Roger Diez
It was a particularly good weekend for McLaren and a terrible one for Ferrari. McLaren scored a 1-2 finish in the Chinese Grand Prix with Oscar Piastri beating Lando Norris to the checker by 9.7 seconds for his first Formula 1 win.
It was almost a perfect day for the company, but the McLaren IndyCar team had to settle for a 2-3 finish in the Thermal, California race, denied victory by Ganassi driver Alex Palou.
Ferrari had a good sprint race with Lewis Hamilton winning from the pole and Charles Leclerc finishing fifth. But a 5-6 finish in Sunday’s GP quickly vanished when both Ferraris were disqualified in post-race inspection. Leclerc’s car was found to be 1 kg (about 2 pounds) underweight, while Hamilton’s underbody plank was found to be 0.5mm (about .02 inch) out of tolerance. Leclerc’s one-stop strategy is likely responsible for increased tire wear which led to the underweight condition. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was disqualified for the same amount underweight when he, too, made only one stop.
Next weekend the F1 circus travels to the Suzuka International circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix. Will Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda be in the second Red Bull seat?
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The NTT IndyCar series was at the private motorsports park in Thermal, California for the second time. Last year’s Thermal race was an exhibition, but this season it’s a points race.
McLaren driver Pato O’Ward qualified on the pole and led a lot of the race in close company with teammate Christian Lundgaard. But in the late going, St. Petersburg winner Alex Palou took his Honda-powered Ganassi Racing machine past both McLarens for the win.
Palou has won the series championship three out of the last four years and looks to be on his way to his fourth title. He has already amassed 102 points with O’Ward at 63, Ganassi driver Scott Dixon 61, and Lundgaard 60.
Penske’s Will Power had the drive of the race, overcoming a 21st-place starting position to finish sixth. Next up for the series is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13.
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Kyle Larson demonstrated why he is usually the oddsmakers’ favorite at Miami-Homestead last Sunday. Entered in all three of NASCAR’s top series last weekend, he scored wins in the Craftsman Truck and Cup races, but a miscue on the final restart of the Xfinity race saw him drop from first to fourth, preventing the hat trick. He chased down teammate Alex Bowman in the closing laps of the Cup race after coming from deep in the field for the win.
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This weekend will be heaven for short-track fans. All three series are at Martinsville, the .526-mile “paperclip” speedway that always provides exciting racing.
Ryan Blaney will be looking to make up for the blown engine that denied him a sure win at Homestead. He has two Martinsville wins in 2023 and 24. William Byron, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch also have two wins each. One-time winners are Larson, Christopher Bell, Bowman, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano. Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers with four Martinsville victories, but it has been 10 years since his last win there.
And there’s a “blast from the past” as Casey Mears makes his first Cup appearance in a Gen 7 car, driving the Garage 66 entry. Mears raced for Ganassi, Hendrick, and Childress beginning in 2003, making 489 Cup starts and winning the 2007 Coca Cola 600.
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Cup practice and qualifying airs beginning at 11:05 a.m., on Saturday on Prime with the Marine Corps 250 for Xfinity cars on the CW at 2 p.m. Sunday’s Cookout 400 will air on FS1 beginning at noon.