Historic British success!
This weekend saw a storming weekend of British motorsporting success on the international stage with four Brits scoring points in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Mercedes driver George Russell finished sixth ahead of a jubilant Oliver Bearman, who secured points on his F1 debut for Ferrari. The young Brit was given a last-minute call up by the Scuderia after Carlos Sainz fell ill with appendicitis and roared to seventh, the first British driver to post points on a debut since Paul Di Resta in 2011. Lando Norris claimed eighth for McLaren, just two seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton in ninth.
It was the first time four Brits had scored points in a Formula 1 Grand Prix since the 1968 season when John Surtees, Jackie Stewart, Vic Elford and Piers Courage scooped points in the 1968 French Grand Prix.
Sealing British success in Saudi Arabia, Motorsport UK Academy member Abbi Pulling also posted her first-ever win in F1 Academy. The 21-year-old Alpine Academy driver had started on the front row for both races of the Jeddah season opener. She challenged Doriane Pin for the win in Race One, but could not find a way past and settled for the second step of the rostrum. Abbi was again second on track in Race Two, but post-race penalties for Pin elevated her to first overall and the lead of the championship.
Over the pond in the United States, three Brits – Callum Illott, Tom Blomqvist and Jack Harvey – were in action at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in the NTT IndyCar Series. Unfortunately the trio went home out of the points, leaving it to another Brit, Louis Foster, to uphold British honour with a podium in support series Indy NXT for Andretti Global. A two-time nominee for the Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, Foster moved from his native Great Britain to America intending to race in IndyCar after a successful career in European single seaters.