SAKHIR, Bahrain: Formula One champion Max Verstappen is in the right place to win his first Bahrain Grand Prix by starting from the pole in Sunday’s season-opening race.
The desert track has been barren for Verstappen, who failed to finish three of his first four races there. The two-time reigning champion seemed cursed in Sakhir last year when his Red Bull failed just laps from the end with a steering problem.
Ferrari clinched a 1-2 finish with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. and appeared to be Verstappen’s top challengers for last year’s title. But after opening 2022 with two DNFs in three races, Verstappen recovered to win an F1 record 15 races in a dominating year.
“Hopefully no crazy things will happen,” Verstappen said of Sunday. He will be joined on the front row by Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
Perez beat Leclerc to qualify second, .138 seconds behind Verstappen under the floodlights.
“Very happy to be on pole,” Verstappen said after securing his 21st career pole. “We’ve shown really good race pace but we need to show that (on Sunday).”
Leclerc was third and starts on the second row alongside teammate Sainz.
“We were in the fight (for pole), which I probably did not expect. That’s a good surprise,” Leclerc said. “Realistically, they (Red Bull) seem to be very, very quick. We have taken a step forward but I don’t think it’s enough.”
Leclerc posted only one time in the final qualifying group nd didn’t take a last shot at pole in order to save tires for Sunday.
“We need to keep in our mind that in the race run, we seem to be a little bit on the backfoot compared to Red Bull,” he said. “I think we are in a better place starting third with new tires than starting first with old or a bit further up.”
Fernando Alonso showed good speed for Aston Martin as the 41-year-old Spaniard qualified fifth, followed by Mercedes drivers George Russell and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.
Alonso was not expecting to be challenging for his 99th career podium in his first race for Aston Martin.
“Going for a podium in race one, it feels too good to be true,” Alonso said. “If we have an opportunity for sure, we will take it.”
It shows how far performance has fallen at once-dominant Mercedes — which won eight straight constructors’ titles — that both drivers trailed Alonso yet still felt their performances exceeded expectations.
“I thought today may be worse than it ended up being,” Hamilton said. “We did some great work overnight.”
Russell believes a realistic target is third place on Sunday but that Alonso might get in the way.
“Qualifying three tenths behind Ferrari when they have probably been the fastest car on single lap pace is positive,” Russell said. “Fernando is probably more of a dark horse than Ferrari.”
Alonso’s teammate, Lance Stroll, was eighth.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and new Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10.
Alonso led Friday’s second practice ahead of the two Red Bulls, raising hopes he could challenge for pole. And then Stroll surprised many observers by returning so quickly behind the wheel, after missing preseason testing because of an injury in a bicycle accident. He needed minor surgery on his right wrist.
F1 newcomer Logan Sargeant, the first American driver on the grid since 2015, was 16th for Williams. He surged up from last on his last lap and narrowly missed out on advancing into the second round, with McLaren’s Lando Norris just edging him out.
Veteran Kevin Magnussen was 17th for Haas; new McLaren driver Oscar Piastri was 18th, then AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries. Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who has won an F1 race, was last on his Alpine debut.
In the third and final practice, Hamilton was fourth ahead of Leclerc and Russell.
Hamilton sounded frustrated with his team when they didn’t get back out in time at the end for practice starts.
“Come on guys. This is twice now,” said Hamilton, whose car was pushed back into the garage.
Hamilton didn’t win a race last year for the first time in his 16-year career. Russell got the team’s only victory in the penultimate race in Brazil.
Team principal Toto Wolff thinks there will be wins, and hopefully they won’t take so long.
“I’m sure we can win races this season,” he said after qualifying. “But it’s really the mid and long term that we need to look at, and which decisions we need to take.”
Max Verstappen on pole as he bids to end barren run in Bahrain
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Max Verstappen on pole as he bids to end barren run in Bahrain
- The two-time reigning champion seemed cursed in Sakhir last year when his Red Bull failed just laps from the end
Tennis-Coach Murray and Djokovic part ways ahead of French Open
Djokovic appointed fellow former world number one Murray ahead of this year’s Australian Open and the Serb said at the Qatar Open in February that he would continue working with Murray for an indefinite period.
However, the partnership will now end as Djokovic looks to arrest a dip in form during the clay season by competing in the Geneva Open next week, ahead of his quest for a fourth French Open title when Roland Garros gets underway on May 25.
“Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,” Murray said in a statement.
“I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”
Djokovic, who won 25 of his 36 matches against Murray, said he was grateful for his former rival’s hard work and support in their short spell together.
“I really enjoyed deepening our friendship together,” Djokovic added.
Cummins and Green set to return for Australia in cricket's World Test Championship final
Pace bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood and allrounder Cameron Green have been recalled from injury and young batter Sam Konstas has been retained in Australia’s squad for the World Test Championship final against South Africa next month.
Australia is the defending WTC champion and finished the league stage with an away win over Sri Lanka after a home series victory against India.
“Those series capped a consistent performance across the two-year cycle and now presents us with the incredibly exciting opportunity to defend the World Test Championship,” Australia’s chief selector George Bailey said in a statement Tuesday. “It means a lot to the group to reach the final and they are very much looking forward to the challenge South Africa will present at Lord’s.”
The same squad will head to the Caribbean for a three-test series against the West Indies following the June 11-15 WTC final.
Green hasn't played international cricket since September because of back surgery, but the 25-year-old allrounder is making a graduated return and currently batting at county level in England.
Skipper Cummins missed the two-test series in Sri Lanka with an injured ankle and Hazlewood hasn't played a test since developing a side strain in November, early in the series against India.
Both veteran pacemen have been playing in the Indian Premier League, which was suspended last week because of the border tension between India and Pakistan but is set to resume this weekend.
“We are fortunate and looking forward to having Pat, Josh and Cam back in the squad,” Bailey said.
Opening batter Konstas made an impressive debut against India with a half-century in the Boxing Day test in Melbourne but was dropped ahead of the subsequent tour to Sri Lanka.
Knicks take a 3-1 lead over the Celtics with a 121-113 victory as Tatum is injured in final minutes
NEW YORK: Jalen Brunson had 39 points and 12 assists, and the New York Knicks moved a win away from their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years and pushed the defending champion Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination with a 121-113 victory Monday night in Game 4.
The Celtics will have to make the NBA’s 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit to extend their title reign and may have to do it without All-Star Jayson Tatum, who was carried off the court with a right leg injury with 2:58 left.
Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each added 23 points and OG Anunoby bounced back from two poor performances by scoring 20 for the Knicks, who can win the series Wednesday night at Boston. If not, they would come back to Madison Square Garden to try to do it Friday night.
Tatum scored 42 points, his high in these playoffs, before he was hurt when the Celtics turned the ball over and his leg gave out as he tried to lunge forward toward the loose ball.
The Knicks had taken control just before that in front of a delirious crowd of fans who haven’t seen them play in the conference finals since they lost to Indiana in 2000.
Nobody has come from 3-1 down since Denver did it twice in 2020 at the Walt Disney World resort. It hasn’t happened when a team had to win a true road game since Cleveland rallied past Golden State in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Al-Hilal keep slim Saudi Pro League title hopes alive with comfortable win
- 4-0 home victory over relegation battlers Al-Orobah leaves the reigning champions 6 points adrift of leaders Al-Ittihad, with just 3 games remaining
Al-Hilal defeated Al-Orobah 4-0 on Monday to keep their slim Saudi Pro League title hopes alive. The reigning champions are six points behind leaders Al-Ittihad with just three games remaining.
After the Jeddah giants enjoyed a comfortable win on Sunday, defeating Al-Fayha 3-0 at home, the pressure was on their Riyadh rivals, also playing at home. Interim coach Mohammed Al-Shalhoub, who took over this month after the departure of Jorge Jesus, knew that only a win would do against the relegation battlers.
As expected, the Blues attacked from the start but the visitors defended deeply and in numbers. Hamad Al-Yami almost put the home side ahead at the midway point of the first half. After making a run on the right side, he was picked out by a fine floated pass from Ruben Neves but the full-back, stretching at close range, could not get enough power on his shot.
The home fans, who failed to turn up in large numbers, did not have to wait for much longer before the deadlock was broken, however. Salem Al-Dawsari has been in fine goal-scoring form of late, but just before the half-hour mark he turned provider with a perfect cross from the left side of the penalty area for Aleksandar Mitrovic, unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box, to steer home. Just before half-time, the goalscorer went down in the box under a challenge but the referee waved play on.
The attacks continued after the restart and the task Al-Orobah faced became more difficult within two minutes when Ibrahim Al-Zubaidi was shown a straight red for a reckless challenge on Malcom.
On the hour, Mohammed Kanno’s fierce effort from outside the area stung the palms of Gaetan Coucke and, despite the lead and the extra-man advantage, there was always a chance that the visitors might grab a goal that could all but hand the trophy to Al-Ittihad.
However, Al-Hilal effectively sealed the win in the 65th minute, thanks to that man Al-Dawsari, who scored a typically classy goal. Cutting in from the left, he exchanged swift passes with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as he moved into the area and then lifted a perfect chip over the advancing goalkeeper.
Two late goals added to the ultimately emphatic nature of the victory: Kaio Cesar scored from the spot in the 90th minute and then grabbed another two minutes later.
The title still seems likely to be heading to Jeddah but Al-Hilal are at least showing they will not be just handing it over without a fight.
IPL to resume on May 17 after India-Pakistan ceasefire
- The Pakistan Super League has yet to announce a date for resumption
- Pakistan initially decided to move the last eight PSL games to the UAE
The Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, suspended for a week amid fighting between India and Pakistan, will resume on May 17 following the announcement of a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbors, organizers said on Monday.
The IPL governing council took the decision to suspend the tournament last Friday after consulting franchises and players as India and Pakistan extended their worst fighting in nearly three decades.
The IPL still has 12 group matches left, which will be played in the cities of Bengaluru, Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
“After extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders, the Board has decided to proceed with the remainder of the season,” India’s cricket board, BCCI, said in a statement.
“A total of 17 matches will be played across 6 venues, starting May 17, 2025, and culminating in the final on June 3, 2025. The revised schedule includes two double-headers, which will be played on two Sundays.
“Venue details for the playoff matches will be announced at a later stage.”
An IPL match in Dharamsala on May 8 was abandoned midway through, with organizers citing a power outage, while another game at the same north Indian city was shifted to Ahmedabad because of the border tensions before being postponed.
A number of non-Indian players left the country after the league’s suspension.
The Pakistan Super League has yet to announce a date for its resumption.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) initially decided to move the last eight PSL games to the United Arab Emirates, but last week said it had postponed the matches on the advice of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
India and Pakistan have clashed since India struck multiple locations in Pakistan that it said were “terrorist camps” in retaliation for the deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month, in which it said Islamabad was involved.
Pakistan denied the accusation but both countries exchanged cross-border firing and shelling, sent drones and missiles into each other’s airspace and left dozens of people dead.
A fragile ceasefire was holding between the neighbors after the agreement was reached on Saturday, following diplomacy and pressure from the United States.
