Marcus

Following two days of track action that saw incidents and accidents galore, Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas casually predicted that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix could potentially prove to be ‘more of a mess’ than last year’s relatively uneventful affair. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Such was the degree of accuracy of Bottas’s prediction, it would ultimately transpire that this very same driver’s recovery from the back of the field following a first lap collision all the way to taking second place in the final 100m of the race would only prove to be a minor talking point in post-race discussions. Yes, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was one of those very special Formula 1 races where few made it to the chequered flag unscathed, few could’ve predicted the result and few are likely to ever forget it. Because not only was this race one of constant chaos and drama, it may have also provided us with some significant spice in the already very tasty rivalry between that … [Read more...] about Championship tensions boil over between Vettel and Hamilton but Ricciardo stays cool · RaceFans

The IndyCar series will return next weekend following a three-week summer break. Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson leads the championship, with Will Power in a close second place – and nine races left in the 2022 season. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free That the top two in the championship represent Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske, respectively, is not a surprise. Since the reunification of major American open-wheel racing in 2008, IndyCar has awarded a season championship 14 times and only once has it not gone to a driver from either of these two powerhouse teams. But it is more of a surprise to find Marcus Ericsson leading the charge for Ganassi and Will Power doing the same for Penske. These weren’t two names which were widely tipped as top contenders back in February when the season began at St. Petersburg, Florida. With Álex Palou entering as the reigning IndyCar champion after his first year with Ganassi and six-time champion Scott Dixon … [Read more...] about Ericsson not the only unexpected name leading IndyCar points at halfway · RaceFans

Listen to this article After a “very encouraging” test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course on Thursday, the 2016 Indy 500 champion told Motorsport.com that he, race engineer Jeremy Milless and his teammates were continuing to work productively together and their dedication to winning had not shifted at all. “Everyone’s been very understanding with regard to my move,” said Rossi, who has been with Michael Andretti’s team since switching from Formula 1 at the end of 2015. “They all get it, for the most part. “And we’re very focused on the opportunity we have this year. I think everyone is allowing themselves to believe we have a shot at winning this championship, if we can keep the ball rolling and all the focus – including mine – is on that. “I can say for my part I haven’t thought once about 2023. It’s all about seeing what we can pull off in ’22.” Rossi, after eight rounds of the 2022 season lies seventh, 75 points behind championship leader and fellow … [Read more...] about Rossi: No change within Andretti despite imminent split

Listen to this article Aurally, the change was welcome. The normally-aspirated V8s of the Indy Racing League/IndyCar 1997-2011 era, at high revs, tended to sound as if 20-plus Canada geese were locked in one’s tympanic cavities and never needed to draw breath, and this could have a near nausea-inducing effect when the sound was bouncing off the concrete walls and buildings around a street course. The arrival of the 2.2-liter V6 turbos smoothed off that edge, and while still loud – particularly when going along the echo chamber of the back straight at Long Beach – it’s no longer unbearable. But the most welcome aspect of the switch in engine formulas was that it lured back Chevrolet, which had withdrawn from the series at the end of 1993, so IndyCar had an engine war, a second OEM to compete against Honda. Actually, it also briefly gained a third, but the less said about Judd’s effort on behalf of Lotus, the better. Helio Castroneves scored Chevrolet's first win on the … [Read more...] about The best of Chevrolet’s 101 IndyCar wins in the current era

Formula 2 driver Amaury Cordeel faces a ban from the next round at Silverstone after reaching the threshold of 12 penalty points on his licence. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Van Amersfoort driver had earned 11 penalty points by F2’s Barcelona round three weeks ago, but managed to avoid receiving any more during the Monaco races. However, his collision with Olli Caldwell during today’s feature race in Azerbaijan saw Cordeel issued a single penalty point which triggers an automatic ban. His other penalty points had been put on his license for a variety of offences: Failing to slow sufficiently for yellow and red flags in Jeddah, repeatedly ignoring track limits in Imola and failing to be in the correct grid order during the formation lap in Barcelona. Cordeel and Caldwell clashed in the final moments of the Baku feature race, prompting yellow flags on the final lap. The stewards ruled “car 14 [Caldwell] was behind car 25 [Cordeel] between turns … [Read more...] about Cordeel banned from Silverstone F2 round after reaching 12 penalty points · RaceFans

Listen to this article Event date: Thursday, June 30 – Sunday, July 03 Track: 2.258-mile, 13-turn permanent road course in Lexington, OH. Race distance: 80 laps (180.64 miles) Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate, one additional set of primaries available to rookies for use in first practice, when one set of alternates may also be used and returned to Firestone after the session. Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum of 20 seconds per single activation. IndyCar schedule (local/Eastern Time) and broadcast details Friday, July 1 3.30-4.45pm – First practice – Peacock Premium Saturday, July 2 9.30-10.30am – Second practice – Peacock Premium 2.45-4.00pm – Qualifying – Peacock Premium Sunday, July 3 9.45-10.15am – Warm-up – Peacock Premium “Drivers, start your engines” – NBC live 12.53pm – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the all-new 2023 Civic Type R … [Read more...] about IndyCar at Mid-Ohio – facts, schedule, entry list

Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap of the Italian Grand Prix during his pursuit of Sebastian Vettel at the end of the race. But the year-on-year improvement in lap time gives another indication that the cars were capable of breaking the all-time record for the fastest lap of any circuit at Monza this weekend. Wet conditions during final practice and qualifying meant we never got to see just how fast they could go, but Friday’s practice times also indicated record-breaking pace was possible . Juan Pablo Montoya’s record is safe for another year, but if the weather is better next season it will surely fall to someone. 2017 Italian Grand Prix lap times All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below: Go ad-free for just £1 per month >> Find out more and sign up 2017 Italian Grand Prix fastest laps Each driver’s fastest lap: Rank Driver … [Read more...] about 2017 Italian Grand Prix interactive lap times and fastest laps · RaceFans

Daniel Ricciardo climbed 12 places from his starting position to finish fourth in the Italian Grand Prix, which was the biggest gain of any driver in the race. Often drivers who make up large numbers of places do most of it at the start, but this wasn’t the case for Ricciardo, who gained only one position on the first lap. He made steady gains from there on, however, ultimately catching and passing Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari for fourth place. Max Verstappen was running ahead of Ricciardo in the other Red Bull before picking up damage while trying to pass Felipe Massa’s Williams. Had it not been for that, he might have had a chance of beating Sebastian Vettel for the final podium position. 2017 Italian Grand Prix lap chart The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below: Go ad-free for just £1 per month >> Find out more and sign up Driver Start position Lap one … [Read more...] about 2017 Italian Grand Prix interactive lap charts · RaceFans

Mercedes’ domination of the Italian Grand Prix extended to the pit stops where they produced the fastest stationary and complete times for their two drivers. Valtteri Bottas was stopped for less time than Lewis Hamilton – 2.15 seconds compared to 2.33 for his team mate – but Hamilton’s total time spent in the pits was slightly less. Not that it mattered much, as both were well clear of the competition. As usual one-stop strategies were the way to go at Monza. The tyres proved so durable teams could be quite flexible with exactly when to make they sole pit stops. Daniel Ricciardo , one of few drivers to start on the harder soft compound tyres, was able to run a short, fast stint on super-softs at the end and attack the Ferraris. But despite having produced some of the quickest pit stops in recent seasons Williams did not rise to the occasion on one of the few occasions they have been up at the sharp end this year. Lance Stroll had one of the race’s slowest pit stops after … [Read more...] about 2017 Italian Grand Prix tyre strategies and pit stops · RaceFans