Max Verstappen’s preparation for last weekend’s Nurburgring 24 Hours has stunned his fellow drivers and you will find out why in this week’s Racecraft & Race Cars Roundup. I also have more racecraft tips, a VW Golf for the Nurburgring 24 Hour and more!
Overview
Racecraft Tips & Techniques
Why Some Drivers Stay Faster All Season
Why Verstappen’s Preparations Have Left GT Rivals in Awe
Max Verstappen has reacted to his opening two days of the Nurburgring 24 Hours weekend amid leaving rivals in awe of the four-time Formula 1 world champion. “It shows how the level is that you cannot just arrive and bang, make the car first or whatever. You need to be prepared.”
Read more about his preparation at Autosport here.
The Art of Communicating with F1 Drivers – Stay On Track with Hill and Herbert
On the latest episode of Stay On Track podcast, Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert go deep on the most important relationship in F1 – the one between a driver and his race engineer.
They’re joined by special guest Pierre Hamelin, who listeners might recognise as Arvid Lindblad’s race engineer at Racing Bulls.
Pierre has developed a reputation as a man who nurtures rookie drivers, having previously engineered Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Daniel Riccardo, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and others. But how does he go about helping a young driver get the best out of himself and the car?
Pierre shares his secret tips and tricks, plus Johnny and Damon discuss the evolving F1 title race and why Canada is such an important grand prix for George Russell.
The podcast is on Patreon so you will need to join to listen and watch the full podcast.
Sky F1 Presenter Examines What Separates Elite Drivers in New Book
Sky Sports presenter Rachel Brookes has reflected on the challenge of handling Formula 1’s most emotional interviews while promoting her new book examining what separates the sport’s elite drivers.
Brookes said that balance between emotion, accountability and explanation also fed into her broader work on the sport, including her new book, F1 Racing: Drive. Rather than focusing on paddock controversy, the book explores the technical, psychological and human elements that can create major performance differences between teammates driving identical machinery.
Brookes said the subject became increasingly fascinating during years of interviewing drivers across the grid.
“I wanted to understand properly why one driver can put a car on pole and another driver goes out in Q1. Same car. Teammates. All the same data. All the same information,” she said. “And yet, from the 20 best drivers in the world there can be such a huge difference.”
“Mental Preparation is Probably More Important than Physical Training.” – Oscar Piastri
When a Formula 1 race winner says this, it should make the entire motorsport world pause. But here’s the reality: Oscar Piastri is still the exception, not the norm. Read more from Minds On Track here.
Driving Directions Celebrates 3 Years
Ross Bentley of Speed Secrets celebrates 157 weeks complete, and counting of his Driving Directions: Ross Bentley’s Speed Secrets column with some more actionable racecraft advice.
“It’s one thing to say that principles are important, but another entirely to help you learn what they are. That, at the core, is what Driving Directions is all about. Yes, sometimes I’ll explain the rules, and share my thoughts on commonly held guidelines, but what I enjoy most (and know that it helps drivers the most) is helping you understand the principles of high-performance driving and racing.”
Race Car & Series Developments
Want to go Road Racing? SCCA Race Experience is For You!
For those looking to experience wheel-to-wheel racing in a low-pressure environment, SCCA’s Race Experience is for you. Open to all members of the Sports Car Club of America with or without previous racing experience or a racing license, all you need is a race car, safety gear, and the desire to have fun while road racing with your new friends. Race Experience can be the starting point for future road racing adventures, or a destination in and of itself. Either way, if wheel-to-wheel action is your dream, you just found the way to turn that into reality.
Ford Has Looked At New Crossovers Between Sportscar & NASCAR Programs
Beyond the talk last weekend of the prospect of F1 star Max Verstappen joining Ford’s Hypercar program in the future, DSC spoke with Mark Rushbrook, the global director of Ford Racing, about the potential for additional crossovers between the Blue Oval’s NASCAR and endurance programs in the coming years.
“I’m not against it, I think there’s actually an opportunity with a GT3 car, right, as these GT3s are in many ways similar to NASCAR, with the next-gen car. We love the crossover, like when Cam Waters, for instance, came over to do a NASCAR race.”
Volkswagen to Develop New Golf Racer for Nürburgring 24H
Volkswagen has announced plans to contest the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2027 with its R high-performance division. The German marque is set to field an all-wheel-drive, competition version of the Volkswagen Golf R in its home 24-hour race, an event characterized by a large and diverse field of GT and touring cars held at one of the world’s toughest tracks.
Volkswagen has not released any technical details about its new endurance racer, other than it will be developed out of the existing Golf R for the road. Racecar Engineering has the full story.
Registration for the 2026 NASA Championships Officially Opens June 1st
Registration for the 2026 NASA Championships officially opens on June 1st and they have announced details of their ProPass, which is available for purchase as of May 22. With a ProPass, Championships competitors can register for the 2026 NASA Championships Powered by Hoosier on May 28, before general registration opens on June 1.
SIGMA P1 G5 EVO Debuts at First Official 2026 Sport Prototipo Race
The new sport‑prototype SIGMA P1 G5 EVO raced its the first official Sport Prototipo race event last weekend at Interlagos. For this new car, Sigma P1 has chosen to rely on the SADEV SLR90‑20 six‑speed sequential gearbox, marking the first project between SADEV and the Brazilian prototype manufacturer. You can read more about the project here.
TCR Cars Invited to Contest Motor Racing Australia Series
WSC and Motorsport Australia have reached an agreement that will allow TCR cars in Australia to compete together through the remainder of the 2026 season. The agreement will see TCR cars invited to compete in their own class within the Super TT category of Motor Racing Australia events to be held at Sydney Motorsport Park and One Raceway between this weekend and mid-November.
Touring Car Times has all the details here.
From the Sim Racing Roundup
Ansible Motion Partners with Lola
Ansible Motion, with their Delta T1 Sport simulator have partnered with the Lola Formula E team and I had the details in last week’s Sim Racing Roundup. I also have details on how Brad Keselowski used a sim to stay race-ready after an injury and more!
Track Days
FORMULA is Now Part of the Curbstone Calendar
FORMULA is now part of the Curbstone calendar. F2000 Trophy. FREC. F4 + F3. Historic Single Seaters. Low numbers on track. The right people around you. That’s the formula.
What’s included:
- Low number of cars on track — space to push, room to breathe
- Tailor-made noise management system for Monza
- Optimized track selection for logistics
- Professional photoshoot — full media coverage
- VIP Hospitality included
- Simulation session with Virtex
- Pirelli tyres & ETS racing fuel on site
- Al Kamel V2 data tracking
First stop: Monza — 3 June. Full calendar and registration can be found here.
The Dodgeball Supercar Rally Should Top Your Bucket List
Robb Report explains why the Dodgeball Supercar Rally should top your bucket list. “We got a group of friends together . . . all our crazy supercars—from our Koenigseggs and our Bugattis—take them out on a track day in the U.K., and we were like, ‘This feels like a fun thing we should do more often’ . . . and I said, ‘Let’s organize a trip to St. Tropez.’ We left London, headed down to St. Tropez, and 16 years later—here we are.”
Read the full article here.
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
