MELBOURNE: Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton racing a Ferrari for the first time. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen arriving without a lot of mileage in his Red Bull. Lando Norris helping McLaren set a benchmark with his pace in testing.
Formula 1 is expecting a hyper-competitive milestone 75th anniversary season in 2025, and it starts this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. There’s no shortage of unknowns in terms of the pecking order, and the weather.
Most of the headlines ahead of Sunday’s Australian GP have revolved around Hamilton’s move to Ferrari from Mercedes.
The normally relaxed pre-event news conference at Albert Park was overflowing with journalists and photographers on Thursday to hear from a rejuvenated Hamilton about how much he’s enjoying the prancing horse-ride.
The 40-year-old British driver is going into his 19th season in F1 but has had a different outlook since his first day in January at the Scuderia’s Maranello HQ, where he’s teammates with Charles Leclerc.
“I don’t really approach this role with pressure,” Hamilton said. “I think over the years, the pressure I put on myself has always been 10 times higher than any other pressure that could be put upon me. I haven’t joined this team and been made to feel any pressure.
“I have an expectation for myself — I know what I can bring. I know what I can deliver. And I know what it’s going to take.”
McLaren’s pace
Norris has been trying to downplay his long-run pace that impressed the paddock during pre-season testing in Bahrain last month and made McLaren an early-season favorite.
“I know there’s a lot of expectation,” Norris said. “It was just my one race run I did that kind of just made everyone believe this quite heavily. It was a good race run, but it was also in the most perfect conditions.”
He tried to temper expectations by saying McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri ‘s run the following day “was a lot slower.” “Not because he drove worse,” Norris explained, “but simply because the conditions on the final day were considerably slower.”
There’s no denying, though, that McLaren is confident going into the opening race of the season, even if they’re not quite sure of their ultimate pace.
“No one really knows what to expect,” said Piastri, who is aiming to become the first Aussie to win the Australian F1 Grand Prix.
“Testing went pretty well, but you don’t know where everybody stands. I think we’re pretty happy with how our test went, but Melbourne is a completely different track to Bahrain. Weather is going to be different to Bahrain and different every hour, by the look of it.”
Friday practice
Ferrari took the contest to long-time rival McLaren in the second practice as Leclerc closed out the session on top, just over one-tenth of a second ahead of Piastri and Norris
Leclerc and Norris traded fastest times throughout the late afternoon run, with their pace witnessed by 125,548 people at the leafy inner-city Albert Park circuit, a record Friday crowd for the Australian Grand Prix.
Hamilton had a much stronger second session for Ferrari, with the seven-time world champion finishing fifth, just over fourth-tenths behind teammate Leclerc.
Red Bull’s second team, Racing Bulls, shaded the main squad, with Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar showing surprising speed to end the session in fourth and sixth.
World champion Max Verstappen could do no better than seventh, almost a half-second behind in the second session. Haas rookie Oliver Bearman didn’t enter the second practice after his crash in the morning session.
The final practice will precede Saturday qualifying, which starts at 4 p.m. local time (0500 GMT).
Weather update
Piastri, born and bred in Melbourne, is correct. The southern Australian city is set to deliver this weekend on the famous “four seasons in one day” expression that often describes Melbourne’s ever-changeable weather.
The Albert Park circuit should be comfortable for F1’s opening practice sessions on Friday, with a partly cloudy day expected and a top of 27 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit). Temperatures are expected to rise to 37C (98F) on Saturday for qualifying and then drop again again for the race on Sunday, when there’s also rain on the forecast.
A wet race would certainly mix things up, with teams needing to guess on setup following two days of dry running.
Verstappen, though, whose Red Bull team did the least mileage in pre-season testing, says he’s prepared for any conditions.
“I would like it to be dry because it’s just nicer, (and) also for the fans,” Verstappen said. “But if it’s wet, it’s wet. It’s fine as well.”
Piastri won’t be the only Aussie on the Melbourne grid. Jack Doohan, the son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan, is starting his first full season with Alpine – which appears to have taken a significant step forward over its 2024 pace.
Although speculation through pre-season has been whether Doohan will keep that seat, with his French team bringing in former Williams driver Franco Colapinto as a reserve.
“I have a contract for at least this year, if not more,” said Doohan, who is one of six rookies this season, the most on the F1 grid since 2001. “And the uncertainties? You don’t bother worrying about them. I think I have to perform each and every time I’m in the car.”
Defending champion Sainz returns
Ferrari secured a 1-2 finish in Melbourne last year led by Sainz, just two weeks after an appendectomy that sidelined him in Saudi Arabia. But the 30-year-old Sainz will likely be fighting for points and not podiums this time around now that he’s at Williams.
“I’m definitely going to do my best to score (points) as soon as possible,” Sainz said.
Ferrari is the most successful team in Australia with 14 GP wins, dating back to Adelaide in 1987. Hamilton is one of five drivers on the current F1 grid to have won in Melbourne, with his victories in 2008 and 2015.
Sunday’s season opener will be the 39th World Championship Australian Grand Prix, and the 28th in Melbourne. It starts at 3 p.m. local time (0400 GMT).
Lewis Hamilton ready to race for Ferrari for the first time in F1’s season-opening Australian GP
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Lewis Hamilton ready to race for Ferrari for the first time in F1’s season-opening Australian GP
- Formula 1 is expecting a hyper-competitive milestone 75th anniversary season in 2025, and it starts this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix
Messi returns to MLS with spectacular double in Inter victory
- Messi made sure there was no lingering let-down for Javier Mascherano’s side, who are aiming to improve on their curent sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 32 points from 17 matches
- Miami now face a hectic MLS stretch, with five more matches before the end of the month
MONTREAL: Lionel Messi scored two brilliant goals to lift Inter Miami to a 4-1 victory over Montreal in Miami’s return to Major League Soccer action on Saturday in the wake of their elimination from the Club World Cup.
Miami were playing their first MLS game in more than a month. They had advanced past the first phase of the Club World Cup but fell 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 last week.
Messi made sure there was no lingering let-down for Javier Mascherano’s side, who are aiming to improve on their curent sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 32 points from 17 matches.
“It is a great night, we took the three points that were very necessary to start thinking about the MLS again,” Mascherano said. “It is never easy to reintegrate into the competition after the Club World Cup, and the players have done it perfectly.”
Messi was a key figure throughout, although it was his miscue that led to the first goal for Montreal.
His backpass fell right in front of Montreal’s Prince Owusu, who fired a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to make it 1-0 after two minutes.
Messi more than atoned. In the 33rd minute, Messi found Tadeo Allende outside the area and Allende chipped a shot over Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirios.
In the 40th minute Messi conjured his trademark magic, cutting in from the right corner of the box, eluding Fernando Alvarez and curling the ball in at the far post for a goal that gave Miami a 2-1 halftime lead.
Telasco Segovia made it 3-1 in the 60th minute with a blast from outside the area that hit the crossbar and bounced into the net.
Messi bagged his second goal two minutes later, evading four defenders and finishing an outstanding solo run with a shot into the heart of the goal.
Messi now has seven goals in his last four MLS matches, bringing his total to 12 in 14 games.
“Leo is happy playing football,” Mascherano said. “Every time he is fit, he is going to play. Clearly we have an extra advantage when he plays and we want to use that advantage as much as possible.”
Miami now face a hectic MLS stretch, with five more matches before the end of the month.
France make Euro 2025 statement against holders England as Miedema completes century
- Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal as the Netherlands swept past Wales to take the initiative in the group
- France face underdogs Wales next on Wednesday while England have a huge clash with the Netherlands, again at the Letzigrund Stadium
ZURICH: France staked their claim to be contenders for Women’s Euro 2025 by beating holders England 2-1 on Saturday and joining the Netherlands at the top of Group D.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore netted within three minutes of each other toward the end of the first half as England became the first defending champions to lose their opening fixture at the Euros.
Laurent Bonadei’s team are level on three points with leaders the Dutch, who cruised past Wales 3-0 earlier on Saturday, after striking a big blow in the battle to qualify from possibly the hardest group at the tournament.
France face underdogs Wales next on Wednesday while England have a huge clash with the Netherlands, again at the Letzigrund Stadium.
“I expected a good performance because we prepared well. It’s always good to get off to a good start even if it’s only the first match,” said Delphine Cascarino.
“We were really good both going forward and in defense.”
The French were better all over the pitch, driven by the fabulous wing play of Baltimore and Cascarino, while Keira Walsh’s lovely strike with three minutes remaining made the scoreline flatter unconvincing England.
Not even Lauren James’ return to the starting XI could inspire England, the Chelsea star way below her best as the Lionesses struggled to put any pressure on France until it was too late.
“Of course I’m very disappointed,” said Sarina Wiegman, who lost her perfect Euros record as coach with Saturday’s defeat.
“We had three very good weeks and we played really well, but that’s never a guarantee that you win the game. We also know that France is a proper team too, so you have to do things really well. We just didn’t get it right.”
Alessia Russo thought she had given England the lead in the 16th minute when she prodded home on the rebound after Pauline Peyraud-Magnin kept out Lauren Hemp’s shot, only for the goal to be ruled out for a razor-thin offside in the build-up.
From there, France took the initiative, pushing England back into their own half and dominating possession, and they had a deserved lead through Katoto in the 36th minute when the Lyon forward guided home Cascarino’s low cross.
And three minutes later Baltimore made the scoreline accurately represent the balance of play with a wonderful individual goal, easily skipping around Lucy Bronze and Leah Williamson before rifling her finish into the top corner.
Walsh found the top corner with England’s first shot on target and Wiegman’s team almost snatched a point in the dying moments when Selma Bacha cleared Michelle Agyemang’s shot off the line and saved the result for France.
Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal as the Netherlands swept past Wales to take the initiative in the group.
Manchester City striker Miedema opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime in Lucerne with a beautiful curling strike, completing her century of goals for her country.
Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts netted the other goals after the break to give Wales a rude awakening in their major tournament debut.
“They defended really well and I’m glad my goal helped to start it all up,” said Miedema.
“In the second half, you saw that we can play a bit more, and eventually we also scored two really good goals.”
Andries Jonker’s team are top on goal difference while Wales already have their work cut out to qualify.
Rhian Wilkinson’s side could easily have been behind before Miedema, who was a doubt for the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury in April, struck, as Jill Roord crashed a rocket of a shot off the post in the 35th minute.
Pelova doubled the Oranje’s lead two minutes after the break when she rifled home from Danielle van de Donk’s pass, and the Arsenal midfielder set up Brugts to make absolutely sure of the points in the 57th minute with a perfect deep cross.
Real Madrid holds off hard-charging Borussia Dortmund to earn semifinal berth
- Real Madrid will play Paris Saint-Germain in the same city on Wednesday
Gonzalo Garcia rewarded his coach’s faith in him with the opening goal to help Real Madrid to a wild-ending 3-2 win against Borussia Dortmund in East Rutherford, N.J. on Saturday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid will play Paris Saint-Germain in the same city on Wednesday.
With superstar Kylian Mbappe gradually recovering from an illness, coach Xabi Alonso elected to instead start the 21-year-old Garcia and he scored his fourth goal of the Club World Cup in the 10th minute.
Fran Garcia, no relation, made it 2-0 in the 20th.
Then it got crazy. Dortmund’s Max Beier cut the lead in half in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
Mbappe, who entered in the 67th minute, made it 3-1 in 90+4 with a spectacular side-volley but Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen was red-carded in 90+6 for a foul in the box and Serhou Guirassy converted the penalty kick in 90+8.
Dortmund had one final try and Thibaut Courtois made a great full-extension save on Marcel Sabitzer in 90+10.
The match looked fully in hand until a clearance bounced to Beier and he first-timed a strike that brushed Huijsen on the way in to make it 2-1.
Mbappe then did his thing from the left side of the 6-yard box off the second assist of the match for Guler.
Just as Real Madrid was ready to exhale, Huijsen prevented goal-scoring opportunity and Guirassy scored for the third time in two matches.
Huijsen is suspended for the semifinal.
It was left to Courtois with his diving stop at the left corner to finally seal the win.
Shane van Gisbergen wins the pole for Cup Series race in downtown Chicago
- Van Gisbergen has won the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165
CHICAGO: When it comes to NASCAR’s street course in downtown Chicago, there is Shane van Gisbergen, and then there is everyone else.
Van Gisbergen has won the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165. The 36-year-old New Zealander turned a lap at 88.338 mph on a tricky 2.2-mile course that was made more treacherous by temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit on Saturday.
“Practice wasn’t that great for us, but when we went out for qualifying, the car felt really good,” van Gisbergen said. “We turned in two pretty good laps.”
The Trackhouse Racing driver will be joined on the front row by Michael McDowell, who grabbed the second slot at 87.879 mph. Carson Hocevar (87.824 mph), Tyler Reddick (87.779 mph) and Chase Briscoe (87.734 mph) rounded out the top five.
McDowell is one of three drivers who finished in the top 10 in the first two races in downtown Chicago.
“Our car’s in the game,” he said. “Tomorrow will be a mixed bag with potential weather in and out. So a lot of variables to go out there and navigate.”
Van Gisbergen, a three-time champion in Australia’s Supercars, also was on the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
“I learned a lot in the Xfinity Series car this morning, and that just gives you a great leg up for the Cup car,” he said. “I think it’s great running both cars, it certainly helps.”
Just two years ago, van Gisbergen raced to a historic victory in a rainy first edition of NASCAR’s downtown Chicago experiment. Making the most of his extensive street racing experience, he became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.
He won Chicago’s Xfinity Series stop last year and the first stage in the Cup race before he was knocked out by a crash.
Katherine Legge became the first woman to qualify for the Cup race in downtown Chicago when she turned a lap of 85.744 mph, knocking Corey Heim out of the field.
“We would have been a lot faster, I think, had I not kept nicking the wall,” Legge said. “I’ve given my crew a lot of work to do from that, but we had to keep pushing to put it in the show. I’m really proud of this team, and I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow.”
Shubman Gill, the ‘Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king
- The 25-year-old’s second century of the match took his overall tally for the game to 430 runs
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom: India captain Shubman Gill continued to give fresh meaning to the phrase “leading from the front” with a stunning innings of 161 in the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston on Saturday.
The 25-year-old’s second century of the match took his overall tally for the game to 430 runs, a figure bettered by India great Sachin Tendulkar, Test cricket’s all-time leading run-scorer, just three times in a series, let alone a match, during his celebrated career.
Following his commanding 269 in the first innings, Gill also became the first batsman in 148 years of Test history to make score of 250 and 150 in the same match.
All that came after Gill’s 147 in his first Test as captain, India’s five-wicket loss in last week’s series opener at Headingley.
But beyond the statistics, it is the way Gill has played that has impressed seasoned observers.
In the first innings at Edgbaston, he batted in near flawless-fashion for eight-and-a-half hours, with his offside driving standing comparison with cricket’s most elegant batsmen.
But in the second innings, with quick runs required to set up a declaration, Gill made 161 off just 162 balls, including 13 fours and eight sixes.
India are now well-placed given England, with seven wickets standing, still need a mammoth 536 more runs on Sunday’s final day to achieve what would be a Test record fourth-innings victory chase of 608.
“Gill is outrageous,” England fast-bowling great Stuart Broad, well used to working out world-class batsmen during a career that yielded 604 Test wickets, told Sky Sports after Saturday’s close.
“As a bowler, I’d be looking for technical things so I could expose him, but he’s not shown any obvious signs of dismissal and he’s played stylishly. He’s played with huge responsibility, under big pressure.
“It’s breathtaking... He deserves all the applause he will get.”
Gill was drafted into India’s under-19 side as for their victorious 2018 World Cup campaign, shortly after scoring a century for Punjab in just his second first-class Ranji Trophy match.
He made his one-day international debut in 2019, but it was in his first Test series, in Australia in 2020/21, that he came to the fore, notably with a fluent 91 in India’s thrilling series-clinching win at the Gabba.
His first Test hundred came a year later, in Chattogram. A month later, aged 23, he became the youngest to make an ODI double-century, smashing 208 off 149 balls against New Zealand.
Born in Fazilka, near the border with Pakistan, before moving to Mohali aged eight to be nearer better cricket facilities, the nickname ‘Prince’ has clung to Gill to the extent of sometimes appearing on his bat-stickers.
An opener and then a number three, Gill now occupies the number four position held by childhood hero Virat Kohli, with his 269 surpassing Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune in 2019 as the highest score by an India Test captain.
As a boy, Gill wanted to know what Kohli’s scores and achievements were when he was his age.
And when Kohli first saw Gill in the nets in New Zealand in 2019/20, he said he didn’t even have 10 percent of the talent when he was Gill’s age.
Yet last year, when England went 1-0 up in Hyderabad, a second-innings duck saw Gill’s Test average fall below 30 for the first time.
But then India coach Rahul Dravid, himself an outstanding batsman, resisted the temptation to drop Gill, who then made a second-innings century in a 106-run win in Visakhapatnam and another, in Dharamshala, during a series India won 4-1.
Gill succeeded Rohit Sharma as India captain after the latter announced his retirement from Test cricket in May, with ‘King’ Kohli calling time on his Test career just a few days later.
A few months ago,when asked about potential leaders, Rohit said “the boys aren’t ready yet.”
But Gill, who started this series with a modest Test average of under 36, looks as if he might be now.
