ON TODAY'S PROGRAM... MAX WILL PASS HIS RED BULL SEAT TO ROBIN WHEN READY! YUKI TO HAAS FOR 2027? COLTON HERTA THROWS IN THE TOWL ON HIS FORMULA 2 CAREER LAWRENCE STROLL IN PANIC MODE LOOKING AT MERCEDES OR FORD AS A REPLACEMENTS FOR HIS HONDA HEADACHE! AND...FERNANDO SO TIRED OF HIS SLOW ASTON MARTIN BUYS A BUGATTI VEYRON GRAND SPORT! BRAVO... THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY...THE GILLES VILLENEUVE REPORT AND INTERVIEW WITH JACQUES VILLENEUVE. GRACIAS!

Fernando Alonso's aluminium Veyron sat unsold for 27 months before it reached Monaco!

Fernando Alonso has taken delivery of the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse that a German dealer has been calling the most expensive Veyron ever built since it went on sale in June 2024. A video filmed near the Casino this week shows the Aston Martin Formula 1 driver easing the polished-aluminium car through Monaco traffic. When Mechatronik of Pleidelsheim listed it, the odometer read 750 km after nine years.

Chassis 8.100 is a Grand Sport Vitesse with 20 tonnes of aluminium behind it

The car Mechatronik lists as chassis 8.100 was ordered from Molsheim in 2014 and delivered in 2015 with a front bumper and seamless side panels milled from solid aluminium blocks, then polished, on a body that is otherwise exposed carbon fibre. More than 20 tonnes of aluminium went to Molsheim to produce those panels, Bugatti had to write dedicated CAD programs for them, and it spent longer building this Veyron than any other. Underneath it is a standard Vitesse: an 8.0-litre W16 with four turbochargers, 1,200 hp, 1,500 Nm and 410 km/h with the roof in place. The options bill alone exceeded the Vitesse's list price of about €1.69 million before tax.

The first owner held all six Veyron Legends editions and used them as leverage

The car exists because of an ultimatum. According to Mechatronik, the first owner already had a Veyron Pur Sang and had ordered all six Grand Sport Vitesse Legends editions, the 2013 and 2014 series built three cars apiece, along with several Super Sports. Bugatti declined the aluminium body as too expensive, and the client answered that the rest of his order book would go elsewhere if it did not build the car. It built the car. It then covered 750 km in nine years before it was consigned to a showroom near Stuttgart. Bugatti's own La Maison Pur Sang restoration programme now treats twenty-year-old Veyrons as classics, and this one arrived at that status without ever being used.

Alonso said at Goodwood in July 2024 that he wanted 'a small collection'

Alonso set out the shopping list himself, a month after the Veyron was listed. Interviewed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2024, he said he was 'in the moment of my life where I'm really looking forward to having a small collection', and added that some of the luxury brands he had driven for 'went into a different direction: bigger numbers', whereas he liked makers that 'treat the customer like unique customers'. The list that followed was an Aston Martin one: a Valkyrie due around his 29 July birthday, one of the 38 Valiants he commissioned with a manual gearbox he admitted he never drives, and a DB5 he was chasing through the heritage department. Two years on, the cars that have actually arrived are a one-off Pagani Zonda Roadster Diamante Verde in May and now a one-off Bugatti, both bought from Mechatronik and both delivered in Monaco.

A Veyron built on one customer's ultimatum fits Alonso's own definition of luxury

Chassis 8.100 is the most literal version of what Alonso said he valued: a factory that built exactly what one client wanted and never repeated it. Bugatti made 450 Veyrons between 2005 and 2015, and the Pur Sang of 2007, five cars in bare aluminium and carbon, was the factory's own earlier experiment in showing the metal. That is the same instinct that produced design director Frank Heyl's bespoke Veyron, and it explains why a car that spent 27 months unsold suited this buyer.

Alonso drives what the first owner did not: 750 km in nine years, then Monaco traffic

The Veyron's first owner averaged less than 100 km a year in it. Alonso, by his own account at Goodwood, drives every day: he lives in Monaco, uses 'maybe more scooters than cars', and takes his Aston Martin DBX to the airport each race week. The video shows the aluminium car doing exactly that kind of duty, waiting at a junction below the Casino rather than sitting under museum lights in Llanera. That puts him in the same camp as Lando Norris, filmed in London this week in the Ferrari F40 a friend crashed last year. Alonso's price is undisclosed; Mechatronik never published one.

on today's program... KIMI OVERCOMES FIRST LAP CHAOS TO WIN AT THE MADRING! MAX SPARS WITH LCH IN THE OPENING LAPS AND HANGS ON TO P2 NORRIS SAYS SIMPLY BAD LUCK WITH VSC AND...

FERNANDO SAYS...I'M STICKING AROUND...I THINK...

THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER...MORE MOTORSPORTS HISTORY, MARTIN AND, ALEX BRUNDLE AT THE AUTOSPORTS SHOW IN THE U.K.

Formula 1 made its first trip to the new Circuito de Madring, about 10 miles outside of the Madrid city center, on Sunday, and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli christened the track with a win. The championship leader now owns an even more comfortable lead and picks up his eighth career race win, one week after he won the Italian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen finished second after holding off Lando Norris, who was on pole after Saturday's qualifying session, but an unfortunate pit stop contributed to his third-place finish. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished fourth, and Antonelli's teammate George Russell came in fifth.

Kimi Antonelli

It was great to get the victory today, but we know we were a little bit fortunate with the timing of the Virtual Safety Car. Lando (Norris) was in control at the front, but we were able to dive into the pits just as the Virtual Safety Car was deployed, make the cheap stop onto the Hard, get the net lead and run to the end. We probably didn’t deserve to win therefore but we will of course take it.

We can also be happy with our pace today. We know we are still out of step with other teams in terms of upgrades, but we have been able to win the last two races at very different circuits. That is encouraging as we continue the season; we have a good position in the championships but we know there is still a very long way to go.

MAX VERSTAPPEN 

“It was a great result, and we really maximised our performance, with finishing P2 on this track a solid way to wrap up a good weekend. At the start, Lewis clipped the kerb and jumped back onto the racing line, I had to go off track, otherwise both of us would have taken damage. I don't think we had the pace to challenge for the lead anyway, Kimi and Lando were faster than me throughout, so I'm happy with second. It's a circuit that's very difficult to pass on; if you position yourself in the middle, there isn't really a way through, so I was able to hold off Lando until the end. This double header has been a positive one. The car has been in a decent window both weekends, and we've been able to score consistently good points over the last few races. A podium is a nice way to end the European swing."

LIAM LAWSON 

"I think it was a decent race. We had good speed through parts of it, but I just think we weren’t on the ideal strategy today. We went for the alternate strategy, starting on the Hards. At the start I lost the position to Franco and lost a lot of time as it was, but by the time I cleared him the VSC came out and they’d boxed, so it was just tricky from there. The start was exciting and I had to take a lot of risks to get the move done on Franco because it’s quite difficult to overtake here. It would’ve been nice to start a bit higher, but considering where we did start, the result today was good and I’m happy we managed to gain two places in the Race. I’m much more confident in the car this week, we’ve made a couple of great steps, so there are some good things to take away from the weekend."

LAURENT MEKIES, CEO & Team Principal 

“After Monza another strong result from the whole Team at the end of a tough race. Once again, Max extracted absolutely everything from the car, as he always does. There was obviously some frustration at the start when he had to give the place back to Lewis, but the Team on the pit wall took a good look at it and, credit to them, made the difficult call. It was painful at the time, but Max immediately got himself back into the fight and was outstanding all the way to the flag, including a great defence against the McLaren in the final laps.

It was also a strong race and some good points from Liam. It certainly wasn’t easy towards the end of his first stint on worn Hard tyres, but he kept his cool and showed good pace in the final stint.

Max’s P2 is his fifth podium in the last seven races and, although we have had a couple of tricky moments along the way, we are continuing to close the gap and credit needs to go to everyone working behind the scenes at Milton Keynes, improving every aspect of the car and its PU”.

George Russell

No matter what we had done with strategy today we would have finished P5. The Virtual Safety Car came at the worst point for everyone who had started on the Hard tyre like me, and the best point for those who had started on the Medium. Unfortunately, that is how racing goes sometimes but it is a little bit the story of my season so far! It was very difficult to overtake today but I’ve enjoyed driving the Madring overall this weekend.

It is going to be an intense run to the end of the season. I’m looking forward to getting back to the factory, working with the team, and getting ready for the first of three triple-headers. My pace today, particularly on the Hard tyre, felt good so we can be encouraged by that as we head to Baku.

Hamilton Brushes Off Verstappen's Comments!!

"It was pretty good racing to be honest," said Hamilton to media after the F1 Spanish GP. When the journalist noted that the radio comment was more out of frustration since he had to give the place back, the Brit agreed. "Yep, I think nothing to do with me in here," he said.

He didn't add much on the incident since he came straight to the media pen after retiring on lap 7. But he didn't see it as a fight. His brake issues started early and he had no time to think about losing the place to Verstappen. Hamilton explained why he went for another lap as his pedal came back for a moment.

"Yeah, I had a good start," said Hamilton. "I mean I didn't see Max taking that start and then yeah, the battle. I mean I wasn't in the battle then going down into Turn 5 but then it was when I went into Turn 5, then I hit the brake, it started stopping okay.

"And then kind of the pedal took a step and ended up like stopped. It wouldn't stop all of a sudden and then I went wide and that's when I just tapped the barrier but it wasn't really, it didn't feel bad like a bad touch.

"Then the pedal came back and it was fine for the next corners and things were looking okay and then the pedal went wrong. That was it," summed up Hamilton, who felt Ferrari had a decent car, seeing teammate Charles Leclerc lead for the most part before pitting to end up fourth.

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.