Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

As part of McLaren Racing‘s team-wide livery reveal on Friday that includes Formula One and Extreme E, the organisation’s NTT IndyCar Series side Arrow McLaren SP débuted a pair of Chevrolets with slight differences from their 2021 versions. While Pato O’Ward‘s #5 and Felix Rosenqvist‘s #7 have different primary colours as the former’s car is black and the latter’s is blue to reflect their sponsors, both use the new McLaren shade of papaya orange (called “Fluro Papaya”) and blue (“New Blue”).

O’Ward returns to the #5, sponsored by Arrow Electronics, for a third season. After a strong rookie season in 2020 (McLaren’s first in IndyCar), he broke through with a two-win campaign in 2021 at Texas and Detroit en route to a third-place points finish. At the end of the year, O’Ward joined McLaren’s F1 programme for the Abu Dhabi Young Driver’s Test, where he was the fourth quickest driver. Such a run sparked speculation about potentially moving up to F1 in the future, though at the moment, he is content with vying for the IndyCar championship. While McLaren boss Zak Brown described him as having “what it takes from a raw talent point of view to be a Formula One driver,” he also emphasised that O’Ward’s best shot of making it to F1 would be to win an IndyCar title.

“I am going into my third full season of IndyCar racing this year, coming off a strong run in 2021,” said O’Ward. “Every year, Arrow McLaren SP and I keep raising the bar for ourselves, and I plan it to be no different in 2022. We have another shot at the Indianapolis 500 this year and plan to be in the fight for the championship from the start.

“[…] I don’t have any expectation that this year will be easy. Bring it on and let’s see what we can do. I will be giving it absolutely everything in and out of the car so we can make the best out of 2022.”

Rosenqvist rejoins the blue-based #7 Vuse machine for a second season. His first year with McLaren was a difficult one, missing two races due to injuries sustained in a wreck at Detroit and finishing twenty-first in points with a best finish of sixth at Portland. Prior to McLaren, the Swede spent two seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing and won his maiden series race at Road America in 2020.

With the start of the 2022 Extreme E Championship a week away, McLaren Racing is set for its first foray into the electric off-road series with some very familiar colours. As part of the team-wide livery reveal that includes its Formula One and NTT IndyCar Series programmes, McLaren unveiled the “Fluro Papaya” and “New Blue” paint scheme that the Extreme E side’s Odyssey 21 will sport.

McLaren announced its entry into Extreme E last June, when the series was two rounds into its inaugural season. The decision came as the team expressed interest in expanding its horizons to include environmental and diversity goals. Tanner Foust and Emma Gilmour were tabbed as the team’s 2022 lineup, with Gilmour moving over from Veloce Racing while Foust is a newcomer.

Gilmour was Veloce’s reserve driver but saw action at the Arctic and Island X Prixes while regular driver Jamie Chadwick was competing in the W Series. The Veloce duo of Gilmour and Stéphane Sarrazin finished sixth and eighth in the two rounds. Veloce would place seventh in the standings with a runner-up finish at the Ocean X Prix. When Gilmour signed with McLaren in November, she became the team’s first female driver. Prior to Extreme E, she raced in New Zealand Rally Championship and rallycross, the latter of which included competing at the X Games in 2014.

“After the winter break Tanner and I are ready to get back in the car and we certainly can’t wait to be reunited with ours in its spectacular new livery,” Gilmour stated. “We haven’t seen the car since the ship left the UK to transport the cars to Saudi at the end of December. It’s going to be some reunion. We’ve got a great small team ready to see us through our first season as well as some epic and challenging race locations.”

Foust joins Extreme E, a car which he described in Friday’s reveal as like “a really fast marshmallow”, as one of the most iconic names in American drifting and rallycross. He won the 2012 Global Rallycross and 2019 Americas Rallycross Championships, a wealth of X Games rallycross and gymkhana medals, and even titles in Formula Drift and Rally America. In 2021, he competed in the newly formed Nitro Rallycross and placed sixth in the standings. His legend also expands outside of competition as a former co-host of the American adaption of Top Gear and performing stunts for films like The Fast and the Furious franchise and Ford v Ferrari.

With their 2022 launch only a matter of days away, Williams Racing have announced a multi-year deal with The Financial Times, extending their current partnership.

The partnership which is now entering its third year, has proved to be successful for both parties. Williams and The Financial Times have both seen their visibility grow amongst global and influential audiences.

The renewal will see the return of exclusive in-person events across the globe throughout the racing calendar at Williams, which will bring the world of Formula One to life for The Financial Times key commercial partners. As part of the new deal, the Financial Times will also have a presence in Williams’ new digital fan engagement platform.

The Financial Times logo will remain on the team’s Formula One cars in the upcoming season and will be moving from its current placement to the front wing end plate inside.

James Bower, Commercial Director at Williams Racing, is extremely pleased that the partnership has been extended.

Ahead of their 2022 launch, the Alpine F1 Team have announced former Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team sponsor BWT, as their brand-new title partner for the upcoming season.

Best Water Technology (BWT), who are an Austrian water treatment supplier, have signed a strategic long-term partnership with Alpine, becoming their title partner in the process. The team will therefore officially be known as the BWT Alpine F1 Team. BWT are famous for their renowned pink colour, which it has been confirmed will be incorporated into the team’s 2022 livery alongside the traditional blue of Alpine.

Alpine have included BWT’s famous pink branding into their livery for the upcoming season, to spread the message of sustainability and social responsibility further around the world, utilising the combined global platforms of Formula 1 and the automotive industry. The pink colour symbolises BWT’s mission to ‘Change the World – sip by sip’ and to make it a little bit better every day by implementing the Bottle Free Zone concept.

Cédric Journel, Alpine Sales and Marketing Vice President, is delighted with the partnership and what it means for Alpine’s future.

“We are excited to announce that BWT will be the title partner for Alpine F1 Team for the next years. Both Alpine’s and BWT’s sustainability agendas are fully aligned on eliminating single use plastics and we are pleased to join forces to convince many people around the globe, our employees, partners, customers and fans to reduce plastic waste. In parallel we will use the huge global platform F1 provides to support BWT in their fight against the unfair distribution of clean, safe and healthy drinking water.” 

After an extremely successful first season with Scuderia Ferrari, Carlos Sainz Jr appears to be thoroughly enjoying his winter break, before pre-season testing kicks-off at the end of the month.

Sainz who is a massive fan of Spanish footballing giants Real Madrid C.F, recently visited the club’s training ground to take on Real Madrid and Belgium Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, at FIFA 22 and more importantly the F1 2021 video game.

Courtois is no stranger to the F1 video games, the Belgian was a regular figure in the F1 Virtual Grand Prix Series during the Coronavirus pandemic. Sainz on the other hand is a keen FIFA player during his down-time, and recently took on Courtois’ team-mate Marco Asensio.

Real Madrid hold a huge piece of Sainz’s heart, the Spaniard was made an honorary member by the club in March 2021, the highest distinction awarded by the club. The pair’s collaboration was filmed and recently uploaded to Real Madrid’s official YouTube page, which you can find by clicking the video at the bottom of this article!

In the video the pair first battled it out on the F1 2021 game using of course a sim-rig, Sainz and Courtois were tasked with seeing who could set the fastest lap-time on the recently added Jeddah Corniche Circuit, home of course to the new for 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Whilst Courtois has plenty of experience behind a sim, it would come as no surprise that Sainz was fastest with a 1:29.385, compared to Courtois’ respectable 1:30.978.

The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team has definitely had a much better start this year than it had in its debut season last year. Whilst the first race didn’t go that well (both drivers finished outside the points), in the second race Andre Lotterer managed to bring home a 4th place finish along with Pascal Wehrlein bringing in some extra points in 9th place. With the Mexico City ePrix coming up, the team definitely feels good about its chances. Porsche has historically been competitive in Mexico (Lotterer got pole position at the Mexico ePrix in Puebla last year) and, whilst this year it’ll be at a very different track, that previous success will no doubt spur the team on.

“It was great to see how hard the team worked through the night after race 1 to come back strong the next day,” said Florian Modlinger, who had his first race at the helm of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team that weekend. “We analysed many things and came to the right conclusions. Looking ahead to Mexico and the rest of the season, I’m thrilled to be working with such a highly motivated team.“

As for how the team needed to improve going forward, Modlinger was very clear about that. “Essentially, the technical and operational aspects such as reliability, car preparation and the event procedures went well. What we need to improve on is the qualifying speed so that we can get both of our drivers into the shootout. Another important issue in race 1 was energy management. We managed to improve this significantly for race 2, but we still have a lot of work to do to find even more potential.“

Whilst the extra time at the end of the race thanks to the new safety car rules had been a topic of controversy for some, Modlinger definitely didn’t see things that way. That is, at least when it came to race 1 at Diriyah. When it came to the late safety car period in race 2, he felt a little differently about it. “The extra time worked really well in the first race. It didn’t work out in race 2 because the race finished with a late safety car phase. That was unfortunate for André and Pascal and denied them the chance of achieving a better result.“

As for the new qualifying format, Modlinger had nothing but positive words to say about it. “I think the new qualifying mode is excellent. It’s not only fairer on the drivers but the one-on-one duels make it more spectacular for the spectators at the track and for TV viewers. All in all, a big improvement.“

In what is rumoured to be the longest contract deal ever signed in Formula 1, the Bahrain Grand Prix will feature on the calendar until at least 2036, after having it’s contract extended.

The Bahrain International Circuit, situated in Sakhir, will remain on the ever-increasing calendar for at least another fourteen years. The venue first featured in Formula 1 back in 2004, when it was originally a traditional daytime race. Bahrain was also the first Middle-Eastern country to hold a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The circuit has been a traditional host of pre-season testing for a number of years, with this year being no different. The circuit will host the official pre-season testing as well as the opening round of the championship from 18-20 March.

More importantly the opening race of the upcoming season in Bahrain, will be the world’s first chance to see the new era of Formula 1 cars go racing! Formula 1 CEO and President Stefano Domenicali is extremely pleased that the venue will remain on the calendar for many years to come.

“I am delighted we will be racing at the Bahrain International Circuit until 2036, where more incredible racing and excitement will be on show to thrill our fans. Since 2004 we have had some fantastic races in Sakhir and we cannot wait to be back there for the start of the 2022 championship as we begin a new era for the sport.

United Autosports has unveiled that Paul Di Resta will return to the Anglo-American LMP2 team for the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Sebring.

As Alex Lynn will be focusing on his commitments with Chip Ganassi Racing in IMSA that weekend, Di Resta will substitute in the No. 23 car. The Scot will pilot the car with Josh Pierson and Oliver Jarvis and will be returning to the WEC for the first time since last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, where he finished fourth alongside Wayne Boyd and Alex Lynn. Di Resta last competed in a full season of the FIA WEC in 2019/2020 with the team.

Paul Di Resta has said: ‘It’ll be nice to be back racing in Sebring for the opening round of WEC. I’ll be taking up my duties with Peugeot later in the year, but I think LMP2 is looking really good this year in a very special championship. Its something to look forward to alongside Olly and Josh. We will be looking to maximise what we can in an ultra-competitive championship. Thanks to Zak, Richard and everyone for the opportunity.’

United Autosports will be looking to get their campaign off to a strong start as they take the fight to last years champions; Team WRT.

Team WRT have announced their driver pairings that will aim to defend the FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 crown the Belgian squad obtained last season.

2021 saw the squad have a slow startup until the 6 hours of Monza where a second-place finish opened the floodgates for the season. 3 wins including the 24 Hours of Le Mans saw the #31 car take the crown at the end of the season. This year the task will be to defend that title which the squad isn’t new to due to their success in other championships.

The team will run Sean Gelael along side Audi stalwarts; Robin Frijns and René Rast. Gelael moves from JOTA to pilot the No. 31 Oreca, whereas Frijns remains with the team for the second consecutive year. Rast brings plenty of top-line championship experience to the team with three DTM titles and a multiple endurance race winner (including the 2014 Spa 24 hours with Team WRT).

The second car will be run under the REALTEAM by WRT banner, 2021 ELMS Pro-Am champion Rui Andrade, will have Ferdinand Habsburg and Norman Nato as his teammates.

Team WRT Team boss Vincent Vosse commented: “We are delighted to reveal our complete 2022 FIA WEC line-ups and to add such heavy names; all drivers with great CVs, great skills and familiar with the team. We have a challenging task ahead of us, as repeating the success we had in our first FIA WEC campaign, won’t be easy. These strong line-ups will be useful to face the anticipated strong competition, as the game is rising dramatically in the FIA WEC ahead of 2023.”

Last weekend in Diriyah was a bit of a mixed bag for the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team. Whilst the first race went fantastically with the team netting a 1-2 finish (the race being won by Nyck De Vries), the second race didn’t quite go so well and it was Mercedes customer team ROKiT Venturi Racing that ended up getting a big victory instead. That hasn’t dulled the team’s ambition and enthusiasm, though. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is usually a good track for Mercedes and, if everything goes well, the team is hoping that another great result will happen!

“Diriyah was a good weekend for the team,” said Team Principal Ian James. “It might surprise some people that I am not calling it a great weekend. Yes, we did take two Pole Positions and a 1-2 win in the first race, but we found ourselves slightly on the back foot later on in the weekend.” That’s not something that seems to have disheartened the him and the Mercedes team, though. “Since then, we’ve been working hard on understanding why we failed to realise our potential in Race 2 and how we improve going forward,” he continued.
 
“Now, less than two weeks later, we are already on our way to the next race weekend of the season: the Mexico City E-Prix awaits us. Mexico is always a fantastic place to visit. There is excitement in the air and the fans are extremely passionate about racing. Having fans return to the track for this weekend will, undoubtedly, be one of the highlights.“
 
“In Mexico, we are planning on realising the pace we know we can achieve with our team and our car package. Our powertrain has proven to be a strong contender at track, but above all: our people have shown time and time again that they are up for a challenge. That prospect makes me excited for the race weekend to come!“

“All in all, we had a good start to the season in Diriyah, although we left Saudi Arabia with mixed feelings,” said Stoffel Vandoorne. “After having had a very successful first race, our results perhaps didn’t quite match expectations on the second day. We just couldn’t extract the maximum out of that second race, but it shows that we have to stay humble and continue to work hard on all the details if we want to compete consistently at the highest level. At the same time, it shows just how intense competition in the series actually is.“

“I’m really looking forward to heading to Mexico again,” he continued. “It’s one of the most amazing races of the year, especially where the fans are concerned – they are extremely passionate about our sport. Driving through the stadium in front of all the spectators will feel incredible. The circuit is very energy sensitive, and we’ve done relatively well there in the past although that may not always have been apparent from the results. We still have untapped potential in Mexico and I hope that we can realise it this year. We will continue to work hard towards achieving that goal in the days ahead.“

“I’m really looking forward to the second race weekend of the season in Mexico after the season-opener in Diriyah,” said Nyck De Vries. “We’ve had a most encouraging start to the season but are very aware of the challenges that still lie ahead of us. We know how competitive our rivals are, so we have to bring our A game in order to remain major contenders. Everyone is bunched very close together, but we feel confident about the event in Mexico and are fully focused on preparations as usual right now.“

Virtuosi Racing are the first certified ROKiT British Formula 4 team to test the new 2022 second generation car. The team conducted a full day running around the 1.2-mile-long Brands Hatch circuit. 

The recently announced team member Edward Pearson was at the wheel throughout the test. The 15-year-old commented, “It’s fantastic to be able to get my first laps in the car ticked off. Today was all about bedding everything in, checking the car over and getting myself up to speed as a driver,

“We started off cautiously and then gradually built it up and by the end of the day, we were posting good lap times. It’s my first test in the car and with the team, so very much just a case of establishing the foundations for the winter ahead.

“The car itself is a lot of fun to drive, and obviously quite different to what I’m used to racing in Ginetta Juniors. I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to get back behind the wheel already.”

Virtuosi Racing Team manager, Mark Salmon also praised the car, “For the first test, we have to be very happy with how today has gone. Our engineering team has plenty of data to go away and crunch some numbers, and for Edward, we’ve started to build up his mileage in the car before the season starts,

“The car itself is fantastic for this level. Today was our first run out with it, and it’s gone flawlessly, which really gives us the confidence to start pushing the limits straight out of the box.

“I have a feeling the championship is going to have quite a few people talking this season.”

CEO of Motorsport UK, Hugh Chambers, added, “It’s fantastic to see our teams begin their winter testing programmes, and I’m sure with a brand new car, engine package and tyre to get their heads around, things will be flat out between now and the start of the season.

“Both Edward and Virtuosi are very enthusiastic following the test, so it’s clear to see the new Tatuus T-421 has made quite an impression in such a short space of time.

“We wish all the teams the best with their pre-season preparations and look forward to the opening rounds at Donington Park in just twelve weeks’ time.”

It has been rumoured that the Ypres Rally in Belgium could soon be added to the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship calendar after representatives from the event organisation spoke whit Belgian newspaper Les Sports.

If the rally does take place in this year’s calendar, it will be held either in August or September and according to the news article the FIA and the WRC Promoter will give a go-head for a continuation after the 2021 edition.

Before the organiser can sign the contracts, it is required that the Wallonne region and the Belgian federation continue to be financiers of the project, when these agreements are secured, the organiser can sign the agreement with the WRC Promoter.

The most likely date for it to be held at is 18-21 August and for this year’s edition if it’s given a go, the rally won’t take part on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps race circuit as Formula 1 will be racing there the following weekend.

XITE Energy will continue supporting the Extreme E Championship for the series’ second season in 2022.

Located in Bristol, UK, XITE Energy primarily focuses on energy drinks, with the titular product containing natural caffeine from green coffee beans among other ingredients like pansax ginseng and sucralose while containing no sugar. XITE also sells nootropic energy bars that contain seventeen grams of plant protein and a blend of five nootropics like choline and iodine.

“The product is a perfect fit for our Championship,” commented Extreme E chief marketing officer Ali Russell. “Not only do the drinks taste and make you feel great, but the company also shares many of Extreme E’s core values, particularly its focus and investment in renewable energies and sustainable transport systems. We look forward to collaborating even further with XITE Energy throughout Season 2.”

The company was co-founded by Oliver Bennett and Megan Jones in 2017, after the duo had completed their university studies. Bennett, a business student, began racing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship that year after two years in British Rallycross. XITE Energy has sponsored his rallycross endeavours under the XITE Racing banner.

In 2021, Bennett brought XITE to a pair of newly formed racing series in Extreme E and Nitro Rallycross. In the latter, he ran the full season and won a battle qualifying race in the first race at Utah Motorsports Campus. Bennett finished sixteenth in points of eighteen drivers.

ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team‘s Carlos Sainz Sr. and Laia Sanz will look to build upon their 2021 Extreme E campaign in 2022. On Thursday, the team announced the pair will return for the upcoming season.

The team’s red Odyssey 21 finished in a deadlock for fifth in the team championship with ABT CUPRA XE with 100 points apiece, though CUPRA held the edge with a higher best finish of second at the Island X-Prix to Sainz’s Arctic X-Prix third. Sainz XE made waves early on after qualifying second for the inaugural race in the Desert X-Prix before finishing fourth, and another top-three qualifying effort came at the Jurassic X-Prix season finale.

Sainz entered Extreme E with decades of success in the FIA World Rally Championship and Dakar Rally as a two-time champion in the former in 1990 and 1992 and quadruple winner of the latter (2010, 2011, 2020). His son Carlos Jr. is set for his second Formula One season with Scuderia Ferrari.

“It’s quite surprising how fast time flies because it seemed yesterday that we were about to embark on this thrilling adventure that has taken us all over the world with a unique message,” said Sainz. “All the members of the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team, also Laia and myself, are really looking forward to this new season in which we want to fight for everything. The experience we gained in 2021 must help us to take a step forward to start fighting for better results and even the Championship. I am really looking forward to the first X Prix in Saudi Arabia to show just how much we have progressed.

“The level of the Championship is really high, but we want to win and to send the strongest possible message about the importance of sustainability and respecting the environment.”

Matt Mills will return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on 4 March 2022 when he drives the #20 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Young’s Motorsports at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It will be the first of four races with the team as he will also race at Kansas Speedway (14 May), World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (4 June), and Richmond Raceway (13 August). J.F. Electric will sponsor his truck.

Mills ran eleven Truck races between 2016 and 2018, with his most recent start being a thirty-first for now-David Gilliland Racing at Michigan’s Corrigan Oil 200. He notched two top twenties for Faith Motorsports at Kansas and Dover in 2017.

Las Vegas is the only track of his four on which he has previously raced in the Trucks, finishing twenty-fifth for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing in 2017. Gateway is close to J.F. Electric’s headquarters in Edwardsville, Illinois.

“Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of my favorite race tracks,” said Mills. “The track always provides a fun atmosphere at a great facility and I seem to usually have good speed in whatever I go there in. I am looking forward to continuing that pace with the Young’s Motorsports team next month too.”

The 25-year-old primarily competes in the Xfinity Series, and is set for his sixth season there with B.J. McLeod Motorsports. In 2021, he finished twenty-ninth in points with a best run of fourteenth at Michigan.