Celtic explore Edouard return
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The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lewis Hamilton laments ‘unacceptable' mistake as Lando Norris takes pole at Belgian GP
Lewis Hamilton lamented an 'unacceptable' error in qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday as Lando Norris turned the tables on teammate Oscar Piastri to take pole position. Norris, who trails Piastri by nine points in the world championship, was a step behind the Australian in sprint qualifying on Friday but turned his fortunes around, setting a time which edged out his teammate by 0.085 seconds. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc came home a surprise third in qualifying ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who won the sprint race earlier on Saturday. But as for Leclerc's teammate Hamilton, a day on from qualifying third-last for the sprint race, it was another disastrous session for the Ferrari driver. The seven-time world champion arrived here at Spa upbeat, with a new rear suspension upgrade on the under-par SF-25 car, as he looked to claim his first podium of the season. But after a spin at the final chicane put him P18 and rendered his sprint race irrelevant – though the spin was put down to a mechanical error – Hamilton himself this time made a costly error at the top of the famous Eau Rouge corner. The Briton looked to have saved himself with a time quick enough for the top-15, before communication came from the FIA stewards that Hamilton had exceeded track limits at the top of Eau Rouge corner, marginally placing all four wheels outside the white lines. As a result, his lap was deleted and, staggeringly, the 40-year-old was knocked out in Q1 again. He will start Sunday's grand prix in 16th place. 'Not great, from my side I made a mistake,' a despondent Hamilton said in the media pen afterwards. 'We have to look internally. I have to apologise to my team, it's unacceptable to be out in both Q1s, a very poor performance from myself. 'I don't think there's much we can do. Everyone is trying to do the best we can, we've had upgrades, but I think that's it for the rest of the year.' Just after the halfway mark of the season, and trailing championship leader Piastri by a mammoth 138 points, Hamilton then effectively wrote off the rest of the campaign as the majority of teams shift their focus to new engine and chassis regulations next year. TOP-10 - BELGIAN GP QUALIFYING 'I think the focus back at the factory is to focus on next year's car,' he said. 'This season has been a tricky one.' A wet race on Sunday – with rain probability currently standing at 60% - is Hamilton's only saving grace. The seven-time world champion finished fourth in the wet-dry drama of Silverstone three weeks ago and won an entertaining race last year at Spa. However, despite all the clamour and hype surrounding his move to Ferrari, it seems the Scuderia's final set of upgrades this season have not provided the silver bullet many hoped would propel Hamilton back into contention at the top. Instead, it continues to be the team Hamilton made his F1 debut for, McLaren, who set the pace out in front. Norris, who is half Belgian, is on a run of two consecutive victories and impressively kept his cool in the heat of battle on Saturday afternoon. While Norris, second time around, did not go faster than his first lap in Q3, Piastri could not claw back the deficit enough and, to the delight of Norris's Belgian mother Cisca in the garage, could only manage second place. The Australian would later reveal an error into turn 14, in his view, cost him pole. 'It was a decent lap,' Norris said, before a pointed statement to the doubters. 'Everyone was pretty worried after yesterday, but I was confident going into today. 'It was nothing to worry about, people like to make a lot of things up. The car is flying a lot.' Piastri, however, will be looking to follow Verstappen's blueprint from earlier on Saturday to steal a march on his teammate at the start tomorrow. The short run down to turn one at Spa favours second place – on the inside line – and the lengthy run up the hill to the Kemmel Straight also provides another opening for cars behind with a healthy slipstream. That being said, wet conditions would likely shake up the status quo. Hamilton will need some favours from above if he is to salvage anything from what, he admitted himself, has been a 'weekend to forget' thus far.
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Arne Slot leaves Luis Diaz out of AC Milan friendly due to ongoing speculation
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot left Luis Diaz out of their 4-2 friendly defeat to AC Milan in Hong Kong due to ongoing speculation about his future. Bayern Munich are understood to have reopened dialogue with the Premier League champions, having had an initial offer of 67.5million euros (£59m) dismissed last week. Liverpool have maintained they do not want to sell the forward – who has also attracted interest from Barcelona – and the Bundesliga champions' bid was way below their own valuation of 100m euro (£87m) for an elite forward in the global market. Diaz turns 29 in January and has two years left on his current deal but has not yet had an offer of a new contract. 'In Lucho's (Diaz's) situation, there's a lot of rumours around him lately and I cannot go into that,' said Slot. 'He's training really well with us but we have decided for now not to play him yet. 'I'm used to talking to most of my players on a regular basis. I cannot comment much more about that.' Asked whether Diaz wanted to leave, Slot added: 'That is not the person to ask, me.' Striker Darwin Nunez, whose own future appears to lie away from Anfield, and midfielder Wataru Endo missed the game with minor fitness issues. Club-record signing Florian Wirtz made his first start as a false nine, with latest signing Hugo Ekitike left out of the squad, having only arrived on Thursday after completing his arrival in a £79m deal on Wednesday. Slot played two different starting XIs in each half, with midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and left-back Kostas Tsimikas both required to fill a centre-back role after Joe Gomez returned home for treatment on an Achilles injury. 'We thought it was better to assess it back in England and for him to work on him to come back to the team, probably in more ideal circumstances for him,' added Slot, who denied Gomez's absence left him dangerously-short in the position after selling Jarrell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen. 'I don't think we have a concern at centre-back. I think Ryan (Gravenberch) showed today that he can play in that position. He did it last season as well. 'Although we all know we favour him as a number six, Wata (Endo) can play there. Joe Gomez only has a minor injury, he has been good for us last season as well. 'We have enough options left but it's true that Jarell Quansah left and we haven't replaced him yet.' Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo scored the goals for Liverpool, who paid tribute to forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva after their deaths in a car crash earlier this month. Players wore shirts bearing a logo with the Portugal international's name and number and a heart, and Sir Kenny Dalglish laid a wreath in front of supporters who held up a DJ 20 mosaic.
Daily Record
23 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Celtic Park undergoes two major upgrades as Hoops await another transfer windfall
The Hoops have splashed out behind the scenes over the summer as they modernise their iconic ground Celtic haven't exactly loosened the purse strings on the park. But off it? The Parkhead board have been splashing out behind the scenes. The home of the champions has undergone a modern makeover as the Hoops continue to upgrade their iconic ground ahead of the new season. A revamped technical area has seen new raised dugouts installed at pitch level, giving Brendan Rodgers and his coaching staff a slicker vantage point. Extra seats have also been added to both benches, while two separate entry and exit points have improved access. Record Sport understands Celtic have also carried out refurb work inside the south stand, with hospitality lounges and player areas given a fresh lick. Meanwhile, the club could be in line for a surprise summer cash boost with Josip Juranovic attracting interest from the English Premier League. The Croatian World Cup semi-finalist was sold to Union Berlin for around £7.5million in January 2023, but has continued to impress in the Bundesliga – with Fulham and Brentford now reportedly keen. The German side are likely to command a significant fee for the 29-year-old, and Celts are set to benefit thanks to a sell-on clause inserted in the original deal - similar to the one that saw them rake in a cut of Jeremie Frimpong's £35m move to Liverpool earlier this summer. Elsewhere, Stephen Welsh is back in full training after fears he could require surgery on a recurring shoulder injury picked up in July's 2-1 Cork Super Cup win. The injury-hit defender is expected to move on this summer, but could feature in Celtic's final pre-season clash against Al Ahli in the Como Cup. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp, where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
