Motorsport News July 28, 2022

Sometimes you learn more about a racing driver when things are going wrong. It is all smiles when the podiums are being ticked off but racing drivers don’t often hit that sweet spot. More often than not, there are speed bumps to be scaled along the way. Charles Leclerc has experienced more than most this season, and the kick in the guts that was his retirement from the French Grand Prix after what was an unforced error was painful to watch. He was furious and heartbroken in the same measure. What was impressive was his hands-up approach to the disaster. His nose was well and truly rubbed in it by Max Verstappen taking victory, but there were no histrionics from Leclerc. Instead, there was a frank admission that he had made a…

The outcome of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship could well have been decided on lap 18 of last Sunday’s French Grand Prix. The sight of tyre marks leading from the edge of the Beausset corner towards the barrier indicated something had gone disastrously wrong. Race leader Charles Leclerc was breathing heavily in the cockpit of his damaged Ferrari. After a lengthy pause he roared: “Noooooo!!” at the top of his voice. It was the third time this season he’d retired while leading a race. And on this occasion, it was his own mistake. There’s no doubt Leclerc is supremely quick, but too many times in his career he has made an error that has taken his scarlet machine into the barriers or through a gravel trap. This year, for the…

Lewis Hamilton has credited Spaniard Fernando Alonso as being the toughest competitor he has come up against over the Briton’s 300-race grand prix career. The seven-time World title winner was quizzed in the buildup to last weekend’s French Grand Prix and said that his 2007 McLaren team-mate gave him the sternest challenge. It was Hamilton’s maiden year in Formula 1 and he pipped Alonso to second in the drivers’ championship that season – even though the team lost all of its points due to the ‘spygate’ scandal. Hamilton said: “It’s difficult to say who has necessarily been the strongest competitor because every time you’re with someone, you’re in a different place in your life. I remember the task of being alongside Fernando when I was 22. I was so young mentally and, of…

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel says he is aiming to remain with the Aston Martin team in Formula 1 for at least one more season despite rumours linking him to a McLaren seat. The 35-year-old German joined the Silverstone-based Aston team in 2021 and scored the squad’s first podium finish in Azerbaijan that same season. He has said that his intention is to remain with Aston for one more season. Speaking ahead of the French Grand Prix, Vettel joked: “Well I’m racing this weekend, and the next one. “Then obviously I’ve said that at some point we’ll start to talk and I’m talking to the team. I think there is a clear intention to keep going and we’ll see soon where we stand.”…

Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton says he is unable to rein in the pace of Red Bull as his W13 machine is suffering in a straight line. Hamilton scored his best result of the season at Paul Ricard on Sunday when he finished in second spot – which marked his fourth podium in a row. The smooth surface of the south of France track meant that he Mercedes didn’t display the porpoising problems that have afflicted it in the past and both Hamilton and teammate George Russell were more competitive. Despite the podium boost, Hamilton told Autosport that there as no way he could have improved on his second-place finish in France. “Literally I’m full gas down the straight and [Max]’s pulling away,” he said. “One of the biggest deficits was the straight line.…

Penske driver Josef Newgarden was taken to hospital after an accident on the Iowa oval last weekend. The American, who had won the first of the weekend’s two races, was battling for the lead in race two when his car failed and he was pitched into the wall. He was checked at the circuit’s medical centre and was released but returned to the medical centre after he later fainted. He cut the back of his head when he collapsed and was further treated. He stayed in hospital overnight before being released. Despite not finishing race two, Newgarden maintained his third place in the points standings. The second race was won by Pato O’Ward. The table is still headed by ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson, who took an eighth and a sixth place on…