Red Bull trims Junior team to three drivers - MotorSportsTalk

Red Bull’s motorsports program announced a three-driver group for its Junior team in 2014 that includes Carlos Sainz, Jr. and newcomers Alex Lynn (pictured) and Pierre Gasly.

Gasly, 17, and Sainz, 19, will both compete in the World Series by Renault, while Lynn, 20, is slated to race in the GP3 series for the Carlin team – a team that has shepherded multiple Red Bull Junior drivers through the years, including four-time reigning Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel.

Lynn emerges from the FIA European Formula 3 series, where he finished third in this year’s championship with three wins. One of those victories came in Formula 3’s most important race, the Macau Grand Prix.

“I think that it is obviously fantastic to be privileged enough to join the team that has produced so many Formula One drivers and that includes the greatest driver of our generation so far,” Lynn said of his accomplishment in a Red Bull release.

As for Gasly, he moves to the WSR after winning the championship in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup category with three wins along the way. He will race for the Arden team.

“It is the best news that I could have at the end of the season because for next year I have all the best people around me to focus on my performance,” Gasly said in the same release.

“For next year I think that the goal is clear, I have seen from this year and previous seasons that it is possible to do a good job in the first season so the goal is to win the championship.”

Then there’s Sainz Jr., who will now solely focus on the WSR after splitting his 2013 season between there and GP3. He will suit up for DAMS, the same squad that helped Kevin Magnussen win this year’s series title before his elevation to F1 with McLaren.

A tough act to follow for sure, but Sainz believes he’s up to the task – especially now that he’ll only have one series to worry about.

“I think that it can be a very good thing, just to focus on one series and try to get the most out of it instead of trying to do several championships in different cars,” he said for Red Bull.

“I’ll be focusing only on this category and be trying to win it because I know that if I do well it can be very good for my future.”

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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17^th after qualifying 14^th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)