Outdoor

Max Verstappen-Sergio Perez tensions have the potential to turn nuclear
Racing, F1

Max Verstappen-Sergio Perez tensions have the potential to turn nuclear

By Kevin Garside / inews.co.uk The biggest talking points in F1 after Red Bull dominate the 2023 Saudi GP, including FIA incompetence on Fernando Alonso and why Lewis Hamilton is no longer Mercedes’ leading man Fernando Alonso described his 10-second penalty that never was as a poor show. He was being polite to F1’s ruling body the FIA. It is bad enough that the outcome of races is known before a wheel is turned as a result of Red Bull’s dominance. F1 doesn’t need to damage the spectacle further by chucking in regulatory confusion and incompetence. Alonso was handed a five-second penalty for incorrect positioning in his front row box at the start of the race. Though being too far to the left was a technical infringement it conferred no advantage in this case. However, that it might...
Sergio Perez wins Saudi Arabian Grand Prix; Alonso reinstated to podium after penalty reversed
Racing, F1

Sergio Perez wins Saudi Arabian Grand Prix; Alonso reinstated to podium after penalty reversed

Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian GP ahead of Max Verstappen while Fernando Alonso was first stripped of third place and then reinstated in the early hours of Monday morning. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez flexed his street circuit muscles with dramatic effect on Sunday by storming to victory ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. While the top two were clear cut, the next two places remained in confusion long after the race had finished with Fernando Alonso first stripped of third place and then reinstated in the early hours of Monday morning. Perez, a 33-year-old Mexican, came home 5.355 seconds clear of the defending double world champion as Red Bull reeled off a masterful one-two triumph, the Dutchman having stormed through the field from 15th on the grid. Vers...
Ireland’s rugby team beat England 29-16 to clinch Six Nations Grand Slam
Rugby

Ireland’s rugby team beat England 29-16 to clinch Six Nations Grand Slam

Ireland completed their fourth-ever Six Nations Grand Slam with a 29-16 victory over England at a pulsating Aviva Stadium on Saturday, emphatically underlining their status as the world's top-ranked team heading into September's World Cup. The script could not have been better prepared, a chance to seal a first Grand Slam in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day weekend; and Ireland delivered, although it was nervier than they would have liked against an England side reduced to 14 men for the entire second half. The English were within one point of an upset with 20 minutes to go but late tries from Robbie Henshaw, Rob Herring, and a second for man-of-the-match Dan Sheehan made sure of Ireland's 15th championship and fifth since 2009. “You couldn't make it up, it's like living in a dream. We did...
SERGIO PÉREZ TAKES POLE IN JEDDAH AHEAD OF LECLERC AND ALONSO AS VERSTAPPEN HITS TROUBLE
Racing, F1

SERGIO PÉREZ TAKES POLE IN JEDDAH AHEAD OF LECLERC AND ALONSO AS VERSTAPPEN HITS TROUBLE

Sergio Pérez claimed his second consecutive pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.155s as Fernando Alonso finished third for Aston Martin. There was disappointment for Max Verstappen, though, as the championship leader was forced to retire from the session with a driveshaft problem in Q2. In Q1 the early pavce was set by Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg, with a lap of 1:29.875, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took P2, 0.028s off the German’s time. Pérez then moved ahead with a lap of 1:29.261. Verstappen was on track, though, and the Dutchman quickly established a new benchmark, posting an opening lap of 1:28.761 to claim top spot, half a second clear of his team-mate. Leclerc improved to 1:29.376 to rise to third place ahead of Ferrari team-mate Carl...
Chelsea 2-0 Dortmund (2-1 agg): Huge result for Potter as the Blues reach Champions League QFs
Champions League, Football

Chelsea 2-0 Dortmund (2-1 agg): Huge result for Potter as the Blues reach Champions League QFs

Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz scored in either half as Chelsea battled back to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on aggregate to advance in the Champions League. The Blues trailed 1-0 on aggregate after the first leg but they were determined to turn the tie around at Stamford Bridge. A goal from Sterling and a re-taken penalty from Havertz earned the hosts a 2-0 win and breathing space for Potter. The Premier League side have now won back-to-back games for the first time since October. The board’s faith in Potter has now been vindicated. Chelsea were energetic, playing on the front foot with bags of initiative, a team transformed from the one defeated here by Southampton 17 days ago. Dortmund, second in the Bundesliga and on a run of 10 straight wins, could not live with their early high ...
Benfica crush Brugge 5-1 to reach Champions League quarter-finals
Champions League, Football

Benfica crush Brugge 5-1 to reach Champions League quarter-finals

LISBON, March 7 (Reuters) - Clinical Benfica thrashed shell-shocked Club Brugge 5-1 to knock them out of the Champions League and reach the quarter finals 7-1 on aggregate at the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday. Benfica took the lead in the 38th minute through Rafa Silva who dribbled past two defenders and fired a left foot strike into the net after a counter-attack started by Goncalo Ramos who sped up the left channel before crossing to the far post. Ramos then scored either side of the break before Joao Mario extended the lead with a penalty in the 71st minute. Substitute David Neres grabbed the fifth six minutes later before Bjorn Meijer got a consolation Brugge in the 87th.
Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United
Premier League, Football

Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United

This season has been one of trials and tribulations for Liverpool and its beleaguered fans, but there may still be light at the end of the tunnel as Jurgen Klopp’s men put in a truly scintillating performance to tear Manchester United apart at Anfield. Braces from Cody Gakpo, Darwin Núñez and Mo Salah, plus Roberto Firmino’s late goal, secured an utterly dominant 7-0 win in this Premier League grudge match, marking the biggest win in the history of this storied fixture. It was a sobering afternoon for Erik ten Hag’s side, which had been on a brilliant run of form since the season resumed following the World Cup and at one stage even looked as though it may begin to put pressure on Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the table. Klopp had called United a “results machine” in the b...
Team by team analysis of F1 season-opening grand prix
Racing, F1

Team by team analysis of F1 season-opening grand prix

Team-by-team analysis of Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix, listed in championship order: RED BULL (Max Verstappen 1, Sergio Perez 2) Verstappen won a season-opener for the first time and added Bahrain to his list of victories in a dream start to his bid for a third successive title. He started on pole for the 21st time in his career, with Perez alongside, and cruised to a dominant 36th career win. Perez lost out to Leclerc at the start but recovered the position later. ASTON MARTIN (Fernando Alonso 3, Lance Stroll 6) Alonso was voted Driver of the Day. He started fifth for his first race with Aston Martin following his move from Alpine, passed Hamilton and went wheel-to-wheel with Sainz for the final podium spot. Stroll started eighth, two weeks after he broke b...
F1 Bahrain GP Results: Beat Goes on for Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Racing, F1

F1 Bahrain GP Results: Beat Goes on for Max Verstappen, Red Bull

Max Verstappen began his pursuit for a third straight Formula 1 title in imperious fashion as Red Bull Racing crushed the opposition during a sedate season-opening F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen Makes It Look Too Easy It is only Race 1 of 23 but Max Verstappen laid down a marker that evoked memories of his dominant second half of 2022. Verstappen converted pole position into an early lead and breezed away from the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc at a rate of seven-tenths per lap in the initial stages. Verstappen got his lead up to around 10 seconds and merely maintained that comfortable buffer, while slow-starting Sergio Perez eventually overhauled Leclerc to make it a 1-2 for the reigning champions. Verstappen finished 38 seconds clear of the nearest non-Red Bull driver—and such a b...
The real test will come tomorrow’ says Hulkenberg after making Q3 in return to F1 with Haas
Racing, F1

The real test will come tomorrow’ says Hulkenberg after making Q3 in return to F1 with Haas

Nico Hulkenberg was all smiles on his return to F1 qualifying as he put his Haas 10th on the grid for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The German driver did not, however, play down the challenge ahead of him… Hulkenberg qualified in the top 10 while team mate Kevin Magnussen – who took a stunning P5 here on his return to F1 last year – starts 17th for the opening race. Although he was happy with a Q3 appearance, Hulkenberg conceded that there was some time left on the table having had a lap chalked off for track limits. “That’s not bad,” he said, before asking F1 correspondent Lawrence Barretto, “What do you think? What do you say? I think it’s alright. It was not perfect in Q3 unfortunately, but I think I’m not going to let that ruin my day and my mood. I think that was pretty decent, [I’...