Category: 6. Sports

  • Rishabh Pant ruled out of fifth Test due to injury; N Jagadeesan named replacement

    Rishabh Pant ruled out of fifth Test due to injury; N Jagadeesan named replacement


    27th Jul, 2025

    MEDIA ADVISORY

    July 27, 2025

    India’s tour of England, 2025

    Squad Update: Rishabh Pant ruled out of fifth Test due to injury; N Jagadeesan named replacement

    Rishabh Pant, who sustained a fracture to his right foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester, has been ruled out of the fifth and final Test of the series.

    The BCCI Medical Team will continue to monitor his progress and the team wishes him a speedy recovery.

    The Men’s Selection Committee has named Narayan Jagadeesan as replacement for Rishabh Pant for the fifth Test, which begins on July 31, 2025 at Kennington Oval, London.

    India’s updated squad for fifth Test: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, N Jagadeesan (WK).

    DEVAJIT SAIKIA
    Honorary Secretary
    BCCI

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  • ‘Weekend to forget’ for Lewis Hamilton despite impressive Belgian Grand Prix charge to seventh for Ferrari driver

    ‘Weekend to forget’ for Lewis Hamilton despite impressive Belgian Grand Prix charge to seventh for Ferrari driver

    Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton believes that his Belgian Grand Prix was “definitely a weekend to forget” despite making up 11 places and finishing in the points during Sunday’s race.

    The seven-time World Champion endured a tough weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, as he failed to make it beyond the first phase in Qualifying for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix after a spin and losing a lap time to track limits in each respective session.

    Having started from the pit lane after power unit and set-up changes, Hamilton made steady progress with several passes at the final chicane and into Les Combes moved him up to P13.

    With conditions rapidly improving after a delayed start due to heavy rain, Hamilton became the first driver to switch from his used intermediate tyres to Pirelli’s medium rubber, which proved inspired as he eventually moved up to seventh after the pit stop sequence.

    While he was unable to find a way ahead of Alex Albon’s Williams, Hamilton claimed seventh at the chequered flag and was voted Driver of the Day for his performance at a circuit where he has won five times before.

    “I always enjoy those sort of conditions,” said Hamilton. “It was massively tricky being that far back in conditions where at the beginning it was really not that easy to see.

    “Then we had the rolling start which, I don’t think they needed to do a rolling start, I don’t really now why they did that one because it had dried up quite a lot and the spray wasn’t that bad. But anyways, I’m happy to have come from all the way back there, recovered and got into the points.

    “Not the result that I want this weekend, and definitely a weekend to forget, but positives to take from the car today. Team did a great job as they always do throughout the weekend and they did a great job with the strategy, so big thanks to them and I’ll try and do a better job for them next weekend.”

    Hamilton has generally struggled to match the performance of team mate Charles Leclerc this season, the Monegasque driver finishing third at Spa, with braking being a particular issue.

    Hamilton was happy that the team made a positive step in the right direction on that front during the race, but admitted that it had initially caused struggles earlier in his weekend.

    “We got the settings better and definitely as you could see I was catching up, I was feeling more and more confident bit by bit,” said Hamilton. “FP1 and straight into [Sprint] Qualifying with these new brakes definitely caught me out and definitely we’ll learn from that.”

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  • Tejaswin Shankar improves decathlon national record at Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial 2025 athletics meet in Poland

    Tejaswin Shankar improves decathlon national record at Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial 2025 athletics meet in Poland

    Tejaswin Shankar bettered his own national record in decathlon by scoring 7826 points to finish fourth at the Wieslaw Czapiewski Memorial 2025 athletics meet in Poland, which concluded on Sunday.

    The 26-year-old Indian athlete improved on his previous personal best of 7666 points which earned him a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou and saw him break Bharatinder Singh’s national record which had stood since 2011.

    At Poland, Tejaswin Shankar finished fourth overall. Czechia’s Ondrej Kopecky set a meet record of 8254 points to win the title, edging out compatriot Vilém Stráský (8136) and Estonia’s Risto Lillemets (8107).

    The Indian athlete led the pack after the first day of competition on Saturday with 4292 points but fell off the ladder on the second day.

    Tejaswin Shankar, who was a high jumper before shifting to decathlon in 2022 and still holds the national record of 2.29m in the event, expectedly aced both jump events (high and long).

    He also posted new personal bests of 4:31.80 and 11.01 in the 1500m and 100m races, respectively.

    This was also Tejsawin Shankar’s first major competitive decathlon outing on European soil.

    Earlier this year, Tejaswin Shankar won a silver medal at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Gumi, the Republic of Korea, to improve on the bronze he managed at Bangkok 2023.

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  • Roman Stanek inherits victory of a wet Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race

    Roman Stanek inherits victory of a wet Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race

    Roman Stanek achieved his FIA Formula 2 Feature Race victory after a penalty for Alexander Dunne, and a disqualification for Arvid Lindblad, promoted the Invicta Racing driver on to the top step.

    Starting from pole, Dunne was in fine form throughout and crossed the line in P1 ahead of Lindblad and Stanek.

    However, after the race, the Rodin Motorsport driver was found to have breached the FIA Formula 2 Technical Regulations having not engaged the starting procedure. As a result, he dropped down the order to P9.

    As for Lindblad, the Campos Racing driver was set to inherit the victory having come through for fifth to finish second. But he was disqualified post-race after a technical infringement on his car.

    That promoted Stanek to P1, and ART Grand Prix driver Ritomo Miyata to second, with Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning going from P12 to the final spot on the podium.

    Red Bull Junior Josep María Martí now moves up to fourth, ahead of Invicta’s Leonardo Fornaroli, who now takes the lead of the Drivers’ Championship.

    Alpine Academy junior Gabriele Minì is sixth for PREMA Racing, with Hitech’s Dino Beganovic seventh and ART driver Victor Martins in eighth.

    Rodin round out the points with Dunne in ninth and Amaury Cordeel in 10th.

    But for an in-depth report of the Formula 2 Feature Race, visit the official website here.

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  • Junior ERC champion Johansson to target maximum Finland points

    Junior ERC champion Johansson to target maximum Finland points

    Having stepped up to Junior WRC as his prize for winning the FIA Junior ERC title in 2024 driving a Hankook-equipped Opel Corsa Rally4, Johansson is set to take the start in Jyväskylä on Thursday evening seven points behind leader Taylor Gill, who landed the Junior WRC victory in Finland 12 months ago.

    Johansson, 20, said: “We have shown good pace in the championship but had some bad luck in Sweden, Portugal and Greece. We are second in the championship at the moment but it’s just seven points behind [Gill] so we can take it back in one rally if we want and that’s for sure the goal in Finland to go for maximum points. That’s the plan for sure and it will be a hard push from our side.”

    Johansson has his eyes on the Junior WRC prize in Finland

    © M-Sport/Junior WRC

    While Gill and previous round winner Ali Türkkan – currently third in the standings – have previous Rally Finland knowledge from the Ford Fiesta Rally3-based Junior WRC to call on, Johansson is a newcomer to the high-speed gravel event, which takes place from 31 July – 3 August.

    “I’ve done two rallies in Finland but in the winter in a Rally4 so I don’t know how much I can bring from that but one rally I did around Jyväskylä so I know the characteristic of the road a bit. It’s a lot of crests, very wide and fast roads, a bit similar to Sweden but with a lot more crests. Hopefully it will be a good rally for us.”

    Johansson makes his point in ERC

    Mille Johansson returns to Junior WRC duty having scored the final FIA European Rally Championship point on Rally di Roma Capitale earlier this month.

    With Johan Grönvall co-driving, Johansson finished in 15th place on his first appearance driving his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 on Tarmac.

    “It’s been a really tough rally for us,” Johansson said. “We wish we could have found something to get better, but we didn’t. It’s a bit of a shame in that way but we have got some kilometres in this car on these tyres on Tarmac, it’s good in that way.”

    Points scored on the ERC rallies in Spain, Sweden and Poland mean Johansson is seventh in the provisional standings having started four of the five rallies run so far.

    Barum Czech Rally Zlín hosts round six of the 2025 ERC season from 15 – 17 August.

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  • Tour de France 2025 results: Tadej Pogacar seals fourth title

    Tour de France 2025 results: Tadej Pogacar seals fourth title

    Pogacar’s fourth Tour de France win continues a remarkable 12 months for the Slovenian superstar, in which he has established himself as the dominant figure in modern cycling.

    After regaining the Tour title from Jonas Vingegaard last year, Pogacar won four of his final five races in 2024, becoming the road world champion for the first time last September.

    Then over the start of this year, Pogacar won six of his nine races before the Tour. He won both of the stage races he entered – the UAE Tour and Criterium du Dauphine – and he won four of the seven one-day classics he contested, finishing on the podium in the other three.

    That meant that he was not just top of the UCI rankings coming into the Tour, he had twice as many points as his closest rival, Remco Evenepoel.

    Over the past five years, Pogacar and two-time Tour winner Vingegaard developed one of the greatest rivalries in sport, but anyone hoping for another epic battle for the yellow jersey over the past three weeks were left disappointed.

    Even after Pogacar won stage four, Vingegaard was only eight seconds behind, but the Dane shipped over a minute on the following day’s time trial, when Pogacar claimed the overall race lead for the first time.

    Pogacar not just survived his first major test during stage seven, he clinched victory on the iconic Mur-de-Bretagne climb to regain the ‘maillot jaune’.

    Vingegaard stuck with Pogacar over the next few days, with Ireland’s Ben Healy spending two days in the yellow jersey, although there was one moment of panic for Pogacar on stage 11.

    He fell 4km from the line but his GC rivals sportingly chose not to attack, allowing Pogacar to catch up and finish in the peloton.

    They may have rued that decision the following day, as Pogacar triumphed on this year’s first summit finish and first true mountain stage to put another two minutes into Vingegaard.

    He would remain in yellow for the rest of the Tour, winning the following day’s mountain time trial for his fourth stage win of 2025 and his 21st overall.

    Visma-Lease a Bike were clinging to hope they could crack Pogacar once the race reached the Pyrenees and the Alps, but he was imperious in the mountains as the only time Vingegaard gained time was two seconds on stage 19, when he was resigned to finishing as the ‘best of the rest’.

    Vingegaard battled on gamely, but Pogacar has gone to another level over the past year, and time is on his side as he aims to become the greatest cyclist of all-time, not just the modern era.

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  • “Sport must go on” says Ganguly on India-Pakistan Asia Cup clash

    “Sport must go on” says Ganguly on India-Pakistan Asia Cup clash

    Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said he has no issues with India being placed in the same group as Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup, asserting that while terrorism must end, sport must continue.

    As per the schedule, arch-rivals India and Pakistan are clubbed in Group A and are set to face off at the Dubai International Stadium on September 14.

    “I’m okay with the schedule. Sport must continue. What happened in Pahalgam should never happen, but we can’t let that stop the game. Terrorism must end. India has taken a firm stand against it, it’s in the past now. Sport must go on,” Ganguly told PTI.

    The T20 tournament will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 9 to 28.

    India will begin their campaign against UAE on September 10 and are expected to play all their matches in Dubai. India and Pakistan could also meet again in the Super Four stage on September 21.

    Group A comprises India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman, while Group B includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

    The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will allow 17-member squads for the 19-match tournament, with matches scheduled in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

    While the BCCI is the official host, the tournament is being held in the UAE as India and Pakistan have agreed to play only at neutral venues till 2027 due to ongoing cross-border tensions.

    The two countries had come close to the brink of war following the Pahalgam attack, to which India responded with Operation Sindoor.

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  • Leo Afonso traded from Inter Miami to Atlanta United

    Leo Afonso traded from Inter Miami to Atlanta United

    Miami receive an international roster spot and $50,000 in condition-based General Allocation Money (GAM) in exchange for the 24-year-old Brazilian. They’re also sending Atlanta $225k GAM as part of the deal.

    Now in his second season with Miami, Afonso has produced 2g/1a in 18 first-team matches and impressed in MLS NEXT Pro. He joined their organization as the No. 32 pick (second round) in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.


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  • One Year Ago: Table Tennis Kicked Off at Paris 2024

    One Year Ago: Table Tennis Kicked Off at Paris 2024

    The opening day showcased the very best of Olympic table tennis drama. Eduard Ionescu of Romania pulled off what many called the escape of the Games, clawing back from 0-3 down and saving six match points to defeat Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna 4-3. Moments later on the adjacent table, Ecuador’s Alberto Mino matched that comeback feat, posting four straight games against Finland’s Finn Luu for another 4-3 victory.

    But it was the home crowd favourite who truly ignited the arena. France’s Prithika Pavade had the packed South Paris Arena 4 on their feet with a commanding 4-1 victory over Iran’s Neda Shahsavari. The atmosphere was electric, with French fans already dreaming of medal possibilities as Pavade’s tournament got off to the perfect start.

    History Makers and Legends

    The opening day wasn’t just about the drama – it was about making history. Nepal’s Santoo Shrestha became the first table tennis player ever to represent his nation at the Olympics, whilst Moldova’s Vladislav Ursu achieved the same milestone for his country. The Maldives’ Fathimath Ali also made her mark as her nation’s first Olympic table tennis competitor.

    Meanwhile, legends of the sport began their quests for more Olympic glory. Six-time Olympic medallist Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany launched his campaign for a seventh medal with a convincing 4-0 victory, whilst ‘Supermom’ Britt Eerland of the Netherlands continued her remarkable comeback story with a dominant win.

    Mixed Doubles Drama

    The mixed doubles competition provided its own share of thrills, with top seeds Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha of China making a statement 4-0 victory. However, the biggest shock came when DPR Korea’s Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong stunned second seeds Hina Hayata and Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan 4-1, sending ripples through the tournament draw.

    The day concluded with French heartbreak as home favourites Jia Nan Yuan and Alexis Lebrun narrowly missed out on advancing, losing 4-2 to the Taipei pair of Lin Yun-Ju and Chen Szu-Yu in front of their passionate supporters.

    Setting the Stage

    As the curtain fell on Day 1, it was clear that Paris 2024 table tennis would be something special. From miraculous comebacks to history-making debuts, from hometown heroes to legendary champions beginning new quests – the opening day had set the stage for what would become one of the most memorable table tennis tournaments in Olympic history.

    The South Paris Arena 4 had witnessed the start of something magical, and table tennis fans around the world knew they were in for a treat over the coming days.


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  • F1 – 2025 Belgian Grand Prix Post-Race Press Conference Transcript

    F1 – 2025 Belgian Grand Prix Post-Race Press Conference Transcript

    DRIVERS
     
    1 – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren)
    2 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren)
    3 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)
     
    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Jolyon Palmer) 
     
    Q: Charles, fantastic drive to get Ferrari back to a podium. I’m guessing with the car that you had today, you were thinking the rain might not suit you and you had to really work in that first stint. How was it with Max behind on the Inters?
    Charles LECLERC: Max was behind the whole race within two seconds, so it’s never easy. But I knew that the first part of the race was the trickiest one for us because we maybe didn’t have the downforce that McLaren or Max had, as they compromised a little bit in qualifying to be better in the rain today. But luckily, it dried up pretty quickly and then the pace was good. But still, Max was right behind the whole race, so I’m pretty happy that we managed to keep that third place.
     
    Q: You pitted the same lap, and the crew did a great job to get you back out ahead of Max again, and then the fight continued. We did see it close up. We have Bryan on the radio telling you it’s 1.2 seconds suddenly and you wanted to be left alone in that moment. How is it when you’ve got Max chasing you even in the dry there knowing that a podium here is a great result for Ferrari?
    CL: I mean, obviously the pressure is high, especially in those conditions because as soon as you are ten, 15 centimetres out of the right line, then it’s wet or greasy and you can lose the line and make a very big mistake. So, at one point I just told Bryan to leave me alone, but obviously he’s trying to give me the most information. Sometimes I need them, today I didn’t and I let him know.
     
    Q: And upgrades on the car, Budapest next week, not a Sprint race, hoping for a little bit more?
    CL: I hope so. Honestly, we’ve had what we expected with this upgrade and that’s really positive. We need to keep learning about how to maximise this new upgrade. It’s still pretty new, but it’s a good first weekend and I’m happy that we are on the podium to thank the whole team back in Maranello. We keep pushing and hopefully we’ll put soon a bit more pressure on the McLarens.
     
    Q: Lando, second place today. Really tricky conditions out there. We’ve got to start with the start. Intermediate tyres and just a difficulty to find that grip and in an instant the lead was gone.
    Lando NORRIS: Yeah. I mean Oscar just did a good job. Nothing more to say. Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge and had a slipstream and got the run. Nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top but Oscar deserved it today.
     
    Q: Very evenly matched in terms of pace but you changed the tyre to the Hard. Seemed like a really last-minute question that you were asked and then a sensible choice to take the Hard tyre and then just a flat out push to see what you could do. You had a good chase. Was it possible if you kept it perfectly clean? I mean, we saw a big moment at Pouhon, La Source.
    LN: It’s ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda’, so I’m not going to… Oscar deserved it. I’m sure he made a couple mistakes. So if he drove a perfect race… I couldn’t have won today. I’ll review my things, but I’m so happy for the team. Another one-two. I think our first one-two here for many, many years. Nice to bring that back to the team. A well-deserved result for them and for Oscar too.
     
    Q: Still a great result and a good push. And you’ve got Budapest next week, which is a circuit I know you love as well. Pole position there last year. You must be looking forward to getting back to it straight away.
    LN: Yes. Budapest is one of the best ones for me in terms of what I’ve done there in the past years and it’s where I started my Formula 1 career. Always good memories. Normally one that suits me a bit better than Spa. Happy with today. Slightly disappointed but looking forward to next week.
     
    Q: Oscar, what a win. Second on the grid, converted immediately to the race lead. That was commitment on the first lap. How was it behind the wheel?
    Oscar PIASTRI: Lively. Very lively. I knew that lap one was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race. I got a good exit out of Turn 1 and lifted as little as I dared through Eau Rouge and that was enough. The rest of the race we managed really well. Struggling a little bit at the end, maybe the Medium wasn’t the best for the last five or six laps, but we had it mostly under control, which is what I wanted. I was pretty disappointed with myself after yesterday but turns out starting second at Spa is not too bad after all.
     
    Q: It’s worked out well. Eau Rouge in damp conditions, the reward is huge but the risk is also huge. How much had you pre-decided you were going to risk it all to try and take that race lead before the lights went out?
    OP: Once I knew I was close… To be honest I was a bit disappointed it was a rolling start because I thought that was going to take away some opportunity. But I got a good exit out of Turn 1, was able to stay close. When I was that close, I knew that I was just going to lift a little bit less than Lando did and try and keep it on the track. A bit lively up over the hill but managed to make it stick. From there, the tow helped me out. Proud of my first lap.
     
    Q: Thereafter, Medium tyres. Were you happy with that decision when you were told that Lando would switch to the hard?
    OP: I kind of had the same plan if I was going to be second. I knew that was going to be a likely decision for him. For me, the Medium was the safest tyre to be on at that point. You never know if someone’s going to crash and there’s a Safety Car, and then you want a Medium for the restart. Also, the Medium seemed pretty good in the Sprint yesterday. I think it didn’t make too much difference, but when you’re fighting like that one-two, you’re always going to try and get an advantage in one way or another. I think we did the safest thing.
     
    Q: Budapest, I know it’s a good track for Lando, but it was your first win last year. So happy memories to return to very soon.
    OP: Definitely. It’s going to be exciting to go back. It’s a track I enjoy. Yeah, scene of my first win last year, I’m looking forward to getting back and hopefully we can continue the momentum because this weekend the pace has been incredibly strong.
     
    PRESS CONFERENCE 
     
    Q: Oscar, it was a beautifully judged win. Very well done. Just take us into the cockpit. How tricky was the race, and how hard was it to make those medium compound tyres last?
    OP: It was a tough race. Difficult conditions at the start and then just trying to manage the Inters firstly because it was drying relatively quickly, but you can kill the Inters in a lap or two if you really want around here. So that was a bit tricky. And then I felt good on the Mediums for about five laps, and then when I could see that the Hard on Lando’s car was not worse than the Medium, I was a bit nervous considering we had nearly 25 laps to go at that point. So, I had to be a bit careful, but it held on in the end much better than I feared. I had to manage a bit, but nothing special.
     
    Q: Did you consider putting the Hard tyre on at the stop?
    OP: We’d spoken about it before the race. It was quite a late decision to pit on the lap we did, but there’s risks either way. If I was in Lando’s position, I probably would have done the same thing. At that point, it seemed like the safest thing to do was go on the Medium, because the Hard is two steps harder here. You don’t know how it’s going to react in those conditions. If there’s a Safety Car, which often there is in those conditions, then you probably want a Medium, not a Hard. There are risks both ways, but ultimately I’m happy with what we did.
     
    Q: The overtake on the opening lap just proved so crucial. Did you know that you had to get it done then in order to win the race?
    OP: I knew it was going to help me pretty significantly if I did. I had a good run out of Turn 1 and then tried to be as brave as I could through Eau Rouge and was able to stay pretty close. After that, the slipstream did the rest for me. I knew that was going to be pretty important for trying to win the race today.
     
    Q: And let’s throw it forward to Hungary, Oscar. Just how much are you looking forward to getting out there in the MCL39, the scene of your first win last year?
    OP: I’m really excited to go back. It’s always a fun weekend. It’s a great city, a cool track as well. I’m sure Thursday will be nice to go back to where I had my first win. But as soon as we get on track, you forget about that immediately. It’ll be cool, but I’ll enjoy today for a bit first.
     
    Q: Very well done to you, Oscar. Thank you very much for that. Lando, very well done to you as well. Both races this weekend have been won from second on the grid. And having started from pole today, does that fact sum up your afternoon?
    Lando NORRIS: I don’t know. It’s hard. I didn’t have the best Turn 1, so hard to know how much that played a part. At the same time, Oscar came past me pretty easily. So even if I had a better Turn 1, his run and the slipstream probably still would have got me. Not too disappointed. Of course disappointed to finish second. When you saw Saturday and you saw today, then P1 didn’t look the best place to begin with. I also didn’t get the best Turn 1, so I need to look at what I could have done better.
     
    Q: You say you didn’t get the best Turn 1, but you also talked about battery issues as well at the start. Was that a factor?
    LN: I need to look at it with the team. I don’t know.
     
    Q: Talk us through the decision to go to the Hard tyre, something we were just talking about with Oscar. How much were you rolling the dice?
    LN: I wasn’t. Will said, do I want the Hard tyre? And I said yes. That was about it. I didn’t even know Oscar was on the Medium, to be honest with you. That didn’t influence my decision. I thought the Hard tyre would be a slightly better tyre to the end, a bit trickier to get warmed up and the opening laps maybe would be a little bit more of a struggle, which I think it was. The last few laps, I had the advantage in terms of grip, but it was not a great pit stop, I was the second one to stop. I think I lost eight, nine seconds just by being the second car to box. To catch Oscar from that gap is quite an achievement. I gave it a good shot, but just not close enough.
    Q: You boxed a lap later than Oscar. Did you consider double stacking and just waiting in the pit lane?
    LN: I need to ask the team. It’s tough because you’re going to lose quite a good chunk of time doing that as well. Considering the slick tyre was so much better by that point… like Oscar said, it was a late call for us to box on that lap. I think if we review it, we probably would have kicked ourselves a little bit for staying out as long as we did. I think there was enough evidence that we should have boxed early, but no one boxed that early. It was just Lewis that boxed one lap earlier than us. It was just more painful for me that Oscar got the good lap. I had to go one lap longer. That’s life.
     
    Q: Lando, thank you very much for that. Charles, let’s come to you. Great job by you as well. A high-pressure race, and you came out on top in that battle with Max Verstappen. Just how satisfying is this result for you?
    Charles LECLERC: It’s nice. I don’t think we expected it, especially after the Sprint Qualifying when I saw the gap with the top three. I was like, okay, it’s going to be probably the best we can do this weekend. Yesterday, we did a really good lap. We did take a little bit of a gamble with the lower downforce compared to people around us, and then the rain today was tricky. The first part of the race was very difficult and Max definitely was faster than me. I had to keep him behind there, which we did. Once we went on the slicks, things came a bit more towards me. I just knew I had to do the job and P3 could be ours, which at the end it is, and I’m very happy.
     
    Q: The gap between the two of you seemed pretty static throughout the race. Did he try a move on you at any point, particularly in the wet part?
    CL: In the wet, probably. He was very, very close to me, but he never actually made it, which is great. The gap was always exactly the same. Sometimes I was doing a really good lap, and then I would look at the gap and he would do exactly the same lap. I was like, fuck, okay, so I just need to keep that pace now. Until the very end, he was very close to me.
     
    Q: Charles, talk to us about the performance of the car over a race distance. You had the updates on it. Are you pleased with how it went?
    CL: I’m pleased with the steps forward we are doing, and I think we should all be proud about that because I know that behind that, there’s a lot of work behind the scenes from the people back at home for us to have this upgrade here. It definitely helped us to get the podium when you see how close it was with Max today. However, we are all aware that this is not enough, and we need to keep pushing in order to be closer to the McLaren. This is very clear for the whole team. It doesn’t change that we shall be satisfied with what we’ve done this weekend.
     
    Q: And do you think Hungary will be a track that is more to your liking than Spa?
    CL: I’m not sure. I will rather wait before exposing myself.
     
    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
     
    Q: (Tom Geurde – Pole Position) Question to Oscar. First of all, congratulations for your win. You dedicated it to your grandfather. Was there a particular significance with Spa to that?
    OP: It’s the first race outside of Australia that he’s come to. One of my sisters, in Spain, that was her first race outside of Australia, and that was a good weekend. Now my grandfather the same, so maybe I need to get my family members one by one for the rest of the races. I didn’t know. It seemed like the best person to dedicate it to. It’s a nice thing to do.
     
    Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Oscar, you talked about that move at Eau Rouge, and I think you called it ‘a bit lively’ in the parc fermé interview. What was the ‘penny-drop’ moment when you realised, ‘Oh, this could be on’? Was it as you were coming out of Turn 1? And how do you go about planning such a committed move?
    OP: I had a good restart in general. I was close into the last chicane, had an okay run out of the last chicane and then a good exit out of Turn 1. The move through Eau Rouge, I knew it was going to be by far my best opportunity to try and win the race. I’d been thinking about it for a while, put it that way. Obviously, in those conditions, it’s a little bit more difficult than if it’s dry. I knew that I had to try and do that. When I watched the onboard back, it didn’t look quite as scary as it felt in the car. I knew that I had to be very committed to pull that off.
     
    Q: (Tom Geurde – Pole Position) Charles, you told us yesterday that the car didn’t respond well to the rain. Today, the track got drier and drier. Did it feel better than when it rained, or did you still feel some difficulties with it?
    CL: At the beginning of the race, I think it would have been very unlikely that we would stand on the podium if it was a full wet race, especially with the amount of downforce we had. It was very difficult to actually make those tyres work. Luckily for us, it dried up pretty quickly, and then the car became nice again to drive. Before that, it was difficult. I also had that in mind yesterday in qualifying and probably didn’t go as extreme as I normally used to in terms of setup for the dry, which also probably helped for the first part of the race today.
     
    Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) For all three of you, it’s quite a long wait until we got racing, but then we got the full distance. Were you guys satisfied? Do you think we could have maybe resolved it a little bit earlier?
    CL: I think it’s always fine-tuning. On a track like this with what happened historically, I think you cannot forget about it. For that reason, I’d rather be safe than too early. It’s a constant discussion, and we’ll probably feed the people that made this decision back that maybe it was a little bit on the late side, but I wouldn’t have changed anything.
    OP: I think the past few years, particularly here, we’ve given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side than risk anything. I think that’s what we did today. If you were to be picky, maybe we could have done one less formation lap. But in the grand scheme of things, if that’s one lap too early, is it worth it? No. Also, us three are the worst people to ask because we have the least amount of cars in front of us. For someone at the back, the first time we tried to start the race, even for myself with just Lando ahead, I couldn’t see a thing. You can only imagine what it’s like for the guys at the back. That’s always a tough thing to balance because the guys at the front have an easier time than the guys at the back.
     
    Q: Lando, your thoughts?
    LN: Same.
     
    ENDS

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