All posts by Joey Barnes

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The Sauber F1 Team will be hoping for a return to form in its 25th anniversary season competing in Formula 1, with the debut of the C36 as its challenger. With Manor now gone from the sport, many look to the Switzerland-based outfit as the cellar dwellers for 2017. Although the team is burdened with an older Ferrari power unit, the characteristics of the car matched with reliability from preseason testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya give reason to hope. Drivers                                                                                    No. 9 Marcus Ericcson (Sweden) No.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief With a long off-season in the books and the official Formula 1 season starting in just days, Sergio Perez is ready to go. The 27-year-old Mexican enters his seventh season (fourth with Sahara Force India) and believes that Australia is the perfect location for everything to kick off. “The first race of the year is always good fun,” said Perez. “We’ve had a long winter to recharge the batteries, but now I just want to go racing again. Australia is the best place to start theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Max Verstappen has spoken out and believes Red Bull Racing’s newest creation, the RB13, isn’t quick enough to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari once they take to the grid for the Australian Grand Prix next Sunday. Preseason testing showcased the Milton Keynes-based squad underwhelming, still contending around fourth overall on speed, but considerably behind its rivals. “We still have to wait and see how good we really are,” Verstappen told Dutch outlet De Telegraaf. “Personally, I don’t think we can fight for the win at the moment. MuchRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Following a strong preseason, Daniel Ricciardo has tabbed Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel as likely contenders to dethrone Mercedes. The Red Bull Racing driver told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he is hoping the pace shown by his former teammate’s Italian squad is legitimate. “From the first test day, Ferrari made a very good impression,” Ricciardo said. “I hope they keep it up because it would be nice if someone could fight Mercedes. They’ve improved a little of everything and they also seem to be very goodRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief McLaren announced the return of Mika Hakkinen to the team in a multi-year deal as a ‘partner ambassador’ role. The two-time Formula 1 champion (1998-99) piloted 130 grand prix for the Woking-based outfit, scoring 20 wins. The 48-year-old Finn competed nine years under McLaren and expressed his pleased he was to return to his “home.” “I’ve always considered McLaren to be my home in Formula 1, and I still have an enormous place in my heart for everyone in the team,” said Hakkinen. “Of course, theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The roster of talented drivers for Team Penske in both the Verizon IndyCar Series and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series prepared for a race of their own this week and it involved marshmallows and saying the words “chubby bunny.” It is as hilarious as it sounds as IndyCar drivers Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden were more than up to the task against NASCAR’s trio of Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. All in good fun as Easter is coming up, butRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Motor Speedway’s repave and reconfiguration are officially complete and on Monday, both NASCAR and IndyCar joined in on the fun. The 1.5-mile oval began the process in January with the aim to add extensive draining to help with its irrigation issues that plagued it the past few years. None more apparent than last year when IndyCar underwent a 70-plus day red flag rain delay, with the race being completed on August 27 in a thriller won by Graham Rahal by justRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief There are times in motorsports that you just need to sit back and appreciate the moment. Yesterday, we witnessed one of racing’s greatest champions remind the world of his capabilities and put everyone on notice that he’s still one of the best to ever compete in an Indy car. Every headline imaginable that would be perfect for a Hollywood movie took place on the streets of St. Petersburg. The ‘little team’ at Dale Coyne Racing that reunited a decade old all-star team and a former four-timeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief One of the most talked about newcomers to the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series, Colton Herta, paced the final few minutes of qualifying en route to his maiden pole for the second race of the St. Petersburg doubleheader weekend. The driver of the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Mazda set a time of 1 minute, 06.5465 seconds. Last year’s championship runner-up, Santi Urrutia, will start alongside Herta in his No. 5 Belardi Auto Racing Mazda/Dallara IL-15. Dalton Kellett occupies the third spot with rookie PatoRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Pato O’Ward will see his Mazda Road to Indy career continue for at least one more round as Team Pelfrey confirmed him in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires for spring training test at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the St. Petersburg season opener on March 10-12. The 17-year-old Mexican raced for Team Pelfrey last season, finishing runner-up in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires to then-teammate Aaron Telitz. O’Ward has enjoyed phenomenal success over the off-season, having claimed a Rolex 24 at Daytona win inRead More