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ON TODAY'S PROGRAM...
MAX PREPARES FOR HIS LAST DUTCH GRAND PRIX!
PRETTY BOY GEORGE PREPARES TO GET HIS ASS WOOPED
CADILLAC PULLS OUT THE "YOUR FIRED" LOWDON GETS HIS PINK SLIP... AND
FERNANDO SAYS...I'LL SEE YOU IN 2027...
THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER....INTERVIEW WITH SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS AND, WE REMEMBER DANIKA PATRICK'S WIN AT MOTEGI JAPAN!
Ericsson Undeniable in Markhamto End 63-Race Drought.
MARKHAM, Ontario (Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026) – Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson wasn’t to be denied victory in the new Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham even as it meant tormenting a longtime rival.
Ericsson charged through the field late in the 90-lap Canadian race to hunt down and pass Dale Coyne Racing’s Romain Grosjean for a victory.
SEE: Race Results
Ericsson scored his fifth career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory while denying Grosjean his first. Grosjean was trying to reach the top step of the podium only to come one step short for the sixth time. Coincidentally, Grosjean’s last win of any kind came in a GP2 series race in Hungary in 2011. Ericsson finished fifth in that race.
Ericsson’s victory here came 10 days after being confirmed to return to Andretti Global for a fourth season. It also ended his 63-race drought dating back to his 2023 season-opening victory in St. Petersburg.
“It’s been long enough,” Ericsson said. “It doesn’t come as much of a surprise. We’ve had such a good year. We’ve been working every weekend, getting stronger and stronger, qualifying up front every weekend. We might not have got the results we deserved every weekend, but I really felt we deserved (this).”
Ericsson’s voice cracked during the interview, which he blamed on screaming too much after taking the checkered flag. But he said it was a bold and aggressive drive over those challenging street-course laps.
“We were the fastest car all day, I thought,” he said. “Obviously, there were a lot of (cautions), so we had to stay out (longer on the final sequence). I wanted to show the pace and open a gap, so we gambled on staying out. I had the pace and we were lapping so quick (after coming out of the pits on Lap 69) seventh. It was a lot of work to get through the leaders.”
In that charge was contact in the Turn 5 hairpin with Andretti Global teammate Will Power for third place. Ericsson called the hard bump “unfortunate,” but Power said he understood.
Said Ericsson: “You never want that, but I had to get through. I knew I could win this race.”
Ericsson won another race like this. In 2021, he emerged as the winner of a trouble-filled first race on Nashville’s streets that included his car getting airborne vertically. The winner of the 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge now has four street course victories.
Grosjean settled for second place – his best since finishing second at Barber Motorsports Park in 2023. Power finished third with series points leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing taking fourth and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward fifth.
“We did everything we could,” said Grosjean, who led 28 laps and scored his first top-five finish of 2026. “I wanted to (keep Palou in second place) – I knew (with that gap) it was safe. But then (Ericsson) came … unfortunately that (wasn’t our) day. But on to the next one.”
Several other drivers could say the same.
The race of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster had a tragic ending. He started from the pole for the second time in his career – the other was at Road America last year – and built a lead of nearly 3 seconds in leading the first 32 laps. But a caution spoiled that as all of the other frontrunners had pitted a couple of laps earlier, shuffling him to 12th place.
Foster wasn’t to be deterred, and he came charging back. He had moved up eight positions and was stalking Ericsson for third place when they approached Turn 3 on Lap 43. Foster went to the inside, but he clipped the left-side wall, contact which shot him straight into the concrete barrier on the right. The impact was virtually head-on, a major shunt. Fortunately, he was not injured.
That spot in the track similarly claimed Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood, who was running third behind his two teammates. His impact was just as fierce.
Kirkwood’s 21st-place finish allowed Palou to pull even farther ahead in pursuit of his fourth consecutive championship and fifth in six years despite starting outside the top 10 for the first time in 30 races (nearly two full seasons). Now, with four races to go, Palou leads Kirkwood by a nearly insurmountable 133 points with Team Penske’s David Malukas third, 137 points in arrears. Malukas finished this race a lap down in 17th place.
The new 12-turn, 2.1-mile street circuit seemed to offer the right balance of action and reaction, with a fair amount of race-turning calamity. The track produced 258 on-track passes with 242 of those for position - the most on-record in the event, which dates back to 1986 when the INDYCAR SERIES made its debut on the Streets of Toronto. As expected, the Turn 5 hairpin was a hot spot, with several instances of cars coming together.
One of the most significant contacts in that corner featured rookie Dennis Hauger of Dale Coyne Racing bumping Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen and then O’Ward. That was Lap 20, and it was part of Hauger’s fade through the field.
Last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone champion started the race from the fifth position and was still there when his two-lap slide began. It started with Palou passing him, but then Malukas did and before he knew it, he was 20th. Later, Hauger clipped the rear tire of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who hit Rasmussen, drawing a caution.
Another of the contacts in Turn 5 saw Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel charge too deep into the braking zone, where he struck the car of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden. Siegel was penalized for avoidable contact.
It wasn’t a good day for first-year series drivers. AJ Foyt Racing’s Caio Collet had contact with Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian on Lap 1, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Mick Schumacher drew the race’s first caution on Lap 15 when he pounded the Turn 4 wall.
The turnaround is quick as the series sprints to season’s end. Next weekend, the 25 car-and-driver combinations make their anticipated appearance in the U.S. capital city with the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. The pre-race show on FOX begins at 11:30 a.m. ET with the race shortly after 1 p.m.

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM...
WILL GEORGE BE PSYCHOLOGICALLY STRONG ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON?
IS LEWIS AND FERNANDO ADDICTED TO FORMULA 1?
FERNANDO ALONSO IS NOW 45 YEARS OLD LITERALLY THE MARK MARTIN OF F1 AND...
THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED MOMENT ON MOTORSPORTS HISTORY WE HAVE AND INTERVIEW WITH ...SHANE SENEVIRATNE FOUNDER OF  US RACETRONICS AND TEAM MANAGER...
Created in 2005, US RaceTronics (USRT) first entered the 2005 Atlantic championship season and instantly achieved success. That season saw US RaceTronics capture 1 pole, 5 podium finishes, and finish 5th in the Championship standings. The "little team that could” proved that hard work and sacrifice still paid off.With the initial momentum of the prior season 2006 through 2009 saw US RaceTronics continue its success in the Atlantic series. The strength team drivers Simona De Silvestro and Frankie Muniz, the team was able to consistently finish on the podium with a total of 21 podiums, 7 poles, 5 race wins and finish 3rd in the 2009 Championship standings.
Seneviratne, who holds deep roots in the Atlantic Championship, the GTD program has been largely centered around Silver-rated driver Goikhberg, who also moves over from GTWC America competition.
“We’ve been doing Super Trofeo and veered off into the AMG with SRO but my heart’s always been with Lamborghini,” Seneviratne told Sportscar365.
“I like the guys, I like the brand. We had the opportunity to get in here and we started talking to Misha.
“It all started with Misha and Bob Perona. He has been Misha’s driver coach for a long time and Bob and I all worked with Simona de Silvestro in the Indycar days.
“Bob felt like the most comfortable thing for Misha to do was to be in that same kind of support and environment that Simona had when she ran and she was successful with us.
“She came from Newman Wachs with Jonathan Summerton. We built that culture and gave her the support [needed].
“We’re trying to create that same atmosphere for Misha.
“The majority of the budget comes from there. With Arrow, we had a small partnership last year with the Super Trofeo and they were excited to step up a little bit more and see what they could do with a GTD program.”
While having run under the USRT/O’Gara Motorsport/Change Racing banner in Super Trofeo last year, the team will eventually be fully known as Forte Racing, a new marketing company that Seneviratne is a part owner in.
“I’ve had a long-term relationship with Lamborghini of Beverly Hills, Tom O’Gara’s dealership,” Seneviratne explained.
“Then Edoardo Piscopo and Julia, Edoardo’s wife, they also wanted to get involved, [as well as] Eddie [Littlefield] from Change Racing.
“It was [USRT]/O’Gara/Change [last year], so we’re now trying to get rid of all those names and start with a single brand, which is Forte Racing.”
Seneviratne heads into his first 24-hour race as a team owner although he operated O’Gara Motorsport’s short-lived Lamborghini GTD program in 2016, which led to the relaunch of USRT later that year.
Seven years later, debuting Lamborghini’s second GT3 evolution, Seneviratne is looking forward to the renewed challenge.
“More than pride, I’m glad to represent Lamborghini and to have this opportunity,” he said. “It’s not an opportunity that you get very often.We have to work together as a cohesive group.
“But I can’t emphasize enough how supportive Lamborghini has been. It’s the same way I like to run the team.
“I feel like Lamborghini had now just become an extension of that. We don’t throw each other under the bus. We are there for support and there’s no egos involved.
“There’s five ways to do something so I’m always listening and they’re listening to us.
“Right now they have way more [endurance racing] experience, all of the Lamborghini technicians, and we’re absorbing it in.
“We’re grateful that we have really good support from Lamborghini.”
With the demise of the Atlantic Series US RaceTronics’ owner Shane Seneviratne took his talents to the IndyCar Series where he was paired once again with De Silvestro as the Team Manager for the HVM Racing. His talents were once again utilized with De Silvestro in 2013 by the KV Racing Technology team where he was brought on as a Consultant.
In 2015 Seneviratne was hired by O’Gara Motorsports as their Race Team Director for their newly created Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America Series entries. The team won the season opener at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway with Pro driver Richard Antinucci. The team’s consistent performances throughout the 2015 season led to O’Gara Motorsport winning the Team Championship, Dealership Championship, Pro Championship with driver Richard Antinucci, and Amateur Championship with Ryan Ockey. Amateur driver Ryan Ockey also won the 2015 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo World Championship.
The team continued its success in 2019 with Damon Ockey and Jacob Eidson winning the North American Pro-Am Championship, while the team's second team of Pro-Am drivers, Ron Atapattu and Patrick Liddy finished third in the Championship. The team also fielded 16-year-old rookie Amateur driver Steven Aghakhani who would finish second in the North American Championship, after missing the first race due to age restrictions, but captured the Amateur World Championship becoming the youngest World Champion in Lamborghini Super Trofeo's history.
2020 was a challenging year for the world and for USRT. Last minute changes in scheduling and driver lineup were necessitated due to restrictions stemming from the COVID pandemic. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo season was shortened to 10 races from the normal 12 and the cancellation of the World Finals left USRT just short on championships. Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson finished runners up in the Pro Championship, while Leo Lamalas finished runner up in the Am Championship. John Hennessy missed the final two races of the season, finishing fourth in the LB Cup Championship his rookie season.
US RaceTronics’ 2021 saw several peaks and valleys. The Pro duo of Steven Aghakhani and Jacob Eidson had one win and 8 additional podium finishes, but also suffered issues in a couple of races that left them just short of the North American Championship, finishing third. Meanwhile, John Hennessy won the season opener in the LB Cup Championship, but suffered an injury in a crash in Race 2, ending his hopes for a North American title. After missing the four subsequent races, Hennessy came back strong, winning five out of the remaining six races and sweeping the World Finals with four straight wins at the Misano, Italy track to become the LB Cup World Champion.
2022 will see US RaceTronics back in action in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American Series for their seventh consecutive year.
For more information on how to become a driver with US RaceTronics, learn more about the Series, or attend a race, contact us today!

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM...
THE MAX RUMOR MILL KEEPS ON TURNING AND MAX KEEPS ON BURNING!
MCLAREN COULD BE BACK ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP BAND WAGON
GEORGE NEEDS TO FIND HIS MILIEU! AND...
FERNANDO AND ASTON MARTIN COULD BE ONTO SOMETHING BIG!
THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE PATRICK TAMBAY AND TROY CASTANEDA!
Patrick Tambay and Gilles Villeneuve began their Formula 1 careers together at Silverstone in 1977. Five years later, Tambay claimed his first race victory, filling the seat at Ferrari left vacant by Villeneuve after his tragic accident at Zolder.
Tambay had initially tried to qualify a Surtees at Dijon but was unsuccessful, subsequently joining Ensign for the remainder of 1977. Teddy Mayer later recruited him to drive for McLaren, where he spent two challenging years in less competitive cars. Following a tough 1981 season with Theodore and Ligier, it seemed Tambay’s time in Formula 1 was nearing an end until Ferrari offered him a spot.
He brought some positivity back to the team by winning at the Hockenheimring following another severe accident involving his teammate Didier Pironi. Despite joining the championship late, Tambay had the potential to be a title contender in the fast Ferrari but had to step back due to a back injury caused by the intense ground effect cars of that era.
In the following season, with ground effects banned, Tambay showed competitive form again. He secured a poignant victory at Imola, the very place that had witnessed the intense feud between Villeneuve and Pironi a year prior.
Despite his successes, Tambay was unexpectedly replaced by Michele Alboreto at the end of the season.
He moved to Renault in 1984, but the team struggled with development and exited the sport in 1985. Tambay then raced for Team Haas before it, too, withdrew from Formula 1 at the end of 1986.
After retiring from full-time racing, Patrick Tambay transitioned to a role as a commentator for French television and served as the deputy mayor of Le Cannet, a suburb of Cannes. He was also the godfather to Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion, and played a significant role in guiding Villeneuve’s early racing career, which included victories at the 1995 IndyCar title and Indianapolis 500, and subsequently the F1 World Championship with Williams in 1997.
Tambay was married twice and became a father in 1991 when his son Adrien was born. Following in his father’s footsteps, Adrien became a professional racing driver, competing for Audi in the DTM championship from 2012 to 2016 and later winning the 2021 ETCR Championship.
Patrick Tambay’s family announced his passing on December 4th, 2022, following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Rossi Completes First Validation Testof New IR-28 Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026) – Alexander Rossi took another step into the future of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES on Saturday, completing the first on-track test of the new Dallara IR-28 chassis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 2016 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner put the all-new car through its initial paces during a productive development session on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course, helping begin the testing process for the chassis that will debut for the 2028 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.
Rossi praised the preparation that led to the successful debut.
“I’ve been a part of some new car launches before, and I can’t say that any have gone as smooth as this one has,” Rossi said. “That’s down to everyone involved. We’ve all been waiting for this for a long time. Drivers, fans, teams, sponsors and all of you have been looking forward to it, and now it’s finally here.
“It’s like Christmas morning.”
Rossi said the session accomplished everything the development team aimed to achieve, despite intermittent damp conditions that limited running.
“It's hard to do a full comparison because of the conditions we were dealing with, but everything you could hope for from a day like today was accomplished,” he said. “The fact that the car is completely new and the only real issue we had was replacing one sensor is phenomenal. That’s a huge testament to Dallara, INDYCAR and everyone involved.
“The car has a lot of incredible qualities that we haven’t even scratched the surface of yet. It was an incredible start and just a joy to drive.”
Rossi also offered high praise for the IR-28’s appearance and initial handling characteristics.
“Aesthetically, it ticks every box you could hope for,” he said. “I was blown away the first time I saw it. The pictures don’t do it justice. The presence it has in person is pretty amazing. It looks aggressive, and even with a completely new chassis, new aerodynamics, new electronics and a spec damper package, the baseline was very comfortable from the get-go. There’s obviously a lot more to unlock, but it was a great starting point.”
Testing the next-generation INDYCAR SERIES machinery at Indianapolis Motor Speedway made the experience even more meaningful for Rossi.
“To be able to be a part of this next evolution of INDYCAR and do it at IMS, a place that means so much to me and all of us here, is super cool,” Rossi said. “I get to play a small part in the history and the future of this championship, and that’s a big privilege. I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2025 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alex Palou is scheduled to test the car Sunday.

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM...
OMG...FERNANDO MADE IT TO Q2!!!!!!! ASTON MARTIN FINISHED 13TH AND 14TH...
LANDO WINS AGAIN IN HUNGARY!
GEORGE'S START WAS HILARIOUS
LCH AND MAX WAS HILARIOUS!....
PIASTRI FEELING LIKE A NUMBER TWO AND...
FERNANDO ................................HAD FUN TODAY!
THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER...EL LEONE!!
AKA. OUR NIGE!... YES NIGEL MANSELL WITH NASIR WE CALL IT THE PERFECT INTERVIEW!!!
AS WE FOLLOW COLTON HERTA...14TH IN THE SPRINT AND 19TH IN THE MAIN EVENT!!!
LANDO...
“I’m tired! What happened?” Norris smiled post-race, taking it back to the first lap. “I don’t know what happened, to be honest. I just kept losing the rear. I had like three or four big snaps. It felt horrible and, of course, Oscar did a good job to get the cutback and get back past, so I think I was just a bit wide in the dirt – game over for the first lap.
“But man, I was pushing like hell to try and force him into a mistake or something. My pace today was probably some of the best pace I’ve ever had. The car was beautiful to drive and I felt very confident, so a great race. To get it back in terms of going long, which is certainly not what I was expecting, but the pace was so good I could always extend the stints, and fresh tyres then always won me the race. I’m just happy to be back and see the number one again.”
MAX...
“It was a really strong day and positive for us to finish in P2 today, although I’m quite surprised with the result given the problems we had this weekend. We really hung in there, made some good calls and brought it home in the second half of the race, especially with our older tyres. We were trying to make the best of what we had, and it was quite tough for a long period of the race, but everyone contributed to securing this podium.
“I think the start and the first stop to gain the position were really crucial, keeping the others behind for a while. Then, of course, we got undercut because the others were on the Soft tyres. We managed to jump ahead of Lewis again, which I think was very critical in that stint too. We were still struggling with the same things we had in Qualifying and there were some bright shining moments, but we need to be a bit more solid all-round in the second half of the season. Despite this, I think we performed well today and made all the right calls. The Team are all looking forward to a break so we can come back rested and refreshed for the second half of the season.”
KIMI...
It was not an easy race today. It was very difficult to overtake, even when we had significantly more pace than the cars ahead. We knew it might be like that today and so it proved. We did well to build a decent tyre offset to those ahead though throughout the race and that enabled us to get up into the podium positions.
I initially wanted to target a one-stop race. It seemed like it might be possible in the opening stint but then we started to suffer with the rears. We made the call to go onto the two-stop and in the final stint, had really good pace. The Virtual Safety Car made our lives a little more difficult with Lewis (Hamilton) getting fresh tyres and being right behind us, but we were able to bring home P3.
We have had a much better first half of the season than we perhaps expected at the very start. This is where we are at now though and we need to keep going, keep pushing on and doing the best job we can. It is going to be an intense second half of the year, but we are ready for it.
GEORGE...
That was another tough race. We lost lots of positions off the line and that ruined our chances of fighting for the podium. We’re not sure exactly what happened just yet. We did all the procedures as we normally do but it didn’t behave as we expected. The anti-stall then kicked in, and we dropped to the back of the field. The positive is that our pace across the rest of the race was strong and we were able to fight back to P7. That is not where we want to be finishing but is still points.
It has not been a smooth first half of the season. I am looking forward to this break so we can reset and come back stronger after the summer shutdown. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster on my side so far and I am hoping the second half of the year can be much better.

ON TODAY'S PROGRAM...
KIMI TAKES CONTROL OF CHAOS TAKING VICTORY AT SPA!
GEORGE RUNS INTO LCH AND BOOM DNF!!
RED BULL FINDS PACE TO FINISH ON THE PODIUM AND...
FERNANDO SAYS...WE DID OUR BEST...!
THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER OUR MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY...BRUNO AND B IANCA SENNA!! OUR BONUS IS...NASIR'S GLENN CAMPBELL SEGMENT...GRACIAS.
Kimi Antonelli
It’s good to be back on the top step of the podium after a couple of difficult weekends. It was a hard-fought win and didn’t come easily. We lost the lead on the run to Eau Rouge but got it back on the opening lap. We looked in control but then lost it again when Leclerc was able to pit under the Virtual Safety Car. We kept calm though and slowly closed the gap down. He was very quick and, even after I passed him, it was a struggle to break overtake mode. We eventually did though and could bring the win home.
We saw how competitive several teams were again today. We need to keep working hard, keep performing, and keep scoring points. It’s going to be a long battle all the way to the end of the season. We will keep taking it one weekend at a time and try to do our best every time we get in the car.
MAX...
“I think we had a very good race, and hopefully we can have more weekends like this. I had too much deployment from turn one to turn two, and when I looked at my battery, I knew that I was going to have a difficult run. We were then a bit unlucky with the VSC, and it affected the strategy and our ability to fight for P2 in the end. The Medium tyre was pretty decent, but we struggled a bit on the Hard tyres in terms of grip and had few balance limitations, so we just need to analyse why it was a bit trickier than expected. However, we had the car in a good window, and I think we can be happy with the whole weekend and pleased to be on the podium. Overall it was a good result and a pretty solid weekend!” 
ISACK...
"I'm very happy with how today played out. We had a clear plan from the moment we arrived in Spa, so we were able to put everything into getting the most out of the race, and we did exactly that. From P21 to P6 is not easy, but the strategy was perfect and the pace in the car was strong, so it's been an all-round Team effort. With the Safety Car, we pitted early to give us options later on, and it worked out perfectly. Credit to the Team for that call. Going through the pack is always fun, especially with the pace we had, which let me keep the gap to Lando once he started to get closer. The goal yesterday was to get back into the points. We added a few more on top of that to make for a satisfying afternoon."

ON TODAYS PROGRAM…
TOTO WAS SO HAPPY WITH THE SAFETY CAR FINISH AT SILVERSTONE!
MAX TO MCLAREN WILL NEVER HAPPEN!
WHAT ABOUT MAX FOLLOWING ADRIAN NEWEY TO ASTON MARTIN?? AND NOW……. WE HAVE…
FERNANDO GOING TO ALPINE AND FLAVIO…RIDICULOUS X3
THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…INTERVIEW WITH HOWDEN GANLEY ONE OF THE ORIGINAL EMPLOYEES AT MCLAREN!!
WE DO NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KEEP THIS PROGRAM ON THE AIR JUST CLICK ON THE SUPPORT F1W TAB ON THE FRONT PAGE YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!
howden ganley...
Born in 1941 in Hamilton, New Zealand, Howden Ganley’s youthful ambitions were to either race yachts or play for the All Blacks New Zealand Rugby team. However, after attending 1955’s New Zealand Grand Prix with his father and brother his ambitions changed and he set his goal on racing in Formula 1. After leaving school, he became a reporter for a newspaper and wrote a column for a magazine and once he obtained his license he raced in local events in his Mother’s Morris Minor. He progressed to a Lotus Eleven but in order to fund his racing ambitions he was doing three jobs, on a construction site during the day, waiting tables in a restaurant at night then pumping gas at weekends. Once he obtained the Lotus he entered it for 1961’s New Zealand GP at Ardmore and he won his class in the sports car race plus a race for New Zealand drivers only. He went on to race for two seasons though in a wet race at Dunedin his car finished up wrapped round a telegraph pole but he was fortunately uninjured.
He eventually moved to the UK and began a career as a mechanic, becoming involved with Mike Moseley, who was planning on producing a road car called the Falcon 515. Once he helped get the car into production he would be allowed to build a lightweight version and race it. A friend, John Muller, helped him and he said the two shared a “bedsit over a railway line, ice on the inside of the window, single light socket hanging from the ceiling. There was a coin-slot meter, but we just plugged everything into that one light socket, because that was free, and put a six-inch nail across the fuse box.” From here he moved on and joined the Gemini Formula Junior team, as a mechanic and driver. He competed in his first single seater race at Goodwood and following this was the Nurburgring (finishing 14th out of 41 starters) but the team later lost their sponsorship and folded.
He then became involved with the Talon F3 car but then came an offer from Bruce McLaren and he became one of the first employees of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, working alongside Wally Wilmott, Tyler Alexander and Eoin Young in “a shed in New Malden full of earth-moving equipment: dirt floor, work bench, vice, set of welding bottles, a hacksaw and a file.” When asked by Tyler and Wally ‘Why are you here?’, and telling them he was a mechanic, they told him “No you’re not. We don’t know whether you can thread a nut on the end of a bolt. You’re a gopher.”During this period he worked as crew chief at Drummond Racing for Skip Scott and Peter Revson during the 1966-67 Can-Am season. After purchasing a Brabham BT21, he went on to race for two years in the series then switched to a Chevron B15. Towards the end of 1969’s F3 season, despite starting 22nd on the grid at Brands Hatch, he was 11th by the fourth lap, sixth on lap 14 and on the last lap he was fourth after overtaking Francois Cevert in a Tecno. Going into the last corner while fighting another car for third he put a wheel on the grass, which let F.Cevert to get past. However, although he eventually finished fifth he had broken the circuit’s F3 lap record at an average of exactly 100mph.
His F3 racing then led to F5000 with a McLaren M10B-Chevrolet in 1970 and during the year he finished fourth in Oulton Park’s Gold Cup race and finished second in the series to Peter Gethin. McLaren regularly tested the F5000 car at Goodwood and on one occasion Denny Hulme was also there with the Can-Am car. They needed someone to go in the passenger seat and “take the readings on a manometer or something they had in there. And nobody wanted to get in! Bruce asked me to do it. That was pretty entertaining, Denny right on the limit with me taking the readings. It was fantastic for me, because I totally trusted Denny. I also did a little bit of Can-Am testing in the M8.” Howden described Bruce McLaren as “the greatest leader of men I’ve ever met in my life…he was one of the nicest people, always happy and smiling, even in adversity, cheery, friendly. And he had that amazing ‘can do, will do,’ attitude.”
His F5000 racing brought him to the attention of the BRM F1 team, who signed him for 1971 and he took a strong fifth place in the Italian GP at Monza and fourth at Watkins Glen while in non-championship races he finished second in Oulton Park’s Gold Cup, fourth at Hockenheim and fifth in the Race of Champions. In taking his fifth place at Monza, he was involved in the closest finish in GP history when just 0.61 seconds covered the top five finishers. In the team, he watched the strong competition between Pedro Rodriguez and Jo Siffert “As the new boy I saw their rivalry at first hand. Each was determined to beat the other. If I ever set a faster time than one of them in practice or in a test, the other was always delighted. They each wanted the new kid to put the other down. But they were both just wonderful characters, wonderful blokes.”
Racing in sports cars, he had a third place finish in a Can-Am race at Riverside with a BRM P167 and co-drove (with Paddy Driver and Mike Hailwood) to third at the Kyalami 9 Hours with a Chevron B19. At the end of the year he was awarded the Wolfgang von Trips Memorial Trophy, for the best performance by a newcomer to Grand Prix racing. Continuing with the team the following year his best finish was fourth at the Nurburgring but in sports cars he won Interserie races at Nurburgring and Zeltweg with a BRM P167 Chevrolet plus finished second at Le Mans with François Cevert in a Matra-Simca MS670.
For 1973 he raced Frank Williams Racing’s Iso–Marlboro, with his best results being seventh in Brazil and sixth at Mosport. However, that Canadian GP at Mosport could best be described as one of the most chaotic seen. When the race started, it was raining though it stopped and with the track drying the drivers headed to the pits to change tyres. However a number of drivers had to drive through as there was no space for them to be serviced in the small, busy, pit lane. When Jackie Stewart came in his teammate François Cevert’s car was up on jacks and he was waved through to take another lap. Once they were back racing nobody knew exactly where they were in the scoring and after Francois Cevert and Jody Scheckter crashed a safety car was deployed. But the safety car pulled in front of Howden, who people maintained wasn’t the leader at the time. But nobody has ever been able to say who was the leader plus nobody was really sure who had won, (was it Howden, Jackie Oliver, Peter Revson, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mike Hailwood or James Hunt?). In the end, the race organizers decided Peter Revson had won, with Emerson Fittipaldi second and Jackie Oliver third.
Asked at a later date who actually won, Howden declared it was Emerson Fittipaldi, with himself in third place. He said “My wife (Judy Kondratieff, a U.S. sports car racer who was an SCCA regional champion) was the best keeper of lap charts. It was not unusual for other teams and sometime race organisers to double-check what they had against hers. We went over and over what she had for weeks after that race. There’s no doubt that Emerson won, with Jackie Oliver probably second and me probably third. We thought, initially, that I had won but when we checked and rechecked, I was in third. As it dried up, I saw what was happening in the pits, and I said there was no way I was going in there. My teammate, Tim Schenken, had stopped, but I waited till things calmed down. I eventually made a very good stop, and the pit lane was clear; I was in and out. So, off I go again — but I didn’t know if anyone had gone by me while I was in the pits.’ When he came up behind the safety car, they were telling him he was leading and when it pulled off and continued racing, “Emerson got past and maybe Ollie (Jackie Oliver). But Peter Revson never passed me on the track or while I was in the pits.” His wife Judy took her lap chart to the officials but they weren’t interested and Howden was classed as finishing sixth, and given one point.In sports cars that year he was usually paired with Derek Bell in the John Wyer Gulf Mirage and took fifth in the 1000Km Zeltweg, fourth at the Watkins Glen 6 Hours plus second in the Spa 1000 Km race (though with Vern Schuppan).He started 1974 with March in Argentina and Brazil (finishing eighth in Buenos Aires) but then accepted an offer from F1 newcomers Maki. Unfortunately it was a frustrating time as he failed to qualify for the British GP but then sustained serious feet and ankle injuries when the suspension broke during practice at the German GP. He found himself in hospital with Mike Hailwood, who had also crashed, and told how team boss Louis Stanley helped them. He arranged a helicopter flight from the hospital to Cologne then “persuaded British Airways to take two stretchers on a scheduled flight, met us at Heathrow, got us to St Thomas’ Hospital and laid on the great Mr Urquart — the surgeon who’d looked after Stirling Moss and John Surtees after their big accidents. Urquart’s technique for rebuilding bone was, if you can stand the pain you should walk on it. In 16 days I was hobbling around St Thomas.” It would be nine months before he raced again, ironically returning to the Nurburgring with a Mirage GR7 in the 1000Kms race with Tim Schenken and despite Howden not being able to push the brake pedal properly they finished second.During 1975 he also finished second and third in Interserie races at the Nurburgring and Hockenheim with the Mirage.
He then raced in Can-Am before retiring as a driver in 1978 but in that time he formed Tiga Race Cars with Tim Schenken (the name coming from TIm and GAnley). The company built Formula Fords and Sports 2000s, Formula Atlantics, C Sports for America, two Can-Am cars, 33 Group Cs, some Formula Ks for Mexico and Howden said that “by 1986 we’d delivered over 400 cars.” There were also plans to compete in Formula One but the project did not proceed due to sponsorship withdrawal.
After Tiga he was elected onto the board of the BRDC, and became a director of Silverstone Circuits and Silverstone Estates as well. He was Club Secretary for a period but after leaving the boards they made him a Vice President. Howden also published an autobiography ‘The Road to Monaco: My Life in Motor Racing’ which was described as “an exciting, absorbing and often wryly amusing view of motor racing, from the workshop, the pit wall, the cockpit, and many other vantage points.”Sadly, Howden’s wife Judy developed cancer and passed away in 2007.
 
Peter HooperHowden Ganley endured a frustrating year driving one of Frank Williams ISO-Marlboro in 1973. His one claim to fame was “leading” the Canadian GP behind the pace car. Unfortunately for Howden, things got even worse in 1974 when the Maki failed and he ended up with serious leg injuries. I always liked the Isos and this drawing was a joy to do.

ON TODAYS PROGRAM…
 
FINALLY LECLERC GETS HIS WIN IN THE 2026 SEASON
GEORGE TAKES P2 WHILE KIMI RUNS INTO TROUBLE
MAX WITH ANOTHER DNF!
LCH SO HAPPY TO BE WITH HIS POEPLE AND
FERNANDO SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, SPEECHLESS…
THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…BERND ROSEMEYER STORY AND AN INTERVIEW WITH F1W LISTENER AND RACE CAR DRIVER…ANDY CHITTUM AND HIS CREW CHIEF JENNIFER…
AND YES…
WE DO NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KEEP THIS PROGRAM ON THE AIR JUST CLICK ON THE SUPPORT F1W TAB ON THE FRONT PAGE YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!
Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix under a safety car to win at Silverstone for the very first time. The Ferrari driver flew off the line at the start to overtake Kimi Antonelli with Lewis Hamilton also shooting up to second.
The Ferraris held off Antonelli for a while but the Mercedes was quicker and swept past Hamilton at Copse corner to pile the pressure on Leclerc. Leclerc opened up a decent lead before a pit stop to switch the tyres sent Antonelli into first.
With others gaining behind him, Antonelli made his stop on lap 36 but came back on track with an issue which dropped him down the grid. Antonelli fell out of the points as Max Verstappen crashed out of the race handing an advantage to his rivals.
Leclerc's win take him up to fourth in the standings while Russell is now just 27 points behind Antonelli
Hadjar Finishes Fifth After Composed British Grand Prix At Silverstone On Sunday.
Isack Hadjar started fifth and held his place by the finish of Sunday's British Grand Prix thanks to a composed performance at Silverstone to put valuable title points on the board for Oracle Red Bull Racing.
Hadjar was pushing all race, while ahead of him Dutch teammate Max Verstappen was well in the hunt for a podium place only to suffer a mishap at Stowe while chasing Lewis Hamilton for second place.
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad finished sixth and seventh to boost the team with another promising performance that leaves them sixth in the 2026 constructors' title race.
Oracle Red Bull Racing
ISACK HADJAR - 5th"Ultimately, I can be happy with the result. P5 is solid points for the Team, but I felt we could've had more. My pace at the start was good, and we finished strongly as well. We got off the line well and I stayed with Max in the first stint. After pitting onto the Hard we struggled and I couldn't find the grip to stay close to Lando. Throughout that middle stint I was in no man's land, so it was a little boring for me. We lost time with changing the front wing, but it took our pace back to where it was at the start and I could really push. It's a shame that we couldn't have that last lap as I had such a good feeling in the car to go out and really attack the cars ahead. Overall, I've felt comfortable in the car all weekend and feel like I've got on top of the package which is good going forwards."
MAX VERSTAPPEN - DNF"It's not been the outcome we wanted from this weekend. Right from the start we struggled with balance and top speed in comparison to Isack's car. In the race, we were okay on the Medium but were struggling with pace on the Hard. We were fighting for P3 towards the end of the race but had a similar issue to Qualifying in Austria. It was a different fault with the rear wing, where it would not fully attach, meaning we lost a lot of downforce and spun off the track. I hope the coming weeks are better, and that we can sort things about before Spa."
LAURENT MEKIES - CEO & Team Principal"First and foremost we must start by apologising to Max. An issue with the rear wing on his car developed in the closing stages of the race which ultimately sent him off track. It's not the first time an incident of this kind has happened, we are taking it extremely seriously and will put in place everything necessary to make sure it does not happen again. What matters tonight is that Max is okay. Looking at the race up to that point, our pace was better than at any time this weekend, with Max and the Team executing a strong race which put us in a solid third place, before the incident happened. That would have put us in front of one Mercedes and both McLarens on a weekend where we had some pretty serious balance and performance limitations. Isack had a solid weekend, a very good qualifying yesterday and then a strong race today. He wanted more, but we'll take that P5. There is certainly a lot we need to look at, as things looked a lot more difficult than one week ago in Austria, where we could fight for the win. I have full trust that as a Team we will react in a very strong way and tackle both the reliability and performance aspects that prevented from extracting everything out of our package this weekend."
George Russell
It's always special to stand on the podium at Silverstone, and after a few years where luck hasn't really been on my side at my home race, it's nice to finally get a result to celebrate in front of these fans. It is always one of the most special races on the calendar for me. The support here is incredible, the fans are so passionate, and racing in front of a home crowd is something I'll never take for granted. I'm grateful for all their support and delighted we could at least give them a podium to celebrate.
It was a race with a whole range of emotions today. At times we were unlucky, and in the end, we got a little bit lucky as well. The Safety Car played in our favour because everyone behind me had fitted fresh tyres. Had we gone racing again, I probably would have lost at least one position, so I'm glad it finished under the Safety Car and allowed us to bring home P2.
It wasn't a particularly strong weekend from our side. I've been trying to understand for a while why I'm struggling, and although today felt slightly better, there are still a lot of things we can improve. I could feel the slow puncture developing during the race and lost around five or six PSI over a lap and a half, which made the car feel increasingly unbalanced. Putting that aside though, there's still work for us to do to understand where we're missing performance. We will analyse all the data before we head to Spa so we can come back stronger.
Kimi Antonelli
Today was one of those days where everything seemed to go against us. We had really strong pace in the race and it felt like we had the speed to close the gap and fight for the win. That's what makes the end of our race so frustrating. We didn’t get the opportunity to properly battle for the victory but sometimes these things are out of your control.
The damage happened very suddenly. I was taking the same kerb every lap, but on that particular lap I ran it and immediately lost front downforce. The car wasn't driving straight anymore and the pace dropped away. I knew part of the wheel shield had broken, but there seemed to be more going on than we could see at that moment. We will analyse everything and understand exactly what happened.
Despite all the setbacks, I kept pushing and trying to maximise every opportunity. That's always my mindset. Even when it felt like everything was going against us, I was still fighting to grab that one point before the Safety Car changed things. I know I gave everything I had and we will come back stronger. The support from the fans has been amazing this weekend and I’m already excited to bounce back in Spa.
Charles...
"It feels incredible," said Leclerc. "Unfortunately the end was maybe not the one I will have dreamt of but to win after the last few weekends that have been particularly difficult, all the work that we put into trying to get the feeling back in the car. I felt like I had found something yesterday between the Sprint and Qualifying, but I had to confirm that today. And today, the feeling was back where it needs to be. I'm so incredibly happy."
 

ON TODAYS PROGRAM…
GEORGE CLAWING HIS WAY BACK INTO CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION!
MAX FINDS HIS MOJO IN AUSTRIA…
KIMI STILL LEADING THE CHAMPIONSHIP
FERRARI NOT AS QUICK AS PREVIOUSLY SUGGESTED AND FERNANDO SAYS…WE ARE IMPROVING!!!
THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…AN INTERVIEW WITH MOTORS TV FOUNDER FREDERICK VIGER!!!
SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - JUNE 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (3) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 Red Bull Ford and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari SF-26 battle for track position during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 28, 2026 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images)
Verstappen Back On The Podium With Season-Best Second At The Austrian Grand Prix.
Oracle Red Bull Racing's four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen for the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix, driving to second place in a thrilling Austrian Grand Prix that saw all four Red Bull drivers score points.
After qualifying in fifth place following a crash in Saturday's Q3 shootout, the Dutchman made a great start to Sunday's race at a scorching Red Bull Ring, moving up to third early on, before engaging in an ever closer battle with eventual winner George Russell and his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the final third of the race.
Russell held on to win by just +1.611s over Verstappen, who himself held off Antonelli for his best finish of the 2026 season to date by just +0.3s.
Further down the order, Oracle Red Bull Racing's young pilot Isack Hadjar put the second RB22 into sixth place for the second successive Grand Prix, continuing his impressive debut season for the team.
It was an equally impressive day for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, who celebrated the team's first double points-scoring Grand Prix of 2026 thanks to ninth and 10th place finishes for Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad.
While Antonelli continues to lead the Drivers' Championship, Verstappen and Hadjar now sit seventh and eighth in the standings, with Lawson also inside the top 10 in 10th.
QUOTES
Oracle Red Bull Racing
MAX VERSTAPPEN – 2nd
“It was a very good race for us today. The first two laps were quite fun and the first half felt really good and fun to drive. Then, it was basically just about trying to manage our tyres, especially after the battles with Lewis. Something happened with the rear axle which made me lose pace, which is why I wasn't able to fight at the end. In hindsight we could have done the undercut to jump ahead and I think I had the degradation edge over George, but overall I am pleased with P2. We did some good racing and I didn’t expect us to be that strong against the Mercedes.
"It was a great effort from the team: they have worked really hard to get the upgrades to the car, so thank you very much to everyone. It was better than expected and the race pace was a lot better than we thought. I didn't think we would fight for the win when I jumped in the car this morning, so to finish sitting here in the top three is a really positive result for us!"
ISACK HADJAR – 6th
"l was happy with my race start, it was a big improvement from Barcelona. Starting from eighth, we had a very aggressive race. I was running out of tyres at the end of my stints, so it was probably not the fastest race for me, but I still managed to gain two places. You could feel the upgrade in the race pace and I think we had the second quickest car today, so I was very happy with that. I still need to feel more comfortable in the car to extract the most from it, but it's the best race car we've had so far and it is delivering. I think on a cooler track, hopefully next week, we can be a bit more competitive again."
LAURENT MEKIES – CEO & Team Principal
"Our best result of the year. We produced a very strong performance this afternoon, without a doubt our strongest race of the season so far. The most satisfying element is the pace: I think Kimi was quickest today and Max was maybe a little bit quicker than George, but then your grid position also has an impact. 
"In qualifying, it was clear how much progress we have made, even if the grid positions didn't reflect that. On what is a very difficult track, made even more demanding by the very hot conditions, we got very close to the sort of pace needed to win. That is a testament to how effective the work carried out back at the factory was. If you look back to the start of the season, we've managed to close the gap to the fastest from one second to around a couple of tenths. The fight is not over yet, with everyone continuing to bring updates, and we will need more to come from our side. Max was exceptional today in all phases of the race. We did not win, but we were lacking very little, maybe just hundredths of a second and it was certainly a good fight.
"Isack also delivered another solid performance today, as he continues to make progress, so overall it’s a step in the right direction. It’s also worth noting that all four cars using the Red Bull Ford Powertrains finished in the points today."
George Russell
I’m really pleased with that result. It’s never straightforward around here and we were under pressure for much of the race, particularly in the final stint, so to convert pole into the win is very satisfying.
The team did a great job with the strategy and gave me a car that I could manage well across the race. In those conditions, it’s about keeping things simple, focusing on just driving, and I think we executed that well today.
It’s also great to score strong points together as a team. Kimi did a good job to recover and get himself back into the fight, which was important for the overall result.
We know it’s very tight at the front and our competitors are pushing us hard, so we have to keep working to find more performance. For now, though, we can take the positives from this weekend and look ahead to Silverstone next week.

ON TODAYS PROGRAM…
 
LE CLERC MUST DO SOMETHING IN AUSTRIA OR HE WILL BE NUMBER TWO!!
MCLAREN SAYS BEING A MERCEDES CUSTOMER TEAM IS A DISADVANTAGE!
FORMULA ONE RULES KEEP ON EVOLVING!
GASLY’S MONACO PODIUM REINSTATEMENT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND…
FERNANDO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE DAKAR RALLY AND RACING AT LE MANS WITH MAX VERSTAPPEN!!!…
 
THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…AN INTERVIEW WITH F1 PHOTOGRAPHER PETER NYGARD AND MORE TRIVIA!!!
When the rear wing has to go in your carry-on – a look into the different worlds of logistics at Audi
How the logistics division of AUDI AG and the Formula 1 project benefit from each other
Dieter Braun, Head of Audi Supply Chain, in discussion with his F1 colleagues Björn Brickwedde and Lars Rolack
Logistics as a performance factor in motorsport and a driving force in road car production
 
More than 20 race weekends, global supply chains, tight time windows, geopolitical tensions, and the constant pressure to get every part to the right place on time: Formula 1 is not only a high-performance technological laboratory but also an extreme test for logistics. Many of the challenges faced by Audi Revolut F1 Team on the racetrack are also familiar to Audi Supply Chain – just on a different scale. A discussion between the logistics experts reveals what both worlds can learn from each other.
 
Dieter Braun, Head of Audi Supply Chain, sums it up: “If there’s one thing we need in the company, it’s speed. Not just on the racetrack, but when making decisions.” This is exactly where the key leverage lies: Formula 1 demonstrates what quick decisions, clear responsibilities, and precise preparation can achieve.
Logistics as a performance factor
In Formula 1, logistics directly determines on-track performance. Anything that isn’t at the track on time can’t be used. If transportation costs are too high, there’s less left in the budget for other areas. Björn Brickwedde, Head of Logistics at Audi Revolut F1 Team in Hinwil, Switzerland, explains: “Any savings we make in logistics can be invested in development and parts.”
This is especially true under Formula 1’s cost cap. Efficient logistics thus becomes a performance factor. Brickwedde cites specific examples: intelligent strategies for return shipments, minimal spare parts inventory, smart route planning, and determining the most cost-effective location from which to ship update parts or components. “Every expense saved can flow into development – and then into lap times.”
Audi Supply Chain, in turn, designs and manages the entire customer order process – from ordering an Audi to delivery to the customer. This complex system involves several thousand suppliers in nearly 60 countries to manage the flow of goods comprising around one million parts per day. Every optimization in this cross-divisional core process creates leeway – whether in terms of costs, capital tied up, or the CO2 footprint. “In our role as conductors, we can contribute hundreds of millions in earnings for the company,” says Braun.
One example illustrates the scope: Audi Supply Chain doesn’t just orchestrate – it also manages crises and, with experienced employees working as a team, overcomes short-term challenges. Braun describes a situation involving the production of the last Audi Q2 cars. A container with displays that could not be reproduced was on its way from China via Dubai to Germany when war broke out in the Middle East. “The shipping company spontaneously decided to call at a port in India and unload all the containers without consulting us,” says Braun. The goods couldn’t be obtained in time via India, so Audi organized a detour via Sri Lanka and Turkey. “The parts arrived half a day before they were needed,” says Braun, “otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to finish and deliver 2,000 Q2 cars.”
Brickwedde’s account of the Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne sounds very similar. “A supplementary shipment for the first race was supposed to fly from Zurich to Dubai – that’s exactly when restrictions on global air traffic took effect,” he says, referring to canceled transport routes. Important update parts were held up, just like the freight from other teams. “We organized an alternative route with F1 Cargo and DHL and prepared new customs documents. It was a nerve-wracking ordeal for everyone involved – but the parts arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday evening, and thanks to the great teamwork on site, both cars were fully assembled in time for the first session.” In doing so, the logistics team laid the groundwork for Audi Revolut F1 Team to score its first points right off the bat in its debut in the premier class of motorsport.
Speed is also a key factor in the Audi Supply Chain
The racing series brings into sharp focus what often remains abstract in mass production: the impact of quick decisions. “In a race, you immediately realize when you’ve made a wrong strategic decision – for example, when you leave the pit lane too late,” says Braun. “From a business perspective at Audi, the impact of a decision often only becomes apparent later, but it can be just as serious. Deciding too late during a crisis is problematic – but so is doing so during planning, for example with long-term investments, which makes it particularly challenging for my team and the relevant departments.”
The Formula 1 involvement provides a tangible narrative for this. Braun uses the Audi R26 as a permanent background image for his meetings – not just out of enthusiasm for motorsport, but as a signal to the organization: speed matters in the supply chain, too. Formula 1 shows that a good solution at the right time is more valuable than a perfect solution that comes too late.
When the rear wing has to go in your carry-on
The most exciting examples emerge where planning and improvisation meet. Brickwedde talks about the limited availability of parts during race operations: “We manage the production of parts very efficiently. This is partly because of the cost cap, but also because we only take to the racetrack what we genuinely believe we’ll need. If something unexpected happens, you’ve got to think on your feet. This means that a team member might have to carry the necessary components in their luggage so that they’re available at the track as quickly as possible. In a pinch, these could even be parts of a rear wing.”
Time windows are tight on the power unit side as well. Lars Rolack, Head of Logistics at Audi Formula Racing in Neuburg an der Donau, describes the unscheduled return shipment of a high-voltage battery during the race weekend in Miami: hazardous materials, special customs and transport regulations, a short analysis window in Neuburg – and shipment back out to the next race just a few days later. “The battery arrived at our facility in Neuburg on Monday morning and was shipped out again on Wednesday evening, heading for Montreal.”
Even though the processes at Audi Supply Chain are generally more predictable, the combination of foresight and flexibility remains a crucial success factor – for instance, in the face of supply bottlenecks, natural disasters, or geopolitical disruptions, which have almost become the new normal these days. Rolack used to work in the logistics division at AUDI AG himself before moving to the Formula 1 project. “My background in planning and my experience helped me, but race logistics is a very ad-hoc business – we all had to adapt our mindset extremely quickly to the pace.” While Audi’s supply chain division manages several thousand different suppliers across the globe using a multitude of processes – now also with the help of complex mathematical algorithms – organizational skills and personal networks are what count in the F1 project. “If something gets stuck here, my first instinct is to pick up the phone. Thanks to lean processes and short lines of communication within the team, problems can be solved very quickly,” says Rolack.
Lundgaard Charges From Last to FirstTo Win at Road America
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sunday, June 21, 2026) – Christian Lundgaard asked his Arrow McLaren team over the radio what everyone else also wondered after the Dane took the checkered flag Sunday for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR.
“How did we do that?” Lundgaard asked incredulously to his pit box.
SEE: Race Results
Lundgaard used strategy, speed and a bit of good fortune to climb from last in the 25-car field after contact on Lap 1 to earn his second victory of the season in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The race ended under caution when Graham Rahal spun into the gravel trap outside Canada Corner after contact with Will Power while dueling for third place on a one-lap restart to the checkered flag.
The victory was the third of Lundgaard’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES career, joining his win in May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with Arrow McLaren and in 2023 on the streets of Toronto with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“I knew we had a chance,” Lundgaard said of the probability of winning after the early contact. “I knew how this race panned out last year, and I knew it was all about just sticking in the race. I did that last year. I made a bunch of mistakes last year that spun ourselves around last year, and I just wanted to make up for that.
“We’ve been on the struggle bus all weekend, so to turn this around, I have to thank the team for that.”
David Malukas finished second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, his third runner-up finish of the season as he seeks his first career victory. Power held on to finish third in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda, matching his best finish of his first season with Andretti Global.
Kyffin Simpson finished a season-best fourth in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, with points leader and four-time series champion Alex Palou rounding out the top five in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Lundgaard, who started 12th, took the lead for the second and final time on Lap 52 of the 55-lap race when the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda of leader Marcus Armstrong slowed with a mechanical problem. Armstrong led by 2.787 seconds with five laps to go before mechanical fate cruelly robbed him of what may have been his first career victory.
Armstrong’s stricken machine finally lost power in Turn 5 on Lap 53, triggering a caution period and a one-lap race to the checkered flag.
Lundgaard never was challenged by Malukas on the final one-lap trip around the 14-turn, 4.014-mile road course, with most of the attention focused on the fierce duel for third between series veterans Power and Rahal. Power, holding a straight-line speed advantage, attempted to move to the outside of Rahal at the end of the back straightaway, with both cars making contact and Rahal’s No. 15 MSC Industrial Supply Honda spinning into the gravel, ending the race.
That was the climax to a thrilling race filled with varying tire strategies and fierce competition for nearly every position. But nothing was more exciting or improbable than Lundgaard’s charge to the front.
On the opening lap, Lundgaard made contact with Scott Dixon in Turn 1, damaging the left front wing on Lundgaard’s car and deflating one of his Firestone Firehawk tires. He pulled into the pits on Lap 2 for tires, fuel and a new front wing, with Arrow McLaren strategists devising new tactics on the fly.
Lundgaard cycled to the lead for the first time on Lap 43 when Armstrong, Malukas and Rahal made their final pit stops from the top three positions.
Danish driver Lundgaard led Rosenqvist by 11.720 seconds on Lap 45 when he made his final pit stop, with the Arrow McLaren team refilling his fuel and fastening four Firestone Firehawk alternate tires in a speedy 7.1 seconds.
The big cushion before the stop allowed Lundgaard to exit his final stop second behind Armstrong and just ahead of Malukas, who had hotter, stickier rubber on his wheels and passed Lundgaard for second on Lap 46.
Josef Newgarden made his final stop from the lead on Lap 49 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, handing the lead back to Armstrong, who was 3.671 seconds ahead of Malukas.
Meanwhile, Lundgaard passed Malukas for second on Lap 49, with Armstrong nearly three seconds up the road. Then Armstrong’s bid for his first win evaporated as his power dwindled, letting Lundgaard pass for the lead on Lap 52.
“It was all smooth sailing,” a deflated Armstrong said. “I came out of Turn 6, and the engine just started sputtering like it was out of fuel. But clearly it wasn’t. And then it just completely died. There was no indication there was nothing wrong.”
Pole sitter Palou led 13 laps, but his chances for a fourth career Road America victory vanished when he was penalized for speeding in the pits on Lap 29. Palou fell to 22nd after his drive-through penalty on one of the longest pit roads in the series, but he was appointment viewing in his charge toward the front over the closing 25 laps.
Palou leads second-place Malukas by 60 points and third-place Kyle Kirkwood, who finished 10th, by 61 points in the standings. Lundgaard is fourth, 77 points behind Palou.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid on Sunday, July 5 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Columbus, Ohio.

ON TODAYS PROGRAM…
 
THREE BRITS ON THE PODIUM…LCH TAKES THE WIN IN BARCA AND TOTO SAYS…MAYBE HIS GIRL FRIEND HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT!!!
LECLERC CONTINUES HIS DOWNWARD SPIRAL
KIMI’S DNF SLOWS DOWN HIS MOMENTUM AND…
SO SO SAD…FERNANDO DEAD LAST IN QUALI…THE FINAL CURTAIN!
 
TOYOTA WINS LEMANS AND NICK DE VRIES GETS THE LAST LAUGH!
CORVETTE WINS THE GT3 CLASS AND…
 
THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER WE HAVE: A MOMENT IN MOTORSPORTS HISTORY…AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKA SALO. MORE GREAT TRIVIA FROM ANDREW.
George Russell
Congratulations to Lewis (Hamilton). He drove a really impressive race today after being incredibly quick in Qualifying yesterday. Coming into the weekend, I don’t think we expected that pace from Ferrari, so we know we’ve got a challenge coming from them in the races ahead. We will be working hard to tackle that challenge and get back to winning ways.
On my side, the race today was not straightforward. I was struggling with the tyres towards the end of my second and third stints; the Virtual Safety Car didn’t help us either and it would have been a fascinating race with Lewis without that. I will take the positives from this weekend though. It has been clean from the very start and I come away with 18 points, which is 18 points more than I managed across Canada and Monaco!
We will regroup in the week ahead and look to improve for Austria. We’ve got a big double-header coming up with Spielberg and Silverstone and I am already excited for it.
Kimi Antonelli
It is very disappointing to retire from P2, but these things can happen in racing. George suffered an issue in Canada and now it’s happened to me; we know our reliability is something we need to work on and I am sure the team will be pushing incredibly hard to improve that. It’s more important points that we’ve lost but we must remember that it is the first year of these new regulations and we are all learning quickly.
Congratulations to Lewis (Hamilton) on his victory today. He is a great driver and has been so much help in my career so far. I am pleased to see him up there once again as he really deserves it. I think we had the pace today to challenge him for the win, but the Virtual Safety Car came out at a bad time for us, and we didn’t get to see how things would have played out.
We have one week without racing before returning in Austria. We have seen our competitors take a step forward here this weekend and we will need to raise our game there if we want to fight for victory again. We will pick ourselves up, learn from this weekend, and come back stronger.
MAX VERSTAPPEN - 4th"Today we just didn't have the pace to keep up with the cars ahead. I was really just doing my own race as we were a little bit behind the guys that finished in front of me. As a Team we did everything right, it was the winning strategy, so we made the right call there with the tyres. We were just too slow compared to the cars ahead on each compound, unfortunately. We tried our best and put everything into it but ultimately the whole weekend was a bit tough for us. We do struggle more with these high energy tracks with high degradation and we just need to work on things and try to find more pace in the upcoming races."
ISACK HADJAR - 6th"I felt like I had good pace this weekend once we got to Qualifying and the race, but I had a shocker at the race start with so much wheelspin, so that's one aspect I really want to focus on before Red Bull Ring. We could have fought with Oscar if we had a good start, so it's a bit of a shame. I think we did way better than we thought we would this weekend given the track layout and conditions. Austria will be a better track for us, and we expect to have a stronger car. We just need to work on the starts."
TOYOTA TAKE ITS SIXTH VICTORY AT LE MANS
Toyota executed a perfect, textbook strategy throughout the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to claim its first victory since 2022, securing a sixth overall triumph and equalling the tally of British marque Bentley.
 
 
To spectacular fanfare, Japanese powerhouse Toyota Racing lifted the iconic trophy at a sun-kissed Circuit de la Sarthe for the first time in four years, in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators at the venue and millions more watching around the world. Drivers Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway emerged as the team to beat at the end of the race, guiding the #7 Toyota to victory ahead of the sister #8 Toyota Racing entry, the #20 BMW M Team WRT and the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA machine in an epic four-way battle to the chequered flag – underlining the "Platinum Era" status that the Hypercar category is building.
For Kobayashi, it was a second Le Mans victory. It marked a second triumph for British star Mike Conway and, for the first time in 38 years, a historic win for the Netherlands as Nyck de Vries became the latest Dutch driver to conquer Le Mans.
It looked set to be another Toyota one-two, but BMW's never-say-die attitude ensured that the FIA World Endurance Championship points leaders – the #20 crew of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde – claimed second overall and a valuable haul of championship points.
Toyota could still be delighted with third place, although a few costly mistakes and strategy calls denied the #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa another victory.
Meanwhile, Cadillac can take plenty of plaudits once again. A crowd favourite throughout the week, the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA crew gave everything in pursuit of victory, and the pace they demonstrated at Le Mans suggests they will remain contenders for years to come.
Inter Europol Competiton lock-out LMP2 
It was a grandstand finish in LMP2 as Inter Europol Competition worked well overnight to bring both cars into the rostrum contention, but a second day charge from Forestier Racing by Panis had everyone on the edge of their seats, but after 24 hours of racing the Polish #43 ORECA with pilots Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nicholas Yelloly win the penultimate race at Le Mans for this specification LMP2 car!
Corvette charge back to the top!
Corvette capture the magic of Le Mans once again with iconic yellow #33 Corvette run by TF Sport took LMGT3 laurels with Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar, Nicky Catsburg taking a popular leap onto the top step of the podium. Akkodis ASP Team put Lexus on the podium for the first time at Le Mans with the #78 car second and the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin joins in the celebrations in third.
Top 5 Results - 24 Hours of Le Mans:
Toyota TR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries – 381 LapsBMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT – Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde – + 10.913Toyota TR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa – + 20.417Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Louis Delétraz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato – +32.381Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – +2:22.423
Category Winners:
LMP2: Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition – Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nicholas Yelloly - 361 Laps
LMGT3: Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #33 TF Sport – Ben Keating / Jonny Edgar / Nicky Catsburg – 336 laps
Fastest Lap: Rio Hirakawa (Toyota TR010 – Hybrid #8 Toyota Racing) – 3:25.041 - Lap 306
Retirements:
Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team – Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor
Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina
Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #91 Manthey DK Engineering – James Cottingham / Timur Boguslavskiy / Ayhancan Güven
Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #17 Genesis Magma Racing – André Lotterer / Luis Felipe Derani / Mathys Jaubert
Ford Mustang LMGT3 #77 Proton Competition –  Eric Powell / Ben Tuck / Sebastian Priaulx
Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Sébastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken
Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #79 Iron Lynx – Johannes Zelger / Matteo Cressoni / Lin Hodenius
Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #54 Vista AF Corse – Thomas Flohr / Francesco Castellacci / Davide Rigon
Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #61 Iron Lynx (Martin Berry / Rui Andrade / Maxime Martin
Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #13 Thirteen Autosport – Orey Fidani / Lars Kern / Matthew Bell