Horner has “great deal of respect” for “hard but fair” Leclerc · RaceFans

In brief

Horner has “great deal of respect” for “hard but fair” Leclerc

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he has a lot of respect for how Charles Leclerc has competed against Max Verstappen in 2022.

Leclerc led the early rounds of the championship, fighting on track with Verstappen on multiple occasions, before falling to an 80 point deficit to the Red Bull driver by the summer break. Horner says he admires how Leclerc has fought against his driver over the opening 13 rounds of this year’s championship.

“I have a great deal of respect for the way he’s conducted himself,” Horner said.

“The way that he’s racing on track, he’s hard but fair and I think the racing between the two guys, there’s been a lot of hard racing between the two of them in the first half of this championship, but there hasn’t been a single touch and it’s great to see and it’s enjoyable to be part of.”

COTA adds new infield grandstand for US Grand Prix

The Circuit of the Americas will add a new grandstand to the infield of the course to increase capacity for this October’s United States Grand Prix.

The new stand will be located just after the sweeping S-curves in the opening sector, looking at the cars head-on before they enter turn six. Tickets for the grandstand go on sale today at 10am CDT, with all other tickets sold out for the three day event.

“After years of ambition, this incredible location, something we’ve always hoped to add, is finally a reality,” said COTA chairman Bobby Epstein.

“It is one of several new fan-focused improvements, along with a new five lane road, 200 more front gate buses, five new shade tents, and a new ‘quick serve’ menu. This grandstand allows us to open an entirely new part of the campus to programming and enhanced offerings.”

Hamlin doubts Raikkonen will fight for NASCAR victory at Watkins Glen

Three-time Daytona 500 winning NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin does not believe Kimi Raikkonen will be in contention for victory during his NASCAR Cup debut at Watkins Glen this weekend.

Raikkonen will compete in his first race at NASCAR’s highest level at the New York circuit in a one-off appearance with new team Trackhouse. Asked how Raikkonen would change the dynamic of the race, Hamlin said he did not believe the former F1 champion would be able to fight for victory.

“It’s a great…