Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
We’ve gathered the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and aggregated them for your quick-download convenience! Monday editions also include weekend race results.
🫡 Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius indicated that the company is “prepared” to get into the military-equipment business, and he clearly was not just talking about camo-painted G-Wagens. The whole quote was: “The world has become more unpredictable, and I think it is quite clear that Europe needs to strengthen its defence capabilities,” as Källenius was quoted. “If we can play a positive role in that, we would be prepared to do so.”
[Euronews]
🪖 Speaking of which—Jaguar Land Rover and General Motors are actively vying for a contract to build military trucks for the UK. [The Guardian]
⛽ India’s cooking fuel shortage is driving up California’s gas prices [Reuters]
🔧 Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Mercedes AMG GT3 suffered a broken driveshaft, killing his chance of winning the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hours win. [ESPN]
🛞 Car and Driver columnist Ezra Dyer brought a Lamborghini Revuelto to a high school automotive class to hype up a new generation of car enthusiasts. [Car and Driver]
🏛️ Automotive YouTuber Rob Ferretti (“superspeedersRob”) is running for mayor of Rockleigh, New Jersey. [Ferretti for Mayor]
🏁 Weekend Race Results:
- NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race: Denny Hamlin (#11, Joe Gibbs Racing) took first with Chase Briscoe in second and Erik Jones in third
- NASCAR Xfinity Series BetRivers 200: Corey Day, Justin Allgaier, and Sam Mayer were on the podium in that order
- IndyCar Indianapolis 500 Qualifying: Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) sits on the pole, followed by Alexander Rossi in second and David Malukas in third
- MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix: Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team)
- Formula E Monaco E-Prix Double-Header: Dan Ticktum (Saturday), Oliver Rowland (Sunday)
- 2026 ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring: Maro Engel, Mercedes-AMG GT3