Filipe Albuquerque once again pulled double duty across IMSA and the WEC with the WTR Andretti Acura LMDh and United Autosports LMP2 teams respectively. The Portuguese was a race winner in neither arena (though took a maximum points score behind a non-registered car in WEC), but as always was aContinue Reading
Second in qualifying at Suzuka of all places – the first time Oscar Piastri had visited the fearsome track – summed up why McLaren was so impressed with the rookie, who scored two podiums (and should have had another at Silverstone but for a safety car) and that excellent winContinue Reading
Matt Campbell took the big step up from GT racing to prototypes like a duck to water, dropping into the factory Penske-run Porsche 963 programme in the IMSA SportsCar Championship alongside Felipe Nasr.They finished fourth in points, scoring victory at Road America, and his switch to the team’s World EnduranceContinue Reading
Ott Tanak was rarely 100% comfortable driving the M-Sport Ford Puma following his shock switch from Hyundai, but the 2019 world champion still scored two WRC wins.The Puma wasn’t as heavily developed as its full factory Toyota and Hyundai rivals, but in Tanak’s hands it showed flashes of pace toContinue Reading
The 29-year-old third-generation driver for Team Penske didn’t look like a Cup championship contender early in the season. But when it counted the most – in the playoffs – Ryan Blaney and his #12 Ford team were at their best.Critical playoff wins at Talladega and Martinsville advanced him to theContinue Reading
Kamui Kobayashi again missed out on the big prizes in the WEC; neither the title nor a Le Mans win came his way in 2023. But he and team-mates Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez were the ‘winningest’ of the two Toyota line-ups, outscoring the champions 4-2. It should alsoContinue Reading
On qualifying performance, George Russell was 11-11 in the head-to-head against Lewis Hamilton, but the younger Briton was often outgunned by his more experienced Mercedes team-mate in the races. Overall, Russell termed 2023 as “one of the worst seasons of my career” as Mercedes failed to make the strides itContinue Reading
From the start of the year, Shane van Gisbergen made it crystal clear that he was no fan of the new Gen3 Supercar and, after disqualification from a season-opening win in Newcastle on a technicality, he was playing off the back foot all season.His third Bathurst 1000 win, while managingContinue Reading
GT specialist Laurens Vanthoor got his prototype chance with Porsche and Penske in the World Endurance Championship and grabbed it with both hands.He was consistently the quickest of the six drivers in the factory 963 LMDhs over the season. That’s all the more impressive given he’d only made three raceContinue Reading
The ageless enigma was once again a force to be reckoned with to finish runner-up in the IndyCar standings and prove the closest – yet still distant – threat to Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Alex Palou. The Kiwi waited until the 14th of 17 rounds to find Victory Lane, whichContinue Reading