Motorsport News March 3, 2022

Homegrown drivers Craig Breen and Elfyn Evans head into the World Rally Championship’s spring break playing catch-up in the title chase after they both hit trouble on the second round in Sweden last weekend, while Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera stormed to victory. Breen crashed into a snowbank on stage two and got stuck, while Elfyn Evans was firmly in the victory fight until his challenge imploded in bizarre fashion on Saturday evening. The Welshman charged a snowbank just after he’d completed the day-closing stage in host city Umea with the resulting chain of events leading to a 10-second penalty and an 18.3s deficit to Rovanpera. And it would get worse for Evans when he crashed out on Sunday’s first test to continue a troubled start to the season for two-time championship runner-up. There was…

Certain wisdom in the World Rally Championship says the competition is all about experience. That proved to be the case for the season-opener in Monte Carlo, where the 48-year-old Sebastien Loeb led home Sebastien Ogier, 38. But last week’s Rally Sweden turned that perceived theory on its head. At just 21 years old, Kalle Rovanpera claimed his third win at World rallying’s top table and did it despite all that was thrown at him from his own Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris going on the blink and from his rival drivers. Not only that, strong performances from M-Sport’s Gus Greensmith and protege Oliver Solberg meant that the average age of the drivers in the top six finishing positions was just over 26 years old. Thierry Neuville was the granddaddy of them all at…

Mercedes Formula 1 engineering boffins will have an aerodynamic revamp on its new W13 despite the cars topping the opening pre-season testing sessions of the season. Seven-time World champion Lewis Hamilton headed the timesheets after three days of running ahead of team-mate George Russell in Spain, but Mercedes was one of several teams to experiencing porpoising on its chassis. The next group test session is in Bahrain on March 10-12. Hamilton admitted that the crew had experienced difficulties. He said: “It’s been an interesting few days. It’s not been the easiest, or the most smooth running. We’ve definitely had some obstacles to overcome. “[We are] a little bit behind on the last two days [of running]. The car is a lot different to previous years to drive, as are the tyres. But we’re…

Alpine F1 boss Laurent Rossi says a significant success in his team’s 2022 achievements would be to finish the season in a stronger position than it starts. The team was one of the last to take the wraps of its new grand prix car, theA522, just ahead of testing in Spain last week. The machine runs a blue and pink livery, but will be predominantly pink for the opening two rounds. It will be driven by FernandoAlonso and Esteban Ocon. Rossi said: “We have multiple ambition. Fifth is the minimum we need to target after last year’s performance. So far, we have hit our targets and we are happy with the progress we are showing, but we have to be realistic that this year all the cards are thrown in the air. “What…

Chiefs of the Haas F1 team believe it can take a step up the grand prix order this year with its new VF-22 model, which was seen for the first time in testing in Spain last week. The American-owned firm ran an updated 2020 car last term while it focused on the F1 rule changes, which have come into place this season. The Ferrari-powered cars will be driven by an unchanged line-up of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin (should the Russian retain his seat). Team boss Gunther Steiner said: “We all know what the team is capable of, we’ve proved that in the past, and with this new car – born out of a completely new set of regulations and with our new design team in place, I’m confident we can showcase…

Formula 1 will not race in Russia this season after its attack on neighbouring country Ukraine. Ameeting between F1’s stakeholders took place last week where it was determined that the Sochi race, which was scheduled for September 25, would be axed from the 2022 schedule A statement from the FIA said: “F1 visits countries all over the world with a positive vision to unite people, bringing nations together. We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation.” During testing in Barcelona last week, four-time World champion Sebastian Vettel had said he would not have taken part in the event given the current war. McLaren driver Lando Norris backed F1’s decision. He said: “This is a very good decision from…