Car FYI

  Photo Source: Matt Fraver/IMS Photo and Penske Entertainment With one week remaining before the 110 th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 33 competitors rose to what is the first major test for their worthiness to hold the prized Borg-Warner Trophy during the traditional Memorial Day motorsport classic. Assembling the fastest average speed in a four-lap run was the challenge presented to the drivers and teams qualifying for the 2026 edition of the 500-mile event. Rain on Saturday at Indianapolis caused the rescheduling of all qualifying activities for Sunday. Although every one of the 33 entries for this year’s event were effectively guaranteed a starting position for the Indy 500, the multi-layer time trial delivered some suspense for the pole. After all the drivers set a single four-lap qualifying attempt, positions 13 to 33 were locked in. The fastest 12 cars advanced into a second round of qualifying with the 6 top finishers from that con...

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. Saturday’s qualifying for the inaugural Formula 1 race in the Arab nation of Qatar has assembled what is certain to be a dramatic opening lap showdown between this season’s title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. In setting the grid for Sunday’s 57-lap main event on the fast, high grip 5.380-kilometer Losail International Circuit, it was the driver of the #44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team race car that took honours. Lewis Hamilton’s pole-winning lap time of 1-minute, 20.827 seconds in the final Q3 session putting a cap on a time trial where the seven-time World Drivers’ Champion handily controlled through the three sessions. Joining Hamilton on the front row of the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix will be Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing machine. The Honda-powered entrant was 0.455 seconds slower than the rival Mercedes race car. With the race at Losail being the t...

Photo Credit: Charles Coates/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled The duet performance of 20 high-performance turbocharged gasoline and an electric power unit takes to the stage at Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps after nearly a month-long hiatus. A favourite track among Formula 1 drivers and fans, the 20-turn, 7.004-kilometer (4.352-mile) race track is a venue many would like to claim victory. Spa-Francorchamps is also known for being tricky and potentially dangerous place to compete. A six-car accident in qualifying for the W Series companion event on the Belgian Grand Prix weekend highlighted the course’s fast and challenging Eau Rouge section. Formula 1 cars’ Saturday qualifying combined the element of rain showers reducing the predictability of grip on the track surface and would contribute to some major surprises for setting the grid for the 44-lap main event on Sunday. With the conclusion of the Q1 and Q2 in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, Bri...

Photo Credit: Charles Coates/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled After well-deserved one-week break following three consecutive weekends of racing, the drivers and teams of Formula 1 arrive at the storied Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix. A short commute for many teams who operate home bases close to the track, Silverstone’s combination of high speeds and high g-force corners strain race cars and tires. Last season’s grand prix on the circuit famously ended with winner Lewis Hamilton limping his Mercedes-AMG machine to the chequered flag on just three intact tires. Rule changes meant to reduce downforce of Formula 1 cars introduced for 2021 as well as revised construction used for Pirelli rear tires should prevent similar incident as last year occurring in this latest British Grand Prix. Providing a new wrinkle to the British Grand Prix was Formula 1's first-ever sprint qualifying session. The familiar three-stage time trial was held on Friday with Merc...

Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled The last Formula 1 race on the streets of Monaco started without a key member; the race’s pole sitter. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc recorded the fastest lap in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix but would be unable to take part in the Sunday main event due to damage to his #16 Ferrari SF21 race vehicle. Two weeks later, the Monegasque driver grabs the pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix endeavouring to make it translate into a stronger race day performance than his unfortunate withdraw from his home grand prix. Charles Leclerc’s 1-minute, 41.218-second lap in Q3 on the 20-turn, 6.003-kilometer (3.730-mile) Baku City Circuit netted him his second consecutive pole in the 2021 season. The one and only other time Leclerc recorded multiple consecutive pole positions was in the 2019 season when the Monaco native went on a four-race streak of starting in the prime grid spot. Photo Credit: Foto C...

Photo Credit: Chris Jones For three decades, Indy-style car racing has been an ingredient of summertime in Toronto (well, somewhat less last year since the race was positioned in June to accommodate the 2015 Pan-Am Games but the race was still held in reasonably warm temperatures). The 30th edition of the Toronto street race within Exhibition Place arrived with sensational momentum as current IndyCar stars including Canadian and 2016 Indy 500 pole sitter James Hinchcliffe prepared for the Verizon IndyCar Series’ only stop outside of the United States for 2016. Serving as the main event for the 2016 Honda Indy Toronto, the Verizon IndyCar Series 85-lap race on Sunday was set by the outcome of Saturday afternoon qualifying. Contending on a refreshed street course design for 2016 created as a result of construction within the event grounds, the pit road was most notably shifted from the right side of the track to the left side. The pit road location movement has also prepared to ...

Photo Credit: Chris Jones One week ahead of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, the 33-car field was structured by two days of time trials. Sunday’s Fast 9 was established on Saturday by the quickest qualifiers of the day one qualifying session. Consisting of five Honda and four Chevrolet powered machines, qualifying for the momentous 2016 Memorial Day 500-mile event gave nine cars the opportunity for the coveted pole position with the best 10-mile run around the 2.5-mile oval track. The first of the nine cars to post a pole-challenging run, Simon Pagenaud in the #22 car for Team Penske set the early benchmark with a 229.139-mile per hour average speed through a four-lap qualifying run. Carlos Munoz quickly displaced Pagenaud from the top spot piloting an Andretti Autosport machine. Two cars after Munoz, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden posted an effort resulting in a 230.700-mile per hour average qualifying time. Newgarden’s fast effort in the #21 Chevrolet-powered ...

Photo Credit: Chris Jones The Indianapolis 500 is set to take place for the 99th time as a Memorial Day weekend classic. Prior to racing for 500 miles on the famed 2.5-mile oval track, Verizon IndyCar drivers need to qualify for the event. To earn their starting positions, Honda and Chevrolet supported race machines would be set loose for a four-lap qualifying run with the pole position being the most coveted spot. For 2015, the qualifying format at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's most prestigious event underwent a forced restructuring. Persistent rain soaking the bricks Saturday prevented the planned qualifying format for the Indianapolis 500. After rescheduling all qualifying activity for Sunday, Ed Carpenter's crash in a morning practice caused another revision to the Indy 500 time trials. While Carpenter did not suffer injury from the accident, a late decision was made to amend the technical guidelines for the qualifying. Te...