MONACO: Formula One champion Max Verstappen’s lights-to-flag victory at the Monaco Grand gave the Red Bull driver his fourth victory of the season and a record 39th overall for the team as he extended his championship lead to 39 points over teammate Sergio Perez on Sunday.
Verstappen’s wins have all been with Red Bull since his first on debut for the team at the Spanish GP in 2016 when he became the youngest F1 winner at 18 years old.
Seven years and two world championships later, the Dutchman set a team record for wins as he passed former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel’s previous tally of 38 victories when he won four straight titles from 2010-13.
“It’s great, I never thought I’d be in this position in my career,” Verstappen said. “It’s better than I could have imagined for sure.”
Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso was a season’s best second for Aston Martin as he collected a fifth podium in six races, albeit 28 seconds behind Verstappen, while Frenchman Esteban Ocon secured third place and a rare podium for Alpine.
Red Bull has won all the races so far.
“It’s super nice to win it in the way we did today with the weather and everything to stay calm and bring it home,” Verstappen said.
For most of the race, he coasted on a dry and narrow track where overtaking is the hardest in F1.
But an incident-free race in Monaco is rare and heavy rain played havoc with about 20 of the 78 laps left. Some drivers had pitted for the wrong medium tires shortly before the downpour and slid around.
“It was incredibly slippery,” Verstappen said.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. glided sideways into the barriers and was lucky not to damage his Ferrari. Kevin Magnussen lost control of his Haas and Lance Stroll retired after damaging his Aston Martin.
Red Bull had wisely put Verstappen on the versatile and more suited to the wet conditions intermediates on Lap 56 and they carried him to his second win in Monaco. The first was in 2021.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Mercedes and picked up a point for fastest lap. His teammate George Russell was fifth, having earlier almost slammed into Perez as visibility worsened. A serious crash was somehow avoided in a hectic few minutes before the rain eased off.
“Braking was extremely fragile,” Alonso said. “I think everyone did an amazing job today to keep the cars on track.”
Alonso is third in the standings and closed the gap on Perez to 12 points. The 41-year-old Alonso’s podium was his 103rd in F1, while Ocon grabbed his third.
“I’m speechless at the moment,” Ocon said. “A little bit on my cloud at the moment.”
Russell was given a five-second penalty for rejoining the track in an unsafe manner but had just enough to keep fifth place ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Pierre Gasly (Alpine), a seething Sainz, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (both McLaren) rounded out the top 10.
On Saturday, Verstappen just edged out Alonso to deny him his first pole for 11 years.
Perez, who won the race last year, started from last after a clumsy crash in qualifying and finished 16th.
The sinewy 3.4-kilometer (2.1-mile) street circuit gives the pole sitter a massive advantage if he makes a clean getaway, which is what Verstappen did as Alonso’s gamble to start on hard tires didn’t work.
“Max drove super well on the medium tires on that first stint,” Alonso said. “We (went) for all or nothing. We started on the hard tire and didn’t have the pace.”
After 26 of the 78 laps Verstappen was 12 seconds clear of Alonso, who even persuaded himself he had a puncture. Twice his team assured him it wasn’t the case.
Eventually Verstappen started losing time and wanted to pit for new tires but his team told him he’d fall behind Alonso if he did that.
At the same time Perez stuck among the back markers was getting tense, almost clipping Stroll and then bumping into the back of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
Sainz, meanwhile, was furious that Ferrari — a team with a worrying reputation for still making bad strategy calls — pitted him too early and put on the wrong tire to cover Ocon’s stop and let his team know with an outburst over team radio.
The Spaniard had already endured a difficult day after his front wing clipped Ocon’s Alpine as he tried to overtake. A portion of the wing came off subsequently but Sainz got away with just a warning for the incident.
The sky then darkened and rain started to fall heavily soon after drivers had completed 50 laps.
“I have to drive super slow because my tires are (expletive),” Verstappen lamented on Lap 54, while Alonso pitted a lap later for mediums.
Early on, Sainz’s front wing clipped Ocon’s Alpine as he tried to overtake coming out of the tunnel. A small piece of debris came off but the wing stayed on the car, and Sainz got away with a warning.
Max Verstappen wins Monaco Grand Prix to extend F1 championship lead
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Max Verstappen wins Monaco Grand Prix to extend F1 championship lead
- Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso was a season’s best second for Aston Martin
- Heavy rain played havoc with about 20 of the 78 laps left
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet shatters women’s 5,000m world record
- Chebet, 25, had already broken the 10,000m world record at Hayward Field in May of 2024
EUGENE, United States: Kenya’s double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet crushed the women’s 5,000m world record on Saturday, powering to victory in 13min 58.06sec at the Diamond League athletics meeting in Eugene Oregon.
Chebet, Olympic gold medallist at 5,000 and 10,000m in Paris last year, delivered a devastating finish to become the first woman to break the 14-minute barrier in the event, beating the previous world record of 14:00.21 set by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay on the same Hayward Field track in September 2023.
Chebet, 25, had already broken the 10,000m world record at Hayward Field in May of 2024, when she became the first woman to run under 29 minutes (28:54.14).
Compatriot Agnes Jebet Ngetich was second in 14:01.29 — the third-fastest time ever — and Tsegay was third in 14:04.41.
Chebet was under world-record pace for much of the way. She, Tsegay and Ngetich had broken away from the rest of the field when the pace faded slightly a few laps from the finish.
But Chebet mustered a final flourish — delivering an incredible last lap to pull away mercilessly for the triumph and the world record.
“I’m so happy,” Chebet said, adding that she had been inspired by her own strong performance in Rome last month and compatriot Faith Kipyegon’s unsuccessful bid to become the first woman to break four minutes for the mile.
“After running in Rome, I said I have to prepare for a record because in Rome I was just running to win a race, but after running 14:03, I said that I’m capable of running a world record.
“When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record, and I said I have to try. I said ‘If Faith is trying, why not me?’
“And today, I’m so happy because I’ve achieved being the first woman to run under 14. I’m so happy for myself.”
Djokovic thumps Kecmanovic for Wimbledon ton and spot in last 16
“I’m very grateful, obviously, privileged to be in the position that I am,” Djokovic said
LONDON: Seven-times Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic roared his way to a rare century at the grasscourt Grand Slam on Saturday when he outclassed Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-0 6-4 and reached the fourth round in his quest for a record 25th major.
The sixth seed’s stellar display ensured that he became only the third player to claim 100 match wins on the All England Club lawns after nine-times champion Martina Navratilova and eight-times winner Roger Federer.
“It’s very historic. It sounds very nice. I’m very grateful, obviously, privileged to be in the position that I am,” the 38-year-old Djokovic said.
“I’ve said it many times. Tennis made me who I am, has given me incredible things in life that I can experience. I try not to take anything for granted, particularly at this age, still going strong, still trying to compete with the young players.
“Wimbledon is a favorite and a dream tournament for not just myself, but probably the majority of players. Growing up, most of the kids dream of playing here and winning here.
“I’ve been blessed to do it multiple times. Any history that I make in my favorite tournament, I’m blessed.”
Djokovic started and finished the opening set with aces and grabbed the decisive break during the see-sawing eighth game. At one point he had the Center Court crowd standing in ovation when he produced a spectacular diving winner at the net.
His 49th-ranked Davis Cup teammate cracked on serve in the opening game of the second set and allowed Djokovic to quickly reel off the games and double his advantage in what suddenly became a lopsided contest.
Kecmanovic raised his fist to applause when he stemmed the flow at the start of the third set but a double fault gifted his opponent the break in the third game and Djokovic overcame a slight wobble at the end to prevail.
“I have enjoyed myself very much except maybe the last couple of games,” added Djokovic, who will take on Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur for a place in the quarter-finals.
“A bit of tension in the end, I was 5-1 up and 15-30 and then 5-4, 15-30. Things got a bit complicated... It’s never easy playing a friend and compatriot. Miomir is a super nice guy, someone that I have known for many years.
“We’ve faced each other on different surfaces, different courts. But more than rivals and competitors, we’re friends and teammates. I wish him all the very best.”
Paris Saint-Germain shut down Bayern Munich, reach CWC semis
- PSG played the closing minutes with just nine players after a pair of red cards
- Bayern exits the tournament after being held scoreless for the first time
ATLANTA: Desire Doué scored in the 78th minute, Ousmane Dembele added a second in stoppage time and Paris Saint-Germain sealed their place in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals with a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Bayern Munich on Saturday in Atlanta.
Pairs Saint-Germain played the closing minutes with just nine players after a pair of red cards and still added a goal to seal the victory.
Referee Anthony Taylor dismissed Willian Pacho in the 82nd minute for his dangerous challenge on Bayern’s Thomas Muller, and sent off Lucas Hernandez in the second minute of second-half stoppage time for an elbow in the direction of Raphael Guerreiro.
But Doue and Dembele’s first goals of the tournament were enough to seal a meeting in East Rutherford, N.J., on Wednesday with the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
Gianluigi Donnarumma made five saves to keep PSG’s fourth clean sheet of the tournament.
Bayern exits the tournament after being held scoreless for the first time, on a day when they lost Josip Stanisic and Jamal Musiala to first-half injuries.
It was still 11-on-11 when Doue took Joao Neves’ pass, created some space near the edge of the penalty area, then unleashed a left-footed strike that found the bottom right corner as Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer slipped while trying to change direction.
Dembele doubled the advantage on a stunning foray forward despite the numerical disadvantage and some brilliant setup work by Achraf Hakimi, who beat three defenders off the dribble.
Hakimi then fed Dembele in stride for a first-time low finish that left Neuer little chance.
Bayern thought they had a chance to pull a late goal back when Taylor whistled for a penalty even later in stoppage time, only to reverse his decision following a video review.
Musiala departed on a stretcher at halftime after suffering a gruesome ankle injury following a tangle for the ball with Donnarumma that did not show any signs of ill intent.
Even Donnaruma was distraught after seeing the extent of Musiala’s injury, which came in the final seconds of the first half.
Twelve minutes earlier, Stanisic exited with an apparent hamstring injury.
Donnaruma made a pair of exceptional first-half saves.
In the 27th minute, he sprung to his right to parry Michael Olize’s goal-bound effort from just beyond the corner of the 6-yard box. In the 41st, he sprawled the opposite direction to keep Aleksandar Pavlovic’s effort — an intended early cross that was inches in front of Musiala near the penalty spot — from bounding inside the right post.
Neuer was also called into action during the first half, thwarting Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s effort from close range at the near post with an outstretched arm in the 32nd minute.
Four minutes into the second half, he dove left to deny Bradley Barcola on the break.
Philipsen wins nervy Tour de France opener as Evenepoel loses time
- Philipsen took the yellow jersey in a frantic sprint finish at the northern city of Lille
- Race favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard both finished safely in the lead pack on a day marred by a series of falls
LILLE, France: There were mixed fortunes for the thousands of Belgian fans who poured over the border for the opening stage of the Tour de France on Saturday as Jasper Philipsen won, but star rider Remco Evenepoel lost valuable time.
Philipsen took the yellow jersey in a frantic sprint finish at the northern city of Lille, while double Olympic champion Evenepoel was trapped in a second group and lost 39 seconds.
Race favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard both finished safely in the lead pack on a day marred by a series of falls.
Even defending champion Pogacar appeared flustered at the finish line.
“It was as frantic as we had expected, but when the split came fortunately I was near the front,” said the 26-year-old Slovenian.
“I’m just happy day one is done. Nine days to go before the first rest day.”
Africa’s sole rider Biniam Girmay, winner of three stages in 2024, was second on the day as Philipsen got ahead of him with 100m to go.
“It’s a day I will never forget. This is why I have been getting up early and training hard each day,” said Philipsen after notching up a 10th career stage win on the Tour.
His Alpecin team, marshalled by Mathieu van der Poel, formed an old-school sprint train that the winner hailed.
“What an experience! Those final kilometers, to be part of that,” beamed Philipsen.
Around 40 riders in the first group contested the sprint where one of the day’s many falls happened.
Primoz Roglic of Red Bull and Team UAE’s Joao Almeida were also caught in the surprise split in blustery winds.
Fans packed the route in one of France’s more modest regions passing First World War memorials, red-brick houses and slagheaps from long-closed coal mines along the Belgian border.
Under overcast skies with the temperature a manageable 22C, the peloton cut a fast pace despite the windy conditions, but no rain fell until the riders had passed the finish line.
Racing toward an intermediate sprint over cobbles, escapee Benjamin Thomas slid sideways and took out his sole rival Matteo Vercher in one spectacular fall and the pair were still bickering when the peloton shot past them.
Former time-trial world champion Filippo Ganna was one rider who will take no further part after a clumsy fall on a corner.
The Italian would have been a contender on the lengthy stage 5 individual time-trial, as well as key in the Ineos team’s campaign to get veteran Geraint Thomas into the top 10 on his 14th and final Tour de France.
Philipsen, in yellow, will lead the peloton out for Sunday’s second stage, a hilly 209km route to the beaches of Boulogne-sur-mer.
Shining Verstappen shades Piastri for pole at Silverstone
- The Monegasque driver was quickest in one minute and 25.498 seconds to outpace Piastri
- Verstappen was third for Red Bull ahead of Lando Norris in the second McLaren
SILVERSTONE, UK: Max Verstappen produced one of the finest and fastest qualifying laps of his career on Saturday to seize pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix and demonstrate why he is the hottest property in Formula One.
The four-time world champion was struggling with a strong wind and cool and damp conditions after choosing a low downforce set-up that trimmed his wings but enabled higher speed on the straights.
Before his final run of a tense and closely-fought qualifying hour, Verstappen was two-tenths slower than McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri, but the Dutchman powered to a fastest lap of one minute and 24.892 seconds to beat the Australian by 0.103 seconds.
“You went motor racing Max!” said his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, his deadpan delivery hiding Red Bull’s delight as the team fight to find the performance that will ensure their star driver stays with them next year.
The 27-year-old Dutchman, who has declared he wants to stay, has been linked with Mercedes, whose team boss Toto Wolff has confirmed making contact. Unconfirmed Italian media reports this week claimed Verstappen had agreed to the move.
Verstappen did his talking on the track, claiming his third pole at Silverstone and the 44th of the career with a virtuoso lap to keep alive faint hopes of defending his drivers’ title in the second half of the season.
Weather permitting, a third British victory would help him trim his 61-point deficit to Piastri but if it rains, as forecast, Verstappen’s set-up might leave him vulnerable to his rivals including Lando Norris, in the second McLaren, who is 15 points behind Piastri in the title race and third on the grid.
“The changes helped a lot and the car definitely turned in better,” said Verstappen. “On my last lap, it all came together and the balance was much better and we were fast on the straights, but the high-speed corners were more difficult.
“We are pushing for more performance. It was tricky out there with the wind as the car is so sensitive to it. We have to wait to see what tomorrow will do and if there’s rain around or not.
“I’m happy with qualifying. It’s a big boost for the team as well and I’m excited to go racing tomorrow. We’ll try! We are going to have fun and try to do the best we can.”
Piastri was less happy.
“I was trying to think of how I was going to go faster and I didn’t,” he said. “The last lap was a little bit messy, but it’s been tight all weekend.
“I think my first lap was very good...but I left a little bit on the table.”
“It’s tough, especially when you think it’s a good lap. You don’t want to overdo it and try and go over the limit. There were a couple of corners where maybe I was a bit safe on the way in and tried to make up for it on the way out and it didn’t quite work.”
Norris was third in the second McLaren, a tenth adrift.
“It was tough,” Norris said. “We are not just fast enough today, but it’s all good fun and I am happy with third. Credit to Max, he did a great job. It’s going to be fun tomorrow, a good battle.”
George Russell was next in a Mercedes. The Ferraris of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc filled the third row.
Kimi Antonelli was seventh fastest in the second Mercedes but suffered a three-place penalty.
Ollie Bearman was eighth for Haas but collected a 10-place grid penalty.
