James O'Connor, Author at Motorsport | Pit Debrief

Indy 500 | Qualifying | Scott McLaughlin fastest as Kyle Larson books a spot in the Fast 6

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago04 mins

Ryan Hunter-Reay went first and his average was 230.567mph. 231.440mph, 230.118mph, 230.197mph, 230.519mph was the speed on his four laps. Rinus VeeKay was next following his extraordinary Saturday. His average was 232.610mph. 233.499mph, 232.777mph, 232.194mph, 231.975mph was the speed on his four laps. Pato O’Ward was third out and his average was 232.584mph as he…

Vasseur “a bit frustrated” as he feels Scuderia Ferrari could have won F1 Imola GP if they started from pole

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago07 mins

Ferrari had a pretty good weekend on home soil as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished P3 and P5 in the Imola Grand Prix. Leclerc finished 7.9s away from race winner Max Verstappen in the 63-lap contest as Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull were very close on pace in Sunday’s race. Speaking post-race, Ferrari boss…

F1 | Imola GP | Race | Verstappen holds off a rampaging Norris to take crucial victory

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago09 mins

Fernando Alonso started from pit lane as Aston Martin made changes to his car following a nightmare Saturday for the Spaniard. The top 10 started on mediums, with Perez, Guanyu and Sargeant picking the hards. Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso went for softs. Verstappen and Norris got away very evenly but the Dutchman held the…

“We seem to find slightly more” — Stella says updated package for MCL38 faster on track than predicted in the simulations

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago09 mins

McLaren’s massive upgrade continues to impress as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were P2 and P3 in qualifying for Sunday’s Imola Grand Prix, before the Australian was handed a 3-place grid drop for blocking Kevin Magnussen in Q1. Combining Norris and Piastri’s best sectors, McLaren had the fastest car in qualifying by a small fraction….

F1 | Imola GP | Qualifying | Verstappen pips Piastri and Norris to pole in exhilarating session

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago07 mins

Q1 Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and George Russell were on mediums to start qualifying. The Brit did pit at the end of his push lap and did not post a time. The Alpine of Esteban Ocon logged a 1:16.645 to kick things off, leading Magnussen, Sargeant, Gasly and Hülkenberg. On the mediums, a 1:16.463 from…

“Still a lot of work for us to do” — Leclerc keeping his feet on the ground after going fastest in FP1 and FP2 at F1 Imola GP

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago06 mins

Ferrari went fastest in FP1 and FP2 as the hugely popular Charles Leclerc pleased the Tifosi in both Friday sessions. The 26-year-old was 0.104s quicker than George Russell in opening practice, and he backed it up in FP2 by outpacing Oscar Piastri by 0.192s. The Scuderia has brought sizeable updates to Imola. Changes have been…

“Bad”, “not comfortable” and “severely off the pace” — Verstappen’s withering assessment of Red Bull’s Friday at F1 Imola GP

James O'Connor6 months ago06 mins

Max Verstappen had his most difficult day in quite some time as he had numerous adventures through the grass and gravel on the opening day of running ahead of the Imola Grand Prix. He was looking fast in FP1 through the first sector but had separate moments at turns 12 and the turn 14/15 chicane…

F2 | Imola GP | Qualifying | Bortoleto takes pole as lap time deletions dominante

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago04 mins

Championship leader Zane Maloney posted the first big time of the session with a 1:28.496. Bearman bested that initially, before Durksen and then Bortoleto went top of the charts with a 1:28.044. The Brazilian led Hadjar, Durksen, Aron and Bearman after the opening attempts. Marti had a massive snap in turn 3 as he ended…

F3 | Imola GP | Qualifying | Santiago Ramos takes pole as Trident bag 1-2-3

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago03 mins

Nikola Tsolov and Callum Voisin headed into qualifying with 3-place grid penalties hanging over their heads as both went too fast under the red flags during practice. Tim Tramnitz logged a 1:32.978 to post the first proper time in qualifying. However, his time was removed. Home hero Leonardo Fornaroli would take over as he did…

Indy 500 | IndyCar Practice 4 | O’Ward fastest on the speed charts as Ericsson and Lundqvist walk away from big crashes

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago06 mins

Arrow McLaren went out very early to try some qualifying sims, with Alexander Rossi leading Hunter-Reay, Ilott, O’Ward and Canapino in the opening minutes. However, O’Ward, who has been incredibly fast at the 500 over the last couple of years, quickly went to the top as he put down a 228.861mph lap. McLaughlin, Palou, Newgarden…