James O'Connor, Author at Motorsport | Pit Debrief

“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'Connor10 months ago10 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'Connor10 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'Connor10 months ago10 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'Connor10 months ago10 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'Connor10 months ago10 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…

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

James O'Connor10 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'Connor10 months ago10 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'Connor10 months ago10 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'Connor10 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'Connor10 months ago10 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…