Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Sebastian Vettel is extremely excited for this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after the four-time World Champion took a famous podium at the Baku City Circuit last season.

It was Vettel’s best drive of 2021, the German made the most of others mistakes and secured his first and currently only podium for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team.

Whilst a repeat of his second-place finish seems incredibly unlikely, the streets of Baku always produce shocks and surprises. Nevertheless, the German is “ready to get back” to Azerbaijan.

“It’s great to be back at Baku. It has been one year since I took my first podium with Aston Martin at this track, so this is a special race for me. It will be interesting to see how the new cars adapt to the circuit, especially with the mix of fast and slow speeds around the straights and tight corners, but I am ready to get back out in Azerbaijan.”

“I’m excited to see how we can perform” – Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll on the other hand had a horrific race in Baku last season, after crashing incredibly heavily down the main-straight. The Canadian suffered a horrifying tyre failure at almost 200 mph, which saw the Aston Martin driver strike the wall with some immense force.

Pierre Gasly showed immense pace and racecraft at the Monaco Grand Prix, after storming his way through the field on the Intermediate tyre at the Circuit de Monaco, however, points were not to be for the disappointed Frenchman.

Qualifying cost Gasly dearly in Monaco, after a strategic error saw the French driver drop out in Qualifying 1. This left the Frenchman with an impossible task at Monte-Carlo. Looking back on the Grand Prix, Gasly explained how “gutted” he was with how the weekend unraveled.

“I was really gutted with how Monaco turned out because we were very quick in all the free practice sessions and I felt very comfortable with the track. We’d managed to find a good car set-up for this unique circuit and then, in the one session where we really had to get everything right, we made mistakes that cost us dear, as Qualifying is the most important session of the weekend. We did not manage it well and then, starting from the back, it’s more or less mission impossible. But I was happy about the wet conditions, as that would give us more of a chance.

“I can be very happy with the race, taking risks, pitting on the first lap for Inters in low grip conditions, passing cars and putting on a show, so it was frustrating not be rewarded with at least a point. As a team we know we have work to do to perform at the highest level in the coming races. We know the performance level is there, so we are going to keep pushing even if we have lacked success so far, but there are signs that we still have plenty of chances to do something good, maybe starting this weekend in Baku.”
 
Moving forward, Gasly is excited about the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he took an unexpected podium last season. The Scuderia AlphaTauri driver was one of many to capitalise on the chaos that unfolded.

The French driver finished third at the Baku City Circuit last year, and is expecting another strong weekend at the venue.

Sergio Pérez heads into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix with fond memories of the Baku City Circuit, after claiming his first victory for Red Bull Racing at the venue last season.

The Monaco Grand Prix winner has launched himself into title contention, the Mexican finds himself just fifteen points behind his team-mate in the championship, with so much left to play for.

Pérez claimed victory at Azerbaijan last year under crazy circumstances, after Max Verstappen crashed heavily out of the lead following a scary tyre failure. The Mexican driver will be hoping to make it back-to-back street circuit victories, after signing a two-year contract extension with Red Bull.

Pérez is “grateful for the opportunity” given to him by the Austrian team, and can’t wait to get going this weekend.

“I was very happy to extend my stay with the Team until at least 2024, that tells you the great work we have done together and how happy we are with each other. Having my future decided allows me to stay one hundred percent focused on the main goal of winning races and world titles. It’s amazing how hard work always pays, two years ago I was without a seat in F1 and today I’m in the best team.

Unique racing helmets are not uncommon at prestigious races, but Luis Felipe ‘Pipo’ Derani‘s 24 Hours of Le Mans helmet has a special twist. The one-off design, created by renowned French Artist Jean-Baptiste Launay – better known as Jisbar – will be auctioned off after it is race with this weekend with all proceeds going to the GRAACC Hospital in Sao Paulo.

The reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar champion came up with the project as a way to help the 30-year-old hospital continue to treat children and adolescents from 0-18 with the most advanced scientific treatments and a way to honour his late father who passed away in 2018. The GRAACC, which treats around 4,000 children every year, was where his father went to receive treatment for his cancer, giving Derani a special appreciation for the work and efforts the staff deliver day to day.

“I have always followed the work of GRAACC closely, and I have also visited the hospital,” said Derani. “Everything they have done over the last 30 years is sublime, helping so many children and adolescents in the fight against cancer. As many people know, my father passed away in 2018 with the disease and this is when I saw a possible future way to honour his memory.

“I met Jisbar a short time ago and became a big admirer of his art. When I presented him with the idea of holding the auction in Le Mans for the benefit of the GRAACC Hospital, he accepted right away.

“I hope that we can raise a large amount to help the GRAACC Hospital to continue this important and vital work, helping so much those who are in this battle against cancer.”

Austin Wayne Self has backed out of Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Sonoma Raceway, but rather than the typical reasons for such actions like funding or suspension, he is doing it to potentially celebrate one of the greatest moments of his life. On Tuesday, his AM Racing team announced it will not enter the Sonoma event as Self plans to be with his wife Jennifer for their child’s birth later in the week.

“AM Racing has elected not to participate in Saturday’s Door Dash 250 at Sonoma Raceway as driver Austin Wayne Self and wife Jennifer are expecting the arrival of their first child later this week,” reads a team statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, the team has elected to forgo the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, so Austin can make his family top priority.”

Self is currently nineteenth in points with a pair of top tens. Although the team has fielded a part-time #37 truck alongside Self’s #22, AM will not do the same for Sonoma.

It is not uncommon for drivers to have a substitute in the event that their spouse goes into labour. Such a case happened as recently as last Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Portland, where Kaz Grala served as Sheldon Creed‘s backup in the #2 should Creed’s wife Cami give birth.

McLaren F1 Team Principal Andreas Seidl said that the team was hard at work last week in preparation for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the double-header ahead, focused on analysing and better understanding how to get the most of their new upgrades.

“The team is feeling prepared for Baku after the European double header. We’ve been busy over the last week analysing the data we’ve gathered on our new upgrades and ensuring they’re fully optimised. This has also been an opportunity for the team to rest up and get ready to go for another set of exciting back-to-back races.”

Coming off the Monaco Grand Prix, Seidl said that the set-up of the cars will need to be entirely different than last time out in order for the car to suit the uniquely high-speed sections of the street circuit.

“While both Baku and Monaco are street circuits, both require a very different approach to setting up the car. Its long straight, which sees the highest top speed on the calendar, demands a reduced downforce setup, which is rare for a street circuit.”

With such small margins of error at Baku City Circuit, Seidl said he predicts an unpredictable, eventful race that could work for or against the team. 

McLaren F1 Team’s Lando Norris looks forward to more action on the streets of Baku at the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as he comes off of a sixth place finish in Monaco. He hopes to continue his streak of points finishes at Baku City Circuit, a track known for its unpredictability and ability to harbour exciting results.

Norris said he is interested to see how the new 2022 cars run around the “unique” venue, which includes long straights, several ninety degree turns and little room for error. 

“I’m excited to be heading to Baku! It’s cool to be at another street circuit and last year’s race showed that anything can happen. It will be great to see what we can do in the new cars around this unique circuit. I’ve finished in the points both times I’ve raced at this track so hopefully I can keep that up and get some more points for the team this year.”

Norris said that he feels healthy again and ready to take on another double header after having a weekend off to fully recover from tonsillitis, which he had been diagnosed with after the Spanish Grand Prix.

‘I’m feeling back to usual myself after the weekend off and I’ve recovered well after a tough two weeks. I’m excited to see what I can do going into this next double header, so let’s get stuck in!”

The 2022 IndyCar rookie class got to experience their first (and last) taste of the Raceway at Belle Isle Park this past weekend for the Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit, one of the most physically demanding racetracks that the series visits. Will Power redeemed his heartbreaking loss last year with a victory, holding off a hard-charging Alexander Rossi to win. While it may not have been a doubleheader weekend, the Beautiful Island still provided ups and downs aplenty for the five (yes, five) rookies that competed.

Unfortunately, Callum Ilott suffered a broken right hand in his crash at the Indianapolis 500, and due to the incredibly physical nature of the Belle Isle circuit, he did not compete this week. Santino Ferrucci filled in for him at Juncos Hollinger Racing, finishing twenty-first.

One rookie made headlines on and off the track this weekend, while another had the best performance of his season so far. So who’s on the move? Which rookie reached their first Fast Six qualifying session? Who was able to hang tough on the streets of Belle Isle? Let’s break it all down in this week’s NTT IndyCar Series Rookie Report.

DAVID MALUKAS – DALE COYNE RACING W/ HMD MOTORSPORTS

QUALIFYING: SIXTH – RACE: ELEVENTH (-5)

David Malukas once again was the highest-finishing rookie, coming away from the Motor City with his best road or street course finish of the year and tying his best result of the season in what he called “an unexpected race.”

The 20-year-old American really turned heads with his qualifying performance. He was fastest in his group in the first round of qualifying, a star-studded group featuring Power, Rossi, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden and more. Malukas then advanced to his first Fast Six by finishing second in round two behind Pato O’Ward, before finishing sixth in the final round.

Assuming no last-minute changes, the inaugural World Rally-Raid Championship will end with a double-header in October. The Andalucía Rally, which was previously postponed to an unknown date in the fall, has formally received a new date on 18–23 October and will serve as the season finale. In turn, the Rallye du Maroc moves up five days to 1–6 October.

In late May, the Andalucía Rally was moved from its 6–12 June slate as concerns about wildfire risk, especially due to extreme heat, pervaded its Spanish host region. Anticipating temperatures and therefore fire danger to drop by autumn, the new mid-October date was selected.

With Andalucía pushed back three months, the Rallye du Maroc’s calendar also had to be adjusted as the original 6–12 October slot would have given teams less than a week to regroup and prepare for the next round. While Spain and Morocco are separated by just the narrow Strait of Gibraltar, the former’s Dos Hermanas where the Andalucía Rally’s bivouac is headquartered is over a thousand kilometres away from the Rallye du Maroc’s base in Agadir. By adding a week between the two dates, there is more time for teams to transport their vehicles to the next city.

“These changes are not without consequences for all of us, teams, drivers, and organisation,” reads a statement from the Andalucía Rally. “Hoping to see many of you at the return of the Rallye du Maroc. Indeed, the proximity of the dates of Morocco and the Andalucia Rally will allow you to go directly from Agadir to Dos Hermanas with your assistance vehicles.”

The two rallies intertwine as they share the same organiser ODC and serve as the prelude to the W2RC’s flagship Dakar Rally. The latter also includes the pair comprising the “Road to Dakar”: competitors who have never raced at Dakar are eligible to compete in a separate category in Andalucía, and the best performers receive scholarships to enter the Rallye du Maroc or Dakar.

This weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix looks set to be as wild and unpredictable as it has been for the last several years, where each Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit has produced a different winner.

The second fastest street circuit on the calendar will see drivers use the softest range of Pirelli’s tyres, with the manufacturer bringing the C3, C4 and C5 compounds for the weekend.

Teams usually opt for a medium to low downforce set-up, with the circuit consisting of incredibly long straights, as well as a number of tight and twisty turns. The race usually generates plenty of action, crashes, Safety Cars and traditionally a red flag.

Being a city circuit surrounded by buildings, the track temperature varies due to the shade produced by the facilities, meaning that different parts of the circuit possess different temperatures.

Sergio Pérez won last year’s bonkers race, which saw dramatic tyre failures for both Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen, with the latter’s taking place at around 200 mph. Pirelli will be hoping for no failures on that scale this weekend.

Mick Schumacher heads into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix following his terrifying crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, which saw his VF22 break into two parts yet again.

Schumacher fell victim to the barriers of Monte-Carlo, something he won’t want to repeat this weekend at the Baku City Circuit, which is of course another street track.

Azerbaijan was one of Schumacher’s best results in 2021, where the young German finished in thirteenth-place, he’ll be hoping for three-places better this weekend.

Ahead of the weekend, the German explained what he’s expecting from the Grand Prix.

“I would imagine to see more action and overtaking. We know that DRS this year isn’t as powerful as it used to be but I’m sure with the cars being able to follow closer, we’ll be able to arrive or stay closer to the car ahead in the last part of the race track and then maybe we won’t need that high DRS power anymore to get by into T1.

The Haas F1 Team endured a horrendous Monaco Grand Prix, with both drivers retiring, including a huge crash for Mick Schumacher. Team Principal Guenther Steiner, is hopeful that the American team can find the “sweet spot” this weekend, and enjoy a successful Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Azerbaijan is not only a difficult country to get to, it’s also an incredibly long distance away from the Canadian Grand Prix which follows suit, as teams prepare for one of the most challenging double-headers of the season. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is aiming to make the 2023 season more travel friendly, so for this season teams like Haas, are just going to have to get on with the difficult travel arrangements.

Steiner addressed the challenges that the upcoming double-header brings, and how he’s praying for no damage to either car this weekend.

“The challenges are that you go from one continent to another, it’s a long trip and the team is working very hard to get it all done. It’s just down to having a good team around and working hard but it’s a challenge as they only have a few days to get set-up again and get going again for the next race. If you have any damage on the car, it gets more difficult so we’re hoping to not have any damage in Baku.

“On the plans for next season, it would be great if we can combine the races regionally. I know that Stefano is working very hard on that one and it will go in the right direction next year.”

It is that time of year once again when the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans has come around. Taking to the track for the 90th time, cars will race around the Circuit de la Sarthe for 24 hours with this year’s race starting an hour later than usual, at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST). 62 cars take to the grid as they did last year, with two temporary gazebo garages set up at the end of the permanent pit building to allow for the additional two cars. However this year we have seen none of the reserve cars entered onto the entry list, meaning the 62 that will line up on Sunday will be the 62 cars that were originally granted entry to the race.

Although the race is the third round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship, it is also open to competitors of the European and Asian Le Mans Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar runners and stand alone Le Mans entries, doubling the usual WEC grid size. Only competitors of the WEC will be eligible to score points, and with double points on offer this is an important one for the championship, but all cars are in contention for the overall and class wins.

Balance of Performance May Favour Glickenhaus

Five cars make up the Hypercar class for the blue-ribboned event as Glickenhaus Racing bring a second entry to the race. After their impressive run at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, taking the team’s first class and overall pole position, the privateer will be looking ahead to repeating successes at Le Mans and fighting for overall victory. We have seen Toyota Gazoo Racing struggle in qualifying against both Glickenhaus and Alpine Elf Team, and even though track position certainly isn’t that important in the grand scheme of the race, if they can convert better pace to race day and stay on top of reliability they could be a headache for the reigning Le Mans’ winners.

It’ll be an important race for the #8 crew of Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa who find themselves very much on the back foot in the championship after a hybrid failure at Spa. With double points up for grabs this weekend and a close battle with the other teams for the rest of the season still on the cards, if they lose to the sister car at Le Mans they could find themselves on the back end of team orders for the rest of the season. Le Mans is certainly a race where we have seen teams with multiple cars start to favour one over the other, and with 50 points up for grabs for the winner it’s not surprising that this is usually the swing point of the WEC championship.

WRT Looking to Repeat Last Year’s Success

WRT have, this year, been showing as strong of a performance as they did in 2021, currently leading the LMP2 standings. They go into the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a favourite in class, but don’t underestimate the power of the United Autosports duo, who have been hot on the tail of the WRT throughout the opening two rounds. WRT bring a third car to Le Mans, hoping to take a clean sweep of the class podium. Last time out in Spa, Sean Gelal, Rene Rast and Robin Frijns made an appearance on the third step of the overall podium, a feat they would like to repeat if not better this weekend.

As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series prepares for its second road course race of the season at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, Reaume Brothers Racing has recalled Brad Pérez to the #43 while also enlisting the services of Jade Buford in the #33 in his maiden series start.

Pérez, who works as a crewman when not racing, impressed by placing twentieth in his Truck début at Circuit of the Americas in March. He brings road racing experience courtesy of racing a Mazda MX-5 Miata in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), and made the jump to stock car driving in the ARCA Menards Series in 2021 at Watkins Glen as a road course specialist.

The 25-year-old’s #43 truck will be sponsored by the rock band I Set My Friends on Fire, whose lead guitarist Nathan Blasdell is a NASCAR talent representative for various drivers.

“Sonoma is a track in which I have a lot of work related experience at,” said Pérez. “Due to the amount of events I have worked at Sonoma Raceway, this is definitely the most amount of laps I have had coming into a race than ever before. After shaking the jitters off at Circuit of the Americas, I am looking forward to being able to focus and drive hard to have a positive result. At Circuit of the Americas, tire falloff was a new experience for me, and being able to manage that in a NASCAR truck was difficult to start off with. Being able to feel the difference in tyre falloff along with the overall aggressive nature of the Camping World Truck Series has given me a lot of confidence going into Sonoma in the #43 I Set My Friends on Fire/Apex Coffee Roasters Toyota Tundra.”

Buford arrived in NASCAR in 2020 after building up a résumé in sports car racing before running the full Xfinity Series schedule the following two years for Big Machine Racing Team. However, a full-time sophomore campaign in 2022 was aborted due to the team’s struggles, and he skipped five races before returning last Saturday at another road course Portland International Raceway. He finished eighth at the Xfinity COTA race, one of three career top tens (the first also came on a road course at the Charlotte Roval).

The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway presented a battle of former champions that ended with Joey Logano holding off Kyle Busch for the victory, but most attention seemed to be on the eighth-place finisher. Ross Chastain, who has developed a reputation for his aggressive driving style, did little to dispute it as he became embroiled in on-track drama with Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin.

The feud began with Hamlin shortly after Stage #2 began when Chastain bumped into his rear in an effort to pass him, but this sent Hamlin into the outside wall. Eventually two laps down, Hamlin retaliated by forcing him onto the apron during their next encounter. Ryan Blaney‘s spin set up a restart on lap 101 where Chastain clipped Elliott and spun him across the frontstretch, also collecting Bubba Wallace.

Elliott and Hamlin, who infamously clashed at Martinsville in 2017 while fighting for a Championship Round spot, became an unlikely “tag team” during the ensuing lap 107 restart as the former forced Chastain into the wall before the latter did the same. Even B.J. McLeod was dragged into the mess when Chastain pushed Elliott into him.

By the end of the race, Chastain finished eighth while Elliott and Hamlin were respectively twenty-first and thirty-fourth. Speaking with FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Hamlin called out Chastain’s lack of “sense of conscience” for his driving behaviour but added stock car racing is “self-policing” and that one might have to “fence these guys hard” for them to realise their actions. Chastain’s employer Justin Marks responded to the message on Twitter with a “Can’t wait”, prompting Hamlin to respond that he is “not helping” but added “you can keep stoking if you’d like. Not sure it helps the end resolve.”

Chastain took responsibility for his driving, saying he “owe(s) half the field an apology. Words aren’t going to fix it, so I’ll have to pay for it on the track and almost did today. I deserve everything that they do. I just can’t believe that I continue to make the same mistakes and overdrive the corners and drive into guys.”