Are the new rules working in Formula 1? Le Mans, BTCC, Indycar & more

Welcome to episode 24 of the Lovecars On The Grid podcast! Tiff Needell and Paul Woodman return to give us a roundup of the past week in motorsport.  

We've had an exciting weekend with Formula 1, BTCC, Le Mans, NASCAR and more! We kick off with the F1, which was taking place in Azerbaijan this weekend. Are the new rules working in Formula 1? What do you think?  

We had a virtual safety car early on in the race, following a pole for Charles LeClerc in his Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton managed to achieve 7th place in qualifying, with team mate George Russell in 5th. Ferrari were unfortunately plagued with problems, forcing Carlos Sainz to retire, followed shortly by LeClerc. This left the door open for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez of Red Bull to take 1st and 2nd place at the Baku Circuit.  Max Verstappen is now 34 points in front with the Championship, will he win this year?  

BTCC have had their regulation changes too, receiving a push to pass button, giving drivers an extra bit of horsepower to encourage more overtakes and make racing more exciting. But are the rules becoming too complicated?  

At Oulton Park, Tom Ingram won the first two races in the Hyundai i30N, but the 3rd race went to Stephen Jelley in the BMW 330e M Sport, following a first lap shunt which took out four of the title contenders, including favourite Tom Ingram.  

At Le Mans, it was sadly a dull race. With just 5 cars in the top class. The Alpine had trouble initially, and quickly retired. The Glickenhous also had small problems, resulting in their retirement too. This left just the Toyota cars racing in the top class. This should change in the future though, as Ferrari, Porsche and other brands are entering Le Mans in the future.  

The biggest controversy at Le Mans was Alexander Simms being taken out in his Corvette. Should amateur drivers be allowed at Le Mans? 

Indycar was an exciting race out at Road America. With the push to pass button available to drivers both to defend or attack, there were 27 drivers on the grid, with ex Formula 1 drivers such as Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean in the pack. Ericcsson took the win, with Will Power behind him in 2nd place.   

NASCAR was racing out in California, with #5 Kyle Larson having an issue with a wheel not being attached properly following a pit stop. Daniel Suárez won the race, being the first Mexican driver to win a NASCAR race in his Chevrolet.   

We have a busy weekend approaching in motorsport! Formula 1 is taking place in Canada, Moto GP is in Germany at the Sachsenring. British Superbikes are back at Knockhill, whilst the Caterham Academy is back at Silverstone!