Formula 1 race winner Robert Kubica is looking increasingly certain to remain with the AF Corse customer Hypercar team in the World Endurance Championship next year.

Kubica told Motorsport.com that he “didn’t come here for just one year” when questioned after last weekend’s 2024 WEC finale in Bahrain about whether he would race the yellow-liveried Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar again.

But he stressed that “there is a lot of work to do” for next year at a team that claimed victory at Austin in September but failed to consistently match the factory arm of the AF team over the season.

“It is not an easy decision, so we will see,” he said.

Kubica, who partnered Ferrari factory drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman in AF’s satellite entry in 2024, had discussions with team boss Amato Ferrari over the course of the WEC finale in Bahrain last weekend.

Ferrari explained that he was hopeful that Kubica will remain with the team next year.

“Everything is positive and we all want Robert back, but no deal is done,” he said.

Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s head of sportscar racing, also expressed hopes that Kubica will stay, saying “Our dream is to maintain Robert with us”.

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson, Yifei Ye

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Kubica remained with AF at the Bahrain International Circuit on the day after the WEC race for Phil Hanson’s first test in the Ferrari he will race in the WEC next year.

The Briton, who is swapping over from the British Jota customer Porsche team when it becomes Cadillac’s factory WEC squad, is the first driver to be announced for the #83 AF entry for next year.

Shwartzman is leaving Ferrari at the end of this year, Coletta confirmed.

He explained that the 25-year-old will depart both the line-up at AF and Ferrari’s roster of factory drivers after he “decided to make another choice”.

Shwartzman, who has been a Ferrari Formula 1 reserve since 2023 after graduating from the Italian manufacturer’s academy programme, will be announced as the team-mate of the already confirmed Callum Ilott at Prema’s new IndyCar team imminently.

Ye, who became a factory Ferrari driver for this season, is expected to remain in the line-up of the #83 car.

McLaren says that guiding Lando Norris to the drivers’ championship was never ultimately its main target – as it has always been more focused on the constructors’ crown.

Norris had a golden opportunity to close down Max Verstappen’s points advantage in the Brazilian Grand Prix, starting on pole position with his rival down in 17th on the grid.

Yet, a combination of a lack of pace in the wet, driving errors, brake lock-up problems and a badly timed red flag meant the Briton finished sixth – with Verstappen producing a sensational performance to win.

That result has left him 62 points adrift of Verstappen with only three rounds remaining.

While the Brazil outcome is a disappointment for Norris in personal terms, McLaren says it changes nothing in its approach, because the team was only ever really thinking about the constructors’ battle anyway.

Asked by Motorsport.com about how the Brazil result would impact the approach to the final races, and whether it would actually take some pressure off Norris, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “In terms of the constructors’ championship, I don’t think it changes anything.

“It was always our priority. Even when there was a call to be made to support one driver or the other, it was always secondary to maximising the constructors’ championship.”

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

Stella did not feel that the potential of being in a title battle had much of an impact on Norris’s performance at Interlagos, as he felt both team and driver knew it was a bonus to be in the fight in the first place.

“When it comes to the drivers’ championship, I don’t think for Lando there was any particular pressure,” he said.

“We were enjoying this quest, even though sometimes from the outside it may come across like there is an error here or there maybe.

“It is like when we locked the tyres with the car like we had [in Brazil] I am not looking at the driver, I am looking at why the car keeps locking the front tyres in conditions like this. I don’t think pressure was a significant factor at all.

“Mathematically we are still in the [drivers’] championship, but I think for Lando and for Oscar, we will go to the next races trying to win the races.

“The last two venues should be quite good. Vegas will be potentially more of a Ferrari track, and then we will see. It is all to play for, and the constructors’ championship remains and has always been our priority.”

Norris himself has always played down thoughts of the title, thinking it was ultimately a long shot to come from so far back.

Asked how hard the Brazil result was to digest now that the title dream was all but over, he said: “Quite easy. I did all I could today. That’s all. Max won the race. Good on him. Well done, but it doesn’t change anything for me.”

While Norris lost ground in the drivers’ championship in Brazil, McLaren managed to extend its constructors’ advantage over Ferrari by seven points to 36 points – which makes it increasingly likely that the battle will go all the way to the final round in Abu Dhabi.

Three-time Super Formula champion Naoki Yamamoto has announced his decision to retire from the series following this weekend’s season finale at Suzuka.

The Nakajima Racing driver, 36, made the announcement via a post on his Instagram page on Tuesday.

It effectively calls time on a 15-season spell in Japan’s top single-seater series for the factory Honda ace  which yielded titles in 2013, ’18 and ’20, nine race wins and 13 pole positions.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I’m extremely grateful for the chance to have competed in Japan’s top category for the last 15 years and all the support I’ve had,” Yamamoto wrote.

“I made the announcement at this time so that all the fans watching would know this weekend is the last time you will be able to see me driving a formula car. I believe this is also one of the ways I am able to pay everyone back.

“Whatever the outcome of these final races, I want to step down from Super Formula having shown my real level of performance and having given it my all with this team.”

Yamamoto made his debut in what was then known as Formula Nippon in 2010 with Nakajima before switching to Team Mugen the following season, going on to claim his first two titles with the team.

Naoki Yamamoto, Mugen

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

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He elected to switch to Dandelion Racing for 2019 immediately following his second title, which together with his success in Super GT earned him a Formula 1 practice call-up for the Japanese Grand Prix with Toro Rosso.

After winning the 2020 title for Dandelion, Yamamoto returned to Nakajima for the 2021 season, but has struggled to recapture his previous form since then.

His last win came in the wet at Motegi in 2022, although he has enjoyed a slight upturn in form this year, sitting seventh in the standings heading into this weekend’s Suzuka double-header.

Yamamoto’s decision to step down from Super Formula follows the neck and spinal injuries he suffered in a major crash in last year’s SUGO Super GT round, and which required surgery to allow him to prolong his career.

A statement from Honda says that Yamamoto will continue to race in Super GT next season. He currently shares a Team Kunimitsu Honda Civic Type R-GT with Tadasuke Makino, with the pair sitting second in the standings with one race to go this season.

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NASCAR has yet to review the radio communications from the closing laps of Sunday’s race (they intend to do so in the week ahead). And while Ryan Blaney drove off with the race win, strange things were happening throughout the field as Chevy and Toyota grappled for the final spot in the Championship 4. If we break down the communications ourselves though, it’s clear that manufacturer loyalty played a crucial role in what transpired at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

Setting the ‘final’ stage

When the final restart came with 87 laps to go, Christopher Bell was trapped a lap down and unable to make any forward progress from 19th. He was three points behind William Byron for the final transfer spot. Up front, Kyle Larson was leading the race and in the Championship 4 — until his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott took the lead for himself with 25 laps to go. But it was all for naught as reigning NASCAR Cup champ Ryan Blaney passed them both in the laps that followed.

None of that changed the situation for Bell and Byron who were in a constant struggle for that final transfer spot. When Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin managed to pass Byron and the margin was suddenly a single point. The math was simple: One position is one point. With 12 laps left, the bleeding suddenly stopped for the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet (Byron) as fellow Chevy driver Austin Dillon pulled up to his rear bumper. 

Now for a closer look at what the late-race radio communications between manufacturer allies reveals about this controversial finish that decided the Championship 4.

Dillon rides behind the #24

Before the race even began, the No. 3 Chevy radio of Dillon openly mentioned being cognizant of the Hendrick playoff drivers. That’s not unusual in these playoff races, but as Dillon was catching Byron in the closing laps, they made it clear that there was only one priority — protect Byron.

“The 24 is only two points to the good right now and there’s two spots between them,” crew chief Justin Alexander explained to spotter Brandon Benesch. He then told Dillon about the points situation, and Alexander quickly added: “If we pass him, he’ll be out.”

Dillon wanted to know who Byron was racing and they flatly told him: “He just can’t give up spots.” 

Does Chastain know the deal?

As Chastain in the No. 1 Chevrolet rapidly closed, pulling alongside Dillon, the radio became more interesting. “Does he know the deal?” asked the No. 3 crew chief. Atop the spotter’s stand, Benesch replied: “I’m trying to tell him. Justin can you tell the crew chief?”

With 12 laps to go, the same question lit up the radio again — but with more urgency — as Chastain pulled alongside Dillon. “Does the 1 crew chief know the deal?” asked Benesch. “Yeah he should,” replied Alexander, but he didn’t sound fully sure.

Things were much quieter on Chastain’s radio. Spotter Brandon McReynolds informed him of the points situation. However, there was a moment when the always-aggressive Chastain still got to the outside of Byron with seven laps to go. His spotter quickly keyed the mic: “Nice and smart with the 24 here down there.” Chastain did not reply, but never pulled alongside Byron again.

Dillon and Chastain ran side-by-side for most of the final 10 laps, moving like a rolling roadblock that made it impossible for anyone else to get near the No. 24 car. Right behind them, the field was stacking up with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar all packed tightly together.

Wallace: “God forbid we don’t help a f****** JGR car”

While Byron could not afford to lose a single spot, Bell was desperate to gain just one. He knew he would win any tiebreakers, courtesy of his runner-up finish at Las Vegas two weeks prior.

“God forbid if we don’t help a f****** JGR car,” radioed Bubba Wallace while riding around in 18th place. Crew chief Bootie Barker instructed spotter Freddie Kraft to tell Wallace where the No. 20 of Bell was on track. “Relay it to him,” said Barker. “10-4, I will. 24 is half a straightaway behind us,” answered Kraft.

They continued to give Wallace updates on Bell’s whereabouts and with 10 laps to go, he was told about the points situation. With five laps left, something happened to the No. 23 Toyota. Entering Turn 3, Wallace went up out of the groove. “I think I’ve got a tire going down,” said Wallace. Barker told the spotter to inform Wallace that his teammate, Tyler Reddick, “had a fire” in an issue that put him out of the race earlier. This might have been a way to try to connect the issue to whatever was happening to the No. 23.

Slowing down just enough

On Lap 495 of 500, Wallace’s times abruptly fell off and he ran a full second slower than the previous lap. He gained about half-a-second of that back the next lap before abruptly falling off again. Bell was gaining about a second per lap now. The car kept driving up into the marbles, slowing down as his lap times fluctuated wildly. 

Coming to the white flag, he got in the way of the Byron group and there was a tense three-wide moment with Chastain and Dillon. Chastain even ran into the back of Byron. Wallace slowed down enough that Bell caught him just as the field entered the final corner on the final lap.

Bell entered Turn 3 deep and flew by Wallace, but hit the wall as he slid up the track. At that point, he proceeded to put the throttle down, riding the wall to the finish line. He didn’t gain any additional spots by doing that. It also looked like a slower, similar version of Chastain’s now-banned wall-ride move from two years ago.

Wallace’s final lap was over three seconds off the pace and 2.3 seconds slower than his previous lap. Bell got the point he needed — he was in the Championship 4 — for 27 minutes.

On the cool-down lap, the team asked if Wallace needed a fire extinguisher, again connecting it to the issue that put Reddick out of the race earlier.

“I’m okay, I think,” replied Wallace.

“Tire looked up,” observed Kraft. “Looked just like s*** the last couple laps there. Just be careful getting in here. May be on fire like the No. 45.” It was not on fire.

In the background, Bell and Byron emerged from their cars but no one was celebrated. NASCAR immediately moved to review the finish, without taking into account the assists from Byron’s fellow Chevys or the Toyota of Wallace. Instead, they focused on the wall ride. Although Bell did not gain any spots from it, NASCAR deemed it to be a safety violation, and in a shocking twist, removed Bell from the Championship 4 while Byron was reinstated. Officials also informed Joe Gibbs Racing that they have no right to appeal.

When NASCAR does get to reviewing the comms this week, the conclusion still won’t change the final four drivers, but the 1, 3, and 23 teams could see penalties, similarly to what happened two years ago when Cole Custer slowed on the final lap to help Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe advance into the Round of 8. NASCAR fined Custer $100,000, suspended his crew chief, and docked the team 50 points.

“When you win 10 grands prix and you are still 24 points behind, something is wrong.”

Complaints about a format by a competitor who has failed to master that format must always be read with due caution. They are to be expected. But Francesco Bagnaia may just have a point when it comes to the influence of sprint races on the 2024 MotoGP title battle.

To recap the situation heading into the final round, Bagnaia comes into the Barcelona weekend as a long shot despite having won 10 grands prix to the three triumphs of points leader Jorge Martin. The Spaniard’s advantage can be traced to his seven wins in MotoGP’s sprint races as well as numerous falls for Bagnaia on Saturdays.

To be clear, Bagnaia is making no excuses for his sprint travails. He is honest about those to the point where you have to take his “something is wrong” statement as a little more than sour grapes.

“Jorge was just better on Saturdays this season and we have to say he did a really good job there,” said Bagnaia following his latest Saturday fall in Malaysia. He is also happy to tip his hat to Martin’s ability to find pace with limited or zero preparation time.

“Yesterday Jorge just went straight on track and did a 1m56.996s, just like that,” said Bagnaia with a snap of the fingers as he reflected on Martin’s record-breaking first run in Q2 at Sepang. “The speed with which he can adapt [to set a quick time] is something unbelievable.”

Bagnaia celebrated his 10th Grand Prix victory of the year in Malaysia on Sunday, but it followed another sprint disappointment that edged Martin closer to the crown

Photo by: Dorna

Given that the sprints come earlier in the weekend, when Bagnaia is usually still fine-tuning his package, this phenomenon has been an important factor in Martin’s Saturday points hauls. For one so realistic about the balance of power in the sprints, Bagnaia could arguably have avoided his current situation simply by taking a damage-limitation approach on Saturdays.

With the benefit of hindsight, he would certainly have settled for a few seconds and thirds instead of falling off. But his biggest losses came early in the season, when the picture – including his edge on Sundays – wasn’t quite so clear.

But with all of that said, for 73 of MotoGP’s 75 years, worrying about how to handle sprints was not a skill Bagnaia would have had to master. Winning grands prix – and the occasional TT in the Netherlands or the Isle of Man – was always what earned you world titles. That is a fundamental part of the heritage MotoGP celebrated with such pride at Silverstone this year. There is an argument that the sprints have been a slap in the face to that heritage since they arrived in 2023.

Should Bagnaia win in Barcelona, he’ll have won 55% of this year’s Sunday races, still a shade behind the lowest percentage in the 10+ club

Just to put Bagnaia’s 10 grand prix wins in perspective, the other riders to have won 10 in a season in the top class – some of them multiple times – are Giacomo Agostini, Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez. All of them went on to win the world championship in the seasons in question.

Before we erupt in outrage on Bagnaia’s behalf, though, note that in percentage terms Bagnaia hasn’t quite reached the level of his predecessors. Even disregarding sprints, there are more grands prix per season now than for any of those riders. In 1968, in fact, there were only 10 races and Agostini had a 100% record.

Should Bagnaia win in Barcelona, he’ll have won 55% of this year’s Sunday races, still a shade behind the lowest percentage in the 10+ club. That was Stoner’s 2007 effort, when he won 10 of 18 races at 55.56%.

Let’s factor in the sprints, just for fun. Despite all the focus on the points he has thrown away in that department, Bagnaia has still won six of them. That’s only one fewer than Martin, which does rather call into question the popular notion that the Spaniard is indisputably the fastest man on Saturdays.

Mistakes at costly times in sprints have hurt Bagnaia’s title prospects

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

It gives Bagnaia a total of 16 wins for the season, out of a possible 38 so far: that’s 42.1%. The Italian’s defenders will happily note that Martin’s seven sprints and three grands prix add up to an overall winning percentage of 26.32%.

You can play with these statistics all the way to Christmas, speculating about what might have been when we take other finishes and retirements into account. I’m going to stop now. The system is what it is, and while Bagnaia has done more winning by any measure, he has simply given away too many points – mostly on Saturdays.

The question is whether those Saturday mistakes have been accorded too much worth. Or, if you prefer, whether grand prix Sundays should be worth more – as per MotoGP heritage.

Well, firstly, it’s in the name. If you know any French at all, you’ll know that the grand prix of any country (or region or city) is supposed to be the big prize. It came with the definite article: le grand prix. There was only one. Semantics aside, a longer race brings tyre management into play – a skill many might feel a champion should have in their portfolio. Flat-out sprints don’t test that.

So let’s say something is indeed “wrong” with the system. What to do with the Saturday sprints?

Introduced to MotoGP two years after they appeared in Formula 1 in 2021, the extreme position would be to dismiss them entirely as an unnecessary attempt to copy what the four-wheelers were doing.

Statisticians and many media might be thankful for that, as sprints have given rise to all sorts of complications around records, statistics and choice of wording. Does ‘race’ mean grands prix only, for example? Does ‘Malaysian Grand Prix’ refer to the entire weekend or only the Sunday race? More importantly, could these questions confuse and alienate fans who have better things to do than dig around for definitions?

Another thing that might need a little audience research: could some fans walk away after being asked to invest Saturdays and Sundays in following the racing – and on an ever-growing number of weekends? Is there such a thing as too much? Most regular folk have lives outside of motorsport, a fact that decision-makers living in all-consuming paddocks might want to consider.

Most recent Grand Prix win came for Martin, who has proven to be a specialist in the shorter races to top up his tally

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

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On the other hand, Saturday sprints can only be an attraction for those weighing up weekend passes to attend races. You have to assume that they help sell such tickets, which is certainly an argument against scrapping them entirely.

A more realistic approach could be to go all-in on copying F1. MotoGP has differentiated itself by running sprints at every single round while F1 stages them only at selected events. In the first two years of F1 sprints, there were only three ‘sprint weekends’. That has grown to six in 2023 and 2024 – exactly a quarter of the race weekends in this year’s case.

Under this model, sprints are seen as a special bonus that doesn’t detract from the main narrative. They can always be rotated between venues, or alternatively reserved for historic, blue-riband circuits like Jerez, Silverstone or Assen.

There’s a danger that pragmatic engineers would opt to treat non-points sprints as additional practice sessions

Another way to reduce the sprints’ impact on the championship would be to revisit the points system. Again, MotoGP could follow F1’s lead here. Under the current F1 weighting, a sprint win gets you eight points. That’s less than a third of the 25 points a grand prix victory earns.

MotoGP also offers grand prix winners 25, but every time somebody wins a sprint, they walk away with almost half that. Should a sprint win really be worth 12 points?

Another option could be to run the sprints but exclude them from the championship entirely. That way, you could still sell tickets for Saturdays and offer ‘content’ for hardcore fans who can’t get enough while sending the rest a clear message that these races are a non-essential bonus. An exhibition, if you like.

A short race in which there is nothing to lose seems like a fun solution on paper. And if they get a cracking show, it’s hard to imagine those ticket-holders complaining that it didn’t count for a championship.

Options exist to change up the sprint format, but it is a popular draw for fans looking to buy weekend passes

Photo by: Marc Fleury

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But would teams get into the spirit of it, with no points at stake? There’s a danger that pragmatic engineers would opt to treat non-points sprints as additional practice sessions. It’s probably best to proceed with this idea only after extensive consultation with the competitors.

Another variant would be to add something like a ‘Sprint Cup’ to MotoGP’s extensive array of championships. That way, there would still be something bigger to fight for. It would be something a manufacturer’s marketing department could fix their attention on if it doesn’t quite work out at world championship grand prix level. That may have its commercial appeal.

After two years of the sprint format experiment, there is no shame in revisiting it. Bagnaia is unlikely to be the only person who thinks something is a little out of balance under the current model. And, as we’ve seen, there are alternatives.

Let’s remember that Bagnaia is among the smartest and most analytical personalities on the grid. He is also a true, fair sportsman who will graciously offer his hand in defeat, no matter what the format. He may have a particular bias when he says something is “wrong”, but his words are carefully considered and are not spoken in the heat of a moment. Perhaps MotoGP’s powers-that-be ought to pay them due attention.

Will Bagnaia’s sprint protestations fall on deaf ears?

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images