Racing Rewind: Jan 17, 2025
The big news and best reads in the motorsport world this week
Welcome to the Racing Rewind! Every Friday, I'll share a round-up of the big news and best reads in the motorsport world — from my own work to the good stuff that made me think.
The latest from E. A. Blackstock
I did a big ol’ interview with Mario Andretti and pulled a handful of stories from it: He talked about his new role at Cadillac, how dirt oval racing helped him in Formula 1, and why Alfa Romeo was a mistake. He also answered 13 big questions about his F1 career.
I'm trying out a new “What happened to…?” series, where I follow up with F1's forgotten names. First on my list: Adrian Sutil and Ron Dennis!
People got annoyed that I didn't include Sergio Perez in this story about how Franco Colapinto shows the importance of South America.
I can't stop thinking about all the guys who never won an F1 title.
NASCAR changed its rules to allow drivers who have made “significant contributions” to motorsport to earn a guaranteed starting spot for any race.
I'm also contributing to The F1 Word this year, starting with a retrospective on what happened to the 2005 Formula 1 grid.
Ash Vandelay and I made picks for our inaugural motorsport draft on The Elizabeth + Ash Show!
Big racing news
IndyCar is switching to FOX for 2025, and it has confirmed its booth will include Will Buxton, James Hinchcliffe, and Townsend Bell. Buxton has been the “voice” of Drive to Survive, but he's always had a love for IndyCar, so it'll be interesting to see where this goes!
Katherine Legge is taking part in the Chili Bowl this weekend, and she'll also be trying her hand at the upcoming ARCA race at Daytona.
Automotive YouTuber Cleetus McFarland is also going to debut in ARCA next month, and his video announcement is probably going to generate more views than the actual race.
Alpine bought out Franco Colapinto's contract at Williams. The Argentinian has a multi-year deal as a reserve driver, but no one seems particularly confident that Jack Doohan is going to finish out 2025.
What I loved this week
This article on how to curate a reading list in an age of overconsumption. (This is my sign to finally start reading all the books languishing on my shelves…)
The latest edition of Lily Herman's Engine Failure digging into IndyCar's (excellent) new commercial and the content creator reckoning that will happen after the TikTok ban.
This deep dive into Jacky Ickx, one of the best Formula 1 drivers to never win a championship.
This deep dive into the state of digital accessibility in Formula 1 by an incredible scholar who did her PhD on fandom communities. Spoiler alert: F1 seems to have no interest in making its social content accessible to fans who utilize alt text.