Latest news with #Spaniards
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lando Norris fastest in first practice at Spanish Grand Prix
Lando Norris was fastest in first practice for the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona. The McLaren man, fresh from winning in Monaco last weekend, set a time of a 1:13.718, nearly three tenths clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was third, with his teammate Charles Leclerc fourth and McLaren's Oscar Piastri in fifth. Both Mercedes of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were outside the top ten whilst the two Spaniards, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, also could not crack the top ten on home soil. Advertisement Second practice begins at 4pm BST. 01:54 PM BST Second practice The drivers will be back out on track at 4pm BST so we will return later to take you through all the action from second practice. 01:49 PM BST RB team principal Laurent Mekies speaking to Sky Sports 'For us, so far, it has been pretty neutral. But the devil is in the detail, so we need to have a careful detail. 'These cars are very easy to break, in terms of the way they perform, so we need to be very, very careful.' The RBs were sixth and eighth respectively in first practice - Joan Monfort/AP 01:45 PM BST Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports 'The big question is, has that Monaco win given Lando [Norris] that necessary boost of confidence that he has found his mojo again, and he is back to his best. 'It looked like it out there just now. He was absolutely confident and flying.' Lando Norris quickest by nearly four tenths in first practice -01:41 PM BST Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams taking in all the action Footballers in the house in Catalunya, not just Monaco last weekend - Albert Gea/Reuters 01:38 PM BST How the leaderboard looks from FP1 Lando Norris 1:13.718 Max Verstappen +0.367 Lewis Hamilton +0.378 Charles Leclerc +0.520 Oscar Piastri +0.576 Liam Lawson +0.621 Oliver Bearman +0.879 Isack Hadjar +0.887 Yuki Tsunoda +0.925 Pierre Gasly +1.028 George Russell +1.033 Lance Stroll +1.068 Fernando Alonso +1.080 Nico Hulkenberg +1.147 Carlos Sainz +1.217 Gabriel Bortoleto +1.437 Ryo Hirakawa +1.580 Kimi Antonelli +1.651 Victor Martins +1.804 Franco Colapinto +1.812 01:31 PM BST FP1 finished That is it for first practice and it is the McLaren of Lando Norris who is quickest in the session, ahead of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. 01:26 PM BST End of their sessions? There are five minutes remaining in FP1 but it appears Alonso's session is done. He reported over team radio that there was a problem as he came back into the pits and is out of the car. Advertisement It appears the session is also over for the Alpine of Colapinto, who is out of his car, which is on the stands with plenty of work going on. 01:23 PM BST Problems at Aston Martin? 01:20 PM BST Long runs Norris is on the soft tyre and McLaren will be getting some data on how the soft is performing over a longer run. The McLaren is so good on its tyres, which is a big part of why their race pace is very good. 01:15 PM BST Top ten with 15 minutes to go Norris 1:13.718 Verstappen +0.367 Hamilton +0.378 Leclerc +0.520 Piastri +0.576 Lawson +0.621 Bearman +0.879 Hadjar +0.887 Tsunoda +0.925 Gasly +1.028 01:04 PM BST Changes at the top Leclerc had gone half a second faster than Russell but he is then pipped at the top by Verstappen. Norris is on a lap, as is Hamilton. Advertisement The seven-time world champion is just off the time of Verstappen before Norris goes purple, purple, purple to go nearly four tenths quicker than Verstappen. Piastri can only go fifth, more than half a second down on his teammate Norris. Lando Norris is currently quickest - Bradley Collyer/PA 01:00 PM BST New man at the top of the timesheets Mercedes' George Russell is on the medium tyre and goes just over half a second clear of Norris. The Sauber of Hulkenberg then jumps up into second, just over a tenth off Russell, but he is on the soft tyre. Hamilton is now back out on track and has a new set of softs on the car. His Ferrari teammate Leclerc is also on a new set of softs. 12:59 PM BST Meanwhile at Alpine It has been a tumultuous few months for the team, with now former team principal Oliver Oakes departing and they have already had a change of drivers with Colapinto replacing Jack Doohan. Flavio Briatore is back at the team and seemingly at the helm and he will face the media in between sessions. 12:55 PM BST Activity at Ferrari The mechanics are hard at work on Hamilton's Ferrari. 12:54 PM BST Not much change? Verstappen, who sits third on the timesheets at the moment, has also been having his say ahead of the weekend on the front wings: 'It will change the balance of the car a bit. I do not expect massive time gains or losses between the teams. The wings never gave us a massive performance gain. I do not know if we got it wrong or did not extract the most from it. 'Even for the other teams, I am sure it is manageable. If you have a good car, you have a good car. Okay the front wing bends a bit less but you can tune it around.' Max Verstappen is currently third in the drivers' standings -12:47 PM BST View from the seven-time world champion Hamilton has nearly collided with the RB of Hadjar at turn 12. He is currently eighth fastest and here is what he has had to say on the testing of the flexible front wings ahead of the weekend: 'The flexi-wing was a band-aid for quality design I would say - getting the set-up and creating devices and mechanisms on the car mechanically, all the engineers are able to do it. 'It is still not that easy to get the load that you need on the front end at a low speed, or just rely solely on mechanical grip. So far everyone has been managing, some people better than others. 'This weekend is going to be interesting because we have got less flex at the front wing. You have a lot of front end at high-speed corners and less at low speed. It will be interesting to see how that affects different teams. Some teams probably did a better job than others, so I have no idea how it will affect us.' What does Lewis think of the front wing testing? - Bradley Collyer/PA 12:43 PM BST That did not last long! Norris goes purple in the first two sectors and goes quickest overall, over two tenths clear of Alonso. Here is the current top five: Advertisement Norris 1:15.259 Alonso +0.221 Verstappen +0.546 Piastri +0.553 Stroll +0.663 12:41 PM BST Home fans celebrating Still early days in FP1 but Alonso is at the top of the timesheets, much to the delight of the home faithful. I suspect there will not be many times at all this weekend that Alonso or Sainz will be fastest. He is a tenth and a half clear of Norris. Verstappen is in third followed by Piastri and Leclerc. 12:38 PM BST Into the gravel Hirakawa is in for Ocon at Haas for this session but he has had a trip off the track and into the gravel on the exit of turn 10 having taken too much speed into the corner and went far too deep. At Williams Sainz is still waiting for his mechanics to finish working on the front of his car. Advertisement Most of the cars are on the hard tyre except for Aston Martin's Stroll and Colapinto in the Williams, who are both on the mediums. 12:32 PM BST Delay for Sainz The Spaniard, on home soil, will not be heading out any time soon as his Williams mechanics are doing some work to the front of his car. Plenty of aero rakes on the cars in the early stages of FP1. 12:30 PM BST Ready for action The green light is showing at the end of the pit lane and we are under way in FP1. At Alpine Victor Martins is in for Alex Albon and down at Haas Ryo Hirakawa is in for Esteban Ocon. It is hot to say the least in Catalunya, with a 0% chance of rain and a track temperature nearing 50 degrees. 12:28 PM BST Home favourites Williams' Carlos Sainz -Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso - Siu Wu/Shutterstock 12:25 PM BST Sky Sport's Nico Rosberg on his former teammate Lewis Hamilton 'It is a little bit of a continuation of his form from last year, where there was already a bit of a dip there. George [Russell] had the upper hand and was beating him at Mercedes. 'Now it has kind of continued a little bit. He is just a little bit lacking here and there, especially in ultimate pace in qualifying. We know Charles [Leclerc] is an incredible qualifier, so Lewis has to find a little bit more there. 'Even he is the greatest of all time, at some point, you are going to get a little bit slower – that is age related. And when you are 40, it is going to happen sooner rather than later. So the question is whether that age has come where you start to get a little bit slower. 'Even a tenth makes a huge difference in this sport, especially when you are up against some of the greatest from the new generation, such as Charles, who is considered one of the absolute best qualifiers out there.' 12:22 PM BST Verstappen and Hamilton dominant in Spain 12:19 PM BST Pictures from the pit lane A look at the McLaren front wing - Bradley Collyer/PA A look at the Ferrari front wing - Bradley Collyer/PA 12:16 PM BST Flexi-wings! All the debate going into this weekend surrounds the testing flexible front wings. Here is a sample of what some of the team principals have been saying: 12:14 PM BST Results so far this season Australia: 1. Lando Norris 2. Max Verstappen 3. George Russell Advertisement China: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Lando Norris 3. George Russell Japan: 1. Max Verstappen 2. Lando Norris 3. Oscar Piastri Bahrain: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. George Russell 3. Lando Norris Saudi Arabia: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Max Verstappen 3. Charles Leclerc Miami: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Lando Norris 3. George Russell Imola: 1. Max Verstappen 2. Lando Norris 3. Oscar Piastri Monaco: 1. Lando Norris 2. Charles Leclerc 3. Oscar Piastri 12:09 PM BST Schedule for the weekend Today: First practice- 12.30pm Second practice- 4pm Tomorrow: Third practice- 11.30am Qualifying- 3pm Sunday: Race- 2pm 11:48 AM BST Preview: No magic bullet Formula One heads to Spain for round nine of the 2025 World Championship. This track on the outskirts of Barcelona is very familiar to the teams as it hosted pre-season testing for many-a-year but this will be the final time this circuit hosts the Spanish Grand Prix before it heads to Madrid next year. Advertisement Lando Norris claimed his maiden victory around the streets of Monaco last weekend to close the gap on his McLaren teammate Ocasr Piastri in the drivers' standings. It was Norris' first race win since the opening round in Australia. Norris has said that his approach will not change, no matter where he sits in the championship. 'It is a great feeling to be in the lead of the championship and have more points than everyone,' Norris said. 'But it is not something I look at, it is not something that changes anything I do day to day or how hard I work, or what I try to achieve. I just try to win this weekend and I will try to win in Montreal and Austria. It has got nothing to do with what position I am.' Piastri leads the way in the drivers' standings on 161 points, just three points ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Red Bull's Max Verstappen is a further 22 points back and Norris believes it would be silly to count out the four-time world champion. 'Mathematically the whole grid can win the championship at the minute. If you think it is just out of me and Oscar, then I think you are a bit silly. There are plenty of opportunities. Max can still win. Ferrari, I expect to get better through the season. Advertisement 'I mean, come on, we are racing Max every weekend. He has been on the podium several times, he has won races, he beat us in Imola fair and square because he was quicker. I do not know what possibly makes you think it is only between me and Oscar.' There is a lot of attention this weekend on the flexi-wing tests. Stiffer tests on the flexibility of all front wings are being introduced this weekend, which will look at whether teams are deliberately exploiting wing flex to enhance aerodynamics. There have already been tests on the rear wings from the Chinese Grand Prix but this is the first weekend where the FIA will be investigating the front wings. Due to it taking longer to design and build new front wings, that is why the tests on them have not come in until now. McLaren currently sit atop the constructors' standings on 319 points, well clear of Mercedes. There are 172 points between the top two in those standings. Championship leader Piastri believes the new regulations are overhyped. 'I think the biggest problem is going to be how overhyped it is, probably,' said Piastri. 'We know what is different. I think everyone will have to change, at least to an extent. I have not run the front wing but Lando has already run the front wing before, this year. We are confident that is not our magic bullet, we do not have a magic bullet, but that is not our main strength.' Advertisement First practice begins at 12.30pm BST. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Spectator
a day ago
- Business
- Spectator
Has Serbia really fallen foul of Moscow?
Is it getting harder for Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić to maintain his balancing act between Moscow and the West? Why else, after all, would Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) suddenly revive a year-old story about covert arms supplies to Ukraine? Back in June of last year, the Financial Times splashed the story that Serbia had exported around €800 million (£673 million) worth of ammunition to third parties that then ended up being transferred to Ukraine. At the time, Vučić did not try to deny this, but said that it had nothing to do with Serbia. 'We have had many contracts with Americans, Spaniards, Czechs, others,' he said. 'What they do with that in the end is their job.' This is nonsense. Ammunition, like weapons, is covered by the international system of end-use certificates, which control their re-export. It is, of course, possible for unscrupulous facilitators to find some loopholes in the system, but €800 million worth? Hardly.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Richard Hughes just sealed an ALL-TIME great Liverpool deal
Liverpool and Richard Hughes just sealed one of the most impressive deals in their history. Truly incredible stuff from the club. Liverpool rejected the advances of Real Madrid ahead of the January transfer window when Los Blancos wanted to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold. Advertisement It was reported that the Spanish capital club were willing to pay up to £20 million to add the 26-year-old with concerns growing over Lucas Vazquez and Federico Valverde at right-back. Richard Hughes held firm however - opting to keep Alexander-Arnold around in order to secure the Premier League title. That decision was vindicated with Liverpool carrying off their 20th top-flight success but left the club in a predicament. With Alexander-Arnold's contract expiring in summer 2025 - and no agreement over a renewal - they risked losing their homegrown hero for free. Trent Alexander-Arnold joins Real Madrid Under different conditions, it's not hard to imagine Alexander-Arnold being the most expensive right-back in history but these aren't normal times. Advertisement Losing him for free felt like a slap in the face for some supporters but now FIFA have thrown the Reds an unexpected bonus. Real Madrid are one of the participating teams in the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. Competing teams will benefit from an extra transfer window - opening on June 1 - in order to add to their squads before the games in the United States. Such is Madrid's desperation to land Alexander-Arnold in time for the tournament, they will PAY Liverpool a transfer fee in order to release Trent during the upcoming window. Rather than wait until after June 30 - when they can have him for free - the Spaniards are hellbent on having him on board. Advertisement And Richard Hughes looks like he is playing his one perfectly. According to the Athletic, Liverpool have received €10 MILLION (£8.4m) for Alexander-Arnold by selling him to Madrid for the Club World Cup. The fact the Reds will not pay the remaining salary on his contract pushes that up to around £10m. Given that the Scouser has been reported to earn £180k per week at Liverpool, that kind of transfer fee would mean the club have effectively had a free season of the England international - who earns just under £10m a year on those reported figures. That £10m also comes in very handy in going towards a replacement for Alexander-Arnold. Advertisement It would reduce the initial outlay for Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen very significantly. The Dutchman's release clause is reported to be £35m. In ideal circumstances Liverpool wouldn't have lost Alexander-Arnold at all. But his mind was made up to leave - maybe as long ago as 2021 when he renewed his current deal.
South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Thursday's briefing: Glory for Chelsea and England prepare for Portugal game
Abde Ezzalzouli gave Betis an early advantage and the Spaniards still led at half-time, but Cole Palmer inspired Chelsea's comeback, setting up goals for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson as the Londoners turned the game around in the space of five minutes. Substitute Jadon Sancho then scored a fine third before Moises Caicedo sealed it as Chelsea became the first club to have won the Champions League, Europa League and the Conference League. Three days after sealing a Champions League place for next season with a final-day victory at Nottingham Forest, Chelsea were celebrating again after a superb second-half fightback. Four goals in the final 25 minutes left Betis players and supporters stunned and made this a season to remember for Chelsea and Enzo Maresca in his first campaign at the helm. 'We have improved a lot since we started, and we have started to win games in an ugly way, and with a young squad you can struggle to do that,' Maresca said. 'It can be a starting point. To build a winning mentality, you need to win games, to win competitions. The trophy we have won tonight is going to make us better.' The end of the season did not bring an end to Manchester United's struggles as their post-season tour of Asia opened with a meek 1-0 defeat to the ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur. United were booed off by some of the 72,000-plus crowd at the Bukit Jalil Stadium after Maung Maung Lwin's second-half effort proved the difference in Wednesday's Maybank Challenge Cup, leaving Ruben Amorim to say that might be something his players needed to hear. 'I feel always guilty,' the United head coach said. 'I said that in the last game. I am always guilty of the performance of the team no matter and since I am here in the first day, I am guilty. 'Then the boos from the fans, I think it's something that we need maybe because every game that we lost in the Premier League they were always there (cheering us). So, it's like the way of playing. If they see that it's not working, they will change the way they behave.' Tottenham defender Ella Morris must wait for her England chance after being forced to withdraw from Sarina Wiegman's squad having sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in training. Right-back Norris, who has suffered ACL damage before, had been called into the squad for the first time ahead of Friday's Nations League game against Portugal but now faces surgery on the injury, with Manchester City's Laura Blindkilde Brown called up in her place. Writing on Instagram, Morris said: 'Devastated doesn't even come close. So grateful for the incredible people around me. ACL round 2 – let's go.' Craig Bellamy called 18-year-old Ronan Kpakio into his Wales squad before revealing he tried to sign the Cardiff full-back for Burnley last year. Kpakio was the surprise name in Bellamy's 27-strong squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium, having only made his first league start for Cardiff on the final day of the season at Norwich. 'I've known Ronan since he was very, very young and I've kept an eye on him,' said former Burnley assistant Bellamy. 'Even last year, I tried to buy him for Burnley, so I'm fully aware of him.' A Wembley return on the horizon! 👊#Lionesses | @NuffieldHealth — Lionesses (@Lionesses) May 28, 2025 England boss Wiegman will address the media ahead of Friday's game with Portugal at Wembley. After Chelsea's win in the Conference League, attention starts to turn to Saturday's Champions League final and the build-up to the clash between Paris St Germain and Inter Milan. Martin Zubimendi could be the next big name on the move with the Real Sociedad midfielder inching closer to Arsenal.
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Thursday's briefing: Glory for Chelsea and England prepare for Portugal game
Abde Ezzalzouli gave Betis an early advantage and the Spaniards still led at half-time, but Cole Palmer inspired Chelsea's comeback, setting up goals for Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson as the Londoners turned the game around in the space of five minutes. Substitute Jadon Sancho then scored a fine third before Moises Caicedo sealed it as Chelsea became the first club to have won the Champions League, Europa League and the Conference League. Chelsea savour success Cole Palmer inspired Chelsea's turnaround against Real Betis (Rafal Oleksiewicz/PA) Three days after sealing a Champions League place for next season with a final-day victory at Nottingham Forest, Chelsea were celebrating again after a superb second-half fightback. Four goals in the final 25 minutes left Betis players and supporters stunned and made this a season to remember for Chelsea and Enzo Maresca in his first campaign at the helm. 'We have improved a lot since we started, and we have started to win games in an ugly way, and with a young squad you can struggle to do that,' Maresca said. 'It can be a starting point. To build a winning mentality, you need to win games, to win competitions. The trophy we have won tonight is going to make us better.' United booed after friendly defeat Manchester United suffered a 1-0 friendly defeat to the ASEAN All-Stars in Malaysia (Vincent Thian/AP) The end of the season did not bring an end to Manchester United's struggles as their post-season tour of Asia opened with a meek 1-0 defeat to the ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur. United were booed off by some of the 72,000-plus crowd at the Bukit Jalil Stadium after Maung Maung Lwin's second-half effort proved the difference in Wednesday's Maybank Challenge Cup, leaving Ruben Amorim to say that might be something his players needed to hear. 'I feel always guilty,' the United head coach said. 'I said that in the last game. I am always guilty of the performance of the team no matter and since I am here in the first day, I am guilty. 'Then the boos from the fans, I think it's something that we need maybe because every game that we lost in the Premier League they were always there (cheering us). So, it's like the way of playing. If they see that it's not working, they will change the way they behave.' Morris out of England squad Ella Morris has been forced to withdraw from the England squad after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage in training (Jacob King/PA) Tottenham defender Ella Morris must wait for her England chance after being forced to withdraw from Sarina Wiegman's squad having sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in training. Right-back Norris, who has suffered ACL damage before, had been called into the squad for the first time ahead of Friday's Nations League game against Portugal but now faces surgery on the injury, with Manchester City's Laura Blindkilde Brown called up in her place. Writing on Instagram, Morris said: 'Devastated doesn't even come close. So grateful for the incredible people around me. ACL round 2 – let's go.' Kpakio to get Wales chance Cardiff's teenage defender Ronan Kpakio has been called into the Wales squad (Nick Potts/PA) Craig Bellamy called 18-year-old Ronan Kpakio into his Wales squad before revealing he tried to sign the Cardiff full-back for Burnley last year. Kpakio was the surprise name in Bellamy's 27-strong squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium, having only made his first league start for Cardiff on the final day of the season at Norwich. 'I've known Ronan since he was very, very young and I've kept an eye on him,' said former Burnley assistant Bellamy. 'Even last year, I tried to buy him for Burnley, so I'm fully aware of him.' What's on today England boss Wiegman will address the media ahead of Friday's game with Portugal at Wembley. After Chelsea's win in the Conference League, attention starts to turn to Saturday's Champions League final and the build-up to the clash between Paris St Germain and Inter Milan. Martin Zubimendi could be the next big name on the move with the Real Sociedad midfielder inching closer to Arsenal.
