Lambiase Confirmed Leaving Red Bull for McLaren in 2028 Red Bull has confirmed that Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen's long-time race engineer and head of racing, will leave the team at the end of the 2027 Formula 1 season. The news, first reported by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, was confirmed by Red Bull in a brief statement on Thursday. Lambiase joined Red Bull in 2015 and has been central to Verstappen's four world championship campaigns. He is understood to have agreed terms with McLaren, where he will take on a senior trackside role supporting team principal Andrea Stella. "GP is a valued member of the team," Red Bull's statement read. "Until his planned departure, GP continues in his roles as head of racing and as race engineer to Max Verstappen. The team and he are fully committed to add more success to our strong track record together." The move follows a pattern that has become familiar at Red Bull in recent seasons. Chief designer Rob Marshall, head of strategy Will Courtenay, tech chief Adrian Newey, sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, CEO Christian Horner, and adviser Helmut Marko have all departed the team in recent years, with several landing at rival outfits. Lambiase could join McLaren before 2028 if both teams agree an early release. The departure comes against the backdrop of uncertainty around Verstappen's own future, with the four-time champion known to have exit clauses in his current Red Bull contract that can be triggered as early as this summer. Yamaha Signs Ogura to Complete 2027 Factory Lineup Yamaha has confirmed the signing of Ai Ogura for the 2027 MotoGP season, where the 25-year-old Japanese rider will partner Jorge Martin in the manufacturer's factory team. Ogura, currently in his second MotoGP campaign with Trackhouse Racing aboard an Aprilia, will replace Alex Rins following Fabio Quartararo's long-confirmed move to Honda. The signing completes Yamaha's factory lineup for 2027, pairing the 2024 Moto2 champion with MotoGP's 2024 premier class title holder. Ogura made a strong impression during his rookie MotoGP season in 2025, finishing fifth on his debut in Buriram, a result that stood as his best of the year. In 2026, he matched that result in both Thailand and Brazil before a mechanical failure ended his race at Austin. The move closes the door on other candidates for the seat, including Luca Marini, whose camp has been informed of Yamaha's decision. Dani Holgado had also been in discussions with Yamaha but confirmed earlier this week that he will join Gresini Racing. Ogura's departure will leave a vacancy at Trackhouse Racing, with Raul Fernandez the most likely candidate to remain with the American outfit. Formal announcements across the rider market remain on hold. IndyCar Scouts Goiania as Potential 2027 Race Venue Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles visited the Ayrton Senna International Circuit in Goiania, Brazil on April 10, accompanied by IndyCar logistics director Bill van de Sandt and Latin American series representatives Willy Herrmann and Carlo Gancia. Executives from Band, the Brazilian broadcaster that holds IndyCar rights in the country, also attended. The group was welcomed by Goias governor Daniel Vilela, who presented data from the Brazilian MotoGP Grand Prix, including its return on investment figures, and outlined the circuit's readiness to host the American open-wheel series. Vilela expressed interest in welcoming IndyCar to the state as early as 2027. The Ayrton Senna International Circuit hosted a MotoGP round earlier this season. The visit from IndyCar representatives suggests the venue is under active consideration as a potential race host, though no official announcement has been made. "We are excited and optimistic about the possibility of bringing another major sporting event to Goias," Vilela said. "This means more job creation and economic activity for our state." Lawrence Reclaims the Points Lead in Nashville Round 13 from Nissan Stadium in Nashville was billed as the most closely contested three-rider title fight in 450SMX Class history, and Hunter Lawrence made sure it ended with him back on top. Shane McElrath grabbed the holeshot at the start of the 20 Minute + 1 Lap Main Event but was quickly swallowed up. Justin Hill moved into the lead ahead of Ken Roczen and Jorge Prado, with Lawrence slotting into the top five. Roczen went on the attack and took the lead early, with Lawrence working his way to second and establishing himself as the fastest rider on track. Championship co-leader Eli Tomac, meanwhile, was buried outside the top 10 after a poor start. The gap between Lawrence and Roczen hovered between one and two seconds through the middle portion of the race until, with just over eight minutes remaining, Roczen lost traction before a triple jump. Lawrence seized the moment, jumped through into the lead, and immediately began to pull away. Roczen tried to respond but went down shortly after, dropping to fourth behind Hill and Cooper Webb. Lawrence never put a wheel wrong from there, crossing the line 7.1 seconds ahead of Webb, who fought through from outside the top 10 for his first podium in four races. Roczen recovered to third for a fourth consecutive podium finish. Tomac, who had been the fastest qualifier and won his Heat Race, never factored at the front of the Main Event. He ran as high as eighth before a late crash dropped him to 12th, equaling his worst result of the season. With four races remaining, Lawrence leads the championship by 10 points over Roczen, who moved from third to second in the standings. Tomac sits third, 15 points out of the lead after sharing the red plate heading into Nashville. "I'm so happy my wrist wasn't holding me back today," Lawrence said. "Every Saturday I want to go out and have no limitations holding me back from anything." Webb acknowledged the work still ahead. "I had another terrible start, which is not how you want to draw it up. We've got some work to do to catch that lead group, but I'll take the podium after the past few weekends."

Bearman's 50G Crash Forces F1 Safety Conversation Formula 1's 2026 technical regulations have been under discussion since before the season started, but Oliver Bearman's massive accident at F1's Japanese Grand Prix moved the conversation from the boardroom to the front page. Bearman had been running approximately one second behind Alpine's Franco Colapinto on lap 21 when the gap closed suddenly and sharply as they approached Spoon Corner. The difference in electrical boost between the two cars created a closing speed of 45km/h. The Alpine was not actively harvesting energy at that moment, meaning its rear warning lights were not illuminated in the seconds before the incident. Bearman swerved to avoid contact at 308km/h, went sideways over the grass on the inside, skidded back across the track, through the run-off, and into the barrier. The impact registered at 50G. The reaction from the F1 community was immediate. Grand Prix Drivers Association director Carlos Sainz said the moment had been coming. "There were a lot of big moments there in the first three laps while we were all sorting out our energies until our systems learned with the closing speeds we have with the boost button," Sainz said. "It was only a matter of time, the first big crash was going to happen." Speaking separately to Sky F1, Sainz added that drivers had already raised concerns with the FIA and Formula 1 management before the season began. "We've been warning them about this happening. These kind of closing speeds and these kind of accidents were always going to happen, and I'm not very happy with what we've had up until now." The FIA responded with a statement confirming that a structured review of the energy management regulations was already scheduled for April, and that safety remains a core element of the process. The governing body stopped short of confirming what changes, if any, would be made, noting that any adjustments require careful simulation and analysis. A broader review of the qualifying format was already under consideration, and the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds earlier this season had pushed the scheduled F1 Commission meeting to April 9th. With Bearman's crash now added to the equation, the urgency of that meeting has increased considerably. Roczen Wins in Detroit as Title Fight Flips Upside Down Round 11 from Ford Field in Detroit produced the most significant championship shakeup of the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, with Ken Roczen delivering a landmark 25th career victory while points leader Hunter Lawrence suffered a race-ending crash. Jorge Prado grabbed his fifth holeshot of the season at the start of the 20 Minute + 1 Lap Main Event with Roczen slotting in behind him and Chase Sexton, making his return to action after missing three races, running third. Lawrence started deep inside the top 10, while Eli Tomac launched outside the top 10 as well. Roczen spent several laps pressuring Prado before making his move and taking the lead. Shortly after, Prado and Cooper Webb came together and both went down, removing two contenders from the front of the race in one moment. Roczen quickly built a multi-second lead over Sexton, while Lawrence worked his way up to third from his difficult starting position. The race changed dramatically just before halfway. As Sexton and Lawrence had begun to close the gap to Roczen, Lawrence crashed hard exiting the whoops section, widely regarded as the most demanding whoop section of the season. He remounted but was forced to have his machine attended to in the mechanics area, costing him a lap. He ultimately salvaged 18th place. With the threat behind him gone, Roczen managed the race comfortably to the finish, taking the win by 7.7 seconds over Sexton. Malcolm Stewart broke through for his first podium of the season in third, with Justin Cooper fourth and Tomac fifth. The championship picture looks entirely different heading out of Detroit. Tomac reclaims the points lead for the first time since round four, holding a four-point advantage over Lawrence with six races remaining. Roczen's win pulled him to within 14 points of the lead, setting up a genuine three-rider title fight for the final stretch of the season. "I don't know what to say, but this is exactly what I was talking about," Roczen said after the race. "The whoops were a 50-50 chance you were going to make it through or end up on your back. We closed up some points, but we still have a lot of racing to go." NASCAR's Horsepower Debate Is Getting Louder The conversation around whether to introduce the 750 horsepower tapered spacer package to intermediate tracks picked up significant momentum at Darlington last weekend, and the drivers are far from unified on the answer. Darlington ran a higher horsepower, lower downforce configuration this year, and the results were mixed. Lead changes and green flag passes increased, but the field spread out more than some would have liked, and tire falloff came in below projections as teams managed their runs carefully throughout the race. Joey Logano made no attempt to hide his position. He wants more power, more falloff, and more variables in a discipline that increasingly resembles a spec formula. "We have to be a tenth to two-tenths faster to make passes these days, so how are you going to find that?" Logano said. "Maybe if someone burns their stuff up early, they pay the price later, and then you see the difference come in." Brad Keselowski acknowledged the argument but pushed back. "We do have a really good package right now, and there are a handful of tracks that you could argue would benefit from it, but a handful of tracks where I could argue it would make the racing worse," the 2012 champion said, pointing to the Brickyard 400 as a race that might improve while suggesting Kansas could get worse. William Byron was direct about the competitive implications. Hendrick Motorsports would benefit from more power, he said, but that does not make it good for the product. "If you have to get out of the gas more, it comes down to who can make their car handle better, and that would mean fewer cars on the lead lap and less passing in the top five." Michael McDowell offered perhaps the most candid take of the weekend, framing the debate around what the sport is actually trying to achieve. More power means more separation. The best car wins by more. That may be satisfying for drivers but it is not necessarily what fans want to watch. "Our mile and a half package has been good. The racing's been good," McDowell said. "We just have to be careful that we don't ruin a good thing by chasing something that we all feel like would be more fun." The discussion is unlikely to produce an immediate answer, but with Darlington serving as something of a live test case, the data from Sunday's race will inform whatever decision NASCAR makes heading into the second half of the season. NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027 Ballot Revealed The NASCAR Hall of Fame has announced its 15-nominee ballot for the Class of 2027, with Kevin Harvick, Ray Elder, and Ernie Elliott joining the Modern Era candidates for the first time. Harvick, now in his third season as a Fox Sports analyst, enters the ballot with credentials that include the 2014 Cup Series championship, 60 Cup victories including the 2007 Daytona 500, and two titles in what is now the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. Elder won a record six championships in the former NASCAR Winston West Series and claimed two Cup victories, both at Riverside International Raceway. Elliott, brother of 2015 inductee Bill Elliott, built engines that powered the family team to 40 Cup wins and the 1988 championship, earning recognition as Engine Builder of the Decade for his work in the mid to late 1980s. Two new names were added to the Pioneer Era Ballot as well. Ray Fox, a successful mechanic and car owner from NASCAR's early years, returns to the ballot for the first time since 2020. Herb Nab, who won 92 Cup Series races and two championships alongside Cale Yarborough for car owner Junior Johnson, makes his first ballot appearance. They join returning nominees Banjo Matthews, Larry Phillips, and Harry Hyde, who transitions from the Modern Era Ballot to the Pioneer list this cycle. T. Wayne Robertson joins the Landmark Award ballot for the first time. Robertson oversaw the R.J. Reynolds sports marketing division during a period of significant growth for NASCAR, including playing a central role in the creation of the NASCAR All-Star Race in 1985. He joins returning Landmark candidates Alvin Hawkins, Lesa France Kennedy, Dr. Joseph Mattioli, and Les Richter. Fan voting opens April 14 and runs through May 17 on NASCAR.com, counting as one ballot in the selection process. The voting panel will meet in Charlotte on May 19 to finalize the Class of 2027, with the results announced live from the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Subaru Is Building a BRZ Rally Car Subaru has announced plans to develop a turbocharged, four-wheel drive rally version of its BRZ, with veteran rally driver Toshihiro Arai set to debut the car during the first half of Japan's national rally championship season. The announcement marks a new direction for a brand that built much of its identity through factory involvement in the World Rally Championship during the 1990s and 2000s, winning three consecutive manufacturers' championships from 1995 to 1997. Since withdrawing from the WRC at the end of 2008, Subaru has continued competing in the American Rally Association National Championship and the All Japan Rally Championship, with the WRX claiming five consecutive ARA titles in the United States. A render of the new BRZ rally car was shown to media during the opening round of the Super Taikyu Series at Motegi last weekend. Full technical specifications have not yet been released. "We are diligently developing a machine with significantly improved competitiveness, and we plan to introduce it midway through the season," Arai said. Further details are expected to be made available as the car's debut approaches.

It was another dominant weekend in Shanghai for Mercedes with a strong race result. Kimi Antonelli took his first ever F1 win ahead of his teammate George Russell. This allows the duo to continue their strong lead in the championship ahead of their current biggest competitor, Ferrari. Ferrari also continued their great results with Lewis Hamilton taking out his first official podium spot as a Ferrari driver finishing in P3, after a well fought battle against teammate Charles Leclerc who finished in P4. This pairing continues to prove their ability and competitiveness against one another, pushing each of them to better themselves. They even had some great wheel-to-wheel racing moments against each other that was sure to give people a scare. Top 3 for the race result in China: Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton. Haas continued to show that they are here for the fight with Oliver Bearman who proved himself in China with a great P5 finish. He is a strong driver for the future of the sport and continues to prove that week in and week out. It was a tough weekend though for Esteban Ocon who could not score points for the team, finishing in P14. This can definitely be a tough situation to be in for Ocon, given that the younger teammate is able to perform slightly better, but there is only up for Ocon as the season goes on.   Alpine ended the weekend with a double points scoring result. Pierre Gasly drove brilliantly to ensure P6, with close to a 30 second gap back to P7. The team itself can show their drive and capability, especially to those who doubted it. Franco Colapinto was 1 lap down, but still able to finish in the final points position of P10. Franco Colapinto VS Esteban Ocon The final 3 drivers, although not at the same team managed to provide vital points to their respective teams. Liam Lawson finished the weekend strong with a P7 result, points that are essential for Racing Bulls. Lawson’s teammate Arvid Lindblad ended up just behind the Audi of Hulkenberg in P12. After a tough weekend with the car struggling and issues arising, this is still promising from the young rookie. Isack Hadjar had a more positive result compared to Australia, finishing the race in P8, and ensuring RedBull managed some points. Finally, Carlos Sainz although having a quiet weekend finished in P9 and gained vital points for Williams, with only having one car available for the race.   Audi’s only running car of Nico Hulkenberg performed well, given he was just out of the points too. He drove a great race to get a result of P11, just missing out on the last point for top 10 taken by Colapinto. This shows a strong team, given they can push for top 10 positions in the races, which is going to be a positive for them. A quiet, yet strong weekend in China for Nico Hulkenberg The Cadillac pairing had another quiet weekend, possibly going to be the way for the season. Both cars however managing to finish the race in China. Sergio Perez was unfortunately at the back of the group in P15, whilst Valtteri Bottas finished in P13.   We had way too many DNS/DNF in China. Before even beginning the race, Alex Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto were out. As we were waiting for the timer to close and the race to begin, chaos was emerging for both McLaren cars as technical and mechanical issues began to falter them. Lando Norris was the first, before Oscar Piastri also faced issues. Both drivers were forced to have a DNS. Piastri is still yet to start a race in 2026. A difficult weekend for both McLaren drivers with a double DNS result. Aston Martin also had a difficult weekend with another double DNF result for the team. There still appears to be ongoing issues with the car itself, including the engine and its capability. Will we see a complete race from Aston Martin this season? Our final DNF, a very shocking one as well, was Max Verstappen. It was sudden, very random and an extremely unfortunate result for him. We know just how competitive he can be, and this was a tough situation to be in.

Hamlin Points to 2027 as Final NASCAR Season Denny Hamlin addressed his future at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, reaffirming that 2027 remains his intended final season in the NASCAR Cup Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team he has driven for since 2005. Hamlin stopped short of making it definitive but indicated the timeline is set in his mind and has allowed JGR to begin planning accordingly. Hamlin currently sits at 61 career wins after winning at Las Vegas last weekend. He projects reaching approximately 67 wins by the end of his career, based on a career average of roughly three and a half wins per season over the last decade. Two notable items remain absent from his resume. The Cup Series championship is the most significant, having come within three laps of winning it last season before a late caution in the finale ended his chances. A win at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis is the other, the only crown jewel race he has yet to win. Hamlin also made clear he has no interest in a farewell tour when the time comes. "I don't want to go my last half of the year or year like, 'Can't wait to get out,'" he said. "If I could end on seasons like this one is starting, then that would be a successful last year for me." One rumor suspected Alex Bowman as a possible replacement for Hamline but JGR may look in a different direction after the Arizonan's recent struggles with injury. Mercedes Appoints Bradley Lord as Deputy Team Principal Mercedes confirmed this week that Bradley Lord has been appointed deputy team principal, formalizing responsibilities that had developed organically over the course of his 13 years with the team. Lord joined Mercedes in 2013 as communications manager and most recently served as team representative and chief communications officer. Team principal and CEO Toto Wolff stated that his own role and responsibilities remain unchanged. Lord's appointment is designed to support Wolff and strengthen the team's senior leadership structure as the sport continues to grow. Lord began his career in Formula 1 as a press office intern at Benetton in 2001 and held communications roles at the Renault F1 Team and Daimler AG before joining Mercedes. He takes up the deputy team principal role with immediate effect. Lawrence Extends Championship Lead With Dominant Birmingham Win Hunter Lawrence put together arguably the strongest performance of his career at Round 10 of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship from Protective Stadium in Birmingham, taking his third win in the last four races and extending his 450SMX Class points lead. Jorge Prado grabbed the holeshot at the start of the 20 Minute + 1 Lap Main Event, but Lawrence went on the attack immediately and took control of the race in the opening laps. Behind him, Prado and Red Bull KTM teammate Eli Tomac became engaged in their own battle, which allowed Ken Roczen to work his way up from a 16th place start. Roczen eventually got around Tomac and settled into second, where he spent the remainder of the race chasing Lawrence. Heavy lapped traffic repeatedly cut off any momentum he was able to build. Lawrence crossed the line 2.3 seconds ahead of Roczen. Tomac finished third, more than 30 seconds back, in a difficult evening that included navigating his first Last Chance Qualifier since the 2019 season after an incident with Justin Cooper during their Heat Race. Lawrence's championship lead over Tomac now stands at nine points. Roczen's sixth podium of the season moves him into third, 31 points behind Lawrence. "I'm just taking it one race at a time," Lawrence said. "It's easy to think about the end result, which is the title, but I'm just trying to stay focused in the moment. Anything can happen, as we've seen tonight, so I'm just happy to be up here." Da Costa Takes Inaugural Madrid E-Prix in Chaotic Finish Antonio Felix da Costa won the inaugural Madrid E-Prix at Jarama Circuit for Jaguar Racing, with teammate Mitch Evans finishing second to complete a Jaguar one-two. Pascal Wehrlein rounded out the podium for Porsche after edging Dan Ticktum at the exit of the final corner, with the top four covered by less than a second. Nyck Cassidy led early in his Citroen ahead of Mahindra's Nyck de Vries and da Costa. De Vries made an overly optimistic move on Wehrlein mid-race, made contact, broke his own front wing, dropped to the back of the field, and received a five-second penalty. Ticktum made the strongest start of the field, moving from ninth to fifth in the opening laps and spending much of the race in podium contention. The race was defined by the Attack Mode activations and Pit Boost stops that cycle through the Formula E field. Felipe Drugovich activated Attack Mode from the back and led on lap 8. Pepe Marti did the same shortly after, leading in front of his home crowd before the pit stops began reshuffling the order. By the time all strategies played out, da Costa and Maximilian Gunther were fighting for the lead, with da Costa eventually seizing it and immediately activating his final Attack Mode to defend his position. With the field bunched in the final laps and nearly every driver activating remaining Attack Modes simultaneously, da Costa held firm to take the victory. Edoardo Mortara, Sebastien Buemi, Jake Dennis, Nico Muller, Pepe Marti, and Joel Eriksson completed the top 10. Top 10: Pos Driver Team Gap 1 A. Felix da Costa Jaguar Racing Winner 2 M. Evans Jaguar Racing +0.386s 3 P. Wehrlein Porsche Team +0.799s 4 D. Ticktum Cupra Kiro +0.985s 5 E. Mortara Mahindra Racing +1.570s 6 S. Buemi Envision Racing +1.922s 7 J. Dennis Andretti Formula E +3.760s 8 N. Muller Porsche Team +3.884s 9 P. Marti Cupra Kiro +4.117s 10 J. Eriksson Envision Racing +6.576s

Kyle Kirkwood during qualifying for the Arlington Grand Prix (Photo by: Kylar Boggs/RacingClipsAndPics) The NTT Indycar series kicked off the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, and it was a hectic start. Andretti driver Marcus Ericsson lead the opening laps and towards the back of the grid, trouble ensued. Mick Schumacher made contact with Christian Lundgaard and caused the Arrow McLaren driver to go around. Lundgaard continued without any damage, but Schumacher recieved a drive through penalty for avoidable contact with Lundgaard. In addition, Nolan Siegal also spun around but was able to continue on as well. Later on, when pit stops began, leaders Marcus Ericsson and Alex Palou came into the pit lane at the same time. However, Ericsson had problems on his stop with trouble on the right front, and ended up losing multiple seconds to Palou leaving the pit lane. Just after that, Kyffin Simpson had recieved a drive through penalty for hitting his pit equipment into the pit box of Scott Dixon just ahead of him. The trouble didn't stop there as Josef Newgarden spun in turn 3 due to contact with teammate David Malukas. Malukas got ahead of Newgarden as he was going by him on the pit exit and the two collided into turn 3. Will Power, who started in the top 5, went on a long tire stint, into the race committing a two stop strategy to go to the end compared to everyone else who were on a three stop strategy. After the final pit stops cycled through, it was Kyle Kirkwood chasing down Alex Palou for the win. As the laps were winding down, Kirkwood was significantly cutting the gap down to Palou and with less than 20 laps to go, Kirkwood made a brave move going into turn 14 on Alex Palou and got the lead and drove off into the distance. With four laps to go, the caution flag came out for Christian Rasmussen as he stalled in turn 1. The race goes back to green flag conditions with 1 lap to go, but that didn't last long as in the back of the field, Nolan Siegal makes contact with Romain Grosjean and both of them crash out of the race and the race ends under yellow. Coming to the checkered flag, Kyle Kirkwood picks up the victory ahead of Alex Palou, and teammate Will Power. Power gets his first podium with Andretti after starting fourth. Winner, Kyle Kirkwood stated "It was one of the more physical races for sure. Lap 40 I was taking my hands off the steering wheel down the straight and pulling my fingers away from each other." After starting in the back of the field, Scott Dixon finishes 8th, and Scott McLaughlin finishes 11, both having good finishes after the troubles in qualifying yesterday for the both of them. Just three races in, Kyle Kirkwood is now the new championship leader, but there is still a long way to go until the end of the season.

Marcus Ericsson during qualifying for the Arlington Grand Prix (Photo by: Kylar Boggs/RacingClipsAndPics) Marcus Ericsson has qualified on pole position for the inaugural Arlington Grand Prix, and it is his first career NTT P1 Pole Position. It was a hectic qualifying session in Arlington with the first group in round 1 being a battle to the end to advance to the second round with Marcus Ericsson barely surviving to move on ahead of Louis Foster who was not able to set a faster lap time. In round 1 group 2, a shocking moment occured as Scott McLaughlin who was one of the fastest drivers in both of the practice sessions, found the wall in turn 8. McLaughlin clipped the inside wall making contact with the right front and going straight into the wall, bringing an end to his session. McLaughlin will start last after crashing out in round 1. Towards the end in the second round of qualifying, Kyle Kirkwood had put down a lap good enough to move on to the fast six for a very brief moment, until Andretti teammate Marcus Ericsson knocked out Kirkwood at the last second, and moved on to the Firestone Fast Six. Heading into the final round of qualifying, Indycar brought a new qualifying format for the Firestone Fast Six qualifications to Arlington, as it was announced it would be a single car qualifying format instead of group qualifying. This meant each driver would have to wait for each other to finish their lap before they could go out on track. Marcus Ericsson was the first of the six drivers to go out on track and set down a lap good enough for his first career NTT P1 Pole Position Award. Everyone else who went after Ericsson did not set a lap time quick enough to beat the Andretti driver. Alex Palou lines up second followed by Pato O' Ward, Will Power, Felix Rosenqvist, and Marcus Armstrong as the top 6 drivers. When asked about qualifying Ericsson said "In Q1, the car was too loose and we barely made it to the next round, but in Q2 we made some changes and the balance was a lot better overall." Alex Palou, who starts next to Ericsson on the front row was asked about the overall tire degradation and Palou stated "Yeah the alternate tires may be faster at the start, maybe five, six, or even 10 laps but the primary tires certainly feel better for sure." Sundays Java House Grand Prix of Arlington will start at 12 P.M ET as there is a high wind advisory for tomorrow, and the green flag is scheduled for 11:17 AM local time, here in Arlington, TX.

Kyle Kirkwood during Saturday mornings practice session at the Arlington Grand Prix (Photo by: Kylar Boggs/RacingClipsAndPics) Kyle Kirkwood was quickest in the Saturday morning practice session, and the quickest time of the weekend so far. The Andretti driver was frustrated after Friday's practice after not getting a lot of track time. Early into the session, Mick Schumacher has the same issues as he did yesterday, with locking up the brakes going into turn 4 again, the same spot he had issues during Friday's session. Schumacher spoke about the bumps saying "The bumps are insane, this is another level of bumpiness" when talking about the track. The trouble didn't stop there as Scott Dixon spun in turn 4, and Will Power coming around the corner did not see Dixon and collided with Dixon. Power damaged his front wing, and Dixon had recieved damage to the left rear suspension due to the contact with Will Power. The yellow flags were not displayed until Power was already turning into the corner making it an unlucky incident with Dixon and Power. Towards the end of the session, Josef Newgarden found the wall in turn 2, making contact with the front left suspension ending his session. Newgarden had lost the rear end and over corrected into the wall. Following the end of the session, it was Kyle Kirkwood setting the fastest time of the weekend with a 1.33.1409, and behind him were Alex Palou, Marcus Armstrong, Will Power, and Marcus Ericsson to round out the top 5.

Scott McLaughlin during the opening practice session at the Arlington Grand Prix (Photo by: Kylar Boggs/RacingClipsAndPics) Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin is fastest in the opening Arlington Grand Prix practice session to start off the weekend. Going into this weekend, there are so many questions to be answered, so many unknowns as this is a brand new circuit on the NTT Indycar series calender for the 2026 season. As the practice session began, drivers were getting a feel for the brand new street circuit for the very first time. About halfway into the session, Santino Ferrucci locks up the brakes and goes straight on in turn 4, but is able to back up and continue on. However, shortly after that occured, the red flag was displayed for Sting Ray Robb going deep into turn 1 and coming to a stop. Robb had lost control under braking and hit the outside wall going into turn 1, damaging the front right suspension, and the front wing. In addtion, drivers such as Mick Schumacher and Rinus Veekay also had issues with locking up their brakes. Schumacher, just like Ferrucci, locked up his brakes going into turn 4 as well but was able to continue on. However, Rinus Veekay was not so lucky with his incident. Not only he had massive front locking heading into turn 10, but both of his rear brakes caught fire, bringing out the red flag. At the end of practice, it was Penske driver Scott McLaughlin fastest followed by Alex Palou, Will Power, Pato O' Ward, and Felix Rosenqvist to round out the top 5.

Arrow McLaren & Nolan Siegal unviel a new livery for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington during the McLaren Fan Fest at Texas Live (Photo by: Kylar Boggs/RacingClipsAndPics) Arrow McLaren reveal a new livery for Nolan Siegal and the No. 6 team for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. SmartStop has been a partner of Arrow McLaren since 2023 and in 2024, SmartStop announced a multi-year extension as a primary partner, and heading into 2026 it is their fourth year with the team. Arrow McLaren driver of the No.5 Pato O' Ward (Photo by Arrow McLaren) The Arrow McLaren trio of Pato O' Ward, Nolan Siegal, and Christian Lundgaard are looking forward to the event with positive comments about this weekends event. Pato O' Ward stated "They've done a phenomenal job with the all of the aesthetics, the paddock, and all of it looks really good. I'm curious what the bumps on the tracks are going to be like and if there would be anything to catch us by surprise." When asked about Indycar coming back to Texas for the first time since 2023, O' Ward said "This place is the closest to home, this is where I see a lot of the people that remind me of home, the language, a lot of friends and family are going to be here, so it's cool to see them still following, they're still happy to see us back." Arrow McLaren driver of the No. 6 Nolan Siegal. Photo by: Arrow McLaren) In addition, Nolan Siegal stated "I think it's important to have a strong weekend here, and then go into the short break with a little bit of momentum, good things to look at, good things to focus on." Siegal later spoke positively about the McLaren Fan Event at Texas Live in Arlington saying "To be here, and see so many young fans, new fans, and people that haven't been exposed to Indycar, the goal for us this weekend is to put on the best show possible and have a ton of people that haven't been exposed to Indycar racing before see it here and get into it and become Indycar fans, and we want to reach new audiences that Indycar has to offer." Arrow McLaren driver of the No. 7 Christian Lundgaard. (Photo by Arrow McLaren) Christian Lundgaard discussed about doing laps in the simulator by stating "Some corners are slightly different out there than the ones on the sim, and what the track map originally was, and we'll figure out when we do the track walk. Lundgaard later went on saying "There's always that question from street courses, is the wall in the same place as last year, and with here everything is new that you don't really have a reference."

It was an intense weekend in Australia. Seeing the brand-new regulations out in force, with the excitement of a new season awaiting us all.   With hometown hero Oscar Piastri expected to make a comeback from last year’s unfortunate error. However, the Aussie hearts would break again after an issue with excessive power on the lap to the grid would result in Piastri hitting the barrier between turns 4 & 5, ending his weekend before it even started. The devastation was seen around the world for Piastri fans. Mclaren fans weren’t left out, with teammate Lando Norris still able to score points for the team ending up P5. An unfortunate end to Oscar Piastris day, out before the race began. Mercedes was the strongest out of the gates with a 1-2 finish in Australia, George Russell taking the top step and Kimi Antonelli in P2. They had the expected pace we all predicted they would but did struggle from the line given the race starts were better from other teams. Ferrrari were another force to be reckoned with alongside the Mercedes duo. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both got brilliant starts in the race with Leclerc even making it to P1 by the first corner of lap 1. The race starts looked brilliant and brought real potential for the team. By the race completion, Charles Leclerc was P3 with Lewis Hamilton very close behind in P4. The podium at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix The race itself was full of unexpected dramas. Isack Hadjar out qualifying his teammate Max Verstappen wasn’t on the table, but another issue with power resulted in Verstappen starting P20, whilst Hadjar started P3, his first top 3 for the season. This wouldn’t last long with an engine issue forcing Hadjar to retire on lap 10, whilst Max Verstappen would have an impressive result ending up P6 and scoring vital points for the team.   The rookie Arvid Lindblad had a successful result in his first race out as an F1 driver, keeping himself within the top 10 and finishing P8, scoring essential points for Racing Bulls. Liam Lawson however stalling his car at the race start, could only manage P13, a disappointing result given the experience he has. A close call between Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto after Lawson stalled his car. A quiet weekend remained for Williams, who appear to be working out issues and may get there at some point, however only managing P12 with Alex Albon and P15 with Carlos Sainz.   Similarly, Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Alpine driver Franco Colapinto also had a tough but quiet weekend. Ocon would finish just outside the points in P11, whilst Colapinto would finish P14. Their teammates however had a great weekend, both receiving points for the team. Oliver Bearman finished in P7, and Pierre Gasly took out the 1 singular point in P10. This looks like promising ability from these two teams.   Aston Martin were able to complete more laps than they first predicted, with Fernando Alonso initially retiring, but coming back out for more data and would go to complete only 21 laps. Whilst Lance Stroll was able to successfully complete 43 laps, with some of that being laps for data.   Some of our unfortunate retirees from the race included Nico Hulkenberg who could not start the race and the Honorary Aussie Valtteri Bottas in the new Cadillac car. Their teammates however were able to complete the race. Audi was able to get into the top 10 with Gabriel Bortoleto in P9, whilst Cadillac’s Sergio Perez was 2 laps down on the field and could only manage P16. A difficult first race for Valtteri Bottas at the Australian Grand Prix. We move on this weekend to the Chinese Grand Prix, with a Sprint race inbound. New regulations, less practice sessions could mean chaos for the drivers.

Race 4: The sheer chaos that we usually witness during this race weekend for the supercars, is typically insane to watch. They return to Albert Park and typically we witness lots going on. It delivered in all races across the weekend.   Brodie Kostecki took the pole position spot just ahead of James Golding and despite Kostecki being unwell and struggling with sickness, he still went on to dominate and win the first race. Brodie Kostecki overcame illness to win Race 4 Matt Payne managed to make up a couple spots to finish in P2, ahead of the Redbull Ampol Racing car of Broc Feeney. He is once again determined to prove his skill this weekend with a race win, which could come in race 2.   James Golding, although starting P2 did lose a couple places and was forced to settle for P4, whilst his teammate Aaron Cameron struggled with grip and lost the car, forcing him to the back of the pack. Eventually he went on to finish P23.   Chaz Mostert, Cam Waters, Will Brown and Ryan Wood all had an exciting race, with some extremely close battles throughout the entirety of the session. Ryan Wood even attempted a brilliant overtake which worked on Will Brown. Chaz Mostert would finish P5, whilst his teammate Ryan Wood finished P7.   Cam Waters even with all the pressure put onto Mostert was forced to settle for P6, just behind him. Will Brown struggling in the race and would finish P8.   The remaining 2 in the top 10 were Anton De Pasquale who had a very quiet race, along with Cooper Murray. Both had a decent qualifying with De Pasquale losing positions and would end up P9 on track, whilst Murray moved up 3 spots to settle for P10. Early dramas and excitement for Anton De Pasquale and Cooper Murray with a top 10 finish. Race 5: Brodie Kostecki once again took another race win, closing the gap in the championship and ensuring his ability to gain the Larry Perkins Trophy after the weekend. Matt Payne forced to settle for P2, as Brodie Kostecki takes another race win. Early on in lap 1, there was dramas towards the back end of the field between Zach Bates and Macauley Jones. In addition, we saw dramas with Will Brown and Cooper Murray.   Will Brown was impressing with his ability to overtake within the midfield, pushing to the limits to gain position on track. We also saw the rookies getting into that midfield battle too, showing off their capabilities as young drivers.   Chaz Mostert and Broc Feeney got into a spat on lap 4, resulting in Mostert losing track position to Jack Le Brocq, whilst Aaron Cameron was forced to defend against Feeney. Amidst the fight, Mostert was faced with steering damage from that battle earlier on in the race.   Matt Payne had his own battle going on against Brodie Kostecki who would take the race lead on lap 4. This battle began to reel Ryan Wood into the fight as well, with a large gap to P4 Aaron Cameron.   By lap 11, we saw chaos as Broc Feeney locked the tyres, forcing him to oversteer and bump into Aaron Cameron, which resulted in drama as Cameron bumped back and Kai Allen saw an opportunity, until he didn’t. Allen was then hit by a very frustrated Cameron, spinning both cars on the final corner. A costly moment for Aaron Cameron in a fight with Broc Feeney cost him track position in Race 5. The Toyota Supras had a great weekend, with Ryan Wood getting their first podium and drivers like Andre Heimgartner with some brilliant overtaking moments.   This race was the first opportunity for a podium for the Toyota Supras, with Ryan Wood who secured the third-place position. Matt Payne managed to maintain the P2 position, whilst fighting to try and close the gap to P1, but nothing could be done to stop Kostecki on the Friday.   Race 6: This was the race for Broc Feeney. The only non-Kostecki race win and Broc Feeney used all his skill as a talented driver to ensure a win for himself in Melbourne. An early defensive manoeuvre saw him maintain P1 against Aaron Cameron.   Matt Payne was out early, parked at turn 4 with an unfortunate triple puncture situation after being pushed wide by James Golding. A tough race result for the driver who at that time was leading the championship. Drama on early laps of race 6, which resulted in the triple puncture for Matt Payne By lap 2, we experienced more chaos with a Jack Le Brocq being sandwiched between Cooper Murray and Will Brown and running into Murray. This brought out our first safety car period.   On the restart on lap 5, Feeney was competitive from the start. Aaron Cameron and Brodie Kostecki all saw what was happening and managed to maintain track position.   Lap 7 would see more on track dramas with Thomas Randle bumped by Ryan Wood and losing control of his car, before hitting the wall. This became the 2 nd safety car period of this race.   By lap 11, through pure frustration and all, Will Brown and Aaron Cameron both lost track position after running into one another on track. Such a difficult result for these 2 drivers, given their spot on track and the points they would’ve gained.   There were penalties with racing infringements including a 30 second one for Ryan Wood. An unfortunate result, but an overall difficult race day for him, being stuck in mid pack and finishing P13.   Feeney did have a concerning moment around lap 12, going wide and through the grass, before returning to track. This moment could’ve cost him the race win.   With an early end to the race, given safety car periods, Broc Feeney would go on to win race 6 in Melbourne, just ahead of Brodie Kostecki who was pushing to the absolute limit to try and gain that position but couldn’t do anything to stop Feeney on the day. A shock P3 also occurred with Cam Waters overtaking Aaron Cameron for that spot. Broc Feeney wins in race 6 in Melbourne.   Race 7: We thought we had seen it all. Race 7 was the race to watch. We expected drama as per Melbourne, but what we got was even more.   Will Brown was the pole sitter for the first time since May 2025. He had an impressive race start, maintaining the lead of the race into the first turn, however his teammate didn’t have the same luck.   Broc Feeney was forced to slow after being cut off by Ryan Wood but then bumped from behind by Kai Allen. Cooper Murray was also involved in this incident, being only a passenger to that moment after a decent race start. Zach Bates also part of that, in a separate incident, but within the same corner. All drivers were okay and sent for precautionary checks. Drama occurred early on in the final race for the Melbourne Supersprint. As a result of the earlier race start incident, Kai Allen and Ryan Wood had tyre punctures but were able to get back to the pitlane.   The race restarted on lap 4, and Will Brown had a good restart compared to Randle and Cameron. Thomas Randle was able to gain on Brown within the main straight.   Kostecki once again having an easy time with the overtakes in Melbourne, able to overtake Aaron Cameron for P3 by lap 6. Lap 7, he had overtaken Thomas Randle for P2 on the second last corner and began the chase for the race win.   There was lots of intense battling within the midpack, and by lap 12, Kostecki was right with Brown for that top spot and a minor lockup by Will Brown resulted in an open door for Kostecki. A tough result for Brown to deal with, given how little the mistake was, but just being unable to keep it on track, resulted in an easy overtake.   It was a 3 out of 4 race wins in Melbourne for Brodie Kostecki, with P1 in Race 7, followed by Will Brown in P2 after that unfortunate situation and P3 was Thomas Randle with the great defensive skills in the last half of what remained of Race 7. Kostecki had an impressive return to the top step with 3 out of 4 race wins in Melbourne.   Upcoming Race Weekends: Now we begin to prep for our 1 st of 2 races in New Zealand with the 1 st one being a return to Taupō for the Super 440 on April 10-12, followed by a first time race weekend in New Zealands South Island and Christchurch, racing at Ruapuna Raceway, which takes place on April 17-19.

HM: Shane van Gisbergen is once again in the honorable mention spot, with a P2 at COTA. Still sitting P6 in the standings, SVG heads to Phoenix. Of the 10 ovals that SVG has seen multiple times in Cup, Phoenix holds his 4th lowest average finish with a 27.5, only trailing Bristol, Daytona, and Las Vegas. SVG still sits P5 in the standings, and is off to back to back top 6 finishes. Trackhouse does have a Phoenix win back in 2023, but only has 2 top 10s since then in 10 combined races, none of them coming with SVG. Once again, quick shoutout Chris Buescher. His road course top 20 streak of 22 races came to an end after being caught up in Kyle Busch’s and Jesse Love’s mess, but he does have 7 top 15 finishes in his last 8 Phoenix starts, including 6 straight. 5 of these 7 are top 10s, 3 of which are top 5s. 10: Denny Hamlin stays at the 10 spot with a 10th place finish. This is only Hamlin’s 3rd road course top 10 since the Next Gen debuted in 2022 (23 races). A quiet day was just what the doctor ordered for this 11 team, as they gained 4 spots to 23rd. Hamlin heads to Phoenix, a track he has only finished outside the top 20 at once since 2018 (Hamlin finished 35th in the race preceding this statistic, the 2017 fall race. Hamlin cut a tire in an act of revenge from Chase Elliott, after leading 193 of the 312 laps run, of which Hamlin only ran 275). He's led multiple laps in 4 of the last 5 Phoenix races, including a race high 208 in last year’s championship race, a race Hamlin had locked up until a late race caution and GWC. No doubt he’s a heavy favorite this weekend, as is only this low due to 2 poor plate finishes. 9: Joey Logano finished 15th at COTA. Back to back mid pack runs keeps Logano 6th in points, but over half of his points have come from winning his Duel race and finishing 3rd in the Daytona 500. Logano’s going cold, but we are heading to his 8th best track on the schedule. Going back to 2019, Logo has as many wins as he does finishes worse than 11th, both with 3. Of these 14 races run, 8 are top 10s and 6 are top 4s. While he didn’t lead any laps in November, a race he finished 4th in, the two races prior saw Logano lead the 3rd most laps with 81 in the spring of 2025 and the 2nd most laps with 107 in the fall of 2024, a race in which he won both the race itself and the NASCAR championship. Joey is definitely no slouch at Phoenix, though his fall race stats do look better than his spring. 8: Unless things go horribly wrong this year, I don’t expect William Byron to drop any lower than he already is. A 13th at COTA is Byron’s worst finish at the track in the 6 years of running, while also breaking a 3 year top 5 streak. He did pick up his first lap led of the season and sits 13th in the points. He doesn’t have any flashy finishes so far, but he has been very consistent, scoring 25, 25, and 26 points in the 3 races run so far. Aside from his Daytona 500 win last year, it took him until race 23 to win again, so a sluggish start from Byron is not anything I’d put too much stock into. He finished 6th in the Phoenix spring race last year and was cruising to a P3 in the championship race before a tire failure with 5 laps to go resulted in a 33rd. Phoenix is Byron’s 5th best track on the schedule with 9 top 10s in 16 starts, including 5 of his last 7 finishes being 6th or better, with a win sprinkled in March of 2023. He’s led double digit laps in 5 of the last 6 races, and has collected points in 20 straight stages. 7: Christopher Bell had about as quiet a day you could have while finishing 3rd. He didn't collect any stage points, didn’t lead a single lap, and ran 5th to 15th all day long. After restarting 15th on the final restart, he methodically worked his way through the field, helped by Connor Zilisch’s late race spin, and passed Ryan Blaney for 3rd with 10 to go, which was the first time he entered the top 3 all day. As far as Phoenix goes, Bell has won the last 2 spring races, and 8 of his last 10 finishes have been P11 or better, including 4 top 6s. Bell led 0 laps in the championship race last year, but in the 3 prior races combined for 298 laps led of the total 936. He has 4 straight top 11s, and would likely have bumped that number to 7 if it wasn’t for a tire failure while running in the top 7 in the 2023 championship race. 6: After starting midpack, Kyle Larson ran top 10 for the good bit of Sunday and finished a solid P6. He gained 6 sports in the points standings and now sits 15th. Larson’s first top 10 of the year should be a breath of fresh air for 5 fans, but he still is looking for the race winning speed we haven’t seen out of this 5 car, aside from a few one off races, since this time last year. Larson ran well, but never once looked to be a race winning car. Phoenix is Larson’s 5th best track on the schedule (not counting Dover, which would sit 3rd and push Phoenix to 6th). Larson only has one win, his championship triumph in 2021. In his 23 starts at Phoenix, he has 11 top 5s and 15 top 10s, including 12 of his last 14 finishes being 9th or better. 9 of these starts are 4th or better. All this considered, Larson has led a lap in only 9 Phoenix starts, and only 5 of these races consisted of leading more than 3 laps. He’s only led 13 laps total since the fall of 2023, so while he often runs up front at Phoenix, he rarely finds himself at the front. 5: Chase Briscoe stays at the 5 spot, but was looking to make a jump in the standings. Briscoe jumped out to the lead early, completing the first 8 circuits out front before being passed by Ryan Blaney through the stadium section on lap 9. He stayed in the top 5-10 the rest of the day, before a mechanical failure on lap 63 took him out while running in 3rd. Briscoe finished last, but his effort showed this team hasn’t skipped a beat since the end of last year. Briscoe sits 27th in points right now, but I wouldn’t be worried. While he only has 4 top 10s in 10 Phoenix starts, he did capture his first NASCAR Cup Series triumph here in 2022. Briscoe had less than stellar results here last year, due in part to a crash and a tire failure, but showed decent speed in the fall. 4: Bubba Wallace finishing well in back to back superspeedway races? To be expected, he’s one of the best superspeedway racers on the planet. Bubba Wallace finishing one spot shy of a top 10 and collecting the 9th most points on the day while maintaining his 2nd place points position on a road course? Slightly more unexpected, and that’s why I jumped him so high. Wallace will be the first to tell you his road course game is below average, but there’s been visible improvements over the past couple years, including last Sunday. Wallace only has 3 top 10s at Phoenix in his 16 starts, but both of last years were cut short due to a wreck and a brakes failure. Prior to these 2, Wallace had 4 straight races of no finish worse than 16th and an average finish of 11.75. I think another top 15 is in store for this 23 car, barring a rough day. 3: Ryan Blaney stays at 3, after having possibly the best car at COTA. Bad pit strategy and a fading racecar late in this one leave him P8. Phoenix is Blaney’s 5th best track on the calendar, and his 2nd of tracks he has more than 5 starts at. While Blaney only has 1 win at Phoenix, it was in the most recent running, after a last lap pass moved him by Brad Keselowski to get the final NASCAR win of 2025. Blaney’s engine grenaded down the frontstretch in the spring race, otherwise he'd likely have 11 straight top 10 finishes. Of the 10 top 10s mentioned, only 1 was a finish worse than 6th, with Blaney having an average finish of 3.8 in them. He’s also led at least a lap in 8 of these 11 races, with double digit laps led in 6 of them. 2: Chase Elliott stays at 2. After a surprisingly off day, Elliott made a bold call to pit under green when he noticed Ross Chastain without a wheel and in the gravel. This put Elliott as the first car on fresh tires in 12th, and with some luck, snuck through the Zilisch wreck and ended up in P7. Elliott heads to Phoenix. He’s seen success here, winning in 2020 along with the title, but has only seen 2 top 5s since, none of which have been in the Next Gen car. Elliott only has 3 top 10s since this car debuted 5 years ago, but they have come in the last 3 races. He also led 30 laps in the most recent race here, ending up P10. Elliott is never really bad at any race track, and I expect no different at Phoenix. 1: What do I say that hasn’t already been said? Tyler Reddick just became the first person in history to 3-peat to start the season. Reddick heads to Phoenix, a track he’s seen little success at. It ranks at 16th in terms of average finish for Reddick, and of his 12 starts, he only has 2 top 5s and 4 top 10s. He did lead 68 laps in the spring race in 2024, along with finishing 10th, but only has 1 top 10 since, and has yet to lead another lap since. I don’t see a 4-peat happening this week, but I also didn’t see him winning the 500 or Atlanta either. As the years have gone on, it’s typically been a bad idea to count out Tyler Reddick. One thing’s for sure, he’s going to reign atop the points standings for the foreseeable future.