Category: Auto Sport

Track action was due to start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today at 9.00am local (Eastern) time, with first practice scheduled to run until 11:15am. But early morning rain soaked the 2.5-mile oval.

After rain showers washed out the morning session, the track dried and teams were allowed to bring their cars to pitlane at 1:50pm local time for what should have been practice two.

But just as drivers were about to hit the track at 2:15pm for their installation laps, the rain returned and cars were sent back to their garages just before 2:30pm.

Another rain shower then soaked the track, and IndyCar officially gave up hope at 4:10pm local time over the track drying in time to get any running in.

The weather forecast is much better for the rest of the week, with sunny conditions expected tomorrow once the rain bands have blown through.

Track activity is scheduled to resume at 10:00am on Wednesday with five minutes of installation laps for all cars, followed by RC Enerson’s rookie orientation programme between 10:15am and midday. Practice for all cars will take place from noon until 6:00pm.

The only action on track at Indy so far

Photo by: IndyCar Series

Indy 500 practice and qualifying schedule

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the cars will be on track from 12 noon to 6.00pm. The so-called ‘Fast Friday’ is traditionally when race set-ups take less of a priority and qualifying simulation runs take precedence.

The BorgWarner turbos common to the Honda and Chevrolet engines will be wound up from 1.3-bar boost to 1.5-bar, a level at which they’ll remain until end of play on Sunday evening.

The field will be divided in half for two final half hour practices on Saturday morning before qualifying commences at 11am. When every car in the qualifying order for Saturday has had at least one chance to qualify, teams may choose from two lanes for subsequent attempts.

Cars in the Priority Lane (Lane 1) must withdraw their qualified time but get priority access to the track ahead of Lane 2. That second lane is for cars that have already qualified and want to try to improve their position, but choose not to risk forfeiting the speed average they have already set.

When the gun goes off at 5.50pm, positions 13-30 will be set, and those drivers will not re-qualify on Sunday. The 12 drivers who will contest the front four rows of three, and the four drivers who will squabble over the three slots on the last row will now have been defined.

On Sunday 21 May, from 11.30am, the dozen drivers still in the fight for pole will get a one-hour practice session, and this will be immediately followed by an hour’s practice for the desperate quartet due to battle over the last row.

Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet qualifying run

Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images

From 2.00 to 3.00pm comes Top 12 qualifying, in which positions seven through 12 will be determined. Their running order is based on Saturday times, slowest to fastest, and each car is guaranteed one attempt. The quickest of the six advance to the Firestone Fast Six shootout.

At 4.00pm, the four Last Chance Qualifiers will compete for positions 31-33. Each car is guaranteed one attempt and may make multiple attempts until time expires at 5.00pm. Each car’s most recent qualification speed will remain eligible for the starting lineup until the time is withdrawn or qualifications end.

At 5.15pm comes the Firestone Fast Six shootout for pole. Positions 1-6 will be determined and running order is based on times from top 12 Qualifying, slowest to fastest. Each car is guaranteed one attempt.

The top 12 drivers on the starting grid will receive IndyCar Series points, with polewinner earning 12, the second fastest 11, down to one point for the 12th-placed starter.

On Monday 22 May, the engines are returned to 1.3-bar turbo boost – race boost levels – for two hours of practice, 1.00-3.00pm. Several teams and drivers say this can be an extremely useful session as it covers the kind of time frame of the Indy 500 itself, therefore with (hopefully) comparable temperatures and track conditions.

There is no track activity from Tuesday 23 May through to Thursday 25 May and gates are closed to the public. However, on the Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11.00am to 1.00pm, teams are allowed to do static pit stop practice on pitlane, albeit with no engines running.

Friday 26 May is Carb Day. From 11.00am to 1.00pm, the cars will hit the oval for the final time before the race.

Toyota has won all three races in the WEC so far this year, but has done so against revitalised opposition with the arrival of Ferrari, Porsche and Cadillac into the top class, while Peugeot has embarked on a full-season effort after appearing midway through 2022.

Already these new programmes have shown glimpses of promise, which will give Toyota pause for thought as it targets a sixth consecutive victory at La Sarthe. Ferrari scooped pole in Sebring for its new 499P Le Mans Hypercar, while Porsche became the first LMDh manufacturer using the spec hybrid system to take a podium in Portugal.

Ahead of next month’s centenary Le Mans, host Martyn Lee is joined on the podcast by sportscar expert Gary Watkins and Autosport Plus editor James Newbold to discuss events in the WEC so far this season.

They share their views on the fortunes of the Hypercar class manufacturers, the new rules that have led to the current boom in sportscar racing interest, and run the rule over the ever-unpredictable LMP2 and GTE Am classes that will add further intrigue to what promises to be an enthralling edition of the world’s most famous endurance race.

Since the podcast was recorded, the FIA and Le Mans organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest have lifted the WEC’s ban on tyre warmers on a one-off basis for Le Mans.

At the drop of the green, the two Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 of Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet locked up at Turn 2. Both Campbell and Jaminet ran wide, allowing the fast-starting Colin Braun (Meyer Shank Racing Acura) to get into the lead, followed by Pipo Derani (Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R).

Jaminet recovered to claim third ahead of the two BMW M Hybrid V8s of Connor De Phillippi and Philipp Eng, and Ricky Taylor’s Wayne Taylor Racing Acura. Campbell fell to seventh ahead of Bourdais’ Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac and Tijmen van der Helm in the new JDC-Miller MotorSport Porsche 963.

After Campbell nudged Jarett Andretti’s Aston Martin into an accident at pitlane entry, all nine GTP cars pitted, and leader Braun dropped to seventh having taken both fuel and tyres. Derani now led De Phillippi, Bourdais, Eng and van der Helm. Meanwhile, Porsche’s day got worse as Campbell was given a drive-through penalty for the incident with Andretti.

Braun elbowed his way past Eng’s BMW on Lap 33 on the climb from Turn 5 to Turn 6, and the BMW’s loss of momentum allowed Filipe Albuquerque (WTR Acura) and Jaminet to also lever their way through to demote the #24 BMW to seventh.

With 1h42m to go, John Farano crashed the Tower Motorsports LMP2 car at Turn 5, packing the field back up. All GTP cars hit pitlane, and MSR gave Braun fuel only, so his Acura took the lead ahead of Derani and Albuquerque.

Nick Tandy took over the #6 Porsche to emerge in fourth, ahead of the #25 BMW now steered by Nick Yelloly, and the #7 Porsche now driven by Felipe Nasr. Renger van der Zande replaced Bourdais in the Ganassi Cadillac, ahead of Augusto Farfus’ #24 BMW and Mike Rockenfeller’s JDCM Porsche.

Derani kept the pressure on Braun and, on the second lap after the restart, he passed the MSR Acura at Turn 3 to hit the front. Further back, the #7 Porsche of Nasr went off exiting the Corkscrew soon after passing Tandy, and the impact was hard enough to send him into the pits for repairs.

Tandy dropped to fifth behind van der Zande, who found himself stacked behind the two Acuras. Van der Zande then passed Albuquerque to claim third and closed on the struggling Braun. Once he demoted Braun, Albuquerque followed him through.

So with 70m left it was a Cadillac 1-2, with Derani and van der Zande running 14s apart. Tandy grabbed fourth from Braun into Turn 2 on lap 55, with the BMWs also demoting the struggling MSR machine. Yelloly was on a roll and demoted Tandy for fourth with just over an hour remaining.

That triggered Tandy to pit, and then Derani stopped as well, handing the car to Alexander Sims with a 20s lead. The rest followed shortly after, with Tom Blomqvist replacing Braun in the MSR Acura.

The last of them to pit – CGR’s Caddy and the BMWs – got in just before IMSA threw the fourth full course caution for Aaron Telitz parking the Lexus RC F in the wall on the outside of the final corner.

For the restart with 41m to go, Sims led van der Zande, with Yelloly, Tandy, Albuquerque and Farfus completing the top six. Van der Zande went around the outside of Sims at Turn 3 to grab the lead.

Tandy then prised third place from Yelloly. Ten minutes later, Albuquerque also got around the #25 BMW, as Yelloly dropped down the order.

Tandy passed Sims for second with a quarter of an hour to go, and now had 4.4s to close on van der Zande. Although the gap fluctuated in traffic, van der Zande’s winning margin was 3.8s at the flag.

Sims was a further seven seconds adrift but over 10s clear of the WTR Acura.

LMP2

Ben Keating of PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports took the lead at the start of the race from George Kurtz’s Crowdstrike Racing by APR entry, ahead of Steven Thomas of TDS Racing.

However, with 25m to go, Kurtz’s co-driver Ben Hanley tipped Ryan Dalziel’s Era Motorsports car into a half-spin on the front straight, allowing Mikkel Jensen to take the win for TDS Racing.

#9: Pfaff Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), GTD PRO: Klaus Bachler, Patrick Pilet

Photo by: Perry Nelson / Motorsport Images

GTD Pro and GTD

Klaus Bachler’s GTD Pro Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R led the GT field, with Roman de Angelis in close pursuit in the lead pro-am GTD car, the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.

That was chased by two more GTD Pro cars, the WeatherTech Racing Mercedes of Daniel Juncadella and Alex Riberas in the second HoR Aston. Alec Udell’s Kellymoss with Riley Porsche was next up, ahead of Jordan Taylor’s Corvette and Madison Snow’s Paul Miller Racing BMW M4.

After a yellow Bachler jumped the red light at pit exit – for which he would receive a stop and 60sec hold penalty – so it was Taylor’s Corvette that took the lead in GTD Pro class ahead Jack Hawksworth’s Lexus.

Following the third yellow, Kellymoss with Riley ran 1-2, with Alec Udell ahead of Kay van Berlo having just pitted before the yellow, and they were chased by the Turner M4s of Bill Auberlen and Robbie Foley. In GTD Pro, Alex Riberas’ HoR Aston led ahead of Antonio Garcia who was now in the Corvette.

Udell had to pit with 63m to go, van Berlo stopping next time by, leaving Turner and Paul Miller to run 1-2-3 for BMW just briefly until they pitted too.

Andy Lally led GTD for Magnus Racing (Aston), ahead of van Berlo and Auberlen, while Ross Gunn led GTD Pro ahead of Garcia. However, the latter pair had blown the wave-by rules under yellow and had to pit for stop-and-hold penalties.

That left Jules Gounon’s WeatherTech Mercedes leading GTD Pro, ahead of the earlier penalized Pfaff Porsche and the #14 Lexus, albeit in 12^th through 14^th overall in GT. Van Berlo passed Lally after a slightly physical confrontation with 20m to go, and soon Lally also had to give up second to Auberlen. With under 10m to go, Lally also lost third to Julian Andlauer (in for Udell).

Van Berlo won GTD by 10s ahead of Auberlen who had two seconds in hand over Andlauer.

Gounon took GTD Pro victory by eight seconds from the #14 Lexus, as Ben Barnicoat nipped Patrick Pilet for second by a mere 0.2s.

Palou’s team played the tire strategy perfectly to allow the 2021 champion to lead 52 of the 85 laps, while McLaren team-mates Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi were able to pass Lundgaard’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan car to complete the podium.

Lundgaard and fellow front row starter Felix Rosenqvist (McLaren) elected to start the race on primary tyres, while third starter Palou was the only driver in the top seven to choose alternates.

Lundgaard made a great start to get the jump on Rosenqvist, but Palou was all over him using his grippier tires and through Turns 12 and 13 he got ahead to cross the line first.

Jack Harvey had also passed Rosenqvist to run third, while further around the opening lap Rossi – up from 10^th – used his alternates to claim fourth. 

Racing was interrupted by yellows flew retrieve the two Dale Coyne Racing cars of David Malukas and Sting Ray Robb which collided at Turn 7, allowing Scott McLaughlin and Romain Grosjean to pit for new front wings.

Palou held off Lundgaard at the lap six restart as Harvey lost out to Rossi on the back straight after a heavy Turn 1 lockup, the Briton’s flat-spotted tyres causing him to tumble back down the order over the following laps.

Behind, reigning champion Will Power was punted into a spin at Turn 2 by Kyle Kirkwood, earning the Andretti Autosport driver a penalty that dropped him to the back of the field behind his Penske rival. 

Lundgaard closed on Palou when his softer tyres started to go off, prompting Palou and fellow alternate starter Rossi pitted on lap 18. Lundgaard followed them in two laps later for a set of alternates, but emerged two seconds behind Palou, as Rosenqvist and O’Ward went two laps longer.

Lundgaard took the net lead from Palou under braking for Turn 7 on lap 24 while off-strategy team-mate Graham Rahal led, having twice pitted under yellow due to suffering damage in the opening laps.

Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

Photo by: Gavin Baker / Motorsport Images

RLL didn’t ask Rahal to let Lundgaard by, and he was unable to take full advantage of his tyres until Rahal pitted on lap 31. This was four laps after O’Ward on alternates passed Rossi on primaries before making an early second stop for primaries.

Palou soon came back at Lundgaard, who had lost the lead by the time he came in for a second set of red tyres. O’Ward’s undercut of both Palou and Lundgaard only gave him a temporary lead before both navigated a route past.

Palou (primaries) headed Lundgaard (alternates) and O’Ward on primaries following the conclusion of the second stops, with Rosenqvist (alternates) and Rossi (primaries) chasing behind.

Lundgaard’s second set of alternates left him prey to O’Ward, who moved ahead before the Dane made his final stop on lap 59. Palou came in on the following tour, both taking primaries, while O’Ward switched to alternates at his lap 62 service before resuming second.

When Lundgaard ran out of push-to-pass boost, Rossi moved ahead into Turn 7 with nine laps to go, but the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner was unable to catch team-mate O’Ward ahead as Palou won by 16.8s.

Lundgaard had to settle for fifth, just holding off Rosenqvist who moved into fifth when Colton Herta was called for blocking.

Herta fell back to ninth, ahead of Rahal, in the final laps allowing Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, leading Penske runner Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson into the top eight. 

IndyCar Indy GP Race Results (85 laps)

Evans ran off the road on stage seven (Mortagua, 18.15km) while occupying sixth position following a challenging day opening the road.

A drought breaking victory in Croatia last month meant the Welshman headed to Portugal tied at the top of the championship standings with part-time Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier, who isn’t competing in Portugal this weekend.

Evans had been struggling with the balance of GR Yaris throughout the day having faced the worst of the road conditions.

Footage has now revealed that Evans went off the road during stage seven at speed resulting in a heavy collision into trees. The GR Yaris sustained heavy damage in the impact which triggered a small fire that was quickly extinguished.

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin emerged from the incident unscathed and have since undergone medical checks.

Elfyn Evans, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

After recovering the car Toyota has now confirmed the damage is too severe to allow Evans to rejoin the rally to salvage points from Sunday’s Power Stage.

“Elfyn and Scott underwent medical checks after their accident and are both doing well,” read a statement from the Toyota team.

“After inspecting the damage to car #33, the team has taken the decision to retire it from the rally.”

Friday proved to be a bittersweet day for Toyota as world champion Kalle Rovanpera completed the eight stages leading the rally by 10.8s from Hyundai’s Dani Sordo. The Finn, starting second on the road, won three of the eight stages.

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Rovanpera was the team’s only car to navigate through the schedule after team-mate Takamoto Katsuta was forced to retire after suffering an alternator failure.

The problem emerged on the first stage which ultimately proved terminal after stage two. The Japanese will however rejoin the rally on Saturday.

“We had to manage it but we knew it was going to be difficult to continue as we knew everything would shutdown,” said Katsuta.

“I felt good with the car but unfortunately the battery was completely gone before stage three.”

The decision made by the FIA and race organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which jointly formulate the rules for the WEC, covers only the double-points round of the series on 10-11 June.

It has resulted from an “in-depth evaluation of tyre usage data together with the WEC’s exclusive tyre suppliers, Michelin and Goodyear”, according to a statement issued by the ACO on Thursday.

“The exemption is limited to the Le Mans only, ensuring that drivers of all experience levels will be able to compete in the safest possible environment regardless of track conditions and temperatures,” it continued.

This will allow a period in which “tyre manufacturers, teams and drivers will gain valuable time to develop better understanding of how to bring cold tyres up to temperature ahead of the remainder of the 2023 WEC season”.

The reversal of the rule covers all three classes, Hypercar and GTE Am where Michelin is the sole tyre supplier and LMP2 in which Goodyears are used.

Temporary reversal of the ban on pre-heating follows the concerns raised by drivers over the course of the Spa 6 Hours meeting earlier this month, following a series of accidents in which drivers went off the track on cold tyres.

The highest profile of the incidents were those suffered by Toyota driver Brendon Hartley and Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco in the Hypercar class.

Michelin tyres

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Hartley crashed his Toyota GR010 HYBRID at the top of Eau Rouge on his out-lap in qualifying, while Fuoco lost his Ferrari 499P on the old pit straight as he left the pits.

Ferrari sportscar racing boss Antonello Coletta suggested in the immediate aftermath of the race that it was “time to do some serious thinking on the matter because it has major ramifications for safety”.

Toyota driver and team principal Kamui Kobayashi was also critical of the ban, calling it “crazy dangerous”.

The FIA issued a statement on the day of the race after coming in for criticism that described the ban on the pre-heating of tyres as “a much-needed step from a sustainability point of view”.

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It stressed that tyre warmers were not allowed in other series, including endurance racing, in a clear reference to the IMSA SportsCar Championship in North America.

The latest statement from the ACO pointed out the ban on tyre warmers was “introduced as part of a long-term WEC tyre road map, developed in consultation with tyre manufacturers, and has been in the works over the past two years”.

A 100% sustainable fuel supplied by WEC exclusive supplier TotalEnergies will be mandated for use in the ovens the teams use to pre-heat the tyres at Le Mans.

Rallying’s top flight has attempted to attract new marques in recent years, and this was one of the key objectives behind the introduction of its Rally1 hybrid regulations last year.

Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford committed to the new rule cycle until 2024, but the move to hybrid vehicles has so far yet to lure any additional manufacturers.

As Autosport reported last week, the WRC has identified three unnamed new marques with whom it is currently involved in discussions regarding potential future involvement in the championship.

But a potential hurdle is the fact the WRC’s longterm future pathway has yet to be announced. It is expected that an evolution of the Rally1 hybrid regulations, including an expanded use of hybrid power, will be adopted for 2025 and 2026.

The FIA is currently talking with manufacturers to understand which path to take beyond 2026, with the method of propulsion a vital element of the discussion. Hybrid, hydrogen and battery electric power are all being assessed.

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Hyundai driver Neuville made his view clear when responding to an Autosport social media post last week canvassing opinion as to which manufacturer fans would like to see join the world championship. The Belgian responded to the post saying: “Can the WRC Promoter and the FIA keep the current 2.5 manufacturers committed to the WRC?”

When asked by Autosport to expand on his tweet ahead of this weekend’s Rally Portugal, he said: “For my personal feeling, yes [the WRC is at a critical point].

 

“I am very long in rally now, I have a lot of experience. Personally I believe that obviously COVID has given a big hit to the WRC, for sure.

“Before COVID I would say it was reasonably okay, after COVID for me WRC went on the downhill slope. And I have the feeling like, nobody really realises it, how drastic it is.

“But as a driver you can feel it in terms of media attendance, I can feel it in Belgium. Nobody really cares about WRC anymore.

“I feel that the manufacturers’ involvement is not the same as it has been in the past. So there is a lot of things which gives it a feeling that yeah, we need to react.

“But not only this, we also see that Formula 1 is capable of changing the format, during the season, with the new format for the race in Baku with the qualifying on Friday.

“MotoGP is adding sprint races, and rally – there is no change. And we live in a time where nobody wants to follow anymore just cars driving through the forest. Yes it’s spectacular when you go and watch, but when you are on the TV it’s not the same.”

He added: “I never said that somebody [a manufacturer] is going to leave. But since how many years now nobody has joined, that’s already a fact. What years a manufacturers do, I don’t know. But for sure, I think they are willing to change some things.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“I think both, promoter, FIA and manufacturer. If you are putting a lot of money into a championship every year, every year, every year, you should get some return as well.”

Asked what he would like to see change to increase the WRC’s appeal, he added: “There’s a lot of things, but for me first of all what there should be are meetings to brainstorm about what would be good. I’m sure teams they have the feedback, they have those meetings, they will get the feedback.

“But sometimes drivers also has a good opinion and being within the sport for a long time, maybe considering sometimes drivers and teams will be helpful for the promotion of the championship.

“There are a lot of things which can be interesting. I don’t want to talk about it now, but yeah I have some ideas.”

The Honda rider collided with RNF Aprilia’s Miguel Oliveira at the opening grand prix of the season, for which he was given a double long lap penalty by the FIM stewards.

He was originally given the penalty for the Argentina GP, as per the FIM stewards’ notice, but soon after this was issued he withdrew from the event following surgery on a broken thumb.

The FIM subsequently re-issued its penalty, changing the wording to note that Marquez would have to serve it at the next round in which he participated.

Honda felt this change to the application of the penalty went against the regulations and lodged a protest with the stewards.

This was heard on the Thursday of the Argentina GP, before being referred to the FIM Court of Appeal.

Prior to the Spanish GP, the FIM Court of Appeal issued a stay of execution on the penalty while the matter was dealt with further – meaning, had Marquez been fit to race at Jerez, he would not have had to serve the punishment.

Now, well over a month after the incident, the FIM Court of Appeal has annulled the penalty as it feels his injury layoff – which has seen Marquez miss three rounds – has been punishment enough.

Miguel Oliveira, RNF MotoGP Racing, Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team crash

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

A statement from the FIM read: “Following the provisional decision of the MotoGP Court of Appeal pronounced on 12 April 2023 granting the stay of execution of the Application of the Sanction imposed on Marc Marquez, the Court still had to decide on the merits of the case considering inter alia the brief of appeal submitted by Marc Marquez and Team HRC – Repsol Honda Team on 17 April 2023.

“The Court decided to annul the Application of the Sanction imposed on Marc Marquez, which was issued by the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel in connection with the original sanction.

“The Court considered that the Double Long Lap Penalty imposed on Marc Marquez by the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel during the MotoGP Race of Portugal held on 26 March 2023 has been served by the non-participation of the Rider in the 2023 MotoGP Race of Argentina.

“Marc Marquez is hence allowed to compete in the next race in which he will be able to participate, without any further sanction.”

The full breakdown of the case by the FIM states the stewards told Marquez that his penalty would be deemed served if he was to miss Argentina due to injury, after he was told the punishment was only applicable to the Argentina GP during a meeting after his incident in Portugal.

That meeting took place on 26 March, the day of the Portuguese GP, while the revised penalty notice was issued on 28 March. On 29 March, Honda appealed the penalty on legal grounds.

On 30 March, an undated penalties protocol document was issued to all teams and riders outlining that only injuries and illness “unrelated” to an incident in question would lead to a punishment being deemed as served.

Marc Marquez, Respol Honda with a bandage

Photo by: Oriol Puigdemont

The full protocol reads: “The philosophy that the FIM MotoGP Stewards follow for the application of a penalty is that penalties must be effective and that the rider must serve the penalty at the next event of the championship where the rider participates in, even if it’s at the next season of the championship.

“However, if the rider does not participate at the next even due to a subsequent and unrelated (this part is emboldened and underlined in the document) injury of illness (not suffered during the incident itself), then the penalty is deemed to have been served and does not get postponed to subsequent events.

“Medical judgements are and must continue to be independent from disciplinary decisions.

“This exception for unrelated illness or injury is for two reasons; the FIM MotoGP Stewards deem that missing a race is a higher penalty imposed (e.g. long lap), and to avoid the situation that happened many times in the past where a rider started a race while injured with the sole purpose of completing the penalty, there by endangering themselves and other.”

Taking all of the above into consideration, the Court of Appeal felt Marquez and Honda withdrew from Argentina “in good faith” based on what they were told by the FIM stewards regarding the penalty.

While the penalties protocol was seen as useful for future incident by the Court, it ultimately decided what Marquez and Honda were originally told – and which was written by the stewards on 26 March – should have stood.

Honda is yet to react to the news, nor has it said whether Marquez will compete in this weekend’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans.

The Enstone-based squad found itself in the firing line from Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi over the Miami GP weekend, as he lashed out at its lack of results this year.

“I’m noting not only an obvious lack of performance and rigour in the delivery, but also potentially a state of mind that is not up to this team’s past standards,” Rossi told Canal+

Rossi also said he was far from impressed at the triple whammy of penalties Esteban Ocon earned in Bahrain, as well as the problems that marred the squad’s weekend in Baku.

“I did not like the first grand prix, because there was a lot of – I’m sorry for saying this – amateurishness, which led to a result that wasn’t right. It was mediocre, bad.

“And the last race in Baku was tremendously similar to the one in Bahrain. That is not acceptable.”

Despite the remarkable comments causing a stir, Szafnauer insists that he did not read any stories relating to the matter.

And, furthermore, he said that any such criticisms that are made public change absolutely nothing in terms of the determination inside the team to do better.

“Reading something like that on paper puts no more pressure [on us],” he said, when asked by Motorsport.com if there was a greater need to do better now.

“Everyone wants to do well here. We’re very well experienced, with technicians and engineers at the highest level, and we put pressure on ourselves. So, we just have to fix it.”

Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523

Photo by: Alpine

Szafnauer said that it did not take remarks from Rossi to make the team realise that it was not doing all that was expected of it this year.

“I saw that you wrote something because I saw the headline, but I haven’t had time to read it,” he said.

“But we underperformed in Baku. The drivers ran into each other in Australia, and I think at the first race, we had a myriad of penalties, starting with Esteban being out of place.

“It hasn’t been a smooth start to the season and maybe that’s why he made the comments. But I have to read them.”

Szafnauer said that the priority for the team was learning from everything that has gone wrong this year and make changes to processes and infrastructure to ensure no repeat.

“All we can do when we have issues like Baku is find and understand the root cause of why it happened, and make sure we either put the process or the people in place so that it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

“We had an engine fire on one side, and we’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen. And then we had some finger trouble on the other side. With finger trouble, once you understand how it happens, there’s ways to mitigate that. That’s what we’ll do. We’ve done it already. It didn’t happen here.”

Laurent Rossi, Alpine F1 Team CEO

Photo by: Alpine

Rossi’s remarks were clearly put out there to get a message across, although it is unclear what the immediate motivation was.

He could have been trying to deflect pressure away from himself, or they could be laying the groundwork for changes he is planning at the team.

Szafnauer said he had no direct understanding of why Rossi made the statement, but he did plan to find out.

He added: “I have no idea and you’ll have to ask him. I’ll be asking him. This weekend was so busy that I haven’t had a chance to discuss it.”

With just under 25 of 267 laps remaining in Sunday’s NASCAR contest, Hamlin worked his way around William Byron and set his sights on leader Larson.

With five laps to go, Hamlin got side-by-side with Larson for the lead but was forced to back off. On the final lap, Hamlin again got near Larson off Turn 2 and nudged Larson’s #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the left-rear, which knocked Larson into a hit against the wall.

Larson was able to keep going but Hamlin cleared him by 1.307 seconds to claim his first win of the 2023 season.

The win is the 49th of Hamlin’s NASCAR Cup career and ends a nearly year-long winless drought; his most recent victory coming last May in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

After doing a celebratory burnout on the front straight following his win, Hamlin was booed by the crowd as he exited his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to do his victory interview.

“I’m proud of this whole team. I got position on [Larson] there and I tried to side-draft him and clipped his left-rear,” Hamlin said. “I’m glad he was able to at least finish.”

Byron, who fell two laps down at one point in the race, rallied back to finish third, ahead of Bubba Wallace in fourth as Ross Chastain completed the top five to take the overall points lead.

Joey Logano took sixth ahead of Chase Elliott and winner last time out at Dover Martin Truex Jr, with Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon rounding out the top 10.

While Hamlin was celebrating his win, Noah Gragson grabbed Ross Chastain on pitroad and began pushing him repeatedly until Chastain struck Gragson in the face. The two were quickly separated by NASCAR officials.

Christopher Bell, points leader going into the Kansas race, crashed hard at Turn 2 in Stage 2 of the race to end his running prematurely.

NASCAR Cup – Kansas race results (267 laps)