James O'Connor, Author at Motorsport | Pit Debrief

F3 drivers Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne join McLaren Racing’s Driver Development programme

James O'Connor6 months ago04 mins

McLaren Racing has announced that Alex Dunne and Martinius Stenshorne have joined their Driver Development programme as the Woking-based squad continues to add to their roster. Dunne, aged 18, has risen through the ranks in impressive fashion. Despite missing the final round due to Italian F4 commitments, the Irishman from Offaly won the British F4…

Callum Ilott confirmed by Arrow McLaren to drive the #6 for the Indy 500

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago03 mins

British driver Callum Ilott has been confirmed to drive the number 6 Arrow McLaren at the Indy 500, with practice starting tomorrow ahead of qualifying this weekend as 33 cars will make the race that takes place on the 26th of May. Following the injury and dismissal of David Malukas from the team, Ilott will…

“Piece of fing s” Ericsson raced me “like an a**” on first lap of IndyCar Sonsio GP — Herta

James O'Connor6 months ago6 months ago05 mins

Andretti’s Colton Herta was very annoyed with teammate Marcus Ericsson following contact on the opening lap of the Sonsio GP yesterday afternoon. It had been a difficult Friday for the former championship leader as he qualified a miserable P24. The team failed to put enough fuel in his car to complete his final attempt, leaving…

F1 Miami GP “one of the most challenging races I’ve had” with Williams — Albon

James O'Connor7 months ago04 mins

Alex Albon’s difficult start to 2024 continued with a P18 finish at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend. The Thai driver was running in P14 when Williams decided to go aggressive on strategy that required a 47-lap stint on hards to make it to the end. The undercut did not pay off as the FW46…

Defending IndyCar champion Palou admits it “feels good” to take pole for Sonsio GP following practice difficulties

James O'Connor7 months ago7 months ago06 mins

Two-time and defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou will start the Sonsio GP on the Indy Road Course from P1 later today as he produced a superb turnaround in qualifying. The Spanish driver had looked to be struggling in practice, placing P17 and P11 in the two practice sessions as he struggled with his car. Come…

Sonsio GP | IndyCar FP2 | Lundgaard beats Power and Dixon to top spot in final practice

James O'Connor7 months ago7 months ago04 mins

In the opening five minutes, a 1:10.3623 from Arrow McLaren’s Theo Pourchaire saw him lead Fittipaldi, Palou, Rosenqvist and Canapino. Lundgaard, McLaughlin, Harvey, Grosjean and Blomqvist completed the top 10. The surprises continued at the top of the timesheets as ECR’s Christian Rasmussen slotted into 2nd, 0.06s slower than Pourchaire. Arrow McLaren started to flex…

Sargeant feels he had “generally been on the pace all weekend” before getting taken out by Magnussen in F1 Miami GP

James O'Connor7 months ago08 mins

Logan Sargeant’s first home race of the 2024 season ended in disappointment as he was involved in a collision with Kevin Magnussen on lap 28 at the Miami Grand Prix. The Floridan driver was having a good weekend in his home state, finishing a strong P10 in the Sprint as he used and managed the…

Theo Pourchaire to drive the number 6 Arrow McLaren for the rest of 2024 outside of the Indy 500

James O'Connor7 months ago7 months ago03 mins

France’s Theo Pourchaire will pilot the #6 Arrow McLaren for the remainder of the 2024 IndyCar season, aside from the 500 later this month. The 20-year-old Formula 2 champion had started out this year expecting to do a full Super Formula season out in Japan as he looked to get a seat on the F1…

Charles Leclerc to have a new F1 Race Engineer from Imola as Xavi Marcos moves into a new role

James O'Connor7 months ago7 months ago02 mins

There’s been a big change made by Scuderia Ferrari ahead of next weekend’s race trip to Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as Xavier Marcos Padros has left his role as Charles Leclerc’s race engineer. In a statement on Twitter, the Italian team confirmed that “Xavi Marcos will bring his valuable experience gained as…

Stella: McLaren knew they could fight for F1 Miami GP win as they gained “some important clues” in the opening laps

James O'Connor7 months ago011 mins

McLaren is basking in the glow of a memorable victory at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. Lando Norris secured the first win of his F1 career as the Woking-based squad took their first Grand Prix victory since Daniel Ricciardo’s at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Team boss Andrea Stella opened up on a…