All posts by Joey Barnes

Joey Barnes is the Founder of Motorsports Tribune. He has covered auto racing since 2013 that has spanned from Formula 1 to NASCAR, with coverage on IndyCar. Additionally, his work has appeared on Racer, IndyCar.com and Autoweek magazine. In 2017, he was recognized with an award in Spot News Writing by the National Motorsports Press Association.

It became known following a rough weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo is expected to run a new chassis for the Austrian Grand Prix. Ricciardo started ninth in the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but struggled with pace, finishing out of the points and settling for a disappointing 13th place finish. In an interview with the media yesterday, Ricciardo revealed that he is receiving a new chassis for the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix at Red Bull Ring. “It was my worst race,”Read More
After much speculation it was announced today that the McLaren-Honda team are allowed to race a shorter nose at the Austrian Grand Prix after passing a series of FIA crash tests. The new nose is expected to be a significant upgrade to the McLaren MP4-30. Even with several small adjustments since the start of the season, the Honda-powered team has struggled mightily with only one points scoring outing to date – Jenson Button secured four points by finishing 8th at Monaco. Two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso has yet toRead More
Roberto Merhi
The Manor F1 Team confirms that current driver Roberto Merhi is in no danger of losing his seat following the signing of Fabio Leimer for the reserve driver role. Leimer, the 2013 GP2 champion, was signed last week following the arrival of former Mercedes technical director Bob Bell, who was brought on as a team consultant for the remainder of the season. Merhi’s contract has been confirmed on a race-by-race basis since the Spanish Grand Prix, while teammate Will Stevens’ deal is through the end of the year. Graeme Lowdon,Read More
As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Gateway Motorsports Park, one rookie aims to climb back into the top 10 of the championship standings, Ray Black Jr. Black continues to fly under the radar, mostly unnoticed, but continues to fight and prove he belongs in one of NASCAR’s premier series. Earlier this season the 24-year-old rose up to on NASCAR’s biggest stage, Daytona International Speedway, to record a career best 5th place result. The true grit of the team continued to show throughout the season. At Dover, BlackRead More
After a stellar performance on Saturday for the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that saw Lotus F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado qualify 5th and 6th respectively, the team aims for its best outing in nearly two years. Grosjean finished third FP3 with a time of 1:16.772 behind Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen. The daunting number is how far the Lotus F1 team was behind the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS machine driven by Rosberg – exactly 1.112s back. Both squads are powered with Mercedes engines. Still, theRead More
Following a press conference at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Canadian Grand Prix, Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver Lewis Hamilton and Williams F1 Team driver Felipe Massa expressed their desire for an additional tire supplier in Formula 1. Pirelli became the official tire of F1 at the start of the 2011 season and has been unrivaled by another tire manufacturer since despite countless rumors or a second supplier entering the sport. The last time there was multiple tire suppliers in F1 was 2006. Michelin and Bridgestone rivaled each other for bestRead More
Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed in Turn 2 during opening practice for the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion was working on setups in race trim when the rear end of the #28 DHL Honda slid out, backing it into the wall. “I’m surprised,” said Hunter-Reay. “The car had a big understeer, a big push in it before that and I was behind two cars and all of a suddent the rear was just gone. I don’t know. We’re going to have toRead More
Manor F1
The Manor Marussia F1 Team added considerable depth to its technical and engineering departments. Bob Bell, former technical director for the Mercedes F1 team, has joined the Silverstone-based outfit as a technical consultant. Bell, a former team principal with the Renault F1 team, has had various other engineering roles at Benetton, Jordan and McLaren. Bell brings a wealth of experience, along with two constructors championships and will advise the team’s senior management in their quest to rebuild into a stronger team. With Technical Director John McQuilliam leading the way, theRead More
Sage Karam was knocked out in opening lap of the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 after contact with A.J. Foyt Racing’s Takuma Sato. The Chip Ganassi Racing Rookie of the Year candidate was clearly upset with Sato and voiced his opinion of the accident. “I don’t know what Sato’s doing. Kind of a bonehead move. He sees me and (Ryan) Hunter-Reay side by side and the first lap he’s trying to make it three-wide. I just don’t get it. “The track’s clean right now, it’s swept so there’s noRead More
Jeff Gordon ruled out any possibility on running next year’s 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 during a press conference this morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion was at the Brickyard because he is the pace car driver for today’s Indy 500. Gordon has amassed an incredible 92 wins to go along with his four titles, but says that the longtime dream of the Indy 500 is something that is missing in his career. “There is no doubt in my mind that one thing …Read More