ThePitcrewOnline

Day: 29 June 2025

  • Moto3 Mayhem: Rueda Victorious, Perrone Shines

    Moto3 Mayhem: Rueda Victorious, Perrone Shines

    In a race defined by chaos, comebacks and crashing contenders, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) kept his cool to claim victory at the Dutch Grand Prix. The Championship leader outlasted the madness to finish ahead of David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) and Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with the Argentine making history by taking his first Moto3™ podium — and the first for Argentina since Gabriel Rodrigo at Mugello in 2021.

    Photo credit: Pirelli Press office

    Early drama strikes the grid
    It was Rueda’s teammate Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who grabbed the holeshot from pole, while Rueda slotted into second. Behind, trouble brewed immediately as Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) stalled from seventh. He was thankfully avoided but retired from of the race.

    Lap 2 brought even more chaos. David Almansa (Leopard Racing) lunged at Rueda at Turn 8 and collided with him, while Carpe, caught in the aftermath, lost momentum and tumbled to 15th. Then, on Lap 4, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) made contact at the final chicane, both losing ground but continuing.

    The race explodes at half distance
    Rueda led until Lap 9 before being passed by a charging Maximo Quiles, whose aggression shook up the lead group. Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) joined the front pack as Rueda briefly slipped to seventh, regrouping just ahead of Perrone.

    Lap 15 saw full elbows-out racing. Almansa muscled into the lead but Quiles hit back at Turn 9. A lap later, Carpe’s stunning recovery peaked as he surged to the front after diving past Almansa at Turn 10.

    Photo credit: Pirelli Press office

    Final laps deliver fireworks
    With three laps to go, everything unravelled. Quiles crashed out at Turn 10. Moments later, Perrone barged Almansa wide at Turn 15, sending the Leopard rider back to 13th. As the group fractured, Rueda and Carpe were back in the fight at the perfect moment.

    But even more carnage followed — a big crash involving Furusato, Fernandez, and Luca Lunetta (Sic58 Squadra Corse) at the end of Lap 18 brought out the red flag. With results taken back to the last completed lap, Rueda was declared the winner, just ahead of Muñoz and a jubilant Perrone. Injury update: At the time of writing it is understood that Lunetta has multiple leg fractures which he sustained when Fernandez clipped him while on the ground.

    The rest of the top ten
    Carpe came home fourth after a rollercoaster ride, while Piqueras fought back to fifth from P16 on the grid. Despite being pushed wide late in the race, Almansa recovered to sixth. Scott Ogden secured a season-best seventh place, ahead of Dennis Foggia (CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team), Joel Kelso (LevelUp-MTA), and Marcos Uriarte (LevelUp-MTA), who celebrated a first top ten finish.

    🇳🇱 Moto3™ – Dutch GP: Final Classification (Top 15)

    TT Circuit Assen | Red flag – results taken at end of Lap 18

    Pos Rider Team Time/Gap Points
    1 Jose Antonio Rueda Red Bull KTM Ajo 32:12.319 25
    2 David Muñoz LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP +0.144 20
    3 Valentin Perrone Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.245 16
    4 Alvaro Carpe Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.087 13
    5 Angel Piqueras FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI +1.296 11
    6 David Almansa Leopard Racing +2.083 10
    7 Scott Ogden CIP Green Power +2.234 9
    8 Dennis Foggia CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team +5.034 8
    9 Joel Kelso LEVELUP-MTA +5.755 7
    10 Marcos Uriarte LEVELUP-MTA +6.318 6
    11 Ryusei Yamanaka FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI +7.002 5
    12 Jacob Roulstone Red Bull KTM Tech3 +8.555 4
    13 Stefano Nepa SIC58 Squadra Corse +12.395 3
    14 Riccardo Rossi Rivacold Snipers Team +12.675 2
    15 Maximo Quiles CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team +24.394 1

    Title photo credit: Pirelli Press office

  • Formula One Round 11 Austrian Grand Prix: Lando Norris Holds Onto The Win as Red Bull Score 0 Points In Their Home Race

    Formula One Round 11 Austrian Grand Prix: Lando Norris Holds Onto The Win as Red Bull Score 0 Points In Their Home Race

     

    Formula One returned to Austria this week for the Grand Prix of the former world constructor champions Red Bull, and it certainly delivered. From qualifying, the McLaren driver Lando Norris led the field away from P2 after obtaining the largest winning margin of the season so far by over half a second, albeit due to the Alpine of Pierre Gasly spinning and disrupting many laps, including the championship leader Oscar Piastri and the reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

    Chaos before beginning

    Prior to the start of the race, Carlos Sainz said his car was stuck in first gear and wasn’t able to start the formation lap. Once he got going, he went to the pit lane, and his brakes then caught fire. As a result, he was out prior to the 5 red lights going out, bringing the grid down to just 19 drivers. The race was also reduced by 1 lap as a result of this aborted start.

    Lap 1 Drama

    After the extra formation lap, we saw everyone get off the line, and Piastri managed to get up to P2 ahead of Charles Leclerc. Going into turn 3, Kimi Antonelli locked up MASSIVELY and collided with Max Verstappen, ending the race for both of them. 

    McLaren Battle

    After waiting 11 rounds, we finally got the battle we waited for: Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri! They were cutting back and forth all race before Norris pitted before Piastri to emerge P4. Piastri extended his stint. 

    Pressure for drivers

    Tsunoda and Colapinto, both drivers whose futures are under pressure at their current teams, collided at turn 4 a few laps prior to the midpoint of the race. Tsunoda got a 10-second time penalty for this, adding the cherry to the cake for Red Bull and Tsunoda’s disastrous weekend. Colapinto is reported to be on a race-by-race basis, so any mistake or collision is not in his or his team’s best interest.

    To add insult to injury, Colapinto received a 5 second time penalty for forcing another driver off of the track. That driver? Oscar Piastri! Tsunoda and Colapinto were fighting, Piastri emerged from the pits, attempted to pass traffic, and Colapinto didn’t see Piastri and pushed him onto the grass. 

    Mercedes struggling

    With the temperatures being on the EXTREME side, Mercedes knew they would struggle here. Antonelli’s collision with Verstappen on lap 1 was not the struggle they wanted or needed. Antonelli will more than likely get a grid penalty for the British Grand Prix. 

    Russell managed to hold onto P5 to get some good points for the team but off the pace from both Ferrari and McLaren

    Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber Masterclass

    After a disastrous 2024 season with no points scored until the penultimate round with Zhou Guanyu, Sauber has scored a double points finish! Bortoleto finished P8 and Hulkenberg P9 . This is Bortoleto’s first point in Formula One and is an insane turnaround for the team about to become Audi in 2026.

    Red Bull Struggles At Home

    This weekend for the Red Bull team was one of the worst-case scenarios for the Austrian team. After Max Verstappen got tied up with Kimi Antonelli at turn 3, the pressure was on Yuki Tsunoda, who has been struggling ever since he joined the Red Bull team. The Japanese driver was keeping his nose clean until he collided with the Alpine driver Franco Colapinto and earned himself a 10-second time penalty for the collision. 

    Results

    Lando Norris managed to win the Austrian Grand Prix after a battle with his teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished P2. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished P3 and P4, respectively. George Russell finished P5 to salvage what he could from Mercedes’ weekend, Liam Lawson finished P6 as the only Red Bull-powered driver to finish P6, and Fernando Alonso held off Gabriel Bortoleto to finish P7 and P8, respectively. Nico Hulkenberg finished P9, and Esteban Ocon finished P10! 

    Feature Image Credit: F1-Pirelli Press Area