This Week in Motorsport #2

Welcome to ‘This Week in Motorsport’, the news column that covers all things racing from the past week. So, without further ado, let’s dive right into the action.

Lando Norris claimed victory for McLaren in the Formula 1 season opener in Australia, finishing ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen and George Russell. The forecasted rain arrived on Sunday, causing chaos—especially for the rookies. Crashes for Hadjar, Doohan, Bortoleto, and Lawson saw them all retire from the race, with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli excelling in the changeable conditions, finishing in 4th after starting 16th.

As for home hero Oscar Piastri, it wasn’t the race he would have dreamed of. After spending much of the race in second, he followed his teammate Norris off the road in the final sector, spinning out of control and becoming stuck in the grass. He eventually recovered to 9th, but his disappointment afterward was palpable.

There were strong performances from some midfield drivers, such as Albon, Stroll, and Hülkenberg, who all earned solid points for their respective teams. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Leclerc and Hamilton languished toward the rear of the top 10, marking a poor start to the season for the prancing horses. It wasn’t the most exciting race, but it highlighted how impressive the McLaren is and how tight and competitive the midfield pack is.

In Formula 2, their feature race was abandoned due to adverse weather in Melbourne. This left sprint race winner Joshua Duerksen leading the championship after a dominant performance on Saturday. He’s closely followed by reigning Formula 3 (F3) champion Leonardo Fornaroli and Hitech’s Luke Browning in 3rd. Formula 3, however, managed to race in the wet conditions, with Rafael Camâra proving untouchable in the rain. He fended off teammate Strømsted and VAR’s Naël to take the win. This result leaves Camâra with a nine-point lead at the top of the championship after round 1 in Australia.

Also racing at Albert Park was the Australian Supercars, where 2024 champion Will Brown took the points lead after a strong weekend at the street circuit. ‘Mr. Consistent’ finished on the podium in each of the three races, maintaining an average finishing position of 2.67 across the first two rounds of the 2025 season. Cam Waters, who won all three races in the opening round in Sydney, struggled in qualifying, failing to make the top 20 for any race. However, on Sunday, he mounted a remarkable recovery to finish 6th, marking one of his best career drives to date.

This weekend was about damage limitation for Waters and the Tickford Team, as they seek to regain their pace from the opening round. Other race winners included Broc Feeney and Cameron Hill, with the latter winning by a narrow 0.6-second margin. After the weekend’s results, Will Brown holds a 7-point lead over Cam Waters in the championship standings, with larger gaps emerging back to Feeney, Mostert, and Kostecki, who round out the top 5. The Supercars now head to Taupō, New Zealand, for round 3 of the season, set for April 10-13.

Turning to the Americas, Porsche Penske secured a 1-2 finish in the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring. The race was a thrilling back-and-forth between the Porsches and the #31 Whelen Cadillac. With just over two hours remaining, Tandy in the #7 Porsche made a bold move, lunging up the inside of Vesti at Sunset Bend and taking a lead that would prove insurmountable. The #93 MSR Acura of Van der Zande, Yelloly, and Palou rounded out the podium behind the two Porsches. In LMP2, the #43 Inter Europol Competition team roared to victory after a chaotic race. Meanwhile, AO Racing’s fan-favorite ‘Rexy’ won the GT3 GTD Pro race, bouncing back from a disappointing 24 Hours of Daytona. Finally, the GTD race was won by the Winward Racing Mercedes squad, who managed to maintain a 3.2-second gap to the Lexus team as they crossed the line under the Sebring lights.

Elsewhere in America, Josh Berry for Wood Brothers Racing hit the jackpot in the NASCAR Cup Series race in Las Vegas, claiming victory ahead of Trackhouse’s Daniel Suárez and RFK’s Ryan Preece. The Hendrick cars of Larson and Byron dominated early, with Larson taking both stage wins. However, their races were derailed by yellow flags and poor pit stops, with Byron finishing 4th and Larson down in 9th.

As for Penske’s Ryan Blaney, his weekend was marred by bad luck. Starting last due to issues in practice, he fell a lap down after getting stuck in the pits. However, after getting back on the lead lap, he was able to climb to 5th through excellent racecraft and pit stop execution. Unfortunately, his race ended when contact during a 4-wide battle sent him spinning into the barrier. Christopher Bell was unable to make it four wins in a row, finishing 12th. Starting at the back due to throttle component changes, he struggled to make up ground and spent much of the race outside the top 20. A late caution helped elevate his position, but he couldn’t make it to the winner’s circle this time. It was also a disappointing day for Joey Logano in 15th, Tyler Reddick in 24th, and Bubba Wallace in 28th, all of whom had run in the top 3 at various points during the race, but were undone by cautions and contact.

Heading to South America, in Argentina, it was once again Marc Márquez who took pole, the sprint race win, and the main race victory in MotoGP, ahead of his brother Álex. Unlike in Thailand, his pace wasn’t far superior, with his younger brother taking the lead for much of the race. Marc retook the lead with just a handful of laps remaining, stretching the gap to 1.1 seconds at the checkered flag, once again beating his brother to the line. It was also a great weekend for Morbidelli, who stood on the podium for the first time since Jerez 2021, finishing ahead of Ducati’s Bagnaia and his teammate Di Giannantonio. This weekend also cemented Honda’s impressive turnaround in fortunes for 2025, with Zarco qualifying in P3 and finishing 6th, only 7 seconds off the lead. He was followed closely by KTM duo Binder and Acosta, who finished 7th and 9th, split by rookie sensation Ai Ogura, who crossed the line in 8th but was later disqualified due to ‘non-homologated software’ on his bike. Yamaha’s Quartararo rounded out the points in 15th after contact with an out-of-control Bezzecchi on lap 1 forced him to the rear of the pack. MotoGP next heads to COTA in Texas, a track where Marc Márquez has historically dominated. He now holds a 16-point lead at the top, with a crucial 31-point gap over his two-time champion teammate, Bagnaia. As for reigning champion Jorge Martín, he will miss the third round of the season as he continues to recover from a serious left-hand injury sustained in a pre-season crash.

So, that’s the pick of motorsport news from the past week across the globe.

Coming up this week, we have F1 at the Shanghai International Circuit in China, IndyCar action at Thermal Club, WRC tackling the beautiful Safari Rally in Kenya, and NASCAR heading to Homestead, Miami, for the next round of their season.

Motorsport season is officially back, and I’m loving it!