Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

As testing in Bahrain came to a close, Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner says he is looking forward to the season opener after a test full of action, with all three drivers taking the wheel of the VF-22 and the return of Kevin Magnussen to the team. 

“A very eventful second test this year with a driver change, and all three of our drivers were in the car and did laps.”

The team saw a relatively high amount of technical difficulty, which limited their ability to up their mileage. They did, however, see success on the timing sheets with Magnussen finishing the day as the leader on Friday and Schumacher moving up to 2nd on Saturday in the additional time the team was allocated. 

Steiner said that the team is preparing for the opening Bahrain Grand Prix by making minor repairs to the car to improve reliability. 

“We had some issues during the test but then we had some good running, successful outings, so for the whole team it was a tough time, but a good time. We’re really looking forward now to the first race. We still have some work to do because we had some reliability issues, mainly small things we just need to fix to be as prepared as we have to be for the first race. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Saturday’s 2022 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 Unlimited race was a test of reliability: even if one was the leader and far ahead of the field, that advantage could disappear in the blink of an eye the moment some sort of mechanical issue flared up. The race saw four different leaders, with the first three all experiencing a problem that lost them the top spot. Behind them, Kyle Jergensen methodically climbed through the order before capitalising on defending winner Rob MacCachren‘s belt breaking on the final lap to win the prestigious off-road race for the first time.

A part of the Unlimited Truck class, Jergensen and co-driver Shawn Shanks started sixth overall while three-time winner Justin Lofton was on the pole. However, Lofton’s hopes of winning a record fourth were dashed before he could even do anything as a flat left-rear tyre minutes in forced him to the side and Ryan Arciero drove by to take the lead. Arciero, seeking his first Mint, was in control for the first half before a flat tyre on lap three allowed MacCachren to decrease the margin. Although Arciero’s crew was able to change the tyre and he easily made up the lost ground with a truck that he described as being “on point all day,” his race ended on the lakebed after the vehicle lost power.

“About three-quarters of the way down the lakebed, all of a sudden, it developed a huge vibration and then I started pulling power out with the throttle and we started losing power,” Arciero told the race broadcast. “Got a little oil pressure light and then everything just turned off. I knew as soon as we had that vibration, we were losing power. I knew it was terminal. I knew it wasn’t something we were going to pull into the pits and fix.

“That was probably one of the most heartbreaking races that I’ve done, for the simple fact is the truck was just on point all day. It didn’t miss a beat.”

Arciero’s retirement shuffled the lead to MacCachren with Jergensen nearly a minute behind when he began the fourth and final lap. Both drivers briefly stopped on track due to flat tyres, which allowed Tim Herbst to shave valuable time off the leaderboard, before the belt problem halted MacCachren’s progress entirely. MacCachren, a twice winner of the Mint 400, commented on Instagram that “[t]hings we’re [sic] going great until they weren’t. But that’s racing right. We had a good run up top, but it just wasn’t our day.”

The GB4 Championship has announced that they will be awarding the ‘George Russell Pole Position Cup’ following an agreement with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 star and award founder John Cavill. 

During his campaign in 2014, now F1 star, George Russell, won both the BRDC F4 Championship and the Pole Position Cup, aged 16. Having remained in contact with Cavill, Russell has agreed to put his name to the equivalent prize in GB4. 

The ‘George Russell Pole Position Cup’ will award a trophy and £125 to the driver who earns pole position during each of the eight race weekends in 2022. The driver with the most poles at the end of the season will earn a cash prize of £1,000 and a trophy. The winning driver’s team will also receive £1,000 and a trophy. 

Formula 1 driver, George Russell, commented, “John Cavill has been very supportive since my earliest days in racing, and he became a familiar face in my BRDC F4 Championship winning season in 2014. He has given his backing to so many young drivers in junior race series, and it is an honour to accept his invitation to lend my support to his initiative in the new GB4 Championship.

“Winning the BRDC F4 Championship in 2014 was pivotal for my career, I don’t think I’d be where I am today without it, and I’m sure that GB4 will provide the same opportunities I received back then. I look forward to congratulating the 2022 George Russell Pole Position Cup winner at the end of the year!”

Pirelli’s final chance to test the new 18-inch tyres before the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix, concluded as the Official Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit came to a close.

The track temperatures at Bahrain were much higher compared to Spain, with ambient temperatures ranging from 22 to 39 degrees centigrade while track temperatures varied from 26 to 48 degrees. The second day (Friday) was the hottest.

The timing screen is somewhat irrelevant during pre-season, despite this the fastest driver at the Bahrain International Circuit was Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, who set a time of 1:31.720 on the softest C5 compound right at the end of the final day of testing.

Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director, said that the tyre manufacturer have gathered plenty of data, but that the performance gap between the different compounds has been higher than initially predicted.

“The Bahrain test allowed us to gather additional useful data on the behaviour of our new 18-inch tyres on a circuit that’s very different to Spain in terms of layout, temperature, and asphalt characteristics. This was a test that you could split into two parts really: the first two days were very hot as well as windy, which meant that they weren’t so representative as the high temperatures accentuated degradation and distorted the true picture of tyre behaviour.

Scuderia Ferrari are for many the team to beat at the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend, after the famous team concluded what has been a brilliant test for them at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The final day of pre-season testing saw both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr behind the wheel of the F1-75, the Ferrari drivers completed 119 laps combined. Sainz Jr ran during the morning session, posting a best time of 1:34.905, the Spaniard did run however on mainly the harder compounds of Pirelli tyres. Leclerc on the other hand used the softer tyres in the afternoon session and into the evening, the Monegasques’ best time was a 1:32.415. Leclerc completed 51 laps, seventeen less than his team-mate.

Ferrari Team Principal & Managing Director, Mattia Binotto, doesn’t want the team to get too far ahead of themselves and draw any conclusions, Binotto believes it’s very difficult to predict where each team will be placed come the season opener next weekend.

“We cannot draw any definite conclusions, because it will take a few races before we can get a picture of the pecking order among the teams. However, what we can say now is that these past few days have been positive for us. We were well prepared for these test sessions, as can be seen from the fact we were able to run consistently, without any significant issues, which allowed us to complete more laps than any other team. Our main aim was to gather as much data as possible to understand this completely new car, correlating it with what we had from our tools back in the factory, primarily the simulator.

“It’s very hard to say where we are in performance terms and there’s no reason why the frontrunners from last season should not once again be the favourites. We will try to be ahead of the chasing pack, which I hope to be very evenly matched.

It has been a very difficult Official Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit for the McLaren F1 Team, with an absent Daniel Ricciardo and a number of reliability issues.

The final day at Bahrain was the best of the three for McLaren, with sole driver for the test, Lando Norris, completing an impressive 90 laps. The best of those was a 1:33.191, enough to put him ninth fastest, although the timing screen is somewhat irrelevant during testing.

Norris was glad that the team finally got some solid running in at Bahrain, the British driver is hopeful that the team can get on top of their problems before the first Grand Prix next weekend.

“A better final day. We ended with some more positives with thankfully a lot more running. The team made some good progress with the problems we’ve been having. There’s still a lot of improvements to be made for us to able to compete next week. We have a better understanding of the car, and we’ll try to implement all of that next week and improve everything going into the first race of the season. So, a tough three days, not what we wanted but good enough. We’ve learnt a lot and made the most of it, which is the most important thing.”

“We’ve had a very challenging test” – McLaren’s Andreas Seidl

It has been a very challenging test for McLaren, not helped by Ricciardo testing positive for Covid-19, or by an issue on the MCL36’s front axle. It comes as a disappointment to the team, who enjoyed a successful test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

It is no question that Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team have been sandbagging during the Official Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit, the W13 has been incredibly reliable but has supposedly struggled for outright pace.

Mercedes completed yet another strong day of testing on the final day of pre-season, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell who both got a final turn behind the wheel completed a combined total of 149 laps. Hamilton spent his final session focusing on race simulation, whereas Russell focused on one lap performance.

The Silver Arrows have sat mid-leaderboard throughout testing, onboard footage of the W13 does show however both drivers avoiding eighth gear at times, resulting in a significantly lower top speed compared to their rivals.

The W13 will be fully unleashed next weekend at the first Grand Prix of the season, only then will the paddock understand where Mercedes are in comparison to the other teams. Mercedes have gathered plenty of data across the three day test, the W13 is proving to be impeccably reliable.

Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director, does believe that there is still plenty of pace to be unleashed from the W13, which as mentioned has proven to be very reliable so far.

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team brought their pre-season to a close at the Bahrain International Circuit, with both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell believing that the team are currently behind their rivals.

Seven-Time World Champion Lewis Hamilton got his final pre-season session behind the W13 during the final morning in Bahrain, Hamilton completed 78 laps with the best of those being a 1:36.217. The British driver was some way down the timing screen, after focusing on race simulations during his running.

Hamilton believes the W13 has got potential, he does think however that the team are behind their rivals with the opening round just a week away.

“We have some hurdles to overcome and obviously next week we’ll get a much better showing of our pace. I’m sure everyone can figure out that we are not the quickest at the moment. There is potential within our car to get us there but we’ve just got to learn to be able to extract it and fix some of the problems, which is what we’re working flat-out on. I think everyone struggled out on this bumpy track and we come out of testing knowing that we still have a lot of work to do.

“There’s a confidence within the team that we can always work through whatever problem we’re facing and that’s what we’ll do. I have all the faith in the men and women back at the factories to get on top of our issues. One thing is for certain, we’ll be bringing our fighting spirit to the first race next weekend!”

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team enjoyed their most successful day of the Official Pre-Season Test at the Bahrain International Circuit, on the final day of running.

Both Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll had a final chance behind the wheel of the AMR22 on the last day of pre-season, with the pair completing a joint total of 134 laps as the test drew to a close. The final day saw the team complete their most mileage over a single day, it meant that across the entire test Aston Martin completed 352 laps.

The running order is difficult to predict due to how different the cars are this season, it does appear though that Aston Martin are towards the bottom of the midfield, based purely on their overall pre-season performance.

Mike Krack, Aston Martin Team Principal, does believe that it’s been a good test for the team, the new Team Principal is also looking forward to building a relationship with the famous outfit.

“It has been a positive test for us with only a few minor disruptions, which is to be expected in testing. We were able to achieve significant mileage, as well as complete some representative running in dusk conditions, which will prove beneficial for next weekend’s Grand Prix. The Bahrain circuit gives the car a good workout because the temperatures are high and the degradation of the track stresses the tyres, too.

It was a solid final day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit for the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, where both drivers got one final session behind the wheel of the AMR22.

Four-Time World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, was behind the wheel for the majority of the day, the German completed a respectable 81 laps on the final day. His best time of the day was a 1:33.821, however times are fairly irrelevant during testing. Across the three days Vettel completed 166 laps, with almost half of those coming on the final day at Bahrain.

Vettel is happy with the progress the team has made across the test, the German also noted at just how different the cars are this year.

“We ran through our programme and completed a lot of laps this afternoon, which capped a positive three days of testing in Bahrain. Lap times are largely irrelevant, so our focus has been on increasing our understanding of the AMR22. I am happy with the progress we have made, and we know it is going to be a long season of constantly trying to find further improvements.

“These cars are very different; you definitely notice the increased weight and it makes the cars a bit ‘lazier’ to drive. Everyone is coming across similar challenges and that’s part of the game. I think reading into lap-times is even more difficult this year but, behind the usual leading teams, it is a tight pack, so I expect fierce competition. Nobody really knows where they stand yet, and this coming week will be important in making sure we hit the ground running in Bahrain.”

Noah Gragson‘s 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is off to a blazing start. After finishing third in the first race followed by a pair of seconds, he dominated Saturday’s United Rentals 200 at Phoenix Raceway by leading 114 of 200 laps to win his sixth career race.

Gragson qualified second next to Trevor Bayne, who would be his biggest challenge as he dominated the first stage. The lone incident of the segment came on lap 23 when Riley Herbst spun and hit the turn three wall. At stage’s end, Gragson, Brandon Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Landon Cassill, A.J. Allmendinger, Josh Berry, and Sam Mayer followed Bayne.

“That was probably one of the hardest hits I have taken,” commented Herbst. While certainly a disappointing day for him, the Herbst family saw more luck in nearby Nevada as his uncle Tim finished second overall in the Mint 400. “I thought we had a pretty good Monster Energy Ford Mustang. I went into (turn) three and hit the brake and it hooked a hard right and went to the floor. I don’t know what happened.”

Issues on pit road like a poor stop and speeding penalty dropped Bayne back, and Stage #2 instead saw Gragson battle with Bayne’s Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate Jones for the lead. Mayer, a colleague of Gragson at JR Motorsports, and JGR’s Gibbs clashed on lap 56 as Berry made contact with Gibbs and sent him into a spin, though the field avoided his sideways car. It was the lone caution of the day as the final thirty laps in the stage ran green, during which Gragson fought with Jones before clearing him on lap 70 and leading the rest of the way. Allgaier, Jones, Bayne, Mayer, Nemechek, Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, Cassill, and Mayer rounded out the top ten.

The final stage was completely green. Although Nemechek had the early advantage, Gragson took the lead on lap 113 and never looked back, only surrendering the position during green-flag stops at the 170-lap marker. With fifteen laps to go, Gragson got by Jones and drove away to the win.

The end of the first day of pre-season testing for the FIA World Endurance Chamionship saw LMP2 team Prema ORLEN as the ones to beat, with Hypercar favourites Toyota Gazoo Racing finishing seventh and tenth fastest.

The morning session was disrupted as a storm blew over the Sebring International Raceway, bringing high winds, heavy rain and the threat of lightning. Once the intermitent weather had blown over, however, the teams were left with a cool, dry and sunny track to get testing underway.

Although they were fastest in what was left of the morning session before the grid broke for lunch, Toyota fell down the timing board in the afternoon, leaving the way for LMP2 cars and the other Hypercar entries to set faster lap times.

Robert Kubica was the one to set the benchmark for the day, circulating the American track with a 1:49.084. If there was ever a sign of competition ahead of this season, the fact that the top 11 cars on the timing board were covered by a second should be proof enough that not one team, especially in the LMP2 class, has emerged as a clear favourite for this year’s title.

Teams to watch include last year’s winners Team WRT, who on day one also showed a strong performance on track, fighting with Toyota for the fastest lap of the morning. The Alpine Elf Matmut LMP1 car also still looks like a strong contender, finishing the day second fastest and only one tenth off the pace of Kubica. Whether they can take the fight to Toyota this year remains to be seen, but it was a good opening day for the French outfit.

Oracle Red Bull Racing ended their 2022 pre-season on top at the Bahrain International Circuit, thanks to a 1:31.720 by World Champion Max Verstappen.

Verstappen completed 57 laps during the afternoon of the final day of pre-season, whilst team-mate Sergio Pérez completed 43 laps during the final morning. Red Bull spent their final day going through a variety of tyre compounds and set-ups, in preparation for the season opener in Bahrain next weekend.

Head of Race Engineering, Guillaume Rocquelin, isn’t paying attention to Verstappen finishing the day top, with times being somewhat irrelevant at testing. Rocquelin does think though that the team have established a good foundation for the season ahead.

“The lap times are irrelevant. Today was more about putting together the lessons we have learned over the past few days. It was about going through the process of running different compounds, so that the drivers are happy and that we have a platform to work from for next week. There were some slight differences in the tyre allocation between Max and Checo, but generally the idea was the same, to establish a good baseline with which we can start the race weekend and I think we achieved that.”

Fernando Alonso ran for the entire final day of testing with BWT Alpine F1 Team, completing 122 laps and finishing the day with a best time of 1:32.69, set on the C4 compound, placing him third position overall. 

Alonso had a smooth day of testing and was able to test several tyre compounds and set-ups. The Spaniard focused his energy on preparing for the first Grand Prix next week, as the position of competing teams remains largely uncertain.

“It was a good day of testing for us building on Esteban’s strong work yesterday. We’ve learnt a lot with the car and completed many laps, so I’m pretty happy. We are all still learning about the new cars and set-ups. We’ve tried several things with some clear results, and that’s what you want from testing. It was very productive.

“We don’t know what the others are doing, what programme they are following and how much fuel they have, and we need to wait until next Saturday to know. We’ll focus on ourselves and our plan is to arrive into next week with 100% effort.”

Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer was pleased to have made up for lost running time in Barcelona, with both Alonso and Esteban Ocon completing a large number of laps for the team in Bahrain. As a result, the team have been able to make considerable progress. 

Max Verstappen ended Pre-Season as fastest, after bringing the final day at the Bahrain International Circuit to a close. Verstappen ran in the afternoon for Oracle Red Bull Racing, with team-mate Sergio Pérez running in the morning.

Verstappen focused on the tyres he will use next week at the season opener during his final pre-season session in the car, the Dutchman still managed to end the day fastest though with a 1:31.720. The World Champion will begin his defence of his title at Bahrain next weekend, where he will be hoping to start the year on the top step.

Verstappen is happy with how the car felt, despite ending the day on top though he doesn’t think too much should be read into the timing sceen.

“The main focus today was testing the tyres we are going to use next week. The car felt alright and we completed the programme we set out to do, so that’s always positive. No one gives full beans or goes to qualifying spec at testing, so we can’t read too much into the timing screens. The new parts we tested today worked well which is what we always hope for.”

“We have definitely learnt a lot” – Sergio Pérez

Sergio Pérez got his final pre-season run during the morning of the final day, the Mexican completed 43 laps, the best of those was a 1:33.105. Pérez believes he has learnt a lot during pre-season but is also aware that there is still so much to learn about the new cars.