All posts by Joey Barnes

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has announced J.R. Hildebrand as the pilot of their second entry for the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The 32-year-old Colorado native returns to the cockpit of the No. 67 Chevrolet with Salesforce as main sponsor. A nine-time veteran of the Indianapolis 500, this will mark the third consecutive year Hildebrand has run with DRR. Their previous two runs together saw finishes of 11th (2018) and 20th (2019). For Hildebrand, who earned Rookie of the Year honors after a runner-up finishRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Racing Point has confirmed Nico Hulkenberg will replace Sergio Perez for this weekend’s British Grand Prix. The 32-year-old German was called up by his former team after Perez tested positive for COVID-19. The team handled Hulkenberg’s seat fitting overnight at it’s factory near the Silverstone circuit. A blur of a last 24 hours, the focus now turns to his first Formula 1 appearance of the season. “I was on my way to the Nürburgring for another racing project when the call from Otmar (Szafnauer, team principal ofRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Sergio Perez will not be competing in this weekend’s British Grand Prix due to testing positive for COVID-19. The 30-year-old Mexican had an inconclusive first test and was self-isolating while awaiting results for a second tst, which confirmed he is the first Formula 1 driver to test positive for the coronavirus. “Following today’s announcement that Sergio Perez of the BWT Racing Point Formula 1 Team produced an inconclusive test result for COVID-19 at the Silverstone Circuit ahead of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix, theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The musical chairs have stopped for Carlos Sainz Jr. as he has been officially announced by Ferrari as their driver for the 2021 Formula 1 season. The 25-year-old Spaniard signed a two-year deal, which will see replace four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, who announced on Tuesday he will leave the team at the end of the year.  Alongside Charles Leclerc, 22, the iconic Italian outfit will have one of the youngest driver lineups on the grid. Additionally, it will also mark their youngest driver lineup sinceRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Daniel Ricciardo has been officially confirmed at McLaren for the 2021 Formula 1 season. The 30-year-old Australian will finish out the current year with Renault before replacing Carlos Sainz Jr. and teaming alongside Lando Norris at the Woking-based squad next year.  The announcement of Ricciardo to McLaren all but officially confirms Sainz will join Ferrari, who agreed on Tuesday to part ways with four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel at the end of 2020.  Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, believes that signing Ricciardo will continue toRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Scuderia Toro Rosso will keep its current driver lineup of Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat through the 2020 Formula 1 season. Gasly began the year with senior team outfit Red Bull Racing, but was relegated in a seat swap after the summer break with Alex Albon. Although Gasly has only been with the team for the past seven races, he has scored points in four of them, and doubled the point total (14-7) of teammate Kvyat over that span. Despite recent underwhelming run of form, KvyatRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Aston Martin Red Bull Racing will keep its current driver lineup together after announcing Alex Albon will return alongside Max Verstappen for the 2020 Formula 1 season. The 23-year-old was promoted up from Toro Rosso following the summer break, swapping places with Pierre Gasly. Since then, Albon has put together a stout run by finishing in the top six in each of the seven races, including a career-best fourth-place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix. While the sample size is small, it was enough for teamRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Alfa Romeo Racing announced it has retained Antonio Giovinazzi for the 2020 season in Formula 1. The 25-year-old Italian has scored points on three occasions in 2019, with the first coming at the Austrian Grand Prix in June. Additionally, he has proved competitive in qualifying against teammate and 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen. “I am very happy to be staying with the team for 2020,” Giovinazzi said. “I am grateful for the incredible level of support I received in my first full season in Formula One:Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas — Martin Truex Jr. has sights set on changing his winless record at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. The driver of the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing comes in with plenty of momentum after winning last weekend at Martinsville Speedway, which locked him into the Championship 4 for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. However, with two races remaining until he can battle for the title, the focus turns to this weekend at the 1.5-mile Texas oval. It remains oneRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Renault announced changes within their aerodynamic department with eyes already on the 2020 season. The team reached a “mutually agreement” to part ways with immediate effect with Peter Machin, who previously served as the head of aerodynamics. In turn, Dirk de Beer, returns to the team and takes over the role after stops at Williams and Ferrari. Additionally, Vince Todd will serve as the deputy head of aerodynamics on an interim basis for the remainder of 2019 with the permanent replacement for next season to beRead More