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ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... ANTONELLI WINS AT MONZA FROM 19TH ON THE GRID! BRAVO! FERRARI FAIL AGAIN AT MONZA BUT...THERE COULD BE HOPE GEORGE SEES HIS CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES FIZZLE FREE MCLARENS GIVEN TO MOTORSPORTS TRIBUNAL JUDGES! AND...FERNANDO SAYS...GP2 ENGINE GP2... THE NASIR HAMEED CORNER FEATURES: NICO HULKENBURG AND F1W LISTENER RICHARD BRIGHT WHO, BUMPS INTO NASIR IN COLOGNE! BONUS: DESIREE'S MONZA TRACK HISTORY! AND...YES WE DO NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KEEP THIS SHOW ON THE AIR, JUST CLICK ON THE SUPPORT F1W TAB, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! F1W TAB Kimi Antonelli's stunning victory in the Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid will go down in Formula 1 folklore - and, remarkably, his team boss Toto Wolff said that he had seen it coming on Saturday. After Sunday's race, Wolff said that beforehand he thought that one of his two drivers was going to be standing on the top of the podium. It was an eye-opening statement given they started the race 17 places apart on the grid, George Russell on the front row alongside shock pole winner Pierre Gasly's Alpine; Antonelli on the penultimate row. "I thought one of the two is going to win," Wolff said. "Either George, because he was on the front row, or Kimi because he's going to walk over water, here at Monza. And I felt that yesterday also." Wolff was asked to explain why he felt a performance he was comparing to a miracle was on the cards. "It's been a while that I've seen drivers," he said. "Energy levels, mindset or behavioural pattern. I knew that was his mission today, to win the race. I chatted with his father yesterday. The father also saw that coming. "These are the moments where you can see how a weekend is panning out through the sessions that a special moment can come." “I will remember forever” – Antonelli’s joy of winning the his home race from the back of the grid The Italian GP podium is always a special one, but for Kimi Antonelli to win his home race after starting all the way down in 19th place, the young Mercedes driver let out all his joy over the radio, and couldn’t hide his emotions even after the race, saying the fans just add “that little bit extra” emotion that spurred him on to a success he “will remember forever“: “I think this is the most special podium of the season,” he said in the press conference after the race. “To see all the fans on the straight, it’s just incredible. And then, of course, you know, being at home, it adds that little bit of extra. And, yeah, super, super happy with that.“ When asked if this was the best race of his career, Antonelli was quite philosophical in saying the best one is “yet to come“: “I mean, the best one has yet to come, but I feel like it was one of the best races I’ve done so far, and one that I will remember forever. “I think definitely the fans gave that little bit extra to push more. “For sure, the support has been great this weekend. So definitely, seeing the grandstand cheering every lap, for sure it gave that little bit of extra to push more and to try and do even better to win it.” McLaughlin Ends Drought With Dominant Laguna Seca Win MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026) – Scott McLaughlin ended a long winless streak and the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in style, dominating the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey for his first victory in more than two years. Pole sitter McLaughlin drove the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by 1.3739 seconds over the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. The win was the eighth of McLaughlin’s INDYCAR SERIES career and his first since Sept. 1, 2024, in the second race of a doubleheader weekend at the Milwaukee Mile, snapping a drought of 36 races. SEE: Race Results “My little girl (Lucy, born in October 2024) hasn’t seen me win yet, and now she has,” McLaughlin said. “So, Dad’s coming home with a trophy, baby. Let’s go! “These guys and girls at Team Penske have stood behind me the whole time. Congrats to Alex (Palou) on his fifth (championship), but we’re working hard to beat them, and today was a big step in the right direction.” Alexander Rossi finished third in the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet for his first podium finish since placing third at this event for Arrow McLaren in June 2024. Felix Rosenqvist placed fourth in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda. David Malukas put two Team Penske cars in the top five in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Alex Palou punctuated the fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship that he clinched last weekend at Milwaukee with a quiet drive to eighth place in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing after he won this race the last two years. But Palou and the CGR team celebrated its record-tying fourth consecutive season title with donuts on the front straightaway by the driver and again in a boisterous post-race Astor Challenge Cup presentation. McLaughlin left absolutely no doubt about his dominance in this race on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. He only trailed during pit stop sequences and ended up leading 87 of 95 laps, erasing all memories of the six podium finishes without a win since his last triumph. There was only one caution period in the race, for a Lap 1 incident in which Sting Ray Robb’s No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing – Goodheart Chevrolet hit the rear of Dennis Hauger’s No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda of Dale Coyne Racing in Turn 6, sending Hauger spinning into the tire barrier. McLaughlin had no problem pulling away from the field on the restart on Lap 4, and his precise driving and Team Penske’s clean, quick work during three pit stops took care of the rest. “We had to be solid,” McLaughlin said. “That’s what it’s going to take to win a championship. What a great warmup we had. Bring on 2027.” Kirkwood, who started sixth, had climbed to second by Lap 20 after Palou pitted to switch to a different tire strategy and shadowed McLaughlin for the rest of the way, pitting at the same time as McLaughlin on all three stops. McLaughlin’s lead was nearly four seconds at the halfway point, but Kirkwood pulled as close as 1.2 seconds on Lap 72 due to running his final stint on the faster but less-durable Firestone Firehawk alternate tire. But McLaughlin eased away in the closing laps on the more durable Firestone primary tire, as Kirkwood admitted he and the Andretti Global team took a safety-first approach to ensure the driver would finish a career-best second in the standings. Kirkwood ended up 86 points behind champion Palou. “Second in the championship, and that’s my best road-course finish,” Kirkwood said. “We just played it super clean, super methodical. I wish I could have had a go at Scotty there at the end on the better tires, but we knew who we were fighting, and that was for the championship, mostly. So, we played it safe there. Second place is best of the rest.” 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Rossi also was a fixture in the top three for most of the race, producing the best day for ECR since teammate Christian Rasmussen won in August 2025 at Milwaukee. Rasmussen also finished third this year at World Wide Technology Raceway, but road courses have been a weak spot for ECR this season. The best previous finish on this type of circuit was sixth by Rossi in June at Road America. “I don’t think I could state the significance of it just with how challenging this year has been for the whole organization and how much road courses have been a huge struggle of ours,” Rossi said. “There was a lot of doubt coming into this event whether we could find a direction, so I think this is just a huge reward for all the effort.” Despite finishing last in the 25-car field due to the incident with Robb, Hauger hung on to win series Rookie of the Year honors. He finished with 228 points, 15 ahead of Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the rookie race.

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... ZACK COULD BEAT TOTO, AT HIS OWN GAME... IS NORRIS THE "A" TEAM AND, OSCAR THE "B" TEAM... CARLOS SAINZ...AS HE SIGNS ANOTHER CONTRACT WITH WILLIAMS HE KNOWS HIS CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES ARE GONE...AND FERNANDO SAYS...HONDA MAKING PROGRESS! I'M NOT GONA MISS IT! THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER ANOTHER MOMENT IN F1 HISTORY...THE 2014 SEASON AND, THE CHAOS BETWEEN TWO DRIVERS! ...INTERVIEW WITH JOS AND MAX VERSTAPPEN DURING HIS SHORT FORMULA 3 SEASON! ANOTHER NASIR CLASSIC! OUR BONUS: TECH TALK WITH TIM....THE FRICS SYSTEM Front to Rear Inter-Connected Suspension. High Schooler Garcia Drives to First Career Win in Milwaukee WEST ALLIS, Wis. (Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026) – Don’t tell the principal, but Max Garcia may have earned the right to skip school Monday after his stirring first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory Sunday at the Milwaukee Mile. Series rookie Garcia earned his first win in his 15th career start in the INDYCAR development series, driving his No. 12 Abel Motorsports machine under the checkered flag .9430 of a second ahead of the No. 68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports car of JM Correa, who also earned a career-best finish. SEE: Race Results It’s still uncertain whether Garcia, 17, will be in homeroom Monday morning at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, where he just started his senior year. “Unbelievable,” Garcia said. “It’s been such a tough year for all of us at Abel. We knew we had a good oval package. We knew we set the car up more for the race, and we knew in practice we could move through cars. It was all about timing it right and then getting through everyone. “I’m trying to convince my mom not to let me go to school. Surely, this is something to celebrate. A day off would be nice, right?” Rookie Jack Beeton continued his strong second half of the season by finishing third in the No. 45 HMD Motorsports machine, earning his third podium result in the last five races. Andretti Global’s Max Taylor finished fourth in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen entry, while Nikita Johnson rounded out the top five in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR car and took the lead in a sizzling championship fight with two races remaining. Johnson drove from 15th at the start to earn his eighth top-five finish of the season. He leads Enzo Fittipaldi by three points and third-place Tymek Kucharczyk by 29 entering the season-ending Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader Sept. 5-6 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. It’s tied for the fifth-closest race margin between the top two drivers with two races to go in series history. “I just kept my head down, pushed really hard and found lines that other people didn’t find until about halfway through,” Johnson said. “I think that really helps, just playing around and trying different lines out when everybody was just stuck in one line. It was a really good points day for us.” Fittipaldi finished seventh in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car, while Kucharczyk placed 12th in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports machine. Garcia started ninth but steadily worked his way through the field on the 1.015-mile oval. He passed Beeton for second on Lap 35 and pulled to within one second of leader and pole sitter Josh Pierson of Andretti Global, who had led by more than two seconds in the early going of the 90-lap race. Under pressure from Garcia, Pierson’s quest for his first career victory unraveled on Lap 54 when he spun in the No. 29 Starchive Andretti car in Turn 2 while leading and hit the tire barrier inside that corner to end his race. Pierson led every lap to that point. Garcia inherited the lead and never surrendered it despite four restarts in the last 37 laps after the race went caution-free for the first 53 laps. Abel Motorsports driver Garcia was threatened only once on one of those restarts. Beeton looked under Garcia in Turn 1 on Lap 83 but couldn’t complete the pass. On the next and final restart on Lap 86, Garcia left no doubt by getting a good jump and pulling away easily. Beeton and Correa raced side by side for second on that restart, allowing Garcia even more time and space out front. Correa eventually prevailed in that duel, one of 208 on-track passes, a track record for INDY NXT at Milwaukee. New heights at Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine! After an extended summer break following the cancellation of Rallye Rouergue Rodez Aveyron Occitanie, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte resumes next week at Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine. At this iconic French Rally Championship event, the return to action will be intense, with 39 crews ready to give it their all to reach the midseason mark in the lead and enter the home stretch in a strong position. Now in its seventh season with the fifth-generation Renault Clio, the Clio Trophy France Asphalte continues to prove its appeal, with a record 39 Clio Rally5 cars set to line up at Morzine this year. The Alpine mountains offer a magnificent backdrop for the competitors, who are eager to return to competition for the first time since mid-June. Leader in the general classification following his first victory in the Vosges, Paul Dachicourt (Fun Meca Sport) will look to consolidate his advantage in Morzine. Also leading the Junior category, where an official drive is up for grabs, the Pas-de-Calais native will target another victory at a rally that went his way last year, when he posted one of his best results despite a puncture on the opening special stage. His main rivals, however, are determined to prevent him from pulling away. Winner of the opening round at Le Touquet, Maxence Potard (Gilbert Compétition) will rely on his experience in the Alps to bounce back after his crash in the Vosges. The member of the FFSA's Collectif France Rallye isn't the only one with this objective, as Romain Brun will attempt to return to the sharp end of the order after a difficult weekend in the Vosges. Several competitors will try to capitalise on their knowledge of the roads to close the gap to the leaders. Having secured four podium finishes with Clio Rally5 at Morzine since 2020, Romain Fostier (David Auto Compétition) is a serious contender for victory in this demanding event. He will also seek to increase his lead over his rivals in the Gentlemen class: Pascal Bérard, Jacques Bourrat, Franck Giraud (Lycée Roger Claustre) and Michaël Durigon, who returns to the Clio Trophy France Asphalte for his 22nd start in the event. Jérôme Janny (David Auto Compétition) will equally rely on his experience to build on his strong start to the season, as will Yohan Roumieux (JLA Rally), who finished in the top ten last year, and Maxime Chagot (LCS Location), a two-time class winner at Morzine. Fabien Combe, who has finished 10th twice this year, and Christophe Truchet, 2025 Clio Full Challenge winner, will be outsiders to watch in their Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine debut. Behind the trio of Paul Dachicourt, Maxence Potard and Romain Brun, other Junior drivers have high hopes. Following his first podium finish in the Vosges, Clément Didier (JLA Rally) will look to build on that form in the Alps, where Alex Florenson (PH Sport), who finished fifth a year ago, will target a trip to the podium next Saturday. Also worth keeping an eye on are Thomas Santiago (LCS Location), Louis Gass (PH Sport), Néo Rivallant (Fun Meca Sport), Oliver Sørensen, Thomas Van Outryve (LCS Location) and Maxence Girard (CHL Sport Auto), all in search of valuable points. Meanwhile, Tom Le Jossec (Rageau Sport Location) and Alexis Poso (Salvi Compétition) will aim to stay in contention on their Mont-Blanc debut with Clio Rally5. Back in action after his retirement at Le Touquet, Loan Guibal (Salvi Compétition) wants to turn his obvious speed into stage wins and a strong result in a rally he is discovering for the first time, just like Léo Véricel, Louis Bottin (PH Sport) and Alfred Sablonnière. Clémentine Benoit (Sarrazin Motorsport) will defend her lead in the women's category and face Lilou Boulangé (Gazou Compétition), a rookie this season behind the wheel after co-driving for her father Arnaud in 2025. Nicolas Paviet-Roche and Mathieu Duclos will make their first appearance of the year in familiar surroundings. Killian Marry will also return to the service park to tackle Alpine special stages for the first time – stages that several newcomers know well, notably William Gagnière, Paul Missillier and Vincent Chagot, Maxime's brother. Lastly, Grégory Scotto La Chianca will make his Clio Trophy France Asphalte debut, as will Robin Duarte, Arthur Guillaume and Tanguy Rubin-Delanchy, who have all cut their teeth with Clio Rally5 in the French Rally Cup. The 78th Rallye Mont-Blanc Morzine will feature 12 timed sectors covering a total of 196.04 kilometres over a 493.87 km route. On Friday, the action gets underway on the Montriond-le-Lac – Avoriaz stage, followed by two loops comprising Bonneville – Glières Val de Borne and Les Clefs – La Clusaz, then a single run on the Morzine – Montriond-le-Lac stage. On Saturday, the crews will tackle Morillon – Samoëns, Samoëns – Morzine and La Côte d'Arbroz – Taninges three times. The final ten special stages will each award up to five “Jean Ragnotti Performer” points to the five fastest drivers, in addition to the standard finishing points. Ten Clio Rally3s, six Clio Rally4s and nine Clio Rally5s outside the trophy will also be at the start of the event.

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... NORRIS PUTS IT ALL TOGETHER TO WIN IN ZANDVOORT! MAX SIGNS 4 YEARS DEAL WITH RED BULL...CRASHES ON THE 1ST LAP! HAMILTON IS DOWN RIGHT DISRESPECTFUL HULKENBURG WAS ON FIRE IN THE MIDPACK AND... FERNANDO SCORES POINTS GIVING FANS A LITTLE HOPE! THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER IS A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY...BMW'S DR. MARIO THEISSEN ! NORRIS WINS AS MAX CRASHES ON FIRST LAP. "Amazing. A tough race! Yesterday I said we needed to put on a bit of a show for everyone for the final race here, so I made it tough for myself today but [it was] a good race, well-fought. Probably one of my better wins – we had to fight for it well but the pace was strong. We managed things incredibly well today so over the moon, very happy. Nice to win the final race here in Zandvoort." Norris declared he is doing a better job than every other driver after a superb win at the Dutch Grand Prix – where Max Verstappen walked away from a huge crash at his final home race. The 26-year-old reeled in championship leader Kimi Antonelli at Zandvoort to clinch back-to-back wins and further raise hope that he could yet defend his title. Norris leaves the Dutch seaside having moved fourth in the standings but still 83 points behind the Italian – with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton 59 points back from the leader. Mercedes are wary of the looming threat of McLaren's Norris, with Antonelli branding them the new fastest team on the grid and Russell declaring that the papaya outfit are the ones to beat. "They are not going to say themselves are they? I don't think it's true," Norris retorted. "Mercedes have a better all-round performing car. I also know how good of a job I'm doing behind the wheel. "For once I will give myself a little bit of credit that I feel I am doing a better job than everyone. "I think that can make a difference. We have a car now capable of beating them. We didn't win yesterday (sprint race) and we didn't change much but I worked a lot on my driving – I want to believe more than everyone else. "I make one mistake we are P4, P5. So the fact that I am doing a good job is the reason why people are saying it." Norris banished post-race sprint race negativity to deliver a commanding drive in Sunday's main event. He was jumped off the line by Antonelli following a red flag for Verstappen's crash, after the race had begun in damp conditions, but McLaren made the key move by pitting him later than the Italian. That enabled Norris to attack on fresher rubber and he got the job done, blasting past Antonelli round the outside of turn one on lap 54. "When the car gives me what I want and I am driving at the level I am now, I can win races," Norris said. "I was able to force him to make mistakes, force them to do something with strategy." Norris refused to declare himself back in the title hunt but would accept that Sunday's win was among his best. "I made it tough for myself but a good race. Probably one of my better wins. We had to fight for it," he added. Mercedes executed team orders, asking Russell to allow Antonelli through on fresher tyres as he came home second. Russell then held off Hamilton over the closing laps to retain third, with Charles Leclerc fourth ahead of Norris' team-mate Oscar Piastri. The final Dutch Grand Prix before it drops off the calendar began in crushing fashion for the packed grandstands, with their hero Verstappen suffering a crunching high-speed crash at the end of lap one. The four-time world champion, revered in these parts, appeared to dip a wheel onto the kerb on the inside of the 18-degree banked final bend before sliding across the track and thundering into the barriers. In-season test around the all-new Madring After the summer break, we have an in-season test to get back on track, with all 30 FIA Formula 3 drivers getting a taste of a brand-new venue. The Madring in the Spanish capital city hosts the two-day event ahead of the season finale later this year, and it will be a crucial test for all involved. Here’s all you need to know about the test. WHAT TO EXPECT It’s a brand-new circuit and a crucial test for all teams and drivers ahead of the season-ending event in Madrid later in September. The two-day event begins on Monday, August 24th and ends on Tuesday, August 25th. Track action begins at 09:00 local time on both days, but the second day will differ slightly. The morning segment will end at 12:00 on both days, before the afternoon session begins at 14:00 local time on Day 1, with the chequered flag at 17:00. Day 2 will feature a shorter break, with the final action of the second day resuming at 13:00 local time and ending at 16:00 local time. STAT PACK - The newly built Madring Circuit runs to a length of 5.416Km and features 22 corners - The circuit uses both public and private roads around the IFEMA Exhibition Centre - AIX Racing has confirmed that Ricardo Escotto will return to the team for the test and the final two rounds of the 2026 season in place of Salim Hanna - PREMA Racing has also announced that Louis Sharp has left the team in a mutual decision, with Alex Powell replacing him for the Madring test and the remaining two rounds of the season WHERE TO FOLLOW Testing will be available to follow along via live blog on the official Formula 3 website. Reports and reaction will follow on both days of testing, with behind-the-scenes content available via the official F3 social media channels on Instagram, TikTok and X. 2026 MADRING IN-SEASON TESTING ENTRY LIST Team # Driver License 1 Theophile Nael FRA Campos Racing 2 Ugo Ugochukwu USA 3 Ernesto Rivera MEX 2 4 Noah Stromsted DEN TRIDENT 5 Freddie Slater GBR 6 Matteo De Palo ITA 7 Mattia Colnaghi ARG MP Motorsport 8 Tuukka Taponen FIN 9 Alessandro Giusti FRA 10 Taito Kato JPN ART Grand Prix 11 Maciej Gladysz POL 12 Kanato Le JPN 14 Hiyu Yamakoshi JPN Van Amersfoort Racing 15 Enzo Deligny FRA 16 Bruno Del Pino ESP 17 Pedro Clerot BRA Rodin Motorsport 18 Brando Badoer ITA 19 Christina Ho SGP 20 Alex Powell USA PREMA Racing 21 James Wharton AUS 22 Jose Garfias MEX 23 Woohyun Shin KOR Hitech Grand Prix 24 Fionn Mclaughlin IRL 25 Jin Nakamura JPN 26 Ricardo Escotto MEX AIX Racing 27 Yevan David SRI 28 Fernando Barrichello BRA 29 Nicola Lacorte ITA DAMS Lucas Oil 30 Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi THA 31 Gerrard Xie CHN Carlos Sainz: “First of all, sorry to Alex and the team for the contact at the end of the race. I had very worn hard tyres and braked over the bump in turn 1, locked up and couldn’t stop the car in time. It was obviously the last thing I wanted to end an already tough weekend. Again, apologies to him and the team. Overall, we struggled to get into a good rhythm throughout the weekend and had to run a number of tests to explore the issues we were having, which put us on the backfoot and meant we weren't able to fight for any more today. The positive is that we've found some solutions and have good learnings to take forward to the upcoming races, so we'll look to come back stronger in Monza.” Alex Albon: “In clean air the car felt good today, not far off the midfield pace, so there are positives to take. The moment with Carlos was just one of those racing incidents – we were going for the same corner and he locked up. It's not how we wanted to end the weekend, and not what the team needs, but it is what it is and we'll discuss together as we always do. We need to review our strategy today as we were fighting Fernando and he finished ahead – I think we pitted too early on the first stop, reacting to a potential undercut rather than running our own race. That left us catching a lot of blue flags and stuck in dirty air, which made my second stint messy. We'll review everything as a team and look forward to a cleaner weekend in Monza.”

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... MAX PREPARES FOR HIS LAST DUTCH GRAND PRIX! PRETTY BOY GEORGE PREPARES TO GET HIS ASS WOOPED CADILLAC PULLS OUT THE "YOUR FIRED" LOWDON GETS HIS PINK SLIP... AND FERNANDO SAYS...I'LL SEE YOU IN 2027... THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER....INTERVIEW WITH SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS AND, WE REMEMBER DANIKA PATRICK'S WIN AT MOTEGI JAPAN! Ericsson Undeniable in Markham to End 63-Race Drought. MARKHAM, Ontario (Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026) – Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson wasn’t to be denied victory in the new Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham even as it meant tormenting a longtime rival. Ericsson charged through the field late in the 90-lap Canadian race to hunt down and pass Dale Coyne Racing’s Romain Grosjean for a victory. SEE: Race Results Ericsson scored his fifth career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory while denying Grosjean his first. Grosjean was trying to reach the top step of the podium only to come one step short for the sixth time. Coincidentally, Grosjean’s last win of any kind came in a GP2 series race in Hungary in 2011. Ericsson finished fifth in that race. Ericsson’s victory here came 10 days after being confirmed to return to Andretti Global for a fourth season. It also ended his 63-race drought dating back to his 2023 season-opening victory in St. Petersburg. “It’s been long enough,” Ericsson said. “It doesn’t come as much of a surprise. We’ve had such a good year. We’ve been working every weekend, getting stronger and stronger, qualifying up front every weekend. We might not have got the results we deserved every weekend, but I really felt we deserved (this).” Ericsson’s voice cracked during the interview, which he blamed on screaming too much after taking the checkered flag. But he said it was a bold and aggressive drive over those challenging street-course laps. “We were the fastest car all day, I thought,” he said. “Obviously, there were a lot of (cautions), so we had to stay out (longer on the final sequence). I wanted to show the pace and open a gap, so we gambled on staying out. I had the pace and we were lapping so quick (after coming out of the pits on Lap 69) seventh. It was a lot of work to get through the leaders.” In that charge was contact in the Turn 5 hairpin with Andretti Global teammate Will Power for third place. Ericsson called the hard bump “unfortunate,” but Power said he understood. Said Ericsson: “You never want that, but I had to get through. I knew I could win this race.” Ericsson won another race like this. In 2021, he emerged as the winner of a trouble-filled first race on Nashville’s streets that included his car getting airborne vertically. The winner of the 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge now has four street course victories. Grosjean settled for second place – his best since finishing second at Barber Motorsports Park in 2023. Power finished third with series points leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing taking fourth and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward fifth. “We did everything we could,” said Grosjean, who led 28 laps and scored his first top-five finish of 2026. “I wanted to (keep Palou in second place) – I knew (with that gap) it was safe. But then (Ericsson) came … unfortunately that (wasn’t our) day. But on to the next one.” Several other drivers could say the same. The race of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster had a tragic ending. He started from the pole for the second time in his career – the other was at Road America last year – and built a lead of nearly 3 seconds in leading the first 32 laps. But a caution spoiled that as all of the other frontrunners had pitted a couple of laps earlier, shuffling him to 12th place. Foster wasn’t to be deterred, and he came charging back. He had moved up eight positions and was stalking Ericsson for third place when they approached Turn 3 on Lap 43. Foster went to the inside, but he clipped the left-side wall, contact which shot him straight into the concrete barrier on the right. The impact was virtually head-on, a major shunt. Fortunately, he was not injured. That spot in the track similarly claimed Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood, who was running third behind his two teammates. His impact was just as fierce. Kirkwood’s 21st-place finish allowed Palou to pull even farther ahead in pursuit of his fourth consecutive championship and fifth in six years despite starting outside the top 10 for the first time in 30 races (nearly two full seasons). Now, with four races to go, Palou leads Kirkwood by a nearly insurmountable 133 points with Team Penske’s David Malukas third, 137 points in arrears. Malukas finished this race a lap down in 17th place. The new 12-turn, 2.1-mile street circuit seemed to offer the right balance of action and reaction, with a fair amount of race-turning calamity. The track produced 258 on-track passes with 242 of those for position - the most on-record in the event, which dates back to 1986 when the INDYCAR SERIES made its debut on the Streets of Toronto. As expected, the Turn 5 hairpin was a hot spot, with several instances of cars coming together. One of the most significant contacts in that corner featured rookie Dennis Hauger of Dale Coyne Racing bumping Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen and then O’Ward. That was Lap 20, and it was part of Hauger’s fade through the field. Last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone champion started the race from the fifth position and was still there when his two-lap slide began. It started with Palou passing him, but then Malukas did and before he knew it, he was 20th. Later, Hauger clipped the rear tire of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who hit Rasmussen, drawing a caution. Another of the contacts in Turn 5 saw Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel charge too deep into the braking zone, where he struck the car of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden. Siegel was penalized for avoidable contact. It wasn’t a good day for first-year series drivers. AJ Foyt Racing’s Caio Collet had contact with Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian on Lap 1, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Mick Schumacher drew the race’s first caution on Lap 15 when he pounded the Turn 4 wall. The turnaround is quick as the series sprints to season’s end. Next weekend, the 25 car-and-driver combinations make their anticipated appearance in the U.S. capital city with the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. The pre-race show on FOX begins at 11:30 a.m. ET with the race shortly after 1 p.m.

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... WILL GEORGE BE PSYCHOLOGICALLY STRONG ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON? IS LEWIS AND FERNANDO ADDICTED TO FORMULA 1? FERNANDO ALONSO IS NOW 45 YEARS OLD LITERALLY THE MARK MARTIN OF F1 AND... THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED MOMENT ON MOTORSPORTS HISTORY WE HAVE AND INTERVIEW WITH ...SHANE SENEVIRATNE FOUNDER OF US RACETRONICS AND TEAM MANAGER... Created in 2005, US RaceTronics (USRT) first entered the 2005 Atlantic championship season and instantly achieved success. That season saw US RaceTronics capture 1 pole, 5 podium finishes, and finish 5th in the Championship standings. The "little team that could” proved that hard work and sacrifice still paid off. With the initial momentum of the prior season 2006 through 2009 saw US RaceTronics continue its success in the Atlantic series. The strength team drivers Simona De Silvestro and Frankie Muniz, the team was able to consistently finish on the podium with a total of 21 podiums, 7 poles, 5 race wins and finish 3rd in the 2009 Championship standings. Seneviratne, who holds deep roots in the Atlantic Championship, the GTD program has been largely centered around Silver-rated driver Goikhberg, who also moves over from GTWC America competition. “We’ve been doing Super Trofeo and veered off into the AMG with SRO but my heart’s always been with Lamborghini,” Seneviratne told Sportscar365. “I like the guys, I like the brand. We had the opportunity to get in here and we started talking to Misha. “It all started with Misha and Bob Perona. He has been Misha’s driver coach for a long time and Bob and I all worked with Simona de Silvestro in the Indycar days. “Bob felt like the most comfortable thing for Misha to do was to be in that same kind of support and environment that Simona had when she ran and she was successful with us. “She came from Newman Wachs with Jonathan Summerton. We built that culture and gave her the support [needed]. “We’re trying to create that same atmosphere for Misha. “The majority of the budget comes from there. With Arrow, we had a small partnership last year with the Super Trofeo and they were excited to step up a little bit more and see what they could do with a GTD program.” While having run under the USRT/O’Gara Motorsport/Change Racing banner in Super Trofeo last year, the team will eventually be fully known as Forte Racing, a new marketing company that Seneviratne is a part owner in. “I’ve had a long-term relationship with Lamborghini of Beverly Hills, Tom O’Gara’s dealership,” Seneviratne explained. “Then Edoardo Piscopo and Julia, Edoardo’s wife, they also wanted to get involved, [as well as] Eddie [Littlefield] from Change Racing. “It was [USRT]/O’Gara/Change [last year], so we’re now trying to get rid of all those names and start with a single brand, which is Forte Racing.” Seneviratne heads into his first 24-hour race as a team owner although he operated O’Gara Motorsport’s short-lived Lamborghini GTD program in 2016, which led to the relaunch of USRT later that year. Seven years later, debuting Lamborghini’s second GT3 evolution, Seneviratne is looking forward to the renewed challenge. “More than pride, I’m glad to represent Lamborghini and to have this opportunity,” he said. “It’s not an opportunity that you get very often.We have to work together as a cohesive group. “But I can’t emphasize enough how supportive Lamborghini has been. It’s the same way I like to run the team. “I feel like Lamborghini had now just become an extension of that. We don’t throw each other under the bus. We are there for support and there’s no egos involved. “There’s five ways to do something so I’m always listening and they’re listening to us. “Right now they have way more [endurance racing] experience, all of the Lamborghini technicians, and we’re absorbing it in. “We’re grateful that we have really good support from Lamborghini.” With the demise of the Atlantic Series US RaceTronics’ owner Shane Seneviratne took his talents to the IndyCar Series where he was paired once again with De Silvestro as the Team Manager for the HVM Racing. His talents were once again utilized with De Silvestro in 2013 by the KV Racing Technology team where he was brought on as a Consultant. In 2015 Seneviratne was hired by O’Gara Motorsports as their Race Team Director for their newly created Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America Series entries. The team won the season opener at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway with Pro driver Richard Antinucci. The team’s consistent performances throughout the 2015 season led to O’Gara Motorsport winning the Team Championship, Dealership Championship, Pro Championship with driver Richard Antinucci, and Amateur Championship with Ryan Ockey. Amateur driver Ryan Ockey also won the 2015 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo World Championship. The team continued its success in 2019 with Damon Ockey and Jacob Eidson winning the North American Pro-Am Championship, while the team's second team of Pro-Am drivers, Ron Atapattu and Patrick Liddy finished third in the Championship. The team also fielded 16-year-old rookie Amateur driver Steven Aghakhani who would finish second in the North American Championship, after missing the first race due to age restrictions, but captured the Amateur World Championship becoming the youngest World Champion in Lamborghini Super Trofeo's history. 2020 was a challenging year for the world and for USRT. Last minute changes in scheduling and driver lineup were necessitated due to restrictions stemming from the COVID pandemic. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo season was shortened to 10 races from the normal 12 and the cancellation of the World Finals left USRT just short on championships. Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson finished runners up in the Pro Championship, while Leo Lamalas finished runner up in the Am Championship. John Hennessy missed the final two races of the season, finishing fourth in the LB Cup Championship his rookie season. US RaceTronics’ 2021 saw several peaks and valleys. The Pro duo of Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson had one win and 8 additional podium finishes, but also suffered issues in a couple of races that left them just short of the North American Championship, finishing third. Meanwhile, John Hennessy won the season opener in the LB Cup Championship, but suffered an injury in a crash in Race 2, ending his hopes for a North American title. After missing the four subsequent races, Hennessy came back strong, winning five out of the remaining six races and sweeping the World Finals with four straight wins at the Misano, Italy track to become the LB Cup World Champion. 2022 will see US RaceTronics back in action in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American Series for their seventh consecutive year. For more information on how to become a driver with US RaceTronics, learn more about the Series, or attend a race, contact us today!

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... THE MAX RUMOR MILL KEEPS ON TURNING AND MAX KEEPS ON BURNING! MCLAREN COULD BE BACK ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP BAND WAGON GEORGE NEEDS TO FIND HIS MILIEU! AND... FERNANDO AND ASTON MARTIN COULD BE ONTO SOMETHING BIG! THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE PATRICK TAMBAY AND TROY CASTANEDA! Patrick Tambay and Gilles Villeneuve began their Formula 1 careers together at Silverstone in 1977. Five years later, Tambay claimed his first race victory, filling the seat at Ferrari left vacant by Villeneuve after his tragic accident at Zolder. Tambay had initially tried to qualify a Surtees at Dijon but was unsuccessful, subsequently joining Ensign for the remainder of 1977. Teddy Mayer later recruited him to drive for McLaren, where he spent two challenging years in less competitive cars. Following a tough 1981 season with Theodore and Ligier, it seemed Tambay’s time in Formula 1 was nearing an end until Ferrari offered him a spot. He brought some positivity back to the team by winning at the Hockenheimring following another severe accident involving his teammate Didier Pironi. Despite joining the championship late, Tambay had the potential to be a title contender in the fast Ferrari but had to step back due to a back injury caused by the intense ground effect cars of that era. In the following season, with ground effects banned, Tambay showed competitive form again. He secured a poignant victory at Imola, the very place that had witnessed the intense feud between Villeneuve and Pironi a year prior. Despite his successes, Tambay was unexpectedly replaced by Michele Alboreto at the end of the season. He moved to Renault in 1984, but the team struggled with development and exited the sport in 1985. Tambay then raced for Team Haas before it, too, withdrew from Formula 1 at the end of 1986. After retiring from full-time racing, Patrick Tambay transitioned to a role as a commentator for French television and served as the deputy mayor of Le Cannet, a suburb of Cannes. He was also the godfather to Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion, and played a significant role in guiding Villeneuve’s early racing career, which included victories at the 1995 IndyCar title and Indianapolis 500, and subsequently the F1 World Championship with Williams in 1997. Tambay was married twice and became a father in 1991 when his son Adrien was born. Following in his father’s footsteps, Adrien became a professional racing driver, competing for Audi in the DTM championship from 2012 to 2016 and later winning the 2021 ETCR Championship. Patrick Tambay’s family announced his passing on December 4th, 2022, following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Rossi Completes First Validation Test of New IR-28 Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026) – Alexander Rossi took another step into the future of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES on Saturday, completing the first on-track test of the new Dallara IR-28 chassis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner put the all-new car through its initial paces during a productive development session on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course, helping begin the testing process for the chassis that will debut for the 2028 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Rossi praised the preparation that led to the successful debut. “I’ve been a part of some new car launches before, and I can’t say that any have gone as smooth as this one has,” Rossi said. “That’s down to everyone involved. We’ve all been waiting for this for a long time. Drivers, fans, teams, sponsors and all of you have been looking forward to it, and now it’s finally here. “It’s like Christmas morning.” Rossi said the session accomplished everything the development team aimed to achieve, despite intermittent damp conditions that limited running. “It's hard to do a full comparison because of the conditions we were dealing with, but everything you could hope for from a day like today was accomplished,” he said. “The fact that the car is completely new and the only real issue we had was replacing one sensor is phenomenal. That’s a huge testament to Dallara, INDYCAR and everyone involved. “The car has a lot of incredible qualities that we haven’t even scratched the surface of yet. It was an incredible start and just a joy to drive.” Rossi also offered high praise for the IR-28’s appearance and initial handling characteristics. “Aesthetically, it ticks every box you could hope for,” he said. “I was blown away the first time I saw it. The pictures don’t do it justice. The presence it has in person is pretty amazing. It looks aggressive, and even with a completely new chassis, new aerodynamics, new electronics and a spec damper package, the baseline was very comfortable from the get-go. There’s obviously a lot more to unlock, but it was a great starting point.” Testing the next-generation INDYCAR SERIES machinery at Indianapolis Motor Speedway made the experience even more meaningful for Rossi. “To be able to be a part of this next evolution of INDYCAR and do it at IMS, a place that means so much to me and all of us here, is super cool,” Rossi said. “I get to play a small part in the history and the future of this championship, and that’s a big privilege. I enjoyed every minute of it.” Four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2025 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alex Palou is scheduled to test the car Sunday.

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... OMG...FERNANDO MADE IT TO Q2!!!!!!! ASTON MARTIN FINISHED 13TH AND 14TH... LANDO WINS AGAIN IN HUNGARY! GEORGE'S START WAS HILARIOUS LCH AND MAX WAS HILARIOUS!.... PIASTRI FEELING LIKE A NUMBER TWO AND... FERNANDO ................................HAD FUN TODAY! THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER...EL LEONE!! AKA. OUR NIGE!... YES NIGEL MANSELL WITH NASIR WE CALL IT THE PERFECT INTERVIEW!!! AS WE FOLLOW COLTON HERTA...14TH IN THE SPRINT AND 19TH IN THE MAIN EVENT!!! LANDO... “I’m tired! What happened?” Norris smiled post-race, taking it back to the first lap. “I don’t know what happened, to be honest. I just kept losing the rear. I had like three or four big snaps. It felt horrible and, of course, Oscar did a good job to get the cutback and get back past, so I think I was just a bit wide in the dirt – game over for the first lap. “But man, I was pushing like hell to try and force him into a mistake or something. My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had. The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident, so a great race. To get it back in terms of going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good I could always extend the stints, and fresh tyres then always won me the race. I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again.” MAX... “It was a really strong day and positive for us to finish in P2 today, although I’m quite surprised with the result given the problems we had this weekend. We really hung in there, made some good calls and brought it home in the second half of the race, especially with our older tyres. We were trying to make the best of what we had, and it was quite tough for a long period of the race, but everyone contributed to securing this podium. “I think the start and the first stop to gain the position were really crucial, keeping the others behind for a while. Then, of course, we got undercut because the others were on the Soft tyres. We managed to jump ahead of Lewis again, which I think was very critical in that stint too. We were still struggling with the same things we had in Qualifying and there were some bright shining moments, but we need to be a bit more solid all-round in the second half of the season. Despite this, I think we performed well today and made all the right calls. The Team are all looking forward to a break so we can come back rested and refreshed for the second half of the season.” KIMI... It was not an easy race today. It was very difficult to overtake, even when we had significantly more pace than the cars ahead. We knew it might be like that today and so it proved. We did well to build a decent tyre offset to those ahead though throughout the race and that enabled us to get up into the podium positions. I initially wanted to target a one-stop race. It seemed like it might be possible in the opening stint but then we started to suffer with the rears. We made the call to go onto the two-stop and in the final stint, had really good pace. The Virtual Safety Car made our lives a little more difficult with Lewis (Hamilton) getting fresh tyres and being right behind us, but we were able to bring home P3. We have had a much better first half of the season than we perhaps expected at the very start. This is where we are at now though and we need to keep going, keep pushing on and doing the best job we can. It is going to be an intense second half of the year, but we are ready for it. GEORGE... That was another tough race. We lost lots of positions off the line and that ruined our chances of fighting for the podium. We’re not sure exactly what happened just yet. We did all the procedures as we normally do but it didn’t behave as we expected. The anti-stall then kicked in, and we dropped to the back of the field. The positive is that our pace across the rest of the race was strong and we were able to fight back to P7. That is not where we want to be finishing but is still points. It has not been a smooth first half of the season. I am looking forward to this break so we can reset and come back stronger after the summer shutdown. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster on my side so far and I am hoping the second half of the year can be much better.

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... KIMI TAKES CONTROL OF CHAOS TAKING VICTORY AT SPA! GEORGE RUNS INTO LCH AND BOOM DNF!! RED BULL FINDS PACE TO FINISH ON THE PODIUM AND... FERNANDO SAYS...WE DID OUR BEST...! THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER OUR MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY...BRUNO AND B IANCA SENNA!! OUR BONUS IS...NASIR'S GLENN CAMPBELL SEGMENT...GRACIAS. Kimi Antonelli It’s good to be back on the top step of the podium after a couple of difficult weekends. It was a hard-fought win and didn’t come easily. We lost the lead on the run to Eau Rouge but got it back on the opening lap. We looked in control but then lost it again when Leclerc was able to pit under the Virtual Safety Car. We kept calm though and slowly closed the gap down. He was very quick and, even after I passed him, it was a struggle to break overtake mode. We eventually did though and could bring the win home. We saw how competitive several teams were again today. We need to keep working hard, keep performing, and keep scoring points. It’s going to be a long battle all the way to the end of the season. We will keep taking it one weekend at a time and try to do our best every time we get in the car. MAX... “I think we had a very good race, and hopefully we can have more weekends like this. I had too much deployment from turn one to turn two, and when I looked at my battery, I knew that I was going to have a difficult run. We were then a bit unlucky with the VSC, and it affected the strategy and our ability to fight for P2 in the end. The Medium tyre was pretty decent, but we struggled a bit on the Hard tyres in terms of grip and had few balance limitations, so we just need to analyse why it was a bit trickier than expected. However, we had the car in a good window, and I think we can be happy with the whole weekend and pleased to be on the podium. Overall it was a good result and a pretty solid weekend!” ISACK... "I'm very happy with how today played out. We had a clear plan from the moment we arrived in Spa, so we were able to put everything into getting the most out of the race, and we did exactly that. From P21 to P6 is not easy, but the strategy was perfect and the pace in the car was strong, so it's been an all-round Team effort. With the Safety Car, we pitted early to give us options later on, and it worked out perfectly. Credit to the Team for that call. Going through the pack is always fun, especially with the pace we had, which let me keep the gap to Lando once he started to get closer. The goal yesterday was to get back into the points. We added a few more on top of that to make for a satisfying afternoon."

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… TOTO WAS SO HAPPY WITH THE SAFETY CAR FINISH AT SILVERSTONE! MAX TO MCLAREN WILL NEVER HAPPEN! WHAT ABOUT MAX FOLLOWING ADRIAN NEWEY TO ASTON MARTIN?? AND NOW……. WE HAVE… FERNANDO GOING TO ALPINE AND FLAVIO…RIDICULOUS X3 THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…INTERVIEW WITH HOWDEN GANLEY ONE OF THE ORIGINAL EMPLOYEES AT MCLAREN!! WE DO NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KEEP THIS PROGRAM ON THE AIR JUST CLICK ON THE SUPPORT F1W TAB ON THE FRONT PAGE YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! howden ganley... Born in 1941 in Hamilton, New Zealand, Howden Ganley’s youthful ambitions were to either race yachts or play for the All Blacks New Zealand Rugby team. However, after attending 1955’s New Zealand Grand Prix with his father and brother his ambitions changed and he set his goal on racing in Formula 1. After leaving school, he became a reporter for a newspaper and wrote a column for a magazine and once he obtained his license he raced in local events in his Mother’s Morris Minor. He progressed to a Lotus Eleven but in order to fund his racing ambitions he was doing three jobs, on a construction site during the day, waiting tables in a restaurant at night then pumping gas at weekends. Once he obtained the Lotus he entered it for 1961’s New Zealand GP at Ardmore and he won his class in the sports car race plus a race for New Zealand drivers only. He went on to race for two seasons though in a wet race at Dunedin his car finished up wrapped round a telegraph pole but he was fortunately uninjured. He eventually moved to the UK and began a career as a mechanic, becoming involved with Mike Moseley, who was planning on producing a road car called the Falcon 515. Once he helped get the car into production he would be allowed to build a lightweight version and race it. A friend, John Muller, helped him and he said the two shared a “bedsit over a railway line, ice on the inside of the window, single light socket hanging from the ceiling. There was a coin-slot meter, but we just plugged everything into that one light socket, because that was free, and put a six-inch nail across the fuse box.” From here he moved on and joined the Gemini Formula Junior team, as a mechanic and driver. He competed in his first single seater race at Goodwood and following this was the Nurburgring (finishing 14th out of 41 starters) but the team later lost their sponsorship and folded. He then became involved with the Talon F3 car but then came an offer from Bruce McLaren and he became one of the first employees of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, working alongside Wally Wilmott, Tyler Alexander and Eoin Young in “a shed in New Malden full of earth-moving equipment: dirt floor, work bench, vice, set of welding bottles, a hacksaw and a file.” When asked by Tyler and Wally ‘Why are you here?’, and telling them he was a mechanic, they told him “No you’re not. We don’t know whether you can thread a nut on the end of a bolt. You’re a gopher.” During this period he worked as crew chief at Drummond Racing for Skip Scott and Peter Revson during the 1966-67 Can-Am season. After purchasing a Brabham BT21, he went on to race for two years in the series then switched to a Chevron B15. Towards the end of 1969’s F3 season, despite starting 22nd on the grid at Brands Hatch, he was 11th by the fourth lap, sixth on lap 14 and on the last lap he was fourth after overtaking Francois Cevert in a Tecno. Going into the last corner while fighting another car for third he put a wheel on the grass, which let F.Cevert to get past. However, although he eventually finished fifth he had broken the circuit’s F3 lap record at an average of exactly 100mph. His F3 racing then led to F5000 with a McLaren M10B-Chevrolet in 1970 and during the year he finished fourth in Oulton Park’s Gold Cup race and finished second in the series to Peter Gethin. McLaren regularly tested the F5000 car at Goodwood and on one occasion Denny Hulme was also there with the Can-Am car. They needed someone to go in the passenger seat and “take the readings on a manometer or something they had in there. And nobody wanted to get in! Bruce asked me to do it. That was pretty entertaining, Denny right on the limit with me taking the readings. It was fantastic for me, because I totally trusted Denny. I also did a little bit of Can-Am testing in the M8.” Howden described Bruce McLaren as “the greatest leader of men I’ve ever met in my life…he was one of the nicest people, always happy and smiling, even in adversity, cheery, friendly. And he had that amazing ‘can do, will do,’ attitude.” His F5000 racing brought him to the attention of the BRM F1 team, who signed him for 1971 and he took a strong fifth place in the Italian GP at Monza and fourth at Watkins Glen while in non-championship races he finished second in Oulton Park’s Gold Cup, fourth at Hockenheim and fifth in the Race of Champions. In taking his fifth place at Monza, he was involved in the closest finish in GP history when just 0.61 seconds covered the top five finishers. In the team, he watched the strong competition between Pedro Rodriguez and Jo Siffert “As the new boy I saw their rivalry at first hand. Each was determined to beat the other. If I ever set a faster time than one of them in practice or in a test, the other was always delighted. They each wanted the new kid to put the other down. But they were both just wonderful characters, wonderful blokes.” Racing in sports cars, he had a third place finish in a Can-Am race at Riverside with a BRM P167 and co-drove (with Paddy Driver and Mike Hailwood) to third at the Kyalami 9 Hours with a Chevron B19. At the end of the year he was awarded the Wolfgang von Trips Memorial Trophy, for the best performance by a newcomer to Grand Prix racing. Continuing with the team the following year his best finish was fourth at the Nurburgring but in sports cars he won Interserie races at Nurburgring and Zeltweg with a BRM P167 Chevrolet plus finished second at Le Mans with François Cevert in a Matra-Simca MS670. For 1973 he raced Frank Williams Racing’s Iso–Marlboro, with his best results being seventh in Brazil and sixth at Mosport. However, that Canadian GP at Mosport could best be described as one of the most chaotic seen. When the race started, it was raining though it stopped and with the track drying the drivers headed to the pits to change tyres. However a number of drivers had to drive through as there was no space for them to be serviced in the small, busy, pit lane. When Jackie Stewart came in his teammate François Cevert’s car was up on jacks and he was waved through to take another lap. Once they were back racing nobody knew exactly where they were in the scoring and after Francois Cevert and Jody Scheckter crashed a safety car was deployed. But the safety car pulled in front of Howden, who people maintained wasn’t the leader at the time. But nobody has ever been able to say who was the leader plus nobody was really sure who had won, (was it Howden, Jackie Oliver, Peter Revson, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mike Hailwood or James Hunt?). In the end, the race organizers decided Peter Revson had won, with Emerson Fittipaldi second and Jackie Oliver third. Asked at a later date who actually won, Howden declared it was Emerson Fittipaldi, with himself in third place. He said “My wife (Judy Kondratieff, a U.S. sports car racer who was an SCCA regional champion) was the best keeper of lap charts. It was not unusual for other teams and sometime race organisers to double-check what they had against hers. We went over and over what she had for weeks after that race. There’s no doubt that Emerson won, with Jackie Oliver probably second and me probably third. We thought, initially, that I had won but when we checked and rechecked, I was in third. As it dried up, I saw what was happening in the pits, and I said there was no way I was going in there. My teammate, Tim Schenken, had stopped, but I waited till things calmed down. I eventually made a very good stop, and the pit lane was clear; I was in and out. So, off I go again — but I didn’t know if anyone had gone by me while I was in the pits.’ When he came up behind the safety car, they were telling him he was leading and when it pulled off and continued racing, “Emerson got past and maybe Ollie (Jackie Oliver). But Peter Revson never passed me on the track or while I was in the pits.” His wife Judy took her lap chart to the officials but they weren’t interested and Howden was classed as finishing sixth, and given one point. In sports cars that year he was usually paired with Derek Bell in the John Wyer Gulf Mirage and took fifth in the 1000Km Zeltweg, fourth at the Watkins Glen 6 Hours plus second in the Spa 1000 Km race (though with Vern Schuppan). He started 1974 with March in Argentina and Brazil (finishing eighth in Buenos Aires) but then accepted an offer from F1 newcomers Maki. Unfortunately it was a frustrating time as he failed to qualify for the British GP but then sustained serious feet and ankle injuries when the suspension broke during practice at the German GP. He found himself in hospital with Mike Hailwood, who had also crashed, and told how team boss Louis Stanley helped them. He arranged a helicopter flight from the hospital to Cologne then “persuaded British Airways to take two stretchers on a scheduled flight, met us at Heathrow, got us to St Thomas’ Hospital and laid on the great Mr Urquart — the surgeon who’d looked after Stirling Moss and John Surtees after their big accidents. Urquart’s technique for rebuilding bone was, if you can stand the pain you should walk on it. In 16 days I was hobbling around St Thomas.” It would be nine months before he raced again, ironically returning to the Nurburgring with a Mirage GR7 in the 1000Kms race with Tim Schenken and despite Howden not being able to push the brake pedal properly they finished second. During 1975 he also finished second and third in Interserie races at the Nurburgring and Hockenheim with the Mirage. He then raced in Can-Am before retiring as a driver in 1978 but in that time he formed Tiga Race Cars with Tim Schenken (the name coming from TIm and GAnley). The company built Formula Fords and Sports 2000s, Formula Atlantics, C Sports for America, two Can-Am cars, 33 Group Cs, some Formula Ks for Mexico and Howden said that “by 1986 we’d delivered over 400 cars.” There were also plans to compete in Formula One but the project did not proceed due to sponsorship withdrawal. After Tiga he was elected onto the board of the BRDC, and became a director of Silverstone Circuits and Silverstone Estates as well. He was Club Secretary for a period but after leaving the boards they made him a Vice President. Howden also published an autobiography ‘The Road to Monaco: My Life in Motor Racing’ which was described as “an exciting, absorbing and often wryly amusing view of motor racing, from the workshop, the pit wall, the cockpit, and many other vantage points.” Sadly, Howden’s wife Judy developed cancer and passed away in 2007. Peter Hooper Howden Ganley endured a frustrating year driving one of Frank Williams ISO-Marlboro in 1973. His one claim to fame was “leading” the Canadian GP behind the pace car. Unfortunately for Howden, things got even worse in 1974 when the Maki failed and he ended up with serious leg injuries. I always liked the Isos and this drawing was a joy to do.

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… FINALLY LECLERC GETS HIS WIN IN THE 2026 SEASON GEORGE TAKES P2 WHILE KIMI RUNS INTO TROUBLE MAX WITH ANOTHER DNF! LCH SO HAPPY TO BE WITH HIS POEPLE AND FERNANDO SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, SPEECHLESS… THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…BERND ROSEMEYER STORY AND AN INTERVIEW WITH F1W LISTENER AND RACE CAR DRIVER…ANDY CHITTUM AND HIS CREW CHIEF JENNIFER… AND YES… WE DO NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KEEP THIS PROGRAM ON THE AIR JUST CLICK ON THE SUPPORT F1W TAB ON THE FRONT PAGE YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix under a safety car to win at Silverstone for the very first time. The Ferrari driver flew off the line at the start to overtake Kimi Antonelli with Lewis Hamilton also shooting up to second. The Ferraris held off Antonelli for a while but the Mercedes was quicker and swept past Hamilton at Copse corner to pile the pressure on Leclerc. Leclerc opened up a decent lead before a pit stop to switch the tyres sent Antonelli into first. With others gaining behind him, Antonelli made his stop on lap 36 but came back on track with an issue which dropped him down the grid. Antonelli fell out of the points as Max Verstappen crashed out of the race handing an advantage to his rivals. Leclerc's win take him up to fourth in the standings while Russell is now just 27 points behind Antonelli Hadjar Finishes Fifth After Composed British Grand Prix At Silverstone On Sunday. Isack Hadjar started fifth and held his place by the finish of Sunday's British Grand Prix thanks to a composed performance at Silverstone to put valuable title points on the board for Oracle Red Bull Racing. Hadjar was pushing all race, while ahead of him Dutch teammate Max Verstappen was well in the hunt for a podium place only to suffer a mishap at Stowe while chasing Lewis Hamilton for second place. Visa Cash App Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad finished sixth and seventh to boost the team with another promising performance that leaves them sixth in the 2026 constructors' title race. Oracle Red Bull Racing ISACK HADJAR - 5th "Ultimately, I can be happy with the result. P5 is solid points for the Team, but I felt we could've had more. My pace at the start was good, and we finished strongly as well. We got off the line well and I stayed with Max in the first stint. After pitting onto the Hard we struggled and I couldn't find the grip to stay close to Lando. Throughout that middle stint I was in no man's land, so it was a little boring for me. We lost time with changing the front wing, but it took our pace back to where it was at the start and I could really push. It's a shame that we couldn't have that last lap as I had such a good feeling in the car to go out and really attack the cars ahead. Overall, I've felt comfortable in the car all weekend and feel like I've got on top of the package which is good going forwards." MAX VERSTAPPEN - DNF "It's not been the outcome we wanted from this weekend. Right from the start we struggled with balance and top speed in comparison to Isack's car. In the race, we were okay on the Medium but were struggling with pace on the Hard. We were fighting for P3 towards the end of the race but had a similar issue to Qualifying in Austria. It was a different fault with the rear wing, where it would not fully attach, meaning we lost a lot of downforce and spun off the track. I hope the coming weeks are better, and that we can sort things about before Spa." LAURENT MEKIES - CEO & Team Principal "First and foremost we must start by apologising to Max. An issue with the rear wing on his car developed in the closing stages of the race which ultimately sent him off track. It's not the first time an incident of this kind has happened, we are taking it extremely seriously and will put in place everything necessary to make sure it does not happen again. What matters tonight is that Max is okay. Looking at the race up to that point, our pace was better than at any time this weekend, with Max and the Team executing a strong race which put us in a solid third place, before the incident happened. That would have put us in front of one Mercedes and both McLarens on a weekend where we had some pretty serious balance and performance limitations. Isack had a solid weekend, a very good qualifying yesterday and then a strong race today. He wanted more, but we'll take that P5. There is certainly a lot we need to look at, as things looked a lot more difficult than one week ago in Austria, where we could fight for the win. I have full trust that as a Team we will react in a very strong way and tackle both the reliability and performance aspects that prevented from extracting everything out of our package this weekend." George Russell It's always special to stand on the podium at Silverstone, and after a few years where luck hasn't really been on my side at my home race, it's nice to finally get a result to celebrate in front of these fans. It is always one of the most special races on the calendar for me. The support here is incredible, the fans are so passionate, and racing in front of a home crowd is something I'll never take for granted. I'm grateful for all their support and delighted we could at least give them a podium to celebrate. It was a race with a whole range of emotions today. At times we were unlucky, and in the end, we got a little bit lucky as well. The Safety Car played in our favour because everyone behind me had fitted fresh tyres. Had we gone racing again, I probably would have lost at least one position, so I'm glad it finished under the Safety Car and allowed us to bring home P2. It wasn't a particularly strong weekend from our side. I've been trying to understand for a while why I'm struggling, and although today felt slightly better, there are still a lot of things we can improve. I could feel the slow puncture developing during the race and lost around five or six PSI over a lap and a half, which made the car feel increasingly unbalanced. Putting that aside though, there's still work for us to do to understand where we're missing performance. We will analyse all the data before we head to Spa so we can come back stronger. Kimi Antonelli Today was one of those days where everything seemed to go against us. We had really strong pace in the race and it felt like we had the speed to close the gap and fight for the win. That's what makes the end of our race so frustrating. We didn’t get the opportunity to properly battle for the victory but sometimes these things are out of your control. The damage happened very suddenly. I was taking the same kerb every lap, but on that particular lap I ran it and immediately lost front downforce. The car wasn't driving straight anymore and the pace dropped away. I knew part of the wheel shield had broken, but there seemed to be more going on than we could see at that moment. We will analyse everything and understand exactly what happened. Despite all the setbacks, I kept pushing and trying to maximise every opportunity. That's always my mindset. Even when it felt like everything was going against us, I was still fighting to grab that one point before the Safety Car changed things. I know I gave everything I had and we will come back stronger. The support from the fans has been amazing this weekend and I’m already excited to bounce back in Spa. Charles... "It feels incredible," said Leclerc. "Unfortunately the end was maybe not the one I will have dreamt of but to win after the last few weekends that have been particularly difficult, all the work that we put into trying to get the feeling back in the car. I felt like I had found something yesterday between the Sprint and Qualifying, but I had to confirm that today. And today, the feeling was back where it needs to be. I'm so incredibly happy."

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… GEORGE CLAWING HIS WAY BACK INTO CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION! MAX FINDS HIS MOJO IN AUSTRIA… KIMI STILL LEADING THE CHAMPIONSHIP FERRARI NOT AS QUICK AS PREVIOUSLY SUGGESTED AND FERNANDO SAYS…WE ARE IMPROVING!!! THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…AN INTERVIEW WITH MOTORS TV FOUNDER FREDERICK VIGER!!! SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - JUNE 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (3) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 Red Bull Ford and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari SF-26 battle for track position during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 28, 2026 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images) Verstappen Back On The Podium With Season-Best Second At The Austrian Grand Prix. Oracle Red Bull Racing's four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen for the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix, driving to second place in a thrilling Austrian Grand Prix that saw all four Red Bull drivers score points. After qualifying in fifth place following a crash in Saturday's Q3 shootout, the Dutchman made a great start to Sunday's race at a scorching Red Bull Ring, moving up to third early on, before engaging in an ever closer battle with eventual winner George Russell and his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the final third of the race. Russell held on to win by just +1.611s over Verstappen, who himself held off Antonelli for his best finish of the 2026 season to date by just +0.3s. Further down the order, Oracle Red Bull Racing's young pilot Isack Hadjar put the second RB22 into sixth place for the second successive Grand Prix, continuing his impressive debut season for the team. It was an equally impressive day for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, who celebrated the team's first double points-scoring Grand Prix of 2026 thanks to ninth and 10th place finishes for Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad. While Antonelli continues to lead the Drivers' Championship, Verstappen and Hadjar now sit seventh and eighth in the standings, with Lawson also inside the top 10 in 10th. QUOTES Oracle Red Bull Racing MAX VERSTAPPEN – 2nd “It was a very good race for us today. The first two laps were quite fun and the first half felt really good and fun to drive. Then, it was basically just about trying to manage our tyres, especially after the battles with Lewis. Something happened with the rear axle which made me lose pace, which is why I wasn't able to fight at the end. In hindsight we could have done the undercut to jump ahead and I think I had the degradation edge over George, but overall I am pleased with P2. We did some good racing and I didn’t expect us to be that strong against the Mercedes. "It was a great effort from the team: they have worked really hard to get the upgrades to the car, so thank you very much to everyone. It was better than expected and the race pace was a lot better than we thought. I didn't think we would fight for the win when I jumped in the car this morning, so to finish sitting here in the top three is a really positive result for us!" ISACK HADJAR – 6th "l was happy with my race start, it was a big improvement from Barcelona. Starting from eighth, we had a very aggressive race. I was running out of tyres at the end of my stints, so it was probably not the fastest race for me, but I still managed to gain two places. You could feel the upgrade in the race pace and I think we had the second quickest car today, so I was very happy with that. I still need to feel more comfortable in the car to extract the most from it, but it's the best race car we've had so far and it is delivering. I think on a cooler track, hopefully next week, we can be a bit more competitive again." LAURENT MEKIES – CEO & Team Principal "Our best result of the year. We produced a very strong performance this afternoon, without a doubt our strongest race of the season so far. The most satisfying element is the pace: I think Kimi was quickest today and Max was maybe a little bit quicker than George, but then your grid position also has an impact. "In qualifying, it was clear how much progress we have made, even if the grid positions didn't reflect that. On what is a very difficult track, made even more demanding by the very hot conditions, we got very close to the sort of pace needed to win. That is a testament to how effective the work carried out back at the factory was. If you look back to the start of the season, we've managed to close the gap to the fastest from one second to around a couple of tenths. The fight is not over yet, with everyone continuing to bring updates, and we will need more to come from our side. Max was exceptional today in all phases of the race. We did not win, but we were lacking very little, maybe just hundredths of a second and it was certainly a good fight. "Isack also delivered another solid performance today, as he continues to make progress, so overall it’s a step in the right direction. It’s also worth noting that all four cars using the Red Bull Ford Powertrains finished in the points today." George Russell I’m really pleased with that result. It’s never straightforward around here and we were under pressure for much of the race, particularly in the final stint, so to convert pole into the win is very satisfying. The team did a great job with the strategy and gave me a car that I could manage well across the race. In those conditions, it’s about keeping things simple, focusing on just driving, and I think we executed that well today. It’s also great to score strong points together as a team. Kimi did a good job to recover and get himself back into the fight, which was important for the overall result. We know it’s very tight at the front and our competitors are pushing us hard, so we have to keep working to find more performance. For now, though, we can take the positives from this weekend and look ahead to Silverstone next week.

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… LE CLERC MUST DO SOMETHING IN AUSTRIA OR HE WILL BE NUMBER TWO!! MCLAREN SAYS BEING A MERCEDES CUSTOMER TEAM IS A DISADVANTAGE! FORMULA ONE RULES KEEP ON EVOLVING! GASLY’S MONACO PODIUM REINSTATEMENT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND… FERNANDO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DAKAR RALLY AND RACING AT LE MANS WITH MAX VERSTAPPEN!!!… THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…AN INTERVIEW WITH F1 PHOTOGRAPHER PETER NYGARD AND MORE TRIVIA!!! When the rear wing has to go in your carry-on – a look into the different worlds of logistics at Audi How the logistics division of AUDI AG and the Formula 1 project benefit from each other Dieter Braun, Head of Audi Supply Chain, in discussion with his F1 colleagues Björn Brickwedde and Lars Rolack Logistics as a performance factor in motorsport and a driving force in road car production More than 20 race weekends, global supply chains, tight time windows, geopolitical tensions, and the constant pressure to get every part to the right place on time: Formula 1 is not only a high-performance technological laboratory but also an extreme test for logistics. Many of the challenges faced by Audi Revolut F1 Team on the racetrack are also familiar to Audi Supply Chain – just on a different scale. A discussion between the logistics experts reveals what both worlds can learn from each other. Dieter Braun, Head of Audi Supply Chain, sums it up: “If there’s one thing we need in the company, it’s speed. Not just on the racetrack, but when making decisions.” This is exactly where the key leverage lies: Formula 1 demonstrates what quick decisions, clear responsibilities, and precise preparation can achieve. Logistics as a performance factor In Formula 1 , logistics directly determines on-track performance. Anything that isn’t at the track on time can’t be used. If transportation costs are too high, there’s less left in the budget for other areas. Björn Brickwedde, Head of Logistics at Audi Revolut F1 Team in Hinwil, Switzerland, explains: “Any savings we make in logistics can be invested in development and parts.” This is especially true under Formula 1’s cost cap. Efficient logistics thus becomes a performance factor. Brickwedde cites specific examples: intelligent strategies for return shipments, minimal spare parts inventory, smart route planning, and determining the most cost-effective location from which to ship update parts or components. “Every expense saved can flow into development – and then into lap times.” Audi Supply Chain, in turn, designs and manages the entire customer order process – from ordering an Audi to delivery to the customer. This complex system involves several thousand suppliers in nearly 60 countries to manage the flow of goods comprising around one million parts per day. Every optimization in this cross-divisional core process creates leeway – whether in terms of costs, capital tied up, or the CO2 footprint. “In our role as conductors, we can contribute hundreds of millions in earnings for the company,” says Braun. One example illustrates the scope: Audi Supply Chain doesn’t just orchestrate – it also manages crises and, with experienced employees working as a team, overcomes short-term challenges. Braun describes a situation involving the production of the last Audi Q2 cars. A container with displays that could not be reproduced was on its way from China via Dubai to Germany when war broke out in the Middle East. “The shipping company spontaneously decided to call at a port in India and unload all the containers without consulting us,” says Braun. The goods couldn’t be obtained in time via India, so Audi organized a detour via Sri Lanka and Turkey. “The parts arrived half a day before they were needed,” says Braun, “otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to finish and deliver 2,000 Q2 cars.” Brickwedde’s account of the Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne sounds very similar. “A supplementary shipment for the first race was supposed to fly from Zurich to Dubai – that’s exactly when restrictions on global air traffic took effect,” he says, referring to canceled transport routes. Important update parts were held up, just like the freight from other teams. “We organized an alternative route with F1 Cargo and DHL and prepared new customs documents. It was a nerve-wracking ordeal for everyone involved – but the parts arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday evening, and thanks to the great teamwork on site, both cars were fully assembled in time for the first session.” In doing so, the logistics team laid the groundwork for Audi Revolut F1 Team to score its first points right off the bat in its debut in the premier class of motorsport. Speed is also a key factor in the Audi Supply Chain The racing series brings into sharp focus what often remains abstract in mass production: the impact of quick decisions. “In a race, you immediately realize when you’ve made a wrong strategic decision – for example, when you leave the pit lane too late,” says Braun. “From a business perspective at Audi, the impact of a decision often only becomes apparent later, but it can be just as serious. Deciding too late during a crisis is problematic – but so is doing so during planning, for example with long-term investments, which makes it particularly challenging for my team and the relevant departments.” The Formula 1 involvement provides a tangible narrative for this. Braun uses the Audi R26 as a permanent background image for his meetings – not just out of enthusiasm for motorsport, but as a signal to the organization: speed matters in the supply chain, too. Formula 1 shows that a good solution at the right time is more valuable than a perfect solution that comes too late. When the rear wing has to go in your carry-on The most exciting examples emerge where planning and improvisation meet. Brickwedde talks about the limited availability of parts during race operations: “We manage the production of parts very efficiently. This is partly because of the cost cap, but also because we only take to the racetrack what we genuinely believe we’ll need. If something unexpected happens, you’ve got to think on your feet. This means that a team member might have to carry the necessary components in their luggage so that they’re available at the track as quickly as possible. In a pinch, these could even be parts of a rear wing.” Time windows are tight on the power unit side as well. Lars Rolack, Head of Logistics at Audi Formula Racing in Neuburg an der Donau, describes the unscheduled return shipment of a high-voltage battery during the race weekend in Miami: hazardous materials, special customs and transport regulations, a short analysis window in Neuburg – and shipment back out to the next race just a few days later. “The battery arrived at our facility in Neuburg on Monday morning and was shipped out again on Wednesday evening, heading for Montreal.” Even though the processes at Audi Supply Chain are generally more predictable, the combination of foresight and flexibility remains a crucial success factor – for instance, in the face of supply bottlenecks, natural disasters, or geopolitical disruptions, which have almost become the new normal these days. Rolack used to work in the logistics division at AUDI AG himself before moving to the Formula 1 project. “My background in planning and my experience helped me, but race logistics is a very ad-hoc business – we all had to adapt our mindset extremely quickly to the pace.” While Audi’s supply chain division manages several thousand different suppliers across the globe using a multitude of processes – now also with the help of complex mathematical algorithms – organizational skills and personal networks are what count in the F1 project. “If something gets stuck here, my first instinct is to pick up the phone. Thanks to lean processes and short lines of communication within the team, problems can be solved very quickly,” says Rolack. Lundgaard Charges From Last to First To Win at Road America ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sunday, June 21, 2026) – Christian Lundgaard asked his Arrow McLaren team over the radio what everyone else also wondered after the Dane took the checkered flag Sunday for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR. “How did we do that?” Lundgaard asked incredulously to his pit box. SEE: Race Results Lundgaard used strategy, speed and a bit of good fortune to climb from last in the 25-car field after contact on Lap 1 to earn his second victory of the season in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The race ended under caution when Graham Rahal spun into the gravel trap outside Canada Corner after contact with Will Power while dueling for third place on a one-lap restart to the checkered flag. The victory was the third of Lundgaard’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES career, joining his win in May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with Arrow McLaren and in 2023 on the streets of Toronto with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “I knew we had a chance,” Lundgaard said of the probability of winning after the early contact. “I knew how this race panned out last year, and I knew it was all about just sticking in the race. I did that last year. I made a bunch of mistakes last year that spun ourselves around last year, and I just wanted to make up for that. “We’ve been on the struggle bus all weekend, so to turn this around, I have to thank the team for that.” David Malukas finished second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, his third runner-up finish of the season as he seeks his first career victory. Power held on to finish third in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda, matching his best finish of his first season with Andretti Global. Kyffin Simpson finished a season-best fourth in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, with points leader and four-time series champion Alex Palou rounding out the top five in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Lundgaard, who started 12th, took the lead for the second and final time on Lap 52 of the 55-lap race when the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda of leader Marcus Armstrong slowed with a mechanical problem. Armstrong led by 2.787 seconds with five laps to go before mechanical fate cruelly robbed him of what may have been his first career victory. Armstrong’s stricken machine finally lost power in Turn 5 on Lap 53, triggering a caution period and a one-lap race to the checkered flag. Lundgaard never was challenged by Malukas on the final one-lap trip around the 14-turn, 4.014-mile road course, with most of the attention focused on the fierce duel for third between series veterans Power and Rahal. Power, holding a straight-line speed advantage, attempted to move to the outside of Rahal at the end of the back straightaway, with both cars making contact and Rahal’s No. 15 MSC Industrial Supply Honda spinning into the gravel, ending the race. That was the climax to a thrilling race filled with varying tire strategies and fierce competition for nearly every position. But nothing was more exciting or improbable than Lundgaard’s charge to the front. On the opening lap, Lundgaard made contact with Scott Dixon in Turn 1, damaging the left front wing on Lundgaard’s car and deflating one of his Firestone Firehawk tires. He pulled into the pits on Lap 2 for tires, fuel and a new front wing, with Arrow McLaren strategists devising new tactics on the fly. Lundgaard cycled to the lead for the first time on Lap 43 when Armstrong, Malukas and Rahal made their final pit stops from the top three positions. Danish driver Lundgaard led Rosenqvist by 11.720 seconds on Lap 45 when he made his final pit stop, with the Arrow McLaren team refilling his fuel and fastening four Firestone Firehawk alternate tires in a speedy 7.1 seconds. The big cushion before the stop allowed Lundgaard to exit his final stop second behind Armstrong and just ahead of Malukas, who had hotter, stickier rubber on his wheels and passed Lundgaard for second on Lap 46. Josef Newgarden made his final stop from the lead on Lap 49 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, handing the lead back to Armstrong, who was 3.671 seconds ahead of Malukas. Meanwhile, Lundgaard passed Malukas for second on Lap 49, with Armstrong nearly three seconds up the road. Then Armstrong’s bid for his first win evaporated as his power dwindled, letting Lundgaard pass for the lead on Lap 52. “It was all smooth sailing,” a deflated Armstrong said. “I came out of Turn 6, and the engine just started sputtering like it was out of fuel. But clearly it wasn’t. And then it just completely died. There was no indication there was nothing wrong.” Pole sitter Palou led 13 laps, but his chances for a fourth career Road America victory vanished when he was penalized for speeding in the pits on Lap 29. Palou fell to 22nd after his drive-through penalty on one of the longest pit roads in the series, but he was appointment viewing in his charge toward the front over the closing 25 laps. Palou leads second-place Malukas by 60 points and third-place Kyle Kirkwood, who finished 10th, by 61 points in the standings. Lundgaard is fourth, 77 points behind Palou. The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid on Sunday, July 5 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Columbus, Ohio.

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… THREE BRITS ON THE PODIUM…LCH TAKES THE WIN IN BARCA AND TOTO SAYS…MAYBE HIS GIRL FRIEND HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT!!! LECLERC CONTINUES HIS DOWNWARD SPIRAL KIMI’S DNF SLOWS DOWN HIS MOMENTUM AND… SO SO SAD…FERNANDO DEAD LAST IN QUALI…THE FINAL CURTAIN! TOYOTA WINS LEMANS AND NICK DE VRIES GETS THE LAST LAUGH! CORVETTE WINS THE GT3 CLASS AND… THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKA SALO. MORE GREAT TRIVIA FROM ANDREW. George Russell Congratulations to Lewis (Hamilton). He drove a really impressive race today after being incredibly quick in Qualifying yesterday. Coming into the weekend, I don’t think we expected that pace from Ferrari, so we know we’ve got a challenge coming from them in the races ahead. We will be working hard to tackle that challenge and get back to winning ways. On my side, the race today was not straightforward. I was struggling with the tyres towards the end of my second and third stints; the Virtual Safety Car didn’t help us either and it would have been a fascinating race with Lewis without that. I will take the positives from this weekend though. It has been clean from the very start and I come away with 18 points, which is 18 points more than I managed across Canada and Monaco! We will regroup in the week ahead and look to improve for Austria. We’ve got a big double-header coming up with Spielberg and Silverstone and I am already excited for it. Kimi Antonelli It is very disappointing to retire from P2, but these things can happen in racing. George suffered an issue in Canada and now it’s happened to me; we know our reliability is something we need to work on and I am sure the team will be pushing incredibly hard to improve that. It’s more important points that we’ve lost but we must remember that it is the first year of these new regulations and we are all learning quickly. Congratulations to Lewis (Hamilton) on his victory today. He is a great driver and has been so much help in my career so far. I am pleased to see him up there once again as he really deserves it. I think we had the pace today to challenge him for the win, but the Virtual Safety Car came out at a bad time for us, and we didn’t get to see how things would have played out. We have one week without racing before returning in Austria. We have seen our competitors take a step forward here this weekend and we will need to raise our game there if we want to fight for victory again. We will pick ourselves up, learn from this weekend, and come back stronger. MAX VERSTAPPEN - 4th "Today we just didn't have the pace to keep up with the cars ahead. I was really just doing my own race as we were a little bit behind the guys that finished in front of me. As a Team we did everything right, it was the winning strategy, so we made the right call there with the tyres. We were just too slow compared to the cars ahead on each compound, unfortunately. We tried our best and put everything into it but ultimately the whole weekend was a bit tough for us. We do struggle more with these high energy tracks with high degradation and we just need to work on things and try to find more pace in the upcoming races." ISACK HADJAR - 6th "I felt like I had good pace this weekend once we got to Qualifying and the race, but I had a shocker at the race start with so much wheelspin, so that's one aspect I really want to focus on before Red Bull Ring. We could have fought with Oscar if we had a good start, so it's a bit of a shame. I think we did way better than we thought we would this weekend given the track layout and conditions. Austria will be a better track for us, and we expect to have a stronger car. We just need to work on the starts." TOYOTA TAKE ITS SIXTH VICTORY AT LE MANS Toyota executed a perfect, textbook strategy throughout the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to claim its first victory since 2022, securing a sixth overall triumph and equalling the tally of British marque Bentley. To spectacular fanfare, Japanese powerhouse Toyota Racing lifted the iconic trophy at a sun-kissed Circuit de la Sarthe for the first time in four years, in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators at the venue and millions more watching around the world. Drivers Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway emerged as the team to beat at the end of the race, guiding the #7 Toyota to victory ahead of the sister #8 Toyota Racing entry, the #20 BMW M Team WRT and the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA machine in an epic four-way battle to the chequered flag – underlining the "Platinum Era" status that the Hypercar category is building. For Kobayashi, it was a second Le Mans victory. It marked a second triumph for British star Mike Conway and, for the first time in 38 years, a historic win for the Netherlands as Nyck de Vries became the latest Dutch driver to conquer Le Mans. It looked set to be another Toyota one-two, but BMW's never-say-die attitude ensured that the FIA World Endurance Championship points leaders – the #20 crew of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde – claimed second overall and a valuable haul of championship points. Toyota could still be delighted with third place, although a few costly mistakes and strategy calls denied the #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa another victory. Meanwhile, Cadillac can take plenty of plaudits once again. A crowd favourite throughout the week, the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA crew gave everything in pursuit of victory, and the pace they demonstrated at Le Mans suggests they will remain contenders for years to come. Inter Europol Competiton lock-out LMP2 It was a grandstand finish in LMP2 as Inter Europol Competition worked well overnight to bring both cars into the rostrum contention, but a second day charge from Forestier Racing by Panis had everyone on the edge of their seats, but after 24 hours of racing the Polish #43 ORECA with pilots Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nicholas Yelloly win the penultimate race at Le Mans for this specification LMP2 car! Corvette charge back to the top! Corvette capture the magic of Le Mans once again with iconic yellow #33 Corvette run by TF Sport took LMGT3 laurels with Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar, Nicky Catsburg taking a popular leap onto the top step of the podium. Akkodis ASP Team put Lexus on the podium for the first time at Le Mans with the #78 car second and the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin joins in the celebrations in third. Top 5 Results - 24 Hours of Le Mans: Toyota TR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries – 381 Laps BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT – Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde – + 10.913 Toyota TR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa – + 20.417 Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Louis Delétraz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato – +32.381 Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – +2:22.423 Category Winners: LMP2: Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition – Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nicholas Yelloly - 361 Laps LMGT3: Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #33 TF Sport – Ben Keating / Jonny Edgar / Nicky Catsburg – 336 laps Fastest Lap: Rio Hirakawa (Toyota TR010 – Hybrid #8 Toyota Racing) – 3:25.041 - Lap 306 Retirements: Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team – Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #91 Manthey DK Engineering – James Cottingham / Timur Boguslavskiy / Ayhancan Güven Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #17 Genesis Magma Racing – André Lotterer / Luis Felipe Derani / Mathys Jaubert Ford Mustang LMGT3 #77 Proton Competition – Eric Powell / Ben Tuck / Sebastian Priaulx Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Sébastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #79 Iron Lynx – Johannes Zelger / Matteo Cressoni / Lin Hodenius Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #54 Vista AF Corse – Thomas Flohr / Francesco Castellacci / Davide Rigon Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #61 Iron Lynx (Martin Berry / Rui Andrade / Maxime Martin Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #13 Thirteen Autosport – Orey Fidani / Lars Kern / Matthew Bell

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… KIMI WINS 5 IN A ROW WITH A CHERIE ON TOP! PIERRE GASLY ROBBED OF PODIUM HADJAR KEEPS HIS PODIUM… CADILLAC LOOSES FIRST POINTS TO PENALTY. SINCE LECLERC GOT MARRIED HIS PERFORMANCE HAS DECLINED…SORRY CHARLIE! SINCE GEORGE SIGNED HIS NEW CONTRACT AND GOT HIS FIRST PAYCHECK HIS PERFORMANCE HAS DECLINED! THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…AN INTERVIEW WITH BOBBY UNSER… SOME TRIVIA ON THE GRAND PRIX OF TURKEY AND TECH TALK WITH TIM! LCH GETS INTRODUCED TO A LOS ANGELES LOW RIDER!! Kimi Antonelli It’s an incredible feeling to win in Monaco. It’s such a special weekend and one I’ll remember for a long time. Today was one of those days where everything just clicked; I had a lot of confidence in the car, felt strong throughout, and to bring the win home in a place like this makes it even more meaningful. From a race perspective, there were definitely some key moments to manage. The starts are still an area we’re working on, but I’ve made good progress. My first one was solid, and although the second was a bit more challenging with the tyres, it’s positive to see improvement. The red flag added a bit of stress, especially knowing the restart could change everything, but we handled it well. In the final laps, I really enjoyed myself out there, even though I still had to carefully manage the tyres. This track demands a lot of focus, you have to find the right balance between pushing and not making mistakes, and once you settle into that rhythm, everything starts to come together. At the same time, I know there’s still a lot to learn and improve. I just want to keep pushing, keep building on this momentum, and most importantly, keep enjoying the journey. That’s what makes moments like this so rewarding. ISACK HADJAR "It's been an outstanding result and weekend considering how it started in FP1! The race was difficult and I had to dig very deep. We got off to a clean start and were managing our race, and then within the first 10 to 15 laps I started having big drivability issues. If there's one track you don't want that, it's here, so that was incredibly challenging having to cover 60 laps. There was then uncertainty about what was going to happen with the red flag and you need to get your head back again in focus. Even towards the end, I was still lacking power on the restart. It really was the longest race of my life but now it's finished we got the podium. Whatever happens with the stewards, it's now completely out of my control. I celebrated and had my podium and I will always have that. My moment with the lads. Huge thank you to the Team, I trust these guys. Whatever happens, the emotions on the podium have already happened and I am proud of the Team." MAX VERSTAPPEN - DNF "We don't know what happened today but we think the issue was due to an engine problem. During the formation lap I could feel that something was off and the pre-start was terrible. There was no consistency and then, at the start, the engine just dropped out. I dropped the clutch and it went dead and had no power. When I got a bit more power back, unfortunately it was messed up so I had to bring it back slowly. It was such a shame for us as everything was going really well up to that point. We felt great in the car all weekend and to come out with no points and to finish the race like this when you do everything so well as a Team is of course disappointing." George Russell Firstly, congratulations to Kimi. He did an amazing job today and over the weekend and is a well-deserving winner. On my side, the race was very difficult. I had managed to get to P4 but the penalty for speeding in the pitlane is difficult to understand. I was under the limit but then that was compounded by us not serving the penalty at my second stop; that ultimately cost me a lot and left me with zero points again. It’s tough to take but I’m not going to give up. Across the last two races, I’ve effectively lost around 40 points. It’s incredibly frustrating but the rest of the season can still look very different. We saw that last year and, in many seasons previous. It’s unfortunate how things have played out so far but I’m aiming to bounce back in Barcelona. I believe in myself and I know what I’m capable of. LAURENT MEKIES - CEO & Team Principal "Mixed emotions today, as Isack and the Team did a great job to get him to the podium, overcoming some technical issues on the car, but on the other side of the garage, we lost Max's car straightaway with an engine issue. It was hard to take as he had incredible pace all weekend. It's frustrating when you miss out on a big points score, but that's part of the game, and we can only apology to him. For Isack it was a very intense battle in the car considering the number of issues he had to deal with. It was also an intense battle for the team in the garage as they worked to keep his car alive to the finish. In that context, making it to the podium is a very strong result. The most important lesson we take away from Monaco is that the underlying performance of the car keeps improving." Badoer earns maiden F3 victory in Monte Carlo. Brando Badoer launched off the line and into the lead and didn’t look back, taking his first FIA Formula 3 victory for Rodin Motorsport. The Italian beat pole-sitter Théophile Nael off the line and on the run to Turn 1, with the Frenchman having to settle for second place at the chequered flag. Freddie Slater completed the podium for TRIDENT. AS IT HAPPENED Nael was immediately passed by Badoer while Slater took to the escape road at the opening corner and filtered in behind the top two up the hill, with the remainder of the top five staying as they were on the grid. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Bruno del Pino was able to make up a place, getting ahead of MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti for P6 at Turn 1, but for the Frenchman’s teammate, his race was over soon after. Tuukka Taponen found the barriers at the penultimate corner after an attempted pass by Maciej Gladysz left the Finn nowhere to go. That incident brought out the Safety Car on Lap 2. With the MP cleared, racing resumed going onto Lap 5, with Badoer able to gap Nael comfortably, with the Frenchman under attack from Slater on the run to Turn 3. By Lap 10, Badoer had escaped out of DRS range to the Campos driver behind, while Slater, Ugo Ugochukwu and Ernesto Rivera remained within a second of the car ahead. Drivers inside the top 10 began to back off on some laps in order to generate enough space to attempt a fastest lap for the additional point. Slater was very happy with the balance of his TRIDENT, praising the car over team radio. Lap 18 and Badoer looked unflappable out front, now two seconds clear of the field. Further back in the pack, Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi was coming under serious pressure from Enzo Deligny in the fight for P15. The Thai driver had to defend into Turn 1 on Lap 21, and later missed the Turn 10-11 chicane, skipping across the run-off as the Frenchman behind turned the screw. Nael spent the final five laps closing the gap to the leader back down to under a second, but the Rodin driver would not be denied, earning his first win in the Championship around the Principality. Slater completed the podium behind Nael while Ugochukwu and Rivera ensured all three Campos’ were in the top five. Bruno del Pino finished sixth for Van Amersfoort, followed by Giusti in P7, Pedro Clerot in eighth, Sprint Race winner Gerrard Xie in P9 and Noah Stromsted completing the points in 10th. KEY QUOTE – Brando Badoer, Rodin Motorsport “I was studying the start all evening with the guys yesterday and I executed it perfectly. I jumped to P1 at Turn 1 and then led the 27 laps. It was a very long race, I was hoping it ended a bit earlier and it felt long in the car, but winning in Monaco is one of my dreams come true! Really happy with the team and my performance. Thanks to everyone.” THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS Ugo Ugochukwu retains the lead of the Drivers’ Championship going onto 43 points. Bruno del Pino is P2 on 35, just a single point ahead of Freddie Slater in third. Brando Badoer’s win moves him up to P4 on 28 points, while Théophile Nael rounds out the top five drivers with 22 points. Campos Racing extend their advantage at the top of the Teams’ Standings, moving onto 75 points. Van Amersfoort Racing are P2 with 47, while Rodin Motorsport jumps TRIDENT into third place, 44 points to 43. ART Grand Prix complete the top five with 31 points. León dominates in lights-to-flag victory in Monte Carlo F2. Noel León led every lap of the Monte Carlo Sprint Race on his way to claiming a dominant second victory of the season. Starting from pole, the Campos Racing driver managed the race expertly before going on to win by over three seconds. DAMS Lucas Oil driver Roman Bilinski achieved his maiden F2 podium in P2 ahead of MP Motorsport’s Gabriele Minì in third. AS IT HAPPENED It was a good start from León, who kept the lead ahead of Bilinski, while Minì kept P3 ahead of Joshua Duerksen. In the battle for P11 Ritomo Miyata and Oliver Goethe went wheel-to-wheel through the hairpin and Mirabeau. However, they made slight contact which caused the MP Motorsport driver to pit, dropping him to the back of the field. Out in front, León was struggling to pull away from Bilinski with the DAMS driver consistently within DRS range of the Mexican during the opening laps. The top four drivers of León, Bilinski, Minì and Duerksen were pulling away from the rest of the field, and by Lap 5 just two seconds separated the quartet. Down the field, Laurens van Hoepen, who started in P21 was up to 15th by Lap 8. However, the TRIDENT driver’s charge was halted when he was given a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at the start. On to Lap 11 of 30, the drivers entered management mode, but the top four were still close, and were covered by 2.7s. As the race reached the halfway point, Dino Beganovic had closed the gap to Duerksen and was now within DRS range of the Invicta Racing driver. Miyata, who had been running with a broken front wing since his contact with Goethe on the opening lap, was looking to make a move past Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak at Tabac, but found the door closed on Lap 17. By the next lap the top two of León and Bilinski had pulled a three-second gap to Minì, as they continued to battle for the lead. The Italian driver was now running on his own having built a 2.3s gap to Duerksen in P4, with Beganovic right on the back of the Invicta driver on Lap 20. Miyata’s pressure on Inthraphuvasak finally paid off on Lap 22 as he dived to the inside of the ART Grand Prix driver on the run to Tabac. On the next lap, the Hitech driver was putting pressure on Nikola Tsolov for P10, while behind them, Mari Boya went around the outside of van Hoepen at the hairpin for P15. With five laps to go, Inthraphuvasak retired to the pitlane with an issue. At the front of the field, León was now 2.4s ahead of Bilinski with Minì having closed the gap on the Polish rookie, just over a second away on Lap 27. The Campos driver continued to pull away and by the start of the final lap he was over three seconds clear of the rest of the field and would go on to win for the second time this season. Bilinski held off Minì’s charge to take his maiden podium, with Duerksen in P4 ahead of Beganovic. Stenshorne finished sixth ahead of Kush Maini, as Rafael Câmara rounded out the points in eighth. KEY QUOTE – Noel León, Campos Racing “Feels great to win in Monaco, my second win in a row on a weekend and in a Sprint. I feel very happy to be honest. Yesterday we missed a bit, we missed pole, but luckily it put me in a position to start on the front row today, to get the 10 points, and for the championship it is great. I have a great opportunity tomorrow to score again good points, that’s the goal for this weekend and I am very happy that every weekend we are stronger and stronger and qualifying is going to get there at some points, so very happy.” THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS Gabriele Minì continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship with 63 points, while Noel León has jumped up second, 20 points adrift of his rival. Martinius Stenshorne is third on 38 points, with Rafael Câmara a further point in fourth, as Nikola Tsolov rounds out the top five with 36. In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing have taken over at the top with 79 points, while MP Motorsport slip to second with 75. Rodin Motorsport are third with 68 points, with Invicta Racing a further 10 points behind in fourth, as DAMS Lucas Oil sit fifth on 38. UP NEXT The drivers have one more chance to hit the jackpot in Monte Carlo with Sunday’s Feature Race set to start at 09:25 local time. 2026 FIA Formula 2 - Monte Carlo - Provisional Classification, Sprint Race | | DRIVER | LICENCE | TEAM | | 1 | Noel Leon | MEX | Campos Racing | | 2 | Roman Bilinski | POL | DAMS Lucas Oil | | 3 | Gabriele Mini | ITA | MP Motorsport | | 4 | Joshua Durksen | PAR | Invicta Racing | | 5 | Dino Beganovic | SWE | DAMS Lucas Oil | | 6 | Martinius Stenshorne | NOR | Rodin Motorsport | | 7 | Kush Maini | IND | ART Grand Prix | | 8 | Rafael Camara | BRA | Invicta Racing | | 9 | Alexander Dunne | IRL | Rodin Motorsport | | 10 | Nikola Tsolov | BUL | Campos Racing | | 11 | Ritomo Miyata | JPN | Hitech | | 12 | Nico Varrone | ARG | Van Amersfoort Racing | | 13 | Sebastian Montoya | COL | PREMA Racing | | 14 | Mari Boya | ESP | PREMA Racing | | 15 | Colton Herta | USA | Hitech | | 16 | Rafael Villagomez | MEX | Van Amersfoort Racing | | 17 | Emerson Fittipaldi | BRA | AIX Racing | | 18 | Cian Shields | GBR | AIX Racing | | 19 | Laurens van Hoepen | NED | TRIDENT | | 20 | John Bennett | GBR | TRIDENT | NOT CLASSIFIED | DNF | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | THA | ART Grand Prix | | DNF | Oliver Goethe | GER | MP Motorsport | OVERALL FASTEST LAP | | Nikola Tsolov | BUL | Campos Racing | 1:22.100 (Lap 23) OVERALL FASTEST LAP FOR POINTS | | Nikola Tsolov | BUL | Campos Racing | 1:22.100 (Lap 23) FIA Pit lane speed trap Monaco

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… PALOU WINS IN DETROIT!!!…SCHUMACHER P21 IS TOTO HAVING FANTASIES OF A KIMI AND MAX SUPER TEAM FOR THEIR SUPER CAR! WOULD THE TIFOSI WEAR ORANGE TO HELP FERRARI GET MAX? ZACK BROWN TOOK LANDO NORRIS TO THE SPEEDWAY THE DAY AFTER THE 500 LARGEST MOTORSPORTS SPECTACLE IN THE WORLD AND…FERNANDO SAYS: I WILL ATTEMPT THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 ONE MORE TIME!….mention MAX and competition. THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY WITH CIAO COLLET FROM 2023 WHO CRASHED IN THE INDY 500 WITH 8 LAPS TO GO!! AND A LITTLE HISTORY ON THE MICHELIN TYRE!! Palou Prevails Amid Chaos, Varying Tire Strategies in Detroit. DETROIT (Sunday, May 31, 2026) – Four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou prevailed in a full-contact race filled with various tire strategies, winning the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday for his fourth victory in eight races this season. Pole sitter Palou drove his No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 3.0584-second victory over the No. 27 Sam's Club Honda of Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood. It was the 23rd victory of Palou’s career in 106 starts, a remarkable strike rate of 21.7 percent, and he has won 12 of the last 25 races (48 percent win rate) dating to the start of the 2025 season. SEE: Race Results “It feels like the first time, honestly” Palou said. “It was a tough one, a very tough one. But the team did an incredible job once again with the strategy. The pit stops were incredible. Incredible run, incredible start of the year, but it was tough.” The victory extended Palou’s championship lead to 62 points over Kirkwood, more than a race’s worth of margin. The Spaniard is aiming for an INDYCAR SERIES record-tying fourth straight title. Graham Rahal finished third in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, his third podium finish of the season. Arrow McLaren teammates Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard finished fourth and fifth in the No. 5 and No. 7 Chevrolet-powered cars, respectively, at General Motors’ home event. Palou led 71 of the 100 laps, but this wasn’t a stroll down Easy Street. He took the lead for good on Lap 69 when Kirkwood pitted from the lead for the last time and stayed out front on restarts on Laps 72, 76, 83 and 93 after full-course yellows bunched the field. The move to the front was paved a few laps earlier when strategist Barry Wanser and Palou decided to make their final pit stop at the end of Lap 63, switching from the faster but less durable Firestone Firehawk alternate tire to the primary tire. Wanser saw a variety of jousts for position unfolding on the tight, nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit and wisely didn’t want Palou to get caught on track under caution and lose track position. Wanser’s decision proved prescient on Lap 66 when Santino Ferrucci’s No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet of AJ Foyt Racing nudged the rear of Rinus VeeKay’s No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet into a spin in Turn 5. Kirkwood was leading but still had to make his final stop, which he did under yellow on Lap 69 and was forced to use a set of Firestone Firehawk alternates per INDYCAR rules that require at least two sets of the softer rubber to be used in street-circuit events. Palou rocketed away from Alexander Rossi’s No. 20 Java House Chevrolet of ECR on the restart on Lap 72. Rookie Mick Schumacher and David Malukas were engaged in an intense duel for third on the restart, with Schumacher missing the corner in Turn 5 and nosing into the barriers in his No. 47 ENVE Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Malukas had nowhere to go and ran wide in his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, with the incident triggering another full-course caution on Lap 73. By this point, Kirkwood had worked his way back to third after his final pit stop and had to make the most of the added early grip of the alternate tire before the increased durability of Palou’s primary tires prevailed in the closing laps. Kirkwood passed Rossi and then set sail for Palou, knowing this was his best chance to win. Kirkwood pulled to within two car lengths of Palou on Lap 79 and appeared to be ready to pounce for the lead when Ferrucci’s car slowed in Turn 4 with a mechanical problem, triggering the fifth full-course yellow of the race on Lap 80. “We took a little bit of a gamble on tires there, being the only guy on reds (alternates) at the end,” Kirkwood said. “It nearly paid off. It was so, so close. There were two untimely yellows. “We almost covered Palou when we were on primes, which would have been phenomenal, and then we had that other yellow where I had him lined up. I was ready to make a dive on him, and, of course, (the yellow) comes out after I burned 10 seconds of overtake. From there, we just didn’t really have another shot at it. I think I just used up my tires too much to make that one pass.” Palou kept the lead on the restart on Lap 83, but Kirkwood continued to push and forced Palou into a flat-spotting tire lockup on Lap 88. But Palou gathered himself and his car and started to pull away, building a lead of 1.8929 seconds by Lap 91. But there was one more restart for Palou to manage after Rossi clipped the rear of the No. 18 BMax Honda driven by Romain Grosjean of Dale Coyne Racing and sent Grosjean into the outside wall approaching Turn 3 on Lap 91. That triggered the last of six full-course yellows, but Palou pulled away from Kirkwood and the field on the Lap 93 restart and was never threatened despite the 173 on-track passes today, a high for a street circuit this season. “Being able to be up front was key,” Palou said. “On the first stint, I started struggling and kind of put myself in a bad spot and lost two positions with Lundgaard and (Scott) McLaughlin. I lost us positions there, but the team made a great call to be safe with the yellow. It kind of worked out for us.” Fittipaldi Wins Motor City Thriller, Takes Series Lead. DETROIT (Sunday, May 31, 2026) – Enzo Fittipaldi returned his famous last name to Victory Lane in Detroit for the first time in 35 years, winning the INDY NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix despite driving nearly the entire distance with a damaged front wing and nose cone. Series rookie Fittipaldi won the race, originally scheduled for 45 laps but switched to a timed event, under caution in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car after starting seventh. It was his second victory of the season and vaulted him to the championship lead in the INDYCAR development series, seven points ahead of Nikita Johnson of Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR and eight ahead of HMD teammate Tymek Kucharczyk. SEE: Race Results The victory also was the first by the legendary Fittipaldi name in Detroit since his grandfather and two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi won INDYCAR SERIES races on a different downtown street circuit in the Motor City in 1989 and 1991. “I just pushed as hard as I could,” Enzo Fittipaldi said. “I found pace. I was really, really fast. Just so happy to get the win. I love to race; I’m a racer.” Series veteran Myles Rowe finished a season-best second in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy machine, with rookie Kucharczyk rounding out the podium finishers in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports entry. Rookie Max Garcia tied his season-best finish by placing fourth in the No. 12 Abel Motorsports machine, with veteran Seb Murray rounding out the top five in the No. 27 Megatron car of Andretti Global. Frenzied action started from the drop of the green flag on Lap 1, as Lochie Hughes made an aggressive move into the Turn 3 hairpin with his No. 26 Andretti Global car, punting pole sitter Alessandro de Tullio into a spin from the lead in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing entry. Hughes received a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact. Fittipaldi nudged another car in that chain-reaction melee, which damaged the right side of his front wing and punched a large hole in his nose cone. Kucharczyk took the lead from that point, keeping it on the restart on Lap 8. Kucharczyk built a lead of 3.324 seconds over Fittipaldi by Lap 13, with Rowe climbing to third by Lap 18. Rowe dove under Fittipaldi for second on Lap 20 and started to chase down Kucharczyk. By Lap 21, Rowe pulled to within .5477 of a second of leader Kucharcyzk, slicing 1.6 seconds from the Polish driver’s lead in just three laps. But the complexion of the race changed on Lap 26 when the second of four full-course yellow flags in the race were unfurled for debris on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit. The restart came at the end of Lap 27, with Rowe trying to dive under Kucharczyk for the lead immediately after the green flag, in the Turn 3 hairpin. But the move forced both cars wide, leaving an opening along the inside curb for Fittipaldi. He took it, squeezing past Rowe and Kucharcyzk and never trailing thereafter. Fittipaldi stayed out front on another restart on Lap 34 after Niels Koolen nosed his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing machine into the barrier in Turn 8. “I got it done,” Fittipaldi said. “I knew Myles was going to go for a lunge there, and I just prepared my mid-(corner) to exit of Turn 3, and he went on the lunge on Tymek, and I was able to do the crossover and got the lead. I had the pace to stay there, and I was actually pulling away.” The decisive move was one of 141 on-track passes, including 124 for position, in the exciting race – both INDY NXT records for any circuit on which the series has competed in the Motor City. Fittipaldi expanded that gap to nearly six-tenths of a second when Andretti Global’s Max Taylor also nosed into the barrier in Turn 1 in his No. 28 Susan G. Komen car with about four minutes, 20 seconds left in what had become a timed race, triggering the final caution. Taylor’s car could not be cleared in time to restart the race, with the field finishing under yellow. “I was losing quite a lot of time through (Turns) 6 and 7,” Fittipaldi said of the damage to his car. “It was quite difficult. Down the straight, I could feel the air coming through my legs and I said: ‘Man, this is not good. We’re definitely dragging a lot on the straight.’ It was hard to keep that lead and keep up with the guys.”

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… GEORGE’S MERC GOES KABLAMO WHILE IN THE LEAD GIFTING ANTONELLI THE WIN! MCLAREN MAKES ONE. BLUNDER AFTER ANOTHER… GOOD FIGHT BETWEEN MAX AND LCH FOR P2 AND… FELIX ROSENQVIST WINS THE INDY 500 BY A NOSE!!! SUPER SAD NEWS…KYLE BUSCH GONE AT 41… THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY WITH FRANCOIS CASTAIN!… Rosenqvist Earns Epic Victory in Closest-Ever Indianapolis 500 Finish INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 24, 2026) – Felix Rosenqvist capped his magical May by edging David Malukas in a last-lap drag race to the Yard of Bricks with the highest stakes, winning the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the closest finish in the century-plus history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Rosenqvist rode the high line against the concrete wall exiting Turn 4 on Lap 200 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian and powered past the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet of David Malukas to prevail by .0233 of a second. The previous closest finish in “500” history came in 1992, when Al Unser Jr. held off a charging Scott Goodyear by .043 of a second. SEE: Race Results “Unreal; I still don’t believe it,” Rosenqvist said. “It kind of worked out the right way when I got back to third, and then I just had to flat-out lap on the high line, and it stuck,” Rosenqvist said. “It was just the coolest way you can finish and win an Indy 500.” The breathtaking race featured an event-record 70 lead changes over its 200 scintillating laps, breaking the previous mark of 68 set in 2013. With his second career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory, Rosenqvist became the third Swedish driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” joining Kenny Brack (1999) and Marcus Ericsson (2022). Meyer Shank Racing also earned its second NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory – both coming in the most prestigious race in the world. Helio Castroneves captured his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 2021 for the Ohio-based team. The victory capped a remarkable month for Rosenqvist. He and his wife, Emille, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Stella, on May 4. “I really miss my wife and my newborn child, Stella,” Rosenqvist said. “I wish they were here with me. This whole month, becoming a dad and winning the ‘500’ … We joked about it in the beginning: ‘Maybe you’ll win the ‘500’ and have a baby.’ It’s just unreal.” Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, as the fabled team placed two drivers in the top three but fell just short of a record-extending 21st Indy 500 victory. Pato O’Ward placed fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, his fifth career top-four finish in seven “500” starts without a victory. Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five in the No. 66 Acura Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian despite taking the green flag in the lead on a one-lap shootout for the victory after a late caution. An incredible .4360 of a second separated the top-five finishers. Rosenqvist’s average speed was 162.021 mph. The one-lap dash to the checkered flag and immortality was set up when rookie Mick Schumacher brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 in his No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda on Lap 197. Racing resumed at the end of Lap 199, with Armstrong leading to the flag stand with the white flag in the air and one lap remaining, with Malukas in second and Rosenqvist third. Malukas powered to the lead entering Turn 1 and started to pull away on the backstretch of the 2.5-mile oval with teammates Armstrong and Rosenqvist running side by side in a joust for second. Rosenqvist, running the high line around the oval, nosed ahead of Armstrong in Turn 4 and set his sights on Malukas. With the checkered flag in the air ahead, Malukas drove his car toward the pit wall to try and break Rosenqvist’s aerodynamic tow. Malukas then moved toward the center of the track, and Rosenqvist quickly swung his machine back toward the top of the racetrack, just barely avoiding contact. The two cars were side by side yards from the finish line when Rosenqvist nosed ahead and crossed the Yard of Bricks first by about a half-car length, the capacity crowd of 350,000 pulsating in delight. It was the most important of the 629 on-track passes in the race, including 567 for position. “I don’t know what else we could have done,” Malukas said as he choked back tears in his pit box. “We were the fastest car that whole race. I gave it 150 percent. I mean, I almost crashed this damn car every lap, and we still ended up with a P2. “I just can’t believe it. I don’t know what else I can give. So close. This place, we’re going to come back and bring it everything. We’re going to give it 160 percent the next time.” Said Rosenqvist: “Good job to Marcus and David at the end. They raced really cleanly. It’s because of drivers like that you get really good racing. Unbelievable.” McLaughlin, O’Ward and Armstrong then crossed the Yard of Bricks three-wide in the sprint for third, capping a race for the ages. The spellbinding finish was the final act of a dual-strategy drama that unfolded over the closing laps. O’Ward, Armstrong and Rosenqvist made their final pit stops on Laps 164, 165 and 166, respectively, right at the edge of the fuel window to finish the race without another stop under green-flag racing. Meanwhile, Malukas, McLaughlin and pole sitter Alex Palou in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda were among a group of cars that were on a different sequence and had to make their final stops on Laps 175 (Malukas) and 176 (Palou and McLaughlin). Malukas took control of that chasing group, but they were more than 20 seconds behind O’Ward, Rosenqvist and Armstrong with less than 25 laps to go. Rosenqvist, with two more laps of fuel than O’Ward, was content to ride in the draft of the Mexican and save even more fuel as both lapped nearly 10 mph slower than the chasing pack to ensure they could make it to the finish. Rosenqvist finally pounced past O’Ward for the lead on Lap 185 and was headed toward Easy Street. The chasing trio of Malukas, McLaughlin and Palou appeared to be running out of laps to catch O’Ward, Rosenqvist and Armstrong, but the field was bunched on Lap 192 when rookie Caio Collet slammed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, triggering the sixth of seven caution periods in the race. Race officials immediately red-flagged the event for accident cleanup, with all cars pulling into the pits. “It was the perfect situation for us before that,” Rosenqvist said. “We kind of had everything lined up. Pato was struggling with fuel, and we were pretty rich (on fuel) to the end. I was like: ‘This is going to be great. At some point you’re just going to pass him and hopefully cruise to the win.’ But then in the end, everything flipped upside-down. “But you just have to reload. I was a little negative at first. I was like, ‘Of course, this happened.’ But then you just had to think forward. It actually was good when I got back to third because it felt like I was hunting instead of being hunted.” Rosenqvist led the field to green flag on the Lap 196 restart after the 10-minute red flag period, with O’Ward second and Armstrong third. But Armstrong powered to the front in the four-wide restart with a bold outside move in Turn 1, with Malukas riding his aerodynamic coattails to second. But then Schumacher made contact with the SAFER Barrier to bring out the final caution on Lap 197, setting up the one-lap dash for glory. NTT P1 Award winner Palou led a race-high 59 laps but finished seventh. Adding his 12 bonus points for earning the Indy 500 pole, Palou leads the series standings by 42 points over Malukas entering the next event, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, May 31 on the streets of Detroit. Kimi Antonelli First of all, massive commiserations to George. I feel very sorry for him as he was leading the race and was super strong. We were having a great battle in that first stint and very close on pace. I am sure it would have gone right until the end of the Grand Prix, and I am disappointed we didn’t get the chance to continue that. It was not an easy race for us. The wind was very tricky and with the low temperatures, it was hard to get the tyres working. We had several lock-ups, particularly in the early stages, but fortunately were able to keep it on the track and get to the chequered flag first. It is of course not how we want to win but we will take it. We now get ready for the European portion of the season and six races in eight weekends leading up to shutdown. It will be an intense period, but we are looking forward to it. George Russell I am proud of my weekend, no matter that it ended in a retirement today. I took pole for the Sprint, won that race, took pole for the Grand Prix and was leading before we had the Power Unit issue that finished our race. I know there is nothing more I could have done this weekend to perform and that fills me with confidence moving forward into the rest of the season. It is of course a painful way to finish our Canadian Grand Prix weekend, but I will leave here satisfied that I did my best. Up until lap 30, I was thoroughly enjoying the race. I loved the battle with Kimi, and I am sure he did too. It was like going back to karting days where you are racing wheel-to-wheel, swapping the lead multiple times. I hope everyone enjoyed watching it as much as I enjoyed being in it. I just wish we could have continued it until the end of the Grand Prix. MAX... We made the right calls and didn't leave anything on the table! Finish Position: 3, Start Position: 6 "It’s great to be back on the podium. It was a little bit of a surprise, but we made the right calls and didn’t leave anything on the table. We had a very good first stint on the Soft tyre, and that gave us the gap we needed. The Medium tyre was more difficult because managing the temperatures, combined with going in and out of Virtual Safety Cars, made things more challenging. I enjoyed the last few laps battling with Lewis, and I pushed hard to take the position back. Over the last two weekends, we’ve been a lot closer, and there have been positive steps forward. It’s also our first podium with our own powertrain, which is a great milestone for the Team, so credit to everyone for getting us here.”

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… MERCEDES WINS AT THE 24 HOURS OF THE NURBURGRING FIRST WIN FOR MERC IN A DECADE! BUT MAX’S CAR HAS A DRIVE SHAFT FAILURE! NICK DEVRIES WINS THE MONACO E-PRIX!! WHAT ARE THE OTHER F1 DRIVERS DOING ON THEIR DAYS OFF? WILL MAX BE MOTIVATED TO RACE AT LE MANS? AND…FERNANDO SAYS…I WANT TO KEEP RACING UNTIL MY SON CAN SEE ME IN THE F1 PADOCK!! THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: YANNICK DALMAS FOUR TIME LE MANS WINNER…CARLOS SAINZ SR…AND INDY 500 WINNER THE LATE GIL DE FERRAN!! Max Verstappen and team dominate 24h Nürburgring until final hours, as Red Bull Team ABT makes a spectacular comeback for 2nd place! Max Verstappen produced a standout debut performance at the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring, in command of the race for the majority of its 24 hours before Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing were forced out of the lead with just over three hours remaining following a driveshaft failure on the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3. The four-time F1 world champion, sharing the car with Dani Juncadella, Lucas Auer and Jules Gounon, had delivered spells of excellent driving across both day and night in his first 24-hour race, a performance that further underlined his ability to adapt seamlessly across different disciplines of motorsport. With Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing forced to retire, the sister #80 Mercedes inherited the lead to take overall victory, with the #84 Red Bull Team ABT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 classified second after a recovery drive from a lap-one puncture. A record 352,000 spectators attended the 24h Nürburgring weekend for Verstappen's debut appearance, a surge many are calling the "Verstappen effect". The charge began on the opening lap, when Juncadella moved up the order from P4 as the pole-sitting Red Bull Team ABT #84 suffered a puncture. Verstappen took over for his maiden Nordschleife race stint with the #3 in P3, and a brief early scare onto the grass did little to slow him. Settling into rhythm, he stormed through the order with a string of thrilling overtakes to take the lead inside his very first stint. From there the #3 settled into a sustained battle at the front, with the team's four-driver rotation slotting into the rhythm of the race. After Verstappen's opening double stint, Gounon took the car on for his run before Auer reclaimed the lead with a strong spell of his own. Juncadella then took the wheel into the small hours, going lap-for-lap with the chasing #80 as the two factory Mercedes cars opened up a commanding gap over the rest of the field, the two rarely separated by more than 20 seconds across the full race distance. Verstappen was at the centre of the action across the overnight hours. The Dutchman pulled nearly half a minute clear of the sister car on his way to a string of standout moments, including a 270 km/h side-by-side battle on the Döttinger Höhe that saw the #80 run onto the wet grass before recovering, and a patient overtake to put the #3 back into the lead after more than 20 minutes of pursuit. The 24h Nürburgring is widely regarded as one of the most punishing events in motorsport, and across the race weekend a sizeable share of the 161-strong field were caught out by some combination of mechanical issues, crashes and the Nordschleife's notoriously changeable conditions. By the time the chequered flag fell, only 18 of the 41 GT3 cars that had started the race were still running. Heading into the final four hours, Verstappen had stretched the lead back out to 33 seconds before handing over to Juncadella on his in-lap. The issue struck shortly after, just three laps into the Spaniard's stint. An initial ABS warning escalated into vibrations from the rear right corner, and the car limped back to the garage where mechanics diagnosed a broken driveshaft and significant rear axle damage. With repair time running to nearly an hour, victory was no longer possible, but the team committed to rebuilding the car so it could rejoin the race for the closing laps. "We spoke with Max and the other three drivers, and everybody is so disappointed," said Mercedes-AMG manager Stefan Wendl. "But we said let's send this beautiful car out again for the last two or three laps and present it to the fans who have cheered for 20 hours and tried to bring us to victory." Juncadella, who was behind the wheel when the issue struck, took the disappointment in his stride: "It's obviously very heartbreaking, but motorsport is like that sometimes. There are many things you cannot control. The mechanical aspect in motorsport can sometimes be very cruel, and it was with us this time. Unfortunately, the race was three hours too long for us, and we couldn't make it to the end. Nevertheless, we have to be proud of everything that has been done. The team was incredible with the calls they did in the race. Max had a lot of fun; we could all see that. Maybe now there's a reason to come back." Driving alongside Verstappen for the first time, Lucas Auer reflected on the team dynamic: "Last time we drove together was against each other, and it's definitely better to have him as a teammate because he is just a machine. He's a lot of fun, a hard worker and has amazing speed." The sister #80 Mercedes of Team RAVENOL (Maro Engel, Luca Stolz, Fabian Schiller and Maxime Martin) went on to take Mercedes-AMG's first 24h Nürburgring victory in a decade, having recovered from a Top Qualifying crash that had left them starting in 25th place. Red Bull Team ABT held on to second despite a late penalty for a Code 60 infringement, finishing 16 seconds clear of the third-placed Walkenhorst Aston Martin. Red Bull Team ABT's Luca Engstler, who shared driving duties in the #84 with Mirko Bortolotti and Patric Niederhauser, could scarcely believe the team had fought back to second after a puncture dropped them to 14th: "It was an incredible week. We had a very good qualifying, starting front row, and then we had a horrible start, got taken out, and we had the puncture, and we were two and a half minutes down. We dropped back to about nine minutes behind the leader. But I never gave up, and in the end, we're here, and that's just insane." Race engineer Leon Wippersteg, fresh from delivering Lamborghini’s first Nürburgring front-row lockout in qualifying, credited the wider team effort that delivered second place: "It was one year of preparation to come here and to perform. All the drivers, engineers, mechanics, all the partners, everything has to fit together to be able to perform. We had the package, and I would say we're one of the quickest manufacturers out there. I think we managed well, and I'm very proud." La revanche de Servol et Jousset en Championnat de France FFSA GT Malchanceux samedi, Rudy Servol et Léo Jousset ont renoué avec la victoire ce dimanche sur le Circuit de Dijon-Prenois David Levy et Jodie Sloss remportent leur premier succès en Am Cup Romain Monti et Rodolphe Wallrgen prennent le large dans l’Alpine ELF Cup Series, Gillian Lay et Mikkel Njor lauréats dans la Ginetta Cup. Le Circuit de Dijon-Prenois a offert aux fans du Championnat de France FFSA GT deux courses hyper spectaculaires. Malgré une météo fraîche pour la saison, 13.420 spectateurs ont rejoint le mythique tracé bourguignon ce week-end… et ils n’ont pas été déçus ! N’ayant pas pu prendre le départ samedi suite à un problème technique, Rudy Servol et Léo Jousset (Alpine A110 GT4+ / Race Cars Consulting) ont pris une cinglante revanche ce dimanche en menant cette seconde course de bout en bout. Mais avec un total de trois neutralisations en 60 minutes de course, ils n’ont jamais pu réellement souffler. Leur deuxième victoire de la saison, après la course 1 de Nogaro, leur permet de de conserver leurs chances au championnat. Avec une ultime relance pour un seul tour en fin de course, on s’attendait à vivre de nombreux scénarios… Harri Reynolds er Rhys Lloyd (Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 / Circuit Toys) croyaient s’offrir la deuxième place, mais les Gallois étaient pénalisés après l’arrivée pour un contact durant la course. Premiers des concurrents de la classe Am à passer sous le drapeau à damier samedi, David Levy et Jodie Sloss (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 EVO / Mirage Racing) ont perdu la victoire sur le tapis vert après la course, le dépassement décisif pour la victoire ayant été effectué après le déclenchement de la procédure Full Course Yellow. Ce dimanche, rien n’est venu entraver leur marche en avant et le duo franco-écossais signe ainsi son premier succès de la saison. Avec une victoire samedi puis une deuxième place ce dimanche, Nicco Ferrarin et Julien Briché (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport / JSB Compétition) ont marqué des points très importants pour le championnat en devançant deux fois Stéphane Lémeret et Stéphane Auriacombe (Alpine A110 GT4 EVO / CMR), toujours leaders mais avec une avance de 2 points seulement sur la paire Ferrarin-Briché. Monti et Wallgren creusent l’écart en Alpine ELF Cup Series, de nouveaux vainqueurs en Ginetta Cup. Les arrivées au sprint deviennent une habitude dans l’Alpine ELF Cup Series. Mais un final avec 85 millièmes de seconde de différence entre les vainqueurs et leurs dauphins, c’est une première ! Dans cette course entre les Alpine A110 Cup, Romain Monti et Rodolphe Wallgren (Chazel Technologie Course) ont donc remporté de justesse leur troisième victoire de la saison face aux vainqueurs de la veille, Gosia Rdest et Paul Alberto (Chazel Technologie Course). Deux fois en pole position dans la classe, le jeune Luxembourgeois de 16 ans Lenny Kieffer et son nouvel équipier Julien Neveu (Schumacher GP) sont montés sur la plus petite marche du podium pour la première fois après une magnifique prestation. Roulant en solo et ne marquant pas de points au championnat, Axel Constantin (Chazel Technologie Course) a devancé Julien Paget et Anthony Pisano (Chazel Technologie Course).

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… FIA APROVE MORE REG CHANGES FOR 2027 SO… IS FERRARI STUCK IN A LOOP OF MEDIOCRITY? HONDA MAKING SOME PROGRESS IN RELIABILITY WOULD VERSTAPPEN BE TOO MUCH FOR MOTORSPORTS IF HE LEAVES F1 AND… FERNANDO SAYS PATIENCE IS MY STRENGTH WITH HINTS OF NO RETIREMENT ANY TIME SOON!! THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: ROBIN FRINJS WHO JUST WON THE WEC RACE AT SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS! AND, HANNES VAN ASSELDONK! BONUS: DAVID COULTHARD AND LONG TIME F1W LISTENER... CHRISTOPHER DEHARDE. ISACK HADJAR THRILLS CROWD AT GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE HISTORIQUE HOMECOMING Isack Hadjar roared the 2011 championship-winning RB7 past a sea of French fans as he returned to home soil for the first time as an Oracle Red Bull Racing driver at Circuit Paul Ricard. In front of an adoring home crowd, Isack paraded around the iconic track allowing him to soak up the electric atmosphere, before taking part in the ‘Fast and Famous’ demo run alongside legends of the sport. Joined by CEO and Team Principal Laurent Mekies, Isack was cheered on by a passionate sell-out crowd of 25,000 fans, as he completed demonstration laps around Le Castellet for the first time since claiming victory there in the Formula Regional European Championship in 2021. Headlining the 2026 Grand Prix de France Historique, Isack took to the 5.8km Grand Prix course, returning RB7 to the historic Formula One layout, waving to his fans as their roar from the grandstands rivalled the deafening thunder of the car’s V8 engine. Isack later joined fellow French F1 driver Esteban Ocon in the ‘Fast and Famous’ segment, which placed cars from several decades of F1 history against one another in a celebration of legacy. Earning the biggest cheer of the afternoon, Isack raced Ocon down the Mistral Straight. Sharing the track with four-time World Champion Alain Prost, Isack followed in the slipstream of one of his childhood heroes around Circuit Paul Ricard while also driving alongside Jean Alesi, Philippe Alliot and René Arnoux, amongst some of the most celebrated names to race under the French flag. Capping off a memorable afternoon under the Le Castellet sunshine, Isack was given the honour by waving Le Tricolore to signal the start of the ‘Historic F1 race’, featuring an extraordinary collection of World Championship-winning drivers and decades of iconic F1 machinery. Isack Hadjar, Oracle Red Bull Racing driver, said: "Being here was the perfect day. It was my home Grand Prix here in France and it was my chance to feel the support from so many fans today. I had a lot of fun, both on track and in the paddock. The roar of RB7's V8 is iconic and it felt so light around this circuit which made for a lovely drive. The atmosphere was unreal, you can get so close to the fans and enjoy special moments with them. Coming here brought back a lot of memories from winning races in F4 and to drive around Paul Ricard in an F1 car was a full circle moment." Laurent Mekies, CEO and Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, said: "Today has been an incredible event, it's the first time Oracle Red Bull Racing have shown up in this way for the Grand Prix de France Historique and it felt like a really special occasion. Isack's popularity here has been through the roof, you feel an extraordinary sense of passion from the French fans for their motorsport and Isack. He had a great afternoon having a good go on track against cars from so many different eras of our sport. Our heritage team and Showrun programme is so unique to Red Bull, it’s our way of bringing Formula One to those that haven't been able to experience a Grand Prix atmosphere before and today they got that." Kucharczyk Breaks Through for First INDY NXT Win at IMS INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 9, 2026) – Tymek Kucharczyk was Mr. Consistency for the first five races of the INDY NXT by Firestone season. But now he’s a winner. Series rookie Kucharczyk, the first Polish driver to compete in the INDYCAR development series, earned his first career victory by holding off Max Taylor to win Race 2 of the Indianapolis Grand Prix doubleheader Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. SEE: Race Results “What a special day,” Kucharczyk said. “To do it here, coming back to November in my first test in an INDY NXT car, now a winner here at Indy, it’s spectacular. I’m so grateful to my sponsors, to my team. It was a tough race. It was really, really hard to hold Max behind me. He was pushing me for the whole race.” Kucharczyk was the only driver to record a top-five finish in the first five races this season, but his best was third place, three times. He finished fourth in Race 1 of this doubleheader in mixed conditions Friday. But Kucharczyk climbed from fifth to the lead after the first two turns on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit, leading all 30 laps in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car. He took the checkered flag .6273 of a second ahead of Taylor in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen machine of Andretti Global after a taut, race-long duel in the caution-free race. Enzo Fittipaldi, who won Race 1 Friday, prevailed in an exciting three-way fight over the last 10 laps of the race for the final podium spot in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports machine. Lochie Hughes placed fourth in the No. 26 Andretti Global car, with Alessandro de Tullio rounding out the top five in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing entry. Series leader Nikita Johnson placed sixth in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR car. Kucharczyk climbed to second in the standings with his win, 11 points behind Johnson. There were two main flashpoints in the race, which took place under sunny skies in a contrast to the wet conditions at the finish Friday. The first came at the green flag. Taylor started from pole and went side by side with Josh Pierson’s No. 29 Starchive Andretti entry of Andretti Global, with both cars going wide. Kucharczyk snuck through the opening for the lead, with Taylor clinging to second. Kucharczyk maintained a gap of six- to seven-tenths of a second for the next 16 laps before the second main incident of the race. Kucharczyk locked his right front wheel braking for Turn 1 on Lap 17, creating a large flat spot on his Firestone Firehawk tire. “Other than the lockup that I made midway through the race, it was a pretty flawless execution,” Kucharczyk said. “I don’t think we had probably the fastest car on the grid today, but the first lap helped me massively. Max was pushing really hard, so I had to save the Push to Pass at the end, as well. It’s all good. I made it happen, so super, super grateful.” Taylor pulled to within .4807 of a second on Lap 23, and it appeared the flat spot on his tire may have started to sap speed from Kucharczyk. But the Pole managed his tires and saved enough Push to Pass engine boost to increase the gap to .7830 of a second on Lap 25. He maintained a steady gap to the checkered flag. “That was everything,” Taylor said of his effort. “I thought we were going to catch him. I messed up on the start, I think. So, something to look over. But still good points, decent points this weekend, and a lot to take away and a lot to improve on if we want to win this championship.” Taylor is third in the standings, three points behind Kucharczyk and 14 behind Johnson. The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, May 31 on the streets of Detroit. Lundgaard Breaks Long Drought To Win Sonsio Grand Prix INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, May 9, 2026) – Christian Lundgaard prevailed in a race filled with thrills, incidents and enough pit wall decisions to prematurely age strategists to win the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory in nearly three years. Lundgaard drove his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to his second career victory by 4.6713 seconds over the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet of David Malukas. Lundgaard’s first career win came at the Honda Indy Toronto on July 16, 2023, while driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. This victory ended a 47-race winless drought for the Danish driver, and he became the third McLaren driver to win in the INDYCAR SERIES, joining Johnny Rutherford and Pato O’Ward. SEE: Race Results “Very happy,” Lundgaard said. “I really didn’t expect this today. I hoped for it. This was a long wait for this win, especially around this place. You know how fast I’ve always been around here, and it’s just been time after time after time disappointments. Now we’re here. Let’s go! “We did it. Let’s go. Good start to May.” Graham Rahal was the final podium finisher today, third in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda to tie his season-best result. Josef Newgarden placed fourth in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet to put two Penske cars in the top four. NTT P1 Award winner Alex Palou, who led every session he was on track this weekend entering the 85-lap race, rounded out the top five in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Lundgaard, who started fourth, took the lead for good with a scintillating pass of Malukas on Lap 68. The two drivers raced side by side through Turns 3 and 4 before Lundgaard slipped through a small opening in the Turns 5 and 6 chicane leading to the backstretch of the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit. Then Lundgaard, who last pitted for the final time one lap earlier than Malukas on Lap 65, pulled away over the closing laps. Malukas led a race-high 27 laps, four more than Lundgaard, as he fell just short of earning his first career victory. “We were very strong in those middle stints, and then toward the end, we maybe made the wrong decision on wing (adjustments) there,” Malukas said. “We were just falling apart. I was doing everything I can just to survive, and Rahal was coming from behind. “But either way, that is a fantastic result. We went into this weekend knowing it was going to be a struggle for us. We thought we wouldn’t even make the (Firestone) Fast Six (in qualifying), and here we are P2 on the podium. We’re one step closer to getting that win.” Chaos and snap decisions from strategists reigned from the drop of the green flag until the race settled into a rhythm after the final round of pit stops for the field with 20 to 25 laps to go. Palou led into Turn 1 at the start, seeking his fourth consecutive victory in this road race that opens the Month of May at IMS. Behind him, O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Scott Dixon in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda and Caio Collet in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet were collected in a chain-reaction accident as the 25-car field funneled from the front straightaway to the tight Turns 1-2 complex. That incident helped Malukas jump from fifth to second and triggered the first of three full-course cautions in the race. Many teams began to adopt alternate strategies to cope with the early field shuffle, entering for tires and fuel when the pits opened on Lap 3. Meanwhile, Palou stayed on track and began to pad his lead. Kyle Kirkwood drove his No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda of Andretti Global past Malukas for second place on Lap 7, and the top two drivers in the series point standings started to pull away and possibly set up a one-on-one duel for victory. The race turned on its head on Lap 22 when the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet driven by Alexander Rossi of ECR stopped along the pit wall near the Yard of Bricks start-finish line on the front straightaway with a mechanical problem. Many other cars had started to pit before the full-course yellow, but Palou and Kirkwood did not from the top two spots. Palou and Kirkwood entered the pits on Lap 25, dropping them to 19th and 20th, respectively, when they returned to speed. Palou and Kirkwood just avoided calamity on the restart on Lap 28, darting around another chain-reaction collision – this time in Turn 13 – between Rosenqvist, O’Ward, Sting Ray Robb in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet and Kyffin Simpson in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kirkwood’s chances at contending for victory ended during his pit service on Lap 39, when a slow right-front wheel change resulted in a 15.2-second stop. Palou’s stop was 7.2 seconds on the same lap, allowing him to continue to march toward the front. But he never got any closer than fifth, ending up 14.3630 seconds behind winner Lundgaard. Palou’s two-race win streak this season ended, but he still padded his series lead over Kirkwood to 27 points. Kirkwood finished ninth. Lundgaard will try to repeat Palou’s 2025 “double” of winning the Sonsio Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge when the 110th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” takes place Sunday, May 24. Practice on the fabled 2.5-mile oval opens Tuesday, May 12.

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… THE TEENAGER WINS ANOTHER GRAND PRIX! MAX DOES A 360 AFTER LOOSING THE REAR IN TURN ONE! THE FORMULA IS GETTING MORE EXCITING FOR SURE! GEORGE NOW 20 POINTS BEHIND…AND A WATCHED POT NEVER BOILS!!!…CONCER NING THE RAIN ALEX ZANARDI GONE AT 59…WE WILL MISS YOU AND YOUR WILL TO FIGHT! THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: GIACOMO AGOSTINI AND ALEXANDER ROSSI FROM MONZA BY THE HOST OF F1W IN 2010 ALEX ZANARDI October 23, 1966 - May 1, 2026 At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, legends aren't just made; they are carved into the corners themselves. Thirty years ago, at the infamous Corkscrew, Alex Zanardi delivered one of the boldest moves motorsport has ever seen. Chasing Bryan Herta in the closing laps, Zanardi saw an opportunity where none should exist. As they crested the hill, nearly blind to what lay beyond, Zanardi committed...diving down the inside into the Corkscrew, a line few would even consider, let alone attempt. It was instinct, precision, and fearless intent, all in a single breathtaking moment. Side by side through the drop, gravity pulling them into chaos, Zanardi merged ahead, completing a pass that defied logic and redefined what was possible on the track. Decades later, that move still echoes through Laguna Seca, a reminder that greatness isn't just about speed, but about daring to do what no one else will. Alex Zanardi’s impact reaches far beyond the racetrack. He inspired generations of drivers, fans, and communities around the world, and his legacy will continue to do so for years to come. Grazie Alex. Charles Leclerc’s day at the Miami International Autodrome has taken a turn for the worse after the stewards gave him a post-race time penalty. Leclerc was called up by the officiating panel for three separate potential offences, triggered when the Ferrari man suffered a last-lap spin and tapped the wall. After that, Leclerc was noted for driving his damaged car in an unsafe condition, leaving the track multiple times and gaining an advantage, and clashing with Mercedes rival George Russell at the final hairpin. Following their investigations, the stewards opted to hand Leclerc a drive-through penalty, which – given that this was handed out after the Grand Prix – has been converted into 20 seconds being added onto his race time, dropping him down the order to eighth place. This penalty was given for leaving the track “on several occasions without a justifiable reason”, a document released following the stewards’ hearing confirmed. After hearing from Leclerc and a team representative – as well as the data, video and radio evidence – the findings from the stewards read: “Car 16 spun on the last lap at Turn 3 and hit the wall but continued on track. “The driver informed us that the car appeared fine save that the car would not negotiate the righthand corners properly. “Given this problem, he was forced to cut chicanes on the way to the chequered flag. We determined that the fact that he had to cut the chicanes (i.e. to leave the track) meant that he gained a lasting advantage by leaving the track in that manner. “The fact that he had a mechanical issue of some sort did not amount to a justifiable reason. We accordingly impose a Drive Through penalty on Car 16, given the number of times the car left the track and gained an advantage. “We also considered whether there was an additional breach in continuing to drive a car with an obvious and discernible mechanical issue. We determined that there was no evidence of there being an obvious of discernible mechanical issue. We therefore took no further action in relation to that potential infringement.” In a separate investigation for Leclerc’s contact with Russell into Turn 17, the stewards deemed that no further action was necessary, stating in a document from that hearing: “Both drivers considered the contact to be minor racing incidents and we agreed. Verstappen fights back from first lap spin to take fifth in Miami Oracle Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen fought back from a spin on the opening lap with a determined drive into fifth place at a chaotic Miami Grand Prix that saw Visa Cash App Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad finish in 14th as both Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson crashed out of the action early. After qualifying in an impressive second place on Saturday behind eventual Grand Prix winner and Drivers' Standings leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, Verstappen made a strong start, but was squeezed on to the kerb just two turns into the 57-lap race and spun, dropping him to ninth. From there, the four-time Formula 1 world champion staged an impressive fight back through the field. The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 5 when team-mate Isack Hadjar crashed out of the Grand Prix and Verstappen took the opportunity to pit for hard tyres, rejoining the race in 16th place. Verstapppen scythed through the field on the first street circuit of the season, all the way back inside the top three. However, the huge stint driven on hard tyres began to take their toll in the closing laps and despite fighting with everything he had, the Dutch driver dropped to fifth place the chequered flag. Later on the same lap that Hadjar crashed out in the second RB22, Visa Cash App RB's Liam Lawson was also forced to retire after making contact with Pierre Gasly's Alpine. His rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad drover another solid Grand Prix however, gaining vital street circuit experience in an F1 car on his way to 14th place. Quotes Oracle Red Bull Racing MAX VERSTAPPEN – 5th “It was a very eventful race. Unfortunately, on lap one I lost the rear and spun in the second corner, which was a shame. I recovered it well, but then we had to manage and minimise the time loss. After that we opted to do an early stop. It's easy to say after the race, but the hard tyre wasn’t really working for us, as we didn’t have particularly good grip and struggled a bit at the end. I tried my best to hang in there, but it wasn't meant to be. However, for sure we picked up a bit of performance, which is really promising. Overall, it was a positive weekend for us and good to be back in the mix. The car is a work in progress and we keep on pushing and keep trying to improve, so we are heading in the right direction." ISACK HADJAR – DNF “It's a tough one to take. We had a good start from the pitlane and I felt awesome the first few laps. We had very good pace early on and then the mistake came. I didn't see it coming and everything went so fast. I was just too eager and ended up finding the limit of the track. I need to look back at what happened to understand where I went wrong. The team made a big step forward and the pace was much stronger today than we've had in the opening rounds, so I'm frustrated that I couldn't score what I felt were easy points. I'm already itching to get back into the car in Canada and maximise what we now have." LAURENT MEIKES – CEO & Team Principal "Our car is very different today to what it was five weeks ago in Japan, when we were 1.2 seconds off pole. It’s clear we still have a lot of work to do, but looking at our race pace today and our quali pace yesterday, I think we are on the right track. We brought upgrades, like almost everyone else, but on top of that we have been able to resolve some of the issues we had up until now and we found some lap time there too. "I have no problem repeating myself when I say we have a fantastic team of people back in Milton Keynes and here at the race track. In my opinion its the best talent in the paddock and they must take the credit for this uptick in performance. It’s been a strong united effort at 360 degrees, chassis side and PU side. "We also take home some very important learnings from this weekend on what to improve next and we are well aware that much more is needed in order to compete again for the top spot. Max reminded us of how incredible he is when he can push with the car, sticking the RB22 on the front row yesterday and fighting for each millimetre of track today, coming through the entire field and surviving a 50ish lap long stint on the hard. Isack did not have a clean weekend and we did not help him with the back of the grid start due to our mistake yesterday. His initial pace in the race was strong and I have every confidence we will regroup back in MK and come back stronger for a smoother weekend in Montreal."

ON TODAYS PROGRAM… MIAMI IS THE REAL 2026 SEASON OPENER!! TURKEY GP RETURNS FOR 2027! JEAN ALESI CRASHES HIS 1969 312 FERRARI AT THE MONACO HISTORIQUES! TOTO KEEPING HIS CARDS CLOSE TO HIS CHEST! BYD ARE TALKING WITH DOMINICALI!!…..AND…. FERNANDO’S VICTORY OVER THE RED BARRON WAS 20 YEARS AGO! AND… THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: JEROME D’AMBROSIO AND LANDO NORRIS AT DONINGTON 2015!! On 24 April 2005, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola became one of the defining races of Fernando Alonso’s first championship season. He won for Renault, but the result is remembered above all for the final laps, when Michael Schumacher brought the Ferrari close enough to make every corner matter. Alonso had started second. Schumacher had started 13th on the grid after a difficult qualifying session, yet as his pace came alive, it transformed the afternoon. Kimi Räikkönen had led early for McLaren before retiring with a driveshaft problem, and Alonso inherited a race that soon became a test of control as much as speed. In the closing phase, Schumacher was the faster driver. He had the Ferrari underneath him, the experience of seven world titles behind him, and a circuit where passing was difficult. Alonso had track position, a Renault R25 to protect, and no margin for error. For lap after lap, he placed the car exactly where it needed to be. Alonso crossed the line just 0.215 seconds ahead of Schumacher. After the later BAR-Honda disqualifications, Alexander Wurz was classified third for McLaren Mercedes. Imola 2005 remains a clean piece of Formula 1 memory: pressure, restraint, and two drivers at different points of their stories meeting at the edge of a changing era. Machismo! We spoke with former World Drivers' Champion Nigel Mansell after the regulation refinements were announced and he shared his views. Here's a summary of what he said: It's fabulous that everyone's talking and this is a massive change "I think the fabulous thing is that everyone's talking. It's been a massive change in regulations, both with the car and the engine. I think there's going to be improvements with the harvesting of power. Hopefully, they won't be slowing down too much into some of the corners now.” "I think it is so vitally important for the drivers to be able to drive the cars to the maximum, as opposed to having a computer telling them when they can brake or can't brake. Fernando Alonso made us all laugh by saying that his chef could drive the car better than he could at the moment.” "We have to get back to normality. Formula One is the grand stallion of all racing worldwide and we mustn't lose sight of that. And as technology gathers pace, they can do these other tweaks to do 50/50 later but they just need to give more power to the cars at the moment to go racing.” I'd like to see more power to the elbows of the drivers "In engineering terms, if it's not broken, you don't try to fix it. People don't understand that there's major changes which have been in place for some time. It takes a lot of time for all the teams and manufacturers to put it all together.” "So the complexity of the rules is enormous and if you don't get it right, along with the combination of the power units, harvesting of electrical power, and so on and so forth. It's a minefield.” "Drivers can fall foul of so many regulations and yet it's the computers doing it all. I'd just like to see more power to the elbow of the drivers, as opposed to computers doing it.” "Going back to the 70s and 80s, 90+ percent of the engines were Cosworth DFV. Everyone had the same engines pretty much and we had fantastic racing. You knew the cars, the drivers, the tyres, the mechanics and the engineers made a huge difference.” "Yes we're in the computer age but racing should be as stable as it can be, for everyone to be able to catch up to compete. Everyone's mooting it would be great to have the V10s back for the noise. If you're a purist, the answer is yes. Everybody makes their own V10 and it'll sound fantastic because it's the pinnacle of motorsport.” Challenge for F1 is to balance technological advancement and "racing" "I have tremendous sympathy, and support the drivers one hundred percent with what they're saying. They need to be listened to. They've got a job to do and they do a fantastic job, all of them.” "It's all well and good, coming up with new ideas and regulations. All I'd say to the powers that be is that they've done a fantastic job but they have to work and they have to be able to be implemented safely and properly.” "When they've tweaked it enough that it works, it's fantastic. But until it does work properly for everybody, we need to keep tweaking it, I think urgently now so that we get the show on the road.” "As long as it doesn't carry on for much longer they'll be fine. They're all doing a great job. What the manufacturers have done, the FIA, the governing body and Liberty Media themselves.” "They mustn't lose sight of the fact that the cars need to race properly. It has some growing pains but it has been the most difficult start of any year because they've had three races and then this month or so off. And now we've got Miami so I think everyone's excited about that at the end of next week as we can get racing again.” Mercedes still have the advantage despite regulation refinements "If you're Mercedes you must be incredibly frustrated because you could have gotten a big lead in the championship.” "The people who are struggling, they'd go 'oh, thank you!'. They get a bit more time to sort things out and get ready for the next race.” "It's on both ends of the spectrum. Some people are going to feel very comfortable with it and some will feel frustrated. It's racing anyway. There's always something going on.” "I don't think so (Mercedes and Toto Wolff being disappointed) because we haven't had a proper race yet, if you're a purist. Mercedes have done such a fantastic job, they'll have an advantage all through the year. Their engine is better than anybody else's.” "We're talking purely here about harvesting power and drivers being able to race the cars on the track and at every corner as much as they can. So it's a different thing altogether". "I still think Mercedes will have an advantage all through the year but it's a big development. It's a big development with the cars, with the engines. A month is a very long time and we could see a lot of changes in Miami. Once we get racing properly, everything can stay stable again. It's just that everybody is not racing properly at the moment". These regulation refinements make Miami GP the first pivotal race of the season "I hope everything settles down and we have a great race in Miami.” "I think Miami, because the focus is on it, could be one of the pivotal races this year with all the new tweaks. I think Miami's got hype because obviously without going into the negativity of what's happening in the war, with this month off, everybody's hungry to go racing again. So Miami's going to be under the microscope, and I think it's going to be a fantastic race down there.” "Well, I'll let you know firsthand I'm gonna be there this year for one of the days, so I'm gonna go and have a look. This is my first time in Miami. I haven't been there but Miami is a great spectacle. I think every year when any race returns, there's improvements.” "I'm very optimistic that Miami will be a much better presentation.” Stovebolt Special Returns to Pebble Beach Decades after Historic Run in Last Road Race PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA (April 22, 2026) — At the drop of the green flag, in what was to be the very last road race at Pebble Beach although no one knew that then, two-time past winner Bill Pollack jumped into the lead in a much-modified car that would come to be known as the “Stovebolt Special”—a 1950 HWM fitted with experimental disc brakes and the very first Chevy V8 to be used in road racing. The date was April 22, 1956. For a brief time, the car led the Ferraris of Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, and Ernie McAfee as well as every other car in the race. It was powered to win—and might have done so but for the many tight corners of the tree-lined course, which the just-completed special struggled to navigate since its handling was not yet dialed in. Ultimately it finished sixth overall—a fine achievement in a field comprising the top sports racing cars and drivers of the day. Although the Stovebolt Special now resides in England with renowned auto journalist and current owner Simon Taylor, it will return to Pebble Beach this August for the 75th celebration of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, an event that began in tandem with the Pebble Beach Road Races in 1950. The HWM had already lived a long and storied life when it raced at Pebble Beach. In original form, as a works race car bearing a four-cylinder two-liter Alta engine, it served as the steed for Stirling Moss in his first paid competition. He raced the car for HWM throughout much of the 1950 season, recording several fine results including a third-place finish behind the Alfas of Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio in the Bari Grand Prix. With Johnny Claes at the wheel, the HWM won the Grand Prix des Frontieres. It was also driven by Rudi Fischer and Raymond Sommer. A few years later, the car was sold to 20th Century Fox to be used in the film “The Racers,” starring Kirk Douglas—and was crashed in accord with the script. It was Tom Carstens who bought the wreck and resurrected it for Pebble Beach, not simply rebuilding it, but doing all that he could to improve the chassis, transmission, and body. The new Chevy V8 engine was bored and stroked to just under five liters by Bobby Meeks at Vic Edelbrock’s shop and then was fitted in the car by Eddie Kuzma, who managed that task by repositioning the firewall and fabricating new rear bodywork. Ted Halibrand’s shop added a quick-change rear axle and the disc brakes. The finished creation was called the Stovebolt Special by “Sports Cars Illustrated” magazine—and the name stuck. The return of the Stovebolt Special to Pebble Beach is made possible thanks to Simon Taylor as well as the American Hot Rod Foundation (ahrf.com), particularly founder Steve Memishian and foundation manager David Steele.The “Stovebolt Special” among several race cars in competition at the very last road race through the tree-lined course in Pebble Beach. Photo Credit: Julian P. Graham / Pebble Beach Company Lagorio ArchivesThe 75th Concours will pay tribute to its historic ties in racing as well as the many “first-ever” gatherings of cars that have made it famous. The former road racers will be showcased in two special classes, one focusing on cars that raced in close-to-original form as made by their manufacturers and the other focusing on specials that were much modified. The event will also feature cars ranging from early American Speedsters to Ferraris and Japanese race cars, and the latest new creations and dream cars will be displayed on the Concept Lawn. ZHENRUI CHI JOINS THE ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO FORMULA ONE™ TEAM DRIVER ACADEMY 22 April 2026, AMRTC, Silverstone, UK: The Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team is pleased to announce that Zhenrui Chi has joined its Driver Academy. The 17-year-old, regarded as one of China’s most promising young drivers, becomes the latest addition to the Academy’s expanding roster as the team continues to strengthen its long-term pathway for developing emerging talent from across the global motorsport landscape. As a member of the team’s Driver Academy, Zhenrui will race in an Aston Martin Aramco-liveried car, introducing the marque’s iconic green to the Formula Regional grid. Zhenrui’s signing follows a comprehensive selection process carried out by the team’s Driver Academy programme, which first saw him driving at its evaluation day in Mugello before tracking his impressive 2025 campaign. Over the course of the season, he demonstrated consistent front-running pace and racecraft across European and Middle East F4 categories, delivering a series of standout performances that underlined his talent. As part of the Aston Martin Aramco Driver Academy, Zhenrui will take part in a tailored development programme designed to support every aspect of his motorsport progression. The programme includes racecraft mentorship from experienced team personnel both trackside and at the AMR Technology Campus, physical conditioning, and a dedicated media and communications training to prepare him for the demands of professional motorsport. Zhenrui Chi, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team Driver Academy: “Joining the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team family is a huge honour for me. It’s a great responsibility, but also an incredible opportunity and motivation to keep pushing myself to the next level. Knowing that I have the support of such an iconic team, with all its experience and expertise, gives me a lot of confidence for the journey ahead. I know the road will require hard work and dedication, and I’m fully aware that I have to continue to prove I deserve this opportunity. I’m ready to give everything I have and I can’t wait to start this journey with Aston Martin Aramco.” Nuno Pinto, Racing Director, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team Driver Academy: “Zhenrui is exactly the kind of talent our Academy exists to find. We first saw him at an evaluation test in Mugello and were immediately impressed by his ability and approach. We then followed his progress through the rest of the 2025 season, where he showed not only pace but also strong consistency in one of the most competitive junior categories in racing, Italian F4. We are delighted to welcome him to the Academy and to support his development through our programme at Silverstone. With the resources of the AMR Technology Campus and the environment we have built around our drivers, we believe we can help him to continue to grow. This is a long-term partnership, and we are looking forward to the journey ahead together.”