Motorsport update – 6th September

After a long summer break, F1 returned in style. After the Belgian GP was washed out due to heavy rain, F1 got a race on at last as the sport returned to the iconic Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands for the first time since 1985. Meanwhile, over in the United States. NASCAR raced at Darlington for the first play-off race.

There was plenty of great action and below is the biggest news stories to grace the world of motorsport in the past week.

F1 Dutch GP Top 5 Drivers:

• 1^st: Max Verstappen (Red Bull),
• 2^nd: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes),
• 3^rd: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes),
• 4^th: Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri),
• 5^th: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

Race Highlights

• Max Verstappen took victory in his home race for Red Bull to steal the lead in the F1 World Championship from Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton,
• Aston Martin endured a forgettable weekend in Holland after both cars failed to score a top 10 result and Sebastian Vettel spun late on at the banked turn 3 spinning right intro the path of the leaders,
• Haas’s Nikita Mazepin retired after a Hydraulic issue on his car,
• Red Bull’s Sergio Perez won driver of the day after finishing P8 after starting from the pit lane. The Mexican did make late contact with McLaren’s Lando Norris late on at Tarzan,
• Robert Kubica replaced Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo after the 2007 World Champion tested positive for Covid-19 over the weekend. Kubicia finished the Dutch GP in 15^th for Alfa Romeo albiet 2 Laps down. Kubica finished behind his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi ,who finished 14th, and in front of Williams’s Nicholas Latifi who finished 16th,.

F1 2021 Drivers Championship Top 5 As Of Dutch GP:

• 1^st: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) (224.5 Points)
• 2^nd: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) (221.5 Points)
• 3^rd: Valteri Bottas (Mercedes) (123 Points)
• 4^th: Lando Norris (McLaren) (114 Points)
• 5^th: Sergio Perez (Red Bull) (108 Points)

Next F1 Race: Italain GP (Monza) (12^th September 2021)

Nascar Cup Series Play-offs: Cook Out Southern 400 at Darlington

Top 3 Drivers:

• 1^st: Denny Hamlin (Toyota
• 2^nd: Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
  3^rd: Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)

Next Nascar Cup Series Meeting: Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute To First Responders (Richmond Raceway VA) (12 September 2021)

In Other News

• Sergio Perez will remain at Red Bull until the end of 2022 after signing a new contract at the team,
• Alice Powell wins the W Series meeting at Zandvoort to draw level in the standings with Jamie Chadwick.

Tune in every Monday from 10am to listen live to the motorsport update on Gateway 97.8 on Daytime with Aston Avery.