Motorsport News January 6, 2022

British Touring Car Championship hopeful Jake Hill will switch to an MB Motorsport BMW for the 2022 competition. The 27-year-old, a three-time race winner in the BTCC, will drive the ROKiT-backed rear-wheel-drive car. He finished fifth in the points last season at the wheel of a Ford Focus. He says the switch to the new outfit will help him realise his aim of a the BTCC drivers’title. “It has always been a dream of mine to work alongside WSR and BMW,” said the Kent racer. “Now we have made that possible in 2022 thanks to some amazing people. I’ve been presented with an incredible opportunity and it’s now down to me to make the most of it.” MB Motorsport boss Mark Blundell added: “Jake had an incredible season last year and matured as…

There can be nothing more frustrating for a racing driver than to be punted off the circuit by an out-of-control rival. But the frustration levels can rightly boil over when that action has been caused by someone who is racing recklessly. The hours of preparation, the graft in the background, the work to just put a racing car onto the race track in the first place is tough enough. To then have all of that effort ruined by someone who has stepped over the mark is soul destroying – and it seemed to be happening all too often last season. Graham Keilloh’s special four-page investigation into driving standards in UK motorsport is revealing, but it is also worrying. There was a general feeling in 2021 that some of the moves were…

Bosses of the health protocols in Formula 1 are considering making it compulsory for all personnel within the paddock to be vaccinated in 2022. Bruno Famin, the FIA’s director of operations, said that while no decision had yet been taken, the rise of the Omicron variant in Europe had led to discussions about making jabs mandatory. He told autosport.com: “The pandemic is increasing a lot and the hospitals are getting full again. Hundreds of thousands of people are contaminated every day in Europe and we have to be very careful. We know that in some places, in some countries, at some events, mandatory vaccination is progressing, It’s something we may consider, but for the time being nothing has been decided yet.” While several drivers – including the then World champion Lewis Hamilton –…

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has committed his future to the F1 drivers’ title-winning team until 2026. World champion Max Verstappen is tied to the team after signing a contract in 2020 that runs through until the end of 2023. The Dutchman will soon start talks over a further extension. Horner’s new deal with the Milton Keynes team will offer the operation some stability. Verstappen’s team-mate, Mexican Sergio Perez, raced with a one-year deal in 2021, but he too has renewed his deal for a further 12 months. Team advisor Helmut Marko said in a joint television interview with Verstappen late last season that the aim of the team was to keep the successful nucleus together going forward. Marko said: “Christian is the team principal, he is in the public eye and I…

Mick Schumacher andAntonio Giovinazzi will share the reserve driver role for the Ferrari Formula 1 team this season. Both are part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. Giovinazzi raced forAlfa Romeo in 2021 but has been replaced for 2022 by Chinese racer Guanyu Zhou. Schumacher will enter his second season in the top flight with the Ferrari-powered Haas team. Should Schumacher be called up to Ferrari to step in for one of its race drivers during the forthcoming season, Haas would call upon its reserve, Pietro Fittipaldi. When quizzed about signing Schumacher, Ferrari head Mattia Binotto said: “He’s had already one season in F1, which is important. Mick did well, he improved himself not only in terms of consistency, but as well in terms of speed. “If you look at the last races, he was…

Williams F1 driver Nicholas Latifi has spoken of death threats he received on social media following the controversy at the end of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was Latifi’s lap 50 crash into the barriers that brought out the safety car. That prompted the highly controversial last-lap dash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen that decided the outcome of the World championship. In a statement, Latifi said: “As we’ve seen time and time again, across all different sports, it only takes one incident at the wrong time to have things completely blown out of proportion and bring out the worst in people who are so-called ‘fans’ of the sport. “What shocked me was the extreme tone of the hate, abuse, and even the death threats I received.” The Canadian racer said that…