Car FYI

Photo Credit: Unnamed Photographer/Pirelli untitled In Formula 1's last race in Monza, the sport’s long-running McLaren Racing team completed its gradual return to the top echelon of the sport when Daniel Ricciardo spectacularly took the Italian Grand Prix . Lando Norris finishing second reinforced McLaren’s triumph with the 21-year-old British driver comforted by the likeliest case scenario that he’s in the early stage of a long career in Formula 1 where he stands close to his own success. While that was a thought two weekends ago in Italy, Norris wasted little time after the strong Italian Grand Prix performance to add a major professional milestone. Rain prior to Saturday’s qualifying at the 5.848-kilometer Sochi Autodrom for the 53-lap Russian Grand Prix made the time trial session tricky for competitors. The showers were so heavy that they caused the cancellation of the third and final practice earlier in the day but qualifying took place af...

Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled The week between the Dutch Grand Prix and this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix has involved a series of major announcements ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The biggest domino was British driver George Russell tapped to pilot an entry for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team as a teammate to Lewis Hamilton. This move for next season occurred as Alexander Albon was announced to return to Formula 1 in the Williams Racing team while current Mercedes-AMG Valtteri Bottas would depart for the Alfa Romeo Racing organization. In the case of Bottas, his final races with the German factory team are widely expected to be his last, best chances at Formula 1 glory. Formula 1's second sprint qualifying weekend at the Autodromo Nationale de Monza was an opportunity for the Finnish driver to leave a lasting impact on the 2021 season. The Italian Grand Prix is one of the three events in the 2021 Formula 1 season to use the league...

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: 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 Owens/IndyCar untitled The 33-car starting grid for the 2021 Indianapolis 500 is now set ahead of the May 30 th event with drivers representing 17 countries. Perhaps the most coveted single pole position in auto racing, the prime starting spot for the Indianapolis 500 is something a driver has a week to bask in the honour. For what will be the 105 th running of the greatest spectacle in racing, New Zealander superstar Scott Dixon claimed the prestigious pole at the 2.5-mile speedway. His fourth time taking the first place spot, Scott Dixon and his #9 PNC Bank-sponsored Chip Ganassi Racing car succeeded in topping competitors in the contentious Fast Nine Qualifying session. In his four-lap/ten-mile time trial run, Dixon sailed around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an average lap speed of 21.685 miles per hour or total time of 2 minutes and 35.3837 seconds. Dixon’s 19 th showing in the Indianapolis 500 has the 40-year-old, six-time Ind...

Photo Credit: Chris Owens  Different Date, Different Atmosphere A motorsport spectacle first held in 1911, the Indianapolis 500 have been affected by global events on several past instances. The earliest occasion was 1916 when a shortened 300-mile race was ran while the first world war was underway. The conflict cancelled the event entirely for 1917 and 1918. Cancellations would also occur during the United States’ full involvement in the second world war with no racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway between 1942 and 1945. After the war, a massive investment made by new track owner Tony Hulman saved the Indy 500.  As the world fights a different battle in 2020, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series decided to postpone the Indianapolis 500. Instead of the traditional event scheduled for the Sunday of the United States’ Memorial Day long weekend, August 23rd was selected for a revised date.  Another major change to the operations of the 2020 Indianapoli...