It’s Monday, October 23, 2023 and this is Racing Recap, your summary of last weekend’s motorsports action. Logan Sargeant became the first American in 30 years to score points in Formula 1 after two front-runners were disqualified from the United States Grand Prix. Ryan Blaney ran out of time to catch Christopher Bell in Homestead for a place in NASCAR’s Championship 4. And’, Pramac’s Johann Zarco finally wins maiden MotoGP race after teammate Jorge Martin loses tire gamble at Phillip Island.
Hamilton and Leclerc Disqualified In Austin
Max Verstappen continued his reign of dominance with a United States Grand Prix win despite starting from sixth place, however, Red Bull’s reigning world champion didn’t have a cakewalk to the checkered flag. The Dutch driver was swearing over the radio as he complained about his fading brake during the closing laps. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was clawing the margin to lead, but Verstappen survived the race distance.
Verstappen’s victory was more secure than it initially seemed after Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were both summoned to the stewards after their cars failed post-race inspection. The planks mounted to the floors of the Mercedes and Ferrari were worn down too much, a slam-dunk disqualification.
Without Hamilton and Leclerc, Williams’ Logan Sargeant was promoted to tenth place and into the points. Sergeant became the first American to score points in a Formula 1 race since Michael Andretti in 1993. Andretti finished on the podium at the Italian Grand Prix, his final F1 race as a driver. The points finish is a far cry from Sargeant’s last race in Qatar, where he retired after experiencing heat stroke symptoms.
Race Results
1. – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
DQ. – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – +2.225 seconds
2. – Lando Norris (McLaren) – +10.730 seconds
3. – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – +15.134 seconds
4. – Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – +18.460 seconds
DQ. – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +24.662 seconds
5. – George Russell (Mercedes) – +24.999 seconds
Bell Wins In Homestead After Nearly Losing A Lap
Christopher Bell became the second driver to earn a place in NASCAR’s Championship 4. It took an impressive performance from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to win 4EVER 400, named in honor of the retiring Kevin Harvick. Bell never reached the top five until within the final 50 laps of the 267-lap race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He then passed William Byron for the lead with 16 laps to go and held off Ryan Blaney. Byron, Blaney and four other contenders will now be fighting in Martinsville next week for the last two spots in the Cup Series championship finale.
Race Results
1. – Christopher Bell (Gibbs)
2. – Ryan Blaney (Penske) – +1.651 seconds
3. – Tyler Reddick (23XI) – +2.870 seconds
4. – William Byron (Hendrick) – +3.700 seconds
5. – A.J. Allmendinger (Kaulig) – +3.920 seconds
Zarco Takes Maiden MotoGP Win In Australia
MotoGP decided to move the Australian Grand Prix to Saturday because of dangerously high winds being forecasted for Sunday. The new schedule had the main race and the sprint race switching days. Pramac’s Jorge Martin also needed a big weekend to get back into the title race after crashing out in Indonesia. Martin qualified on pole and decided to take the start on soft-compound rear tires.
Martin pulled out an early lead and pushed his tires hard. However, the chasing pack clawed back the deficit during the closing stages. They caught Martin on the final lap, with his teammate Johann Zarco taking his first MotoGP win. Zarco has spent nearly seven seasons in the championship and had 11 second-place finishes before Saturday’s win.
Martin couldn’t score consolation points over Bagnaia as the winds came as predicted on Sunday and canceled the sprint race.
Race Results
1. – Johann Zarco (Pramac)
2. – Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) – +0.201 seconds
3. – Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini) – +0.477 seconds
4. – Brad Binder (KTM) – +0.816 seconds
5. – Jorge Martin (Pramac) – +1.008 seconds