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An experienced F1 driver always knows to expect the unexpected, but Nico Hulkenberg’s Sunday afternoon at the Barcelona-Catalunya…
The post ‘Never in my career’: Hulkenberg stunned by freak Barcelona DNF appeared first on F1i.com.
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has today launched a ‘Call for Proposal’ to find promoters and organisers of FIA sanctioned Esports Championships.
As one of the most accessible and affordable forms of competition, Esports will play a major role in the FIA’s plan to increase global motor sport participation and create new pathways into motor sport.
The Call for Proposal aims to identify suitable partners with whom the FIA can work on the continued development of its Esports strategy.
Proposals are expected to outline potential Esports Championship concepts, including:
Sim racing is experiencing a massive growth in popularity, attracting not only casual gamers and motor sport enthusiasts but also professional racing drivers such as Max Verstappen and Esports competitors from all over the world.
The FIA MENA Esports Championship in 2025 generated 111 million views, and more than 6,000 drivers from 159 countries have already registered to take part in the first FIA Esports Global Rally Tour in May with finalists competing live on stage at this year’s FIA Awards in Shanghai in December.
With the global Esports market revenue projected to reach 5.1 billion US$ in 2026* the FIA’s Esports strategy has the potential to unlock significant commercial opportunities while opening access to motor sport competition.
H.E. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA, said: “Esports represents one of the most accessible and rapidly growing forms of competition, creating new pathways for people around the world to engage with motor sport. This Call for Proposal marks an important milestone in the development of the FIA’s Esports strategy as we identify opportunities that will support sustainable growth and attract new audiences and competitors.”
FIA Esports Commission President, Niroshan Pereira, said: “The launch of this public Call for Proposal marks an important step in identifying experienced organisers and promoters capable of delivering FIA Esports Championships that meet the highest standards of excellence, integrity, innovation, and audience engagement.
Through this initiative, we aim to establish a transparent and ambitious framework that will support the sustainable growth of competitive Esports under the FIA umbrella while fostering collaboration across the wider Esports ecosystem.”
Interested parties have until 08:00 CEST on 17 August 2026 to submit their proposals to the FIA.
*Source: https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/esports/worldwide/#revenue
The Call for Proposal document can be downloaded HERE and from the relevant section of fia.com
EsportsAll fia sportFIA
SportEsports1SportEsportsAll fia sportFIAEsports00Monday, June 15, 2026 – 12:25pmMonday, June 15, 2026 – 12:25pm
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, has today launched a ‘Call for Proposal’ to find promoters and organisers of FIA sanctioned Esports Championships.
As one of the most accessible and affordable forms of competition, Esports will play a major role in the FIA’s plan to increase global motor sport participation and create new pathways into motor sport.
The Call for Proposal aims to identify suitable partners with whom the FIA can work on the continued development of its Esports strategy.
Proposals are expected to outline potential Esports Championship concepts, including:
Sim racing is experiencing a massive growth in popularity, attracting not only casual gamers and motor sport enthusiasts but also professional racing drivers such as Max Verstappen and Esports competitors from all over the world.
The FIA MENA Esports Championship in 2025 generated 111 million views, and more than 6,000 drivers from 159 countries have already registered to take part in the first FIA Esports Global Rally Tour in May with finalists competing live on stage at this year’s FIA Awards in Shanghai in December.
With the global Esports market revenue projected to reach 5.1 billion US$ in 2026* the FIA’s Esports strategy has the potential to unlock significant commercial opportunities while opening access to motor sport competition.
H.E. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA, said: “Esports represents one of the most accessible and rapidly growing forms of competition, creating new pathways for people around the world to engage with motor sport. This Call for Proposal marks an important milestone in the development of the FIA’s Esports strategy as we identify opportunities that will support sustainable growth and attract new audiences and competitors.”
FIA Esports Commission President, Niroshan Pereira, said: “The launch of this public Call for Proposal marks an important step in identifying experienced organisers and promoters capable of delivering FIA Esports Championships that meet the highest standards of excellence, integrity, innovation, and audience engagement.
Through this initiative, we aim to establish a transparent and ambitious framework that will support the sustainable growth of competitive Esports under the FIA umbrella while fostering collaboration across the wider Esports ecosystem.”
Interested parties have until 08:00 CEST on 17 August 2026 to submit their proposals to the FIA.
*Source: https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/esports/worldwide/#revenue
The Call for Proposal document can be downloaded HERE and from the relevant section of fia.com
EsportsAll fia sportFIASportEsports1SportEsportsAll fia sportFIAEsports00Monday, June 15, 2026 – 12:25pmMonday, June 15, 2026 – 12:25pm
Six months ago, John Elkann publicly challenged Ferrari’s star drivers after one of the team’s darkest weekends of…
The post Ferrari chairman Elkann salutes Hamilton’s Barcelona breakthrough appeared first on F1i.com.
George Russell left Barcelona on Sunday evening with the runner-up’s trophy in hand but little comfort in his…
The post Russell vows to focus on ‘the controllables’ after Barcelona defeat appeared first on F1i.com.
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix may have been aided by a timely Virtual Safety Car,…
The post Vasseur: Hamilton would have won Barcelona GP even without VSC appeared first on F1i.com.
An afternoon full of drama across the three finals has ended with Zac Drummond mounting a challenge on Noah Baglin for this year’s OK European Title and Will Green emerging as the championship favourite in Junior.
The weather disrupted each of the races this afternoon at the Motorsportarena Mülsen and a plethora of penalties has further shaken the final results this evening. In OK, Calleja’s advantage was erased by a race retirement shortly after a trio of Drummond, Schaufler and Hoogendoorn raced for the win. Schaufler took the win on track, but this evening Drummond has assumed the victory following penalty decisions.
In Junior, we’re set for a title showdown in Kristianstad as Will Green, who won all of his heats this weekend, was handed victory after other penalties promoted the driver who had faced difficulty during the race. Meanwhile, in Academy Senior, Filip Planeta from the Czech Republic banked an early overtake on Albie Lapper to lead for the majority of the final and took the second win of the season.
The results this afternoon set up an unmissable fourth and final round of the 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship next month as the season continues to deliver a thrilling and unpredictable spectacle.
OK
Super Heats
Close racing and a compact field has characterised the OK category this weekend, reflected in the equal points haul of William Calleja and Zac Drummond at the top of the table who each took a super heat pole position this morning. Calleja lost out in the closing laps of his super heat, crossing the line in fifth with Lev Krutoholov taking the chequered flag. Noah Baglin made up seven places to secure 10th position in the final whilst Hoogendoorn lost 14 places to dent his otherwise promising weekend.
Drummond began his super heat knowing he only needed to outscore Calleja to take pole position for the final, but he made a bold statement to confidently retake the lead he initially lost from Oliver Kinnmark and show why he is the driver to beat this weekend. Elsewhere in the heat, Klara Kowalczyk and Valerio Viapiana were the other big gainers but it was disaster for Asher Ochstein who had been in-form this weekend but tumbled down the order and pushed to 18th place on the final grid.
Final
As lights went out the rain descended causing multiple karts to slide off in turn one with the front runners managing to keep on track. The first lap drama did however catch out Henry Domain, Gilles Herman and home hope Luke Kornder who slipped back into 22nd position.
Drummond, accustomed to the wet and changing conditions of Britain, maintained his lead in the opening stages as Calleja sat pensively behind. Calleja, who clinched pole position on Friday struggled to maintain his advantage by lap seven as Schaufler and Hoogendoorn both navigated through the order to occupy the top positions.
The setbacks continued for Calleja as a missing side pod brought his race to an early end. The Australian, who had collected heat wins consistently in Mülsen and seemingly found the right setup this weekend, was unfortunate not to leave the third round with a stronger result.
Noah Baglin, meanwhile, didn’t get off to the start he had hoped, losing places early on though recovering slightly to cross the line in seventh. With Drummond performing well this weekend and Baglin unable to close the gap to the front, the chances of Baglin clinching the title here in Germany narrowed considerably.
Elsewhere, Viapiana and Seah benefitted from the early race drama to slip through the pack and into the top ten. Viapiana has had an exceptionally strong weekend after the 2025 FIA Karting Shootout winner qualified in 74th position on Friday but steadily made his way through the field.
As the race reached the midpoint, Schaufler began to take the fight to Drummond and was joined by Hoogendoorn who laid down fastest laps of the pack in the hunt for a first race win or podium in the Championship. However, as soon as a lurch from Schaufler on Drummond looked likely, an opportunistic move from Oliver Kinnmark stole third position from Hoogendoorn as the Swedish driver brought his kart into contention for any battle for the lead.
Schaufler and Drummond went on to exchange the race lead as the drama intensified on track. Schaufler ultimately managed to hold on to the lead as Drummond delicately positioned behind to keep his kart on track with the now slippery track beginning to catch drivers out. With all karts on slick tyres, when the weather intensified the race was red-flagged, prematurely ending some of the best racing action this weekend.
Niklas Schaufler had done enough to take victory on track as the red flag was issued, but a subsequent penalty for causing an incident was passed on the Austrian who had to settle for fifth position. Zac Drummond thus assumed the race win, concluding a standout weekend for the driver who sits in second in the championship standings.
Valerio Viapiana, who started in 23rd for the final, was also elevated to the podium after delivering a mighty effort all weekend to bring him in contention.
Result of the OK final
1. Zac Drummond (GBR, Fusion)
2. Oliver Kinnmark (SWE, VDK)
3. Valerio Viapiana (ITA, Tony Kart)
Junior
Super Heats
Will Green has been the driver to beat all weekend after qualifying in fourth and converting each heat start into victory to end Saturday’s running on a perfect 250 points. With his closest championship rivals Miron Lorente, Girardello and Nuvolini all outside the top seven after yesterday’s heats, Green went into the super heats knowing he had a golden opportunity to build a championship lead heading to the final round.
In his super heat, Green led throughout to secure pole position for the final with ease to set up a perfect weekend for the championship leader. Behind him Priam Bruno finished second to start alongside Green on the front row and Zhu Zack Zhaoqi gained 10 spots to finish third and secure 14th position for the final. The second super heat brought Daniel Miron Lorente into play as he quickly gained places to seal the super heat win and a fourth place start on the final grid as the Spaniard began to turnaround his shaky weekend. Santiago Diaz De La Vega crossed the line third to start on the second row of the final grid.
Final
After the lights went out, a lap one coming together ended Zack Zhaoqi Zhu’s race in the opening corners as Will Green held on to his lead with Priam Bruno falling out of the podium positions and Alex Molota racing into second position.
In the lead, Green struggled to build a gap as Molota and Diaz De La Vega sat behind him and with momentum on their side. Green dealt with the pressure well as he focused on his race, occasionally looking back to see the chasing pack.
As drops of rain fell on track, Diaz De La Vega went into the lead for the first time in an FIA Karting race before almost immediately sliding off the track in the dampening conditions. In the melee, Green lost out to Alex Molota who took the lead of the race as the drivers cautiously navigated the circuit.
Miron Lorente, meanwhile, hovered around the top five spots along with Bruno and Nuvolini as a race against the weather began to develop. Miron Lorente used the conditions to his advantage to display his growing racing talent and promise to sit steadily behind Molota.
As the drizzle continued, Green struggled in the conditions and fell back further to sixth as Bruno and Nuvolini took advantage and into the third and fourth spots. Molota meanwhile found confidence in the conditions to remarkably build a two second gap in the lead which was quickly neutralised as a slow procedure collected the pack.
At the restart, Babicek lunged from fourth into second in a bold but well executed move which paid off for the Czech who went on to defend the position to the line as Molota comfortably took the chequered flag ahead of him. Behind them Miron Lorente, Nuvolini and Will Green battled over the final podium position right until the line as they crossed with barely a second between the three drivers.
As the drivers entered parc ferme, a smattering of front-fairing penalties were imposed on many of the top finishers as Molota, Babicek and Nuvolini were all handed five second penalties. Miron Lorente was therefore temporarily promoted to race win from his third-place finish before a post-podium penalty dropped him out of the top three.
Will Green benefitted from the penalties of those around him to take the second step of the podium which was later upgraded to a race win for the Brit who started the final on pole. Alex Molota took the third spot on the podium but was handed an additional penalty for a slow procedure violation thus eventually handing second place to Antonio Pizzonia. Third place fell to Babicek who had originally crossed the line in second.
Result of the Junior final
1. Will Green (GBR, KR)
2. Antonio Pizzonia (ITA, Ward Racing)
3. Zdenek Babicek (CZE, TEPZ)
Academy Senior
After Friday’s polesitter Sarp Kayol and Simba Motoda from Japan both failed to qualify for today’s final, odds shifted firmly in Albie Lapper’s favour this morning as the Brit who won two of his three heats placed his kart at the front of the grid for this afternoon’s final.
As the lights went out, Lapper started off the line well, cautiously navigating the track which had briefly faced light rainfall moments before. By the second lap a four-kart tussle transpired at the front of the pack with Filip Planeta and Alexis Genolet mounting a challenge for the lead.
Lapper succumbed to the mounting pressure behind as Planeta, Genolet and Desario all overtook Lapper who sat in fourth position by the fifth lap. Planeta sat in the lead with a 2-second gap but with previous race winner Genolet hoping to score back-to-back victories, Planeta struggled to build a commanding lead.
By the tenth lap, Genolet struggled to maintain the pressure on Planeta and fell victim to a storming Desario and resurgent Lapper who was determined to retake the race lead. Genolet’s slip down the standings continued as he fell to seventh position, in stark contrast to his dominant performance during the first round in Valencia.
At the halfway mark, Desario had cut the gap to the lead to just half a second, waiting to make his pounce on the Czech driver leading the race. Before Desario could make his move, Oliver Kurg entered the scene to find midrace pace that catapulted him past both Lapper and Desario into second spot pushing Desario out of the podium spots.
Desario later faced the same fate as Genolet, slipping down the order and ultimately crossed the line in 12th position. As Kurg looked on track to claim a podium, he faced a technical flag, ending his race early and incredibly putting Vanesa Silkunaite, who had capitalised on the track battles ahead of her, into third.
Over the final couple of laps Planeta built some clear air out front, taking the chequered flag with four seconds to spare. Albie Lapper settled for a respectable second place finish after his strong run of heats whilst Vanesa Silkunaite was overjoyed to take her first podium of the season after starting in tenth place. Delich was unfortunate to miss out on a podium after crossing the line just over a second behind Silkunaite and a gain of seven spots.
Result of the Academy Senior final:
1. Filip Planeta (CZE)
2. Albert Lapper (GBR)
3. Vanesa Silkunaite (LTU)
The Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship (OK, Junior) concludes in Kristianstad, Sweden at the Asum Ring over 30 July – 2 August 2026.
The Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship (KZ, KZ2, Academy Junior) season continues next month in Italy as we travel to Circuito Internazionale Napoli over 2-5 July 2026.
FIA KartingFIA
SEASON 2026SportCircuit1SportKartingCircuitFIASEASON 2026FIA Karting00Sunday, June 14, 2026 – 8:47pmSunday, June 14, 2026 – 8:47pm