Fernando Alonso has shared a touching present gifted to him and his partner, Melissa Jimenez, by Formula 1 following the birth of their first child.

The two-time champion and Jimenez recently welcomed a baby boy named Leonard. The arrival meant that the Spaniard had to skip his media obligations on the Thursday ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

"I’m a little jet-lagged because I landed this morning, but here we are," Alonso told DAZN Spain after the second practice session at the Suzuka circuit. "We just finished FP2, and in a few hours it’s time to sleep - I skipped the European night session."

"You never really imagine anything specific," he continued. "Things just happen as they happen, and there’s a bit of stress and worry about everything going well. 

"Fortunately, it went well, both for the mum and the baby. A super happy, very special moment."

Alonso took to Instagram Stories to share the special delivery from F1 management, which was paddock credentials for the newborn with the message, "Welcome to the F1 family".

The Aston Martin driver responded with the caption, "Big thanks to F1! First of many."

Fans quickly reacted to the post, joking that it would not be long until Alonso's son is in F1. "Can’t wait to root for him in a few years’ time," one commented, while another added: "The championship fight against his own dad will be legendary."

"Maybe in 18 years we will still have Raikkonen vs Alonso vs Verstappen," someone else posted.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

This comes amid a difficult start to the 2026 season for Alonso and the Aston Martin team. The Silverstone outfit's highly anticipated works partnership with Honda has so far failed to deliver the expected jump in performance. 

The AMR26 has been plagued by reliability woes, mainly stemming from excessive chassis vibrations. 

There is now a five-week break until the Miami Grand Prix, which will give the British team time to work on some of the issues.

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Jack Wilshere is back at Wembley next Sunday, as a manager for the first time – a stadium at which the bewitching talent of his teenage self once looked like it would define England for a generation.

Sitting opposite me at his club’s training ground, Wilshere, the Luton Town manager, listens politely to my memories of his career. The game I go back to was 15 years ago this June, a Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland in which England fell two goals behind. From there a 19-year-old Wilshere took charge and a 2-2 draw was secured. It was the maturity of his performance, as well as the talent, that lingered.

Wilshere has a good memory for the details of his career. He can recall the line-ups that day and the flow of the match. It was at the end of his breakthrough 2010-11 season when he played 49 games for Arsenal, thrust straight into the heart of Arsène Wenger’s midfield from his first start in the season-opener at Anfield as an 18-year-old. He would never play as many games in one season again.

He felt pain in his right ankle that day at Wembley, saying: “I remember afterwards thinking, ‘That doesn’t feel right’. It was an impact in the game. It might have been [Arsenal team-mate] Johan Djourou but it was going to happen anyway because it was an overload thing that was weakened over time. That game just pushed it over the edge.”

Wilshere would not play another competitive game for 16 months after that day at Wembley in June 2011. History records that in 2011-12, when he should have emerged as one of the pre-eminent midfielders in Europe, ready to lead England in the summer at Euro 2012, not a single minute was added to his professional tally. Things would never be the same again.

“I didn’t know at the time [in June 2011],” he says. “And sometimes I think, ‘That was the last time when I was actually really, really free as a player’.”

There was a very good career left in him: 197 Arsenal appearances and 34 England caps including a good run in the team in 2013 and 2014 when he had adjusted his game from those teen days as a dynamic midfielder to operate as a No 6. There is an alternative reality, I suggest, where this summer he is England captain in the United States. That Wilshere has more than a century of caps at home and seven tournaments under his belt. He is, after all, only 34.

“I look back on my England career and those 34 caps could easily have been 75 – even if you cut down half the injuries,” he says. “I look back with pride. I went to the World Cup [in 2014] and I went to the Euros [in 2016]. Probably didn’t get the best out of me because both were off the back of a season with bad injuries, but I had a coach in Roy Hodgson who I really liked.

“Arguably, I shouldn’t have been in those squads, but he trusted me. Sometimes I look back and think of what might have been. But I have really good memories of scoring two goals [against Slovenia in June 2015]; of having a run in the team as a No 6. I loved that. So, yeah, frustrating, but also really proud.”

Whatever grieving others have done for Wilshere’s career, the man himself is at peace. He loves his new life. He is a coaching obsessive and following him around Luton’s tidy training ground is to see a manager in that sweet spot. Young enough to engage in essential football badinage – to the handyman painting a wall, a cheery, “You’ll have that done by next year.” Also, of a vintage that means the authority comes easily.

On the training pitch he can still thread a ball through a pack of hungry young League One players with the old accuracy. The Wilshere gait – a kind of gunslinger’s swagger – is unmistakeable.

Luton play Stockport in the Football League Vertu Trophy and Wilshere will lead his players on to a Wembley pitch upon which he was once part of an England team that beat Brazil. In later years, he was a substitute in two victorious Arsenal FA Cup finals. His last Wembley appearance was the 2018 Carabao Cup final defeat by Manchester City in his Arsenal swansong. He has been coaching since 2020, first at Arsenal’s academy, then Norwich City, where he was interim first-team manager, and at Luton since October.

It has not been an easy ride. He has asked his players to dominate the ball in a style that has taken some adaptation. There have been some harsh words with supporters. But Luton, for whom the Premier League season of 2023-24 has prefaced an unexpected decline, presents a challenge he just cannot resist. Coaching, recruitment, budgets, man-management. All life is here for a manager prepared to take it on.

For a young footballer who could at times be something of a tearaway, and a little taciturn too, Wilshere’s flourishing into a perceptive coaching scholar shows how the game shapes its devotees.

“I want to settle and build relationships with people, with players, with the board and try to build something that is sustainable,” he says. “Hopefully we go into the Championship together. It’s not always possible but that is the idea.”

We talk about how he approaches the challenging parts of it away from the pitch – managing budgets and assigning resources. “My biggest lesson is: be who you are, be authentic. Don’t act like you really know what you are doing [straight away]. You have to learn and understand it.

“The [Uefa] Pro Licence helps with that. The biggest thing is having a clear way and an identity – a way to see every position. That takes time to build and it is always evolving. One of the big things was trying to get a clear playing style and what you want from every position: physically, mentally, tactically.”

Pep Guardiola is the coach to whom he returns more than once as the benchmark, just ahead of his friend and former team-mate Mikel Arteta. We are back into the past again, and the night of February 16, 2011, when Guardiola’s Barcelona came to the Emirates for the first leg of a Champions League last-16 tie. This was the greatest team of the era – perhaps of any era – and on their way to their second European Cup.

Arsenal had lost 6-3 on aggregate to Barcelona in the quarter-final in the previous season. Wilshere smiles when he recalls the training-ground reaction to facing Barcelona again. “Everyone was a bit, ‘Ohhhh’,” Wilshere says, miming anxiety. “I remember thinking, ‘They can’t be that good!’”

Lots of fine players faced the great Guardiola team of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi et al – but only a few can say they got the better of them. That night was arguably peak Wilshere. Later he talks about producing players with “Spanish technique and an English mentality”. It is as good a definition as any of Wilshere in that game.

“Cold arrogance,” is how he remembers the great Barcelona team in the tunnel – and he means it as a compliment. “They weren’t bothered,” he says. Then the game started. “It was just how close they were to each other. The connections, the short passes where you thought you could press and then there was someone there.”

He flew into a tackle after 10 minutes and came out with the ball to launch a counter-attack. It had taken him that long to realise that the only way to play was on the front foot.

“When they lost the ball their counter-press would just fly at you,” he says. “And a lot of the time they would win the ball back.

“Whether it was Xavi or Iniesta, I had an advantage over them with my power in that first little step. I thought, ‘If you keep playing into where they want you to play, they will keep pressing and winning the ball back’. I call it now, ‘Going against the wave of the press’. If I put the ball in that area either they had to foul me or they couldn’t win the ball back. I had to go against their wave when they wanted to jump out to press.

“I thought, ‘They can’t get the ball off me’, and I kept doing it and doing it. They’re smart players and eventually they started to sit off.”

Arsenal came from behind to win 2-1 that night, although Barcelona would finish the job at the Nou Camp. Such talk brings us to the latest Arsenal sensation, the 16-year-old Max Dowman, who played as a 13-year-old in the Arsenal Under-18s teams which Wilshere coached. Wilshere is unequivocal about the teenager.

“I remember calling my dad and saying, ‘Dad, you need to come and watch this kid. I think he is better than me’. My dad [Andy] is very biased towards me. He thinks I am the best player. It actually gets to the point where I argue with him sometimes. I don’t want to put pressure on him [Dowman], but there is so much now anyway.”

Dowman’s maiden Premier League goal against Everton? “I don’t score that goal at 16,” is Wilshere’s blunt response.

“Look at his [Dowman’s] physical capabilities. At 13, 14, he was getting the highest numbers in the Under-18s for his sprints, and his high-intensity running. He was just robust. He would get kicked by people four or five years older than him. Generally, I tried to give him support – almost like a mentor – and an understanding of what Mikel would eventually want from him. But the rest – his technique – was just natural. His ability to dribble, the timing. Yeah, he was a different level to everyone.”

MAX DOWMAN RUNS THE LENGTH OF THE PITCH AND WINS IT FOR ARSENAL! 🌟

The youngest-ever Premier League goalscorer! pic.twitter.com/jY9nqrGHV3

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 14, 2026

Wilshere argues that Arteta does not get enough credit for the development of young players whom, he argues, are not simply handed over by the academy “first-team ready”. The inevitable question is: should Dowman go to the World Cup this summer?

“The only thing I would say is, Spain would take him. That’s what I think. We have this way at times in England of building them up but then protecting them. You get caught in that [place]: ‘If he goes what will people say?’ He [Dowman] is definitely good enough. Even if he goes and he doesn’t play that much. Which I think he can. I think he is good enough.

“He is going to be there eventually. I understand people saying, ‘Maybe not’. But I also think [Lamine] Yamal went as a 16-year-old [to Euro 2024] and he was the best player in the tournament.”

Looking back, Wilshere, aged 18, was ready to play at the 2010 World Cup – it was simply that he had spent the preceding season on loan at Bolton Wanderers that meant he was not considered by Fabio Capello. The same could be said of Joe Hart. Both immediately became regulars in the aftermath of that tournament – so why wait?

“Let’s see what he does between now and the end of the season with Arsenal,” Wilshere says. “Because he also has to play at some point. I do think there are better processes in place for all that. I do think the FA is set up better to create pathways and they are aware of what is happening around them. There are things in the playing style that are aligned. It does help. It wouldn’t have happened back then [in 2010].”

Dowman is set up for a long and successful career and he could hardly have had a better guide along the way. Wilshere was the first of a new generation of much more technically adept English players to whom Dowman is the natural successor. There is something else, too, in Wilshere that Dowman – indeed every footballer – needs. A robustness to take the best and the worst the game can give you – and love it nonetheless.

It was eventful and occasionally dramatic but Garrett Mitchell dba Cleetus McFarland made it to the checkered flag in his NASCAR O’Reilly Series debut at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday.

Driving the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing, McFarland finished 32nd and six laps behind winner William Sawalich and there was a lot that happened over 250 laps in the sand hills. 

McFarland called it 'the hardest thing I have ever done in my life' but also celebrated gaining one overall position on the day.

“Did I ruin anyone’s day other than my own,” he asked. “I did not. This was one hell of an opportunity and I got my ass kicked but I finished the race. That was our goal. 

“So we did meet our goals. We did have higher expectations, or higher wants — I think we got to 26th for a minute and I was like so excited just to hear that that literally the next corner I went in and spun out because I was just going too danged fast for my own abilities.”

McFarland said he got too ambitious during that initial start.

"I had a ton of confidence, and then I spun out, then about 50 laps into the race, when I was kind of on my own racing those other four guys, I got my confidence back. That carried on for a while."

He said that first spin killed his tires for the first run and it was a lesson about what that does to his overall grip.

"At that moment I was like, I have put myself in the worst position I could possibly be in right now," he said. "I am way in over my head. But I knew we just had to get to the end and that's what we did."

At one point, teammate Jesse Love was in the back and saving his tires to restart on them come the start of the next stage. McFarland said he tried to learn from that opportunity and did.

“I was already way back in the field, I got behind Jesse Love when he was saving tires,” McFarland said. “And I could catch him, but just watching his line, I was like, ‘Shoot, I’ve been doing that wrong all day.’ Learned so much and the guys were helping me a lot on the radios. It was great.

“I mean I think I spun out 50 times, almost died 10 times. And overall I’m here with a car that’s not destroyed. I didn’t ruin anyone’s day, which was my main goal. I did want to stay out of the news more. You know, Dale Jr. said, ‘Please, stay out of the news.’ That was my goal. But several times I just overdrove the corner, and then the one time I lost it and caused a caution.”

The reason McFarland was in this race is that NASCAR had required him to participate at Rockingham as part of an approval process to race at Talladega in the O’Reilly Series at the end of the month.

He finished fourth earlier in the day in the ARCA East race for Rette Jones Racing but still has less than a dozen full bodied stock car appearances on his resume and NASCAR doesn’t want a driver that didn’t meet an approval process potentially crashing series regulars at Talladega.

McFarland feels like he did enough to compete at Talladega.

“So all in all, I made a ton of mistakes and I learned a lot,” McFarland said. “I hope to stay more out of the news than I did but I have a lot to learn. And you know, all this internet talk, it got me thinking maybe I shouldn’t come back …

“PSYCH! See you guys in two weeks at Talladega. That’s right!”

Richard Childress Racing’s vice president of O’Reilly Series operations, Danny Lawrence, offered a nuanced response to his driver’s efforts.

"Well, it's a big step," Lawrence told Motorsport.com. "This is a hard race track and he did really good a couple of times where he could have spun the car out in front of everybody and didn't. I think if we were to go green tomorrow, he would be way better.

"He learned a lot in a short amount of time and I think it shows everyone what a big step this is going into the O'Reilly Series. I think he did a great job but we got to be better."

So, to wit, Lawrence isn't totally sure NASCAR has seen enough to grant approval for Talladega.

"Well, they'll look at everything," Lawrence said. "They might ask us to run another race because the thing about it is we didn't get to do a live pit stop. There were a lot of things they wanted to see happen that didn't happen.

"When he got sideways early, we automatically went into this conservation mode of just keep rolling and don't push it too hard. So, it's going to be close, but I would not be surprised if NASCAR didn't want us to run another race before we got to Daytona and Talladega. Everything happens so fast there that we all want to be prepared when we do take him there."

Justin Allgaier, the 2024 series champion praised McFarland for staying out of the way every time they lapped him, without incident.

“I thought Cleetus did a great job,” Allgaier said. “You know, he did a really good job this morning in the ARCA race to come home with a top-five was just trying to figure out where he needed to be at today. He had one spin off Turn 4 and I don’t know what happened but I do not envy his position at all.

“I know that today had to be really tough on him, especially with some of the social media stuff that he’s had going against him the past few weeks, so I’m proud of him. He put in the effort and tried to make sure he was where he needed to be to have s a solid day.

“I think he did exactly what he needed to do and hopefully he had a good time.”

Would Allgaier trust McFarland enough to push him in the draft?

“Look man, I can't answer that because I think there's a couple that we race with weekly that I don’t know that I would want to draft with at Talladega,” Allgaier said.

Allgaier reiterated what he said earlier in the weekend in stating that he believes the YouTube sensation has a greater respect and appreciation for what the NASCAR regulars do each week.

“It’s not that I don’t think he respected it when he started, but I think he respect more the time and effort that goes into this than he did before,” Allgaier said. “Like I said, I hope he had a great time and runs 100 races or he runs one more, I had no problem racing with him today. He did a good job.”

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Nikola Jokic scored 40 points to propel the Denver Nuggets to a 136-134 overtime victory over Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio on Saturday, halting the Spurs' 11-game NBA winning streak.

Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added eight rebounds, 13 assists and three blocked shots for Denver, who won their eighth straight game and inched closer to the Los Angeles Lakers for third seed in the Western Conference.

MVP candidate Wembanyama, back after missing one game to rest a sore ankle, scored 34 points with 18 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots for the Spurs, who led most of the contest but couldn't resist the Nuggets' late surge.

Aaron Gordon, fed by Jokic, threw down a dunk to tie it at 124-124 with 6.2 seconds left in regulation.

Wembanyama's jumper as time expired clanged off the rim and they went to overtime, when Gordon's dunk in the opening minutes put Denver ahead for good.

"It was indicative of what we can be as a group," said Gordon, who finished with 15 points.

Johnson scored 17 points and Jamal Murray scored 15 points and handed out 10 assists for the Nuggets in a contest marked by playoff-level intensity.

"We like the intensity," Gordon said. "That's a really good ball club over there that plays really hard. So they brought it out of us."

Two weeks before the start of the playoffs, Gordon said the victory over the West's second-placed team was an important marker.

"It's big," he said. "I just want us to be ready when the time is coming. This was a good step in that direction."

Denver's Johnson drilled a three-pointer to open the contest, but Devin Vassell quickly tied it and the Spurs didn't trail again on the way to a 72-65 halftime lead.

Denver cut the deficit to one on Jokic's layup early in the third quarter and trailed by four going into the fourth.

San Antonio pushed their lead to 11 on a Wembanyama dunk with 9:08 left in regulation, Denver battling back to briefly take a one-point lead before they finished regulation all-square.

Wembanyama called it an "amazing game".

"Very fun, one of the most fun games, Wembanyama said. "I wish we could have closed it out."

But, he added: "It's good for us. It's a real test against a team that's actually playing for something right now."

- Pistons clinch top seed -

The Detroit Pistons clinched the Eastern Conference top seed with a 116-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tobias Harris scored 19 points and Jalen Duren and Daniss Jenkins added 16 points apiece to help Detroit capture the top seed, and home court advantage throughout the East playoffs, for the first time since 2007.

Jenkins added 14 assists for the Pistons, who improved to 8-2 since star guard Cade Cunningham was sidelined by a collapsed lung.

"The way this group has grown together as quickly as it has, it is special," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "But we've got more food to eat. We'll take tonight, enjoy this, but tomorrow we'll get back to work."

With center Joel Embiid sitting out the second night of a back to back, Tyrese Maxey scored 23 points to lead the Sixers, who slipped behind the Toronto Raptors for sixth place and the last direct entry to the playoffs.

The Miami Heat, 10th in the East and jockeying to improve their play-in position, beat the Washington Wizards 152-136.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a game-high 32 points off the bench for Miami.

Fellow reserve Kel'el Ware added 24 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocked shots and seven Heat players scored in double figures.

That included Bam Adebayo, who scored 83 in Miami's last game against Washington but settled for 14.

bb/rcw

Cambridge have extended their dominance of the men’s Boat Race, overcoming some of the most choppy and windy conditions in recent memory to win for the fourth consecutive year.

With a team packed with internationals and Olympians that have swept all before them this year, Cambridge arrived as clear favourites to chalk up yet another win after only losing once in the past decade.

Cambridge began strongly, despite the slight disadvantage of starting from the Middlesex station, before Oxford rallied gamely during a messy middle section of the race.

Both teams were warned by the race umpire and there were a series of close calls between the oars of the two sets of rowers.

With water frequently lapping up into the boat in virtual sea conditions, there were briefly even fears that one of the boats could become submerged.

Oxford’s unexpected resistance was brave, but there is no bluffing over the 4.3-mile Championship Course and Cambridge gradually eased to a comfortable four-length victory to win what was the 171st Boat Race. It was Cambridge’s seventh win in eight years to extend their overall lead since 1829 to 89-81.

While the Dark Blues were again defeated in the men’s race they had had something to celebrate in the earlier women’s race, ending a 10-year wait since their last victory.

After starting from the supposedly slower Middlesex station, Oxford led from literally the first stroke to the last, prevailing over Cambridge for the first time since 2016.

Since then, the Light Blues had won eight times in a row, with the 2020 edition cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic. In front of their proud parents, sisters Lilli and Mia Freischem became the first siblings to compete against one another in the Boat Race, with Oxford’s Lilli securing family bragging rights.

The Dark Blues powered off, taking a lead of half-a-length within the first minute. Cambridge rallied but, as the crews then settled going into the first turn just after Hammersmith Bridge, Oxford had already established clear water. This was vital given that Cambridge had won the toss, and choosing the Surrey station would have given them an advantage on that bend. The Oxford lead mitigated that advantage hugely, however, as they could then move across into the water in front.

The hugely choppy conditions then became significant as they approached Chiswick Pier. Cambridge took the gamble of taking a very different racing line through this section, moving closer to the edge of the Thames and the calmer waters. Oxford, who initially stayed in the traditional race line in the middle, then themselves moved across to counter any possible Cambridge advantage.

It was a smart move, which ultimately negated any possible tactical advantage, before coasting to the sort of emphatic victory that had been the preserve in recent years of Cambridge.

More to follow...

‘We didn’t see the best of Cambridge’

Martin Cross, Olympic rowing champion, says on Channel 4 says...

 “I don’t think we saw the best of Cambridge – the rough water was a great leveller. The way the Dark Blues held on to Cambridge at the start, that was sensational.”

Cambridge led from start to finish

Cambridge were strong favourites (as much as 8/1 on with some bookies), but Oxford held on well in the early stsages of the race.

But, having led from the start, the Light Blues got clear water and stretched well ahead.

Ultimately, winning by 11 seconds in a time of 17mins 56.84secs.

Winning cox Sammy Houdagui speaks to Channel 4

“That was a fantastic race, all credit to Oxford and all credit to the eight guys.” 

Dominant victory

The tough conditions made it look, at times, like sea-rowing. 

Cambridge win for fourth time in a row

They were expected to win and the Light Blues led from the start. Oxford battled well against possibly the best eight in the world but it’s defeat once again for the Dark Blues. 

Cambridge have led from the start

Cambridge moving clear

The lead looks to be over three lengths now, and after their impressive battling in the first half of the race Oxford must now know they’re going to lose for the fourth successive time. 

The conditions are a leveller

Cambridge are fighting the choppy waters, and they’re doing it well. The lead is roughly two and a half lengths. They’re under Barnes Bridge and making the turn for home. 

Oxford did well...

...in the early part of the race but Cambridge are still over two lengths ahead. Last year the Light Blues won by over five lengths, can they win by more this year? 

Horrendous conditions

And both crews are fighting the white water. Cambridge are coming into their own and stretching their lead. 

At halfway

The Light Blues lead by over a length. The river is choppy and the rough stuff has arrived. Cambridge making the conditions for Oxford even tougher. 

Oxford have to try and stay with Cambridge

The conditions are now getting choppy and anything could happen. 

At Hammersmith Bridge

Cambridge lead by over a length. 

Time for a stat: 80 per cent of the leaders at Hammersmith Bridge go on to win. 

Cambridge were expected to be well ahead by now

And they’re not. Oxford are hanging in there, they’re down but still in with a chance. 

Really close to a clash

Oxford are being really aggressive, they’re less than a length down and trying to find the fast part of the water before they get the advantage of the Surrey bend. 

Conditions are calm

The choppy conditions come later, so important for both to try and eke out a lead early on. Oxford are still down and still being warned to move, there is more than a hint of clashing oars. 

Oxford warned

The Dark Blues are being told to move back to their side of the water. Cambridge are favourites and it’s not hard to see why, they’re one of the best eights in rowing and they currently have a lead of half a boat length. 

They’re off!

And Cambridge power out to an early lead, but it’s a tiny lead, the Light Blues were expected to lead by now so decent start from Oxford.

The crews are in the water

And we’re moments away from the start of the men’s race. 

Can Oxford do the double? 

Cambridge dominant

The Light Blues have won the past three races and seven of the past 10 races. 

They lost the toss, however, and Oxford will have the Surrey station. 

The two line-ups

Oxford Men

Cox- Tobias Bernard (President)
Stroke - Harry Geffen
7 - Alex Sullivan
6 - Jamie Arnold
5 - Alex Underwood
4 - Fergus Pim
3 - James Fetter
2 - Julian Schöberl 
Bow - Felix Crabtree

Cambridge Men

Cox - Sammy Houdagui
Stroke - Freddy Breuer
7 - Will Klipstine
6 - Lexi Maclean
5 - Gabriel Obholzer
4 - Patrick Wild
3 - Kyle Fram
2 - Noam Mouelle (President)
Bow - Simon Hatcher

Bernard (Oxford) and Hatcher (Cambridge) are the only returning participants from last year’s showdown. Both teams boast international prestige with World Championship and Olympic success amongst their ranks. Both teams are dominated by postgraduate students with Underwood (Oxford), Bernard (Oxford) and Wild (Cambridge) the only undergraduate representatives.

Oxford end Cambridge women’s decade of dominance

Oxford have ended a 10-year wait since their last victory in the women’s Boat Race.

After starting from the supposedly slower Middlesex station, Oxford led from literally the first stroke to the last, prevailing over Cambridge for the first time since 2016.

Since then, the Light Blues had won eight times in a row, with the 2020 edition cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic. In front of their proud parents, sisters Lilli and Mia Freischem became the first siblings to compete against one another in the Boat Race, with Oxford’s Lilli securing family bragging rights.

The Dark Blues powered off, taking a lead of half-a-length within the first minute. Cambridge rallied but, as the crews then settled going into the first turn just after Hammersmith Bridge, Oxford had already established clear water. This was vital given that Cambridge had won the toss, and choosing the Surrey station would have given them an advantage on that bend. The Oxford lead mitigated that advantage hugely, however, as they could then move across into the water in front.

The hugely choppy conditions then became significant as they approached Chiswick Pier. Cambridge took the gamble of taking a very different racing line through this section, moving closer to the edge of the Thames and the calmer waters. Oxford, who initially stayed in the traditional race line in the middle, then themselves moved across to counter any possible Cambridge advantage.

It was a smart move, which ultimately negated any possible tactical advantage, before coasting to the sort of emphatic victory that had been the preserve in recent years of Cambridge.

Cambridge bow Gemma King speaks

“Not the outcome we wanted, but am proud of the crew. There were crazy conditions out there. We’ll be back.”

‘Relieved and overjoyed’

So happy for the Oxford women. I’m crying sitting here on my sofa. They’ve done it. They have finally broken Cambridge. Heidi Long was magnificent in brutal conditions. The mood on the Oxford women’s alumnae WhatsApp group is jubilant. We are relieved and overjoyed. Their coach Allan French has been so supportive of the veterans – I am so happy for him. He deserves this victory. 

How to end a decade of dominance

Pete Reed on the Oxford win

“That was so incredible. They’re making the memories of a lifetime. I am so proud of them and hopefully that’s a change of momentum for the Dark Blues.”

Oxford win

The Dark Blues end the losing streak in the most dominant way possible. They led from the start and won by over two lengths. 

Oxford lead by over two lengths

It’s been a dominant performance and they’ll win for the first time since 2016.

Cambridge still in Oxford’s wake

Oxford battling through the conditions

They were at 36 strokes a minutes and are now down to 32. The lead remains two  lengths. 

Two kilometres to go

And the Light Blues need a miracle...both crews are in the pain zone...feel the burn! 

Oxford respond to the Cambridge gamble

They, too, go to the south bank of the Thames and the gap remains sizeable, roughly two lengths now. 

Gamble from Cambridge

They’re not fighting for what is assumed to the be the fast water and looking for a calmer part of the river. 

Pain on the faces of the Oxford crew

But I cannot see them blowing up from here, the lead is over a length and a half. 

There is white water on the famous river - the conditions are bad. 

Surrey bend is worth 3/4s of a length

But Cambridge won’t get that advantage as they are now two lengths down, with Oxford rowing in the part of the water they want thanks to their lead. 

Cambridge struggling

The conditions are choppy and even more so for the Light Blues who have to deal with the extra ‘waves’ created by the Oxford boat which is stretching it’s lead as they approach the Hammersmith Bridge. The gap is up to about a boat and a half...

Oxford’s race to lose

There’s clear water now and they can now move into the other boat’s water. The Light Blues are five seconds down. 

Past Craven Cottage they go

And Oxford still hold the advantage, Cambridge are still in it and trying to hold on for the Surrey bend when they will hopefully, for them, eat into the Dark Blues’ lead, which is about a boat length. 

Cambridge had to respond

And they’ve done just that. Meanwhile, Oxford are being warned and told to move from the Light Blues’ boat. 

They’re off!

Both crew fire out of the blocks and it’s a great start from Oxford, just what they needed, looking to end the eight-race losing streak. A minute in and the Dark Blues have a lead of about five metres.

Crews are at the start

And we’re moments away from the women’s Boat Race. 

The start is key, you have to go out as hard and fast as you can. Feel those legs and lungs burn...

Preparations all done – time for the race

How do Oxford women break the eight-race losing streak?

According to Pete Reed, three-time Olympic champion and former Oxford rower...

“The hard work is done, now down to belief. They just need to execute their plan on the water.”

Surrey station is likely to be more sheltered

The conditions are challenging and it’s no shock to find that the winners of the coin toss (Cambridge women and Oxford men) have both opted for the southern bank of the famous river. 

Blustery out on the Thames

I’m in place on the beach at Quintin Boat Club, which is just after the finish line at Chiswick Bridge. Certainly rather more blustery and wintery than last year, with the elements expected to become particularly significant around Chiswick Pier. Both crews will hope to have established clear water by then so that they can choose their line into the final bend.

The women’s race is 30 minutes away

So, who are the favourites? Well, it’s Oxford and the Dark Blues are desperate for a win because they haven’t tasted victory since 2016. Overall, Cambridge hold the advantage, 49-30. 

Weather report

It’s dry BUT the water is expected to be choppy, not ideal...

Channel 4 coverage...

...is under way and it’s no shock at all to see it helmed by Clare Balding, is there anything she doesn’t present? Perhaps, more surprisingly, Jamie Laing of Made in Chelsea fame is her co-presenter...

The coin toss

The first significant action of the day: The coin toss. Highly significant in the Boat Race, with the Surrey station providing a definite but still very surmountable advantage at Hammersmith Bridge.

Cambridge women and Oxford men won their respective tosses, and both predictably opting for the Surrey station.

The wider context suggests Cambridge may be rather happier with that outcome than Oxford. Word from inside the Cambridge camp is that the men’s team should still have too much for Oxford but the women, after seven straight wins, are in for a huge test if they want to extend that winning streak and so will want every possible edge.

Early starts and blistered hands

Another reason why I couldn’t row (bar the early starts...) is the damage it does to your hands.

“When you first start rowing, and even when you’ve been off for the summer and you come back for the start of the season, you get so many blisters. And it’s all tearing apart, and your hands are bleeding, and it’s all rough. And especially when you’re rowing with the oar, the handle gets a lot of friction on your hands, and that’s what caused the blisters, and then the blisters pop, and then they really hurt.”

READ: Picture special: Every Boat Race rower’s hands tell a story

Cambridge dominate (again...)

Sigh. Another Boat Race day, and another Cambridge clean sweep. On Friday, it was the turn of the Lightweights and the Veterans, a warm up before the big day today. I sincerely hope it’s not a precedent for today’s results. 

I rowed in the Oxford Women’s Veteran Boat. Last year, we were the only Oxford crew to win, and we were sure the Cambridge veterans wouldn’t have enjoyed that pasting. Indeed, out came their Rolodex of Olympians who’ve rowed for the Light Blues. Three time world champion Olivia Coffey and Olympic gold medallist and rowing legend Grace Prendergast were at 6 and 7 respectively, with silver medallist Cath Bishop my opposite number at four (“We had to up our game,” she told me). MI6 Chief Blaise Metreweli was a no-show for our opponents, presumably so we didn’t have to have a police escort. 

We made three changes, with our powerful number 5, Emily Reynolds, from our 2025 crew now six months’ pregnant. Perhaps crucially, our age average was 50 to Cambridge’s 46 (Blues Veterans crews have to be 42 average or above).

There’s no stake boat and the river is open for the Lightweights and Veterans, so once the Uber boat was out the way, we set off, having won the toss and elected for Surrey. 

Our Dark Blue boat got off to a strong start, edging out to a 2ft lead past the boat houses. But the Light Blues took full advantage of their early bend, and between the Black Buoy and Craven Cottage, got almost a length of clear water in blustery conditions. At the milepost, they were 6.3 seconds ahead.

In contrast to most Boat Races, and perhaps a hint for today, our coxes had different interpretations of where the stream is on the stretch to Hammersmith. We were wide apart, and there was none of the gladiatorial frenzy of our dead heat two years ago. (The men’s veterans still managed to engineer a clash, however, in a dramatic race which saw the lead change twice).

With cox Joe Gellett from the 2024 Blue Boat urging us on, we did not lose our self-belief. “They’re not moving away!” he cried, and we believed him, finally settling into a long and powerful rhythm in flatter water. 

From Harrods Furniture Depository onwards, with the bend now in our favour, we started to reel them in. I could suddenly hear their cox again, and knew we were agonisingly close. Our late surge through the bridge brought the boats into contact again, but it was Cambridge for the win at Furnivall steps, 3.58 seconds ahead in a time of 8 mins 38 seconds. The verdict from my son, the harshest critic of my rowing? “Close, against a stacked crew.” I’ll take that, but I wish we could have provided a glimmer of hope.

My predictions for today? It’s going to be windy so weather will play a part  – the Lightweights yesterday, rowing the full course, had white horses to deal with at Chiswick Eyot. Whoever wins the toss, I’d remind Oxford you can win from both stations, as Cambridge demonstrated yesterday. The Oxford women are the favourites: I’m just praying to the gods for a Dark Blue win.

Sibling rivalry

For the first time in the history of the Boat Race, two sisters will compete against one another. The Freischem sisters, Lilli and Mia, will represent Oxford and Cambridge respectively. The pair do not come from a traditional rowing background. It was only by virtue of “Covid boredom” during their time at the University of Edinburgh that they began rowing. Nor did it influence elder sister Lilli’s choice to study her PhD at Oxford . She said: “it was a completely academic choice [to study at] a high-quality institution.” They will put rivalry aside shortly after as they will compete together in the German National Championships two weeks after this clash.

Who has sacrificed a load of lie-ins?

The thing that always prevented me from be a world-class rower (that and about a billion other reasons...) is the the fact that rowers get up at stupid-o-clock, when most sane people are still asleep. Isn’t one of the great things about being a student the fact that you can sleep in of a morning? Anyway, more fool them – here are the four crews for today’s races.

Cambridge Women

Cox - Matt Moran 
Stroke - Aidan Wrenn-Walz
7 - Mia Freischem
6 - Camille Vandermeer
5 - Antonia Galland
4 - Carys Earl
3 - Charlotte Ebel
2 - Isobel Campbell
Bow - Gemma King (President)

Oxford Women

Cox - Louis Corrigan
Stroke - Heidi Long (President)
7 - Sarah Marshall
6 - Esther Briz Zamorano
5 - Kyra Delray
4 - Julietta Camahort
3 - Lilli Freischem
2 - Emily Molins
Bow - Annie Anezakis

Spearheaded by Olympic bronze-medallist Heidi Long, Oxford also boasts Spanish Olympian Esther Briz Zamorano. Domestically, Kyla Delray has represented Great Britain at Junior, Under 23 and Senior level at World Rowing Championships. Meanwhile for Cambridge, their stroke Aidan Wrenn-Walz, has represented the USA at junior level. Camille VanderMeer, compatriot of Wrenn-Walz, was part of the USA’s World Rowing Championships’ outfit last year. Gemma King, President and Bow, is taking part in her seventh Boat Race Weekend and her third in the Blue Boat.

Oxford Men

Cox- Tobias Bernard (President)
Stroke - Harry Geffen
7 - Alex Sullivan
6 - Jamie Arnold
5 - Alex Underwood
4 - Fergus Pim
3 - James Fetter
2 - Julian Schöberl 
Bow - Felix Crabtree

Cambridge Men

Cox - Sammy Houdagui
Stroke - Freddy Breuer
7 - Will Klipstine
6 - Lexi Maclean
5 - Gabriel Obholzer
4 - Patrick Wild
3 - Kyle Fram
2 - Noam Mouelle (President)
Bow - Simon Hatcher

Bernard (Oxford) and Hatcher (Cambridge) are the only returning participants from last year’s showdown. Both teams boast international prestige with World Championship and Olympic success amongst their ranks. Both teams are dominated by postgraduate students with Underwood (Oxford), Bernard (Oxford) and Wild (Cambridge) the only undergraduate representatives.

New era for historic race

The Boat Race: elitist bit of exercise on the Thames or top-class sporting event that demands attention?

As with most debates, the answer doubtless lies in between these two extreme viewpoints. What is not in doubt, however, is that this event is staple part of the British sporting schedule, a sign that spring has sprung and something that millions of us watch every year. It occupies a somewhat quaint and historic space in British sport and, since 1927, was synonymous with the BBC.

That is, until now.

To watch the race today, you will need to turn on Channel 4 and if you want to listen then you’ll have to tune into Times Radio. The Boat Race had signed with commercial broadcasters for TV and radio just once before. ITV had the TV contract from 2005-09, while LBC had radio rights from 2005-10.

Channel 4 has a five-year deal for event which was first shown on the BBC in 1938.

The radio deal comes after sources close to talks told Telegraph Sport last October that the BBC’s director of sport appeared to show “very little enthusiasm” during negotiations.

BBC sources previously countered claims that Alex Kay-Jelski, who arrived as director of sport in 2024, viewed the event as “elitist”.

Insiders at the BBC told Telegraph Sport that a failure to renew rights was based purely on concerns around return on investment.

So a new era for the Dark Blue and Light Blue race in London, but one cannot help but think the BBC has dropped the ball (or oar?) here, at a time when it has ever fewer sporting events – that either demand attention or attract attention – to cover.

Cambridge have dominated in both the women’s and men’s races and in the men’s race the Light Blues are strong favourites once more. It’s a different tale in the women’s race, where Oxford start as favourites.

First up is the women’s race, set to get under way at 2.21 and then at the men’s battle will begin at 3.21 – stay here for all the action on the Thames.

Will Sherman may be the future of US rugby, but his roots are in the game’s American past. The 22-year-old standout second-row forward for Anthem Rugby Carolina in Major League Rugby is the son of Wade Sherman, a member of a champion Cal Berkeley team that included Mark Bingham, who on 11 September 2001 was one of the Flight 93 passengers who fought their hijackers and kept it from reaching Washington.

“There was a super old photo that my dad pulled up, and the first time I heard that story was from him,” Sherman said. “He was like, ‘That guy standing to my left is an American hero.’”

Sherman “loves telling the story” of how his dad found rugby – which after all is the reason he found it too .

Sherman senior “went to Australia when he was 14 or 15”, his son said, speaking from Charlotte, North Carolina, where Anthem play. “He and his buddies went to the beach at Bondi, and they saw these guys throwing the ball around, tackling each other, and they were like, ‘Wow, that looks like the most fun thing ever.’ They joined in. When my dad got back to northern California, he found a high school team, then he played at Cal for two years, then at BYU [in Utah] two more. And then he was my first coach.”

That was with a kids’ team in Salt Lake City, after which Sherman played at East High School, part of Utah’s long-established rugby scene. One reason Utah has that scene is that lots of Pacific Islanders live there.

“The rugby roots run deep with that community,” Sherman said. “Most of my friends growing up were of that background, most of my teammates too.”

The Islander influence may also explain why Sherman grew into a second-row who at 6ft 4in lacks inches on some monsters but hits hard and can also play flanker.

Related: Can Adam Freier’s California Legion solve America’s rugby problem?

He had to learn to do so. He “honestly didn’t love rugby when I was really young, when I started playing tackle, because I was getting beat up every weekend. But I think it was good for me. It’s important to play that physically hard sport and go through those trials and tribulations, get beat up a little bit, skin your knees. I think there’s a lot of value in that. You learn the qualities of rugby. You need to be tough to play, which is a big reason I love it. There is so much respect involved. It’s why you break bread together afterwards, because everyone acknowledges that you put your body on the line for the game. That’s definitely a value I inherited from rugby culture in Utah. And once I started to kind of grow into my body and get bigger and a bit stronger, I started to have more fun.”

Sherman had fun in his MLR debut last weekend, against the California Legion. He spent about 50 minutes on the field, about 10 off it because, as any good second row may, he saw yellow, for persistent infringements. In terms of dealing them out, he made 19 tackles. That was impressive but it was light next to the 36 he made in just one game last year, his third and final outing for Randwick, a storied club in Sydney, Australia.

How did he get there? From East High, Sherman went to UCLA. The transition was tough; though Bruins rugby doesn’t have varsity status, it is still a serious business.

“You don’t realize how much of a commitment it is,” he said. “That’s the hard part. You basically are a varsity sport. You’re putting in the hours that anyone does on a varsity sport, but you don’t get the same privileges because you’re a club. You’re getting worse practice times. Other teams get priority on the fields. You’re getting pushed around. I think UCLA’s biggest hurdle is admissions. It being such a prestigious university, it’s very hard to get in on academic merit. So that was a huge challenge for our coach, Harry Bennett, but he did a great job.”

Bennett is Australian, once a full-back with New York in MLR. His work helped Sherman make last summer’s US under-23 tour to South Africa, for which another influential coach was in charge: Agustin Cavalieri. The Argentinian “Coach Cuca”, once a pro second row, is now in charge at Anthem.

Anthem are backed by World Rugby as a vehicle to develop American talent ahead of the US-hosted 2031 World Cup but they struggled in their first two seasons, losing all 32 games. Now, after a traumatic offseason reduced MLR to just six teams, the emphasis of the competition has switched to producing American prospects. Cavalieri was “a big reason why I entered the draft and wanted to be a part of the MLR this year”, Sherman said, of a process in which Anthem made him the No 1 pick.

The South Africa tour produced three wins but most importantly it gave Sherman a chance “to play with other guys my age, who I played against growing up or in college, and to see how development is going. My age group has a lot of the guys USA Rugby is shooting to have in the 2031 World Cup because we’ll be 28, 29 years old then, and that’s a pretty prime age for rugby,” particularly in the front five of the pack.

That Sherman has been playing since he was an 8-year-old is important to note. More American boys and girls are picking up rugby early. Just 22, an age when many US players have known the game the length of a college degree, Sherman has 14 years of learning behind him.

His experience with the famous Galloping Greens of Randwick was much shorter but inarguably vital, made possible by Bennett and Simon Poidevin, the great Australia flanker now a committee man at Randwick and father to a US Eagle, Christian Poidevin, a flanker for the Legion. “It was amazing,” Sherman said. “I thought there would be more scrutiny, being an American coming into an Australian team. But I felt so welcomed.”

He had no time to waste, getting his boots on and his ears taped “the day after I flew in. I started in the fourth-grade game, then played a lot of the third-grade game, then came off the bench for second grade. I didn’t get into first grade. The next weekend I played some third grade and second, and then I played all second grade my last week. I was just trying to prove myself to the players and coaches, to show I could fit in, and I had a good game. Kind of finished on a strong note.”

Kind of. That was the game of 36 tackles. The record for a Test match appears to be 38, by the great French flanker Thierry Dusautoir against New Zealand at the 2007 World Cup. Sydney’s second grade may be a few steps lower, but it’s no place to be found wanting.

“I was pretty sore the next day,” Sherman said, with a smile.

Back in the US, his tackling helped earn him a nickname: Wreck-It Will, after the cartoon character Ralph, adapted by friends at college. Those friends were in the stands last week in Orange County. So were mom and dad. On the field, much was made of Sherman’s contest with Jason Damm, the California lock and Eagles captain, nine years older and infinitely more experienced. Asked about that “head-to-head”, Sherman said: “I don’t know if it was as much of a match-up as they were making it out to be. He’s an absolutely incredible player, and it was just an honor to play against someone I’ve looked up to for so long and respect so much.”

He was equally level-headed about the significance of Anthem’s first-ever win, 39-26, six tries to four.

“Coming in as a rookie, you hear a lot of stories. For the players that were involved in years prior, beating California was an amazing moment, a long time coming for them. I was really happy to be a part of that, not only because I love to win. These guys are family now. The way we’re approaching the season is we had our first win ever, so now it’s time to get our first win at home, our first win against Chicago. Every game is a first, and I think that gives us just a little bit more motivation each time we step on to the pitch.”

• Anthem RC v Chicago Hounds kicks off 4pm ET Saturday, live on ESPN+.

• Martin Pengelly writes about rugby in the US on Substack, at The National Maul.

Rodney Childers is amongst the first to clock in every morning at JR Motorsports and amongst the last to clock out several months into the next chapter of a no-doubt NASCAR Hall of Fame career.

That’s how you know this is working out for the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief now tasked with leading a No. 1 car split between Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. After spending most of last season on the outside looking in following his departure from Spire Motorsports, Childers wasn’t sure he would find this kind of passion and motivation again.  

“The biggest thing about being at JRM is the way it operates,” Childers told Motorsport.com on Friday. “I feel at home and I wake up every morning excited. I’m still about the first one there and the last one to leave and have a lot of ideas and thoughts about how to make things better.

“I don’t know what anyone else would say, but I do feel like I have made the whole place better, and that’s important to me. That’s what my main goal was, not to just make the No. 1 car run good, but to make the whole organization better with a lot of small details that some people don’t think matter.

“But to have five wins in a row, and to see the smiles on Dale and Kelley’s face every week, and everyone in the building, that’s really important to me.”

So Childers will be pleased to learn that others in that building indeed do feel as though the addition has been significant. For example, Justin Allgaier is leading the championship with three wins paired with Andrew Overstreet but was quick to praise the entire group, including the 40-time winner at the highest level.

“I think anytime you’re on the Cup side, and you understand the Cup process and details, I think there are a lot of things on the O’Reilly Series side that we don’t have access to,” Allgaier said. “Whether it’s details, personnel, data or manufacturer stuff, Rodney has seen it all and been ultra-successful at the highest level for a long time, you don’t see it a lot, that guy coming back down and bringing all that knowledge with him.

“It’s the same as when you see Cup drivers come down and race here. Yes, they are ultra-talented, no question, but they also can gather way more information and a lot higher sampling rate.”

He’s speaking from experience right now because he’s now that guy doubling his seat time and download bandwidth now that’s he driving the No. 48 for Hendrick Motorsports until Alex Bowman can return.  weekend that I'm running the Cub car here, just last few weeks, I'm doubling or tripling the amount of laps that I'm running on that race service every weekend, right?

“So, a guy like Rodney, who has done it all and seen it all, he brings a competitiveness and a willingness to say good enough is never good enough, right,” Allgaier added.

He said the same can be said Overstreet, Mardy Lindley and Phillip Bell too, that everyone in the building is pushing each other and that Childers has simply elevated the bar within the company ever so higher.  

“I’m super proud of that,” Allgaier said. “That’s what you’re looking for and as a company, when you have that, we better make the most of that opportunity. Andrew has done a good job of that.

“We’ve always had good people and good tools around us that we’re able to build from, and I do think Rodney has been great, but it’s just elevated the whole company and each of us are reaping the benefits of that.”

To wit, Kvapil is still seeking his first career victory but has been right there in the mix with Allgaier for wins and arguably should have outdueled the No. 7 at Phoenix but didn’t nail the last restart.

So on one hand, the pressure is mounting but there’s also confidence at the two-time CARS Tour champion could win on any given Saturday when he’s driving the No. 1.

“I think Rodney coming on board has been huge for me,” Kvapil said. “Not just in the aspect that the cars are fast but he’s just a good leader for the whole team. Everyone loves him. I don’t think I have met one person so far that dislikes Rodney Childers.

“When people feel that way about you, they give you 100 percent. If I make a mistake, I feel bad because what it makes Rodney feel, if that makes sense. He’s just a good leader and everyone on this 1 team, drivers, road crew, we all want to do our best for him.

“So our cars are really fast and we’re running in the top-5, but top-5s aren’t great days for us. We should be top-three.”

Childers says part of his role with Kvapil, especially as he nears his first win at this level, is not over-coaching him. The 49-year-old says he motivates through conviction and not heavy-handedness.

“The biggest thing to me, in talking to him over the winter, was that Carson was overthinking everything,” Childers said. “He had like information overload. I think they were throwing too much at him, telling him how to drive every lap.

“I told him I’m not going to tell him how to drive of SMT that isn’t always very good. He got here because he knows how to drive. It’s up to us to give him the car he wants to drive. I say it all the time, it goes back to what Kevin (Harvick) always said about how you can’t drive a slow car fast. He hasn’t had slow cars but it’s my job to make the car faster. We’re going to win because we gave him the fast car and it’s going to come together on the day he has that and everyone executes.”

Again, all told, Childers feels at home at JR Motorsports.

It’s not exactly home like Stewart-Haas Racing was or even last year in Late Model Stock Cars with Kevin Harvick Inc. but this new home has a little bit of everything he was doing before.

“It's different,” he said. “There are some weeks this feels like old Cup racing and there’s some weeks we feel like we’re ARCA Racing in the sense that it’s second fiddle and you feel like people aren’t paying as much attention. But there are weeks where it feels like Cup racing back in the day and that’s so much fun.

“I just have really enjoyed being around Carson and I love his personality and the way he grew up, the way he thinks, and he reminds me of me. He fits our team really well. We’ve ended up with a great race team … and we have speed. We’ve qualified on the front row three of the first six races or something like that.

“Everyone is doing a great job and hopefully we can get one here before long.”

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

Thiago Tirante stunned top-seeded Ben Shelton 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-4 on Friday to book a semi-final showdown with friend and fellow Argentine Roman Burruchaga at the ATP clay court tournament in Houston, Texas.

Tirante, ranked 83rd in the world, notched his second career win over a top-10 player as he sent the ninth-ranked Shelton packing to reach the second ATP semi-final of his career.

"I knew that Ben was a very difficult player, a great player, so I had to take more risks at some times of the match," said Tirante, who fended off a break point early in the third set and broke Shelton for a 5-4 lead before serving it out with a comfortable hold.

"I did sometimes good, I did sometimes bad, but that's the key. (I had to stay) mentally strong all the time and try to break the serve -- he serves amazing."

Burruchaga, ranked 77th, upset third-seeded American Learner Tien, ranked 22nd in the world, 7-5, 6-4 to reach his first career semi-final.

The son of former soccer player Jorge Burruchaga, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986, the 24-year-old had already knocked out another member of the world top 40 on Thursday, 33rd-ranked local favorite Brandon Nakashima.

Second-seeded American Frances Tiafoe saved a match point in the third set tiebreaker to reach the semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Australian Alexei Popyrin.

Tiafoe will face fourth-seeded Tommy Paul in an All-American semi after Paul beat Argentina's sixth-seeded Tomas Etcheverry 6-4, 6-2.

bb/jgc

The South Carolina Gamecocks will play for a national championship after putting an end to Connecticut’s bid for perfection in the women’s Final Four on Friday.

The UCLA Bruins and Texas Longhorns will play in the second game for a chance to potentially secure each program’s second-ever title and face the Gamecocks.

Here is what to know from Friday’s madness:

South Carolina shocks UConn

South Carolina came into Friday’s game in a position they don’t usually find themselves in: As an underdog to UConn.

And they pulled off a stunning upset, downing the Huskies 62-47 to advance to the national championship game for the fourth time in the past five years.

After a low-scoring first half that saw both teams struggling from three-point range, it was the Gamecocks that woke up after halftime.

A quick 12-2 run helped South Carolina jump out to an eight-point lead, the biggest of the game up to that point.

However, the Huskies battled back with Kayleigh Heckel, Blanca Quiñonez and Azzi Fudd hitting back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to make it a one-point game.

But South Carolina answered right back to extend their lead to five with UConn finding themselves in an unfamiliar position — trailing at the end of three quarters for the first time this season.

The Gamecocks shut down any potential comeback attempt by the Huskies in the fourth quarter to coast to the victory.

UConn now ends the season with a 38-1 record and their 54-game winning streak comes to a screeching end.

Amid the season coming to an end for his Huskies squad, head coach Geno Auriemma appeared to exchange heated words with USC head coach Dawn Staley in the final seconds of the game.

The two were separated and did not appear to shake hands after the final buzzer, with Auriemma walking to the locker room tunnel by himself as his UConn players congratulated their opponents.

The 55-year-old Staley said she had “no idea” what happened with the skirmish, but that she “is of integrity.”

“I’m of integrity,” Staley told the ESPN broadcast after the game. “So, if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everyone on his staff’s hand. I don’t know where he came with after the game but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”

The 72-year-old Auriemma, who is the NCAA’s winningest head coach in women’s or men’s college basketball history, initially refused to elaborate on the incident.

“I just said what I had to say. Nothing. Nothing,” Auriemma told reporters.

During the game, Auriemma expressed his displeasure to ESPN’s Holly Rowe on the officiating after Sarah Strong’s jersey appeared to be ripped, leading to her having to change her uniform.

“There were six fouls called that quarter - all of them against us. And they’ve been beating the s*** out of our guys down there the entire game. I’m not making excuses, ‘cause we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous,” Auriemma said.

But Auriemma expanded on his feelings after the game, including on Staley, adding he had “no regrets.”

“I’ve been coaching a long time. I’ve never had a kid have to change their jersey because somebody ripped it and the official said, I didn’t see it,” Auriemma said.

“There are a lot of things that happened in that game. Unless you’re on that sideline, you have no idea what’s happening on this sideline. No, I mean, for 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours. The protocol is before the game you meet at halfcourt. Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at halfcourt and they shake hands, correct? Ever see it? They announce it on the loudspeaker. I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”

Besides jokingly questioning his future in coaching, Auriemma also called for a “double standard” in how coaches talk to refs, pointing a finger at Staley for how she allegedly communicated during the game.

“I’m of the opinion that if I ever talk to an official like that, I would get tossed. So I just want to make sure there’s not a double standard, that some people are allowed to talk to officials like that and other people are not. That’s it,” Auriemma added.

South Carolina will look to bring the program’s fourth title back to Columbia, South Carolina on Sunday when they face the winner of the upcoming UCLA-Texas Final Four game.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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The South Carolina Gamecocks will play for a national championship after putting an end to Connecticut’s bid for perfection in the women’s Final Four on Friday.

The UCLA Bruins and Texas Longhorns will play in the second game for a chance to potentially secure each program’s second-ever title and face the Gamecocks.

Here is what to know from Friday’s madness:

South Carolina shocks UConn

South Carolina came into Friday’s game in a position they don’t usually find themselves in: As an underdog to UConn.

And they pulled off a stunning upset, downing the Huskies 62-47 to advance to the national championship game for the fourth time in the past five years.

After a low-scoring first half that saw both teams struggling from three-point range, it was the Gamecocks that woke up after halftime.

A quick 12-2 run helped South Carolina jump out to an eight-point lead, the biggest of the game up to that point.

However, the Huskies battled back with Kayleigh Heckel, Blanca Quiñonez and Azzi Fudd hitting back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to make it a one-point game.

But South Carolina answered right back to extend their lead to five with UConn finding themselves in an unfamiliar position — trailing at the end of three quarters for the first time this season.

The Gamecocks shut down any potential comeback attempt by the Huskies in the fourth quarter to coast to the victory.

UConn now ends the season with a 38-1 record and their 54-game winning streak comes to a screeching end.

Amid the season coming to an end for his Huskies squad, head coach Geno Auriemma appeared to exchange heated words with USC head coach Dawn Staley in the final seconds of the game.

The two were separated and did not appear to shake hands after the final buzzer, with Auriemma walking to the locker room tunnel by himself as his UConn players congratulated their opponents.

The 55-year-old Staley said she had “no idea” what happened with the skirmish, but that she “is of integrity.”

“I’m of integrity,” Staley told the ESPN broadcast after the game. “So, if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everyone on his staff’s hand. I don’t know where he came with after the game but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”

South Carolina will look to bring the program’s fourth title back to Columbia, South Carolina on Sunday when they face the winner of the upcoming UCLA-Texas Final Four game.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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Top seed Jessica Pegula once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia's Diana Shnaider on Friday.

Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three matches so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title.

The world number five from the United States took two hours and 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces.

Shnaider battled well in the first two sets, and broke early for a 2-0 lead in the final set, before losing six straight games.

Pegula, chasing her second tournament victory of the year after winning the title in Dubai in February, will face fourth-seeded fellow American Iva Jovic, who beat Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-4.

Despite a first-round bye, Pegula has clocked up nine sets and more than seven hours on court so far. She has won nine of 10 matches this year that have gone to a deciding third set.

On the other side of the draw, fifth-seeded American Madison Keys booked her semi-final spot with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over third-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic in a battle of former Charleston champions.

Keys's comeback win over 2022 champion Bencic has her back in the semi-finals for the first time since her own title run in 2019.

Keys, who is in her first WTA semi-final of the year, will face Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva for a place in the final. Starodubtseva beat American McCartney Kessler 6-4, 6-4.

bb/amz

The NFL will not discipline Kansas City Chiefs star Rashee Rice after finding insufficient evidence he violated league conduct policy amid claims he assaulted his ex-girlfriend, a spokesman said Friday.

Rice's former partner Dacoda Jones has accused the wide receiver of multiple assaults over a span of 18 months between 2023 and 2025, including when she was pregnant.

In a civil lawsuit filed in February, she sought more than $1 million in damages for "severe and permanent injuries."

She also posted photos of herself with a bloodied lip, scratches and bruises in a now-deleted Instagram post, which did not name her alleged attacker.

The National Football League opened its own probe into the allegations, and Friday said the wide receiver had not been found in violation of the league's personal conduct policy.

"There was insufficient evidence to support a finding that he violated the personal conduct policy," spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement to AFP.

Rice has not been criminally charged in the matter, and the civil case is still pending.

In her lawsuit, Jones alleged that Rice "grabbed, choked, strangled, pushed, thrown, scratched, hit, and headbutted" her, as well as hitting her with inanimate objects.

"Additionally, he has engaged in other violent and abusive behaviors towards Ms. Jones, including throwing objects, destroying property, punching walls, and breaking furniture, as well as locking her out in the middle of the night.

"Many of these behaviors occurred while Ms. Jones was pregnant."

At the time the lawsuit was filed, Rice's lawyer Sean Lindsey said Jones had previously given a sworn statement that Rice had not struck her.

On Friday, Lindsey sent a statement to US media thanking the NFL for its investigation.

Jones has two children with 25-year-old Rice, a talented pass-catcher who won a Super Bowl in 2024 at the end of his rookie year with the Chiefs.

In 2025, Rice served a six-game suspension after his conviction for causing a multi-vehicle collision the previous year. 

Rice pleaded guilty to felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury.

amz/bb

Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic will miss the remainder of the NBA regular season with a left hamstring strain, the team said Friday.

Doncic "has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and will be out for the remainder of the regular season," the Lakers, who have five games left in the regular season, said in a statement.

ESPN reported that Doncic, who leads the league in scoring, is "uncertain" for the playoffs.

Doncic's injury is a massive blow to the Lakers, who have clinched a playoff berth but at third in the Western Conference are just one game ahead of the fourth-placed Denver Nuggets.

Doncic, who is averaging 33.5 points per game, 8.3 assists and 7/7 rebounds, limped out of the third quarter of the Lakers' crushing 139-96 loss to the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Slovenian was emotional as he hobbled toward the sideline. Moments earlier he had pulled up in obvious pain while driving to the basket.

Doncic had felt some discomfort in the hamstring in the first half of Thursday's game, but coach JJ Redick said team medical staff had cleared him to return for the second half.

"We checked him out," Redick said after the game. "He got work done, but he was cleared. We're not going to put a player at risk. Those things happen."

Doncic produced a magical March campaign, delivering 13 30-point performances. That included seven 40-point games -- with one game of 51 and one of 60.

He had joined icon Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to score 600 points in the month of March and became one of just 10 players to score 600 points in any calendar month.

He has been central to the Lakers' surge to third in the West and put himself firmly in the Most Valuable Player conversation.

But missing five more games could see him fail to play the minimum 65 games required for award eligibility.

Extraordinary Circumstances' -

His agent, Bill Duffy of WME Basketball, told ESPN that he will apply for an "Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge" to the 65-game rule on Doncic's behalf.

In a statement to the sports network Duffy noted that Doncic had missed two games for the birth of his second child in Slovenia.

"His daughter was born on December 4, on another continent, and yet he was back in the United States competing with his team on December 6," Duffy said. "Luka has gone to great lengths to show up for his team and this league this season. His record-breaking season deserves to be noted in the history books, despite last night's unfortunate injury and other extraordinary circumstances.

"We look forward to working with the (National Basketball Players Association) and the league office to ensure a fair outcome in this matter."

Doncic is in his first full season with the Lakers after he was stunningly traded from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Anthony Davis, in February 2025.

bb/amz

In qualifying ahead of Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Rockingham, Corey Day put the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on pole with a 27.717s lap. He will share the front row with reigning series champion Jesse Love in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, who fell 0.064s short of the top spot.

"I felt really good," said Day. "We got a really good car, so thanks to my guys. It always makes my job easy when it's that good. Super excited for the race tomorrow. We're definitely in a good spot. I think track position is going to be pretty crucial."

Parker Retzlaff qualified third, followed by Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil. Taylor Gray, Sam Mayer, Brandon Jones, Sheldon Creed, and Brent Crews filled out the remainder of the top ten.

What NASCAR O'Reilly Series field expects of Cleetus McFarland at Rockingam

Popular YouTuber Cleetus McFarland (Garrett Mitchell) was the first driver to go out on track, piloting the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. His stated goal was to 'not be last,' and he did manage to do so, besting both Joey Gase Motorsports entries on the time-sheets. He will start 35th in the 38-car field. 

With AM Racing withdrawing the No. 25 entry of Nick Sanchez earlier in the week, no cars went home.

Rockingham NASCAR O'Reilly Starting Lineup

1	17	Corey Day	Chevrolet	22.717		148.963
2	2	Jesse Love	Chevrolet	22.781	0.064	148.545
3	99	Parker Retzlaff	Chevrolet	22.822	0.105	148.278
4	7	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	22.823	0.106	148.271
5	1	Carson Kvapil	Chevrolet	22.839	0.122	148.168
6	54	Taylor Gray	Toyota	22.850	0.133	148.096
7	41	Sam Mayer	Chevrolet	22.852	0.135	148.083
8	20	Brandon Jones	Toyota	22.860	0.143	148.031
9	00	Sheldon Creed	Chevrolet	22.863	0.146	148.012
10	19	Brent Crews	Toyota	22.888	0.171	147.850
11	21	Austin Hill	Chevrolet	22.891	0.174	147.831
12	39	Ryan Sieg	Chevrolet	22.893	0.176	147.818
13	88	Rajah Caruth	Chevrolet	22.894	0.177	147.812
14	18	William Sawalich	Toyota	22.958	0.241	147.400
15	24	Harrison Burton	Toyota	22.967	0.250	147.342
16	96	Anthony Alfredo	Chevrolet	22.967	0.250	147.342
17	51	Jeremy Clements	Chevrolet	23.043	0.326	146.856
18	26	Dean Thompson	Toyota	23.058	0.341	146.760
19	8	Sammy Smith	Chevrolet	23.088	0.371	146.570
20	45	Lavar Scott	Chevrolet	23.128	0.411	146.316
21	28	Kyle Sieg	Chevrolet	23.158	0.441	146.127
22	48	Patrick Staropoli	Chevrolet	23.165	0.448	146.082
23	87	Austin Green	Chevrolet	23.179	0.462	145.994
24	44	Brennan Poole	Chevrolet	23.265	0.548	145.455
25	92	Josh Williams	Chevrolet	23.343	0.626	144.969
26	42	Nathan Byrd	Chevrolet	23.390	0.673	144.677
27	31	Blaine Perkins	Chevrolet	23.417	0.700	144.510
28	5	JJ Yeley	Ford	23.489	0.772	144.067
29	27	Jeb Burton	Chevrolet	23.500	0.783	144.000
30	91	Alex Labbe	Chevrolet	23.529	0.812	143.823
31	02	Ryan Ellis	Chevrolet	23.578	0.861	143.524
32	32	Andrew Patterson	Chevrolet	23.578	0.861	143.524
33	07	Josh Bilicki	Chevrolet	23.669	0.952	142.972
34	74	Dawson Cram	Chevrolet	23.871	1.154	141.762
35	33	Cleetus McFarland	Chevrolet	23.978	1.261	141.129
36	35	Joey Gase	Chevrolet	24.074	1.357	140.567
37	55	Blake Lothian	Chevrolet	24.686	1.969	137.082
38	0	Garrett Smithley	Chevrolet	--	--	--

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly backs calls to tweak the divisive 2026 Formula 1 regulations and improve qualifying, but disagrees with the negativity around the new rules taking away opportunities for the drivers to make a difference.
 
The new regulations, which place a huge emphasis on electric energy management, have significantly changed how drivers and teams approach qualifying, with the need to harvest energy changing the extent to which drivers can push.

While Japan's scary accident for Oliver Bearman further placed the huge closing speeds between cars in the spotlight as a safety hazard, the most striking artefact of the new formula is the need for cars to lift and coast and super clip - charging the battery against the engine - in qualifying.

FIA responds to dramatic Oliver Bearman crash in F1 Japanese GP

It has led to some of the most exciting corner sequences on the calendar being neutered in qualifying, causing dismay among drivers and fans alike, with a review planned next week to make tweaks ahead of the next race in Miami in four weeks' time.

The drivers are pretty much unanimous in their desire to restore qualifying to a flat-out driving contest, but Alpine's Gasly does refute claims that driver skill no longer makes a difference with the 2026 spec of cars, which have also seen their downforce slashed and are therefore more tricky to drive in corners.

"I think, honestly, there's a bit too much negativity around it and I don't like that," he said in Japan. "I really think that we still take too much away from the drivers. When you're driving in sector 1 [at Suzuka] and you've got a certain grip, it doesn't really matter. The battery, all these things, you've still got to be at the limit of the grip you get given.

"Definitely, I agree with what others are feeling [about] the battery management, etc. I think we all agree. We all see the same stuff. We all speak the same language. We all want the sport to be as good as it can be. I'm sure we'll do what's best.
 
"It's a bit of a review. I'm sure [that during the] break everyone's going to make the best of it to try to get the F1 in better shape."

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Gasly has been one of the standout drivers of the season so far, benefiting from Alpine's leap forward in competitiveness as the team switched to Mercedes power units and reaped the rewards from switching its development focus to 2026 from an early stage last year.

After Gasly scored a point in Australia's season-opener, Alpine made much bigger advances in China and Japan as it further understood both its car and its new Mercedes power unit. Gasly finished sixth in Shanghai from seventh on the grid, and successfully defended his seventh grid spot in Japan.

Red Bull overtaken by Alpine in F1 2026 – here’s how it happened

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The second round of the Nurburgring Endurance Series (NLS) was dominated by two major talking points: the guest appearance of Max Verstappen and the highly anticipated racing debut of the BMW M3 Touring 24h. For factory drivers Jens Klingmann and Ugo de Wilde, the weekend provided a unique laboratory to test whether a performance estate can truly rival a purebred GT3 machine.

Due to a scheduling conflict with the 12 Hours of Sebring, which saw several BMW factory pilots competing in the US, Klingmann and de Wilde were tasked with a double-duty program, sharing the cockpit of both the #77 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo and the new M3 Touring 24h.

BMW to unleash “April fool” M3 GT3 Touring at 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours

With both cars operated by the same Oschersleben-based squad on an equal Balance of Performance and running on identical Yokohama rubber, the stage was set for a perfect back-to-back comparison.

The initial feedback from the cockpit was surprisingly uniform. "As a driver, you honestly forget you aren't in the M4 GT3," Klingmann told Motorsport.com Germany.

"The fundamental characteristics are so similar that you have that same immediate sense of confidence you’ve built up with the GT3 over the years."

For de Wilde, the weekend was a double debut – his first time in a GT3 car on the Nordschleife and his first outing in the Touring.

"They are remarkably similar," the Belgian told Motorsport.com Germany. “Once you are strapped in, the feeling of being in a completely different racing car almost disappears, even though the seat and the safety nets are obviously different.”

Crunching the numbers

While the drivers felt little difference, the stopwatch can sometimes paint a different picture. However, the data confirms their impressions.

When looking at the average of the 17 fastest laps (representing the top 60% of the race), the two Schubert cars were nearly inseparable:

• BMW M4 GT3 Evo #77 – 8:06.253 minutes

• BMW M3 Touring 24h #81 – 8:06.546 minutes

Both cars ran a similar pace throughout the race. The Touring’s final gap of 1:24 minutes at the finish line to its sister car was largely due to a 40-second loss in a Code 60 zone during the very last lap.

In terms of the absolute fastest lap, the M4 GT3 still holds the crown:

• M4 GT3 Evo: 7:59.610 minutes (Klingmann, Lap 29)

• M3 Touring 24h: 8:01.723 minutes (de Wilde, Lap 26)

It is worth noting that while the winning Rowe Racing BMW – running on Michelin tires – was nearly two minutes faster over the four-hour distance, both Schubert cars were making their competitive debut on the Yokohama development tire.

Stiffness vs forgiveness

Despite the similarities, the Touring is a little bit harder to drive.

"A key difference is that the Touring feels a bit stiffer," de Wilde admitted. “In high-speed corners, it’s very precise but also more aggressive. That meant I didn't have 100% confidence right away.”

This "aggression" stems from the Touring's unique body shape, which creates a stiffer rear end compared with the coupe.

While modern GT3 cars are engineered to be forgiving for amateur drivers, the M3 Touring is a more demanding tool. With Klingmann, de Wilde, Connor de Phillippi, and Neil Verhagen, BMW has assigned four top-tier pros to master this specific challenge.

Massive shoutout to all our fans! Your love for the BMW M3 Touring 24H is absolutely insane! 🙌#WeBuiltItpic.twitter.com/s3VMVV1Zm1

— BMW M Motorsport (@BMWMotorsport) March 21, 2026

Klingmann noted that the Touring requires more "commitment" in high-speed sections like the right-hander after Sabine Schmitz Corner, Flugplatz, Schwedenkreuz, and Fuchsrohre.

"The first half of the lap demands absolute trust in the car. It’s mid-to-high speed, and you have to build that trust to be truly fast," he explained.

Interestingly, the biggest difference isn't found on the track, but during the driver change. "The most noticeable change is getting in and out," de Wilde remarked.

"Due to the shorter front doors of the four-door body, the cockpit is a bit more cramped during the swap. But once you're on track, you're back in the M4 mindset."

The project, which famously started as an April Fools' joke, has now proven its serious performance potential. Finishing 12th overall and beating several established GT3 cars – including a Ford Mustang from the SP9-Pro class – has sent a clear message to the paddock.

"We are very satisfied with the debut at NLS2," Klingmann concluded. "We’ve seen that in the eight months from the start of the project to this first race, we did a lot of things right.

“Our mission is clear: we aren't here to be field fillers. We want to extract every bit of potential and make this car as competitive as possible."

How Max Verstappen shone in Nurburgring NLS2 against the best from Mercedes

Dominant Max Verstappen win “hurts” as Mercedes reacts to NLS disqualification

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Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack has stated “there are no issues” between the team and engine supplier Honda, despite their troubled start to the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Aston Martin switched from a customer Mercedes engine supply to a works partnership with Honda for 2026, as it attempted to finally become a top team amid colossal investment by billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll.

However, the decision has spectacularly backfired in F1’s new technical era, as the Adrian Newey-designed AMR26 lacks both performance and reliability, with the Honda engine generating vibrations which damaged battery after battery and sparked driver health concerns.

Last weekend was Honda’s home race at Suzuka, and Lawrence Stroll was seen shaking hands with Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe on the starting grid.

“Does this mean that peace has been made in Honda land?” Krack and HRC trackside general manager Shintaro Orihara were asked following the race, which brought about a laugh from the Luxembourger.

“There was no need to make peace, because we have a good relationship,” Krack then replied. “We came here, we know that this is the home race of our partner.

“We have a lot of respect for Honda and we have seen how much work went into the issues we are having. So, it was also a matter of respect for us to try everything we can to finish the race. We discussed that before, as we discussed over the week and over next week and so on.

“So, there is no need to make peace, because there are no issues.”

Mike Krack, Aston Martin F1 Team Chief Trackside Officer

The Japanese Grand Prix marked a clear improvement for Aston Martin-Honda, which officially finished a race for the first time with Fernando Alonso. But the two-time world champion was a lowly 18th, 30 seconds down on 17th-placed Sergio Perez and 70 seconds away from the last points-scoring position.

“As a team, you cannot destroy yourself,” Krack insisted. “We are in a difficult situation, we need to take the positives from the last three months. We went to Barcelona at the end of January and since then we have not done many laps. We have now managed to finish races, which in Formula 1 should be the norm, it should not be something that you have to celebrate.

“But we have to acknowledge that this is the situation we are in and we have to accept it and work ourselves out of it. Credit to everyone, the track side, Sakura, and also in Silverstone, how we persisted in getting these initial steps done.

“But unfortunately, as soon as you fix your reliability issues, everybody is just focusing on performance. And looking at that, we have seen that we have some major steps to take, not small steps that we have now done with reliability, but there are major steps to take. We have to use the break now to make the first step, but there is a big mountain to climb.

“Nobody is celebrating, but I think for the modest target that we have set ourselves, we have achieved a part of it.”

Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso resort to "Aston Martin championship" battle in Japan

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Charles Leclerc believes “huge gains” are within reach in all compartments of Ferrari’s 2026 Formula 1 car – including its power unit, chassis, aerodynamics and tyre management.

Ferrari has emerged as Mercedes’ main challenger so far this season, but failed to prevent the Silver Arrows from winning the opening three grands prix following front-row lockouts.

The Scuderia has made no secret of the fact it is down on power unit performance relative to the German brand – which likely is partly linked to Mercedes’ astute interpretation of the rules regarding the engine’s compression ratio, but that loophole will be closed after the fifth round of the season in Canada.

Red Bull now ‘paying the price’ for F1 2025 title charge

Still, Ferrari needs some powertrain upgrades – which the ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) mechanism might provide opportunities for, with manufacturers between 2% and 4% down on the best engine’s power allowed an additional upgrade, while those who are more than 4% down will get two. The process theoretically occurs after the sixth, 12th and 18th rounds of the season.

But it would be wrong for the Maranello-based squad to focus solely on engine performance, Leclerc insists.

“Surely the Mercedes power units have a big advantage over us at the moment,” Leclerc told Sky Sports F1 after losing two tenths per lap to Oscar Piastri and George Russell early in the Japanese Grand Prix, which made him feel “down” on his rivals as he wasn’t “feeling” the power as much. Lewis Hamilton complained of having ‘even less’ power than his team-mate during that race.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes

“This is a focus,” Leclerc continued, “but we must not forget that there are huge gains in developing also the chassis, the aerodynamics, putting the tyres in the right window, and all of this makes the difference. So surely the engine, we cannot change it for now anyway. But [by the time] we get there, we need to improve absolutely everything around the car.”

This assessment was shared by Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur, who pledged to keep working hard in order to cut the Scuderia’s gap to Mercedes.

“We know that we have a deficit of performance in the straight line and that we have to work on it, but it is like it is,” the Frenchman commented.

“For sure, we have a lot of work like everybody into the paddock. It is the beginning of the homologation of the car, it means that we have tons of things to improve.

“Now, we have good data after three races to understand the competitiveness of the car, where we are OK-ish and where we are not. It means that performance is coming from everywhere, but we have to do a step in every single area of the performance.

“I am sure that it is true for us, but it will be true for everybody on the grid. It means it's more a matter to do a better jump than the others, than to do a step.”

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The NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder embarrassed the Los Angeles Lakers 139-96 on Thursday in a blowout made more painful by the early exit of injured Lakers star Luka Doncic.

The marquee showdown between Most Valuable Player contenders Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic fizzled long before Doncic limped out midway through the third quarter with a left hamstring injury.

Doncic, who came into the contest leading the league in scoring with 33.8 points per game -- ahead of Gilgeous-Alexander's 31.6 -- was emotional as he hobbled toward the sideline.

Moments earlier he had pulled up in apparent pain while driving to the basket.

The Slovenian, who had scored 40 or more points in each of his last three games and five of his last seven, will have an MRI scan on Friday, Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

It was a brutal reality check for the Lakers, who had won four straight and 13 of their last 14 games and are trying to cement their hold on the third seed in the West with the playoffs starting on April 18.

Reigning MVP Gilgeous-Alexander took some time to find his offensive rhythm, but his Oklahoma City teammates stepped up as the Thunder roared to a 44-21 lead through one quarter.

Thunder guard Luguentz Dort went four-of-four from the three-point line on the way to 14 points in the opening frame, and Oklahoma City harried the Lakers into eight first-quarter turnovers leading to 14 Thunder points.

"The turnovers, obviously, they killed us," Redick said.

There was no let-up after that, OKC dominating on both ends of the floor as they built an 82-51 halftime lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Isaiah Joe added 20 points off the bench for the Thunder, the Western Conference leaders who improved their league-best record to 61-16.

Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 15 points despite struggling with back pain himself, and LeBron James added 13 in 26 minutes.

bb/cms

Tiger Woods told police he was on the phone with "the President" immediately after his car crash in Florida and then expressed surprise when he was arrested, body camera video released Thursday showed.

Footage showing the immediate aftermath of last week's rollover car crash that led to Woods stepping away from golf to seek treatment was shared by the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

"I'll just keep you down here with us please," says a police officer to the golf superstar, as authorities investigate the scene.

"Yeah, I was just talking with the President," replies Woods, waving his phone as he walks back toward the officer.

The 50-year-old winner of 15 major titles is shown taking a sobriety test and being handcuffed after that.

"At this time, I do believe your normal faculties are impaired," a deputy tells Woods. "And you're under an unknown substance, so at this time you are under arrest for DUI."

"I'm being arrested?" asks Woods, sounding astonished, as his arms are cuffed.

Police found two hydrocodone painkiller pills on Woods when he was arrested.

Woods told deputies he had taken "a few" prescription medications earlier in the day and told authorities he had undergone seven back operations and more than 20 surgeries on his right leg, according to the arrest report.

In the footage he is shown telling authorities that he was looking at his phone when he struck the trailer of another vehicle that had slowed in front of him.

"I looked down at my phone and all of a sudden, boom," Woods said.

Woods has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence. He was also charged with refusing to take a urinalysis test.

Woods, who had been hoping to play in next week's Masters, said this week he plans to step away from golf. He has been granted permission by a judge to leave the United States in order to undergo treatment.

"I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in," Woods said in a statement.

"I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment on focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.

"I'm committed to taking the time needed to return in a healthier, stronger and more focused place, both personally and professionally."

- Trump -

The footage does not specify which "President" Woods is referring to.

US President Donald Trump, who awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Woods in 2019 and on Friday called him a "very close friend," told the New York Post on Tuesday that he had spoken with Woods following his arrest. 

"I have" talked with Woods, Trump told the outlet. "I think he's doing great, he's doing good."

The PGA of America has announced Woods will not serve as captain of the 2027 US Ryder Cup team.

The Masters, PGA of America and PGA Tour all issued statements supporting Woods and his decision to seek treatment.

Woods suffered severe injuries in a 2021 car crash in California but returned to competition at the 2022 Masters and finished 47th despite struggling to walk 72 holes at Augusta National.

He has not competed in a PGA Tour-level event since missing the cut at the 2024 British Open.

amz-js/bb

Madrid, Spain – Spain’s hopes of hosting the 2030 World Cup final were dealt a blow after racist chants marred what should have been a friendly match against Egypt.

The Spanish are to cohost the next edition of world football’s showpiece event with Morocco and Portugal, but the destination of the final has still to be decided by FIFA, the game’s global governing body.

Fancied as possible winners of this year’s World Cup in the Americas, Spain’s performance on the pitch on Tuesday was instead overshadowed by events off the pitch.

Spanish police have launched an investigation into “Islamophobic and xenophobic” chants which rang out twice during the 0-0 draw in Barcelona on Tuesday.

Authorities issued a warning on the public address system, then showed a video sign saying racist chants contravened the law, but these were jeered by sections of the fans.

A section of supporters had chanted: “Whoever doesn’t jump is Muslim” – a derogatory chant.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent, who was at the match, listened as Egypt’s national anthem also received a barrage of whistles before what was supposed to be a friendly game started.

It was the latest in a string of similar incidents to overshadow Spanish football in recent years, with Real Madrid’s Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior another high-profile victim of racial abuse in recent years.

Lamine Yamal, Spain’s star winger, a Muslim whose father moved from Morocco to Spain, issued a damning statement on Instagram in the wake of the row.

“I am a Muslim. Yesterday at the stadium the chant ‘the one who doesn’t jump is the Muslim’ was heard,” he posted.

“I know I was playing for the rival team and it wasn’t something personal against me but as a Muslim person it doesn’t stop being disrespectful and something intolerable.”

Yamal, who has never made any political statements, added, “I understand not all fans are like this, but to those who sing these things, using a religion as a mockery on the field makes you ignorant and racist people.”

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Analysts said the anti-Muslim chants at the Spain match represent another proof of structural racism that exists in Spanish society, whose largest foreign-born population come from Morocco, a Muslim country.

“Spain is still a country which suffers from structural racism and there is little awareness of this. In contrast, other countries like the UK, France and the Netherlands, there is also structural racism but there is more awareness,” Moha Gerehou, former director of SOS Racismo, a national antiracism body, who is a journalist who specialises in xenophobia, told Al Jazeera.

“This exists in access to accommodation, schooling, personal relations, and work. When incidents like this occur, they still make excuses like the player is a provocateur like Vinicius Jr or in this case, that Islam is a problem.”

Gerehou noted a rise of far-right parties Vox, the third-largest in the Spanish parliament, and groups that were using racism to win votes and legitimise xenophobia.

“On the other hand, I think in Spanish society, there are more entities that are conscious of racism and are doing something to confront it,” he said.

In 2024, a report for the Spanish Observatory of Racism and Xenophobia, a Spanish government body, found that discrimination in sport and education starts at an early age.

Some 40 percent of children who were questioned said that in sport and at school in Madrid said their friends who were Black were treated differently.

Last year, another report for the same body found abuse at sporting occasions had moved from the stadiums to online.

In the 2024-25 season, there were 33,400 hate messages, of which 62 percent appeared on Facebook and 10 percent on X.

In the wake of the chants at the Spain match, Marca, Spain’s best-selling sport newspaper, ran a front page in black – which is usually reserved for the death of an important figure – quoting Yamal’s words.

The incident was widely condemned with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez posting on social media that “we cannot allow an uncivil minority to the reality of Spain, a diverse and tolerant country.”

However, Santiago Abascal, Vox president, posted a message on X condemning those who criticised the chants.

“Today, those same people are tearing their hair out over a chant that isn’t even an insult, just a display of identity,” he posted.

“And they turn it into a matter of state. They expect Spaniards to silently and obediently put up with the Islamist invasion and the mafia government.”

The Catalan regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, said it was investigating “Islamophobic and xenophobic” chants at the Spain-Egypt friendly match.

The Spanish Football Federation also condemned the chants, as did many leading footballers.

Vinicius Jr became a lightning rod for racist abuse since arriving in the Spanish capital in 2018 from Brazilians Flamengo.

In January 2023, Atletico Madrid fans hung an effigy of Vinicius from a bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground.

In 2025, five Real Valladolid fans, who racially abused Vinicius in a 2022 match, were found guilty by a court of committing a hate crime – the first such ruling in Spain for insults at a football stadium.

Graham Hunter, a British journalist who specialises in Spanish football, said efforts to combat racism in the sport have improved since he moved to the country in 2002.

“There is a racist, right-wing section of society, otherwise the Vox party would get no votes. But I’m hugely encouraged by the developments in Spanish football’s treatment of racism,” he told Al Jazeera.

“When I first moved here to today, the progress is significant. La Liga and clubs work hard to identify perpetrators and then expel or prosecute them.

“Football media devotes far more opprobrium towards racism than it did; these factors are part of the slow drive towards both punishment and re-education.”

The national average for diesel fuel on April 1 was $5.490 and that is a strain to NASCAR teams like Kaulig Racing who say it has taken a toll on its intended budget before the season began in February.

The military conflict in Iran has led to a surge in prices and while it dropped to just over $5 on April 2 following a national address by the President of the United States offering that the matter should be resolved soon, the past month has hit race teams hard.

Chris Rice, the president of Kaulig Racing, detailed on Thursday how this has affected his team since the increase in prices.

“Oh, it's been big,” Rice said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s The Morning Drive. “I'll tell you an inside story of us … back in January … we spent a lot of money in fuel running parts here and there, doing this and that.

“Now we actually have a group text, it's called the ‘traveling group text’ for Kaulig Racing where we plan our trips accordingly. If we can wait a day and pick up more stuff in a day, we'll do that. I was talking to our truck (hauler) drivers and saying, ‘Hey, watch fuel prices to make sure that, since we’re only going to Rockingham, do we need to fill it all the way up?

“Will the fuel prices come down? We keep our eyes on that. We look for ways that we can find locations that sell it a little bit cheaper. Every dollar matters with us and in the Truck Series.”

Kaulig Racing entered the Truck Series this season as a RAM factory team and their budget for that is already higher than the standard team because they don’t have an established notebook or inventory yet.

“So this is all costing us a bit more than anticipated,” Rice said. “We’ve never run a Truck Series budget. Ty Norris (Chief Operating Officer) tells me all the time that he’s never seen someone like me keeping track every spoon and fork we buy.

“But yes, the fuel prices have really put a huge hit into our budget. It is what it is. We have to budget for everything and we’ve already torn up more fenders this year than we expected to too. But the fuel prices are rough right now.”

Kaulig, and the industry is fortunate at least, that Cup is off this weekend and all three divisions have been racing close to home with stops at Darlington, Martinsville, Rockingham and Bristol.

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Joe Gibbs Racing wants the Western District of North Carolina Court to compel Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports to immediately produce any documents related to deleted text messages to each other but also a third-party subpoena to get those deleted communications from the cell phone service providers.

“The nature and significance of the irreparable harm JGR is experiencing cannot be overstated. Gabehart has repeatedly admitted to taking JGR’s trade secrets, and has admitted to deleting communications responsive to the narrow scope of discovery the Court permitted to determine if he used or disclosed those trade secrets. Once a trade secret is lost it is lost forever, and ‘the potential for the loss of trade secrets . . . demonstrates irreparable harm.’”

That is the current state of affairs in the JGR v Spire and Gabehart lawsuit, in which the plaintiffs believe they have reasons to suspect that proprietary information taken by its former competition director is being used by the defendants this season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

JGR is suing Gabehart, now the Chief Motorsports Officer at Spire, for over eight million dollars while also compelling Judge Susan C. Rodriguez to move the legal process in along in way to determine the scope of potential damages.

Spire, Gabehart and Gibbs await key decision from Judge

Joe Gibbs Racing accuses Chris Gabehart of deleting relevant texts before lawsuit

For example, there is no disputing that Gabehart continued to access proprietary JGR files even after having a conversation with team owner Joe Gibbs on November 6 that resulted in an understanding that it would ‘be best to part ways.’

The next day, Gabehart took at least 20 photographs of confidential team information. He accessed a 'Spire' folder on his Personal Google Drive, which was synced with his Gibbs provided computer on November 12, 14 and 15. Gabehart, through his attorney, has since apologized for doing so and conceded it was 'stupid' and that he's 'embarrassed' and 'regrets it.'

Meanwhile, Gabehart believes JGR breached their contract first by timely refusing to pay him bonuses earned but also agreed upon financial amounts during the separation period. Gibbs has argued in court ‘why would we continue to pay someone who is stealing from us’ with an allegation that Gabehart was having conversation with Spire leadership as early as October.

Spire maintains it never asked Gabehart for trade secrets nor does it want it due to its technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. Spire has produced contracts and declarations that Gabehart signed nondisclosure agreements with the team upon his formal addition to the group.

Jeff Dickerson replies to all things Gibbs, Gabehart in legal filing

Joe Gibbs Racing had Chris Gabehart followed by a private investigator before lawsuit

Chris Gabehart, Spire want reciprocal expedited discovery against Gibbs

Nevertheless, the court ordered expedited discovery, albeit limited in scope, relative to the issue of job communications between Gabehart and Spire co-owners Jeff Dickerson and Dan Towriss.

During that process, Gabehart disclosed he had deleted text messages with Dickerson prior to November 15, under the conviction that the matter would never be litigated in court. Dickerson disclosed he has perpetually used an auto-delete function for his text messages, including conversations with Gabehart, and that feature was not turned off until February 26.

What text message Gabehart did produce shows Dickerson sending a draft of a lawsuit response that hadn’t been filed yet, plausibly indicating that Spire leadership anticipated legal action even before the autodelete feature was deactivated.

Joe Gibbs Racing also claims that it called Dickerson on December 3 to warn them of tortious interference and that they had 90 days to cure or address Gabehart’s concerns. Gabehart says that was voided upon a lack of payment. JGR says the paychecks stopped when Gabehart ceased providing services to them and when he may have potentially began providing services to Spire.

For example, Gabehart was already allegedly making Spire focus plans on official Spire letterheads by November 25.

Anyway, Joe Gibbs Racing is asking the court to allow for additional expedited discovery beyond what it already received because it wants to know as soon as possible if its information is being used by other teams this season. Judge Rodriguez, in her words, has been reluctant to grant a fishing expedition in the absence of proof right now that JGR trade secrets are being used by Spire.

So JGR is asking the following of the court:

Third-party subpoena to Dickerson requesting production of all: (a) communications with Gabehart about employment or potential employment with Spire; (b) all documents referring to or referencing Gabehart’s employment or potential employment with Spire; (c) all documents or communications referring to or relating to JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets; and (d) all documents and data relating to activation and deactivation of autodelete features;

Requests for production of documents on Spire requesting production of all: (a) Dickerson’s communications with Gabehart about employment or potential employment with Spire; (b) all communications and documents referring to or referencing Gabehart’s employment or potential employment with Spire; (c) all communications with Gabehart referring to or relating to JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets; (d) all documents relating to document retention policies and activation and deactivation of autodelete features; and (e) all data indicating when the autodelete feature(s) were activated on Dickerson’s Devices;

Third-party subpoenas to Gabehart’s and Dickerson’s telephone providers requesting production of records reflecting Gabehart’s and Dickerson’s text messages and phone calls for the time period of October 1, 2025 through March 13, 2026;

Third-party subpoenas to Joe Custer, Justin Marks, Todd Meredith, Rick Ware, a Tommy Baldwin for communications with Dickerson referencing or relating to JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets; and

Court ordered forensic review of Dickerson’s cell phone(s), tablet(s) and computer(s) (collectively, “Devices”) to determine: (a) if text messages responsive to JGR’s Requests for Production of Documents to Gabehart are recoverable from those devices; and (b) when the autodelete function(s) on any of Dickerson’s Devices were activated.

This is the second time that Joe Gibbs Racing has motioned the court for subpoenas against Custer, Marks, Meredith, Ware and Baldwin and the judge asked for evidence that this was anything more than a fishing expedition.

The only provided reason JGR offers this time is that these Chevrolet affiliated principles are the most reasonable individuals Dickerson would have communicated with over any trade secrets acquired from JGR.

“Through bad acts, negligence, or a combination of both, communications relevant to this dispute have been deleted. JGR should be permitted to serve these narrow and limited subpoenas to only a few recipients to ensure other relevant communications are not deleted by individuals not involved in this litigation, which is now the most efficient way to ensure highly relevant communications are preserved.”

Mostly, what this filing wants addressed, comes down to the deleted text messages for reasons Joe Gibbs Racing made below.

“So then, why would messages be proactively deleted? Gabehart has not provided any justification or account of his decision to delete text messages with Dickerson on November 15, 2025 and Dickerson’s purported automatic deletion practice, at a minimum, calls into question his retention of relevant material at a time when he should have taken measures to secure it. Thus, the complete unavailability of messages between two critical actors in this dispute prior to November 15, 2025 begs the immediate question of ‘why?’ The most plausible inference is that the texts were deleted to conceal misconduct. Given Gabehart’s admitted theft of JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets three days earlier, and the fact that he was communicating with the person for whose benefit Gabehart stole the information, the most plausible inference is that the misconduct was related to this stolen information.”

The complete filing can be read in its entirety below.

Joe Gibbs Racing second motion for expedited discovery by mattweavermedia

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A delegation will travel from Argentina to the Miami Grand Prix to meet with Formula 1 executives and showcase the progress made at the Buenos Aires circuit, as officials aim to be ready to return to the F1 calendar should an opportunity arise in 2027.

The historic home of motorsport in Argentina – the Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez – is currently undergoing redevelopment to host the MotoGP World Championship at the start of next year, while efforts are also under way to advance negotiations towards a potential agreement with Formula 1.

MotoGP chiefs visit Buenos Aires construction site ahead of 2027 Argentina GP

To that end, a delegation from the Buenos Aires city government, together with local promoter Grupo OSD, will attend next month’s Miami Grand Prix to hold talks with Liberty Media executives, the commercial rights holder of F1.

The aim of the meeting will be to present the progress achieved since the project was first shared with F1 officials at last year’s Miami Grand Prix.

“We are meeting all the requirements they set for us, across the board – from the formal aspects to the technical and operational side, working with our advisory group, Tilke, which was specifically recommended by Liberty,” Buenos Aires sports secretary Fabian Turnes told Motorsport.com.

“Our first meeting with them took place a year ago in Miami. Since then, there has been significant progress, and it is important that we have delivered on the steps we committed to. We can now show something tangible: the circuit is under construction. It is no longer just an ambition – quite the opposite.”

Construction at the Buenos Aires Autodrome. The track is expected to be completed by December.

The redevelopment plan for the Buenos Aires Autodrome is structured in two phases: the first geared towards MotoGP, and a second designed for Formula 1, primarily involving an extension of the layout that would take it to nearly 5km, compared to the 4.3km configuration planned for MotoGP.

However, there is currently an evaluation under way to bring that work forward in order to demonstrate to Liberty Media the seriousness of Buenos Aires’ medium-term ambitions to host a race – and to ensure the venue is ready should a slot on the calendar open up in 2027.

“We know that several contracts on the current Formula 1 calendar are coming to an end. There has already been some rotation among venues. And then there is the global context, which could potentially open a window,” Turnes said, referring to the conflict in the Middle East, which has already forced the cancellation of April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

“Clearly, it would be unfortunate if such a window were to arise because of that. But it could ultimately present an opportunity in that scenario. We will likely know more towards the end of the year, around the Qatar Grand Prix. If the situation continues, a window may open, as some of those dates could be dropped in 2027 due to the conflict.

“The extension for Formula 1 was not included in phase one. Last week, we discussed whether, for strategic reasons, it would make sense to bring it into phase one rather than leave it for phase two, given the meeting we will have in Miami – and to go there with something concrete, namely that it will be completed. It is a decision we will take in the coming days ahead of Miami,” Turnes explained.

La última vez de la F1 en Argentina fue en 1998.

Eyes on 2028

Setting aside the international context, a more realistic target would be to host a race in the 2028 season.

“It is difficult to put a date on it. We would love to have a clear window, because that is important. Personally, if the situation does not change, I see 2027 as more challenging. But 2028 does not feel that far away (as an opportunity) – and when you think about it, it is actually quite close in time,” he said.

“Our intention is to go to Miami with tangible progress. At that time, it was an ambition or an intention; now it is a reality. If we move forward with the extended hairpin, we will effectively have the full circuit. The Grade 1 homologation has already been requested, with only a very minor modification currently being worked on to finalise it. We have been ticking off those steps.”

Perfect timing for Franco Colapinto’s showrun

Franco Colapinto’s presence in Formula 1 is a key factor in the series’s potential return to Argentina, given the interest and support generated by the young driver since his breakthrough in August 2024 with Williams, before moving to Alpine last year.

In the coming weeks, he could provide an even greater boost thanks to a demonstration run on the streets of Buenos Aires in a Formula 1 car, with the anticipated turnout offering a powerful showcase to F1 decision-makers.

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“Since we first began working on it, Franco’s visit was always planned either before or after Miami. The fact that the calendar paused has given us the opportunity to stage it ahead of Miami, which, from a strategic standpoint, works in our favour.

“Perhaps that decision – regarding the construction of the extended hairpin for Formula 1 – together with what is coming now with Franco, will add another piece to the puzzle. The image will be that of Argentina’s passion for Formula 1,” Turnes concluded.

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

Talks between Formula E and the DTM about a potential collaboration at the Norisring have broken down, ending plans that could have seen the electric champion race at the famous street circuit in 2027.

According to Motorsport.com's sister title Motorsport-Total.com, representatives of Formula E and DTM promoter the ADAC met in Nuremberg at the end of February to explore a potential collaboration.

The initiative appears to have come from Formula E, which was evaluating a change of venue within Germany after racing in Berlin for several years. The ADAC, for its part, was open to the idea, provided there were synergies that would help reduce event costs.

Idea: DTM and Formula E on the same day in Nuremberg?

Initially, the city of Nuremberg favoured hosting both series on the same weekend. However, that idea was quickly dropped due to differing sponsor requirements. According to the organising Motorsport-Club Nurnberg (MCN), it would not have been possible to adapt the visual branding of the street circuit quickly enough between sessions, particularly given the limited use of digital advertising infrastructure.

In addition, sharing the track would have required compromises on TV scheduling. As a result, the concept shifted to separate weekends: Formula E — which only requires the circuit for a Friday evening practice session, plus second practice, qualifying and the race on Saturday — was slated for 25–26 June 2027, while DTM would retain its traditional date of 2–4 July.

Norisring modifications: Why ADAC ended the talks

However, following the meeting in Nuremberg, ADAC representatives are understood to have pulled out of the discussions. The reason appears to have been unexpected demands from Formula E.

During an evaluation of the circuit, Formula E officials reportedly concluded that the 2.162km layout — particularly the section between the Grundig hairpin and Dutzendteich — would be too short for the more powerful Gen4 cars set to be introduced from late 2026. Lap times would likely have been just over 40 seconds, creating potential issues with a full grid of 24 cars.

Formula E proposed new hairpin near the Frankenstadion

Sources indicate that Formula E even put forward a proposal to modify the layout. The plan would have seen cars turn right after the pits, at the former Scholler-S (now the Thomas Sommer corner), heading towards the Frankenstadion.

A new hairpin would then have guided the cars onto the stadium parking lot before rejoining the original circuit. An alternative option was also considered, involving a continuation straight on past the current Grundig hairpin - as was the case until 1971 - with a new, repositioned hairpin further down the road.

Beyond the significantly higher costs, such changes would also have had implications for the DTM, including the loss of certain grandstands and therefore spectator capacity. As a result, the potential synergies would have been limited, particularly as the restoration of the Steintribune grandstand already reduces standing-room capacity until 2028.

Does this revive DTM’s chances at Berlin-Tempelhof?

The swift, multi-year extension of Formula E’s contract in Berlin may come as a surprise, but it could prove beneficial for the DTM. The ADAC-run series could revisit plans to utilise the Tempelhof circuit, potentially adding another German venue to its calendar. Those plans had appeared unlikely amid Formula E’s Nuremberg ambitions.

Realistically, however, any such move for the DTM would not happen before 2028 at the earliest, as the project would require political backing due to local conditions. Since state elections will not take place in Berlin until 20 September 2026, the future political landscape - and its impact on such plans - remains uncertain.

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Andrea Dovizioso believes Marc Marquez’s current physical condition is more concerning than it appears, warning that the issue may not have an easy solution.

It is clear that the Ducati MotoGP rider is not yet fully recovered from the right shoulder injury he suffered at the start of the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix, when he was taken out by Marco Bezzecchi. However, both Marquez and his team have maintained that progress is being made, even if the rider himself has admitted he is still discovering “what my new 100% physical condition is”.

Not everyone is convinced that will be enough for Marquez to return to a level capable of matching the early-season pace set by Aprilia, particularly Bezzecchi, who has emerged as a leading contender in the championship’s opening phase. After three rounds, Marquez sits fifth in the standings, already 36 points adrift of the lead.

Among those raising doubts is former Ducati rider Dovizioso, who finished runner-up in MotoGP three times between 2017 and 2019, each season behind Marquez. The pair shared an intense rivalry during that period, before the Spaniard’s career was disrupted by injury in 2020.

Few riders understand Marquez as well as Dovizioso, who regularly went head-to-head with him during Marquez's dominant years with Honda. The Italian remains closely involved in the paddock, attending selected grands prix in his role as a Yamaha test rider, working on the manufacturer’s V4 engine project alongside riders including Fabio Quartararo.

Andrea Dovizioso, Yamaha Factory Racing Test Rider and Rider Performance Advisor

Speaking after the US GP, Dovizioso offered a stark assessment of his former rival’s situation.

“Marc is not a rider who complains and he has never made excuses,” he told Moto.it.

“So the truth about how he is doing and how many problems he has, especially for those who do not support him, has never been valued much.

“But his situation, in my opinion, is much more serious than it seems.

“Last year, he managed to win the championship, I would not know how to tell you at what percentage level, but without a doubt he was not at 100%.

“He still has a lot to improve physically. And perhaps with the crash in Indonesia this limitation in the arm has increased even more, which I believe does not have a solution,” he assesses.

“Austin was the definitive confirmation. In a place where he could have made the difference, he could not."

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After another disappointing Formula 1 qualifying session, Max Verstappen appeared in the Suzuka media pen on Saturday afternoon. Of course, being knocked out in Q2 did not help, but he found what he had experienced an hour earlier even more disappointing. A qualifying session that, despite an FIA intervention that made things slightly better, was in his view still not as it should be.

Verstappen has already voiced his criticism several times this season – in Bahrain, Melbourne and Shanghai – and therefore the idea (also internally at Red Bull) is that from now on, it would be more constructive to discuss possible improvements behind the scenes.

“I’ve already said everything about the regulations anyway,” Verstappen added in Japan.

“Not how it should be” - Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on power unit influence in F1 2026

However, his opinion has not changed. When Motorsport.com specifically asked about the onboard footage from 130R, where drivers lost more than 50 km/h due to super clipping, Verstappen responded: “Yes, and that says it all, I think.”

He then jokingly invited the author of this piece to get into the RB22 himself, more specifically after being asked whether it is still a challenge for drivers: “Well, I’d happily put you in my car for once! I think the laps I drove today were actually more of a challenge than last year, but that was purely to keep this car on the road. And I think that says everything as well.”

“You have to do something in life that you enjoy”

In that same conversation, Verstappen reflected almost philosophically on his time in F1. That began during the English media session when the four-time world champion said that he has life decisions to make, after which he elaborated more on his considerations during the Dutch media round.

“When I’m in the car, I always give everything. But with how everything is at the moment – not only our own car, but also everything I’ve already said about Formula 1 – it’s just not enjoyable for me. It’s probably not enjoyable for other people either, but if you are away from home for 22 races, then in the end you have to do something in your life that you enjoy.”

Max Verstappen is not enjoying his time in the RB22

That last point not only touches on the enjoyment Verstappen does (or currently does not) get out of F1, but as his father Jos Verstappen indicated in De Telegraaf, also his motivation. “If you ask a lot of athletes how to get the most out of your performance, it all starts with enjoying it,” the Red Bull driver acknowledged. “And if you don’t enjoy it, you can’t get the best out of it.”

His answer to the follow-up question of how he keeps himself motivated was also telling: “With other things I try to keep it enjoyable, but at some point that also runs out.”

The only thing Red Bull can do to motivate Max Verstappen may not be enough

It indicates two things. First, that those GT outings are currently necessary to keep things enjoyable for Verstappen, and second, the last part of his quote suggests that he is genuinely thinking about whether his longer-term future still lies in the pinnacle of motorsport.

The two factors that are different this time

When this website presented Verstappen’s remarks to Laurent Mekies after the Japanese Grand Prix, the team principal mainly related it to Red Bull’s performance – entirely logical from his role.

“We certainly focus on the competitive picture, that's what we do. We are having zero discussions about those aspects. We have a lot of work to do, but I'm sure by the time we give him a fast car, he will be a much happier Max. And by the time we give him a car he can push and make the difference with, he will also be a happier Max. So, honestly, that's 100% of our discussions right now.”

Although that is probably true, two things are different compared to previous situations in which Red Bull struggled with performance.

First of all, both drivers indicated in Suzuka that there is currently not yet a full understanding of the root cause.

Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar both reported shortcomings with the 2026 Red Bull car

“No, not right now. What we are seeing this weekend makes no sense,” said Isack Hadjar. Verstappen shared a similar impression. “Certain things are going wrong, things we didn’t expect to cause any issues, and that always makes it a bigger mystery. Just things where you think everything looks okay from the factory side, but then on track they don’t show the same numbers.”

The second – and more important factor – is that in all previous cases Verstappen still enjoyed F1 as a whole. When the political bomb exploded in Jeddah in 2024 and Verstappen strongly defended Helmut Marko, and also when Red Bull was struggling during the first half of 2025, the Dutchman still enjoyed driving an F1 car. And that fundamental aspect has changed – at least for now.

Body language: is Verstappen really ‘beyond all frustration’?

In Japan, that was visible in his body language and also in the words Verstappen used. Whereas during some Dutch media sessions in 2024 he passionately warned that things would go wrong at Red Bull, there was now a certain sense of resignation – both verbally and non-verbally.

He summed it up on Sunday with a smile. Verstappen joked that he actually feels like a modern F1 engine, with good acceleration coming out of the corners before the clipping kicks in. “Every day I wake up and I convince myself again, and I try. You start well in the morning, but then [it goes down, just like the engine]…”

When someone remarked that he might need coffee, Verstappen responded wittily: “No, Red Bull!”

However, there is a serious undertone beneath it. When asked whether he is frustrated with the current situation, Verstappen indicated that he has long since passed that phase. “I’m not even disappointed anymore. I’m long past that. I’m beyond disappointed and I don’t even know what you call that.”

Max Verstappen isn't angry, he's just dissappointed

In both English and Dutch, Verstappen struggled to find the right words to describe his current feeling. When a colleague suggested the word “resignation”, the 71-time grand prix winner agreed. “Yes, maybe that’s the right word, but that’s obviously not good.”

It indicates that Verstappen is not bluffing and is not mainly using his current dissatisfaction as a political pressure tool – something that is suggested here and there. Of course, he is not happy with Red Bull’s current problems and pushing for changes, but Verstappen continuously emphasises that he would voice the same complaints about the regulations even if he were winning – and that was exactly the situation when he first warned about F1’s new era back in 2023.

It means that Verstappen will genuinely use these weeks and months to think about where his future lies and what role F1 plays in it.

A departure halfway through the year remains extremely unlikely. He knows better than anyone that the Milton Keynes-based team revolves around him to a large extent — not only from a sporting perspective, but also commercially with numerous sponsorship deals. Verstappen has often said that he is “loyal” to the brand that gave him his F1 debut, and he will not suddenly forget that midway through an F1 season.

But for next year, the situation appears far more open - let alone for the period after his current contract expires. Verstappen said in China that he is currently in talks with the FIA about possible improvements and has repeatedly expressed hope that “bigger changes” can be made ahead of next year. The extent to which that succeeds or not may prove crucial for Verstappen’s future considerations. He has already accepted that little can be done for the remainder of this season, but the direction chosen for 2027 will likely play an important role in his decision-making process.

Max Verstappen’s take on Red Bull’s problems, Oliver Bearman’s crash, and how to fix 2026 F1 rules

Verstappen's journalist spat exposes a greater issue in undervaluing media

Max Verstappen to make “life” decisions as his discontent with F1 grows

If that results in a product that he can live with a bit more and if the enjoyment returns with that, then there may be no reason to leave – especially if he retains the freedom from Red Bull to pursue his endurance ambitions alongside his F1 commitments. But if that enjoyment does not return, then a longer stay for Verstappen is certainly no guarantee – far from it. Above all, his dissatisfaction is genuinely different this time from what we have seen before since his F1 debut in 2015.

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.

Victor Wembanyama powered the relentless San Antonio Spurs to a 10th straight win Wednesday with his second consecutive 41-point game, brushing aside the Golden State Warriors 127-113.

Two days after the French star scored the fastest double-double in NBA history, Wembanyama also grabbed 18 rebounds in a wire-to-wire victory.

San Antonio have emerged as genuine NBA title contenders in the second half of the season, winning 26 of their past 28 games.

They sit second in the Western conference, just two wins behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, with six regular-season games remaining in the battle for top seed.

The two Western giants are the favorites to win this year's NBA championship, with the playoffs beginning in mid-April.

While the Thunder are the reigning NBA champions, the Spurs have not reached the playoffs since 2019.

Wembanyama laughed off the suggestion that a lack of experience would hurt them this spring.

"We don't have experience, right? Screw it," he told ESPN.

"We're not going to play any different way just because... it is this way.

"We're still going to play 100 percent to go to try to win this championship."

The Spurs led throughout Wednesday's game in San Francisco, taking a commanding 70-49 half-time lead as Wemby managed a stunning 27 points and 13 rebounds in a first-half double-double.

San Antonio eased off slightly in the second half but never lost their double-digit lead against a Warriors side lacking key players including Stephen Curry.

Superstar Curry has not played since January, but was seen on court pre-game Wednesday, raising hopes he can return as the Warriors face the long route to the playoffs via the play-ins.

- Playoff race hots up -

The Boston Celtics tightened their grip on second seed in the East, and put a little pressure on the conference-leading Detroit Pistons, with a breezy 147-129 win over playoff hopefuls Miami Heat.

The Celtics got off to a blistering start, scoring 53 points in the first quarter -- the joint second-most in NBA history -- as star duo Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum dominated the night. 

Brown scored a whopping 43 points in total while Tatum ended with a triple-double (25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists).

The Celtics have been revitalized since Tatum's return from a 10-month Achilles injury last month, and having the pair together on the court appears to pose a formidable post-season threat.

"Obviously a hell of a two-way player... he had a hot start, and he just kept it going," Tatum said of Brown after the game.

With the loss Miami sink to 10th, but remain just 2.5 games back from sixth -- and a guaranteed post-season spot -- in the remarkably tight Eastern conference playoff race.

The door had been left ajar as the sixth-placed Toronto Raptors fell 123-115 to the Sacramento Kings. 

They were leap-frogged by the Philadelphia 76ers, who eased past the Washington Wizards 153-131, with Paul George pouring in 39 points.

But the Orlando Magic saw their playoff hopes dented by the red-hot Atlanta Hawks, who secured a 17th win in 19 games with a 130-101 victory that shores up their own berth.

The third-placed New York Knicks got back to winning ways with a 130-119 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

And back in the West, the Houston Rockets all but assured themselves of playoff basketball. They beat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-113 to sit five wins clear of the Phoenix Suns, who have six remaining games.

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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua has checked himself into rehab, his attorney said Wednesday.

The Rams star "voluntarily entered a private facility to focus on his health, personal growth, and overall development," lawyer Levi McCathern told AFP in a statement.

Nacua topped the NFL with 129 receptions last season, adding a total of 1,715 yards, as the Rams reached the NFC Championship game before losing to eventual Super Bowl winners Seattle.

But the 24-year-old has been beset by recent off-field controversy. 

In December, Nacua apologized after making an antisemitic gesture during a livestream appearance.

Nacua was encouraged to perform the gesture -- rubbing his hands together -- as a potential new touchdown celebration while appearing with internet streamers Adin Ross and N3on.

The 24-year-old said he had not been aware that his gesture -- a common stereotype that depicts Jewish people as greedy -- was antisemitic.

Last month, a Jewish woman filed a lawsuit against Nacua alleging that he made an antisemitic statement and later bit her during a night out in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve.

His lawyer said Nacua denies the allegation of antisemitism, calling it a "blatant lie," and describing the bite as "horseplay."

Nacua's decision to enter rehab was prior to and unrelated to the lawsuit, said the attorney.

McCathern did not state the precise reason for Nacua entering rehab, but the center in question helps patients with issues including drug and alcohol addiction, chronic pain and mental health conditions, the California Post reported.

"Puka takes responsibility for his well-being and increasing his performance during the off-season," said McCathern's statement.

"He is committed to using this time constructively so that he can return in the best possible position -- both personally and professionally -- to continue contributing to his team and the game he loves," it said.

McCathern added: "It is unfortunate that a trivial lawsuit has drawn attention to Puka during a time when he is focused on becoming a better overall person."

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A Florida judge ruled Wednesday that Tiger Woods can leave the United States to seek "comprehensive inpatient treatment" after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Woods's attorney, Douglas Duncan, submitted the motion to travel in Martin County Court, citing the 50-year-old golfer's urgent need for an "intensive, highly individualized and medically integrated program" as well as privacy from media and public scrutiny.

Judge Darren Steele granted the motion after a teleconference on the matter.

Woods's decision to "step away" from his golf-related activities in the wake of a rollover car accident on Friday means he will not captain the 2027 US Ryder Cup team, the PGA of America confirmed on Wednesday.

Woods pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to misdemeanor charges of DUI with property damage and refusing to submit to a lawful test.

A breathalyzer test showed no alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, but Woods refused a urine analysis.

In requesting approval for Woods to leave the country, Duncan said Woods's doctor had recommended the specific treatment facility "based upon the Defendant's complex clinical presentation and the urgent need for a level of care that cannot safely or effectively be done within the United States, as his privacy has been repeatedly compromised.

"Ongoing medical scrutiny and public exposure create significant barriers to his care and would result in setbacks and an inability to fully engage in treatment."

Woods has battled through numerous injuries in his career, including multiple back surgeries.

In 2017 he was arrested on suspicion of DUI after police found him asleep at the wheel of his damaged car, with the engine running.

Woods said he had taken a mix of painkillers, eventually pleading guilty to reckless driving and entering a treatment facility to seek help with managing prescription drugs.

In February of 2021 Woods underwent emergency surgery for multiple compound fractures in his right leg and a shattered ankle after a rollover crash in California.

According to the accident report from the Martin County Sheriff's Office, Woods told officers he had had seven back surgeries and over 20 operations on his leg, advising them he has a limp and that one ankle seizes while walking.

Woods told officers he was "looking down at his cell phone and changing the radio station and did not notice the vehicle in front of him had slowed down," according to the report.

- 'Lethargic and slow' -

But Sheriff's deputies described his movements as "lethargic and slow," noting his eyes were "bloodshot and glassy".

Police said in the report that Woods was found with two hydrocodone pills, an opioid painkiller, and appeared unable to safely drive a vehicle when he was apprehended.

Woods said in a statement posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday that he was "stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.

"This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery," he said.

- Prioritizing health -

Woods, who had surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon in March of 2025 and a further back surgery in October, hasn't competed in a top-level golf event since the 2024 British Open.

But he has been playing a key role as chair of the PGA Tour's Future Competition Committee created to help shape a new-look tour, and he confirmed in February he was contemplating accepting the role of Ryder Cup captain.

"We commend Tiger for prioritizing his long-term health and deeply respect the courage it takes to make such a personal decision," the PGA of America said in their statement saying he had "shared with us" that he will not serve as captain.

PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp and Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National, offered equally supportive statements.

Ridley said Augusta National and the Masters Tournament "fully support Tiger Woods as he focuses on his well-being.

"Although Tiger will not be joining us in person next week, his presence will be felt here in Augusta," Ridley said of the five-time Masters champion.

bb