Motorsports
Ferrari blames backmarkers ignoring blue flags for lost 1-2
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur believes that Formula 1’s backmarkers disobeying blue flags ultimately cost Charles Leclerc second in the Mexico Grand Prix.
Leclerc had a gap of over three seconds to Lando Norris going into the final 15 laps of the 71-lap affair at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez but had to watch his advantage dissipate when the two started to lap traffic – encountering Lance Stroll, Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto.
The Monegasque then cleared the now-lapped with about half of that initial advantage, which Norris was able to close down and begin applying pressure. Leclerc then went wide at the Peraltada at the end of lap 62 and saved his Ferrari from succumbing to a snap of oversteer – which let Norris through.
Vasseur disagreed with an assessment that Norris was faster in the closing stages, stating that Leclerc lost time and tyre temperature wrangling with the traffic – particularly Stroll, behind whom Leclerc lost most of his advantage.
“It’s your analysis [Norris was faster] but I’m not really aligned. I think that Charles had good pace, but we lost three seconds with the guys who were blue-flagged,” Vasseur explained.
“And we also lost a lot of temperature in the tyres at this stage and he made a mistake, but I think from the beginning, the race was under control.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“Charles was not happy yesterday with P3 or P4, but still today he did a good race. I’m a bit upset with the story with the blue flag, it cost us P2. But at the end of the day, it is like it is, but we have to be focused now on the next one and forget this one.
“When you do five corners when the guy has a solid blue, it’s not unfortunate. It’s a mistake of the guy.”
Elaborating further when speaking to Sky Sports F1, Vasseur stated that “[Leclerc] lost three or four seconds into the traffic with some idiots. Norris came back, Charles pushed a bit too much. Perhaps he lost also a little bit of temperature in the tyres when he was with these guys.
“Honestly, they have to respect the blue flag and I don’t understand why the FIA didn’t give them a penalty. We had four seconds on Norris. And after the three guys, we were 1.2 or 1.3 ahead.”
Leclerc suggested that he had “no chance” of beating Norris when the McLaren driver began to close, stating that his clash with Max Verstappen had helped Ferrari build something of a buffer.
“Lando was flying, and I think as a team, we’ve been pretty lucky that whatever happened with Max and Lando at the beginning of the race, slowed him down massively.
“His second stint was very, very impressive. On my side, there was no way that I could stay in front. I knew that it would be very difficult.
“I knew that I had to have an incredible exit out of the last corner, so I tried to put everything to have a really good exit, went over the limit, lost the car and lost the position, but I felt it was a question of laps or corners before I lost that position.”
Motorsports
“Little kid drove his ass off”
NBA legend Michael Jordan is a longtime NASCAR fan, but he only became an owner in 2021. Since then, the team known as 23XI Racing has won Cup races with Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Tyler Reddick.
But they’ve never been part of the Championship 4 — until now. Jordan was in attendance on Sunday, watching on nervously as Reddick charged from third to first over the course of the final lap, stunning his rivals and securing the victory.
As MJ headed over to the finish line to celebrate with his driver, he praised the crew chief for the aggressive call that put Reddick in position to win the race. Reddick had run longer than any other driver on fuel, pitting with 15 laps to go. Within three laps, the caution flew when the leaders tangled and Reddick stayed out on slightly older tires. Somehow, he made it work.
Race winner Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota Camry
Photo by: Ben Earp / NKP / Motorsport Images
“Billy [Scott] made a call,” said Jordan. “Looked a little scared because we were going to run out of gas. Anything could happen. As you could see, Denny [Hamlin] was up there. Little kid [Reddick] drove his ass off. I’m proud of him.”
And his thoughts on that last-lap charge? “Oh, man, he just let go. He just went for it and I’m glad. We needed it. We needed it.”
MJ finally caught up to Reddick mid-interview, lifting him up off the ground as they embraced. “Yeah baby! Good job, kid,” he exclaimed.
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota Camry, Michael Jordan
Photo by: NASCAR Media
Reddick has never won a Cup title before and now he’ll get the chance to race for one with the full backing of one of the biggest stars in sports. “It’s special, man,” said Reddick. “He’s dedicated a lot of his time, his efforts, his money into elevating 23XI to where it is right now. He’s fully committed to this team, to our organization.
“To be able to reward him with the days like we had today, it’s a true honor. It was really cool to see how happy he was. We’re all very happy about it.
“He believed in me. He believes in this team. The people, him, Denny, everybody else, has put together to create what 23XI is. He’s put a lot towards it. It’s really cool in these critical moments to be able to deliver for him and for everybody else that’s a part of the team.
Reddick has now delivered the basketball icon five of his eight NASCAR Cup wins as an owner since joining the team at the beginning of last year, but now, he’ll have the opportunity to get MJ the biggest prize of them all — the Bill France Cup.
Motorsports
Colapinto dismisses 2025 RB F1 rumours after Mexico GP
Williams driver Franco Colapinto has dismissed rumours he is in the frame for a seat at Red Bull’s RB Formula 1 team, suggesting he will be on the sidelines in 2025.
Colapinto wowed the F1 paddock with his strong performances and calm attitude as a mid-season replacement for Logan Sargeant at Williams. In his five races thus far, the Argentinian scored five points and never finished lower than 12th, with another combative display at Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix going unrewarded.
There is no room for Colapinto as a regular driver at Williams next year, with the team having already signed Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who won Sunday’s grand prix, to slot in alongside Alex Albon.
But the 21-year-old’s form has turned enough heads for him to be considered at Sauber and at Red Bull, which may have a slot at its RB team for Colapinto to slot into.
But while there have been casual talks between Williams and Red Bull, with Williams team boss James Vowles willing to loan his reserve driver out, Colapinto has dismissed suggestions he could be on the F1 grid next year.
“No, at the moment, I don’t understand much of what they are talking about. I don’t know from where it came from,” Colapinto told F1 TV.
“I don’t have any seat for next year, and at the moment, I’m not racing Formula 1. I’m probably going to be racing somewhere else.
“So look, it’s going to be maybe a year that I’m not going to be here, but I hope to be showing that I deserve a seat here enough to come back in ’26 or ’27. It is my goal, and it’s why I’m doing what I can race after race.
Franco Colapinto, Williams Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“That’s why [after qualifying] I was disappointed with the result and just trying to do my best session after session to try and show I deserve to be here.”
While Red Bull is understood to have some interest in Colapinto, driver advisor Helmut Marko suggested the team is not keen on taking outside drivers on loan when it has its own junior programme, with F2 frontrunner Isack Hadjar also waiting in the wings.
“The problem with him is that he has a long-term contract with Williams,” the Austrian told the Kleine Zeitung. “[Taking him on loan] is not interesting for any team. You do not want to train a driver for another team.”
On the subject of potentially loaning Colapinto to RB, Vowles added: “I think in all of these things at the moment, let’s start with the basics.
“He has earned his place on the grid, and what we want to help with that is finding him a place in that regard.
“What it looks like, I can’t tell you at the moment, because A, it’s very sensitive, and B, there’s really not a lot to discuss right now. “
Motorsports
Seven things we learned at the 2024 Mexico Grand Prix
Another weekend, another Ferrari win overshadowed by a squabble between title contenders. Carlos Sainz’s crushing dominance of proceedings in Mexico fulfilled his prime objective of picking up at least one more win before leaving Ferrari at the end of 2024, but his presence on the TV screens was distinctly secondary to replays of Max Verstappen earning two 10-second penalties within four corners. His racecraft, or lack thereof, at least disrupted Lando Norris’ race enough to deny the McLaren driver a chance of properly challenging Sainz.
Tempers ran hot in Mexico City’s high altitudes; perhaps the 22% reduction in air density limited the oxygen entering the drivers’ brains and led to moments of rashness and brilliance in equal measure. Both of those were evident in Charles Leclerc’s second place-losing snap at the Peraltada: he overstretched trying to defend from Norris and almost careened into the wall, but cat-like reflexes led him to gather up the wayward Ferrari and save the day from his own over-ambition.
Just four races now remain to decide the outcome of 2024. We’ve learned a lot this weekend, but we’ve selected the biggest-ticket items for your reading pleasure.
1. Verstappen’s still got it – ‘it’ being questionable tactics
Verstappen caught the ire of the stewards for a pair of lap 10 incidents with Norris
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
There’s always been a suggestion that Verstappen races Norris very differently, a suggestion that Verstappen has flatly denied. He had to contend with the same accusations when it came to dealing with Lewis Hamilton in 2021, and the Turn 4 Brazil incident buttered few parsnips in a contentious championship battle.
But Mexico proved that, indeed, Verstappen takes significantly greater liberties when pitted against his immediate championship rival. Let’s compare: when Sainz passed at Turn 1, Verstappen didn’t really defend at all. He instead attempted to gain the switchback into Turns 2 and 3, moves that Sainz was wise to and ensured that he covered off. Perhaps Verstappen had the sense that the Ferrari was going to pass him anyway, or had an inkling that he might be able to outfox his rival immediately after.
The Turn 4 and Turn 7/8 scenarios with Norris are different, but nonetheless tend to occupy the grey areas in the etiquette stakes. The latter of the two was arguably the more bonkers scenario; a wilful disregard for any regulatory framework was demonstrated by Verstappen just deciding to drive Norris off the road and make the overtake, banking on the McLaren driver to back up.
This isn’t a plea for Verstappen to change his driving, because he won’t (and he certainly should not be taking advice from this writer). Everyone wants to see hard-but-fair racing, as demonstrated by the Mercedes duo, and Verstappen CAN do that. But there’s a conspicuous itch at the back of his neck when he sees a rival in his mirrors – and sometimes, he feels he’s just got to scratch it.
2. Norris must keep forcing Verstappen to over-defend
Norris forced Verstappen’s hand in Mexico
Photo by: Mark Sutton
The coda to the opening “thing” is this: if Verstappen decides to continue as he is, then Norris must find a way to exploit it – and there seemed to be signs he was figuring out how to do that in Mexico. Austin’s dramas exposed the pitfalls of the racing guidelines – but in a sense, served to reinforce them with no immediate changes made to the rulebook. Turn 4 is the case in point: with the be-alongside-at-the-apex rule clarified, Norris knew he had to be there when mounting a challenge to Verstappen. The charge around the outside was a gamble, but this was no different to Verstappen’s delicate touch on the brakes at COTA’s Turn 12. In both cases, the drivers earned themselves space.
This put Verstappen in the position where he had to either accept Norris had the inside line for Turn 5, or simply run his championship rival out of road. He chose the latter.
Norris, who had cut across the grass and briefly sat in the lead, let Sainz go back through. Verstappen, who felt Norris had passed him off-track, probably expected to also be let through. When he wasn’t, he was in the position where he either waited it out and asked for his team to intervene, or simply run his championship rival out of the road. He chose the latter.
This is an exploitable weakness: trying to draw the foul (while ensuring nothing injurious to his own race) might be a solid tactic for Norris to try next time he’s in close quarters with his title rival. Closing a 47 point deficit with four races remaining is a tough ask, but playing Verstappen against himself might be the best way to dent his title charge. Getting the apex at Brazil’s Turn 4 might be a good place to start…
3. Ferrari has developed itself out of mid-season hole
Ferrari are hunting McLaren in a thrilling battle for constructors’ championship honours
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Ferrari’s team principal Fred Vasseur has been delighted by the Verstappen/Norris horn-locking so far. Not because it’s helped Ferrari chalk up a second win on the bounce, and not because the mirthful Frenchman just really loves drama: it’s because it has put a team that has won the past two races completely – his words – under the radar. The Prancing Horse has now overtaken Red Bull for second in the constructors’ championship and sits just 29 points behind McLaren with four to go.
More encouragingly for the scarlet squad, the performance injected into its SF-24 for the Monza race appears to have stuck around. Ferrari had pinned its hopes on a floor upgrade that hoped to arrest a mid-season slump, precipitated by two previous upgrades’ exacerbation of mid-corner bouncing. With an uptick in performances across the Monza, Baku, and Singapore races, Ferrari knew its updated car’s oeuvre was missing a test on a circuit with both ‘normal’ levels of downforce and high-speed corners. The team’s domination at Austin rather ticked that off the list.
Mexico seemed to cement the notion that Ferrari has pulled itself out of that mid-season mire. Like McLaren, it is now regularly outpacing Red Bull; the orange and red cars will likely battle fiercely over the constructors’ crown. And let’s give Sainz his flowers because his weekend in Mexico was pretty much flawless. Even with Lewis Hamilton coming into the team, the Spaniard’s diligence and consistency will be missed at Maranello.
4. In the final stint, Magnussen was the quickest non-Ferrari/McLaren/Mercedes car
On his way out of F1 at the end of the season, Magnussen put in one of his performances of the year to leave a strong impression
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
When Verstappen came out of the pits after serving his 20-second penalty for what one might charitably describe as indiscretions, his Red Bull once again demonstrated an allergy to the harder compounds of Pirelli rubber. Once he’d cut through the midfielders, his progress flat-lined and the arrears to the Mercedes grew to between 10 and 11 seconds.
Halfway through the final stint, Verstappen’s advantage over Kevin Magnussen was shrinking. It wasn’t being scythed down at a particularly rapid rate – a tenth here, a couple of tenths there per lap – but it was evident that the Haas driver was making inroads nonetheless. And he needed to, since the recovering Oscar Piastri was out for blood behind him. The Australian was also beginning to make progress as the race moved towards its final act, having dispatched Nico Hulkenberg to claim eighth.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Haas hasn’t quite worked for Magnussen; even this year’s markedly improved design has been tricky for the Dane to work with. Recent upgrades appear to be giving him what he needs to shine and, if this is it for his F1 career at the end of the year, he appears to have the ammunition required to end on a high. With seventh at Mexico, and Hulkenberg taking ninth despite feeling ill at ease with the VF-24, Haas has taken a big step towards sixth in the constructors’ championship.
5. Perez has Lawson under his skin
Lawson and Perez are widely viewed to be battling it out for the second Red Bull 2025 seat
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“I think the way he has come to Formula 1, I don’t think he has the right attitude for it. He needs to be a bit more humble. You know, when a two-time world champion[Fernando Alonso] was saying things last weekend, he completely ignored him. It’s like when you come to Formula 1, you’re obviously very hungry and so on, but you have to be as well respectful off track and on track.”
This was Sergio Perez’s damning indictment of Liam Lawson, one driven by a battle through Turns 4 and 5 that spilled over into ill-temperedness. Lawson felt that Perez had pushed him off at Turn 4, and kept his nose to the inside for the next corner; Perez tried to close him off, and this led to contact that punched a hole in Perez’s sidepod and nibbled at his floor.
Feeling hot under the collar, Sergio? Lawson has been heavily linked to Perez’s Red Bull seat for 2025, so perhaps the verbal equivalent of a two-footed challenge in the penalty box might have been fuelled by the pressure that the Kiwi has already started to exert on the Mexican driver. And that’s the sort of doubt you’d try to precipitate if you were under pressure: “Yeah, it’s not going well for me, but I don’t think this other guy has the temperament…”
Does Lawson really need to be “more humble”, or was Perez expecting the still-inexperienced New Zealander to jump out of his way?
6. Red Bull spoke to quadricentennial Alonso over 2024 seat
Alonso at Red Bull? It could have happened.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The less said about Fernando Alonso’s 400th race weekend, the better – the Spaniard was ill on Thursday, and lasted just 15 laps before pulling into his with debris in his front-left brake duct. At least the stattos will be happy he’s got the opportunity to do a ‘proper’ 400th grand prix celebration in Qatar…
There was a non-zero chance that Alonso’s 2024 season could have been upgraded had talks with Red Bull gone a slightly different way; as Perez’s form declined during 2023, Red Bull considered other options – and Alonso contemplated a switch from Aston Martin despite the Silverstone squad’s strong start to the year.
“At that time, Sergio’s contract hadn’t been extended, so as Fernando is a seasoned operator, he always wants to know all of his options. Between him and his manager or advisor of many years, Flavio [Briatore], they’re always testing the market, and it just shows how hungry and competitive he is,” Christian Horner explained.
“He’s still delivering at 42 years of age, or 43. He’s still in great shape and it just shows that age is just a number. He’s still a very, very capable grand prix driver and given the tools, I’m sure he’d be at the front.”
Horner also noted the sticking point between Alonso and Red Bull in talks for 2009, stating that the two-time champion only wanted a one-year deal while a minimum of two years was on offer. “We were convinced he had a Ferrari contract in his back pocket at that point, so we didn’t get to a deal.”
7. The world of F1 racing guidelines remains murky
Does anyone fully understand the rules?
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
So, what are the rules? How are drivers expected to race each other without fear of repercussions or reprisal? Will the stewards and drivers agree on the guidelines and waltz happily together into a more prosperous age of on-track combat?
Ha, no chance – even if GPDA director George Russell says “19 out of 20 drivers” are aligned with the stewards on what the racing guidelines should be, these need to walk the line perfectly. Over-legislate, and drivers might not feel empowered to take a few risks. Under-legislate, and this will create exploitable grey areas that might work to the letter of the law but completely disavow the spirit of F1 competition. As of yet, there has been no compelling suggestion that could work going forward.
Getting rid of the guidelines entirely could be ruinous. The stewards need to have a framework to penalise against, and a catch-all “did a bad thing” article in the sporting regulations would be completely open to interpretation and a lack of consistency.
Permanent stewards might work for consistency, but one could cynically suggest that the ‘wrong’ combination could be open to corruption more than a rotating cast.
It’s often better to come up with a solution and make it the right one, rather than only act when the right solution presents itself, but sometimes it’s okay for the stewards to be given more time. The penalties granted to the Verstappen incidents in Mexico were a step forward, but these were arguably more clear-cut than the Austin contretemps; for incidents like that, a deeper look into driver traces might be preferable – even if it’s deemed that the wrong driver stood on the podium.
Four F1 weekends remain, and nothing is settled yet!
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Motorsports
The spotlight already on KTM as Acosta’s star shines brighter
As the curtain twitches in readiness for it being brought down on another season of MotoGP action, even with two rounds remaining it certainly isn’t premature to brand Pedro Acosta’s rookie campaign a roaring success.
It’s a statement that could justly hang on the strength of results alone, his five trips to the grand prix podium, four sprint top-three finishes and Japanese GP pole position at the very least ensuring some TV time for those sponsors that didn’t default to Ducati – thoughts and prayers to the others that sided with Honda and Yamaha.
More than that though, while he may be the only fresh face on the grid this year, in some ways it feels as though he has been around for much longer.
Granted this could be a trick of the mind permeated by that fresh face having received plenty of attention prior to his MotoGP graduation or because it’s easy to mistake his GasGas KTM Tech3 machine for a Ducati from a certain distance, but it’s also primarily a measure of how at home he has appeared in MotoGP since day one. Indeed, some quick turns out of the box in pre-season testing was enough for Acosta to skip the recipe instructions and get stuck into the mix.
The same was on show in Thailand where, in his first fully wet MotoGP race, Acosta learnt on the job to power to the podium only behind title fighters Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin.
“I was struggling a lot to warm up the brake disks and, I don’t know why but since I am in MotoGP, it is taking me a bit more time compared to, for example, Jack and Brad,” Acosta said after the race. “Also I was not having the best feeling with the rear tyre, out of Turns 5 and 6 I was spinning a lot and it was like riding on ice. It was quite tough to analyse in my head.
Acosta’s late-race charge in Thailand saw him return to the podium
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I started to push to take out everything and it was quite tough at the beginning, also I ran wide at Turn 3 and Turn 1, but it is true that with five or six laps to go it was like I pulled a switch and I started to go fast. It is difficult to understand, but we were in the right direction.”
It’s therefore little wonder Acosta will graduate to full factory orange for 2025 as part of KTM’s line-up alongside Brad Binder, though the jury is perhaps still out on whether the promotion is more symbolic than reward in performance terms.
At the very least, Acosta’s switch will give KTM pride – and possibly a touch of smugness – at seeing the fruits of its investment in the youngster reap rewards, not least because it puts some faith back into the firm’s esteemed junior development after misfiring with Remy Gardner, Raul Fernandez and Augusto Fernandez in recent seasons. But next season will see a turning of the tables that will shift the onus back towards KTM to reward Acosta with his investment in the manufacturer for taking him onto the next step, or more accurately the top step of the podium.
While KTM has provided the platform to get Acosta to MotoGP, it is now up to the manufacturer to springboard him towards race victories he is evidently capable of achieving
Acosta has also conceded he has to “bite my tongue” and bank finishes in order to gain race data and experience with an eye on the future – having crashed out of the Thailand sprint race to go alongside his two grands prix crashes at each Misano round, the Japanese GP main race and the Australian GP sprint which ruled him out of the next day’s full-distance event.
“I have to focus on finishing races even if I have to bite my tongue and finish fifth,” Acosta said after crashing out of the Thailand sprint on Saturday. “Many times we are at a point where we push and we don’t crash because that’s the way it goes, and many other days we push to be with them [Ducati] and we crash. Now the goal is to finish races, which will be important to start well next year.”
It’s by no means a foregone conclusion either. While KTM has readily earmarked itself as a familiar frontrunner ever since its breakthrough season in 2020, it hasn’t been matched with so much race-winning silverware.
KTM’s last grand prix win came two years ago in Thailand
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Miguel Oliveira brought about its most recent win at the 2022 Thailand GP, this weekend marking an unhappy two-year anniversary, and while he achieved four of KTM’s six victories to date, his form elsewhere was patchy. Binder on the other hand – winner of the other two – has established himself as a steadfast racer rather than an out-and-out contender for victories each weekend.
Of greater concern however is that while KTM has avoided the slump in competitiveness experienced by Honda and Yamaha, it has made only modest progress over the past four seasons amid a deluge of well proven Ducati bikes.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed, of course, with the big axe being wielded at a senior level to remove Francesco Guidotti a year before his contract expires. In his place comes Aki Ajo, a shrewd choice with impressive credentials cultivated by his eponymous team’s success in Moto2 and Moto3. More importantly, however, he is someone who shared KTM’s vision for Acosta long before he reached the heady heights of MotoGP.
Even so, while KTM has provided the platform to get Acosta to MotoGP, it is now up to the manufacturer to springboard him towards race victories he is evidently capable of achieving.
This brings us to another more engaging trait of Acosta’s: His ambition. Indeed, for all of his confident swagger on track, Acosta exerts similarly bolshie determination off it.
For a manufacturer not adverse to the odd contractual bungle, credit then to Acosta for being the one to issue the ultimatum of a guaranteed KTM seat in 2024 or he’d head elsewhere. While KTM sensibly bowed to his demand, it’s indicative of the issues it may face in the future in retaining him if it can’t find those precious few tenths that will make the difference between victory and making up the numbers in MotoGP.
For the most part though, KTM isn’t prepared to rest on its laurels for 2025. In addition to Ajo’s appointment, there is talk Dani Pedrosa will assume a more senior management role in addition to continuing to provide his invaluable development intel.
Can Acosta reuniting with team boss Ajo provide KTM a spark to reignite its MotoGP form?
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Plus, while Tech3’s new line-up of Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini is at odds with KTM’s desire to promote young talent, their experience and success with other manufacturers ensures the Austrian firm has arguably the most intriguing rider line-up among its four riders.
No rider is bigger than the team it races for but in this case, KTM is very aware of the potential it has racing with Acosta.
As for whether KTM has the ability to realise Acosta’s full potential? That remains the lingering question mark…
Can KTM provide Acosta and co with the bike to fight Ducati in 2025?
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Motorsports
Toyota to fight for WRC title without Rovanpera in Japan
Toyota will fight for the World Rally Championship manufacturers’ crown at Rally Japan season decider without Kalle Rovanpera.
Rally Japan has released its entry list for next month’s (21-24 November) title decider confirming that Toyota will field three GR Yaris Rally1 entries.
Toyota’s bid to overhaul Hyundai and claim a fourth consecutive WRC manufacturers’ crown will be led by full-time drivers Elfyn Evans and home hero Takamoto Katsuta, while the third car will be piloted by eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier.
Two-time world champion Rovanpera will be absent from the Japanese team’s roster at its home event as the Finn has completed the half-season of events he was contracted to contest this year.
After claiming back-to-back world titles last year, the Finn opted to scale back to a partial campaign this year ahead of a full-time return in 2025. Rovanpera has contested seven of the 13 events this season, taking four wins in Kenya, Poland, Latvia and Chile to boost Toyota’s championship hopes.
Toyota will head to Japan facing a 15-point deficit to rivals Hyundai as the Korean marque aims to seal its first manufacturers’ crowns since 2020.
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
Hyundai will also field its customary three i20 N Rally1 entries driven by Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak, who will contest the drivers’ title, with the former holding a 25-point lead.
The third car will be driven by Andreas Mikkelsen in what will be his fifth event of the season.
M-Sport-Ford will field a pair of Puma Rally1 cars for Adrien Fourmaux and Gregoire Munster.
A total of 44 cars will tackle the event which will also decide the WRC2 title. Toyota’s Sami Pajari needed to finish first or second to beat current points leader Oliver Solberg to the crown.
World champion Auriol to make WRC return
Japan will also mark the return of 1994 world champion Didier Auriol, who will compete in a WRC event for the first time since the 2005 Monte Carlo Rally.
Auriol will drive a modified road-going Toyota GR Yaris prepared by Japanese team Fit-Easy Racing and will compete in the national class, driving alongside long-time co-driver Denis Giraudet.
The Frenchman’s WRC return arrives 30 years after he guided a Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 to the 1994 WRC title with co-driver Bernard Occelli.
Motorsports
Lawson apologises for giving Perez the middle finger at F1’s Mexico GP
Liam Lawson has apologised to Sergio Perez for showing him the middle finger during their intense battle in Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix.
The New Zealander came to blows with his rival at Turn 4 on lap 19 where, after being pushed wide as the Red Bull attempted an overtake, he kept his foot in and the pair then collided at the following right-hander.
Perez’s car suffered damage to its floor edge and sidepod, which the team reckoned cost him around 65-points of downforce.
While the Mexican managed to stay ahead for the rest of the lap, he eventually lost out as the RB breezed past him on the main straight.
In his frustration at the situation, Lawson showed Perez the finger as he overtook – a moment that was captured on television.
Reflecting on that behaviour afterwards, Lawson said it was born out of frustration but admitted it was something that he should not have done.
Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“It’s obviously one of those in the moment things,” he explained. “He spent half the lap blocking me, trying to ruin my race, so I was upset.
“But it’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have done it, and I apologise for that.”
Lawson’s actions, both in being aggressive with Perez and then showing him the finger, did not impress Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.
Marko told ORF: “[It was] an unnecessary collision, where I see Lawson as being more to blame.”
Asked if it was good that Lawson got his elbows out, at least, Marko replied: “If it had been someone else, yes. But not the sister team.”
Lawson himself conceded that it probably was not ideal how things played out with Perez.
“I don’t think that’s what Helmut likes,” he said. “It’s not my character, not something you should be doing.”
Perez laid the blame firmly on Lawson’s shoulders for their clash at Turn 5, suggesting that the RB driver could have easily avoided the accident.
However, Lawson saw things differently and reckoned that he had been left with nowhere to go.
“I left him space into (Turn) 4 and was coming in very, very late,” he said. “Honestly, I tried to give him space.
“He drove me off the track, and then he didn’t give me space since Turn 5. So, you know, it’s unfortunate about the tension, but I don’t know where he wants me to go.”
-
Technology1 month ago
Is sharing your smartphone PIN part of a healthy relationship?
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
How to unsnarl a tangle of threads, according to physics
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Hyperelastic gel is one of the stretchiest materials known to science
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
‘Running of the bulls’ festival crowds move like charged particles
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Maxwell’s demon charges quantum batteries inside of a quantum computer
-
Technology1 month ago
Would-be reality TV contestants ‘not looking real’
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
X-rays reveal half-billion-year-old insect ancestor
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Sunlight-trapping device can generate temperatures over 1000°C
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Ukraine is using AI to manage the removal of Russian landmines
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Liquid crystals could improve quantum communication devices
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Physicists have worked out how to melt any material
-
TV4 weeks ago
সারাদেশে দিনব্যাপী বৃষ্টির পূর্বাভাস; সমুদ্রবন্দরে ৩ নম্বর সংকেত | Weather Today | Jamuna TV
-
Technology3 weeks ago
Samsung Passkeys will work with Samsung’s smart home devices
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Quantum ‘supersolid’ matter stirred using magnets
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Laser helps turn an electron into a coil of mass and charge
-
Football4 weeks ago
Rangers & Celtic ready for first SWPL derby showdown
-
Sport4 weeks ago
Boxing: World champion Nick Ball set for Liverpool homecoming against Ronny Rios
-
MMA3 weeks ago
‘Uncrowned queen’ Kayla Harrison tastes blood, wants UFC title run
-
News3 weeks ago
Massive blasts in Beirut after renewed Israeli air strikes
-
News3 weeks ago
▶ Hamas Spent $1B on Tunnels Instead of Investing in a Future for Gaza’s People
-
News3 weeks ago
Navigating the News Void: Opportunities for Revitalization
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
A new kind of experiment at the Large Hadron Collider could unravel quantum reality
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Gmail gets redesigned summary cards with more data & features
-
Football4 weeks ago
Why does Prince William support Aston Villa?
-
News4 weeks ago
‘Blacks for Trump’ and Pennsylvania progressives play for undecided voters
-
Sport3 weeks ago
Aaron Ramsdale: Southampton goalkeeper left Arsenal for more game time
-
MMA4 weeks ago
Dana White’s Contender Series 74 recap, analysis, winner grades
-
MMA4 weeks ago
Pereira vs. Rountree prediction: Champ chases legend status
-
Business3 weeks ago
When to tip and when not to tip
-
Technology1 month ago
Russia is building ground-based kamikaze robots out of old hoverboards
-
Womens Workouts1 month ago
3 Day Full Body Women’s Dumbbell Only Workout
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Microphone made of atom-thick graphene could be used in smartphones
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Musk faces SEC questions over X takeover
-
Sport3 weeks ago
Wales fall to second loss of WXV against Italy
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney renews blast at ‘gatekeeper’ platform owners
-
Money3 weeks ago
Wetherspoons issues update on closures – see the full list of five still at risk and 26 gone for good
-
Sport3 weeks ago
Man City ask for Premier League season to be DELAYED as Pep Guardiola escalates fixture pile-up row
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Why this is a golden age for life to thrive across the universe
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Quantum forces used to automatically assemble tiny device
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
A slight curve helps rocks make the biggest splash
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Nuclear fusion experiment overcomes two key operating hurdles
-
News1 month ago
▶️ Hamas in the West Bank: Rising Support and Deadly Attacks You Might Not Know About
-
Business4 weeks ago
DoJ accuses Donald Trump of ‘private criminal effort’ to overturn 2020 election
-
News4 weeks ago
Woman who died of cancer ‘was misdiagnosed on phone call with GP’
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Microsoft just dropped Drasi, and it could change how we handle big data
-
MMA3 weeks ago
Ketlen Vieira vs. Kayla Harrison pick, start time, odds: UFC 307
-
News4 weeks ago
Cornell is about to deport a student over Palestine activism
-
Sport4 weeks ago
2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup: Pakistan beat Sri Lanka
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
ITER: Is the world’s biggest fusion experiment dead after new delay to 2035?
-
Technology1 month ago
Meta has a major opportunity to win the AI hardware race
-
Technology1 month ago
Why Machines Learn: A clever primer makes sense of what makes AI possible
-
News4 weeks ago
Rwanda restricts funeral sizes following outbreak
-
Sport4 weeks ago
China Open: Carlos Alcaraz recovers to beat Jannik Sinner in dramatic final
-
Sport4 weeks ago
Sturm Graz: How Austrians ended Red Bull’s title dominance
-
MMA3 weeks ago
‘I was fighting on automatic pilot’ at UFC 306
-
Entertainment3 weeks ago
New documentary explores actor Christopher Reeve’s life and legacy
-
Technology4 weeks ago
This AI video generator can melt, crush, blow up, or turn anything into cake
-
Business4 weeks ago
Sterling slides after Bailey says BoE could be ‘a bit more aggressive’ on rates
-
News3 weeks ago
Family plans to honor hurricane victim using logs from fallen tree that killed him
-
Technology3 weeks ago
The best budget robot vacuums for 2024
-
Sport3 weeks ago
Coco Gauff stages superb comeback to reach China Open final
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Nerve fibres in the brain could generate quantum entanglement
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
Time travel sci-fi novel is a rip-roaringly good thought experiment
-
Science & Environment1 month ago
How to wrap your mind around the real multiverse
-
MMA4 weeks ago
Julianna Peña trashes Raquel Pennington’s behavior as champ
-
News4 weeks ago
German Car Company Declares Bankruptcy – 200 Employees Lose Their Jobs
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Texas is suing TikTok for allegedly violating its new child privacy law
-
Technology3 weeks ago
Check, Remote, and Gusto discuss the future of work at Disrupt 2024
-
News3 weeks ago
Hull KR 10-8 Warrington Wolves – Robins reach first Super League Grand Final
-
Business3 weeks ago
The search for Japan’s ‘lost’ art
-
Business4 weeks ago
Stocks Tumble in Japan After Party’s Election of New Prime Minister
-
Business4 weeks ago
how UniCredit built its Commerzbank stake
-
Business4 weeks ago
Bank of England warns of ‘future stress’ from hedge fund bets against US Treasuries
-
Business4 weeks ago
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she needs to raise £20bn. How might she do it?
-
News1 month ago
▶️ Media Bias: How They Spin Attack on Hezbollah and Ignore the Reality
-
MMA4 weeks ago
Kayla Harrison gets involved in nasty war of words with Julianna Pena and Ketlen Vieira
-
Health & fitness4 weeks ago
NHS surgeon who couldn’t find his scalpel cut patient’s chest open with the penknife he used to slice up his lunch
-
Business3 weeks ago
Head of UK Competition Appeal Tribunal to step down after rebuke for serious misconduct
-
Technology3 weeks ago
The best shows on Max (formerly HBO Max) right now
-
Technology3 weeks ago
If you’ve ever considered smart glasses, this Amazon deal is for you
-
MMA3 weeks ago
‘Dirt decision’: Conor McGregor, pros react to Jose Aldo’s razor-thin loss at UFC 307
-
Sport4 weeks ago
World’s sexiest referee Claudia Romani shows off incredible figure in animal print bikini on South Beach
-
Football4 weeks ago
Simo Valakari: New St Johnstone boss says Scotland special in his heart
-
Technology4 weeks ago
J.B. Hunt and UP.Labs launch venture lab to build logistics startups
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Apple iPhone 16 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S24+
-
Politics4 weeks ago
Rosie Duffield’s savage departure raises difficult questions for Keir Starmer. He’d be foolish to ignore them | Gaby Hinsliff
-
MMA3 weeks ago
UFC 307 preview show: Will Alex Pereira’s wild ride continue, or does Khalil Rountree shock the world?
-
Business3 weeks ago
Stark difference in UK and Ireland’s budgets
-
Money3 weeks ago
Pub selling Britain’s ‘CHEAPEST’ pints for just £2.60 – but you’ll have to follow super-strict rules to get in
-
MMA3 weeks ago
Pereira vs. Rountree preview show live stream
-
Science & Environment4 weeks ago
Markets watch for dangers of further escalation
-
Technology4 weeks ago
Amazon’s Ring just doubled the price of its alarm monitoring service for grandfathered customers
-
Technology3 weeks ago
OpenAI secured more billions, but there’s still capital left for other startups
-
Sport4 weeks ago
Premiership Women’s Rugby: Exeter Chiefs boss unhappy with WXV clash
-
News1 month ago
Our millionaire neighbour blocks us from using public footpath & screams at us in street.. it’s like living in a WARZONE – WordupNews
-
MMA4 weeks ago
Alex Pereira faces ‘trap game’ vs. Khalil Rountree
-
Business4 weeks ago
Top shale boss says US ‘unusually vulnerable’ to Middle East oil shock
-
News4 weeks ago
Liverpool secure win over Bologna on a night that shows this format might work
-
Money3 weeks ago
All the key dates for Christmas to save you money including £4 chocs and 25% off Disney
-
Technology3 weeks ago
LG C4 OLED smart TVs hit record-low prices ahead of Prime Day
You must be logged in to post a comment Login