James O'Connor, Author at Motorsport | Pit Debrief

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

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

Sainz, Magnussen and Stroll handed post-race penalties at the F1 Miami GP

James O'Connor10 months ago09 mins

Carlos Sainz has received a penalty for making contact with Oscar Piastri during the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. On lap 34, things got really close between the pair as they battled for P4. Sainz tried to go around the outside into turn 11 but was aggressively shown to the run off by the Aussie…

F1 Miami GP | Race | Lando Norris takes first F1 victory as he dominates following a Safety Car intervention

James O'Connor10 months ago10 months ago010 mins

13 of the top 14 started on mediums, with Lewis Hamilton starting on hards in P8. Alonso, Magnussen and Ricciardo also started on the white wall tyre. Valtteri Bottas was on softs in P15. Max Verstappen got a superb launch as Charles Leclerc got away poorly. Sainz passed his teammate on the run to turn…

There was “almost race management going on in your qualifying laps trying to keep the tyres alive” — Albon unimpressed with Pirelli F1 tyres at Miami GP

James O'Connor10 months ago10 months ago08 mins

Alex Albon starts P14 for the Miami Grand Prix as Williams continues to languish towards the back of the field this year. Only Sauber was slower on raw pace as Bottas and Guanyu got knocked out in Q1. The Thai driver was far from happy with how the tyres behaved in Shanghai. Once again, he…

Magnussen: Stewards need “the power to tell you to give it back or swap positions” to stop F1 drivers playing games after getting a penalty

James O'Connor10 months ago10 months ago08 mins

Kevin Magnussen is a name on the tongues of many in the F1 world this weekend as his defensive tactics caused quite a stir following the F1 Sprint at the Miami Grand Prix. The 2014 Australian Grand Prix podium finisher picked up 4 penalties in the 19-lap showdown as he had a massive fight with…

Ricciardo “obviously angry” with Q1 exit at F1 Miami GP as second set of soft tyres “didn’t have the grip”

James O'Connor10 months ago10 months ago08 mins

Daniel Ricciardo’s Saturday in Miami was the ultimate definition of a mixed bag.The Australian drove a superb Sprint to fend off Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri to claim a brilliant P4, his first points of the current campaign. However, come Grand Prix qualifying, everything changed. A complete lack of rear grip on his final lap…