Motorsports
British Grand Prix 2025 shocks F1 fans with unexpected podium finish
Alpine delivered its strongest weekend yet at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix 2025, but remains stuck in last place overall. The team now holds 19 points, the highest total ever recorded by a last-placed constructor mid-season. That figure already surpasses Haas’s final tally of 12 points from just two years ago.
Despite the improvement, Alpine’s position hasn’t changed. The record will be shattered this yearsomeone will inevitably finish last with more than 19. Earlier cases become difficult to compare, due to scoring system differences that shaped how points were awarded before 2010.
Scoring confusion at British Grand Prix 2025
Teams in the past might have earned higher scores under modern rules currently used in Formula 1. In 2009, Toro Rosso finished last with eight points, but that would now convert to 29. Until 1979, only one car per team could earn points in the constructors’ championship. The system changed several times before stabilizing with today’s broader point distribution.
So while Alpine’s tally is a modern outlier, it doesn’t necessarily reflect a stronger performance than past efforts. However, based on the current format, no last-placed team has achieved so much so soon. Silverstone 2025 becomes a clear turning point for their season, without changing their overall rank.
McLaren reclaims its home hlory
McLaren stunned at Silverstone, completing its fifth one-two finish of the season so far. That figure hasn’t been reached by the team since 1998, when it dominated the championship with Hakkinen and Coulthard. The British Grand Prix 2025 win was also the first for McLaren at Silverstone since 2008.
Lando Norris led the team to victory, becoming the 16th British driver to win at home. His triumph marks the 30th time a world championship race in Britain saw a home winner. “It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of,” Norris said after clinching the victory on Sunday afternoon.

Norris and Piastri climb the stats
With eight career wins, Norris now draws level with Leclerc, Ricciardo, Hulme, and Jacky Ickx. The win puts him ahead of Oscar Piastri again, after weeks of tight performances between the teammates. Piastri, meanwhile, clocked his seventh fastest lap in Formula 1, equaling Jacques Laffite’s total.
The pair continues to shine, each race tightening their internal rivalry without disrupting McLaren’s current momentum. The team is again pushing toward the top of the all-time rankings, now chasing historic records long thought untouchable.
Hulkenberg’s long-awaited podium at last
Nico Hulkenberg finally reached the podium during the British Grand Prix 2025 after 239 Formula 1 starts without one. That record is nearly double the previous longest wait, held by Carlos Sainz Jr. His first appearance on the rostrum came fourteen years after his F1 debut in 2010.
“This moment means everything. I wasn’t sure it would ever come,” said Hulkenberg after stepping onto the podium. His result returns the unwanted statistic to Adrian Sutil, who previously held it before being replaced by Hulkenberg at Force India.


A comeback for sauber and car number 27
The podium also marked Sauber’s 11th in their current name, and their first since 2012 with Kamui Kobayashi. Between 2006 and 2010, under the BMW Sauber era, the team had secured 17 podiums. This weekend ended a 12-year drought in spectacular fashion.
Remarkably, this was also the first podium for car number 27 since 1995, when Jean Alesi finished third at the European Grand Prix. That number remains forever tied to Gilles Villeneuve, who last stood on the podium with it in 1982 at Imola.
Frustrations continue for several drivers
Lewis Hamilton narrowly missed out on his 13th straight home podium, finishing fourth behind Hulkenberg. It was his second consecutive race finishing one position off the rostrum, despite strong performances throughout the weekend.
Oliver Bearman once again ended in 11th, placing just outside the points for the third race in a row. Andrea Kimi Antonelli also continues to struggle, having scored in only one of the past six races. That single success came in Canada, where he managed to reach the podium.

Motorsports
Michael Annett, former NASCAR winner has passed at age 39
JR Motorsports has issued a statement
Former NASCAR driver Michael Annett has passed away.
Annett climbed from the ARCA Menards Series to the NASCAR Cup Series. He ran with JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series from 2017-2021.
He was a Daytona winner with JR Motorsports. He won the season opener in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
He also spent three years in the NASCAR Cup Series. He raced for Tommy Baldwin Racing (2014), HScott Motorsports (2015), Hillman-Circle Sport LLC (2015) and H Scott Motorsports (2016).
Annett was 39 years old.
At this time, there is no further information on his death.
JR Motorsports statement
JR Motorsports posted the following on Friday night:
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Annett family with the passing of our friend Michael Annett,” JR Motorsports posted.
The team added, “Michael was a key member of JRM from 2017 until he retired in 2021 and was an important part in turning us into the four-car organization we remain today.”
Annett suffered a leg injury and retired following the 2021 season.
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Motorsports
Lando Norris pips Max Verstappen to go quickest in FP1
Lando Norris went quickest in opening practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the weekend that he could claim his maiden Formula 1 world championship.
The McLaren driver set a 1m24.485s on used soft tyres, which meant he pipped second-placed Max Verstappen who is also his nearest challenger in the championship.
Norris will become champion should he claim a podium on Sunday, as he is 12 points above the Red Bull driver and 16 ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri who was one of nine drivers to sit out first practice.
That’s because F1 rules dictate that drivers must skip at least two FP1s during the season and give their seat to a driver with no more than two grand prix starts.
IndyCar star Pato O’Ward therefore took Piastri’s place and he was one of nine rookies to contest opening practice at Yas Marina Circuit, which was hot and sunny for the final weekend of the 2025 campaign.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
With it being the season finale, all cars were quick to enter the track during the opening five minutes, and it was Verstappen who set the early pace with a 1m27.130s on the hard tyre.
This was 0.038s quicker than runner-up George Russell on the same rubber, though not everybody started on the hards with O’Ward using soft tyres and several others – including Norris – opting for the mediums.
Such variety took place during an opening 30 minutes that was dictated by track evolution, as various names greeted the top of the leaderboard from Norris to Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar – who this week was announced as Verstappen’s Red Bull 2026 team-mate.
It was only until the halfway mark when drivers converged onto the softs that the usual frontrunners rose to the top. Verstappen was first to do so, breaking the 1m25s barrier with a 1m24.493s on his opening soft tyre run, 0.026s quicker than Norris and 0.074s above third-placed Charles Leclerc.
The championship top two would then trade positions as Norris pipped the four-time world champion by 0.008s with a lap time that would subsequently go unbeaten.
That’s because several cars went back onto the other compounds, including Verstappen with the hards, to complete their long-run programmes in a dramaless end to FP1.
Arthur Leclerc was one of nine rookies in action in FP1
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
So, the leaderboard largely remained as it was following the short soft-tyre window, as Leclerc completed the top three with a 1m24.501s, 0.016s behind Norris, but still complained of no grip and being “so slow”.
Mercedes teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli was then 0.123s off the Monegasque in fourth with Nico Hulkenberg completing the top five. Russell was sixth in the sister Mercedes, 0.248s off the pace and one spot above Hulkenberg’s team-mate Bortoleto in a strong showing for Sauber, which will enjoy its final race before becoming Audi.
The top seven times were all set on the soft tyre, and it was Oliver Bearman in eighth who went quickest on the mediums, as he completed a 1m24.759s for Haas.
Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto then rounded up the top 10, meaning all nine rookies finished in the bottom half of the order.
Endurance world champion Ryo Hirakawa was quickest of the nine with a 1m24,934s, ahead of Paul Aron (13th), O’Ward (14th), Arvid Lindblad (15th), Arthur Leclerc (16th), Ayumu Iwasa (17th), Luke Browning (18th), Jak Crawford (19th) and Cian Shields (20th).
F1 Abu Dhabi GP – FP1 results
Photos from Abu Dhabi GP – Practice
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Motorsports
Ex-NASCAR driver dead at 39 as JR Motorsports issues statement – Motorsport – Sports
JR Motorsports has confirmed the death of former driver Michael Annett.
On Friday, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR team, JR Motorsports (JRM), announced that Annett, the 39-year-old former driver for the team, had died. Annett had spent time driving in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series — now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series — and Truck Series.
In October 2021, Annett announced he would retire from full-time competition at the end of the 2021 season. The news of Annett’s death comes days after JRM revealed a new color scheme honoring the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Annett family with the passing of our friend Michael Annett,” JRM’s statement on social media began. “Michael was a key member of JRM from 2017 until he retired in 2021 and was an important part in turning us into the four-car organization we remain today.”
The Xfinity Racing X account also posted on Annett’s passing, writing: “We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of former Xfinity Series driver Michael Annett at the age of 39. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Annett family in this difficult time.”
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Drivers from throughout the various levels of NASCAR also posted their condolences after hearing the news of the 39-year-old’s death. “RIP Michael Annett — I was on the radio with him at Hawkeye Downs Speedway the first time he drove a big car on asphalt. Life is precious,” Landon Cassill posted on X.
Front Row Motorsports’ Noah Gragson added: “Love you diesel Mike. Will always cherish my time with you buddy!” Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also posted: “Sad to get the news of Big Mikes passing. Raced each other for a long time coming up through ARCA together. Spent a lot of days in the gym together before he retired.”
Zachary Tinkle, a driver in the ARCA Menards Series East, posted a lengthy message on social media, recalling memories of the recently passed Annett. “Saddened to hear of the loss of Michael Annett tonight, gone way too soon,” Tinkle’s post on X began. “I’d like to send my thoughts and prayers to the Annett family during this difficult time.
“I will always fondly remember seeing those Pilot / Flying J colors Michael had on his car on the racetrack growing up as one of my favorite cars to see on the Nationwide/Xfinity series track every week, and watching live to see Michael finally break through to win at Daytona. You will be missed by everyone in the NASCAR family, Rest In Peace, Michael.”
NASCAR star Matt Tifft added: “Thoughts and prayers with Michael Annetts family and friends tonight, one of the nicest guys in the garage.”
Annett’s cause of death is currently unknown.
Motorsports
Viking Motorsports Expands to Two-Car Operation for 2026 Season – Speedway Digest
Viking Motorsports announced today that the organization will expand to a two-car NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series program for the 2026 season. The team will field the newly established No. 96 Chevrolet, driven by Anthony Alfredo, with Josh Graham — who previously worked with Alfredo earlier in his career — returning as his crew chief as the pair reunite for another competitive run together.
This expansion marks a major step in the team’s evolution as Viking Motorsports enters its second full-time season at the national level. The move underscores the organization’s commitment to continued growth, performance, and long-term competitiveness.
Team owner Don Sackett expressed his enthusiasm for the team’s next phase:
“Expanding to a second full-time car is a major moment for our organization. Anthony brings experience, professionalism, and a tremendous work ethic that aligns perfectly with where Viking Motorsports is heading. Reuniting him with Josh gives us a strong foundation for this new team. Their chemistry, trust, and history together will help accelerate our growth and elevate our entire program.”
Alfredo, who joins Viking Motorsports with multiple years of NASCAR national series experience, is eager to reteam with Graham.
“I’m fired up to join Viking Motorsports and drive the No. 96 Chevrolet in 2026. Having the chance to work with Josh again is something I’m really excited about — we’ve had success together, and I know what we can accomplish as a team. You can see how much Viking is building and investing in its future. Being part of their expansion to a two-car program is a big opportunity, and I can’t wait to get going.”
The team will announce primary and associate partners for the No. 96 Chevrolet in the coming weeks.
Viking Motorsports PR
Motorsports
Mark Martin is worried about the NASCAR lawsuit hurting the sport
“I’m worried about our sport. I want it to thrive.”
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are currently suing NASCAR for alleged antitrust violations. The trial began on Monday and they have been in court every day this week.
There’s been a lot of news to come out of the trial. Both NASCAR and the teams involved have egg on their face as private messages surface in court.
Richard Childress is considering legal action against NASCAR he was called a ‘redneck’
The trial is expected to last just a few weeks. However, the loser will likely appeal, dragging this case on for a lengthy amount of time.
A settlement could bring it all to a stop. Settlement discussions took place leading up to Monday’s opening in court but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.
All of this has Mark Martin worried…
NASCAR team owner says he’s lost $100M in the sport
Mark Martin comments
“This lawsuit is devastating to the sport we love. I really hope we as fans come out of this better off, but I just don’t see a pathway that leads us to that,” Mark Martin stated via X.
He added, “I’m worried about our sport. I want it to thrive.”
He’s not alone. Earlier this year, Brad Keselowski noted that this lawsuit was the greatest threat to the sport.
Brad Keselowski says the NASCAR lawsuit is a threat to the sport
Before the trial began, Judge Kenneth Bell encouraged both sides to come to an agreement before trial. He noted that otherwise, both sides would be “burning the house down”.
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NASCAR | 23XI Racing | Front Row Motorsports
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