- Hamilton ditches Ferrari’s simulator before Montreal.
- Elliott wins at Texas, sets sights on Watkins Glen.
- IndyCar legalises what 12 drivers were already doing illegally.
Three of motorsport’s biggest series are in action this weekend, with NASCAR heading to Watkins Glen, IndyCar opening its Month of May at Indianapolis, and MotoGP racing at Le Mans.
Formula 1 returns the following weekend in Montreal. Off the track, the sport is also mourning the loss of Alex Zanardi, whose funeral was held in Padua on Monday.
Formula 1: Hamilton abandons Ferrari simulator in bold Canadian GP shake-up
Lewis Hamilton has decided to arrive at the Canadian Grand Prix without any simulator preparation, a significant departure from standard Formula 1 practice:
- The problem: Hamilton says the car he builds in the simulator does not match the one he finds at the circuit. On sprint weekends, with only one practice session available, that gap leaves him with almost no time to recover.
- The evidence: Hamilton identified the Chinese Grand Prix, which followed Australia with no gap for simulator preparation, as his best weekend of the season. The absence of virtual preparation, in his view, helped rather than hurt him.
- Straight-line deficit: Hamilton has also asked Ferrari to reduce drag on the SF-26. He believes the car is losing between three to four tenths of a second per lap on the straights alone, a significant chunk of time in a sport where margins are tiny.
NASCAR: Eyes turn to Watkins Glen after Elliott’s Texas heroics
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International this weekend for a road course race, arriving on the back of a tightly contested finish at the Texas Motor Speedway.
Chase Elliott won the Würth 400, leading 87 of the race’s laps before holding off Denny Hamlin by 0.407 seconds in a four-lap sprint finish. It was his second Cup win of the 2026 season. Elliott now carries that momentum to Watkins Glen.
- Standings: Tyler Reddick leads the Cup Series standings. Hamlin sits 109 points behind in second, and Elliott is third, 117 points back after his Texas win.
- Preece penalised: NASCAR has handed Ryan Preece a penalty following his on-track incident with Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway.
IndyCar: Push to Pass restrictions scrapped in major rule shake-up
IndyCar has removed all restrictions on Push-to-Pass usage for road and street races. The change takes effect this Saturday at the Sonsio Grand Prix, held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The decision follows an incident at the Long Beach Grand Prix.
- The glitch: A software failure at Long Beach caused Push-to-Pass to activate on its own during a restart. The system was not permitted to be used on restarts under existing rules, but 12 of the 25 drivers pressed the button anyway, hoping to benefit from the malfunction.
- The fix: Rather than pursue further penalties against those drivers, IndyCar chose to change the rule entirely. Push-to-Pass is now permitted at any point after the green flag is shown on road and street courses.
- Indy 500 next: The Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday marks the start of IndyCar’s Month of May. The 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 follows on 24 May.
Today’s other motorsport snippets
- MotoGP: The Grand Prix Commission has confirmed that wildcard entries will be banned from 2027 onwards. The decision ends the practice of test riders such as Dani Pedrosa and Michele Pirro making race appearances. This weekend, the series races at Le Mans for the French Grand Prix, running from 8 to 10 May. Marco Bezzecchi leads the championship, with Jorge Martin 11 points behind.
- WEC: Teams are preparing at Spa for the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa. It’s the second round of the 2026 World Endurance Championship season.
- Tributes: Thousands attended Alex Zanardi’s funeral yesterday at the Basilica of Santa Giustina in Padua. His handbike was placed near the altar. The motorsport community has continued to pay tribute to the Italian champion and Paralympic athlete.
