‘Proud’ Edoardo Mortara revels in Diriyah E-Prix victory as he leads Season 8’s World Drivers’ Championship

Edoardo Mortara (right) and Lucas di Grassi of Rokit Venturi after their 1-3 finish at the Diriyah E-Prix. (Rokit Venturi)
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Updated 30 January 2022
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‘Proud’ Edoardo Mortara revels in Diriyah E-Prix victory as he leads Season 8’s World Drivers’ Championship

  • With teammate Lucas di Grassi finishing third, Rokit Venturi Racing also top team standings with 58 points

Rokit Venturi Racing stormed to victory with a double podium performance in Race Two of the 2022 Diriyah E-Prix as Edoardo Mortara and Lucas di Grassi secured first and third at the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A day after the first race of Season 8, both Mortara and di Grassi had continued to show promise in practice on Saturday and advanced from Groups A and B in qualifying to contest the dual stages.

Mortara defeated André Lotterer and Robin Frijns in the quarter and semi-finals to face Nyck de Vries in the pole position shootout but qualified in second place after falling a mere 0.005 seconds shy of the Dutchman’s time.

“What a day and what a result. The first part of the race was quite calm, and I settled into a nice rhythm following Nyck,” said Mortara. “I think he was trying to pull away from us, but he didn’t manage to do so at that stage. It was quite clear that we had a good pace. Our strategy was conservative but the race on a whole was very difficult for my nerves because of the constant pressure from behind.

“Fortunately, I kept cool and our strategy worked perfectly and I’m very glad to take my first win of the season,” the Swiss-Italian-French driver added. “After taking eight points [on Friday] and then scoring 25 today, it’s been a great start to the season. From here, we will be hoping to be just as consistent in Mexico. I’m so proud of everyone in the team and I can’t wait to go racing again next month.”

Di Grassi, meanwhile, started from fourth after beating Antonio Felix da Costa in his quarter-final before losing out to de Vries in the penultimate stage of the session.

From the first two rows of the grid, the duo secured a strong start and maintained position before activating Attack Mode with 36 minutes and one lap of racing remaining.

“I’m very happy to score my first podium for Rokit Venturi Racing,” said di Grassi. “Starting from fourth, we deployed our Attack Mode very well, and with the strategy, I was able to move all the way up to first position. I’m not sure what Nyck tried to achieve by fighting me so hard at such an early stage because it cost both of us energy but after that and letting Edo through, I was trying to save more energy. Robin overtook me just before the Safety Car came out but because the race didn’t resume, I wasn’t able to fight him for second.

“Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t but in the end, this is motorsport,” said the Brazilian. “At this stage, we know that the car is extremely competitive and the more experience I get behind the wheel, the more confident I know I’m going to feel. Starting the season with a double podium is a great achievement and from here, we need to be consistent and score in every single race. I’m confident that we can win in Mexico.”

With the benefit of extra power, di Grassi carved through the field to take the lead, overtaking Frijns, Mortara — who armed his second use of Attack Mode — and de Vries in quick succession.

Running on the overcut strategy, meanwhile, Mortara fought back forward and after ascending to second place, overtook teammate di Grassi for the lead with 24 minutes and one lap remaining.

Coming under pressure from behind, di Grassi was passed by Frijns with 10 minutes to go, moments before the Safety Car was deployed following an accident for Alexander Sims.

As a result of the long stoppage, the race was resumed on the final lap, leaving a three-corner sprint to the checkered flag.

After 35 laps of competitive racing, Mortara crossed the line in first place to score his third win in Formula E to date, fronting a 1-3 double podium result for Rokit Venturi Racing with di Grassi securing third.

“What a day, especially after the mistake that I made in qualification yesterday,” Mortara said. “I am very glad to bring this win for the team. A 1-3 finish is amazing.

“It was a very strategic race, very difficult for the nerves because I didn’t have a lot of energy but neither did my colleagues around me. They were playing strategy, trying to attack me and make me consume, so I tried to keep my head cool and it worked.”

Taking 33 points from two races, Mortara now leads the World Drivers’ Championship with a four-point margin over de Vries while Rokit Venturi Racing holds first in the team’s standings with 58 points.

Jérôme D’Ambrosio, team principal, Rokit Venturi Racing said: “After [Friday’s] performance, it was clear that we had the pace to threaten for a place on the podium and by working hard overnight, we came back even stronger today. Taking not only the win but also a double podium and the lead in both World Championships is an incredible achievement and it’s one that we can be extremely happy with at this stage.

“From our side, the race was quite challenging strategically, but both drivers delivered near-flawless drives and it was great to see Edo joined on the podium by Lucas in only his second start with the team,” he said. “A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes during the winter and I’m incredibly proud of everyone in the garage and back at base. A result like this is a testament to their hard work and it will only add to our high morale and motivation moving forward. From here, we need to ensure that we continue to operate at this level on a consistent basis but it’s only the first race weekend and now, our full focus is on Mexico City.”


Bayern score late to see off Celtic in Champions League

Updated 19 February 2025
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Bayern score late to see off Celtic in Champions League

  • Bayern started the playoff second leg leading 2-1 from the first game in Glasgow but the visitors canceled out that lead after 63 minutes

MUNICH, Germany: Alphonso Davies scrambled the ball in with seconds left to give Bayern a 3-2 aggregate victory over Celtic and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Bayern started the playoff second leg leading 2-1 from the first game in Glasgow but the visitors canceled out that lead after 63 minutes.
Nicolas Kuhn, a former Bayern reserve team player, pounced on an error by Kim Min-jae to sweep the ball home.
Bayern dominated and peppered the Celtic goal but could not beat Kasper Schmeichel, until, with regular time almost up, the goalie could only parry Leon Goretzka’s header to substitute Davies. The ball bounced in off the Canadian’s shin to give Bayern a 1-1 draw in the match.


Ancelotti downplays Guardiola’s suggestion Man City have 1 percent chance of eliminating Madrid in playoffs

Updated 18 February 2025
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Ancelotti downplays Guardiola’s suggestion Man City have 1 percent chance of eliminating Madrid in playoffs

  • “He doesn’t really think that,” Ancelotti said on Tuesday in a pre-match news conference
  • Guardiola later said he lied a bit when he talked about the 1 percent, and that he knows City’s chances of reversing the first-leg defeat are higher than that

MADRID: Coach Carlo Ancelotti is not buying Manchester City rival Pep Guardiola’s suggestion that his own side have only a 1 percent chance of eliminating Real Madrid in the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday.
Madrid rallied late to win the first leg 3-2 last week in England to seize control ahead of their home match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
After City’s 4-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday, Guardiola said his team would arrive in the Spanish capital with a “1 percent” chance of going through to the round of 16.
“He doesn’t really think that,” Ancelotti said on Tuesday in a pre-match news conference. “Tomorrow I’ll ask him before the match if he really thinks that they only have a 1 percent chance. He thinks he has more than that, just as we don’t think that we have only a 99 percent chance. We know that we have an advantage, and we have to make the most of it.”
Guardiola later said he lied a bit when he talked about the 1 percent, and that he knows City’s chances of reversing the first-leg defeat are higher than that.
“You have to play an almost perfect game,” he said. “The result was not so good, we usually come into the second leg with a better result, so it is not the perfect situation. We have to attack, we have to score goals. We want to win, so let’s see if we can adjust some things that didn’t work in the first leg.”
Ancelotti said he was not one of those coaches who liked to fully downplay his team’s advantage.
“It’s foolish to say that we will prepare for the game as if we were tied 0-0,” he said. “Nobody will believe you because it’s a fact that we scored three goals and City two. You can’t change that. We have to try to play the same way as we played a week ago, but without forgetting that we have an advantage.”
Guardiola has never failed in 16 seasons of coaching — four at Barcelona, three at Bayern and nine in Manchester — to take his team to the last 16. The 2012-13 season was the last time City did not play at that stage.
City have been struggling recently, though, and Guardiola said that has to be taken into consideration.
“This season the reality is we have been miles, miles away,” he said. “The results have been poor.”
Madrid got the better of City in the quarterfinals last year, and with a 3-1 win in extra time in the semifinals in 2022. Each time Ancelotti’s team went on to win the title, extending the club’s record to 15 Champions League trophies.
Ancelotti can count on central defender Antonio Rüdiger, who has recovered from the muscle injury that has kept him out in recent weeks. Against City last week, Ancelotti fielded an improvised back line who played together for the first time.
Ferland Mendy, youngster Raúl Asencio and midfielders Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde played at the back in England.
Ancelotti said Rüdiger can start on Wednesday, though he didn’t say whether the central defender would replace Tchouaméni or the 22-year-old Asencio.
It is the fourth consecutive season in which the teams are facing each other in the Champions League, with City prevailing in the semifinals two seasons ago on their way to winning the European title for the first time.


Feyenoord knock out 10-man AC Milan to reach Champions League last 16

Updated 18 February 2025
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Feyenoord knock out 10-man AC Milan to reach Champions League last 16

  • Julian Carranza thumped home the winning header in the 73rd minute
  • Argentine attacker Carranza struck for Feyenoord shortly after coming on as substitute

MILAN: Feyenoord reached the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw at 10-man AC Milan which took them past the seven-time kings of Europe 2-1 on aggregate.
Julian Carranza thumped home the winning header in the 73rd minute at a frigid San Siro, canceling out Santiago Gimenez’s first-minute opener for Milan and sending the Dutch through to meet either Inter Milan or Arsenal.
Argentine attacker Carranza struck for Feyenoord shortly after coming on as substitute as the away side pushed to reach the next round, while Milan struggled following Theo Hernandez’s sending off early in the second half.
Already on a booking for a needless foul on Anis Hadj-Moussa just before half-time, Hernandez was ruled by referee Szymon Marciniak to have dived in the penalty box when under pressure from Givairo Read.
The France full-back was dismissed, leaving Milan on the back foot after having dominated up to that point.
Hernandez’s sending off and Carranza’s tie-winning header ruined what looked to be Gimenez’s night when he nodded home the opener against his old team after just 36 seconds.
Mexico forward Gimenez has already scored three times for Milan since signing from Feyenoord during the winter transfer window but his sixth goal in the Champions League this season was also his last.
Sergio Conceicao’s Milan are by no means assured of a spot in next year’s tournament as they sit seventh in Serie A, five points off the top four with a game in hand.


Medvedev edges Khachanov in windy Qatar Open

Updated 18 February 2025
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Medvedev edges Khachanov in windy Qatar Open

  • Medvedev, who won the tournament in 2023, scored his first victory over a top-30 player in 2025
  • In match of long rallies, Medvedev did not carve out a break point until the 12th game of the second set

DOHA: World No.6 Daniil Medvedev eliminated compatriot and defending champion Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of the ATP Qatar Open on Tuesday.
Medvedev, who won the tournament in 2023, scored his first victory over a top-30 player in 2025.
Medvedev, the former world No.1, has not won a tournament since the Rome Masters in spring 2023. He was knocked out in the second round of this year’s Australian Open by teenage American Learner Tien.
In match of long rallies, Medvedev did not carve out a break point until the 12th game of the second set, by which time he was a set down. He took his chance and then went on attack in the third set to win in two hours 30 minutes.


A third Russian former champion, Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed, beat Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-4.
Alex de Minaur celebrated his birthday by beating Russian Roman Safiullin 6-1, 7-5, even though the Australian did not enjoy the weather.
“They’re tough days, these ones,” said De Minaur. “It’s cold, it’s windy, you probably don’t want to get out of bed. But once you step on court, you have to do everything you can to win. Whether it’s ugly or pretty tennis, you just put the ball in the court, and that’s what I did today.”
“Out went any sort of tactics you had for the match and it was all about surviving more than anything.”
In the evening matches, Novak Djokovic was making his comeback against Matteo Berrettini after his Australian-Open semifinal injury.
Earlier in the day, Djokovic said that Andy Murray would continue as his coach “indefinitely.”
“I expressed my desire to continue the collaboration with him so I am really glad he did accept,” said Djokovic.


F1 drivers gather in London to launch 75th anniversary season

Updated 18 February 2025
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F1 drivers gather in London to launch 75th anniversary season

  • The F1 75 Live event at London’s O2 arena marks a new approach by the series
  • Teams will present their 2025 liveries, but don’t have to show off the actual cars they’ll race this season

LONDON: All 20 Formula 1 drivers and the 10 teams are expected in London on Tuesday to kick-start the 2025 season with a new live launch show.
The F1 75 Live event at London’s O2 arena marks a new approach by the series. It’s the first time the sport is hosting its own large-scale launch event, rather than leaving it to the individual teams to present their drivers and cars.
The televised two-hour show includes musical acts like country singer Kane Brown, British band Take That and American rapper MGK, also known as Machine Gun Kelly.
Teams will present their 2025 liveries, but don’t have to show off the actual cars they’ll race this season. Teams are still allowed to hold their own launch events to present their 2025 cars, as McLaren and Williams did last week.
It comes at a time when F1 is keen to expand beyond a sports audience, with races in cities like Miami and Las Vegas, a movie called “F1” starring Brad Pitt releasing in June, and the ongoing popularity of the “Drive To Survive” series on Netflix.
“To have this many fans out shows that we bring the sport together away from the racetrack. There’s a lot of excitement,” McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said Tuesday.
“The Brad Pitt movie will no doubt create a huge amount of awareness for the sport. Netflix, I’m sure, knowing what happened last year, will be a drama-filled television show again, which has been great for all of us. So I think the sport’s going from strength to strength.”
Drivers broadly welcomed the new launch show, though two-time champion Fernando Alonso warned it could be “a little bit of distraction” at a time when drivers and teams are fine-tuning their approach to the season.
F1’s preparations for the new season — which marks the series’ 75th anniversary — continue with preseason testing next week at the Bahrain International Circuit. The first race is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 16.