Motorsport weekend wrap: Verstappen wins third Spanish GP in a row, Correa’s emotional comeback in F2 and more

This weekend (June 21-23), NASCAR witnessed Christopher Bell achieve a clean sweep of the New Hampshire race weekend. With the Spanish Grand Prix being the first of the triple-header (three consecutive race weekends), Max Verstappen made it three wins in a row in Barcelona while Arvid Lindblad became the youngest-ever F3 Feature race winner.

NASCAR: Bell achieves clean sweep in rain-challenged New Hampshire race

Christopher Bell ensured a clean sweep of the race weekend in New Hampshire after winning the Xfinity and Cup series. By grabbing his third win of the season (Phoenix, Charlotte), he is now one of four drivers to have three race victories in the 2024 edition.

On Saturday, the 29-year-old won in the Xfinity Series, NASCAR’s second-tier circuit, leaving him unbeaten at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the fourth year in a row. However, it wasn’t a walk in the park for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver the next day as the race lasted nearly six hours, including a two-hour-plus rain delay.

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The 301-lap race ended with teams making use of the wet weather tyres, a concept that was introduced in the Cup series ahead of the 2023 season, but making its debut this year. This marked the second time in NASCAR history the tyres were utilised in a points-paying race.

F3: Lindblad becomes first repeat winner this season, youngest F3 feature race victor

Arvid Lindblad’s early overtake on pole-sitter Christian Mansell was more than enough to claim the F3 Feature race win in Barcelona – the 100th race in F3 history. The Prema Racing driver also became the first repeat winner of the 2024 season.

Making his F3 debut this year, it took him only one race to show the racing world that he meant business. The 16-year-old dominated the first Sprint race of the edition, taking victory by more than five seconds to become the youngest-ever winner in the event’s history.

Crossing the finish line more than four seconds ahead of Mansell, he added another feather to his cap at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya by becoming the youngest-ever F3 Feature race winner as well. The British driver is now fourth in the standings, 13 points off the lead.

F2: Correa makes emotional comeback with podium-finish

Juan Manuel Correa would have never imagined he would be able to drive again, let alone be on the podium. Though his third-place finish in the sprint race was short-lived, he managed to grab the final place on the podium in the F2 feature race which is a testament to his hard work.

On Saturday, he claimed his podium result since the horrible accident in 2019 at Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, which left Correa seriously injured. However, the DAMS driver and many others on the grid were penalised after the race with time penalties, demoting him to eighth.

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But, things changed for the better during Sunday’s feature race as Correa made the win stick this time and secured an emotional P3, behind Jak Crawford and Franco Colapinto. Opting to take an alternate strategy paid off as he stepped on the podium once again.

F1: Verstappen clinches seventh win of season despite Norris’ late attack

As the Spanish Grand Prix weekend saw four teams unravel their many upgrades and unlock some hidden pace, it was Max Verstappen who was able to reap the most benefits and win in Barcelona – where he won his maiden F1 race in 2016 – for the fourth time.

Red Bull Racing driver had the McLaren’s Lando Norriss threatened him towards the final stages but could not stop the Red Bull Racing driver from bagging his third successive win at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Norris, who started from pole, lost the lead to Mercedes’ George Russell in the beginning as he had to defend from Verstappen, who powered back ahead of the pack.

The alternate tyre strategy of softs helped Norris reduce the gap significantly but he had to settle for second-place finish behind the Dutch driver. Lewis Hamilton too benefited from the alternate tyre strategy as he finished third, ahead of his teammate Russell.

IndyCar: Palou holds on to Monterey pole to take second win of season

Alex Palou defended his pole position till the end to win the Grand Prix of Monterey at the Raceway Laguna Seca. The Global Honda challenger driven by Colton Herta put pressure on Palou during the last restart but couldn’t pull it off, handing the Chip Ganassi driver his second win of the season.

Palou lost the lead in the first lap to a charging Kyle Kirkwood who went the long way around in Turn 2. Kirkwood, who couldn’t build a gap to Palou, chose to pit early which cost him the lead and the Spaniard found himself ahead of the pack at the restart in Lap 40.

The 95-lap race saw a handful of caution flags and restarts which resulted in the reshuffling of the lead and lineup. Starting the late restart from the front with four laps to go, Palou held on to first place, winning by nearly two seconds over Herta.