Motoring News

“S*** happens” – how 2025 mistakes made McLaren a stronger F1 team

Motorsport - Tue, 2026-01-13 10:31
McLaren boss Zak Brown has vowed that his squad's errors from the 2025 Formula 1 season will only make it stronger in years to come.
The British outfit dominated large spells of last year while rivals faltered, and wrapped up its second consecutive constructors' title by September's Singapore Grand Prix.
But McLaren made much harder work of securing its first drivers’ championship since ...Keep reading

Alpine release reserve driver Doohan

Formula 1 at the BBC - Tue, 2026-01-13 09:57
Alpine release Australian reserve driver Jack Doohan before the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Jack Doohan leaves Alpine as rumoured Super Formula switch looms

Motorsport - Tue, 2026-01-13 09:28
Jack Doohan is leaving the Alpine Formula 1 team for the 2026 season.
A product of the Alpine Academy since his Formula 2 years, Doohan graduated to its F1 line-up at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, getting a head start ahead of his maiden campaign in 2025.
But by then, Alpine signed a number of reserve drivers, including Franco Colapinto. Doohan struggled – he outqualified Pierre Gasly ...Keep reading

Five drivers join More Than Equal development programme

Motorsport - Tue, 2026-01-13 09:00
More Than Equal has named five drivers to join its development programme alongside its current trio Ivonn Simeonova, Lana Flack and Skye Parker.
Alexia Danielsson, Amelia Wyszomirska, Gianna Pascoal, Julia Angelard and Zoe Florescu-Potolea have joined the programme aimed at developing elite female racing drivers after a talent search and assessment.
More Than Equal, founded by Karel Komarek ...Keep reading

The Chili Bowl multitude of emotion on full display after Monday

Motorsport - Tue, 2026-01-13 08:19
Only at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals could you see the expressions on the podium’s face after the preliminary feature and have it make sense.
Kyle Larson won the race and simply climbed out of the car softly and waved to the crowd. It was kind of a muted expression. Briggs Danner finished second and was happier than the winner. Cannon McIntosh was third and looked as if he crashed ...Keep reading

Bell's Chili Bowl Race of Champions win extra special

Motorsport - Tue, 2026-01-13 03:24
Christopher Bell won his second consecutive Chili Bowl Invitational Race of Champions, and fourth overall, but this one was especially meaningful.
It marked the first time he had won a race in a car out of his own shop, and it came at home in the star-studded preliminary, that serves as the opening salvo of the Chili Bowl.
His car was fast, but Bell was also fortunate in that he was the ...Keep reading

NASCAR drivers, legends say new format is about legitimacy

Motorsport - Tue, 2026-01-13 01:30
The return of The Chase for the Championship has immediately been pitched to NASCAR fans as a return to civility.
This of course doesn’t mean a loss of intensity or consequence but those who were part of the announcement on Monday at NASCAR Productions believe that points racing will result in a product that is a little more professional.
And in the process, everyone involved ultimately ...Keep reading

Tony Stewart: Ferrucci the 'only IndyCar driver with balls or passion to do Chili Bowl'

Motorsport - Tue, 2026-01-13 01:26
There are plenty of drivers in the IndyCar Series that Tony Stewart believes could find success at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, but he hailed Santino Ferrucci as the only one with enough courage to do it.
Stewart, a two-time Chili Bowl winner (2002, 2007) and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion who also hoisted an IndyCar title 1997, is back at the Tulsa Expo Center for the 40th edition ...Keep reading

The evolution of NASCAR's championship format over the years

Motorsport - Mon, 2026-01-12 21:56
NASCAR's championship format has just undergone its latest change, but it's far from the first time the Sanctioning Body has tweaked the way it crowns a champion.
Red Byron winning the inaugural season in 1949, The King earning his first crown in 1971, Dale Earnhardt winning his seventh in 1994, Jimmie Johnson's historic run of five in-a-row in 2010, and Kyle Larson's latest triumph in 2025 -- ...Keep reading

Nico Rosberg closes $100m fund as he thanks F1 lessons for incredible VC performance

Motorsport - Mon, 2026-01-12 21:53
Nico Rosberg's venture capital firm, Rosberg Ventures, has now shot beyond $200million in assets under management after it closed a $100million deal for its third fund.
On the announcement of the fund's close, the German-born racer posted the following on LinkedIn. 
"We’ve just closed our $100m Fund III at Rosberg Ventures, oversubscribed with unprecedented demand, and capped allocations ...Keep reading

NASCAR reverts to the Chase for the Championship format in 2026

Motorsport - Mon, 2026-01-12 21:01
Starting in 2026, NASCAR will revert to a variation of the Chase for the Championship format it used to crown its champions from 2004-to-2013.
In other words, no more win and you’re in and no more multiple elimination rounds. Most importantly, the sample size to determine the champion is no longer a single race but a 10-race points race.
However, unlike NASCAR’s first version of a ...Keep reading

Smoke is back at Chili Bowl and Larson v Bell takes center stage

Motorsport - Mon, 2026-01-12 20:08
In introducing the guests for the annual Monday morning Chili Bowl Midget Nationals press conference, event publicist Bryan Hulbert called the attending drivers Mount Rushmore caliber and heaped praise upon the city officials who make it happen.
Tony Stewart is back after a five-year hiatus, the two-time event winner turned groundskeeper, now tasked with just being a fan this week under the ...Keep reading

PUMA select Rachel Robertson for 2026 F1 ACADEMY season

Formula 1 - Mon, 2026-01-12 19:44
Rachel Robertson will make her full-time step up F1 ACADEMY for the upcoming season, with the Scottish racer set to represent the series’ Official Partner PUMA on the 2026 grid.

How Lewis Hamilton became F1’s most influential fashion icon

Formula 1 - Mon, 2026-01-12 19:44
From his early McLaren days to a trailblazing era with Mercedes and now a new chapter with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton’s F1 career has mirrored a bold evolution in style. Explore how the seven-time World Champion became the sport’s most influential fashion icon.

Naturally-aspirated V8: What Ford is doing differently at the 2026 Dakar

Motorsport - Mon, 2026-01-12 16:45
You hear it before you see it – that’s the motto of the Ford Raptor T1+ at the 2026 Dakar Rally. At the heart of the prototype lies a 5.0-litre Coyote Darkhorse V8 engine, featuring 32 valves, a bore of 93 millimetres and a stroke of 92.7 millimetres.
By using a naturally aspirated engine, Ford is following a different powertrain philosophy than its immediate competitors. The Dacia ...Keep reading

Williams confirm Martins as test and development driver

Formula 1 - Mon, 2026-01-12 16:43
Williams have announced that their Driver Academy graduate, Victor Martins, will step into a new role as Test and Development Driver for the 2026 season, dovetailing those Formula 1 duties with a drive in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Alpine.

Grosjean reunited with helmet from 2020 Bahrain GP crash

Formula 1 - Mon, 2026-01-12 16:43
Romain Grosjean has revealed that he was recently reunited with the crash helmet that protected him during his terrifying accident at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, explaining that it partly came from his children who “really wanted to understand” what happened.

How did WRC champion Kalle Rovanpera’s single-seater debut go?

Motorsport - Mon, 2026-01-12 16:00
As two-time world rally champion Kalle Rovanpera tackles a new career in single-seaters, moving to Super Formula for 2026, he’s getting crucial experience in the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy.
Formerly known as the Toyota Racing Series, the FROT is typically used by young drivers to compete in the winter break, as it takes place in New Zealand’s summer. Previously won by Lance Stroll ...Keep reading

Romain Grosjean reunited with F1 helmet that saved his life in 2020 Bahrain crash

Motorsport - Mon, 2026-01-12 15:38
Romain Grosjean has been reunited with the Formula 1 race helmet that saved his life during his horrific 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix crash.
The French-Swiss driver suffered a violent crash on the opening lap of the race at the Sakhir circuit. After making contact with Daniil Kvyat, he crashed into the barriers at high speed, breaking the car in half and very quickly becoming engulfed in flames ...Keep reading

How Manthey Porsche will operate its ‘first’ IMSA campaign

Motorsport - Mon, 2026-01-12 15:15
One of the biggest names in GT racing is venturing into North America this year to contest the endurance leg of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Manthey Racing will field a pair of Porsche 911 GT3 R entries in the five long-distance races that form the Michelin Endurance Cup.  
Manthey’s IMSA programme will be spearheaded by Porsche-contracted driver Klaus Bachler, 2023 GT World Challenge ...Keep reading

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