Roger Diez: Red Bull’s struggles continue in F1

Last weekend’s racing was wild across the globe. We had a first-time winner in Formula 1, a two-year losing streak broken in IndyCar, and a NASCAR Cup winner at Indy in his second try of the year. And after three wins a week before, Team Penske was shut out in two series.

•••

Formula 1 was notable for two passes. One to avoid a penalty and one in response to team orders. Max Verstappen tried to go three wide in turn one of the first lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix, with predictable results. He ran wide off track but came back and gained a place.

After several laps and a radio argument with the team, he pulled over to let Lando Norris by, avoiding a penalty. After the final pit stops, the McLaren team pitted Norris first, to the disadvantage of leader and teammate Oscar Piastri. When the team asked Norris to let Oscar by, there was another radio argument but eventually Piastri retook the lead when Lando allowed him to pass.

McLaren finished one-two with Lewis Hamilton a distant third to score the 200th podium of his F1 career. It was the third race in a row that Red Bull failed to score a podium and the fourth time this season that Verstappen wasn’t on stage for the awards. It’s a far cry from the last two seasons, and a sign that things are changing.

This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa is the final race for F1 before the summer break. Qualifying airs at 7 a.m. on Saturday on ESPN2 with the race on ESPN on Sunday at 6 a.m.

•••

Colton Herta dominated the weekend in Toronto, posting the fastest times in practice and qualifying and going on to win the NTT IndyCar race in Toronto. Herta was shadowed every lap by teammate Kyle Kirkwood, resulting in not only Andretti Global’s first win of the season, but a 1-2 finish.

The race was marred by several caution flags, one for a multi-car wreck that saw A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci try to set a new IndyCar altitude record. There were no injuries, but a lot of wrecked machinery, with only 15 of the 27 starters running at the finish. Scott Dixon and Alex Palou finished third and fourth for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The series will be dark until Aug. 17 while the NBC outlets cover the Paris Olympics.

•••

NASCAR Cup was back on the big oval at Indianapolis as the Brickyard 400 returned after a three-year hiatus. Different pit strategies unfolded early, generating lots of lead swaps between the different strategy groups. The first two stages ran pretty clean, but the final stage was a high-speed demolition derby.

Fuel mileage became an issue late in the race, with Brad Keselowski stretching his fuel to an unbelievable length. But a late caution and an overtime restart proved his undoing as he ran dry and pitted coming to the green.

An immediate big wreck and a red flag necessitated a second restart and Kyle Larson, denied a May win in the Indy 500, beat Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney to the checker for his fourth win of the season. Larson had come through the pack from 20th after a late pit stop, restarting from the front row when Keselowski pitted on the first overtime restart. Blaney questioned NASCAR’s decision to let Larson move up, but there was no time for the sanctioning body to react when Keselowski pulled off.

The win put Larson back on top for the regular season championship, 10 points clear of Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott. NASCAR will return to competition on Aug. 11 at Richmond due to Olympics coverage.