Raikkonen's record-breaking streak ends at Spa - MotorSportsTalk

Kimi Raikkonen’s record-breaking streak of consecutive finishes in the points came to a shattering end in Belgium today after the Finn was forced to retire on lap twenty of the race due to a brake failure.

The Lotus driver had started the race in eighth place following a wet qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps yesterday, and he soon became embroiled in a battle with McLaren’s Jenson Button in the race. However, Raikkonen could not make a pass as he struggled with his front-left brake, which ultimately would be his downfall.

After making his first stop, Raikkonen attempted a pass on Felipe Massa heading into the Bus Stop chicane but went straight on due to the brake issue. Lotus elected to retire Raikkonen from the race moments later, bringing the Finn’s remarkable record run to an end.

Raikkonen’s scoring streak began at the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix, and he has failed to finish outside of the top ten until today. At Monaco, a late run-in with Sergio Perez appeared to have put paid to his hopes of beating Michael Schumacher’s existing record of twenty-four races, but the Finn rallied to finish P10 come the checkered flag.

Furthermore, this marks Raikkonen’s first retirement from a grand prix in over four years, although he did not compete in the 2010 and 2011 championships. His last DNF came at the 2009 German Grand Prix when he was still driving for Ferrari.

However, Raikkonen has made clear in the past that the records mean very little to him. Instead, he will be disappointed that the gap to Sebastian Vettel at the top of the championship has widened to sixty-three points, especially as Spa is a track that he likes having won the Belgian GP four times.

The NTT IndyCar Series will head to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for its first oval race of the season and a preview of its biggest race.

After Sunday’s PPG 375 at Texas, the next oval on the schedule is May 28 with the 107th running of the Indy 500. Chip Ganassi Racing dominated last year’s 500-miler at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after placing all four of its Dallara-Hondas in the top 10 at Texas.

The Dallara-Chevrolets of Team Penske also will be heavy favorites at Texas. Josef Newgarden passed teammate Scott McLaughlin on the final lap for the victory last year as Penske took three of the top four (with defending series champion Will Power in fourth).

Texas marks the first of five oval races for IndyCar, which also will visit Iowa Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. There are 28 drivers entered for the 36th IndyCar race at Texas, the series’ most at the track since 30 in June 2011.

Scott Dixon has a series-high five victories at Texas, mostly recently in May 2021. Helio Castroneves (four wins), Newgarden (two) and Power (two) also are multiple winners at Texas.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the PPG 375 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway (all times are ET):

INDYCAR PPG 375 TEXAS START TIMES

TV: Sunday, noon ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe (whose first career IndyCar victory came at St. Petersburg 10 years ago).

Marty Snider and Dave Burns are the pit reporters. Telemundo Deportes on Universo will provide a Spanish-language telecast. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying and Indy NXT races. (Click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock.)

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 12:10 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 12:15 p.m. ET

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after the race ends.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for practices and qualifying.

INDYCAR RADIO NETWORK: The IndyCar and Indy Lights races and all practices and qualifying sessions will air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar app.

PRACTICE: Saturday sessions at 9 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. (Peacock Premium), 1:45 p.m.

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 12:15 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Click here for the grid at Texas

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 250 laps (375 miles) on a 1.5-mile oval in Fort Worth, Texas

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Eleven primary sets to be used during practice, qualifying and the race. An extra set will be available to cars in the high-line practice session.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 67 degrees with a 71% chance of rain at the green flag.

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 28 cars entered