What to watch this Labor Day F1 Weekend (Sept 3rd - Sept 9th)

• Formula 1 - Dutch Grand Prix; from Circuit Zandvoort in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Practice 1. Friday @ 5:25am - 6:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Dutch Grand Prix; from Circuit Zandvoort in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Dutch Grand Prix; from Circuit Zandvoort in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Practice 3. Friday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Dutch Grand Prix; from Circuit Zandvoort in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Dutch Grand Prix; from Circuit Zandvoort in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Race. Sunday @ 9am - 11am (ESPN2) live
• Bitchin Rides. Marathon. Mon @ 12pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Tuesday @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Garage Squad. Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Bitchin Rides. Wed @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Top Gear America. Wednesday @ 8pm - 10:30pm (MotorTrend) new

We all saw it so there isn't much to discuss; in some cases we saw it over the course of 12hrs if you were following on DVR and had your live race recording cutoff, waiting for the delayed airing Sunday night. 4 laps behind the safety car, half points for the top ten. This Verstappen homecoming weekend in the Netherlands should be better, weather permitting. The major takeaways from this past weekend at Spa were that George Russell is pretty incredible, taking second in the rain in his Williams; Max and the RBR still have the all-around pace edge even after a tricky weekend. Also, a shame for all the binned and damaged cars over the entire weekend. There were quite a few shunts, ranging from slow to dangerously quick. Looking forward, F1 hasn't been at Zandvoort in years so this should be interesting. Above all else though, please let us get some reasonable weather so we can get some F1 racing action.

Enjoy your motorsport holiday weekends.

Video courtesy of peterwindsor.

Watch Formula1 "Race" Recap here.

What to watch this F1 weekend (Aug 27th - Sept 1st)

• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 1. Friday @ 5:25am - 6:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Qualifying. Sunday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Belgium; from circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. Race. Sunday @ 8:55am - 11am (ESPN2) live
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Bitchin Rides. Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Top Gear America. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10:30pm (MotorTrend) new

Hungary was a wilder ride than even Silverstone; and once again Red Bull got the short end of the stick. A surprise result for Alpine as their car was incredible and Ocon took his first race win with the help of the wiley Alonso holding up Hamilton's run through the field after the Merc blunder of not switching off wets when the entire field did, following the red flag Valtteri's bowling ball impression caused. I say blunder due to the result, but at the time they were at the front of the field and had no idea what anyone else was doing. So they primarily lost a game of chicken. Back to that bowling ball impression though; plenty of DNFs resulted from that crash, McLaren and RedBull getting the worst of it -- Max continued his race but his barge boards were so destroyed they couldn't be repaired so he raced with jacked up aero all race, but was miraculously able to finish tenth. Another beneficiary of the rain was Vettel, but....as you'll see below his second place finish wasn't meant to be, due to some other issues his car had which lead to him getting DQ'd after the race. That DQ was quite a big deal, because plenty of folks downstream gained points accordingly. William's scored with both cars, but got even more points with the bump. Max got another point, moving from 10th to 9th. Sainz got bumped up to the podium and Alonso got bumped to 4th to bring in the biggest haul for Alpine ever in a single race. And of course Hams moved from 3rd to 2nd, after falling to the very back of the field. Vettel lost out due to the inability to turn over 1L of fuel after the race. Aston Martin put up a fight during the Summer break (video below) but at this time they have no recourse. Everything that's happened has lead to a few things; one, Ferrari has closed the gap to McLaren in the Constructors and has another engine upgrade on the way. Merc has taken the lead over in both Drivers and Constructors Championships. Ricciardo still hasn't gotten a handle on the McLaren and Alonso is as good as he's ever been. Spa is a legendary track where drafting and power are keys to success. It'll be interesting to see how RBR responds and how Valtteri continues working on his bid to keep the Merc seat in 2022. 

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Peterwindsor.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

Watch the Formula 1 Hungarian GP race recap here.

What to watch this 24Hours of Le Mans Weekend (Aug 21st - Aug 25th)

• 24 Hours of Le Mans - 89th running of the legendary race for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Live from Le Mans, France. Saturday @ 9:15am - Sunday 10:30am (MotorTrend) live 
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Chasing Classic Cars. Mini-marathon. Monday @ 8pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Top Gear America. Series 2. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10:30pm (MotorTrend) new

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of SkuraWeekly.

What to watch this Weekend (Aug 7th - Aug 11th)

• IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship - From Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Qualifying. Saturday @ 2:45pm - 4:20pm (IMSA.TV) live
• IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship - From Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Race. Sunday @ 8pm - 11pm (NBCSN) same-day delay
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Wheeler Dealers. Tuesday @11pm - 12am (MotorTrend) replay
• Chasing Classic Cars. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

 Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of FifthGear.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (July 30th - Aug 4th)

• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 1. Friday @ 5:25am - 6:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 3. Friday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Race. Sunday @ 9:05am - 11am (ESPN) live
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replay
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Wheeler Dealers. Tuesday @11pm - 12am (MotorTrend) replay
• Chasing Classic Cars. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

Silverstone's race weekend (and first lap for that matter) was an eye opener to say the least; we had our first sprint quali session which determined the GP starting order after an exciting traditional quali session on Friday afternoon. Hamilton took pole on Friday and Max converted his second place finish into pole in the sprint quali on Saturday afternoon. Then the lessons learned from sprint quali lead to potentially one of a few more race incidents between Max and Hamilton. I won't get into fault and all of that, there have been plenty of talking heads with that analysis, including the chainbear vid below, but as well all know when two racing drivers want to win and don't back down, shit happens. In this case Max just so happened to get the worse end of the contact and Hamilton ended up with minor damage (broken wheel rim that got swapped during the ensuing red flag) and parlayed some good race pace on hards into a race victory. What made this situation even more unfortunate for Red Bull Racing, the sprint race turned out as bad as it could've for Checo. He spun out late in the sprint race which resulted in him having to start the GP from the pit lane; he drove himself back into the points, but instead of taking 8th (with a possibility of taking 7th), RBR pit him late to steal the fastest lap point away from Merc/Hamilton. Not sure this was the most logical decision on the face, but it's in the books. The primary thing to pay attention to here is how Max and Hamilton will choose to go forward, in races; will they be more apt to contact one another again while imposing their will? Will things get more chippy as races pass? There is a lot at stake here, specifically for Red Bull Racing as they're trying to snag a Constructors' (and Drivers') chip heading into the new regulations of 2022, with by all accounts is a better overall package this year. Meanwhile Merc is trying to lockout the first stretch of the turbo-hybrid era with an 8th Constructors title. Lewis is trying to take his 8th Driver's title and break the Schumacher's historic record. In the meantime, Ferrari has been looking better, Charles taking second after almost taking the win. McLaren had a decent day as well, which definitely suggests the Constructors' fight for 3rd will drag out until very late in the year. With the checkered flag dropped Max now has an 8pt lead over Hamilton, cut down from 33. RBRs lead over Mercedes AMG is now just 4pts. Ferrari is now within 15pts of McLaren. Hungary should tell us plenty about what will happen through the second half of this Championship, post-summer break.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of ChainBear.

Check here for the Formula1 race recap.

What to watch this Weekend (July 25th - July 28th)

• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Chasing Classic Cars. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of savagegeese.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (July 16th - July 21st)

• Formula 1 - British Grand Prix; from Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. Practice 1. Friday @ 9:25am - 10:30am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - British Grand Prix; from Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. Qualifying. Friday @ 12:55pm - 2pm (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - British Grand Prix; from Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. Practice 2. Saturday @ 6:55am - 8am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - British Grand Prix; from Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. Sprint Qualifying. Saturday @ 11:25am - 12pm (ESPN2) live 
• IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship - From Lime Rock Park. Saturday @ 5:30pm - 8:30pm (NBCSN) same-day delayed airing
• Formula 1 - British Grand Prix; from Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. Race. Sunday @ 9:55am - 12pm (ESPN) live
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Chasing Classic Cars. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

An exciting race in Austria last time around and it almost wrapped up the way I thought it would, with a few interesting wrinkles thrown in. The fans have been back in the last few races and it's been noticeably better for it. This season has been outstanding; I think it's what many have been looking forward to for years -- someone other than Merc taking the podium, some mid-field teams competing for podiums more regularly and for Max to have a car good enough to compete. Well it's all happening right now and it's been pretty intriguing. Max took another win on RBR's home track, Lando is showing how strong he truly is in the McLaren and Bottas did good to help fight for his seat in 2022 after news of Hamilton signing a two year deal. Hamilton helped his hopes by limiting damage, finishing in fourth. Perez did another solid job for the constructors and his own place in the championship by taking 6th. The controversy of this race really came down to the penalties for overtaking on turn 10. That'll be addressed in the second vid below, but it raises questions about the stewards letting the drivers race -- or not. Merc still has issues to sort out, but the good news is they maximized points and didn't worry about which driver took second in order to do so. Ricciardo did a good job making up for a terrible Saturday to snag some good points on Sunday, taking 7th. And next to Lando, going for the win and coming up a bit short Sunday, the next driver which was a pleasure to root for was George Russell, who got into Q3 with his Williams, again, but missed out on taking 10th on Sunday due to a pressing Alonso on newer tires, late in the race. Hopefully he'll be rewarded sooner than later, but in the meantime the buzz is on whether he'll have a seat next to Hamilton in 2022 or if he'll be back at Williams for the first year of the new regulations. Ferrari also did a good job snagging points against their rival McLaren, taking 4th and 8th, Sainz taking the prior. Silverstone is going to be an interesting race. Red Bull has turned into the Merc of old, where you think they have the edge in every race. Meanwhile Merc has been tweaking the package to close the gap some; Silverstone is a race where Merc has been dominant, especially Hamilton, loving to show up in front of his home fans. The RBR package is just better at this point so it'll be interesting to see who has the edge over a single lap and race pace come Saturday afternoon. It'll also be nice to see if Hamilton, but more importantly Norris and Russell, can deliver some magic in front of their home fans. Also, there will be a different race weekend format with sprint qualifying; Silverstone is one of three races this year with this format. This will mean teams will only have an hour to get ready for qualy, so it should be interesting.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of peterwindsor.

Video courtesy of ChainBear.

Watch race recap here courtesy of Formula1.

What to watch this Goodwood FOS 2021 Weekend (July 8th - July 14th)

• Goodwood Festival of Speed Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun @ live YouTube feed on GoodwoodRoad&Racing) 
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays

Enjoy your Goodwood FOS weekends -- it's streaming right now on YT.

Video courtesy of carwow.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (June 25th - June 30th)

• Formula 1 - Steiermark Grand Prix; from the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Practice 1. Friday @ 5:25am - 6:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Steiermark Grand Prix; from the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Steiermark Grand Prix; from the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Practice 3. Friday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Steiermark Grand Prix; from the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Steiermark Grand Prix; from the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Race. Sunday @ 9:05am - 11:30am (ESPN) live
• WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Six hours of the Glen. From Watkins Glen International Raceway in New York. Sunday @ 7pm - 10pm (NBCSN) same-day delay
• Garage Squad. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @11pm - 12am (MotorTrend) replays

Short week so watch the vid below to get caught up if you didn't watch the race. Red Bull did the old undercut double stop is better than your in the lead single stop race and have put Max and RBR further into their respective Championship leads. Bottas gets screwed out of a better result. Checo had a great race, so did Alonso and McLaren. Ferrari was no where to be found outside of street circuits. There are a lot of questions the Mercedes AMG strategists have to answer going into Red Bulls home race this weekend.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of peterwindsor.

Official race recap courtesy of Formula1.

What to watch this Weekend (June 12th - June 16th)

• IndyCar Series - Detroit Indy Grand Prix, Race #1. From Belle Island Park in Detroit, MI. Saturday @ 2pm - 4pm (NBC) live
• WeatherTech Sports Car Championship - Detroit Belle Island Grand Prix. From Belle Island Park in Detroit, MI. Saturday @ 5pm - 7pm (NBCSN) live
• IndyCar Series - Detroit Indy Grand Prix, Race #2. From Belle Island Park in Detroit, MI. Sunday @ 12pm - 3pm (NBC) live
• Garage Squad. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of HeelandToeBlog.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (June 4th - June 9th)

• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:25am - 5:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 2. Friday @ 7:55am - 9am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 3. Saturday @ 4:55am - 6am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Qualifying. Saturday @ 7:55am - 9am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Race. Sunday @ 6:30am - 10am (ESPN) live
• Garage Squad. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 

Monaco is always the best weekends of the year, for teams, drivers and spectators, and the weather didn't disappoint; perfectly picturesque, sunny and with fans. Charles was home, once again, coming off some poor fortune last time around in 2019. Unfortunately his luck this year was no better, despite taking pole on Saturday via his first run in Q3. On his last run in Q3, however, he clipped the turn 15 barrier and put it into the wall. This is what set into motion what would take place on Sunday. But before we get to that, the rest of the top five qualifiers were on fliers when Charles hit the way, negating their attempts. Verstappen was in second, Bottas took third and a quick Sainz and Norris rounded out 4th and 5th. Ferrari was very quick around the Monaco streets all weekend and it was proven to not be a fluke on Saturday. Merc was not close enough, but Hams had a rough weekend overall, never able to quite get the balance where he was able to push; he qualified 7th. Vettel finally out qualified his teammate and qualified 8th beside Lewis. Gasly showed some pace, qualifying 6th and Perez was in 9th, not quite in a position to help out Max with strategy, but then again this race is almost entirely about track position due to the lack of passing points on the circuit. Sunday came, and the proverbial shit hit the fan (see vid two for an explanation). Leclerc wasn't the only one who got the shaft (no pun intended) Sunday, so did Valteri, who has be up there in the most unlucky drivers over the last couple years -- he's running in a podium position, comes in for tires and never leaves the pit again, as he had shredded wheel nut on his FR (see video three). Picking up the scraps of these mistakes, however, were Norris, Sainz, Verstappen and Vettel (!) who took fifth. Red Bull has taken the lead in the Constructors Championship for the first time in years -- and more importantly Max leads the Driver's Championship for the first time in his career. This weekend in Azerbaijan will be intense across the board; it'll be interesting to see if the unique nature of the Monaco streets were an anomaly or not in terms of pace and result; this championship could be getting really good.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Formula1.

Videos courtesy of Peterwindsor.

What to watch this Memorial Day Weekend (May 30th - June 2nd)

• IndyCar Series - The Indianapolis 500. From Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from Speedway, Indiana. Sunday @ 11am - 4pm (NBC) live; pre-race 9am-11am (NBCSN) 
• Bitchin Rides. Marathon. Monday @ 12pm - 10am (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Tue/Wed @ 6pm - 7pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of CarMagazine.

What to watch this Monaco GP Weekend (Mar 20th - Mar 26th)

• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 1. Thursday @ 5:25am - 6:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 2. Thursday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live 
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7:30am (ESPNU) live 
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix. From Circuit de Monaco. Race. Sunday @ 8:55am - 11am (ESPN2) live; same-day replay @ 12:25pm (ABC)
• Garage Squad. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Hot Rod Garage. Mon/Tue @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 

Barcelona was exciting even through it had a very familiar outcome; Merc clipped Red Bulls wings via strategy and moderately better pace on a set of medium tires during the second half of the race where either one stop or two stop were up on offer. Oh and Hams got pole number 100. Meanwhile Max raced his 100th grand prix. The wily veteran got the upper hand this go around, but I think if Red Bull had pit Max immediately after Hamilton pit for his last set of mediums, Max may have had a chance -- unfortunately there's no way to say at this point given how mighty Hamilton's pace on mediums was all weekend. Charles looked strong again with another best of the rest finish in 4th. Sergio had a solid race as well even though he wasn't along side Max to help counter Merc, finishing 5th. Ricciardo got the monkey off his back and had a strong outing in his McLaren, taking 6th ahead of his speed partner in crime, Lando who took 8th. Sainz took 7th to keep the points coming for Ferrari in their battle with McLaren and Ocon had another solid outing taking 9th. Gasly took the last championship point in tenth. It looks like Merc clawed some performance back despite much talk about Red Bulls bendy rear wing. It also looks like all the swapped drivers are settling into thing in their new surroundings. Alonso had a decent weekend, but Sunday wasn't memorable. With the checkered flag dropped, the Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Verstappen (-14), Bottas (-47), Norris (-53), Leclerc (-54), Perez (-62). After only a few races, the gaps between runners is becoming quite apparent. Most importantly, the gap between Merc and Red Bull in the Constructors' is 29 points. Monaco is a track known for little passing and rewarding qualy and track position. If Red Bull can't take the fight to Merc, on the slow and medium-speed corners of Monaco, it's going to be a long season; especially since everyone has already shifted to 2022 regulation development.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Formula1.

What to watch this Weekend (May 14th - May 19th)

• IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship - Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio. Sunday @ 2:30pm - 5:30pm (NBCSN) live
• Garage Squad. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Hot Rod Garage. Mon/Tues/Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Wheeler Dealers. Mini-marathon. Monday @ 8 - 11pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Restoration Garage. Marathon. Tues @ 10am - 4pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of EvolveAutomotive.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (May 7th - May 12th)

• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:25am - 6:30am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Practice 3. Saturday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2) live    
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix; from Catalunya Circuit, Spain. Race. Sunday @ 8:55am - 11am (ESPN) live
• Chasing Classic Cars. Marathon. Mon @ 10am - 4pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Restoration Garage. Marathon. Tues @ 10am - 4pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 

Short, busy week, so this will be brief. This race was much like last years race in that Bottas was the fastest on Saturday, Hamilton out raced him and took the victory and Verstappen was in the mix, splitting the two mercs when the checkered flag dropped. Bottas had a great start this time, unlike last year, but just wasn't as fast in race as Hams and Max. Bottas did snag the fastest lap, on the very last lap of the race as he and Max were sent out on softs to try getting what could be a very precious point come late in the season. What wasn't like last year was the fact that Sergio is now Max's teammate and took fourth to keep the points haul as high as possible for Red Bull; this is where they couldn't be last year with Albon, so on that level this is still a good thing. However, Max missed out on pole due to track limits and he wasn't pleased. Also, it appears that the advantage Red Bull had over the first two races has diminished and Merc has figured a few things out. Now this is Merc we're talking about, so it is to be expected to a degree, however, if the next few races go in AMG's favor Red Bull is really going to be pissed they weren't able to take the constructors' lead when they had the opportunity. The good news is that Red Bull and Merc are closer than they've ever been so if it remains tight it will give us all the entertainment we've been looking for. Time will tell; in the meantime, the transplants all looked decent this weekend -- Alonso looked better this race weekend, Perez is looking really comfortable in his RBR and Ricciardo, while not amazing, did improve some with his points after a rough qualy. Even Vettel looked pretty good in the Aston Martin, despite himself and Stroll both being out of the points. Lando is fast and the Ferrari boys are quick too, but unfortunately Sainz had tire management issues during the race leading to him getting feasted on in the last third. Tsunoda is having a rough time in the initially quick Alfa Tauri; Gasly snagged the final points position after a tough battle in the mid-field. McLaren vs Ferrari is turning into a pretty nice match up with Alpine trying to crash the party. With the checkered flag dropped, the driver's championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Verstappen (-8), Norris (-32), Bottas (-37), Leclerc (-41), Perez (-47). Alonso is returning home, Red Bull is looking to counter, Ricciardo is looking to show his talent and Merc is looking to step on the competition. This should be another great race.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Formula1.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (Apr 30th - May 5th)

• Formula 1 - Portugal Grand Prix; from Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Practice 1. Friday @ 6:25am - 7:30am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Portugal Grand Prix; from Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Practice 2. Friday @ 9:55am - 11am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Portugal Grand Prix; from Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Practice 3. Saturday @ 6:55am - 8am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Portugal Grand Prix; from Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Qualifying. Saturday @ 9:55am - 11am @ (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Portugal Grand Prix; from Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Race. Sunday @ 9:55am - 12pm (ESPN) live; pre-race at 8:25am
• Garage Squad. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 4pm - 5pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 

Action in Imola was both treacherous and intense. Countless cars spinning off track, countless shunts, many red flags and the race winner was determined by who kept it the cleanest and the ones who made the best decisions during the dry out phase on slicks. Max wasn't the fastest through qualy, Ham's taking pole on a 30th circuit, but his car was definitely faster in race pace per usual and for some reason Valtteri lost his mojo and was no where close to Hams. Meanwhile Perez did well in qualy reversing the typical arrangement at the front of the field; two Redbulls against one Merc. While all that was happening McLaren has proven to be quite the spicy meatball; Lando is legitimately fast. Leclerc was in his usual position in touch with the fastest cars, but not fast enough to compete for the podium. Hamilton has the luck of the Irish; Perez had an unfortunate slide late in the race which took him out of contention. Bottas and Russell came together at triple digits which led to plenty of controversy; unfortunately, after further review it appears that Bottas didn't do George as bad as he initially reacted, but the outside line was so wet at that stage of the race that there was no way it would've succeeded. Too late now though, they were both out; Perez was also out of the points as well, bringing us back to the manufacturers chip points; Lando was able to hold onto 3rd, Hams recovered from his safety car off to take second, which was nothing short of miraculous and Max rode off into the sunset for his first win in Italy at anytime. Meanwhile Leclerc and Sainz took really good points in 4/5, respectively. Ricciardo seems to still be getting used to his Merc and can't extract everything he wants from it yet; the same goes for Perez in the RBR. Portugal should be another interesting race to see where the mid-field and new drivers sort themselves out. 

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Formula1.

What to watch this Weekend (Apr 24th - Apr 28th)

• IndyCar Series - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, FL. Sunday @ 12pm - 3pm (NBC) live 
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of JoeAchilles.

What to watch this F1 Weekend (April 16th - April 21st)

• Formula 1 - Romagna Grand Prix; from Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:55am - 6am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Romagna Grand Prix; from Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:25am - 9:30am (ESPNU) live
• Formula 1 - Romagna Grand Prix; from Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Practice 3. Saturday @ 4:55am - 6am (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Portugal Grand Prix; from Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Qualifying. Saturday @ 7:55am - 9am @ (ESPN2) live
• Formula 1 - Romagna Grand Prix; from Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Race. Sunday @ (7:30am pre-race) 8:55am - 11am (ESPN) live
• IndyCar Series - Honda Grand Prix of Alabama. From Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Sunday @ 3pm - 6pm (NBCSN(HD)) live
  
• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Wheeler Dealers. Mini-marathon. Monday @ 8pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 
• Restoration Garage. Wednesday @ 11pm - 12am (MotorTrend) replays

Bahrain turned into the close racing between RedBull and Merc we've been looking for, despite the podium looking quite familiar once the flag dropped. Merc was on the back foot heading into this race having some detrimental effects from the 2021 floor regulations which they have yet to counter with development. The car is much better than testing, but still slower than the Red Bull, which was proven out with Max taking a spectacularly large 4-tenth gap in qualy for pole. The race boiled down to two particular strategy decisions deep into the race; the first was Merc pitting Hamilton for his thirds set of tires to cover off a possible Verstappen undercut which didn't quite pan out (Max didn't stop for another ten laps to counter that strategy) and Max giving Hamilton his position back after passing him off course on the very corner Red Bull blew the whistle on Merc for taking advantage of most of the race. The latter became the big discussion point as you'll see in the recap below. However the ability of Hamilton to hold off Max with ten-lap older tires and a slower car for the last handful of laps of the race was impressive to say the least. Also, Perez had an electrical problem in the formation laps which forced him to start from pit lane -- he overcame that better than expected and took sixth, but he wasn't in the strategy to counter Valtteri because he was out of the mix all race, so once again Max was racing by himself. In the end, Hams took the win, Max came in a close second and Valtteri took third. Sound familiar? In other action the rookie Tsunoda is officially fast. Alpha Tauri was fast all weekend to be frank, but had difficulties on race day and Tsunoda finished 9th, but in the points; the only points for the team with Gasly's DNF. Also, Aston Martin didn't look great, also struggling with the new regulations, Vettel looking even worse after getting caught up in yellow flag drama during qualy and not slowing down. Lando and Danny did well, taking 4th and 7th respectively and Leclerc took 6th, staying up in the mid-field per usual. Sainz took 8th so he did decently on his debut given Charles is the benchmark. Lance took the final points spot in tenth for Aston Martin's first race. There's a lot to unpack here; Merc have to get some downforce back in the rear of the car, but still have the best pair of cars/drivers to score the most points until otherwise proven. Red Bull have to get past the electrical gremlins (Max was also dealing with some odd power delivery problem, sound familiar?) to be more consistent on Sunday. We'll be in Italy this weekend so it'll be interesting to see if Ferrari can make a strong showing now that they have their powerunit sorted out relative to last season. It'll also be good to see who can make the next best step forward between the top teams. I usually list the drivers standings at this point of the post, but I'll start that later in the season.

Enjoy your motorsport weekends.

Video courtesy of Formula1.

What to watch this Weekend (April 10th - April 14th)

• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 
• Restoration Garage. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of EvolveAutomotive.

What to watch this Weekend (April 3rd - April 7th)

• Bitchin Rides. Mon/Tue/Wed @ 5pm - 6pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Garage Squad. Mon/Wed @ 7pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) replays
• Auto Mundial. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend)
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend) 
• Restoration Garage. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrend) new

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Evolve.