Last week, we learned of massive job cuts across Microsoft’s various divisions that produce Xbox games. Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios was among the departments hardest hit by the move, as The Verge reported that the Redmond, Washington-based team lost over 70 people from its ranks. The layoffs appeared to have affected key individuals across the whole company, from physics and audio leads to artists, engineers, and community support personnel. And it’s left the future of the Motorsport side of the brand in limbo, following a comprehensive live service reboot with the most recent entry released in 2023.

Late last week, an employee who last worked at Turn 10 in 2016 named Fred Russell posted on Facebook that Forza Motorsport was “shuttered,” but the Forza Horizon franchise “would continue.” The Verge’s report linked above states that the layoffs have left “enough people behind to keep Forza Motorsport up and running,” though that doesn’t necessarily mean that the game will receive new content going forward—just that it’ll stay online. Motorsport got a significant update in May celebrating the franchise’s 20th anniversary, bringing a large number of new single-player events, retrospective races, and, most notably, the return of the fan-favorite Fujimi Kaido track to the series.

Last month, before the staff cuts, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer mentioned the arrival of “the next Forza” in 2026, which would coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original Xbox. It was already assumed that this upcoming title would be a new entry in the open-world, arcade Forza Horizon series, rather than a new Motorsport sim, and the Turn 10 layoffs would seem to confirm that. The last Horizon came out in 2021, after all, and that series is managed by U.K.-based Playground Games, unlike Motorsport, which has always belonged to Turn 10. What’s left of Turn 10 would supposedly assist Playground in building Forza Horizon 6. The Drive has reached out to Microsoft about the future of the Forza Motorsport franchise, and will update this story should we learn anything.

The latest Forza Motorsport was released to mixed reception in October 2023, with many reviewers and gamers praising its handling and rebuilt circuits, but finding fault with its experimental single-player campaign, performance on Xbox consoles and particularly PC, and day-one bugs. In early 2024, one of many contractors who worked on the game shared his account about a challenging development environment.

Forza Motorsport quickly became one of Microsoft’s tentpole gaming properties alongside Halo and Project Gotham Racing toward the tail-end of the original Xbox’s lifecycle. The first entry emerged in May 2005, three months after Gran Turismo 4 dropped on the PlayStation 2. While it was clearly Microsoft’s aim to compete with Sony’s racing simulator, Forza had a different identity, mostly based around letting players do all the things Gran Turismo refused to—including damaging vehicles, modifying them cosmetically, swapping powertrains, and designing liveries.

Forza Motorsport was the grassroots challenger to the more suave and avant-garde Gran Turismo, capturing automotive subcultures from the 2000s tuner boom to golden-age American muscle and contemporary motorsports. And its soundtrack, largely consisting of Junkie XL arrangements of classic guitar rock jams, was the furthest cry imaginable from GT’s jubilant jazz. The series would arguably hit its zenith during the Xbox 360 generation, with FM3 taking Xbox’s racing sim to new heights, and FM4 arguably perfecting the formula. Since the release of Playground Games’ first open-world Forza Horizon game in 2010, however, the more casual spinoff has eclipsed Motorsport in general popularity.

Forza Motorsport hasn’t managed to quite recapture its magic from 15 years ago—and, frankly, neither has Xbox—but there was always this hope that the series would get back on its feet again, and reclaim its place as a leader in the genre, rather than a follower. That dream is sadly looking bleaker than ever, 20 years and two months since the very beginning.

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While Shane van Gisbergen was once again the driver to beat on Sunday, his closest competition never got a fair shot in the end due to some mechanical gremlins.

Michael McDowell started from the outside of the front row at the Chicago Street Course and took the lead from SVG on the opening lap. He went on to win Stage 1 and appeared to be a real threat for the win. The Spire Motorsports driver was also facing a two-year winless streak and hoped to put that behind him on Sunday.

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Unfortunately, after leading the most laps (31), a stuck throttle forced him to give up the lead and head to the garage for repairs. He returned to the race over 20 laps down, finishing a disappointing 32nd. Meanwhile, van Gisbergen captured the checkered flag.

Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

“The throttle cable just broke,” said McDowell. “I don’t know what caused it or how it got to that spot, but that’s what happened. I feel like we had control of the race. I think it would have been a battle, no doubt. I felt like any time I could open a gap on SVG, I could.

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“We were just working on our strategy. We knew we were going to one-stop it, so I was taking care of the tires and doing all the things I could. I was behind the pace car and the throttle stuck wide-open. Luckily, I got to the switches fast enough before I ran into something, and then a cable broke after that. It’s just a shame. We had a great No. 71 DePaul Chevrolet. We’ve got some good momentum heading into Sonoma next weekend.”

The good news for McDowell is that NASCAR heads to another road course next weekend with Sonoma, where he finished second just one year ago.

Read Also:

Joey Logano confronts Ross Chastain after Chicago smash-up

Shane van Gisbergen sweeps Chicago weekend with chaotic NASCAR Cup race win

Bubba Wallace “ran me into the fence” says Alex Bowman after intense battle

Why Tyler Reddick passing 15 cars in 12 laps wasn’t enough for a Chicago win

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

Cadillac are inching closer and closer to their F1 debut in 2026, which means their driver negotiations are accelerating. Among the likes of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, Mick Schumacher is also in talks with Cadillac – as confirmed by their team principal in Silverstone.

Cadillac confirm Mick Schumacher discussions as they evaluate 2026 driver shortlist

The British GP, beyond its historical importance, is significant in more ways than one.

Since most teams are based in England, the Silverstone circuit typically sees many upgrades introduced – due to logistical convenience.

Silverstone’s location also gives an opportunity to senior personnel that do not always attend Grand Prix – such as Aston Martin’s Adrian Newey – to be present.

In the case of Cadillac, last weekend was an opportunity to continue their talks with drivers ahead of 2026.

The American team are yet to confirm who will be in their line-up next year. However, they cannot afford to postpone their decision too much longer.

During the summer break, which is only a few weeks away, negotiations between drivers and teams will intensify.

With drivers like Valtteri Bottas in demand elsewhere in the paddock, Cadillac must ensure they are active in talks with drivers.

The favourites to join F1’s 11th team are Bottas, Perez, and Zhou. Outside contenders, such as Yuki Tsunoda, could enter the mix over the coming months – depending on how the market evolves.

Speaking of outside contenders, Mick Schumacher held discussions with Cadillac in Silverstone.

Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac’s team principal, touched on these talks:

“The situation is pretty good for us at the moment,” he told Sky Germany.

“There are a lot of good drivers available—a mix of experienced drivers and new, up-and-coming drivers from Formula 2.

“I think we’ll see some movement in the driver market soon.

“Mick is great. He’s a very nice guy, I like him a lot.

“I’ve gotten to know him better now. He’s still young, but he already has Formula 1 experience.

“Sure, that was a while ago, but he’s kept up to date himself.

“He’s also done tests and is showing great interest in the project. We really like that. We like that a lot.”

Driver market activity set to intensify

At the beginning of the year, very little activity was projected in this year’s driver market.

Cadillac were the only team, with the exception of one or two others, without two confirmed names for 2026.

Things have become far more volatile in Formula 1, with question marks following next year’s line-ups at Mercedes, Red Bull, VCARB and Alpine.

In this environment, Cadillac must be vigilant to ensure they capitalise on any opportunities.

Yuki Tsunoda, for example, could unexpectedly become available later this year. Should the US team believe the 24-year-old is an exciting prospect, they might wait a little longer before signing both of their 2026 drivers.

Conversely, someone like Valtteri Bottas might require a more proactive approach.

The Finn is currently entertaining interest from Alpine, which might prompt Cadillac to making an early offer to secure his services.

It is unknown if Lowdon’s team will sign both drivers at once, or instead bide their time after finalising their first agreement.

Regardless, Mick Schumacher can still be considered a relatively unlikely option to join Cadillac.

What could still give the German driver hope is, as the last few weeks have demonstrated, there could be unexpected shifts in the market.

Main photo: LAT images (via Mercedes media gallery)

On a late-race restart at Chicago, things got wild at the entry of Turn 1. Ross Chastain ended up getting spun sideways, and the first car he saw after getting straightened out had an immediate bullseye on it.

That was Joey Logano in the No. 22 Ford, who was directly behind Chastain when the incident began, however, video shows that he (and several others) were pushed into the No. 1 car.

Chastain immediately hit Logano in the next corner, sending both the Penske driver and Ricky Stenhouse Jr Jr. spinning. While Logano rebounded to finish 11th — one spot behind Chastain — Stenhouse’s day was over.

“Ross better get the f****** information right before he goes and wrecks somebody,” Logano radioed to his team after the incident. “There’s f****** six cars behind me wrecking into me, and then he destroys me from four back. That motherf*****.”

Stenhouse shared a video of a watermelon being smashed on his social media, an obvious reference to Chastain, who is an eighth-generation watermelon farmer and commonly referred to as the ‘Melon Man.’

As for Logano, he took a far more direct approach. He confronted Chastain after the race and shared his frustrations.

While the particulars of the conversation aren’t known, Logano later told FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass of the conversation: “He [Chastain] admitted he wrecked me on purpose, which means he should get fined … that’s not okay.”

After being told that Chastain may have been trying to get payback on whoever spun him, Logano replied: “Typical Ross. He just sees red and does dumb stuff.”

Logano also referenced the fact that this is not the first run-in for these drivers, who are two of the most aggressive drivers on the grid. They had an incident at both COTA and Martinsville. Following their Martinsville run-in earlier this week, Logano said Chastain “races like a jackass every week.

Photos from Chicago – Race

(GMM) One of Ferrari’s top bosses is “discussing” the future with endangered Formula 1 team boss Frederic Vasseur.

Speculation is still raging that Ferrari’s chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna (pictured) are so disappointed with progress that they are considering not extending Vasseur’s expiring three-year contract.

So far, Vasseur’s superiors have stayed conspicuously quiet about the Vasseur topic – but Vigna was a notable attendee at the British GP.

“I like coming here and seeing the team united,” the Maranello based marque’s CEO told Sky Italia at Silverstone.

“I love being with the people because they are the ones who always make the difference.”

Vigna doesn’t hide that Ferrari has had various issues so far in 2025.

“Teams grow with difficulties,” he insisted. “Unity is strength and we have that at Ferrari – and I can breathe it in here.”

As for the intense uncertainty surrounding Vasseur’s place on the Ferrari pit wall for 2026, however, Vigna admitted he has no answer yet.

“He is the team principal,” he said. “It is July and we are discussing.

“We just had lunch together,” Vigna smiled.