Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

IndyCar legend Tony Kanaan was originally scheduled to be contesting all the oval races in 2022 for Chip Ganassi Racing, sharing a car once again with 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. However, those plans changed when Johnson announced that he would be running the full 2022 IndyCar season in CGR’s fourth car. This left a bit of a quandary as to how much Kanaan would be involved in the 2022 IndyCar season. In fact, there were initially some doubts over whether he’d even get involved at all, something which Kanaan himself was quick to address. Now Kanaan has confirmed that he will be a fifth entrant for CGR in the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500, running alongside the team’s four full-time competitors for the event.

Kanaan had said previously that the 2020 IndyCar season would be his last, but now he’s adamant that he doesn’t want to set a date over when he plans to call time on the series. “We called it ‘TK’s Last Lap’ three years ago, and I’m still making laps,” Kanaan said during a Zoom conference with the media. “Do I still think I can do it 100 percent? My question will be what if I win No. 2? Would I be coming back or not? So I’m not announcing anything. My intentions are for this not to be the last one. Next year will be my 25th year in IndyCar, and it would be pretty cool to do that.“

“I jumped the gun three years ago when I said that was going to be my last,” Kanaan continued. “I actually decided that that’s gone. We called it ‘TK’s Last Lap’ three years ago, and we’re still doing laps.“

Kanaan also stated that he’d be helping his “partner in crime” Jimmie Johnson make the transition to racing on ovals in an IndyCar. “This year we have the opportunity to be teammates, and I’m really excited about that,” he said. “The guy is a master in the ovals. He won seven NASCAR championships. A lot of people were asking that question when he announced (a road and street course schedule) that it didn’t make any sense I was subbing for him on the ovals.“

“It’s great for the Indy 500 and great for Jimmie,” expressed Kanaan. “When he threw his rookie hat at the end of the year away, I said, ‘Not too soon, my friend, you’re still going to be a rookie when you get to the 500,’ which it’s pretty cool. In the team, he has plenty of support between myself, (Scott) Dixon and Dario (Franchitti). I think he will be OK.“

FIA Formula 2’s newest racing outfit, Van Amersfoort Racing have announced that British racing driver Jake Hughes will race for them in the 2022 season.

It marks the first time the 27-year-old has had a full-time drive in the series, initially making his F2 debut with HWA Racelab for a single round at Sochi back in 2020. An injury to Jack Aitken the following season saw him step back into the German team for a few rounds.

With the Dutch team taking over from HWA Racelab for 2022, Hughes tested for them for two of the three days at the Abu Dhabi post-season testing where he finished in the top ten through three out of the four sessions.

“I’m overly excited to be racing with VAR in 2022. During the post-season test at Abu-Dhabi it became clear to me that VAR takes this new challenge extremely serious,” Said the Briton to Formula 2 journalists. “We are very much on the same level when it comes to vision and drive for success, making it a very pleasant environment to work in.”

Hughes continued by saying, “The F2 car is incredible to drive, and I look very much forward to compete in it for the full season. It will be a long and tough stretch, but I am eager to kick off the season soon in Bahrain!”

Ayumu Iwasa has joined DAMS for the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship, graduating from FIA Formula 3 after a steady rookie season. He joins the already announced Roy Nissany at DAMS who returns for his fourth season in F2.

Iwasa takes the step up the ladder after a twelfth-place finish in the 2021 F3 championship which includes a podium and a race win in Hungary. The Red Bull junior had his first taste of Formula 2 machinery during the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, where he first debuted for the French team.

“I’m very excited to take on my first year of F2 with DAMS. We worked together at the test in December, and I learnt a lot about the car and the team. We collected plenty of data, which will be useful ahead of the pre-season test.” Iwasa told Formula 2.

“I’ll be taking on some new tracks this year, which will be a challenge but I’m looking forward to developing my skills throughout the season. I used to live in Le Mans when I was racing in French F4 so it’s great to be competing in F2 with a team based in the area.”

The Honda Formula Dream Project driver started his European single-seater racing career by dominating the rest of the grid on his way to the 2020 French Formula 4 championship with a huge fifteen podiums including nine wins.

Reigning FIA Formula 2 Teams’ Champion PREMA Racing will field a brand new line-up for the 2022 season, consisting of the 2021 FIA Formula 3 Champion Dennis Hauger and the experienced Jehan Daruvala who makes the move from Carlin.

After a dominating season in F3 for the young Norwegian, PREMA have made the decision to retain him as he continues his climb up the single-seater ladder. The Red Bull junior scored nine podiums throughout the year, including four wins and three pole positions as he won the championship with twenty six point gap to Jack Doohan, a fellow F3 to F2 graduate.

“I’m delighted to continue with PREMA in 2022. We had a good year in 2021 with some amazing teamwork, and I really enjoyed it,” Hauger said to Formula 2. “I’m extremely happy that they keep believing in me, and I’m looking forward to carrying on the hard work we put in together this season as well.”

“We are delighted to continue the work we started with Dennis last year in F3, and that led to so many great results.” PREMA Racing Team Principal René Rosin added. “Of course, being a rookie is not always straightforward. However, in the postseason test Dennis made impressive progress, and we are looking forward to a positive season together.”

The Indian driver, Jehan Daruvala, returns to PREMA Racing after two seasons in F2 with Carlin, completing PREMA’s all Red Bull junior line-up. He previously competed for the Italian racing outfit in the 2019 F3 Championship where his five podiums including two wins bought him within arm’s reach of the crown.

Red Bull junior Jüri Vips has re-signed with the British racing outfit Hitech Grand Prix for his second full season of FIA Formula 2, after a sixth place finish in the 2021 season.

Vips first joined Hitech in 2019 for the FIA Formula 3 championship, where he finished fourth after claiming three race wins as well as another podium. He made the step up to F2 the following year with DAMS, replacing Sean Geleal for a number of races after the Indonesian broke a vertebra in the Barcelona Feature Race.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Hitech for another year. We built a strong relationship in 2021, which enabled me to get to grips with the car and work closely with the team to ensure we gave our very best throughout the season,” Vips told Formula 2.

“I’m looking forward to fighting for more victories. Massive thanks to Red Bull for their continuous support.”

2021 saw the Estonian go full-time in Formula 2 with Hitech and became the first driver to win twice in a single weekend at Baku after winning Sprint Race 2 and the Feature Race.

Following a strong first season in FIA Formula 2 with Hitech Grand Prix as well as a championship challenge in DTM, Liam Lawson has joined the Carlin for the 2022 season. The Red Bull junior partners Williams Academy driver Logan Sargeant to complete Carlin’s line-up for the new season.

The Kiwi made his first appearance for Carlin at post-season testing in Abu Dhabi where he finished in the top 10 four times across six sessions. As part of his Red Bull junior programme, he also tested for AlphaTauri Formula 1 team in the Young Driver tests.

“I’m super excited for the new opportunity this year. The pre-season test went really, really well,” Lawson told Formula 2. “It was a completely different experience to what I’ve been used to. The whole team is really focused on the right things and all super motivated going into the season.

Lawson won his début race in F2 and ended the season with another two podiums to finish ninth in the overall standings. It was in DTM where he showed his true racecraft. Ten podiums including three wins across his first season put him close to winning the title, only to be controversially taken out by his championship rival in the final races.

After winning the 2017 New Zealand F1600 title, the 19-year-old moved to Europe where he has raced in single seaters ever since. He moved his way up the ladder, starting with a second place finish in the 2018 ADAC Formula 4, followed by two seasons in FIA Formula 3 where he finished in eleventh and fifth respectively.

One day after Super Tex’s birthday, A.J. Foyt Enterprises have announced that Tatiana Calderón will pilot the No. 11 ROKiT Chevrolet on a road and street course program for the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series Season.

Calderón becomes the first woman to drive for Foyt in the team’s history, joining Dalton Kellett and fellow rookie Kyle Kirkwood as Foyt expands to a three-car operation for the upcoming season.

“Ever since I started my single seater career in the United States eleven years ago, IndyCar has been a reference for me and it’s a dream come true to be on the grid this year,” Calderón said.

The 28-year-old Colombia native tested with Foyt at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last July, where Team President Larry Foyt says she “showed a lot of potential,” sparking conversation about her possibly racing for the team in 2022.

“I think our three-car team is in for an exciting season,” Foyt continued.

PREMA have become the first team to announce their full lineup for the 2022 season with the announcement of Jak Crawford who will race alongside Oliver Bearman and Arthur Leclerc and will be hoping to win back the teams championship which they didn’t regain last season for the first time in FIA Formula 3 history.

Jak Crawford, who spent the 2021 campaign with Hitech Grand Prix, recorded a standout result at Spa where he finished in second place, on his way to finishing thirteenth in the standings in 2021 with 45 points. The Red Bull junior would also finish third in the Euroformula Open series taking eight wins and two podiums, despite missing two of the rounds which clashed with his commitments in FIA Formula 3. Crawford will make his debut for PREMA in the Formula Regional Asian Championship with Abu Dhabi Racing by PREMA in preparation for the up and coming Formula 3 season.

Jak Crawford was understandebly delighted to be joining PREMA given their rich history in the series on top of having the oppurtunity to race for the team in two series, showing their trust in the American.

“I’m very excited to be joining PREMA for a second season of FIA F3 as well as contesting the Formula Regional Asian Championship with them”

With the experience of last year, Crawford will be able to use this and build on this so that he can have a successful season and hopefully challenge for the drivers championship. Despite doing two series, the Red Bull Junior’s main focus will be the FIA Formula 3 title.

Masashi Yamamoto believes Honda decided to leave Formula 1 too early, but he hopes the Japanese engine manufacturer can return to the sport in the future.

Honda only returned as the fourth engine manufacturer to Formula 1 in 2014 as suppliers to the McLaren F1 Team before they switched their allegiance to Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2018.  In 2019, Red Bull Racing then also signed up to race with their engines.

Honda announced midway through the 2020 season that they would be pulling out of the sport at the end of 2021, and Yamamoto, the F1 Boss of the Japanese marque, says this was a company decision that was made too soon.  

“Personally yes, I agree,” said Yamamoto to Motorsport.com. “But this is obviously a company decision and I understand which way the company wants to go, so in the end we have to accept that.

“But we always have the imagination, so we hope one day Honda will return to F1.”

2021 FIA Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri insists this year will not be wasted despite him missing out on a Formula 1 seat in 2022.

The Australian took his third consecutive championship triumph in 2021, adding the Formula 2 crown to the FIA Formula 3 title of 2020 and Formula Renault Eurocup of 2019, but it was not enough for him to earn a promotion to Formula 1 despite the backing of the Alpine F1 Academy.

Piastri will act as the Alpine F1 Team’s reserve driver in 2022 and will participate in a handful of free practice sessions, and he insists his year will be one of learning despite a lack of competitive action as he learns from both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.

“I definitely don’t think it will be a wasted year,” said Piastri to Motorsport.com. “It goes without saying that I would have loved to have been on the grid, of course.

“But a lot of the things I can pick up next year, like the travelling schedule of an F1 season, having to adapt to that without the pressure of having to actually drive is quite beneficial, I guess.

Zak Brown says the McLaren F1 Team do not yet have the infrastructure in place to be genuine championship contenders in 2022, but he hopes they can be in a position to win races this year.

New aerodynamic and tyre regulations come into effect this year and is expected to close up the field, but Brown, the CEO at McLaren, reckons the timing is far from ideal for them with their new wind tunnel still a couple of years away and other parts of the company going through a rebuilding period.

Daniel Ricciardo took their first victory since 2012 in last years Italian Grand Prix just ahead of team-mate Lando Norris, and Brown hopes that they can at least repeat that feat in 2022, with their ultimate aim to be more competitive than they were in 2021.

“I don’t think (the championship is a realistic target),” said Brown to RACER. “As far as a title contender we’re still catching up on our infrastructure and specifically our wind tunnel, and it’s such a critical element of car development that we are hindered there.

“It is what it is, we’ll do the best we can but we fell behind on our infrastructure quite a bit. Now, even though we’ve bought everything, it’s taking time to implement and the wind tunnel is still a couple of years away.

With a strong performance from start to finish in the 2022 Dakar Rally, Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah is now tied with Ari Vatanen for the second most wins in the Car category with four. Many other stories throughout the thirteen stages in Saudi Arabia included Sam Sunderland scoring his second Bikes victory by slim margin, Austin Jones winning one for the Americans in even closer fashion, and Seth Quintero wrapping up what was nearly a perfect Rally.

Driving a Toyota Hilux T1+ for Toyota Gazoo Racing alongside navigator Matthieu Baumel, Al-Attiyah recorded a total time of 38 hours, 33 minutes, and 3 seconds. Al-Attiyah started off strong by winning A and B of Stage #1, as well as Stage #4; although fewer than his five from 2021, his overall time was twenty-seven minutes and forty-six seconds faster than that of Bahrain Raid Xtreme‘s Sébastien Loeb. Loeb, the nine-time World Rally Champion, falls short by finishing second for the second time with two stage wins in #2 and 7.

“Me, Mathieu and the team all did a great job from beginning until the end,” said Al-Attiyah, who is the only Middle Easterner to have multiple Dakar victories with previous triumphs in 2011, 2015, and 2019. “It was very important for me to win because now the Rally is in our region.”

DTM and World Rallycross star Mattias Ekström finished ninth overall after scoring his maiden stage win in the eighth. The victory was also a high point for his Audi Sport team, which deployed a fleet of hybrid RS Q e-trons for Ekström, Carlos Sainz, and reigning champion Stéphane Peterhansel. Peterhansel’s Rally unravelled almost immediately after a rear axle broke during the opening stage while he was running second.

In the Bikes, Sunderland won just Stage #8, but was consistent throughout and nabbed his second win after 2017 in dramatically close fashion; his time of 38:47:30 barely trumped Pablo Quintanilla by just three minutes and twenty-seven seconds. The Briton’s victory is also the first in the Rally for Spanish motorcycle make GasGas, which is owned by Sunderland’s former factory employer KTM. Nevertheless, as KTM has its own programme, Sunderland became the first rider to win the Dakar for different brands since Richard Sainct won in 1999/2000 for BMW and 2003 for KTM.

If Cody Ware has not caught up on Demon Slayer, he has a month to do so before the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season begins. On Friday, Ware announced via SiriusXM that he will return to the #51 Rick Ware Racing machine for the upcoming campaign.

The 2021 Cup Series marked Ware’s first full season of NASCAR competition after part-time racing across the three national divisions. While he was ineligible for Rookie of the Year as he ran for Xfinity Series points, he ran all but four Cup rounds with a best finish of twenty-first in the season-opening Daytona 500. He missed the races at Nashville and Watkins Glen as he was dabbling in the NTT IndyCar Series for the first time, while he was forced to sit out Richmond and Bristol in the fall due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Ware made three IndyCar starts during 2021 for Dale Coyne Racing, who has an alliance with RWR, as he respectively finished nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-fifth at Road America, the Music City Grand Prix, and the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix in Indianapolis. He had also planned to run the Indianapolis 500 and completed rookie orientation, but a lack of sponsorship prevented the opportunity from arising.

His 2021 also included seven starts in the Xfinity Series for SS-Green Light Racing, also an RWR partner, with two top-twenty finishes and a best run of fifteenth at Mid-Ohio. Prior to the NASCAR season, he débuted in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for RWR Eurasia alongside fellow Cup driver Austin Dillon, Sven Müller, and Salih Yoluç; the entry finished fourth in the LMP2 class. While Ware’s racing portfolio spans multiple disciplines, the Rolex 24 seeing his strongest performance of the year is perhaps unsurprising as much of his career had been spent in sports cars, which included being named Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Rookie of the Year in 2014 and winning the Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Am championship in 2019/20.

Although the #51 was a Chevrolet in 2021, it will be a Ford Mustang for 2022 as RWR has joined forces with Stewart-Haas Racing. The partnership means new SHR reserve driver Ryan Preece will serve as a team-mate to Ware in the #15 for two races; David Ragan will drive the car in the Daytona 500.

For the past two years, Conor Daly has been competing on a full-time basis in the NTT IndyCar Series, though with the caveat of it being split between Ed Carpenter Racing and Carlin. For 2022, however, he will finally commit to just one team for every race as he will permanently pilot the #20 Chevrolet for ECR. Cryptocurrency holdings company BitNile Holdings will sponsor his car and the team on a multi-year deal.

“To be able to come back to Ed Carpenter Racing for the full season is incredible,” said Daly. “I haven’t had the chance to be with one team for the entire year since 2017, so this is something I am very, very thankful for. I have a lot of faith in ECR and each year we continue to get better together.”

While Daly has competed in IndyCar since 2013, only two of his seasons have seen him race with just one team. He finished eighteenth in points in 2016 for Dale Coyne Racing, followed by placing there again the following year with A.J. Foyt Enterprises. After two years of bouncing between various teams including Carlin, he joined ECR in 2020 for the road courses and street circuits while running the ovals for Carlin. The same arrangement was kept in 2021, during which he once again recorded an eighteenth-place championship finish with a best run of eleventh in the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at Indianapolis and Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway.

Since 2020, Daly has also made one-off starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Niece Motorsports. While a deal to continue his stock car exploits has not been revealed, Racing America’s Matt Weaver reported he could run two races in addition to his full-time IndyCar slate.

Team owner Ed Carpenter will continue running the ovals, including the Indianapolis 500. With Daly in the #20, Carpenter is obviously unable to use that number, meaning he will have to utilise a different one for the first time since he raced with #67 for Sarah Fisher Racing in 2011. Rinus VeeKay returns to the #21 for a third season, making ECR a three-car operation.

After over three years of speculation, Robert Wickens is officially back in a race car.

On Friday, Wickens announced he will make his racing return by competing in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport. He will drive the #33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR alongside fellow Canadian Mark Wilkins.

“I’ve spent a lot of nights thinking and dreaming of this moment, and with the support from Bryan Herta and Hyundai it is all becoming a reality,” Wickens stated. “I am hungrier now than I was before my accident to compete for wins again. I’m really looking forward to incorporating myself with the entire Bryan Herta Autosport team and finally get my first taste of the Hyundai Elantra N TCR.”

The news caps off what has been a difficult and emotional saga for Wickens. In 2018, he was poised to become one of the NTT IndyCar Series‘ next big things when he scored four podium finishes as a rookie. However, his promising career came to a grinding halt when he was involved in a major crash at Pocono that sent him into the catchfence, resulting in massive injuries such as fractures to his spine, spinal cord, neck, and limbs. He was paralysed from the waist down, forcing him into a wheelchair.

Wickens documented his recovery over the next three years, posting videos of him moving his legs with and without assistance and even dancing with his wife Karli during their wedding in 2019. That year also saw him drive the pace car at Honda Indy Toronto with hand controls. By 2020, he was partaking in sim racing events such as the IndyCar iRacing Challenge.