Category: 6. Sports

  • Magda Eriksson and Pernille Harder – rivals on the pitch, LGBTQ+ pioneers away from it

    Magda Eriksson and Pernille Harder – rivals on the pitch, LGBTQ+ pioneers away from it

    Magda and Pernille: Rivals on the field & pioneers off it

    One thing that both can agree on, regardless of the shirt they wear, is that football is just football – nothing more.

    Away from the pitch they are planning a wedding, building a life together; that is not necessarily forgotten in 90 minutes, rather put to one side as they battle it out.

    That sentiment is echoed in the openness of which they live their lives, something that resonates with fans globally.

    Such a stark contrast between the men and women’s game is not lost on them, either, recognising the importance of having a space to be themselves.

    “It’s a totally different environment to men’s football,” suggests Harder.

    Eriksson follows on: “Players can be themselves, love who they love, and if you come into the women’s football environment, you have to buy into that.

    “I think we have been quite lucky, that there is so much acceptance, whereas in men’s football there is a culture that still has to change… it takes time.”

    Nothing quite emphasises their point like the kiss they shared at the 2019 World Cup, Magda going over to the stands where Pernille was cheering her on – a photo taken by an attentive photographer that captured the hearts of adoring fans.

    An act so simple, yet a reaction so monumental.

    “We’ve always just been natural, not so much thinking of being inspirations together, putting pictures up of each other or anything like that,” Harder told the Guardian not long after the image circulated the internet.

    “But when we saw that photo and the comments around it, then it was really something; we had a lot of messages from a lot of young people, people of our age, but older people also.”

    Eriksson added: “I think that’s when I felt the demand for role models in that way, because of how big it was and how many people wrote to me on Instagram that they looked up to us and how much we’d helped them.

    “That’s when I understood that we’re really powerful together. Before, we hadn’t really seen ourselves as that.”

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  • Infos with two days to go

    Infos with two days to go

    Third in the overall standings and winner of the white jersey on his first attempt last year, Remco Evenepoel will line up at the start in Lille with the desire to continue his progress, while acknowledging the difficulty of the task ahead: “My goal is to win the three Grand Tours in my career. I have one in the pocket, so two to go. I was third last year, so I think the ability is there, but Tadej and Jonas are of course the top favourites this year again. I’ll try to make it harder for them but it’s very difficult to say where I am exactly compared to them.”

    “The stages in the Pyrenees and the Alps are very hard, with lots of elevation, and it comes towards the end of the week, so we’ll feel the fatigue. I think Col de la Loze, with its 27 kilometres of ascent, will be very painful. But the other stages are not necessarily easier, it depends on how we race”, Evenepoel added after discussing his quest to become the best climber possible after he was dominated by Pogacar, Vingegaard and Lipowitz in the Critérium du Dauphiné: “The work for the mountains is not something that happens over ten days, it’s a matter of months, and even years, especially for someone who is not physiologically a climber. I work about this all the time and I’m happy with the sensations I had at the Belgian nationals. I hope it will allow me to finish up there in the standings.”

    PRIMOZ ROGLIC : “I DREAM TO BE THE BEST”

    For his seventh participation in the Tour de France, Primoz Roglic continues his quest to complete his collection of victories with the most prestigious race in cycling, having already triumphed four times in the Vuelta (2019-20-21-24) and once in the Giro (2023). The first requirement will be to break the curse that has plagued him for several years, having abandoned the Tour in his last three participations due to crashes. Since 2019, the Slovenian has competed in 13 Grand Tours – each time, he either finished on the final podium (8 times) or abandoned (5 times).

    “To compete in the Tour, you need first to survive and I’m a good example of that in the last years”, Roglic acknowledged. “What matters is how you get on with it. I’m 36 now, I have some unfinished business with the Tour, but I can also say winning it or not won’t change who I am. It’s a privilege to still be there with younger riders and to fight with them. I don’t really need to point them out. The way Tadej [Pogacar] is riding, and also Jonas [Vingegaard] and Remco [Evenepoel]…”

    “Being who I am, you dream, you fight, you work to be the best”, Roglic added, also backing his young teammate Florian Lipowitz, who recently finished 3rd of the Critérium du Dauphiné: “He is really strong and he showed how much of a high level he has. So why not do the same here in the Tour de France?”

    HUNTING THE POLKA DOTS: “IT WILL BE DIFFICULT IF JONAS OR TADEJ WINS AT COL DE LA LOZE”

    On the 50th anniversary of the polka-dot jersey, the battle for the King of the Mountains standings will be fought over 67 categorised ascents: 9 HC summits, 4 cat.-1, 12 cat.-2, 16 cat.-3 and 26 cat.-4, granting a maximum of 358 points from Lille Métropole to the Champs-Élysées, via Col de la Loze (the highest summit of this Tour, 2,304m) and Côte de la Butte Montmartre (the final ascent of the race, 128m). As usual, long range attackers will try to get the better of the GC contenders, in line with Richard Carapaz’s triumph last year.

    The Ecuadorian climber was set to defend his polka-dot jersey before he fell sick just before the start in Lille. The peloton of the Tour 2025 will thus feature four former winners: Tadej Pogacar (2020, 2021), Jonas Vingegaard (2022), Julian Alaphilippe (2018) and Warren Barguil (2017).

    Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) hopes to follow their tracks: “I’m not gonna fight for a top-15 in GC, I’d rather go for a stage win and potentially the polka-dot jersey. I had the opportunity to help Giulio Ciccone win it in 2023 and it was something special to see him on the podium in Paris. I thought he looked cool in that jersey, let’s see if it’s also the case with me! There aren’t too many points in the first week [34 in the first 9 stages] and then there are lots of big mountain stages. Points are doubled at Col de la Loze [40 points at the finish of stage 18] and I can imagine Jonas or Tadej winning that stage… It would make things difficult but we’ll have to see.”

    FLYING NEW COLOURS IN LILLE

    The team presentation on Thursday evening at the Grand Place in Lille was the first opportunity for fans to see the new kits that riders will wear in this Tour. More than half of the participating teams are sporting new jerseys in this edition. In some cases, the change is radical.

    Visma – Lease a Bike emphasizes black with a design called “The Swarm”, which features the names of fans who bought it in the pre-sale, while Israel-Premier Tech will combine blue with electric pink in a nod to its bicycle brand, Factor. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s new kit is white, blue and red, referencing the French football team in a Tour that takes place entirely on French soil.

    Some redesigns are more subtle. TotalEnergies’ new jersey pays tribute to their general manager Jean-René Bernaudeau by picking up the chequered pattern of the legendary Peugeot team with which he finished sixth in the 1981 edition. UAE Team Emirates draws inspiration from the “anahata”, or heart chakra. Other changes allow the inclusion of new brands, such as Ineos Grenadiers and its new sponsor TotalEnergies, as well as Groupama-FDJ, Tudor, EF Education-Easy Post, Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale, Lidl-Trek and Lotto.


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  • Oscar Piastri not expecting Silverstone fight to just be with Lando Norris as he predicts ‘interesting weekend’

    Oscar Piastri not expecting Silverstone fight to just be with Lando Norris as he predicts ‘interesting weekend’

    Oscar Piastri has predicted a potential multi-team battle at the British Grand Prix, with the Australian suggesting that it will not just be a fight between himself and McLaren team mate Lando Norris.

    A race-long scrap played out between the pair last time out in Austria, in which Norris fended off the challenge from Piastri to claim his third win of the season. Piastri, however, still leads the championship standings by a margin of 15 points.

    When asked if he was ready for another battle with Norris this weekend at his team mate’s home track, Piastri smiled: “Let’s wait and see. I think it’s going to be an interesting weekend – Silverstone always is. The weather’s always a factor and it looks like it will be again this weekend.

    “Let’s wait and see, I don’t think it will just be two McLarens this time. I think Mercedes will probably be quick, Red Bull honestly you never really know but they’ve been quick here in the past, Ferrari as well looked to be a little bit stronger in Austria, so let’s see.

    “It’s a track I always enjoy, and I’m expecting it to be a good fight with whoever it is.”

    A sequence has emerged during the campaign so far in which, whenever Norris has won a race, Piastri has proven victorious at the following Grand Prix.

    In terms of whether that might be on his mind during the weekend ahead, the 24-year-old answered: “I have found the same pattern as you, but there’s nothing conscious about it. I think it’s just been coincidence.

    “I always go into every weekend, just trying to do the best that I can. I felt like maybe in China there was a bit of extra motivation but more because of how painful Melbourne was, more than anything else.

    “I just go into every weekend trying to do my best, go in with the best state of mind that I can and I think I’m always learning things about myself, about how I need the car as well, and [I’m] learning lessons all the time.”

    And given the psychological element at play in the championship fight, Piastri was also quizzed on how important it would be to beat Norris at the Briton’s home track.

    “I don’t really think so,” the seven-time race winner said. “Every driver wants to win their home race, but at the end of the day it’s only worth the same amount of points as everywhere else. Monaco is kind of a similar feeling but, yes, would I love to win this weekend? Of course.

    “So let’s see what happens. It’s a track I enjoy, a track I’ve had good success at in the past, so hopefully can be a good weekend.”

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  • Pakistan Champions reveal jersey for WCL 2025

    Pakistan Champions reveal jersey for WCL 2025



    Pakistan Champions’ Shoaib Malik (centre) celebrates taking a wicket with teammates during their World Championship of Legends semi-final against the West Indies at The County Ground in Northampton on July 12, 2024. — Instagram/wclpakistanchampions

    Runners-up of the first World Championship of Legends (WCL), Pakistan Champions, unveiled their jersey for the second season of the event, scheduled to be held in Birmingham later this month.

    The star-studded franchise revealed its new emblem on the social media platform X, accompanied by the caption: “Proud to unveil the official jersey of the Pakistan Champions for the World Championship of Legends 2025.”

    Following a first successful season last year, the WCL T20 League is ready to come back for its second one in the July–August window.

    From six countries — India, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, England, and the West Indies—the tournament includes cricketing legends.

    In the first season, Pakistan Champions ran an amazing campaign with overwhelming victories in the group stage.

    Their trip started with a victory against Australia, after which they crushed the West Indies. They posted 243/4 in a memorable high-scoring battle against their arch rivals India before limiting the Men in Blue to 175/9.

    Led by former Pakistan skipper Younis Khan, the squad kept up their remarkable form with a victory against England; their only groupstage loss came against South Africa.

    Securing a 20-run win to book a place in the final against India, the Men in Green progressed to the semifinals where they overcame the West Indies once again.

    Pakistan set a target of 157 in a tight final, but India pursued it down in 19.1 overs to take the championship with a five-wicket victory.

    For the unversed, on July 18, Pakistan Champions will play England Champions at the famous Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham to start the second season of the WCL.

    Scheduled for July 20 at the same location is the much awaited conflict between archrivals India and Pakistan.

    Complete Tournament Schedule

    League Stage

    July 18 (Friday): England Champions vs Pakistan Champions

    July 19 (Saturday): West Indies Champions vs South Africa Champions

    July 19 (Saturday): England Champions vs Australia Champions

    July 20 (Sunday): India Champions vs Pakistan Champions

    July 22 (Tuesday): England Champions vs West Indies Champions

    July 22 (Tuesday): India Champions vs South Africa Champions

    July 23 (Wednesday): Australia Champions vs West Indies Champions

    July 24 (Thursday): South Africa Champions vs England Champions

    July 25 (Friday): Pakistan Champions vs South Africa Champions

    July 26 (Saturday): India Champions vs Australia Champions

    July 26 (Saturday): Pakistan Champions vs West Indies Champions

    July 27 (Sunday): South Africa Champions vs Australia Champions

    July 27 (Sunday): India Champions vs England Champions

    July 29 (Tuesday): Australia Champions vs Pakistan Champions

    July 29 (Tuesday): India Champions vs West Indies Champions

    Knockout Stage

    July 31 (Thursday): Semi-Final 1 – SF1 vs SF4 (Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham)

    July 31 (Thursday): Semi-Final 2 – SF2 vs SF3 (Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham)

    August 2 (Saturday): Final (Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham)

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  • The NWSL fan guide to the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations | National Women’s Soccer League Official Site

    The NWSL fan guide to the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations | National Women’s Soccer League Official Site

    JULY 5

    Morocco vs. Zambia, 4 p.m. ET

    JULY 6

    Nigeria vs. Tunisia, 12 p.m. ET

    JULY 7

    South Africa vs. Ghana, 12 p.m. ET

    JULY 9

    Zambia vs. Senegal, 12 p.m. ET

    JULY 10

    Botswana vs. Nigeria, 3 p.m. ET

    JULY 11

    Ghana vs. Mali, 12 p.m. ET

    JULY 12

    Zambia vs. Democratic Republic of the Congo, 3 p.m. ET

    JULY 13

    Nigeria vs. Algeria, 3 p.m. ET

    JULY 14

    Ghana vs. Tanzania, 3 p.m. ET

    JULY 18

    WAFCON Quarterfinals, 12 p.m. & 3 p.m. ET

    JULY 19

    WAFCON Quarterfinals, 12 p.m. & 3 p.m. ET

    JULY 22

    WAFCON Semifinals

    JULY 25

    WAFCON 3rd Place Match, 3 p.m. ET

    JULY 26

    WAFCON Final, 4 p.m. ET


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  • Yuki Tsunoda insists he feels support ‘more than ever’ from Christian Horner and Helmut Marko as he takes blame for Austria struggles

    Yuki Tsunoda insists he feels support ‘more than ever’ from Christian Horner and Helmut Marko as he takes blame for Austria struggles

    Yuki Tsunoda has insisted that he feels support from Red Bull boss Christian Horner and team advisor Helmut Marko “more than ever”, despite his tough run for the squad continuing last time out in Austria.

    A tough Saturday at Spielberg saw Tsunoda exit Qualifying in Q1, resulting in the Japanese driver lining up in P18 on the grid. The troubles continued on Sunday, with Tsunoda picking up a 10-second time penalty following a collision with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto before ending the race down in 16th and last place.

    Pushed on whether he understood the issues that affected him at the Red Bull Ring ahead of the weekend’s upcoming British Grand Prix, Tsunoda took the blame for his tough outing as he explained: “The issue in the race was me.

    “Trying to overtake [Colapinto], I could have just waited one more lap probably. It was a bit unnecessary to push flat out that much in that situation. The race craft wasn’t ideal from myself. The pace itself after that, [having] changed the front wing and everything, it’s not really probably the best reference I’ll get.

    “But it’s still the session I’m working on really hard so far, especially the long run is the stint I’m normally struggling at. We worked so hard the last couple of days coming into here, what we can do better or not, and we’ve got to try a couple of [things].

    “I’m looking forward to it, I’m feeling strong, and I think in the short run hopefully it will come soon in terms of the confidence that level I want.”

    When quizzed on whether he still feels full support from the Red Bull team, Tsunoda responded: “Definitely, yeah. I feel support more than ever, from Christian and Helmut. I went to the south of the UK with a physio in Red Bull Racing to kind of reset myself, and that was coming from them.

    “They just wanted [me] to have the fresh air and everything, so that helps a lot for me to build up in a way with my rhythm, and also we’re going to try a couple of things.”

    Tsunoda acknowledged that having Marko’s support – amid the advisor recently suggesting that another driver change is not immediately on the cards at Red Bull – is helpful going forward.

    “Yes, rather than him saying I’m going to switch in two races or whatever!” the 25-year-old joked. “Yeah, for sure. Him and Christian are very supportive. He was obviously not happy with my race in Austria, but at the same time he’s still willing to continuously help and support me.

    “He still trusts my talent and the speed, I just have to prove at the track that I can do it. Helmut is just a direct guy, some races if [I] do bad he’ll tell me what was wrong or what was right.

    “It’s the kind of pressure that he gives me, to really be at the level that I never think about or extract from me some performance. It’s just the way that he works from when I was a junior, and I appreciate from how much support I’m getting.”

    Tsunoda is not the first driver to struggle to match Max Verstappen’s performance in the Red Bull and, when asked if he believes that it can take almost a full season or longer for anyone other than Verstappen to adapt to the car, the Japanese racer said: “I don’t know, it depends on the driver.

    “I didn’t see yet a driver that got used to it in that car straight away, so that’s probably a fact but at the same time I feel I’m in the right direction, at least in the short run. I missed out in Q1 in Austria, but at the same time the gap was pretty small.

    “Also in terms of the whole package, I know there is something to come as well into this year compared to Max. Once I get the full package, I still have good confidence that I can be in the level that they want, and also that’s what I’m working hard on.

    “In terms of long run, it’s exactly the place that I’m still probably struggling at, but I’ll find a way. I saw a couple of driving styles I can try, that I never tried in my career in Formula 1, so it’s just learning stuff.”

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  • Statement on behalf of Billy Hogan, John Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon

    Statement on behalf of Billy Hogan, John Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon

    This tragic situation and the reality of it is truly shocking, devastating and has left us numb with grief. We therefore cannot imagine how the immediate and wider family of these remarkable brothers must be feeling. Our thoughts, prayers and support are with them all.

    We all know what Diogo could do on the field of play and the vital role he played in our successes since he joined this club in 2020. How he quickly became a firm fan favourite, and his song reverberated around Anfield and in stadiums across the world.

    So many special moments, so many special memories.

    But beyond the player that we all knew was a wonderfully humble human being, he was sincere, intelligent, funny, tough and created connections with people everywhere he went. He had a zest for life that was utterly contagious. Diogo was a loving father, son, husband and brother, and we, and everyone who knew him, will miss him deeply as we all try to process the enormity of today.

    Rest in peace, Diogo and Andre. You Will Never Walk Alone.

    Billy, John, Tom, Mike.

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  • FIA Thursday press conference – Great Britain

    FIA Thursday press conference – Great Britain

    PART TWO – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Yuki TSUNODA (Red Bull Racing), George RUSSELL (Mercedes)

    Q: Why don’t we start with Charles today. Charles, podiums in three of the last four races. Just how confident are you and Ferrari coming into the British Grand Prix?

    Charles LECLERC: Yeah. I mean, first of all, I think we are quite satisfied with the latest tendency. We are improving step by step. We are not fully satisfied yet because obviously the end target is to try and win races. But going into this race, I think it’s a race in the past where we were pretty competitive. Lewis has always been exceptional here as well, so I hope we can have a great weekend and hopefully have a shot for victory. I mean, it’s been a long time since we last fought for victory, so I hope this weekend is the one.

    Q: Charles, you say you’re not satisfied yet. This is the halfway point in the season. Can you just sum up what you and Ferrari have achieved so far this year and what you think the second half of the season looks like for you?

    CL: Much tougher first part of the season than what we expected. I think when you end up last year like we did fighting for victories, fighting for the World Constructors’ Championship, we started this year hoping that at least we’d start in the same position, which was not the case. We struggled a bit more. But now we are finding our way again with the development. It definitely helped us to do some steps forward. I know that there are more things coming, hopefully as soon as possible, which will help us to close the gap to McLaren, to Red Bull as well. Mercedes seems to be maybe a bit more up and down. But it’s up to us to do a better job than others and try and catch the guys in front.

    Q: How will it look like for the second half?

    CL: I don’t know. I hope brighter than the first one.

    Q: Alright. Thank you for that. Good luck this weekend. Yuki, let’s come to you now. It was a tough one for you in Austria. Let’s start by talking about that. Do you understand the issues that you were having there?

    Yuki TSUNODA: The issue in the race was me. The overtake… tried to overtake in a way that probably I could just wait one more lap. It was a bit unnecessary to push flat out that much in that situation. So, the race craft wasn’t ideal for myself. The pace itself, yeah, to be honest, after that… changed the front wing and everything and just, it’s not really probably the best reference I’ll get. But, yeah, it’s still the mostly the session I’m working on really hard so far. Especially the long run is the stint or the session I’m normally struggling at. So we worked so hard last couple of days into here, what we can do better or not. And we’re going to try another couple of stuff that I never thought about. So yeah, I’m looking forward to it, feeling strong. I think in the short run it will just come hopefully soon in terms of the confidence level I want.

    Q: Yuki, some observers think that Red Bull is a one-car team. Do you feel you have the full support of everyone at Red Bull Racing?

    YT: Definitely, yeah. I mean, I feel definitely the support, especially these days and more than ever, from Christian, Helmut. I went to the south of UK with a physio Red Bull Racing to kind of reset myself, and that was coming from them. They just wanted to have fresh air and everything. So that helps a lot to me to build up my rhythm. Also, we’re going to try a couple of things that I never tried, and they allow me to do quite a lot of things that probably they wouldn’t do in a normal case. So, yeah, definitely.

    Q: Okay. Well, best of luck this weekend. Hope it goes well for you, Yuki. Thank you. George, good to see you. Got a new contract yet?

    George RUSSELL: No messing around there. No updates since the last time we spoke. Honestly, as I’ve said for the majority of this season, I’m just focused on the driving. Of course, this weekend’s a huge weekend for us. For me, my home race is my favourite race of the year, and that’s where I want to give all my focus and attention to try and win this Grand Prix. We were on pole here last year. We were leading the first third of the race. Temperatures look slightly more favourable for us this weekend. Not as favourable as they were 12 months ago, but much more compared to Austria last week. And we know clearly that’s where we struggled. So, yeah, just excited for that.

    Q: Well, I hope the performance is good. But just bringing it back to the contract, the longer this saga goes on, George, do you start to question the team’s loyalty to you?

    GR: I mean, there’s a lot of conversations behind the scenes that are not public. And I know where their loyalty lies. It doesn’t need to be public. It doesn’t need to be broadcast to everybody. We’ve obviously spoken a little bit more over the last week because there’s numerous news articles and whatnot out there. But in all honesty, it doesn’t really change anything my side because, as I’ve said before, I feel I’m performing better than ever. And it’s as simple as that really. Performance speaks for everything.

    Q: Are you talking to other teams?

    GR: No.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Tom Slafer – DAZN, Spain) Question for George considering this topic. It feels like it’s been your best season in Formula 1 or one of the highest level seasons you’ve had in Formula 1. Do you feel it’s a little bit unfair that you’re in the middle of all these rumours?

    GR: I mean, that’s for you to judge. For me, I feel quite thick-skinned, and I don’t really read much news or listen to rumours. I just focus on the facts, and I focus on the driving. I said it at the beginning of this year, you can have a contract, but if you don’t perform, you’re out. And if you do perform, everything sorts itself out. So, yeah, from my side, not really much more to add really and just focus on the driving as I’ve been for this whole year.

    Q: (Mara Sangiorgio – Sky Sports, Italy) A question to George. You said no news about your renewal and no other option. But George, maybe knowing that your team is also speaking with another driver or other drivers, is it right for you to check out other options beside Mercedes for yourself?

    GR: I mean, every team has two seats available, and it’s normal that every team is considering what the future holds. And I don’t take that personally because I made it clear from the beginning. I’m happy to be team-mates with anybody. So of course there’s lots of conversations, lots of rumours, and all of these are being pointed towards me. But from my side, that isn’t really going to be the case. I want to continue with Mercedes into the future. The fact is, Toto has never let me down. He’s always given me his word, but he’s also got to do what’s right for his team, which includes me. But it also includes the thousands of people who work for Mercedes. For me, it’s nothing to worry about because I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere. And whoever my teammate will be, it doesn’t concern me either. So, just focus on the driving.

    Q: (David Croft– (Sky Sports) Still with you, George, but I’ll change the subject. There might be a candidate coming forward to seek election for FIA President. As the man who heads up the GPDA, do you welcome a competition to Mohammed Ben Sulayem for the FIA presidential elections later this year?

    GR: I think in life, competition is always good because it brings out the best in people. It’s something we’ve been vocal about in the past. It’s probably got a little bit too much airtime in the past. Things have seemingly been moving in a better direction, which I think is just good news for everybody involved in the sport. But at the end of the day, if there are two people fighting for one position, you bring your A-game. It’s a bit like a driver’s contract, I guess!

    Q: (Tim Hauraney – TSN) Question for George. Bringing it back to the contract, sorry, I had to ask you. But does Mercedes provide you with the best opportunity to win a Drivers’ Championship?

    GR: I think so. I think going into next year, there are so many unknowns. So many unknowns with the car, so many unknowns with the engine, with the fuel. And I think for us, from both sides, our best opportunity of winning is to continue as we are. We’re performing, I feel, at the racetrack at a very high level. I feel I’m performing at a high level. I’ve been working with the team now. Will be going into my fifth year next year. And I think for all of us, you know, Lando, Charles, drivers who have been with their teams for so long, when you’re going into such a fresh start, I think consistency gives you your best shot.

    Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) George, question for you, not about your contract. Silverstone is obviously such a spiritual home for F1, a very special weekend. For you, what’s your earliest memory of coming to this race or driving here, and just how important has this track been to your career and your progression?

    GR: Yeah. My very first memory is a real clear one. It was the race start of the 2009 Grand Prix. I was sat on the outside of Copse, which was Turn 1 back then. I just remember the noise and the speed, just sort of giving me goosebumps. I was racing in cadets at the time, and I knew that one day that’s where I want to be. Then it’s where I did my first race, my first win, my first ever test in an F1 car was here as well, so a lot of memories.

    Q: (Niharik Ghorpade – Sportskeeda) A question for Yuki. Given that Red Bull can be at times pressuring on the drivers, and now that you have had about eight races at least in that RB21, do you think it takes almost a season for the second driver to adapt with that car, or that a second driver who’s not Max would need more time in that car to match Max?

    YT: Yeah. I mean, I don’t know. It depends on the driver, but also at the same time, I didn’t see yet so far the driver who probably got used to it in that car straight away. So that’s probably the fact, but at the same time, I feel I’m in the right direction, at least on the short runs. Yeah, I missed out probably Q1 in Austria, but at the same time, gap was pretty small. Also in terms of the whole package, I know there’s something to come as well into this year compared to Max. So once I get full package, I still have good confidence that I can be in a level that they want. That’s what I’m working hard on. In terms of the long run is exactly the place that I’m still probably struggling at, but I’ll find a way. I saw a couple of driving styles that I can try that I never tried in my career in Formula 1. It’s just the learning stuff. Is it true that in terms of confidence, when the condition changes every session, maybe I’m taking a little bit more time compared to where I used to have at VCARB where for example, I knew exactly how the car was going to drive in each set-up, I can go flat out from the first push. But maybe in the Red Bull, I had to build up, which for me is the right approach. I don’t think it’s a wrong approach, but just takes a bit of time. I don’t know if it’s going to take a whole season or not, but at least it’s positive that I’m going in the right direction.

    Q: (Diletta Colombo – Automoto.it) Question for Charles. Do you think that the upgrades still in the pipeline are going to help you close the gap to McLaren?

    CL: I’ll be worried if I didn’t think that way because obviously we are doing everything in order to close that gap as much as possible. We are going to try and bring upgrades as soon as possible that will tackle some of the weaknesses we have. I’m sure it will close the gap. Whether it will close completely the gap, I don’t think so. It’s a significant advantage that they have at the moment, and it’s not down to only one upgrade or one part of the car. I think it’s a multitude of upgrades in order to get to the level. But little by little, at least if we are close enough to put them under pressure, I hope that we can force them into a bit more mistakes because at the moment, they’ve got too much margin for us to be putting any kind of pressure.

    Q: (Carlo Platella – FormulaPassion.it). Charles, you said that the first part of the season was more difficult than expected. Looking also at 2023, Ferrari finished the year on a high then started to struggle the season after. Do you think this is just a coincidence or there is an explanation behind this pattern?

    CL: I can definitely say that the two reasons of why we did a step back are definitely not related at all. But again, I felt like we learned from our mistakes. I just hope that at one point, we manage to build a strong car from the start and have a very strong season from start to finish, which hasn’t really been the case so far. But yeah, we’re working in the right direction. I just hope that we don’t end up finding another issue in few months. But this you never know. Especially with those cars, I think it’s not only us in this situation, but many teams are in this situation where it’s very difficult to find your way because you always tend to find another barrier along the development line. So, yeah, we’re working well, and I just hope that we find our way now.

    Q: (Jake Nichol – RacingNews365.com) Question for George on the contract, I’m afraid. Do you have a deadline for when you need to know what next year will bring for you? Or have you spoken with Toto about that at all?

    GR: I mean, there’s not really any deadline in place, to be honest. Obviously, naturally, you try and have stuff done before the summer break. From my side, Mercedes manage me as well, so it’s not really a deadline in my hands as such. So, yeah, not really. And I’m not even thinking about it right now. Obviously, there’s a lot of questions about it. But the more we speak, the less we speak about it, nothing really changes. It’ll happen when the time is right. I expect probably in the next couple of weeks, probably something to happen. But, yeah, we’ll need to wait and see.

    Q: (Leonid Kliuev – Grande Premio, Brazil) Question for Yuki. Dr Marko indicated numerous times that Red Bull won’t switch you with anyone for the seat. Does it help to have that kind of support and to be relatively sure that the seat is yours for this year?

    YT: Yes, rather than him saying probably going switch in two races or whatever, for sure. But like I said, him and Christian are very supportive. He was not obviously happy with my race in Austria, but at the same time, he’s still willing to continuously help or support me. He still trusts my talent and the speed, so I just have to prove on track that I can do it. Helmut is just a direct guy. Some races if you do bad, he just tells me what was wrong and what was right. It’s a kind of pressure that he gives me. Sometimes brings me into the level that I never think about or extracts from me some performance. It’s just the way that he works since when I was a junior, and yeah, I appreciate the amount of support I’m getting so far.

    Q: (Brian Van Hinthum – GP Fans) Question to Yuki as well. Earlier this weekend, Zak Brown said that without Max, Red Bull would be behind Racing Bulls in the pecking order. I can understand that’s quite harsh to hear for you. Would you like to react on that?

    YT: Well, it’s the truth that probably we’d be behind. But he was saying that probably that [unclear]. I don’t know. I mean, the performances at this point I’m getting, probably we’ll be behind. But at the same time, I was not in the off-season tests there, so I don’t know. But VCARB so far, yeah, definitely performing well. I’ve shown good performance first two races. Probably if everything goes well with Australia, China was a bit hectic, and if the strategy, everything goes well, I was probably scoring a lot of points. So it’s good that they’re performing. But at the same time now, I’m fully focused on Red Bull, and it’s a car that definitely you can make it work. I just need, I guess, my opinion, just need more time, build the understanding, work hard to understand, work hard with the engineer as well. I just have to get his point more.

    Q: (Keith Collantine – RaceFans.net) Question to all three. A lot of people expected that in this final year of the regulations, the field would close up a lot, and as we saw last year, we’d see a lot of competition between the big four teams, but each of your three teams really has dropped back from McLaren. What’s your interpretation for why that’s happened? Why do you think you’ve fallen back relative to them? Who’d like to start? George?

    GR: If we knew, we wouldn’t have fallen back, to be honest. We don’t really know exactly why. They seem very good on the tyres. They seem very good in hot races. Clearly, their updates are working as they expect. And I think when you find yourself on the right tracks of this development slope, the rewards are endless, and they’ve clearly found that perfect path. Like Charles was saying before, these cars, these regs are not easy. I think we’re all looking forward to a change of regs. It’s not going to be easy next year, but the cars do seem a little bit more conventional. But then obviously we’re going to have the challenges with the PU and the batteries, so that’s a secondary factor.

    CL: I mean, I agree with everything that George said. I wish I knew what made McLaren so fast this year. For sure, they’ve done a significant step forward, something that I don’t think many of us expected, exactly for the reasons you mentioned because when you get to the last year of those regulations, everything tends to converge a little bit. But this year they just did a big step forward. I doubt that it’s coming from one thing. It never comes from only one thing. I think it’s just many different things that they are doing better than others, which makes a big difference at the end. But it is true that one of the characteristics that significantly improved since last year is hot weather. I think I remember there was an FP3 in Bahrain this year where I’m still wondering how did Oscar do that lap time in that heat, which was very impressive. There are these kinds of laps that you look and you say, you’re just a bit lost for words and you don’t really understand where the performance comes from. So they found something, especially whenever it’s warm and on tyres, that we’re still trying to figure out.

    YT: I didn’t drive last year in Red Bull, so yeah.

    Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Another one for you, George. If you don’t get a Mercedes deal for next year for whatever reason, how confident are you in the contingency plans and alternatives that you would have, not just to seat in F1, but one that’s in line with your ambitions and status?

    GR: Yeah. Pretty confident, to be honest. Because I think what I’ve proven so far is plenty enough and not really much more to say. Any teams who did reach out in the past, I said, look, I am loyal to Mercedes. That’s where my future lies. Ultimately, Mercedes are my managers, so it has to be dealt through Mercedes in the first place. But there hasn’t been a lack of interest, let’s say. But I’ve been focused on my side. I am loyal to Mercedes. At the end of the day, everything will work itself out. And the likelihood I’m not at Mercedes next year, I think is exceptionally low.

    Q: (Jack Smith – Motorsport Monday/Motorsport Week) A question for Charles. You said recently that you’ve tried the 2026 car in the simulator and you weren’t a fan because of the way the car drives. Assuming that there’ll be more runs in that simulator soon, how difficult is it from a driver’s perspective to balance that whilst still racing a 2025 car?

    CL: Oh, it’s so different that for sure I don’t confuse which car I’m driving. But to put back into context my comments that I did, it wasn’t really specific to our team, which I’ve seen did headlines saying that we are struggling or whatsoever. I was just meaning that the new direction for us drivers is a little bit less attractive and a little bit less nice to drive overall. But it’s the way it is. I still find the motivation in the challenge of making these new regs as fast as possible. If we are competitive, I’m sure that I will start to like it a lot more. If not, then I’ll probably hate it a lot. But I hope it won’t be the case.

    Q: (Jérôme Porier – Le Monde) After Suzuka, Fred Vasseur said that this championship could be a championship for qualifications. Now since the beginning of the season, eight times the poleman won the race on Sunday. So we are exactly at half season. What do you think about that?

    CL: I mean, I kind of agree. It’s a big shame because we are very slow in qualifying. I wish it was the other way around, but I also think that it makes it look that way because McLaren is very often on pole position this year, and they are the fastest car by quite some margin in most of the tracks. So then they end up also winning on the Sunday, which makes sense. So, yeah. I don’t know. I mean, he has a point for sure. Numbers say so. I just hope looking at ourselves that we’re going to improve our qualifying in order to be a bit more in the mix for victories.

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  • Lewis Hamilton believes British Grand Prix would be ‘a really special place’ to get Ferrari F1 podium

    Lewis Hamilton believes British Grand Prix would be ‘a really special place’ to get Ferrari F1 podium

    Lewis Hamilton believes the British Grand Prix would “be a really special place” to claim his first Formula 1 podium with Ferrari, and that driving out of the pits in red will “hit me a little bit”.

    The seven-time Formula 1 World Champion will compete in front of his home crowd this weekend at Silverstone, a venue where he has taken a record nine wins.

    Hamilton also enters this weekend off his equal best result in a Grand Prix since joining Ferrari at the start of 2025, finishing fourth in Austria, and the 40-year-old believes another strong showing might be possible.

    “I think on a dry day McLaren will walk off into the distance, as you’ve seen in the past races, but you never know here what’s going to happen with the wind, with the rain,” he said during Thursday’s media day. “The crowd makes a massive difference. I’m hoping they edge us a little bit closer.”

    Hamilton’s last Grand Prix victory came 12 months ago in his swansong season for Mercedes as he beat the faster McLarens in a race impacted by rain.

    While the Briton won the Sprint in China this term, he has yet to stand on the podium for the Scuderia on a Sunday and believes doing so in front of his home crowd would be the ideal time.

    He said: “I’m just hoping for a strong weekend. I’ve not had a podium yet, this would be a really special place in order to have that so I’m really counting on the amazing support we have here to hopefully make the difference.”

    Team mate Charles Leclerc claimed third place in Austria last weekend, his fourth podium of the season as the 2025 campaign approaches the halfway point.

    Ferrari’s last win at Silverstone came in 2022 courtesy of Carlos Sainz, and Leclerc believes although victory might not come this weekend, one is not far away.

    “We are quite satisfied, improving step by step,” he said. “Not satisfied yet as [the] end target is to win races, but this race we were competitive at in the past and Lewis has been exceptional here. Been a long time since we last fought for victory, hope this is the one.”

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  • Swiatek battles past McNally in Wimbledon Centre Court showdown

    Swiatek battles past McNally in Wimbledon Centre Court showdown

    Iga Swiatek continued to avoid the upset bug at Wimbledon on Thursday, but the five-time Grand Slam champion had to escape from a one-set deficit to do so.

    Wimbledon: Scores Order of play | Draws

    No. 8 seed Swiatek of Poland overcame Caty McNally of the United States 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in a second-round showdown on Centre Court. Swiatek needed a grueling 2 hours and 25 minutes to defeat her former junior teammate and opponent McNally.

    With the win, Swiatek becomes the third player this century to reach the third round at 22 consecutive Slam appearances, joining Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams.

    Former World No. 1 Swiatek has still not lost before the third round of a Grand Slam since the 2019 US Open, and she is now 23-2 in Grand Slam second-round matches.

    Collins awaits: Swiatek will now take on another American in the third round: former Top 10 player Danielle Collins.

    Swiatek leads Collins 7-2 in their head-to-head, but Collins won their most recent meeting on the clay of 2025 Rome in straight sets. Also, Collins’ other win over Swiatek came in a huge Slam meeting: the 2022 Australian Open semifinals.

    Junior days redux: The Swiatek-McNally history dates back to juniors, with the 2018 Junior French Open being a pivotal moment. They teamed up to win the doubles title at that event, but McNally also got a big win over Swiatek in the singles semifinals.

    McNally would go on to the 2018 Junior Roland Garros singles final, where she finished runner-up to another rising star — Coco Gauff. Swiatek rebounded and won the very next junior Grand Slam singles title at 2018 Junior Wimbledon.

    They had only previously played once on the pro tour, where Swiatek topped McNally at 2022 Ostrava in two close sets. McNally took a set from Swiatek this time, but the former World No. 1 regrouped to take the victory.

    Ostrava: Swiatek survives challenge of former junior rival McNally

    More to come…

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