The grid were back in action at Qatar this weekend – after months of development, days of testing and hours of speculation, it was time to see how the riders would actual perform!
Our reigning champion was untouchable today in Qatar. Pecco Bagnaia and his mighty Ducati machine cruised to a seemingly easy victory after hitting the front very early on. He flew off the starting grid to lead after only a few corners. Once he hit the front, he dictated the pace for the rest of the field and never looked back.
Despite the dominant win for Bagnaia, the race wasn’t without it’s drama. Mere moments before the lights went out, Raul Fernandez waved to the track officials, signalling an issue with his bike. The start was then delayed further as Fernandez, who had got his bike restarted, argued with the officials about his need to start the race from pitlane. His day then went from bad to worse as his Trackhouse machine faced technical issues and he was forced to retire from the race; not an ideal start to this brand new team’s MotoGP career.
Image credit: MotoGP
Brad Binder and his Red Bull KTM put on a fabulous show for the crowd at the Lusail International Circuit. In typical Binder fashion, he had a great start from 4th on the grid and enjoyed a race-long battle with Jorge Martin as the pair jostled for 2nd. It was Binder who eventually came out on top, enjoying his second 2nd place of the weekend, after coming home in the same position at Saturday’s sprint race.
Whilst Martin may have hoped for more than 3rd after his Sprint race win, he has already enjoyed a much stronger start to his title campaign than he did in 2023. Many will be hoping he can keep up this momentum for the rest of the season.
For many MotoGP fans, their attentions were solely on Marc Marquez as he took to the track for the first time in Gresini blue. He had a brilliant race and will undoubtedly be happy to come home in 4th. He enjoy lots of battles with, none more so than a fantastic fight with our only rookie on the grid, Pedro Acosta.
Acosta finished the day in 9th but that result doesn’t do justice to his strong race. The rookie has been impressing many up and down the paddock and he enjoyed a strong race, moving up from 8th on the starting grid to 4th. He did look set for a podium finish but faded later in the race – it seems he went out too hot in the early stages and was left battling with serious tire wear. With just 8 laps remaining, he slipped back down the grid to end the day just inside the top 10.
Image Credit: MotoGP
It was a difficult day for Jack Miller who crashed at turn 2 on the 2nd lap – whilst he was able to rejoin the pack, picking the bike up surprisingly quickly, he came home in 21st and last today. There have been lots of discussions about future the line up for the Red Bull KTM team so with his team mate on the podium and Acosta showing his ability so early in his career, it wasn’t an ideal day for the Aussie rider.
After getting pole position yesterday at the Lusail International Circuit, Aron Canet cannot convert the best starting position into the win after taking too much out of the new Pirelli tyres early in the race. Alonso Lopez capitalised on his countryman’s poor start and was able to defend from a charging Barry Baltus towards the end of the race. The pair were joined on the podium by Sergio Garcia who carved his way through the field after starting in 18th place.
Lopez got a great start from the middle of the front row and moved to the front of the field as Canet fell down the pack like a stone, ending up in eighth place. There was a small amount of contact between Tony Arbolino and Manuel Gonzalez but not enough to cause either rider to crash or retire.
Ai Ogura also made a good start, gaining six positions on the first lap. But the big loser was Marcos Ramirez who lost eight places on the first tour of the circuit.
Canet was fighting with the field to make his way back to the front and by lap three he was back at the front of the field. The Spaniard had put himself in a good rhythm and was putting in fastest lap after fastest lap.
Albert Arenas and Arbolino made contact during the third lap and the Gresini rider was able to make it past the Italian rider. However, on the following lap Arenas ran slightly wide at turn one but Arbolino was preoccupied with Ogura coming past. Baltus also got past Arbolino.
Gonzalez took the lead of the race into turn one on lap five but Lopez made it back past.
Izan Guevera seemed to have an issue as he lost three places in one lap and ended up retiring the bike on lap thirteen.
Canet started putting in a lot of fast laps but Lopez made the decision to overtake Canet and reduce the pace at the front to look after the Pirelli rubber that was making its debut in the Moto2 series in Qatar.
On lap seven, Ayumu Sasaki crashed at turn one causing a yellow flag in the first sector.
Arenas ran slightly wide at turn one and this led to him being overtaken by Baltus.
On lap eight, it looked as though Canet may have taken too much out of his tyres when he was fighting through the field to make up the positions he lost because his lap times continued getting slower. Lopez and Gonzalez started to gap the pole sitter and Baltus started looking at ways to get past the Fantic Racing rider.
Baltus made the move at turn fifteen and was looking incredibly confident on his RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP bike.
Next up to pass Canet was Ogura who made the move on lap nine. Canet continued dropping down the field as his tyres seemed to run out of life.
Garcia made his way past Arenas for sixth place on lap nine.
Baltus was able to make up 0.7s up to the two riders at the front of the field, Lopez and Gonzales, during lap nine and started battling with them. On lap eleven, Baltus went past Gonzalez at turn one with a massive lunge. The Belgian rider had a slight twitch after losing the rear of his bike but was able to keep the position.
And Baltus didn’t stop there, he immediately got in the slipstream of Lopez but was unable to get through on lap twelve. The battle continued at the front of the field and this led to the chasing pack getting on the back of Baltus, giving him more pressure from behind.
On the following lap, Garcia was able to get past Gonzalez for third place at turn ten and was looking to be the strongest rider on the track in the final laps of the race.
Former race leader Canet had a complete tyre drop off by lap fourteen which could be seen by the incredibly slow lap times he was posting. This information will be useful for the Fantic Racing team as it shows that with Canet’s riding style, he cannot put a lot of load on the tyres at the start of the race and expect them to perform well at the end of the race, like a set of Bridgestone or Michelin tyres. It is worth noting that these tyres are similar to the ones that are used in the World Superbike Series.
Baltus, however, with a more aggressive driving style and being a larger rider may benefit from the Pirelli tyres being introduced as he seemed to keep life in the tyres until the end of the race. Even if he kept life in the tyre, he was still unable to make a move on Lopez even after setting up for many moves on the last two laps.
Lopez crossed the line in first place, followed by Baltus and a hard charging Garcia in third. Ogura just missed out on the podium after finishing in fourth, just ahead of Gonzalez and Marcos Ramirez. Joe Roberts finished the first race of the season in seventh place, four seconds behind his teammate but ahead of Arenas, Celestino Vietti and pole sitter Canet rounded out the top ten.
On his Moto2 debut, Deniz Oncu collected points but Fermin Aldeguer had a race to forget. He finished in sixteenth place just four places ahead of Arbolino.
Jake Dixon was declared unfit following a highside suffered on Saturday.
Feature image credit to: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
2024 Qatar Moto2 Grand Prix, Lusail – Race Results
With a glorious sunset in Doha, the opening race of the season was upon us in Moto3. With both Jaume Masia and Deniz Oncu now in Moto2, only David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) remained from last year’s podium in today’s race. Alonso started from the middle of the 3rd row in 8th.
Pole sitter Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) who finished 9th here last season, was desperate to finish off a perfect weekend converting the pole position to victory this afternoon.
AS IT HAPPENED
David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) not allowed to start and told to get off the grid after stalling off the line. Disaster for Munoz and had to be moved to the pits before we got going.
A great start from Holgado off the line when we finally got under way. Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets MSI) and Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) hot on the heels of Holgado as they went through the first sector. Rueda up the inside of Ortola into turn 10. Rueda looked to go further ahead and pass Holgado into turn 12 but Holgado managed to shut the door on the Spaniard.
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) dived up the inside of Ortola as the riders completed the first lap. Into lap 2 and Fernandez was ready to fight today, dicing with Ortola in the first few corners.
Alonso up 4 places into 4th in the middle of lap 2 of 16 here in Doha. Alonso the pre season favourite by many will be keen to get to the front as quickly as possible. Rueda and Holgado already into an epic battle here switching places as Rueda headed into the final corner in the lead of the race to complete lap 2.
Sector 1 lit up in yellow as Rueda and Ortola collided at turn 1. 2 of the race favourites both crashing out of the race early on. Rueda looked to of lost the rear and went into Ortola. Clearly a racing incident and both riders ok. No further action was taken by the stewards.
Lap 4 of 16 and Alonso right up behind race leader Holgado into turn 1. Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) set the fastest lap of the race at this point and going well running in 11th having started the race in 19th.
We had a lead group of 11 riders at this early stage in the race and it was anyone’s guess as to who could take command of the Grand Prix. Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) had a disaster in qualifying but not today, going from 18th to 7th in the race at this point.
Through the first 3rd of the race, Holgado lead from Alonso 2nd and Fernandez in 3rd. We still had a lead group of 11 riders all not letting Holgado pull away in this one. Holgado set the pace but with itchy riders behind it was shaping up to be another Moto3 classic. With the length of the start straight being a kilometre long it’s always difficult for a leader to pull away.
Both Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) went down at turn 13 with Farioli having a big high side in the incident. Farioli clearly hurt after that impact.
Furusato now up to 6th place with 11 laps to go and continued to climb to the front. Yellow flags in sector 3 and 4 would keep Furusato at bay at least for the next few corners.
Towards half race distance now and Furusato looked on another level and took the lead for the first time of the race from 18th on the grid. Holgado took back the lead from Furusato at turn 10 and Furusato lead the Grand Prix for just 4 corners. Into the final corner of lap 8, Riccardo Rossi (CIP Green Power) dove up the inside of Fernandez into the podium position only for Fernandez to get him back into turn 1.
7 laps to go and the battle was no where near finished as every rider behind the leader were fighting in an overtaking melee. We were all set for another Moto3 classic.
Furusato lost the rear and 2 places and dropped back to 4th. Swapped places with Fernandez and outside of the podium places as we headed into turn 1 with 5 laps to go.
3 laps to go and Holgado still lead from Alonso 2nd, Fernandez 3rd and Furusato in 4th. It was still anyone’s guess as to who was going to win this race. Furusato up the inside of both Alonso and Fernandez up into 2nd at turn 1.
With the slipstream not having much of an impact on the leader on the start straight, the race was all hanging on who would lead out of turn 16 on the last lap. At this stage we still had a lead group of 10 riders.
2 laps to go, Furusato and Alonso went by Holgado into turn 1, only for Holgado to squeeze through the pair of them into turn 2. As Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets MSI) crashed out in sector 2, Holgado hung onto the lead from Furusato 2nd and Alonso in 3rd.
Alonso towards the end of lap 15 went from 3rd to 6th with Rossi, Fernandez and Vicente Perez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) getting by the Columbian in the last sector of the lap.
THE LAST LAP
Into turn 1 and Holgado clung onto the lead with Furusato 2nd and Rossi in 3rd. Alonso started his charge back to the front moving up to 4th as disaster struck for Perez and Fernandez crashing out on the last lap of the race.
Turn 10 and Alonso picked his spot perfectly to get by Rossi. With the momentum into turn 11, Alonso was in full attack mode blasting his way up the inside of Furusato. Alonso into 2nd now gunning for Holgado and the race victory.
Towards the final corner into turn 16, Alonso made his move and went by Holgado to take the first win of the 2024 season. Incredible from David Alonso and the Aspar team garage went bonkers and rightly so. To start the lap in 6th place and to go onto win it in the last corner was outstanding.
What a start to the 2024 Moto3 championship! What a win for David Alonso!
The traditional NTT IndyCar Series season opener, the Grand Prix of St. Pete in Florida, gets underway this Sunday with a 27-car grid including five rookies, with Josef Newgarden and Felix Rosenqvist locking out the front row for Sunday’s 100-lap race.
Start of the 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment).
Race preview/qualifying
Full qualifying results
3 min read
IndyCar returns to St. Petersburg, Florida for it’s season opener in what will be the 21st running of the Grand Prix of St. Pete; a 100-lap, 180 mile race around the streets of downtown St. Pete and the Albert Whitted Airport with the race starting at 12pm ET/4pm UK time.
The 14-turn temporary street circuit never fails to bring the action as last year’s race was won in the final laps as Pato O’Ward’s car temporarily lost power, allowing Marcus Ericsson to drive by and take the checkered flag three laps later.
Marcus Ericsson leads Pato O’Ward in the 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)
Saturday’s qualifying saw Team Penske’s two-time St. Pete winner Josef Newgarden put his No. 2 PPG Chevrolet on pole with a 59.5714 second lap.
Newgarden said: “I get jacked up every time I show up for an IndyCar race. This is a rockstar team.”
One of Newgarden’s main goals for the 2024 season was to secure a pole position, It is Newgarden’s third St. Pete pole, having gone without a pole in the 2023 season, last being on pole for the 2022 Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle.
Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet for Team Penske at St. Pete (Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Felix Rosenqvist, now racing for Meyer Shank Racing after being replaced at Arrow McLaren, joins Newgarden on the front row, having done a 59.5772 lap.
Rosenqvist said: “We don’t want to get carried away; the race is a different challenge. But we had a feeling from practice, from rolling off the truck, and that’s great.”
Rosenqvist broke the track record in the Group of 12 qualifying session with a lap of 59.2706 to advance to the Firestone Fast Six, beating Will Power’s 59.3466 lap in the Group of 12 session in 2022.
Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon could only manage an 11th starting place. Dixon is still winless at St. Pete after 19 previous attempts.
Will Power also failed to make the fast six, with an eighth-place effort. Power had secured nine of the last 14 poles at St. Pete, also being a two-time winner, winning in 2010 and 2014, with Newgarden winning the 2019 and ’20 race respectively.
Tom Blomqvist was the best of the rookies, qualifying 17th with a lap time of 59.9968, driving for Meyer Shank Racing
Graham Rahal, Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, and Marcus Ericsson also have wins at St. Pete; 2008, 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively.
Different for this years’ race is the turn three repave, removing heavy bumps that means drivers can now go flat out through the corner.
Also different is the use of lighter chassis components on the cars including a new 3D-printed titanium aeroscreen top frame, saving seven pounds, as well as the switch to a magnesium gearbox casing and bellhousing. This is all in preparation for the arrival of the 2.2-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engines with hybrid technology this summer.
Catch the 2024 Grand Prix of St. Pete on Sunday at 12pm ET/4pm UK time.
Full qualifying results
Josef Newgarden
Felix Rosenqvist
Pato O’Ward
Colton Herta
Romain Grosjean
Marcus Ericsson
Rinus VeeKay
Will Power
Scott McLaughlin
Marcus Armstrong
Scott Dixon
Christian Lundgaard
Alex Palou
Santino Ferrucci
Alexander Rossi
Callum Ilott
Tom Blomqvist (R)
Kyle Kirkwood
Linus Lundqvist (R)
Agustin Canapino
Christian Rasmussen (R)
Graham Rahal
Kyffin Simpson (R)
Sting Ray Robb
Colin Braun (R)
Pietro Fittipaldi
Jack Harvey
Featured Image: 2023 GP of St. Pete (Photo by Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment)
MotoGP is back! After the long winter break we are finally at the Lusail International Circuit for round 1 of the 2024 season.
New faces and stars are all ready to take on the 21 rounds of 2024, and it was a familiar face of Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) who delivered the first Moto3 pole position of the season.
An incredible lap time set by Holgado with a new all time lap record here in Doha. It’s all set for another epic Moto3 race tomorrow in Qatar!
Image Credit: @Tech3Racing on X
AT IS HAPPENED
Qualifying 1
Scott Ogden (Mlav Racing) lead the field out onto the circuit for the first 15 minute qualifying session of the season.
As the first set of flying lap times were set, it was Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) on the Joan Mir inspired #36 to top the timings with a 2:03.892.
The first runs were complete with several riders back in the garages for some changes. It was Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) a few tenths clear of Piqueras at the front. The top 4 heading through to Q2 at this point were Farioli, Piqueras, Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia).
With the sun setting in Qatar and as newbie Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Aspar Team) was called back to the pits, it was still all to play for to get through to Q2.
With 1 minute left of the session, a Moto3 familiar sight of all riders dawdling on track, looking for someone to follow on their last flying lap attempts.
Farioli went by two riders but ran too deep in sector 3. Farioli lit up the sectors on his final flying lap attempt but failed to beat his quickest time.
That didn’t matter though as the top 4 order remained the same. Farioli quickest with Piqueras, Lunetta and Furusato all through into Q2.
Qualifying 2
The battle for pole position was on and the flood lights were switched on trackside.
As the swarm of riders crossed the line on their first flying laps, it was a brief Honda 1-2 with Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Lunetta at the top of the timings. This was short lived as Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets MSI) smashed the provisional pole time set by over a second. What a lap from Ortola and a new all time lap record time set with a blistering 2:02.541. Could anyone beat this time set by Ortola with 9minutes left of the session?
With the first run at pole position completed, all of the riders headed into the pits and most would of been baffled by Ortola’s incredible lap time. At this stage in Q2, Ortola was on provisional pole with Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) 2nd and David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) 3rd rounding off the provisional front row of the grid.
Just under 4 minutes of the session remained as all of the riders headed back out onto the circuit to fight for pole position.
With only 2 minutes left of the session, Alonso’s team communicated with him to come into the pits to box. Alonso aware of the time left continued on in the session ignoring the call to the pits.
Daniel Holgado was up through sectors 1 & 2 half way around his last flying lap. Personal bests for David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) and Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) also on their last attempts at pole position. Holgado was still estimated P1 as he headed into the final corner.
Holgado crossed the line with an incredible lap of 2:02.276. After we thought nobody was stopping Ortola marching to pole position, Daniel Holgado set a new all time lap record and now has his 3rd pole position of his career.
Image courtesy of Getty images/Red Bull content pool.
Max Verstappen was no match for anyone else on the grid on a challenging night in Jeddah as he stormed towards a ninth consecutive grandprix win, equalling his own record from the past. His teammate Perez was the closest to him and finished 7 seconds behind him, which in itself was a commendable effort given how dominant Verstappen has been in the recent times. Yet another Redbull 1-2 in Saudi Arabia means that the tone for the season has been set in stone and is unlikely to change unless something drastic happens.
Ferrari secured a consecutive podium spot with Charles Leclerc doing the best he could but the story of the night was neither Leclerc, nor Verstappen or Perez, it was the 18 year old rookie, Oliver Bearmann who was supposed to be heading to the Formula 2 paddock come Saturday but found himself driving a Ferrari in Formula 1. It was a dream scenario and the young British driver took everyone by surprise after a fantastic drive to finish 7th. After a few initial overtakes on Tsunoda and Hulkenberg, Bearmann was on it from start to finish and finally held his nerve to finish ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
Oscar Piastri finished a strong 4th in his McLaren after a decent drive. McLaren was pacy in sector 1 in the fast curves but lacked straight line speed which made them vulnerable at times. Mercedes fell short yet again at this race as the best they could do was George Russell finishing 6th and Hamilton finishing 9th. Hamilton was vocal on the radio about Mercedes lacking with respect to McLaren and so was Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin after he termed McLaren as being in a different league compared to them.
At the beginning of the race, Alpine’s struggles this season continued as Gasly was forced to retire on lap 1. It did not get any better for the French team as the other driver Esteban Ocon could only finish as high as 13th, well outside the points. A mixed race entailed for Aston Martin as Alonso finished 5th, scoring good points but Lance Stroll crashed into the barriers after grazing the wall on lap 7.
A splendid team game was played by Haas for the final points position as Hulkenberg scored the precious point but all the work was done by Kevin Magnussen, defending by the skin of his teeth against Tsunoda and Albon, just so that his teammate could have an enough amount of gap to pit in and emerge ahead of the points chasing pack. He had quite an eventful race on his own as he was hit with a 10-second time penalty twice, once due to his collision with Albon and once due to leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Yuki Tsunoda was fiery throughout the race and drove as if he had a point to prove but fell short at the end as he could only finish 14th and it looked like race of many distractions for Daniel Ricciardo as he could only finish 16th in a underwhelming show, including a spin towards the ending stages. Alexander Albon finished 11th in his Williams just outside the points after a good drive that included some brave overtaking but his teammate Sargeant could only finish 15th, with Williams not taking any points. It was a worse outing for Sauber as they were the last two of the finishing cars with Bottas in 17th and Zhou in 18th.
With a Redbull 1-2 in both the races so far in the season, it would be vastly surprising if anything changes come the Australian grandprix in 2 weeks time. Verstappen will have his eyes set on the 10th straight win and Perez will try to get closer to his teammate than he did today. Ferrari will hope for a change in their fortunes in their bid to catch Redbull but it seems like a step that will not be climbed for this season.
Verstappen dominated the Bahrain Grand Prix, leading his teammate and Sainz as he crossed the line to take what could be the first of many wins this season.
The 2024 season has begun. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
Lights out and Leclerc got a good start managing to get alongside Verstappen into turn 1. However, the Red Bull forced the Ferrari to take the outside line where Leclerc had to back out and let Verstappen go. Perez also got a great start as he gained a place in one lap.
Further back, Stroll was spun round and went from P12 to last at turn 1. At the pinch point Bottas bumped into the back of Hulkenberg who then tapped the back of the Aston Martin. Hulkenberg and Bottas picked up front wing damage, causing Hulkenberg to pit while Bottas was able to cope with the damage for the rest of the race.
It didn’t take long for Norris to gain places as he made a move on Alonso into turn 1. This left the door open for Piastri who was able to take advantage just a few laps later.
Meanwhile, Russell spent the first few laps pressuring Leclerc and was able to make a move around the outside of turn 4 on lap three. Perez was not far behind but took his time to take on the Ferrari. Leclerc was suffering with some brake issues which haunted him all race, but on lap seven Leclerc locked up and went wide out of turn 10. This made the move easier for Perez, who took the place from Leclerc.
The Monegasque problems didn’t end there, Leclerc had a big lock up out of turn 1 just a lap later, which gave Sainz hope to turn 4 but Leclerc was still inside the DRS of Perez meaning he just kept ahead. It didn’t take long though for Sainz to use DRS into turn 1 on lap 11, taking on his teammate in a very close wheel to wheel battle, no teams orders at play here.
LAP 11/57
A stunning moment as the two Ferrari drivers duel down into Turn 1 ⚔️🍿
It was then time for the first round of stops. Every car swapped for hard tyres, with Russell and Leclerc pitting at the same time and Perez choosing to stop one lap later. The undercut can be very powerful at Bahrain and it very nearly worked for Perez but he came out just behind Russell.
On new tyres though Perez had better grip up the hill after turn 1 and down into turn 4. Russell took a very defensive line but couldn’t make it work for him on the exit and the Red Bull completed the switch back with perfection.
Close racing. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
Sainz was unable to make the undercut work for him, he stayed out a couple of laps but came out behind his teammate. Meaning another close fight was imminent. It therefore only took a couple of laps before Sainz lunged from very far back down the inside of turn 1, taking the place from Leclerc.
While Verstappen pitted without a single car around him, Russell was defending his podium position from Sainz but was unsuccessful as Sainz took the inside line into turn 4. The chase was now on for Sainz to take on the Red Bulls.
Leclerc wasn’t the only driver nursing issues. Both Mercedes were told to lift and coast around lap 24 to control the power unit temperatures. Albon was also experiencing similar issues with the Mercedes engines. However, when not in traffic all these problems improved and were much easier to manage.
During the second round of pit stops Bottas came in for a switch of tyres, however this was set to be his second slowest ever stop. This time it was less than a day but he was stationary for 52.4 seconds while the team had to get a new wheel nut as the one they had refused to go on the rim.
As of lap 44 the unhealthy cars of Leclerc and Russell appeared to make a recovery, with Leclerc all over the back of Russell at every corner. Russell locked up under the pressure in turn 10 and went very wide. Side by side down to turn 11, Leclerc had enough confidence with his brakes to take the position from the Ferrari.
Tsunoda not happy with his team. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
Further down the pack, the RBs asked for a driver swap despite Tsunoda being within DRS to Magnussen in front with his teammate behind in DRS. Despite protests Tsunoda complied on lap 53 but this hurt both drivers as Verstappen lapped them a few corners later. Ricciardo lost time to Magnussen and neither RB got past the Haas before the end of the race.
Verstappen ended the race as he began, in P1, with Perez in second and Sainz rounding out the podium. The Dutchman finished 20 seconds ahead of his teammate, which is six seconds less than 2023 but still a large gap to the rest of the grid. He is going to take some beating again this year.
A shoutout to Stroll who had solid performance to recover from the back of the pack after turn 1 lap one, to finish in P10 and gaining a point for his efforts.
The top 3 for the Bahrain Grand Prix 2024. Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen took pole in Bahrain but was closely followed by Leclerc and Russell in P2 and P3. The most exciting part, by the end of Q3, the top 9 were covered by just over half a second.
Starting with Q1, anticipation was high as each practice session produced a different fastest three so far. It was set to be unpredictable at both ends of the grid.
The Ferrari’s and Red Bull’s were swapping times at the time with the odd lap from the McLaren’s. Stroll put in a stunning lap to make it to P2 just behind Sainz at the very end of qualifying.
Bottas not able to make it out of Q1. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area
After looking slow in testing, Haas picked up pace in practice and showed their true colours during qualifying were able to make it into Q2 just beating both Sauber’s who qualified in P16 and P17 respectively. Sargent followed this pair, not able to make any improvement on his lap.
The story for Alpine is very different. After struggling all weekend, they couldn’t make it out of Q1, qualifying last and second last on the grid. Over the radio Ocon had some words of encouragement for his team despite only getting one proper run in Q1.
Out in Q1 – Bottas, Zhou, Sargent, Ocon, Gasly.
Q2 gave us hope for a tight battle for pole in Q3. Verstappen topped the times after the first runs with a 1.29.374, closely followed by his teammate. However, on new tyres, there was a glimmer of hope for Norris, who was half a second back from the pair of them.
With the second runs being completed Sainz was only two tenths from Verstappen and Leclerc put in a stunning lap to go P1 with a 1.29.165. Hulkenberg was also enjoying his Haas by placing it in P6 and making it to Q3.
Lewis Hamilton trying to improve in Q2. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area
The Mercedes looked in trouble as they couldn’t compete with Ferrari, RedBull but were able to get P4 and P7 to get into Q3. They were competing with the RB’s who were quick in FP1 but both couldn’t get any further in qualifying. Tsunoda was just out qualified by the McLaren’s by 0.007s but importantly for him, beat his teammate.
Despite putting in some strong laps earlier, Stroll couldn’t improve during Q2 and was eliminated while Alonso put in a solid lap to put himself between Hamilton and Hulkenberg. The other Haas driver, Magnussen rounded out those completing qualifying in Q2.
Out in Q2 – Tsunoda, Stroll, Albon, Ricciardo and Magnussen.
It was all to play for in Q3. After the first runs the gap was only 0.059 between Verstappen and Leclerc, meaning the fight was on. Russell was in P3 and driving well, beating Sainz to that top 3 spot.
Alonso heading out on new tyres. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area
Hope was alive as we waited for the second run with the clock counting down. Keeping us entertained was Alonso, who put on new tyres in the gap and went for his quick lap. With the track to himself he moved up into P3 with a 1.29.542.
Alonso headed back in, everyone else came out of the pits to start their last flying laps. Russell improved his time to take back P3 while his teammate finished down in P8 but has said his car is set up more towards race pace. At the very top Verstappen improved his time to a 1.29.179 which was slower than the lap Leclerc completed in Q2.
It was down to Ferrari to take pole, however, Leclerc improved but not enough to take pole from Verstappen. Sainz couldn’t get any closer either but moving up into P4, pushing Alonso down to P5. The McLaren’s followed behind, Norris ahead of Piastri and Perez finished down in P9, despite his teammate taking pole. Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10 but only completed laps on used tyres in Q3, saving a new set for the race.
The top 3 in tomorrows race. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Area
The grid is set for the first race of the season. RedBull don’t look to have completely run away with qualifying but the race could be a completely different story. The race starts at 3pm GMT, don’t miss it.
The Disney Pixar Cars movie intro came to life on Sunday night when Daniel Suárez edged Ryan Blaney by 0.003 seconds and Kyle Busch by 0.007 seconds in a three-wide finish in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to take his second Cup series win of his career and his first oval win.
Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, crosses the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, to win the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Suárez wins
Blaney and Busch
Front Row Motorsports vs Team Penske
Rest of race recap
Full race results
Points standings
6 min read
In what had been a thrilling and intense restrictor plate race, with dynamic hypercompetitive pack racing all race long, came down to a five-lap shootout that Suárez lost control of on the restart as Blaney retook the lead, only on the final lap coming out of turn four for Kyle Busch and Suárez to pull up alongside Blaney, with Suárez surging ahead with side drafting and momentum on the top lane to win the third closest NASCAR Cup series race in history.
Suárez said: “It was so damn close. It was good racing. Ryan Blaney there, Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric also was doing a great job giving pushes. In the back straightaway he didn’t push me because he knew I was going to [screw] his teammate, but man, what a job. We wrecked [on] lap two. The guys did an amazing job fixing this car.”
Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Suárez was caught up in an Atlanta record-breaking 16-car crash on lap two when Front Row Motorsport’s driver Todd Gilliland checked up to let teammate and polesitter Michael McDowell in on the top, causing a large stack up behind, pinballing Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace sideways, taking Josh Williams out of the race and later Noah Gragson as he would retire the car at the end of stage one as a result of the crash.
Suárez recovered from the crash but would narrowly escape further carnage when with 21 laps to go, Chase Briscoe boldly made it four-wide with Suárez on the bottom entering turn three resulting in Denny Hamlin collecting Briscoe, taking them both out of contention.
Suárez would find himself on the row front row inside of 30 laps to go, and would battle for the lead until taking the checkered flag.
It’s Suárez’s second Cup win, his first coming in the 2022 Sonoma road course race, both with Trackhouse Racing.
Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Reigning Cup series champion and race runner up Ryan Blaney was one of the cars to beat throughout the race, leading six times for 31 laps, including duelling with Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson for the lead in the first half of stage one, and staying up front for the second half of stage two, before leading for much of the final 40 laps prior to the checkered flag.
Blaney said: “I thought I laid back enough in [turns] one and two to not let both lanes get that big of a run. What a cool finish. Appreciate the fans for sticking around. That’s always a good time when we can do that, race clean, three-wide finish to the end. Happy for Daniel. Fun racing with Kyle. I can’t complain; I’ve won them by very, very little too, so I can’t complain too much when I lose them by that much.”
Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Third place Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch had an up-and-down race being involved in three crashes including when Denny Hamlin spun off Busch’s front end as he came down on him with nine to go in stage one, at the beginning of stage three when Kaz Grala ran Busch very tight on the bottom of turn one before being collected by Busch as a result, and escaping the four-wide melee crash with Briscoe with Busch up top.
Busch even had to come from a lap down in the final stage after a serving a drive through speeding penalty under green but after getting the free pass, he found himself charging to the front inside of 50 to go through a four-wide manoeuvre and would fight to the checkered flag to try to claim his third Atlanta Cup win.
Busch said: “Typically whoever is behind getting into [turn] three prevails at the start finish line with the side draft and everything, so I was second to the 12 [Blaney] right there, and the 99 [Suárez] was the furthest back, and he made the ground back up with the side draft and stuff. It’s good to see Daniel get a win. We were helping each other, being Chevy team partners and working together there.”
The finishing order may have been different if Bubba Wallace, who is close friends with Blaney, had been able to lock bumpers and push Blaney in turns three and four on the final lap but instead washed up the race track and lost touch with the front three.
The race featured a record 48 lead changes amongst 14 different drivers. Suárez led twice for nine laps. The race saw 10 cautions for 65 laps of the 260 lap 400-mile race.
Front Row Motorsports vs Team Penske
It was a bittersweet day for Front Row Motorsports after competing with Team Penske for the top positions in the race.
Front Row’s Todd Gilliland led a career high of 58 laps, the most of anyone, on six separate occasions while Michael McDowell would lead five times for 27 laps including winning stage one in a one-lap shootout.
Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Benebone Ford, lduring the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Team Penske’s Joey Logano was due to start second but the reigning race winner was sent to the rear for the start of the race and had to serve a drive through penalty under green due to wearing a webbed left glove during qualifying that NASCAR deemed illegal due to violating NASCAR rule 14.3.1.1 governing driver protective clothing and equipment. It is possible that Logano wore the glove to gain a competitive advantage due to being able to manipulate the airflow more on the drivers side.
To Logano’s fortune, he was serving the drive through penalty as the 16-car crash on lap two happened, so was able to stay on the lead lap.
Stage two was a fierce battle between the two teams, as Gilliland led the opening segment with Logano behind, and McDowell inside the top five.
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, and Todd Gilliland, driver of the #38 Georgia Peanuts Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
The second half of stage two saw Front Row’s race become undone as they first drifted back as their cars became tight before McDowell, during the green flag pit stop, wheel hopped entering pit road and collided with last week’s Daytona 500 winner William Byron, sending them both spinning into and off the wall. The race miraculously stayed green and both were able to continue with McDowell just one lap down after repairs.
After the green flag pit stop cycle, it was the Penske trio of Austin Cindric, Logano, and Blaney out front but Logano drifted back with a few laps to go and coming off turn two on the final lap crashed into the wall as his car got very tight, collecting Chris Buescher.
Cindric won stage two. Logano would finish the race several laps down following multiple repairs.
Front Row fell short in the final stage as despite Gilliland leading the start of stage three and again later, Gilliland had to pit for damage late on, and was forced to pit under green inside of 15 laps to go for right side tyres, taking him out of contention.
Todd Gilliland, driver of the #38 Georgia Peanuts Ford, pits during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
McDowell gambled to stay out longer than most of the field in stage three to regain track position but was forced to pit with 35 laps to go as he began slipping down the order. McDowell still recovered to an eighth place finish.
Rest of race recap
Ross Chastain sent Georgia’s Chase Elliott for a spin as he pushed Elliott in the rear in turn three with 65 laps to go, as Chastain was fighting with Wallace for the free pass who was just one car length ahead.
Elliott rescued his car with a sideways drift in the turn three grass reminiscent of Lightning McQueen’s save at the end of the Cars movie.
Elliott was then caught up in Josh Berry’s crash with 12 to go spinning down the backstretch, but was able to recover to a 15th place finish.
Denny Hamlin, despite being involved in multiple crashes including with Busch and Buescher, led parts of the final stage, only to receive heavy damage in the Briscoe crash with 21 to go.
Hamlin’s teammate Martin Truex Jr. would lead parts of the final stage also, fighting Kyle Larson for control of the race.
The next race is the Pennzoil 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday 3rd March with the race starting at 3:30pm ET (8:30pm UK time).
Full race results
Daniel Suárez
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Austin Cindric
Bubba Wallace
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Ross Chastain
Michael McDowell
Chris Buescher
Ty Gibbs
Harrison Burton
Martin Truex Jr.
Corey LaJoie
Kaz Grala
Chase Elliott
Ryan Preece
William Byron
Daniel Hemric
Carson Hocevar
Justin Haley
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Dillon
Denny Hamlin
B.J. McLeod
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
Alex Bowman
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Tyler Reddick
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Christopher Bell
Zane Smith
Noah Gragson
Josh Williams
Points standings
*=win -=playoff cut line
Kyle Busch – 77
William Byron* – 76
Austin Cindric – 76
Bubba Wallace – 74
Ryan Blaney – 69
Chase Elliott – 65
Daniel Suárez* – 64
Ross Chastain – 62
Alex Bowman – 60
Martin Truex Jr. – 60
Kyle Larson – 58
Corey LaJoie – 57
John Hunter Nemechek – 53
Ty Gibbs – 50
Chris Buescher – 49
Christopher Bell – 47
Erik Jones – 47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 44
Denny Hamlin – 44
Michael McDowell – 40
Daniel Hemric – 40
Chase Briscoe – 37
Harrison Burton – 36
Ryan Preece – 35
Tyler Reddick – 31
Noah Gragson – 29
Zane Smith – 29
Justin Haley – 29
Carson Hocevar – 26
Kaz Grala – 24
Josh Berry – 20
Todd Gilliland – 19
Joey Logano – 18
David Ragan – 17
Austin Dillon – 16
Brad Keselowski – 16
Jimmie Johnson – 9
Featured image: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, crosses the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford, to win the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 25, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Following on from the closest Daytona 500 finish ever, this weekend sees NASCAR returns to its moonshining roots in Atlanta, Georgia, for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
3 min read
The NASCAR Cup Series will race around the 28 degree banked 1.54-mile superspeedway oval for 260 laps (400 miles), with stage lengths of 60, 100, and 100 laps.
This will be the fifth NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway since the track reconfiguration in 2021 turning the track into a steeper banked, repaved, ‘mini-Daytona’ type racing track, with the cars using a superspeedway package like at Daytona and Talladega.
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 King’s Hawaiian Ford, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
For large parts of the race, drivers will be racing in high-speed packs, utilising the draft and pushes to get to the front, especially on restarts. As the tires begin to wear more into a run, cars will begin to spread out and large packs will break up, racing more like a traditional 1.5-mile speedway race.
Last year’s Ambetter Health 400 saw Joey Logano achieve his childhood dream by winning the race after outduelling former Penske teammate Brad Keselowski in the final laps of the race, partly due to a helpful push from Christopher Bell down the backstretch to clear the pack.
Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Michael McDowell earned his first ever Cup series pole today with a lap time of 30.999 seconds (average speed of 178.844mph). With 467 Cup races under his belt, it’s the most start’s by a Cup driver before securing a pole since J.D. McDuffie’s 404 Cup starts before securing a pole at the 1978 Delaware 500 at Dover Motor Speedway.
Michael McDowell, driver of the #34 Benebone Ford, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 24, 2024 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Josh Williams will make his fourth Cup series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for Kaulig Racing, qualifying 30th.
This follows a memorable 2023 spring Xfinity race at Atlanta where Williams grabbed the headlines after parking his No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet at the start finish line and walking across the track to the garage after refusing to accept NASCAR’s ruling for him to park his car for the race, due to multiple yellow flags coming out for debris off his car following race damage.
It led to a surge of fan, garage, and sponsor support for Williams, who is known to be a big personality, and unafraid to express himself in NASCAR, being a ‘what you see is what you get’ type character, as well overachieving in his equipment, leading to a full-time Kaulig Racing ride in the Xfinity series this season as well as a part-time Cup schedule with them including at Atlanta this weekend.
Since the reconfiguration in 2021, last week’s Daytona 500 winner William Byron has won two of the first four Atlanta races, including the first race in the spring of 2022, and the summer 2023 race. Chase Elliott won the 2022 summer race and Joey Logano won the 2023 spring race.
HAMPTON, GEORGIA – JULY 09: William Byron, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 09, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Other active drivers to have won at Atlanta Motor Speedway pre-2021 reconfiguration include two-time winners Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, as well as reigning Cup series champion Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin.
Tune in Sunday for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this with the race beginning at 3pm ET (8pm UK time).
Full qualifying results
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Kyle Busch
Todd Gilliland
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
Chris Buescher
Austin Cindric
Chase Brisoce
Austin Dillon
William Byron
Martin Truex Jr.
Denny Hamlin
Josh Berry
Noah Gragson
Harrison Burton
Alex Bowman
Bubba Wallace
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Preece
Ross Chastain
Christopher Bell
Daniel Suárez
Brad Keselowski
Ty Gibbs
Daniel Hemric
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Chase Elliott
Zane Smith
Josh Williams
Justin Haley
Corey LaJoie
Kaz Grala
John Hunter Nemechek
Carson Hocevar
B.J. McLeod
Erik Jones
Featured image: HAMPTON, GEORGIA – MARCH 19: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Menards/Knauf Ford, and William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2023 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
