Motorsport News 15/07/21

Formula 1 ace George Russell says he will be giving it everything to land his first points finish for the Williams team at Silverstone this weekend. The 23-year-old has been knocking on the door of making his breakthrough for the British team this season and was only robbed of a top-10 finish four laps from the flag Austrian Grand Prix 10 days ago when he was overtaken by the Alpine of two-time world beater Fernando Alonso. But Russell, who scored three world championship points when he substituted for Lewis Hamilton in the Sakhir Grand Prix at the end of 2020, says he is more pumped up than ever to land his first marks for the Williams crew. In an exclusive interview, Russell told MN: “With the experiences I’ve had at the back of…

We are delighted to welcome George Russell into the Motorsport News readers’ questions hotseat this week on the eve of what is the highlight of the British motor racing season traditionally, the British Grand Prix. The fans will be out in force as the grand prix track is able to throw open its doors once more, and that will mean that there won’t be a spare seat in the place. Russell will get the chance to once again prove his Formula 1 prowess. While the headlines might be written at the front of the pack with Lewis Hamilton (and perhaps a little further in his wake with McLaren’s Lando Norris), the patriotic eyes will be glancing further back down the field to check the progress of the number 63 Williams-Mercedes. There is…

Tributes have been paid to Formula 1 driver Carlos Reutemann, who passed away last week aged 79. The Argentine, a 12-time grand prix winner, was runner up in the Formula 1 points standings in 1981. He began his to-flight career in 1972 at the late age of 29. He took part in 146 grands prix for Brabham, Ferrari and Williams before suddenly retiring early in the 1982 campaign. The enigmatic driver walked away from F1 without a fanfare as he was up against Williams’s new recruit Keke Rosberg, who would go on to win that season’s World championship. Reutemann had lost the 1981 contest to Nelson Piquet amid mystery. Despite starting from pole position and being in a position to claim the crown, he slipped down through the order in the final race…

The Australian Grand Prix, which was scheduled to take place on November 21, has been axed for the second season in a row due to the global health pandemic. The 2020 event, which was due to be the opening round of the season, was called off at the last minute due to the worsening global situation. Attempts to reschedule it later in the campaign failed. It was also due to be the opening round in 2021, but was delayed from its original March date. However, strict border controls mean that the event will no longer be able to take place. Despite that, Formula 1 chief Stefano Domenicali said a 23-race season would still be possible.. “While it is disappointing we won’t be racing in Australia this season, we are confident we can deliver a…

BTC Racing driver Senna Proctor topped the timesheets during the British Touring Car Championship’s annual two-day tyre test last week. The Honda Civic Type R driver set the benchmark time on the first of the two days of running at Oulton Park, while three-time champion Gordon Shedden topped the runners on day two in his Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type R. Both days were affected by poor weather and some teams chose not to take to the Tarmac when the circuit was at its wettest. Proctor, who joined the BTC Racing team from the second meeting of the 2021 campaign, said: “To have the fastest time over the whole test is great. Throughout the two days we were very productive. “We managed to achieve the things that we wanted to get done and…

Andrew Jordan took part in the British Touring Car Championship’s two-day Goodyear tyre test at Oulton Park last week at the wheel of the Cosworth-TOCAHybrid Toyota Corolla. The car ran with the new-for-2022 TOCAengine produced by M-Sport on the Cheshire circuit – as it has done throughout its 2021 test programme. Hybrid power systems are due to be introduced to the BTCC from 2022 Jordan completed 118 laps alongside 27 of the regular BTCC runners. The 2013 BTCC title winner said: “It was important to [go to Oulton] so we can see performance-wise, the level that it’s at, and also to get miles on it. It needs to be reliable for when the championship goes to hybrid power, so we’ve done a lot more laps than anyone else purely with that reliability…