Formula 1 – Zandvoort
Oscar Piastri came home in sixth at the Dutch Grand Prix to ensure McLaren claimed back some ground on its nearest rivals in the Constructors’ Championship.
This completes the hat-trick of Dutch Grand Prix victories for the Woking team following both its drivers’ success in 2024 and 2025.
Lando Norris made a good getaway from pole, while Piastri slipped to fifth following tight racing in the open phases. The race, however, was soon red flagged after a heavy crash for Max Verstappen on the greasy surface in the high-speed final corner.
Oscar’s afternoon was challenging despite showing promising pace in the first stint, with a stunning pass on George Russell on the opening lap.
He made his first stop on Lap 18, attempting to avoid being undercut by George Russell.
However, a slow stop meant he came out behind the Mercedes driver before he was then caught and passed by both Ferraris and dropped to sixth.
He stopped for another set of Hard tyres on lap 44 but wasn’t entirely pleased with the C2 compound.
He did, however, find a good rhythm towards the end of the race with two soft tyre stints, following a Virtual Safety Car on Lap 55 which prompted him to pit again before finishing in sixth for the race, while his teammate claimed the win.
Next up for Piastri is the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in two weeks’ time.
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia – Sepang
Seth Gilmore was Australia’s lone representative in the latest round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia at Sepang International Circuit.
Gilmore started the weekend with the 10th-fastest lap time in Free Practice 1 and then 15-fastest in Free Practice 2.
Qualifying was consistent with Gilmore’s form, going 11th fastest in Qualifying 1, and similarly 13th in Qualifying 2, eventuating in a Combined Qualifying result of ninth (eighth among Pro class drivers).
The Porsche Centre Adelaide #24 Porsche crossed the finish line 12th in Race 1, 13th in Race 2, and then 13th again in Race 3 – rounding out a solid weekend of effort over the three feature races.
The triple-header over the weekend marked the penultimate round of the season, and Gilmore will undertake two more races at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore from 10-11 October, when Porsche Carrera Cup Asia runs as a support category for the Formula 1 World Championship.
Thailand Super Series – Sepang
Aussie driver Daniel Bilski made his way to Sepang International Raceway for Races 5 and 6 of the Thailand Super Series, in search of building upon his strong championship campaign.
Alongside co-driver Sathapond Veerachure, Bilski was among the frontrunning pack in the opening race of the weekend.
Driving for B-Quik Absolute Racing, Bilski and Veerachure delivered a steady drive in the #27 Audi entry to secure an overall podium and class victory, putting a positive note on up and down qualifying sessions.
The #27 Audi pairing then started from the back of the GT3 class grid in Race 6, before steadily working their way forward to bring the car home in P4 overall and again at the top of the GT3 pack.
The second half of the 2026 campaign remains, with the fourth round of the championship to take place back at Sepang from 18-20 September.
European Le Mans Series – Spa-Francorchamps
A handful of Aussies lined up on the grid deep in the Ardennes Forest on the weekend in the Belgian ELMS round.
Griffin Peebles and the impressive United Autosports outfit were again in the mix for a LMP2 win, but fell just outside the podium in fourth.
The #24 Nielsen Racing entry, containing Formula 1 Haas reserve driver Jack Doohan, ended up eighth in the LMP2 mix, albeit in 15th outright.
Directly behind them in the #27 Nielsen Racing crew and 16th outright, James Allen and his crew also finished inside the LMP2 Pro-Am top 10, inking eighth in class to mark a solid day’s racing for Nielsen.
Tom Sargent returned to the #75 Proton Competition Porsche in LMGT3, where the outfit completed 87 laps of the notably long circuit to arrive back in pit-lane fifth in class and just outside the top 30 outright.
Garnet Patterson, the last of the five competing Aussies, helped the #23 United Autosports LMGT3 Porsche to 38th outright, which did enough to help the crew finish 10th in class.
Only two rounds remain in the ELMS 2026 season, with the penultimate round to take place at Silverstone on 13 September.
British F4 – Donington Park
George Proudford-Nalder enjoyed a strong weekend at Donington Park in the British F4 Championship, securing a race victory and a further top-four finish across the three races.
The Australian started the weekend on the front foot, qualifying second with an impressive lap of 1:29.620 to secure a spot on the front row for Race 1. He converted that pace into a fourth-place finish in the opening race before placing seventh in Race 2.
Proudford-Nalder saved his best performance for the final race of the weekend, charging to victory to cap off a competitive outing at the iconic Leicestershire circuit.
The result adds another highlight to Proudford-Nalder’s British F4 campaign as he sits fifth in the championship with 144.5 points.
Attention now turns to Croft Circuit for the next round, with the championship returning to action from 5-6 September.
Ligier European Series – Spa-Francorchamps
Alex Gardner enjoyed a strong weekend at Spa-Francorchamps in the Ligier European Series, securing a race victory for Team Virage alongside teammate Simon Schranz.
Gardner showed strong pace throughout the opening stages of the weekend, finishing third in both FP1 and FP2 before carrying that form into qualifying, where he placed third in Q1.
A more challenging Q2 saw Gardner qualify 15th as weather prevented the pair from putting together a single lap, but he bounced back strongly when racing got underway. He delivered a standout performance in Race 1, fighting his way to the front to secure victory and add another impressive result to his European campaign.
Gardner followed that up with a fifth-place finish in Race 2, completing a consistent weekend that highlighted both his pace and ability to recover from setbacks.
The results at Spa-Francorchamps provide further momentum for Gardner and Team Virage as the Ligier European Series heads into the next round of the season.
Gardner and Schranz will now turn their attention to Silverstone as championship leaders, with the championship set to return to action from 11-12 September.
Porsche Supercup – Zandvoort
Caleb Sumich and Sam Shahin faced an interesting weekend at Zandvoort as the Porsche Supercup continued its European campaign with Rounds 6 and 7.
Competing with BWT Lechner Racing, rookie Sumich showed solid pace throughout the weekend, finishing 14th in free practice before qualifying 12th.
He carried that position into Race 1, completing Round 6 in 12th place and continuing his development in the highly competitive series.
Sumich was unable to replicate that result in Race 2, however, retiring on Lap 8 to record a DNF and bring a difficult end to his weekend.
Shahin, competing for GP Elite, endured a somewhat challenging outing.
He finished 24th in free practice before qualifying 25th, with Race 1 seeing him cross the line in 28th. He improved his result in Race 2, climbing to 24th.
Both drivers will now have one final opportunity to add to their Porsche Supercup campaigns, with the championship heading to Monza for the season finale at the Italian Grand Prix.
IndyCar – Washington D.C
Will Power gathered a storming drive at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington DC, charging from 12th on the grid to finish third and claim a hard-earned IndyCar podium.
The Australian steadily worked his way through the field during the 147-lap race, benefiting from strong pace and a well-executed strategy as the race unfolded.
Power was among the drivers making significant progress through the field as the leaders cycled through their pit stops, putting himself into podium contention late in the race.
Power’s chances of challenging for an even stronger result improved when Scott McLaughlin crashed out of second place with 19 laps remaining while attempting to overtake race leader Kyle Kirkwood.
The incident promoted Power into the final podium position.
Kirkwood went on to claim a dominant victory, leading McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard to the finish, while Power completed the podium in third.
The result marks another strong performance for the Australian as the 2026 IndyCar season enters its final stages, with just three rounds remaining.
Power and the series now head to Milwaukee, with the next round scheduled for August 30.
