh place, Stroll would gain one place on the opening lap thanks to the slow start suffered by championship leader Max Verstappen. Stroll would soon fall outside the points on the following lap as the Dutchmen was able to make a late move heading into turn seven to get past the Canadian driver.

Stroll would make his move into the points-paying positions on lap twenty-one by taking advantage of the misfortune of Fernando Alonso’s retirement and Yuki Tsunoda’s slide. As a result of the two incidents, Stroll then found himself running in ninth place, directly behind Sebastian Vettel.

The Aston Martin driver would come in for his one and only pit-stop of the race on lap thirty-six and was able to execute the overcut on his teammate to rejoin the action in seventh place with Vettel placed behind him in eighth.

Stroll would once again gain a place as a result of Max Verstappen’s misfortune after the Dutchmen locked up attempting to overtake Lando Norris into turn seven. Stroll would come home to cross the finish line in sixth place and despite Verstappen’s best efforts to rectify his earlier mistake, the Canadian was able to finish two seconds ahead of the championship leader.

Jody Egginton believed Scuderia AlphaTauri deserved to take more than just a solitary point away from the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, with questionable strategy decisions meaning they dropped down the order.

Having started with both Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda inside the top ten and with weather conditions uncertain following a heavy downpour that saw the race delayed by over an hour, the team scored only a tenth-place finish on Sunday thanks to Gasly, while Tsunoda crashed out.

Egginton, the Technical Director at AlphaTauri, believes the decision from the pit wall to pit both drivers for dry tyres came too early, and it meant Gasly fell behind Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel in the final result.

Tsunoda crashed out at turn ten not long after making his own pit stop, meaning the potential double points finish turned into just a single point and a drop to ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship behind the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team.

“After all of the hard work put in by the team and drivers over the weekend, we have failed to maximise the opportunity to score good points with both cars tonight,” said Egginton.  “This is due to our engineering team committing too early to the switch to dry tyres.