Best indycar drivers 2023

The three rookie drivers who will take their places on the grid for the 2023 F1 season arrive with differing expectations heaped upon them. Not only due to the different paths they’ve taken to reach F1, but also because of the teams they are joining. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The most experienced of the trio is AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries , who has one F1 start to his name courtesy of a last-minute call-up to replace the ill Alex Albon at Williams for last year’s Italian Grand Prix. His performance that weekend made him a target of multiple teams for 2023, and Red Bull’s interest won out over Williams’, so de Vries signed for its secondary AlphaTauri team for his long-awaited rookie F1 season. De Vries qualified 13th at Monza but started eighth due to others being penalised. He scored two points by finishing ninth in a car he had only driven in two practice sessions before his first run in qualifying. Team mate Nicholas Latifi came in 15th. … [Read more...] about De Vries vs Piastri vs Sargeant: Which rookie is best prepared for their F1 debut?

Kyle Kirkwood has secured his place on the IndyCar grid for 2024 and beyond after signing a new multi-year contract with Andretti. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The team fielded four full-time cars this season but have trimmed their entry to three for 2024. Colton Herta and Kirkwood go into their fifth and second seasons with Andretti respectively, while Marcus Ericsson joins from Chip Ganassi Racing. Kirkwood first raced for Andretti in 2021, when he won the Indy Nxt title with the team. That provided him with a scholarship to step up to IndyCar and he made the move with AJ Foyt Racing. Tenth place in Long Beach was the best result of his rookie season, and just six races into his IndyCar career he was announced as joining Andretti for 2023. The team switch worked well for Kirkwood, as he scored almost twice as many points as he had the year before and won from pole in Long Beach just three races into the campaign. Later in the year he picked up … [Read more...] about Rising IndyCar star Kirkwood signs contract extension with Andretti

World Endurance Championship title holder and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Ryo Hirakawa has joined McLaren’s driver development programme. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Hirakawa will serve as one of the team’s reserve drivers in Formula 1 this year. His signing comes after IndyCar champion Alex Palou cut his ties with the team and chose to remain with Ganassi in the US series. McLaren confirmed Hirakawa will continue to drive for Toyota in WEC, where he leads the championship he won last year with his team mates Brendon Hartley and Sebastien Buemi. The 29-year-old is also in his sixth season of racing in Japan’s Super Formula series, where he currently races against drivers including AlphaTauri racer Liam Lawson . Hirakawa has won four races in the series and has a best championship position of second. McLaren has not indicated whether it plans to run Hirakawa in practice sessions, though his lack of F1 experience means doing so would count towards … [Read more...] about McLaren signs WEC champion and Le Mans winner Hirakawa as F1 reserve driver

The Barbados-born Caymanian was signed as a development driver with CGR in May 2022, only two races into his Indy NXT career that already featured a fifth-place finish (Barber Motorsports Park). He ended up finishing his rookie campaign ninth in the overall standings despite switching teams – TJ Speed Motorsports to HMD Motorsports – mid-season. There were already some flashes of potential shown the year prior as Simpson rolled to seven wins, 13 podiums and two poles en route to winning the 2021 Formula Regional Americas Championship. Fast forward to the conclusion of the 2023 Indy NXT season, the 18-year-old’s record included a career-best runner-up result (Mid-Ohio), an additional podium and a pole to finish 10th in the championship standings after competing in 13 of 14 events. The lone event missed, the 1.25-mile oval formerly known as Gateway, was a result of a schedule conflict with his full-time commitment to the European Le Mans Series. He currently sits second in the … [Read more...] about Indy NXT grad Simpson’s path to CGR seat aided by sports car experience

It has been another busy day in the world of Formula 1, so it is time to catch-up on the major talking points. With Max Verstappen leaving all challengers in his dust, Ferrari have been told to whip out a “blank cheque” to prise the Dutchman away from Red Bull, while Andretti has cleared a major hurdle in their efforts to join Verstappen on the Formula 1 grid. Let us then dive into the action… Ferrari urged to launch mega-money Max Verstappen pursuit If any of Verstappen’s doubters after that stumble in Singapore have followed his suggestion, then right now they will be sucking on an egg as the Dutchman returned to top, unstoppable form with victory at Suzuka. That result ensured that Red Bull retained the Constructors’ title for F1 2023, while Verstappen is now closing in fast on a third World Championship title. So, how can rivals like Ferrari possible stop the Verstappen-Red Bull onslaught? Well, Tom Coronel suggests they dig deep into their pockets to lure Verstappen … [Read more...] about Ferrari urged to make major signing with Andretti F1 bid ‘successful’ – F1 news round-up