F1Weekly Podcast # 1164
ON TODAY’S PROGRAM…
ANTONELLI WINS AT MONZA FROM 19TH ON THE GRID! BRAVO!
FERRARI FAIL AGAIN AT MONZA BUT…THERE COULD BE HOPE
GEORGE SEES HIS CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES FIZZLE
FREE MCLARENS GIVEN TO MOTORSPORTS TRIBUNAL JUDGES!
AND…FERNANDO SAYS…GP2 ENGINE GP2…
THE NASIR HAMEED CORNER FEATURES: NICO HULKENBURG AND F1W LISTENER RICHARD BRIGHT WHO, BUMPS INTO NASIR IN COLOGNE!
BONUS: DESIREE’S MONZA TRACK HISTORY!
AND…YES WE DO NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KEEP THIS SHOW ON THE AIR, JUST CLICK ON THE SUPPORT F1W TAB, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! F1W TAB
Kimi Antonelli’s stunning victory in the Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid will go down in Formula 1 folklore – and, remarkably, his team boss Toto Wolff said that he had seen it coming on Saturday.
After Sunday’s race, Wolff said that beforehand he thought that one of his two drivers was going to be standing on the top of the podium.
It was an eye-opening statement given they started the race 17 places apart on the grid, George Russell on the front row alongside shock pole winner Pierre Gasly’s Alpine; Antonelli on the penultimate row.
“I thought one of the two is going to win,” Wolff said. “Either George, because he was on the front row, or Kimi because he’s going to walk over water, here at Monza. And I felt that yesterday also.”
Wolff was asked to explain why he felt a performance he was comparing to a miracle was on the cards.
“It’s been a while that I’ve seen drivers,” he said. “Energy levels, mindset or behavioural pattern. I knew that was his mission today, to win the race. I chatted with his father yesterday. The father also saw that coming.
“These are the moments where you can see how a weekend is panning out through the sessions that a special moment can come.”
“I will remember forever” – Antonelli’s joy of winning the his home race from the back of the grid
The Italian GP podium is always a special one, but for Kimi Antonelli to win his home race after starting all the way down in 19th place, the young Mercedes driver let out all his joy over the radio, and couldn’t hide his emotions even after the race, saying the fans just add “that little bit extra” emotion that spurred him on to a success he “will remember forever“:
“I think this is the most special podium of the season,” he said in the press conference after the race. “To see all the fans on the straight, it’s just incredible. And then, of course, you know, being at home, it adds that little bit of extra. And, yeah, super, super happy with that.“
When asked if this was the best race of his career, Antonelli was quite philosophical in saying the best one is “yet to come“:
“I mean, the best one has yet to come, but I feel like it was one of the best races I’ve done so far, and one that I will remember forever.
“I think definitely the fans gave that little bit extra to push more.
“For sure, the support has been great this weekend. So definitely, seeing the grandstand cheering every lap, for sure it gave that little bit of extra to push more and to try and do even better to win it.”
I’m So Stupid!
Verstappen Banks Podium Finish After Strong Showing At Italian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen fought hard to bank third place at Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix as Visa Cash App Racing Bulls duo Arvid Lindblad and Yuki Tsunoda ended inside the top 10.
The Dutchman finished strongly after the restart to get ahead of the two McLarens and on to the podium behind the Mercedes as Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate for the day Liam Lawson climbed up to 14th place from the back of the grid at the start.
Briton Lindblad earned four points for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls in eighth place and Japan’s Tsunoda one point in 10th to leave them on 75 points overall in fifth place in the constructors’ standings.
MAX VERSTAPPEN – 3rd
“There were some good battles out there. I had to send it many times on the outside because we were just struggling a lot with deployment from Turn 2 to 4 compared to our competitors and, in general, I think top speed wasn’t our friend today. So, yeah, I just tried to hang in there, but [Mercedes] were a bit too fast. I had one tricky moment in Turn 2 because the tarmac was opening up, so I almost just went off because I picked up the gravel from the tarmac and then I had the McLarens in my overtake mode and it makes quite a big difference right here. But once I cleared them, happy with P3 and to be on the podium here.”
Kimi Antonelli
This is a day that I will remember forever! It is for sure the most special win of my career so far. It is the best podium of the season and to see the full pit straight packed with people cheering and showing their support was a dream. The team did an incredible job today; they gave us an amazing car, and I can’t say thank you enough to everyone that has supported me and helped get me to this point.
Even starting P19, I believed that this might be possible. On the first start, I made up a lot of positions and then realised we would get another good chance to gain positions after the red flag. That gave us a good chance, and I felt that I had the speed to fight for the win. We obviously gave up some positions under the Virtual Safety Car, but we had the pace on the Medium tyre to come back through and take the victory.
George Russell
It’s frustrating to be so close to victory and not to achieve it but that is racing sometimes. Despite that, it is a brilliant result for the team, and I want to say massive congratulations to Kimi on winning his home race. There are many positives both I and the team will take away from this weekend. We showed great pace all weekend and fought hard throughout.
The Virtual Safety Car was definitely a moment where the race changed. At the time, no one could have known what the right call was. The team chose to split strategy between the two cars and that was the best decision we could have made. We will never know how the race might have unfolded otherwise but Kimi did an amazing job. We raced each other hard but always with respect, and it was good fun fighting wheel-to-wheel for the win.
Von Oeynhausen stars at the Nürburgring as Beaubelique wraps up inaugural Pro-Am title!
- German driver sweeps both overall victories with legendary BMW Z4
- Beaubelique survives Saturday scare to clinch Pro-Am crown with one event remaining
- Am Gen II fight goes to the finale after maiden wins for Neumann and Padmore
The GT3 Revival Series crowned its first champion during the season’s penultimate round at the Nürburgring, but another title fight has been blown wide open and will be settled by the deciding event at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The new series produced plenty of action at the German track, where it was part of a packed schedule alongside GT World Challenge powered by AWS. New race winners emerged, iconic cars came to the fore, and the second contest was not decided until the very last lap.
The event also saw the Pro-Am title settled in favour of Jean-Luc Beaubelique, though not before the Frenchman had suffered his first retirement of the season on Saturday. This gave Christoff von Oeynhausen a glimpse at the title – and the German driver gave his all to stay in the fight
Preview: Two to go! Title battles taking shape at Donington
+ Optimum’s Tillbrook/Barnicoat and MK’s Hawkins/Orton out front
+ Innovation adds second Ginetta
The battle to become British GT champions cranks up a notch this weekend at Donington Park, which could potentially decide the destination of 2026’s drivers’ and teams’ titles with a round to spare.
A glance at the standings and Compensation Times suggests that’s unlikely in the majority of cases, and especially with regards GT3 where the championship scrap has gone down to the final day every year since 2010.
Still, the likes of Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat (Optimum) and Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton (MK Racing) could, mathematically at least, become British GT’s latest overall title winners on Sunday afternoon. Barwell, meanwhile, has an opportunity to reclaim its teams’ title with an event to spare – just as it did at Donington two years ago – but GT4’s equivalent remains utterly wide open thanks to 7.5 points covering the top five squads.
All head to a Donington GP layout that has hosted its fair share of championship-deciding humdingers down the years. Its two-hour format has only been used once so far this season, at Spa, and comes off the back of Snetterton’s sprint races that were largely dominated by Optimum’s McLarens.
Testing takes place on Thursday before British GT teams and drivers return for practice, pre-qualifying and qualifying proper on Saturday. The race – which is live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and app – goes green at 13:30 on Sunday.
TITLES UP FOR GRABS AS GINETTA UK CHAMPIONSHIPS HEAD TO DONINGTON PARK
• Champions could be crowned across three championships
• Six races coming up in penultimate round of season
• Watch all of the action live via GT World on YouTube
PROTYRE MOTORSPORT GINETTA GT CHAMPIONSHIP
A great recent run of results mean William Antrobus has a shot at winning the 2026 Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship with a round to spare, though Cameron Pratt Thompson and Harry Gamble will be doing everything in their power to stop him this weekend.
Antrobus has accelerated his title charge with dominant victory hat-tricks in each of the last two rounds, securing him a strong lead at the top of the championship standings from Croft race-winner Pratt Thompson and reigning PRO AM champion Gamble.
In the AM class, Jamie Caudle strengthened his championship challenge with three wins from three at Snetterton last time out and he could take a big step towards the title with another strong performance this weekend.
GINETTA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP POWERED BY SUNOCO RACE FUELS
Lewis Goff has the opportunity to be crowned the provisional 2026 Ginetta Junior Championship powered by Sunoco Race Fuels champion this weekend, his incredible season putting him in position to potentially secure the title with an event to spare.
Goff, who won all three races during the championship’s visit to Donington Park at the start of the season, has added five more victories since to build an advantage of over 100 points. Six drivers still head into the weekend with a mathematical chance of denying him the title though.
Three-time race-winner Harrison Mackie leads the chasing pack, which includes fellow race-winners Harry Bartle, Jacob Ashcroft, Riley Cranham and Melvin Kalousdian – who took all three victories at Snetterton last time out – plus reigning Winter Series champion Jesse Phillips.
GINETTA GT ACADEMY
After hugely impressive debut seasons in the Ginetta GT Academy, Tom Walker and Luis Beilicke have the opportunity to emerge from Donington Park this weekend as the provisional GTA and Rookie class champions respectively.
Beilicke has been the star rookie this year, winning ten races outright and setting new GT Academy lap records at every round so far. Two-time class-winner Ian Beaumont leads the chasing pack, with Ben Wiseman and Ash Young also heading into the weekend as mathematical title contenders.
Walker’s in pole position for the GTA title courtesy of eight class victories and a 100% podium record to date. His competition in the championship battle comes from Joe Ostholthoff, who took three class victories last time out at Croft, and fellow first-year Ginetta contender Connor Blackburn.
McLaughlin Ends Drought
With Dominant Laguna Seca Win.
MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026) – Scott McLaughlin ended a long winless streak and the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in style, dominating the Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey for his first victory in more than two years.
Pole sitter McLaughlin drove the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by 1.3739 seconds over the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. The win was the eighth of McLaughlin’s INDYCAR SERIES career and his first since Sept. 1, 2024, in the second race of a doubleheader weekend at the Milwaukee Mile, snapping a drought of 36 races.
SEE: Race Results
“My little girl (Lucy, born in October 2024) hasn’t seen me win yet, and now she has,” McLaughlin said. “So, Dad’s coming home with a trophy, baby. Let’s go!
“These guys and girls at Team Penske have stood behind me the whole time. Congrats to Alex (Palou) on his fifth (championship), but we’re working hard to beat them, and today was a big step in the right direction.”
Alexander Rossi finished third in the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet for his first podium finish since placing third at this event for Arrow McLaren in June 2024.
Felix Rosenqvist placed fourth in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda. David Malukas put two Team Penske cars in the top five in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Alex Palou punctuated the fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship that he clinched last weekend at Milwaukee with a quiet drive to eighth place in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Honda of Chip Ganassi Racing after he won this race the last two years. But Palou and the CGR team celebrated its record-tying fourth consecutive season title with donuts on the front straightaway by the driver and again in a boisterous post-race Astor Challenge Cup presentation.
McLaughlin left absolutely no doubt about his dominance in this race on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. He only trailed during pit stop sequences and ended up leading 87 of 95 laps, erasing all memories of the six podium finishes without a win since his last triumph.
There was only one caution period in the race, for a Lap 1 incident in which Sting Ray Robb’s No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing – Goodheart Chevrolet hit the rear of Dennis Hauger’s No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda of Dale Coyne Racing in Turn 6, sending Hauger spinning into the tire barrier.
McLaughlin had no problem pulling away from the field on the restart on Lap 4, and his precise driving and Team Penske’s clean, quick work during three pit stops took care of the rest.
“We had to be solid,” McLaughlin said. “That’s what it’s going to take to win a championship. What a great warmup we had. Bring on 2027.”
Kirkwood, who started sixth, had climbed to second by Lap 20 after Palou pitted to switch to a different tire strategy and shadowed McLaughlin for the rest of the way, pitting at the same time as McLaughlin on all three stops. McLaughlin’s lead was nearly four seconds at the halfway point, but Kirkwood pulled as close as 1.2 seconds on Lap 72 due to running his final stint on the faster but less-durable Firestone Firehawk alternate tire.
But McLaughlin eased away in the closing laps on the more durable Firestone primary tire, as Kirkwood admitted he and the Andretti Global team took a safety-first approach to ensure the driver would finish a career-best second in the standings. Kirkwood ended up 86 points behind champion Palou.
“Second in the championship, and that’s my best road-course finish,” Kirkwood said. “We just played it super clean, super methodical. I wish I could have had a go at Scotty there at the end on the better tires, but we knew who we were fighting, and that was for the championship, mostly. So, we played it safe there. Second place is best of the rest.”
2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Rossi also was a fixture in the top three for most of the race, producing the best day for ECR since teammate Christian Rasmussen won in August 2025 at Milwaukee. Rasmussen also finished third this year at World Wide Technology Raceway, but road courses have been a weak spot for ECR this season. The best previous finish on this type of circuit was sixth by Rossi in June at Road America.
“I don’t think I could state the significance of it just with how challenging this year has been for the whole organization and how much road courses have been a huge struggle of ours,” Rossi said. “There was a lot of doubt coming into this event whether we could find a direction, so I think this is just a huge reward for all the effort.”
Despite finishing last in the 25-car field due to the incident with Robb, Hauger hung on to win series Rookie of the Year honors. He finished with 228 points, 15 ahead of Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the rookie race.
Duerksen goes back-to-back and sweeps Monza weekend…
Joshua Duerksen claimed a record-equaling eighth win in F2 and fourth of the 2026 season, sweeping the Monza weekend and adding Feature victory to his Sprint success yesterday. The Paraguayan driver took the lead on the opening lap and after swapping with teammate Rafael Câmara prior to the pit stop phase, took command of the race after the mandatory stops. The Brazilian finished second to take important Championship points, while Campos Racing’s Noel León continued his strong patch of form with third.
AS IT HAPPENED
Câmara got a good launch but his teammate’s was better, and Duerksen claimed the lead after the Brazilian missed the first corner and cut across the chicane. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak was up to third after dispatching both Rodin Motorsport cars at the first corner, with Alexander Dunne running fourth. León was able to get by Martinius Stenshorne for fifth place by the end of the first sector.
Onto Lap 4 and with DRS enabled, Câmara went down the inside of his teammate at the first corner to retake the lead. One lap later and it was roles reversed, with the Paraguayan taking the inside line at Turn 1 and the lead of the race once again. Lap 6 and Câmara repaid the favour at the opening corner as the Invictas looked to protect their positions from the chasing pack.
Duerksen was called in as soon as the pit stop window opened at the end of the lap, leaving Câmara over a second ahead of Inthraphuvasak as the Thai driver inherited P2. Dunne was into the pits for his mandatory stop on the following lap in response but with a major lock-up as he tried to get his car slowed, while the top two continued on their way.
The Rodin driver rejoined behind Duerksen, who claimed track position over the Irishman following his stop the lap prior. Race leader Câmara pitted at the end of Lap 8 with the majority of the top 10 following him in. The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent filtered back out behind his teammate but ahead of Dunne, who jumped ahead of Inthraphuvasak following the ART driver’s stop. León relegated the Thai driver down another position with a dive to the inside of the first Lesmo on Lap 9.
John Bennett, Ritomo Miyata and then Nikola Tsolov and Stenshorne followed through on Inthraphuvasak on consecutive laps to drop him to P11. But the ART driver battled back through with a double overtake at Turn 1 to climb back up to eighth on Lap 12. The Safety Car was then deployed with Colton Herta in the gravel trap at Parabolica after a spin.
Racing resumed heading into Lap 17 with half the Feature Race to go, and Duerksen got a great restart to retain the lead. Câmara was under pressure into Turn 1 from Dunne, who set up a switchback on the run to Turn 4. But, the Rodin driver locked up and had to go through the runoff area, dropping him behind León and down to fourth. Lap 19 and Miyata used DRS to take sixth from Inthraphuvasak into Turn 1.
There was slight contact between Tsolov and Stenshorne exiting the second chicane on Lap 20, leaving the Norwegian with a missing front wing endplate. Duerksen had escaped beyond a second after the restart, but by Lap 23 the Brazilian was back to within half a second of the race leader and well within DRS range of the race lead. He was bringing León with him, equidistant behind in third.
Bennett was able to pass Dunne with DRS on Lap 25 to take fourth position at the first corner. Into the final three laps and the fight for P4 continued, with Dunne taking a look at Bennett into Turn 1, but Miyata and Tsolov were joining the battle.
Onto the penultimate tour and Câmara forced a defensive shape from Duerksen into the first corner as he closed to within 0.5s of the race leader. Câmara got the gap down to just 0.3s heading into Parabolica, but couldn’t find a route through and it was Duerksen doubling up in Monza to win the Feature Race.
León completed the podium ahead of Bennett and Miyata in the top five. Dunne held Tsolov off in the closing laps to hold sixth, while Inthraphuvasak, Oliver Goethe and Nico Varrone completed the points down to 10th.
KEY QUOTE – Joshua Duerksen, Invicta Racing
“I think it’s an unreal feeling. I still can’t believe I’ve won both races this weekend in Monza, so a 100% win ratio. Just unbelievable really. It’s such a special place Monza. So historic, I love this place, love the area around Monza, love Italy, it’s been incredible. This is a dream come true and I’m just so thankful to God that I have this opportunity.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Nikola Tsolov remains the Championship leader heading to Madrid, going onto 177 points. Rafael Câmara moves up to second, now 11 points behind on 166. Gabriele Minì drops to third and remains on 147. Alexander Dunne is fourth on 118 points, just four ahead of Noel León who climbs onto 114 in fifth.
In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing leads the way on 291 points ahead of Invicta Racing on 244. MP Motorsport is third on 184, four ahead of Rodin Motorsport in fourth. ART Grand Prix completes the top five with 151 to their tally.
FORMULA 3
Sensational Lacorte takes emotional maiden victory on home soil.
Nicola Lacorte put in an outstanding performance to take victory on home soil at the Monza Feature Race, DAMS Lucas Oil’s first in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. The Italian came through from P3 to take the lead and could not be caught once he did. Lacorte went on to win ahead of MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen and Taito Kato for ART Grand Prix.
In the title fight, Freddie Slater retired with an issue, while Ugo Ugochukwu went from the back of the field to eighth, with 15 points now separating the top two going to the final round in Madrid.
AS IT HAPPENED
It was a great start for polesitter Slater, while Kanato Le held Lacorte off in the opening few corners to maintain second place. Behind them, Ernesto Rivera overtook Kato for P5, with Alessandro Giusti right on the back of the Sprint Race winner.
Further back, Ugochukwu was spun around at Turn 1 after being hit in the rear by Campos Racing teammate Théophile Nael. This dropped the American from P19 to P29. With the DRS activated, Le was right on the back of Slater on Lap 3, but the Safety Car halted his hopes of an overtake. Fionn McLaughlin collided with Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi at the opening corner, bringing an end to the Hitech driver’s race.
Racing resumed on Lap 5 and Slater led the field away, with Kato going around the outside of Lacorte at Turn 1 to take P4. Pedro Clerot then did the same move on Taponen for P7. ART were flying once again, as Le used the DRS to get ahead of Slater. Kato then did the same on Rivera for P3, with Lacorte following him through.
The Championship leader lost a lot of time to Le, and going into the Roggia chicane, Kato took second place from him, as Lacorte relegated him to fourth a few corners later. Campos’ day was going from bad to worse as Rivera, having hit the rear of Lacorte at the Ascari chicane, had a damaged front wing, with the team bringing him in on Lap 8.
Lacorte was now the driver on the move, overtaking Kato for second, and closing the gap to Le to 0.7s. Slater’s struggles continued as Taponen got ahead of the TRIDENT at Turn 1. On to Lap 9, and Nael was given a 10-second time penalty for the incident with Ugochukwu. Moments later, he came into the pitlane to change a damaged front wing after hitting the rear of Noah Stromsted at the second chicane.
Lap 10 saw another change for the lead as Lacorte took P1 from Le, with Kato then relegating his teammate to P3 at Turn 1. Taponen was next to charge through, as he made a double overtake on Le and Kato to get up to second. His MP teammate Alessandro Giusti then overtook Slater down the main straight, with Hiyu Yamakoshi relegating the TRIDENT to seventh.
In the title fight, the British driver was on the radio saying he had to retire the car with an issue, as Ugochukwu, having been spun to the back of the field, was up to P14 at the start of Lap 13. The American gained a position after Jin Nakamura ran through the gravel and spun at the final corner. The hitech driver was able to continue on but dropped to P22.
Slater’s fears of an issue were true as his rear right tyre came off at the Ascari chicane, causing him to stop on track. Rivera also parked his car at Turn 1 with an issue. With both cars needing to be cleared, the Safety Car was brought out. Racing was back underway on Lap 17 as the leading drivers maintained position, while Ugochukwu gained two places, going from 13th to 11th – and on the edge of the points.
Lacorte had done a great job, as he was 0.7s clear of Taponen, who was 1.4s ahead of Kato going on to Lap 18. Yevan David was once again flying and got up to fifth at Parabolica after overtaking Giusti at the final corner.
Ugochukwu was into the top 10 on Lap 20, overtaking Enzo Deligny, while Lacorte was 0.9s clear of Taponen, with the MP driver struggling to stay within DRS range. But with Fernando Barrichello having stopped on track at Turn 1, the yellow flags were out, with the DRS now disabled.
On to the final lap, and Taponen was struggling to reel in Lacorte, as David overtook Le for P4 at the final corner. But at the front, it was a first FIA Formula 3 victory for Lacorte – who became the first Italian to win on home soil and the 13th different winner of the season to set a new F3 record.
Taponen achieved MP’s first podium of the season in P2, while Kato followed up his Sprint victory with a third place. David was fourth ahead of Le, with Yamakoshi sixth ahead of Stromsted. Ugochukwu put in a sublime drive from last to finish in eighth, as Deligny took P9 ahead of James Wharton.
KEY QUOTE – Nicola Lacorte, DAMS Lucas Oil
“I knew I was going to be fast here in Monza but I didn’t expect to win. The race was just perfect, good pace, that’s we deserve, since the beginning of the year, to show what the team and I are capable of.”
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Freddie Slater continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship on 141 points, while Ugo Ugochukwu closes the deficit in second, going onto 126 points. In third is Ernesto Rivera with 76 points, one ahead of teammate Théophile Nael while Brando Badoer and Taito Kato are level on points in fifth and sixth places with 71 apiece.
In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing remain at the top with 277 ahead of TRIDENT with 213. ART Grand Prix and Van Amersfoort Racing are level on 155 points, while MP Motorsport complete the top five with 131.
UP NEXT
The drivers will now head to Madrid for the final round of the season, with the Spanish venue hosting an extra race from September 11-13. .
FIA Formula 3 – Monza – Provisional Classification – Feature Race
| 1 | | | Nicola Lacorte | | | ITA | | | DAMS Lucas Oil |
| 2 | | | Tuukka Taponen | | | FIN | | | MP Motorsport |
| 3 | | | Taito Kato | | | JPN | | | ART Grand Prix |
| 4 | | | Yevan David | | | LKA | | | AIX Racing |
| 5 | | | Kanato Le | | | JPN | | | ART Grand Prix |
| 6 | | | Hiyu Yamakoshi | | | JPN | | | Van Amersfoort Racing |
| 7 | | | Noah Stromsted | | | DNK | | | TRIDENT |
| 8 | | | Ugo Ugochukwu | | | USA | | | Campos Racing |
| 9 | | | Enzo Deligny | | | FRA | | | Van Amersfoort Racing |
| 10 | | | James Wharton | | | AUS | | | PREMA Racing |
| 11 | | | Jose Garfias | | | MEX | | | PREMA Racing |
| 12 | | | Bruno Del Pino | | | ESP | | | Van Amersfoort Racing |
| 13 | | | Christian Ho | | | SGP | | | Rodin Motorsport |
| 14 | | | Alex Powell | | | USA | | | PREMA Racing |
| 15 | | | Ricardo Escotto | | | MEX | | | AIX Racing |
| 16 | | | Matteo De Palo | | | ITA | | | TRIDENT |
| 17 | | | Theophile Nael | | | FRA | | | Campos Racing |
| 18 | | | N. Bhirombhakdi | | | THA | | | DAMS Lucas Oil |
| 19 | | | Maciej Gladysz | | | POL | | | ART Grand Prix |
| 20 | | | Mattia Colnaghi | | | ITA | | | MP Motorsport |
| 21 | | | Jin Nakamura | | | JPN | | | Hitech |
| 22 | | | Pedro Clerot | | | BRA | | | Rodin Motorsport |
| 23 | | | Woohyun Shin | | | KOR | | | Hitech |
| 24 | | | Brando Badoer | | | ITA | | | Rodin Motorsport |
| NOT CLASSIFIED | ||||||
| DNF | | | Alessandro Giusti | | | FRA | | | MP Motorsport |
| DNF | | | Fernando Barrichello | | | BRA | | | AIX Racing |
| DNF | | | Freddie Slater | | | GBR | | | TRIDENT |
| DNF | | | Ernesto Rivera | | | GTM | | | Campos Racing |
| DNF | | | Fionn McLaughlin | | | IRL | | | Hitech |
| DNF | | | Gerrard Xie | | | CHN | | | DAMS Lucas Oil |
| OVERALL FASTEST LAP | ||||||
| | | Bruno Del Pino | | | ESP | | | Van Amersfoort Racing | |
| 1:39.525 (Lap 8) | ||||||
| OVERALL FASTEST LAP FOR POINTS | ||||||
| | | Enzo Deligny | | | FRA | | | Van Amersfoort Racing | |
| 1:39.636 (Lap 8) | ||||||
Pierson Breaks Through With First Career Win at Laguna Seca.
MONTEREY, Calif. (Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026) – This time, Josh Pierson left absolutely no doubt.
Pierson earned his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory in his fourth season in the INDYCAR development series, taking the checkered flag in the Saturday’s opening race of the Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The breakthrough and dominant victory – Pierson led all 35 laps from pole – came in his 53rd career start in the series and less than one week after the anguish of crashing out of the lead after starting on the pole at the Milwaukee Mile.
SEE: Race Results
“Big relief,” Pierson said. “I think the pole position did a lot for me at Milwaukee. It was really great for my confidence level. I feel like this series has really mentally destroyed me over the years, especially coming from the World Endurance Championship and everything I was able to do there. It’s tough here. Coming back into a formula car wasn’t easy.
“I put so much hard work into this, and I can’t thank everyone at Andretti Global enough. These guys, they kept believing in me. Nobody ever doubted me even when I doubted myself. Super grateful. It’s such a relief to finally be here.”
Andretti Global driver Pierson endured three restarts and drove his No. 29 Starchive Andretti car to victory by 2.6294 seconds over championship leader Nikita Johnson in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entry. Max Garcia completed the podium in the No. 12 Abel Motorsports car six days after earning his first career victory at Milwaukee.
JM Correa finished fourth in the No. 68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports machine, while Niels Koolen rounded out the top five in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry.
Rookie Johnson’s smooth, composed drive from the fifth starting position put in good position to earn the INDY NXT championship and the accompanying INDYCAR SERIES career enhancement package in the season finale at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
Johnson expanded his lead from three to 19 points over fellow rookie Enzo Fittipaldi in the standings, as Fittipaldi finished eighth in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car. Johnson needs to finish third or better Sunday to clinch the title regardless of Fittipaldi’s result. Johnson starts sixth, Fittipaldi 12th.
“Yeah, it’s pretty good job done,” Johnson said. “We still have work to do tomorrow. We still have another day of this. We just have to go continue the pressure tomorrow.”
Rookie Tymek Kucharczyk entered this race in the title fight, 29 points back. But his title chances ended with his 10th-place finish in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car after contact from Myles Rowe in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy machine sent Kucharczyk into a spin and to the bottom of the field on the first lap.
Kucharczyk remains third in the standings but dropped 48 points behind Johnson and will be eliminated from title contention when the season finale starts Sunday.
Pierson showed complete control during the race. His lead grew to 4.5 seconds when the first caution flag flew on Lap 13.
But Pierson pulled away from Johnson on the restart on Lap 15 and did the same on subsequent restarts on Laps 20 and 27.
Pierson became the 10th different winner in the series this season, tying a record set in 2008. He also is the seventh first-time winner this season in the series, tying a record set in 1998, 2008 and 2011.
“I knew we had a fast car,” Pierson said. “I knew if we timed the restarts right, I knew we would be in good shape. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Pierson starts second Sunday, with Kucharczyk on the pole.
ROBIN RÄIKKÖNEN JOINS RED BULL JUNIOR TEAM
Robin Räikkönen, one of the most promising young talents of his generation, joins the Red Bull Junior Team.
Robin Räikkönen, one of the most promising young talents of his generation, joins the Red Bull Junior Team. The young Finn will become part of the Red Bull driver development programme from 2027, which has helped guide numerous drivers on their path to Formula One.
Robin Räikkönen has been active in karting since early childhood and has already achieved success in national and international Rotax and WSK championships.
Robin is the son of Kimi Räikkönen, the 2007 Formula 1 World Champion, who recorded 21 Grand Prix victories and 103 podium finishes across 19 Formula 1 seasons between 2001 and 2021.
Laurent Mekies said: “Robin has already demonstrated exceptional ability in karting. His speed, racecraft and natural talent have established him as one of the most promising young drivers in his age group. At the same time, he impresses with his maturity, his calm approach and his clear focus on driving.
Our goal is to develop him step by step, without placing any unnecessary pressure on his shoulders. The path through motorsport is a long one, and we will give him the time, support and resources he needs to maximise his potential. We strongly believe that talent can thrive when supported by the right people, the right culture and the right environment. That is what we are committed to providing Robin as he continues his development. We are very much looking forward to taking the next steps in his journey together with Robin and his family.”
Kimi Räikkönen said: “We are all thrilled and excited that Robin has been chosen to further his racing path as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. Laurent and everyone else at Red Bull have been incredibly supportive throughout all our discussions. They offer a compelling and comprehensive programme to develop and nurture Robin’s progress over the coming years and provide him with all the experience required to develop his natural talent, which has amply been displayed in all his karting endeavours to date.
Red Bull’s Junior Team has had years of incredible success. Its alumni include Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen amongst many others. It is thus with great humility that Robin joins this illustrious programme, and he will dedicate all his efforts to warrant the trust that Red Bull is placing in him.”
