Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Kevin Magnussen admitted he was surprised everyone around him went for the soft Pirelli tyre for the Sprint race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Saturday, with the Dane one of only three drivers to use the medium compound.

The Haas F1 Team driver started the race from fourth on the grid, the highest grid position ever for the American team, but he found the soft-tyre shod drivers difficult to withstand, and he slid down the order during the twenty-one-lap race at Imola.

Nevertheless, Magnussen was pleased to bring home a point for eighth place in the Sprint race, and it gives the team a good platform to work with for Sunday’s main race, where points again will be the target.

“We were super surprised to see everyone on softs, that’s not what we wanted to see, but we judged that the softs would degrade too quickly so we went for the mediums,” said Magnussen.

“Everyone just seemed to pass me at the beginning of the race and then it kind of reset so we were on the same pace, at least with [Daniel] Ricciardo and [Fernando] Alonso.

Valtteri Bottas recovered from missing final practice on Saturday morning to score two valuable points for the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN in the Sprint race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

The Finn sat out the practice session as the team continued to fix the car following his stoppage late in Qualifying on Friday, and his first meaningful running in the dry came at the beginning of the Sprint race.

Bottas recovered from a poor start to gain places and finish inside the points, with a late race pass on Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen giving him seventh place on the grid for Sunday’s Feature race at Imola.

“First of all, I want to thank the team who did a great job putting the car back together: there were so many things they had to change but they were brilliant and thankfully everything worked perfectly,” said Bottas.

“I always trust the crew to get the car right, but they had a big task ahead of them and they delivered. Once we got racing, it was a fun afternoon with a lot of battling and some nice overtaking.

Christian Horner was delighted with the result of the Sprint race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari as his Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers claimed first and third on Saturday.

Max Verstappen put behind him a bad start to catch and re-pass Charles Leclerc for the win on the penultimate lap of the twenty-one-lap sprint, while Sergio Pérez climbed from seventh on the grid to complete the podium in third.

Horner, the Team Principal of the Milton Keynes-based squad, said it was an excellent drive from both drivers as they maximised their results, leaving Red Bull in a good position for Sunday’s full-length Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

He praised Verstappen for staying patient and attacking Scuderia Ferrari’s Leclerc when the Monegasque racer’s tyres began to fade, and Pérez for making decisive overtakes to move up the order after being out of position due to the mixed conditions of Qualifying on Friday evening.

“It was a great performance today by both drivers,” said Horner.  “All credit to Max, he kept his head, stayed patient and kept his position on the tail of Charles, we could see the Ferrari’s front tyre was starting to go, and when his opportunity to take back the lead came, he took it.

Max Verstappen took victory in the Sprint race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Saturday afternoon, coming out on top of a great battle with Charles Leclerc to secure the eight points on offer.

The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver had initially slipped behind the Scuderia Ferrari driver at the start and for much of the race shadowed his championship rival before closing the gap as tyre degradation began to play a part in proceedings.

Verstappen ultimately got within the DRS range and made a pass heading into turn one on the penultimate lap before pulling away from Leclerc to prevent the Monegasque racer from returning the favour on the final tour.  He eventually closed out the race almost three seconds clear.

“We did well as a team and it is of course a positive day for us,” said Verstappen. “I didn’t have the best start so we need to investigate what happened there but after that we had good race pace.

“Initially for the first 10 laps or so it seemed like the gap to Charles wasn’t really growing but then I think at one point the tyre degradation started to kick in a bit more and I could close the gap and I got ahead.”

Jake Hill has claimed the first pole position of the new BTCC Hybrid era kicking off the 2022 season at Donington Park earlier today (23 April) making his mark in his first weekend in the BMW under the ROKiT MB Motorsport banner.

Starting the session, it began in dramatic fashion with Dan Cammish unable to register a time and having to scramble out of his Ford Focus ST due to a suspected fuel fire ending his challenge.

This allowed BMW to become the dominant force on the restart occupying the top five positions at one stage before eventually it was two teammates in Hill and Colin Turkington with the former sealing it by 0.018s.

Reigning champion, Ash Sutton in his first foray as part of NAPA Racing UK did provide some joy as he finished third ahead of Tom Ingram‘s Hyundai for Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com.

George Gamble backed up early promise from pre-season testing with a demon debut run to finish fifth for CarGods with Ciceley Motorsport, while Gordon Shedden follows alongside.

Ferrari Driver Academy member Dino Beganovic took his maiden Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine victory in the opening race of the weekend at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

In a race held in wet conditions, Beganovic maintained his advantage at the front after starting from pole position, while fellow front row starter Lorenzo Fluxá slipped behind both Michael Belov and Gabriele Mini into turn one. ART Grand Prix’s Mini moved up to second, while R-ace GP’s Fluxá regained third at the exit of the turn ahead of MP Motorsport’s Belov.

The safety car was soon deployed as ART Grand Prix’s debutant Laurens van Hoepen and Arden Motorsport’s Edoardo Barrichello collided at turn one, the former stopping at the side of the track with damage and the latter going to the pit lane for repairs.

On the restart, it was nearly game over for the race leader as the Prema Racing driver was hit from behind by ART’s Mini.  Beganovic got away without damage, but the Italian broke his front wing and was forced into the pit lane for repairs.  The incident is under review from the stewards.

Fluxá and Belov again switched positions after the R-ace GP driver missed the first chicane, but it was not long before the safety car was out for a second time for two separate incidents.  Léna Bühler ended in the gravel trap at Parabolica, while Race Performance Motorsport’s Pietro Delli Guanti and MP Motorsport’s Dilano van ‘t Hoff collided at the second chicane.

In conjunction with Earth Day on Friday, IndyCar and Bridgestone announced a set of environmental efforts to reduce the NTT IndyCar Series‘ carbon footprint, most notably the introduction of a new Firestone Firehawk tyre made from guayule that will begin racing usage at the Music City Grand Prix in August as the alternates.

Unlike the traditional alternate tyre (softer than the primary), which is differentiated with a red sidewall, the guayule tyre will be marked in green. Guayule (Parthenium argentatum) is a type of woody shrub found in desert areas like the southwestern United States and Mexico, and can be easily farmed using existing technology. Its abundance in the wild, especially in a country where IndyCar is located, makes it a more environmentally friendly option for rubber than standard rubber extracts that are drawn overseas. As a result, the plant has seen use for other purposes in place of usual rubber sources, such as hypoallergenic gloves and biofuel.

Bridgestone’s investment into pursuing guayule began in 2012 with a research center in Mesa, Arizona. This evolved into a guayule farm in nearby Eloy and producing the first guayule tyre in 2015. The company aims to make tyres strictly from renewable materials by 2050.

“The introduction of guayule natural rubber to America’s preeminent open-wheel racing series speaks to the confidence we have in the technology and its promise as a scalable, sustainable and domestic source of our industry’s most vital raw material,” commented Bridgestone Americas, Inc. chief technology officer Nizar Trigui. “It will take partnership and collaboration to combat the impacts of global climate change and we are proud to partner with Penske, IndyCar, and IMS to advance the future of sustainable mobility.”

The metaphorical and literal green tyre will make its début as part of the Pit Stop Challenge on Indianapolis 500 Carb Day on 27 May. 7 August’s Music City Grand Prix in Nashville will see its first use in racing action. IndyCar intends to make the 500 the most environmentally sustainable event in its history, which will begin by delivering tyres for the race via electric trucks courtesy of Penske Truck Leasing and Shell. Renewable diesel haulers will be used to transport cars beginning with the Detroit Grand Prix in June.

Max Verstappen took a superb victory in the Sprint race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Saturday afternoon despite losing out at the start to Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen began the afternoon at the front of the field but appeared to struggle to get off the line, with Leclerc getting the jump on the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver to sweep into the lead. 

The safety car was soon deployed as a collision between Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s Zhou Guanyu and Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly left the Chinese driver in the wall and the Frenchman with a puncture.

Leclerc appeared to have the pace to stay at the front of the field for much of the race, but the Scuderia Ferrari driver seemed to struggle more with his soft tyres, which gave Verstappen the chance to come back at him.

Verstappen attacked lap after lap with the use of DRS down the start/finish straight, but it was only on the penultimate lap that the decisive move came, and he passed Leclerc around the outside heading into turn one.  He then pulled away and ensured the Ferrari driver did not have DRS to attack him back on the final tour.

Jack Goff has split with Team HARD. Racing ahead of the continuation seemingly of his multi-year deal in the CUPRA Leon on the eve of the new BTCC season beginning today (Saturday) at Donington Park.

Goff, a five time winner in the championship was absent during the Thruxton Official Season Launch with rumours swirling online that he had left the championship. He confirmed those rumours through social media this week.

“A month ago I had to make the hardest decision after the Donington Park test and inform Team Hard that I will be stepping away from BTCC this 2022 season for multiple reasons,” wrote Goff on social media.

“Team Hard came back with a new deal but unfortunately today I found out from them that this is no longer possible.

“This has been the hardest decision for me, but I hope to be back in the future.

George Russell was perhaps the surprise pacesetter in second practice for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Saturday morning as the teams used the dry conditions at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team endured a tough Friday at Imola, with both Russell and team-mate Lewis Hamilton failing to get into Q3 during Qualifying, the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix of 2012 that the team failed to get a single driver into the top ten shootout.

But the W13 appeared to be a much better car in the longer runs, with Russell taking the top spot with a time of 1:19.457, 0.081 seconds ahead of Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez.

However, Pérez’s best time was set on the medium Pirelli compound compared to the soft run of Russell, meaning Mercedes might not be as strong as they appeared to be during the session.

Charles Leclerc, who will start on the front row for Saturday’s Sprint race. was third quickest for Scuderia Ferrari in front of their beloved Tifosi, while Hamilton was fourth in the second Mercedes, ahead of the leading BWT Alpine F1 Team driver, Fernando Alonso.

For the first time since the Japanese Grand Prix of 2012, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team failed to get a car into Q3 in Qualifying, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton ending eleventh and thirteenth on Friday at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

The changeable weather conditions at Imola did not work in the teams’ favour, and they were well off the pace when it mattered, with Hamilton lucky even to make it into Q2, scrapping through by just 0.004 seconds ahead of Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda.

Hamilton admitted they came to the circuit with optimism, but that optimism soon disappeared as the pace of the W13 was not strong enough to break into the top ten, the seven-time World Champion ultimately ending up only thirteenth on the grid.

“Today wasn’t a great session and naturally it’s disappointing,” said Hamilton. “We came here with optimism, everyone is working so hard at the factory but things just didn’t come together.

“I think we underperformed as a team today. We’ll work as hard as we can to move up in the Sprint Race. It’s going to be a difficult race but who knows?

Franco Colapinto took his, and Van Amersfoort Racing‘s first win since moving up to the FIA Formula 3 Championship in the Sprint Race at Imola on Saturday.

He started on pole, ahead of Jenzer Motorsport‘s Ido Cohen and Kush Maini (MP Motorsport), but that doesn’t begin to explain his route to the top step.

Colapinto covered off Cohen into the Tamburello chicane, allowing Maini and Caio Collet past the Israeli driver.

Championship leader Victor Martins ended the first lap in fourth place, just before Oliver Bearman ran wide halfway through Tamburello on Lap 2.

Zak O’Sullivan looked up the inside of Cohen at the same corner a lap later, Tamburello quickly proving the best overtaking opportunity even before DRS was enabled.

This weekend at Donington Park the Porsche Carrera Cup GB gets underway for its twentieth season with a grid of twenty-five drivers lining up from eight teams.

It’s been a busy pre-season as teams and drivers get use to the latest generation of 911 racing car – the 510 hp ‘Type 992’ 911 GT3 Cup. Following a successful launch last year in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and a number of regional Carrera Cup series the new iteration of the 911 will make its racing debut this weekend on British soil.

The new season also brings a new Porsche GB Junior for the 2022/23 seasons; Following a highly competitive evaluation programme of four finalists at the end of the season, it was 2021 Ginetta GT4 Supercup champion Adam Smalley who came out on top to win the prize of £85,000 per year towards his racing and support from Porsche through the two years. Former Junior Harry King makes the full-time step up to Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup this season with Lechner Racing.

Pro class ready for new champion in 2022

Dan Cammish heads back to BTCC for 2022 after taking his third Carrera Cup GB title last year and 2021 champion King is off to Supercup, so for 2022 the series is guaranteed a brand new champion.

The category features ten drivers for the new season with familiar names returning to the grid, including 2021 Rookie Champion Kiern Jewiss who took four victories last season and will have his sights firmly set on the title this year with Team Parker Racing.

Alan Permane, the Sporting director of BWT Alpine F1 Team, has branded the team’s Saturday afternoon as “bittersweet” after Fernando Alonso finished Friday’s qualifying session in fifth place, while team-mate Esteban Ocon suffered a gearbox failure in Qualifying One.

Ocon was forced to pit when conditions were at their best in Q1, although Alonso fought through to Q3 to qualify on the third row, despite an off-track moment at Acqua Minerali when he touched a white line on entry.

Permane believes there is still plenty to play for this weekend for both drivers, and he expects Ocon to fight back through the field and Alonso to contend for points with a car that is looking strong at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

“We’re left with a bittersweet feeling after tonight’s Qualifying as, unfortunately, the team faced mixed fortunes on either side of the garage,” said Permane. “Esteban’s car had a gearbox failure in Q1 and we’ll fully investigate how that occurred.

“As we saw with Fernando, the car had strong pace today, so it’s disappointing that Esteban was not able to show his true potential, especially in conditions where we’ve seen him shine in the past. On Fernando’s side it was a relatively straightforward session. The car had good pace in both the wet and dry and Fernando was happy with the car’s balance across all conditions. He will start in fifth tomorrow on the clean side of the grid and that’s a very good place to begin the Sprint.“

Fernando Alonso was able to place his BWT Alpine F1 Team car in fifth place for Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying session at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Friday afternoon.

The Spaniard has labelled the session as “messy” after many drivers made mistakes in the slippery conditions, with Alonso making a mistake at Acque Minerali when conditions were at their trickiest.

“It feels good to be in the top five after a messy qualifying with all of the changing conditions and red flags,” the two-time world champion says.

“With the wet weather changing the track all the time, anything can happen, so overall I’m pleased to be in the top five for tomorrow.

“The car felt fast in the last two rounds and I feel quite comfortable with the car here. Let’s see how we do tomorrow as there are points on offer in the Sprint and for the race on Sunday.”