LAS VEGAS: Max Verstappen, needing just three points over Lando Norris at the Las Vegas Grand Prix to seal a fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship, is suddenly in jeopardy of being denied the crown Saturday night.
The most jarring sign of trouble came in Thursday night’s second practice when the Dutchman was a dismal 17th on the speed chart compared to Norris, who was among the top three fastest drivers in both sessions.
Red Bull apparently brought the wrong rear wing to Las Vegas and GPS data showed its two cars to be significantly slower on the straights than both McLaren and Mercedes, which led both practice sessions with Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull said it doesn’t have a replacement rear wing in Las Vegas to fix the issue and little chance of getting two flown in from England in time.
Verstappen, however, proved two weeks ago in Brazil that adversity is nothing he can’t overcome. He started 17th on a wet and rainy circuit and still managed to win his first race since June by nearly 20 seconds.
Verstappen, whose eight wins this season are his fewest since 2020, has not won back-to-back races since Canada and Spain in June. But the Brazil win widened his lead over Norris in the standings to 62 points and the championship is his barring a complete collapse over the final three races.
He is not sure what to expect Saturday night.
“I just want to focus on the weekend and try to have a good performance. Brazil was a very welcome victory for us after a while, but this is again very different,” said Verstappen, who won the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix last year.
Prior to discovering the rear wing issue, Verstappen felt decent about his chances in Las Vegas.
“Three races left, you’re getting close to the end of the season and it’s looking good in the championship, but we still need to score a lot of points so we’ll just focus on that,” he said. “Once we are doing that then you get closer to the end result.”
Norris not giving up
Norris was admittedly downtrodden after Brazil, where he started on the pole but finished sixth and lost ground to Verstappen after first cutting the lead to 44 points by winning the sprint race.
“This was almost a defining moment for the championship. It was a defining moment for the championship. The doors are almost shut,” Norris said. “For a week, I was pretty down because I had that realization of things pretty much out of my control now, not within reach necessarily. That’s a tough realization when your hopes and belief are so high. For it to get knocked down so much all of a sudden was pretty demoralizing.”
Even so, Norris is convinced he will one day be F1 world champion.
“I have what it takes,” Norris said. “I think it’s the first time in the last six years of F1 when we’ve had a chance to fight at the front. This is our, and my, first opportunity to do so, and my first opportunity to see where I stand. I definitely was not at the level I needed to be at the beginning of the year.
“I still need to make tweaks and I still need to improve on things, that’s clear. I’m not completely satisfied with how I’ve done and I definitely know I need to make improvements,” he added. “But, for the first time, I’m confident to say I have what I think I need to fight for a championship.”
Norris has the first three wins of his career this season and has McLaren currently atop the constructor championship standings. He knows he’s got more work to do to be champion, especially against Verstappen.
“It doesn’t mean I’m complete, it doesn’t mean I’m perfect. When you’re competing against drivers who are close to that, like Max, you have to be close to perfect if you want to challenge him,” Norris said.
Constructor championship
McLaren is still clinging to a 36-point lead over Ferrari in the battle for the constructor championship, a title worth a bonus estimated to be $150 million.
McLaren last won that title in 1998, while Ferrari last won in 2008. Red Bull has won the last two titles. Ferrari could chip away at McLaren’s lead at Las Vegas.
“Ferrari have been strong for a long time,” said Norris. “They have two very good drivers, they’re a very good team, they’ve clearly improved their car a good amount and found a better direction to head down. We do know that Vegas is probably a track that will suit the Ferraris a bit more, it suited them well last year, but Qatar we know maybe will be more favorable to us.”
Carlos Sainz Jr., in his final three races for Ferrari before he is replaced by Hamilton and moves to Williams, wants to close his tenure by helping the team win the constructors title.
“I would love to win the championship for Ferrari this year,” Sainz said. “I think it would be a great way to sign off the season.”
He predicted that McLaren will be stronger in the final two races of the year, at Qatar and Abu Dhabi. But at Las Vegas? Sainz expects he and teammate Charles Leclerc to be stronger.
“This (track) is more Ferrari than McLaren, but at the same time, the temperature is not, so we’ll see how it pans out,” Sainz said of temperatures expected to be in the 40s Fahrenheit (5-10 degrees Celsius) on Saturday night.
Red Bull brings wrong rear wing to Las Vegas in mistake that could stall Verstappen’s title chances
https://arab.news/ytvfz
Red Bull brings wrong rear wing to Las Vegas in mistake that could stall Verstappen’s title chances
- The most jarring sign of trouble came in Thursday night’s second practice when the Dutchman was a dismal 17th on the speed chart compared to Norris
- Red Bull apparently brought the wrong rear wing to Las Vegas and GPS data showed its two cars to be significantly slower on the straights than both McLaren and Mercedes
Duplantis headlines stellar cast as world indoors finally get Nanjing green light
- The US team does not feature Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles
- It now has the green light and Nanjing’s Cube will play host to 576 athletes from 127 countries competing in 26 events over three days of action from March 21-23
NANJING, China: Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis headlines a stellar cast in the Chinese city of Nanjing for a world indoor athletics championships delayed three times by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nanjing was picked to host the biennial event back in 2020, then in 2021 and then again in 2023.
They were all moved due to coronavirus rules. In 2022 the event was instead held in Belgrade and in 2023 in Glasgow.
It now has the green light and Nanjing’s Cube will play host to 576 athletes from 127 countries competing in 26 events over three days of action from March 21-23.
That number includes 11 individual defending champions — notably world record holders Duplantis (pole vault), Devynne Charlton and Grant Holloway (60m hurdles) — and 20 medallists from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Duplantis, Holloway, Hamish Kerr (high jump), Thea Lafond (triple jump) and Miltiadis Tentoglou (long jump) followed up their Glasgow indoor successes with Olympic gold. They will be joined in Nanjing by fellow Olympic gold medallists Yaroslava Mahuchikh (high jump) and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (1500m and 3000m), also world record holders.
“I’m super excited,” Duplantis said. “It was my first time competing in China last outdoor season for the first two Diamond League meets and I jumped extremely well, broke the world record, to 6.24m.
The US-born Swede comes into the competition having bettered his world record — for the 11th time — to 6.27m at an indoor meet in the French city of Clermont on March 1.
But Duplantis insisted there would be no recalibration of his season goals.
“No, not really,” he said. “It’s not the first time I’ve broken the world record in the indoor season.
“It’s according to plan right now, as far as I want.”
Duplantis said he knew he was capable of “higher heights,” insisting that he was “not fixated” by a certain height.
“It takes a little bit of time and it’s by fairly small increments — and it does get a little bit more difficult every time.
“I’d like to get over 6.30m in the near future and then keep pushing it from there. Indoors is a great opportunity always to break the world record because we don’t have to deal with the wind and whatnot so we have a lot more controlled variables in that sense.”
Ukraine’s reigning Olympic, world and European outdoor champion Mahuchikh, will compete fresh from winning a third European title in Apeldoorn.
Mahuchikh won her latest accolade with a best of 1.99m before deciding not to go any higher, toward her record mark of 2.10m.
“I won the gold medal for my country. Of course, I am a little bit disappointed because I wanted to try and jump a bit higher,” she said.
“I hope at the next championships I will be in better shape.”
Norway’s Ingebrigtsen completed a distance double in the 1500 and 3,000m at the Apeldoorn Euros.
“Competitions and championships are what it is all about,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“I have always been training toward something and setting goals, with the championship in mind. That is what sport is about. Racing, representing our nation and celebrating the sport.”
The US team does not feature Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles. Marcellus Moore, Emmanuel Wells and Ronnie Baker instead head the 60m entries.
Holloway will bid to become the first hurdler to win three consecutive world indoor titles. Teen prodigy Quincy Wilson is another absentee, the 17-year-old having turned down an invitation and insisting “school comes first!“
Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who was edged into Olympic silver by Lyles in Paris, is ruled out with an injury. Nishion Ebanks and Rohan Watson will compete in the 60m.
Caicedo stars as Real Madrid down Arsenal 2-0 in women’s Champions League, Lyon beat Bayern
- Lyon and Arsenal will host their respective second-leg quarterfinal matches next Wednesday
- The big clubs’ belated investments in women’s football have had an adverse effect on clubs like Sweden’s Umeå IK and Germany’s Turbine Potsdam
LONDON: Linda Caicedo shined on a rainy evening in the Spanish capital as Real Madrid beat Arsenal 2-0 in the first leg of the women’s Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Eight-time champion Lyon is eyeing the semifinals after a 2-0 win at Bayern Munich in their first-leg quarterfinal thanks to goals from Tabitha Chawinga and Melchie Dumornay.
Bayern goalkeeper Maria-Luisa Grohs saved Lindsey Heaps’ penalty before the break and made a host of other saves, too.
Caicedo, the 20-year-old Colombia star, opened the scoring in Madrid’s Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium and proved a constant source of torment for the Arsenal defenders. Substitute Athenea grabbed the second goal late to put the Spanish side in a promising position to reach the semifinals.
Caicedo capitalized on Arsenal defender Leah Williamson’s botched effort to cut out Signe Bruun’s pass when she took a couple of strides forward to hold off Arsenal’s Emily Fox and fired the ball inside the left post in the 22nd minute.
Beth Mead went closest for Arsenal before the break.
Madrid suffered a blow in the 63rd when Melanie Leupolz went off with an apparent right knee injury after kicking the ball. The 16-year-old Irune Dorado went on in the German midfielder’s place.
Arsenal responded with a period of sustained pressure, albeit without reward, and Athenea scored on a counterattack in the 82nd. Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger got her hand to the ball but couldn’t keep Athenea’s powerful shot out.
“We knew how to endure,” Madrid coach Alberto Toril said. “In the Champions League there are important matches that you need to know how to play and that have many mini-matches within the games, and I think we did very well.”
Lyon and Arsenal will host their respective second-leg quarterfinal matches next Wednesday.
Madrid, a powerhouse in men’s soccer with a record 15 European titles, are bidding to reach the semifinals for the first time. The Spanish club was late to women’s soccer in comparison to rivals, only forming its women’s team after completing a merger and acquisition of another women’s soccer club in 2020.
The big clubs’ belated investments in women’s football have had an adverse effect on clubs like Sweden’s Umeå IK and Germany’s Turbine Potsdam.
The other quarterfinal matches are on Wednesday, when Wolfsburg face defending champion Barcelona at home, before Manchester City host English rival Chelsea.
Esports World Cup Foundation selects 40 clubs for $20m partner program
- The $20 million program will offer chosen clubs up to $1 million in funding to expand their brand
- The 2025 program offers modular funding for campaigns that engage fans, tell EWC-related stories and enable club-driven innovation
RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation announced the top 40 esports clubs that have been accepted into the EWCF Club Partner Program, an industry-leading initiative designed to promote the growth of esports organizations.
The $20 million program will offer chosen clubs up to $1 million in funding to expand their brand and grow their global audience through innovative content and marketing campaigns, leading up to and throughout the Esports World Cup 2025.
Faisal bin Homran, chief product officer at the Esports World Cup Foundation, said that the organization’s mission is to build a sustainable future for esports clubs worldwide while creating opportunities for organizations from some of the world’s fastest-growing markets.
“This year’s 40 partnered clubs represent a diverse and dynamic cross-section of global esports, spanning legacy organizations, rising stars and global powerhouses that collectively define the rich history and the rapidly evolving future of the industry. By investing in their growth, the program will enable clubs to expand their audience and reach, strengthen their brands and gain greater visibility through fan-first content, shaping the future of esports as a global sport and mainstream entertainment.”
The 40 partner clubs, reaching more than 300 million fans, will drive global growth by creating compelling experiences and content that deepen their connection with fans worldwide, including behind-the-scenes production, player documentaries and live fan experiences that excite their communities. The 2025 program offers modular funding for campaigns that engage fans, tell EWC-related stories and enable club-driven innovation.
The 2025 EWCF Club Partner Program represents a global roster, including six clubs from China, alongside additions from rapidly expanding markets like Japan, India and Latin America. The full lineup is: 100 Thieves, All Gamers, Bilibili Gaming, Cloud9, Edward Gaming, EVOS, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, FURIA, G2 Esports, Gaimin Gladiators, Gen.G, Gentle Mates, HEROIC, JD Gaming, Karmine Corp., Movistar KOI, LEVIATAN, LOUD, MOUZ, NAVI, NIP.eStar, ONIC, POWR, REJECT, S8UL, Sentinels, T1, Team BDS, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Team RRQ, Team Secret, Team Spirit, Team Vitality, Twisted Minds, virtus.pro, Weibo Gaming, Wolves Esports and ZETA DIVISION.
The 2025 Club Program applications in China were supported by Tencent E-Sports, which facilitated the process for 20 clubs that have applied.
Six clubs were selected, including All Gamers, Bilibili Gaming, Edward Gaming, JD Gaming, Weibo Gaming and Wolves Esports — China’s most dominant teams, engaging more than 125 million Chinese fans through gaming, entertainment and lifestyle content. Additionally, eStar, as part of NIP, has also been added to the lineup, further serving the expansion of the Club Partner Program in China and activating Chinese fans.
All clubs were selected through a rigorous evaluation process that reviewed almost 200 applications, included assessing their competitive track record in the Club Championship in 2024, their potential across multiple games, social media presence, fan engagement and their strategic plans for activating their global esports audience.
Eight clubs received direct invitations based on their EWC 2024 Club Championship ranking, while the remaining spots were allocated through an open application process. Nineteen clubs joined for the first time, and 21 returned from the inaugural year.
Fabien “Neo” Devide, chairman and co-founder of Team Vitality, said that esports is evolving faster than ever, and the EWCF Club Partner Program is driving that evolution by giving clubs the tools to grow, engage fans and compete at the highest level.
He added: “EWC 2024 was a defining moment for us — winning points in five games, two podium finishes and securing a top-four finish at the Club Championship. The scale and energy of the event proved just how influential esports has become. We’re proud to be part of the program again, fueled by the enthusiasm of French fans who continue to support and inspire us as we look to elevate our game, win as many tournaments as possible and carry Team Vitality’s colors high on the biggest stage in esports.”
Mosaad Al-Dossary, co-founder and chairman of Team Falcons, said that the return of the EWCF Club Partner Program highlights the growing impact of esports and its expanding influence in engaging fans globally.
“Following our Esports World Cup victory, we understand the dedication required to compete at the highest level, and Saudi Arabia’s pioneering role in the esports and gaming industry continues to set the standard. We look forward to once again competing among the best and securing another win to make our country proud,” he added.
Ibraheem Al-Tamimi, founder and CEO of POWR, said that the team is excited to be part of the EWCF Club Partner Program and to compete on the grand stage of the Esports World Cup this summer.
“This initiative presents a fantastic opportunity to grow our fan base and reach millions of fans. As we make our debut at the EWC, we look forward to showcasing our talent, representing our country and contributing to the continued growth of the global esports ecosystem,” he added.
The Esports World Cup 2025 will unite gaming and esports communities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a global competition that will crown the next Esports World Cup Champion. The tournament’s unique cross-game format will reward clubs and players competing for a life-changing prize pool across a mix of platforms and genres, bringing together esports’ best teams, players and games under one banner in the largest-ever celebration of esports.
Djokovic player union launches legal blitz against governing bodies
- ATP and WTA responded by vowing to defend themselves against the claims
- “The lawsuits expose systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare that have persisted for decades,” said the PTPA
MIAMI: A tennis union co-founded by Novak Djokovic on Tuesday announced a series of legal actions aimed at the sport’s governing bodies, alleging “anti-competitive restraints and abusive practices.”
The Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) said it was suing both tour organizers, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
The International Tennis Federation (ITF), and International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) were also named as defendants in a series of actions in the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union.
Both the ATP and WTA responded by vowing to defend themselves against the claims with the men’s tour saying the PTPA has “consistently chosen division and distraction through misinformation over progress.”
The PTPA was set up by Djokovic and Canadian Vasek Pospisil in 2020. Some 20 players were named as part of at least one of the actions.
“The lawsuits expose systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare that have persisted for decades,” said the PTPA statement.
“The ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA operate as a cartel by implementing a number of draconian, interlocking anti-competitive restraints and abusive practices.”
“Tennis is broken,” said Ahmad Nassar, Executive Director of the PTPA.
“Behind the glamorous veneer that the defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardizes their health and safety.”
The statement listed alleged abuses they are targeting.
It said the defendants “colluded,” “fixing prize money and suppressing player earnings” forcing “an unsustainable schedule” and exploiting players financially.
The bodies show a “disregard for players” by making them “compete in 100-degree (Fahrenheit) heat, endure matches that ended at 3 am, and play with different and injury-inducing tennis balls.”
The PTPA also cited image right ownership, sponsorship restrictions and the “draconian system of ranking points.”
The statement also complained that tennis violates player “privacy rights.”
“Players are subjected to invasive searches of personal devices, random middle-of-the-night drug tests, and interrogations without legal representation,” it said.
The ATP said that it was continuing to make change, with player input and hit back at the union.
“While the ATP has remained focused on delivering reforms that benefit players at multiple levels, the PTPA has consistently chosen division and distraction through misinformation over progress,” the statement read.
“Five years on from its inception in 2020, the PTPA has struggled to establish a meaningful role in tennis, making its decision to pursue legal action at this juncture unsurprising.
“We strongly reject the premise of the PTPA’s claims, believe the case to be entirely without merit, and will vigorously defend our position. The ATP remains committed to working in the best interests of the game — toward continued growth, financial stability, and the best possible future for our players, tournaments, and fans,” the tour concluded.
The WTA also defended their approach to the game and said that PTPA’s action “is both regrettable and misguided, and we will defend our position vigorously in due course.”
In addition to Djokovic and Pospisil, the seven-member PTPA executive council also includes players, Hubert Hurkacz, Ons Jabeur, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Taylor Townsend and Zheng Saisai.
Australian Nick Kyrgios, France’s Varvara Gracheva and American Reilly Opelka have joined the PTPA’s case in the United States, while Frenchman Corentin Moutet and Japan’s Taro Daniel have joined the case in the United Kingdom.
Courtois back and Belgium are looking to turn the page on ‘Courtoisgate’
- The appointment of Rudi Garcia as the new coach this year paved the way for Courtois’ return
- The 32-year-old goalie was picked for the Nations League playoff doubleheader against Ukraine
BRUSSELS: Thibaut Courtois is back with Belgium after a 21-month absence and the Red Devils are hoping the Real Madrid goalkeeper’s return will herald the start of a new era for the national team after a lean spell.
Courtois abruptly left the team in June 2023 ahead of a European Championship qualifier after falling out with Belgium’s then-coach, Domenico Tedesco. Their feud, which began over a captaincy dispute and was dubbed “Courtoisgate,” quickly escalated and damaged their relationship beyond repair.
The appointment of Rudi Garcia as the new coach this year paved the way for Courtois’ return. The 32-year-old goalie, who has made 102 appearances for Belgium, was picked for the Nations League playoff doubleheader against Ukraine.
After being away from the group for almost two years, Thibaut met with his Belgium teammates on Monday to settle any possible lingering misunderstanding.
“We’ve put things right, the squad has fully accepted Thibaut’s decision, and now we’ve got our sights set on moving forward, winning both playoff matches and qualifying for the World Cup,” Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans said on Tuesday during a press conference attended by Courtois.
Courtois said he had been in contact with other Belgium internationals over the last two years, but that speaking in front of the group this week to explain himself and clear the air was important.
“I thought it was clear to everyone. But when I got here yesterday, I saw that it wasn’t,” Courtois said. “So it’s nice to be able to speak in front of everyone. Everything is clear, we’re moving forward. Let’s not talk about it anymore from now on.”
Courtois’ comeback does not seem to please everyone, though.
Courtois doesn’t satisfy everyone
Koen Casteels, who was Belgium’s starting ‘keeper at the 2024 European Championship, has made himself unavailable for the national team reportedly because of the circumstances around Courtois’ return to the fold. Casteels also suggested that other players were not enthusiastic about Courtois’ return.
Courtois said he did not know what Casteels was talking about, adding that his fellow ‘keeper was responsible for his decision.
Asked if he had any regrets, Courtois admitted he might have overreacted, but reiterated his claim that Tedesco did not show enough respect. Courtois said he had some physical issues at the time, and that Tedesco never came to check how he felt.
“I had never seen that in my 16-year professional career,” he said. “I know I don’t have the easiest personality, I’m a winner and I speak my mind, so it didn’t help. Things should have been solved within the team.”
Tielemans praised Garcia’s efforts toward team harmony after a controversy “that unfortunately did more harm to our squad than what we wanted.”
Under Garcia’s predecessor, who was hired in February 2023 with the goal of rebooting the Red Devils, Belgium failed and Tedesco was fired after disappointing performances at both Euro 2024, when they lost to France in the round of 16, and the Nations League.
Garcia’s first match in charge is on Thursday against Ukraine, with the mission to keep the Red Devils in League A. Belgium will then start its qualifying for the World Cup in June.
