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May 20, 2021 ESPN News Services IndyCar announced a multiyear contract extension with NTT at its title sponsor Thursday, a move that solves one of the looming financial questions facing Roger Penske in his second year as owner of the series. NTT is a global technology giant that became the title sponsor of the IndyCar

9:23 AM ET MONACO — The Tip Top bar has stood at 11 Avenues de Spelugues in Monaco since 1938. Its frontage has witnessed every Monaco Grand Prix since the second World War and, legend has it, Graham Hill once danced on the bistro’s tables following one of his five Monaco victories in the 1960s.

4:39 AM ET Lewis Hamilton says his journey from working class to Formula One superstar would be impossible today as the sport has become a “billionaire boys club”. Hamilton, who is looking for an eighth world championship this year, famously grew up on a UK council estate in Stevenage. His father Anthony worked several jobs

1:10 PM ET ESPN News Services A photo opportunity for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team caused the first hiccup in preparations for the Indianapolis 500 when Colton Herta and Scott McLaughlin nearly crashed Thursday. The track opened as scheduled for practice, and defending race winner Takuma Sato slowed alongside Indy 500 teammates Graham Rahal and

2:21 PM ET MONACO — Looking at the results from Thursday’s practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix, you could be forgiven for thinking you were back in 2017. That was the last time Ferrari looked truly competitive on F1’s most famous street circuit, and the only time it has won here in the last

12:57 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Danica Patrick will be on the track at the Indianapolis 500, at the front of the field once again. Patrick was announced Wednesday as the pace car driver for IndyCar’s marquee event. She will drive a 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray hardtop convertible to lead the field to green

7:21 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Ed Carpenter Racing, fresh off its first victory since 2016, brought fast cars to Indianapolis Motor Speedway with every intention of completing a sweep in its own backyard. Six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon was fastest Wednesday on the second day of Indianapolis 500 practice, but he was

12:59 PM ET MONACO — Lando Norris felt like he was on an awkward first date when he first opened his latest contract negotiations with McLaren CEO Zak Brown. On Wednesday, McLaren announced the 21-year-old had signed a new multi-year deal with the team for next year and beyond. Norris has been a part of

8:46 AM ET James Bond movie stunt driver and W Series racer Jessica Hawkins has joined the Aston Martin Formula One team as ‘driver ambassador’. The team of four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll said in a statement on Wednesday that she will work with partners and “across a variety of disciplines”. If

8:09 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — The kids were at last quieted when Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened for practice. Experience mattered once again, and a trio of former Indianapolis 500 winners led the way. Will Power ran 226.470 miles per hour Tuesday in a Chevrolet for Team Penske, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Takuma

2:00 PM ET A race-winning Formula One McLaren driven by Lewis Hamilton in 2010 will be put up for auction at the British Grand Prix in July as it does laps of the Silverstone circuit. 1 Related The Mercedes-powered MP4-25A will carry a price estimate of $5-7 million. Seven-times world champion Hamilton, now at Mercedes,

12:52 PM ET Associated Press McLaren cares so much about appearance that the team missed track time before its bungled 2019 Indianapolis 500 attempt because the car’s paint scheme didn’t precisely match its signature papaya orange shade. And yet despite such particular tastes, McLaren has opened its design process to outsiders. The team collaborated with

5:23 AM ET The Turkish Grand Prix will not take place on June 13 due to the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country, with Austria getting a second 2021 F1 race instead. The news follows travel restrictions being imposed on Turkey by the UK, where seven of F1’s 10 teams are based. As with the

7:19 PM ET Associated Press CONCORD, N.C. — John Force won yet again at age 72, topping the Funny Car field Sunday in the NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals for his 152nd event victory, extending his record. Force beat J.R. Todd, Cruz Pedregon and Alexis DeJoria in the final with a 3.916-second run at 328.78

1:06 PM ET McLaren will race with a one-off livery in the colours of the Gulf Oil company at next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. Gulf’s iconic blue and orange colour scheme has featured on a number of racing cars in the past — including the McLaren F1 GTR that finished second at the 1997 Le

5:24 PM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Rinus VeeKay continued IndyCar’s youth movement Saturday by scoring his first career victory with a win on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Dutchman became the third first-time winner through five races this season — the most at this point in the season since 2013. The

9:30 PM ET Associated Press CONCORD, N.C. — John and Brittany Force swept the nitro classes Saturday in qualifying for the NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway. The 72-year-old John Force topped the Funny Car lineup with a 3.902-second pass at 330.55 mph. Daughter Brittany Force took the No. 1 spot in Top

9:34 AM ET ESPN News Services The IndyCar race in Toronto has been canceled for the second consecutive year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The event was scheduled for July 9-11 but can’t take place because of restrictions in Canada. The race has been on the IndyCar schedule since 1986, and Penske Entertainment Corp. president

11:15 AM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — British driver Max Chilton will not race in Saturday’s Indy Grand Prix because he couldn’t travel to the United States from England. The team remains hopeful Chilton will drive in the Indianapolis 500 on May 30. Chilton started the first two races of the IndyCar season, finishing 20th

10:40 PM ET Associated Press CONCORD, N.C. — Brittany Force broke both ends of the zMAX Dragway track record Friday night to lead Top Fuel qualifying for the NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Force powered to a 3.662-second pass at 333.08 mph to break the track speed and time marks. “I’m just pumped after a

11:25 AM ET Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Colton Herta is not going to drive in Formula One or for Roger Penske or Chip Ganassi or anywhere but Andretti Autosport for now. Andretti announced a two-year contract extension with the young American driver Friday that begins with the 2022 season. Gainbridge, the sponsor that shifted its

7:11 AM ET Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Max Verstappen will do “his talking on the track” in his title battle with Lewis Hamilton this year and believes the 23-year-old is more than capable of soaking up pressure from his rival. 1 Related After four rounds of the 2021 championship, Hamilton leads Verstappen

12:22 PM ET Associated Press FORT WORTH, Texas — – Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage is stepping down after overseeing the track since it opened 24 years ago. The 62-year-old Gossage said Thursday that his final event will be NASCAR’s All-Star race June 13, the first at TMS. He said that will be a

8:43 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An appeals officer ruled Wednesday that JR Motorsports did not violate any rules when NASCAR disqualified Noah Gragson at Darlington Raceway. The decision restored the fourth-place finish Gragson earned Saturday in the Xfinity Series race and he can collect the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus he’d won.

4:20 AM ET Formula One’s governing body has warned teams it will introduce new rear wing flexibility tests next month amid suspicions of rule bending. 1 Related Mercedes’ seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton flagged up the issue after qualifying for last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, which he won. “The Red Bulls are really fast

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, this May, ESPN highlights the stories of athletes, coaches and other sports figures who have experienced personal battles with mental health, and who want to use their platforms to openly discuss what happened next, and what helped them. These stories reflect a broad range of subjects and

5:56 AM ET Cristiano Ronaldo missed a Juventus training session on Monday to visit Ferrari’s Formula One headquarters at Maranello, Italy. Ronaldo made the visit with Juventus president Andrea Agnelli and John Elkann, Exor president and Ferrari chairman. Exor is the holding company run by the Agnelli family that controls Juventus and Ferrari. At Maranello,

7:17 AM ET Lewis Hamilton may have opened up a new front in his battle with Max Verstappen after saying he learned more about his Formula One title rival, and the Dutchman’s car, in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix than in all the other races put together. 1 Related Mercedes’ seven times world champion spent most

9:56 AM ET Lewis Hamilton is ready to start new contract negotiations with Mercedes, meaning he would continue in Formula One beyond the end of 2021, and is hoping to have a new deal in place by August. 1 Related After eight years at Mercedes, the seven-time world champion signed a one-year deal over the

3:30 AM ET In over 70 years of Formula One, there haven’t been many drivers like Lando Norris. He’s quick, but that’s nothing new at the top level of motor racing. What sets him apart is how open he has been about his struggles away from racing. It’s easy to assume Norris has everything you