MONACO: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc snatched pole position at his home Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday, as championship leader Max Verstappen could only finish sixth fastest.
The 26-year-old Monegasque driver, who has never managed a podium finish at his home race, clocked a best lap of one minute and 10.270 seconds to outpace Australian Oscar Piastri of McLaren by 0.154 seconds.
It brought Leclerc his third Monaco pole position and ended Verstappen’s run of seven straight poles this year and a record-equalling eight in succession, shared with three-time champion Ayrton Senna.
Three-time world champion Verstappen struggled for Red Bull after hitting the barriers on his final fast lap.
“It was so nice,” said a relieved Leclerc after a tense and thrilling qualifying.
“I’m really happy about my lap. The excitement was so high, but I know from the past that qualifying is not everything. The win is the target.”
Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz was third ahead of Lando Norris in the second McLaren, Mercedes’ George Russell and Verstappen.
“It was close,” said Piastri. “If you took the second half of my first lap and the first half of my second one it would have been enough for pole!“
Sainz added: “I’ve struggled all weekend with confidence in the car so it’s an improvement. I just wish I was fighting for pole.”
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was seventh in the second Mercedes ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon of Williams and Pierre Gasly of Alpine.
In near-perfect Riviera conditions with sunshine and temperatures of 48 degrees celsius on the track and 21 in the air, Hamilton led Russell and the rest out of the pits.
As the Mercedes ran two preparatory laps, it was Tsunoda on top for RB before Hamilton took command only for the rapidly-tumbling times to deliver Verstappen, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg on top, the two Haas drivers retaining their positions until Russell took over.
Leclerc, disappointed by Ferrari’s decision to delay his entry, was 13th before he recorded a fast lap to go top in 1:11.653, a tenth clear of Magnussen and Hulkenberg.
In a fiercely-contested session, Hamilton jumped to second, but Perez was 14th and Norris 18th with only a minute remaining before, in a frantic finish to Q1, the Briton climbed to safety, but Perez was out along with Alonso.
The Mexican was 18th making an early exit for the second year running along with the two-time champion, in his Aston Martin, Williams’ Logan Sargeant, Valtteri Bottas and his Sauber team-mate Zhou Guanyu.
“We’ve struggled all the way through,” said Perez. “It is so tight, the margins I thought I could make the top five.”
Norris was first out for Q2, but Sainz swiftly went quickest ahead of Verstappen in another tight tussle with barely a second separating the top 14 and the Alpines suddenly flying, Gasly claiming a place in Q3 in fifth. “Let’s go, let’s go!” he cried.
Piastri, looking confident, then clocked a 1:10.756 only to be beaten by team-mate Norris as the McLarens took control ahead of Leclerc and Russell before another busy finale saw Esteban Ocon of Alpine, Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo of RB, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and Magnussen eliminated.
Sainz was first out for the top ten shootout, followed by Hamilton who clocked 1:10.975, an impressive lap that was blown away immediately by Leclerc in 1:10.418, a lap nine-tenths faster than Verstappen’s pole time last year.
The Dutchman’s first timed lap left him third after losing time in the final sector. “Still the same issues in Turns Five and Ten,” he reported.
As conditions continued to improve, Sainz and Verstappen chose to run again on a traffic-free lap, the rest following.
Hamilton improved to take fourth, but Russell beat him and then Verstappen glanced a barrier before Leclerc improved to 1:10.418 to take a dramatic pole ahead of Piastri, the Italian team’s 250th pole position in Formula One.
Leclerc claims Monaco pole to end Verstappen’s record sequence
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Leclerc claims Monaco pole to end Verstappen’s record sequence
- It brought Leclerc his third Monaco pole position and ended Verstappen’s run of seven straight poles this year
- Three-time world champion Verstappen struggled for Red Bull after hitting the barriers on his final fast lap
Harley-Davidson to launch racing series with MotoGP in 2026
- Riders will be given race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glide bagger motorcycles
- The 12-race series will run at six Grands Prix on the MotoGP calendar
PARIS: Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson and MotoGP announced a new global racing series on Saturday which will launch in 2026, with teams riding bagger motorcycles at Grands Prix in Europe and North America.
Riders will be given race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glide bagger motorcycles, which are touring-style bikes designed for long-distance riding.
The 12-race series will run at six Grands Prix on the MotoGP calendar and the grid is expected to have six to eight teams with two riders each.
“This is a bold new step for Harley-Davidson’s global racing ambitions,” Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz said in a statement.
“With this new series, we’re excited to bring a new form of racing to the world stage.”
The teams will be supported by Harley-Davidson Factory Racing.
NEOM launches Champions of Progress initiative to drive community football
- Scheme open to nominations from across Middle East, Asia
- The initiative is open to individuals aged 18 and above from across the region
NEOM: The Asian Football Confederation’s official partner, NEOM, on Wednesday launched an initiative that aims to celebrate community heroes in football across Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and Asia.
Known as Champions of Progress, the scheme will use football’s global platform to drive positive change across the region and help the development of talent from grassroots to elite players.
The partnership supports NEOM’s vision to grow football in the Kingdom, improve access to physical activity for people and help make the country a global sports destination, it said in a statement.
“Champions of Progress seeks to celebrate individuals and projects that promote positive community engagement, support innovative sports development and show a commitment to diversity and inclusion in football,” it said.
The initiative is open to individuals aged 18 and above from across the region, as well as projects that have had a significant impact in the development of football at a community level, increased participation numbers or improved accessibility.
A panel of judges, including experts from NEOM and AFC, will review all submissions to determine the winners.
The six “champions” will be invited to the AFC Champions League Elite at the beginning of the 2025/26 season where they will meet senior members of the Saudi football community.
Their stories will also be shared across selected partnership channels to drive awareness and encourage positive change in pan-Asian football.
‘Mr Dakar’ Peterhansel returns with Defender for 2026
- The Frenchman did not enter this year after Audi withdrew but will be back in Saudi Arabia next January
- Peterhansel won the Dakar six times on motorcycles
RABAT: ‘Mr Dakar’ Stephane Peterhansel, a record 14 times winner of the Dakar Rally, will return to the gruelling endurance event next year aged 60 as a driver for Jaguar Land Rover’s Defender brand.
The Frenchman, who turns 60 in August, did not enter this year after Audi withdrew but will be back in Saudi Arabia next January competing in the Stock category for production-based vehicles.
It will be Peterhansel’s 36th career Dakar, an event he last won in 2021 with Mini. He will also compete in the full World Rally-Raid Championship.
Peterhansel won the Dakar six times on motorcycles between 1991 and 1998 before switching in 1999 to cars and winning with Mitsubishi, Mini and Peugeot.
“I’m looking forward to taking on this new challenge and together I hope we can take Defender to the top step of the podium,” he said in a statement after prototype testing in Morocco’s Sahara desert.
While Peterhansel holds the record for most wins, Spaniard Carlos Sainz — father of the namesake Formula One driver — is the oldest winner after taking his fourth victory in 2024 at the age of 61.
Defender also announced the signing of Lithuanian driver Rokas Baciuska, 25. A third driver and the co-drivers will be announced at a later date.
Al-Faisal Al-Zubair wins Gold Cup at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch (England): Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT’s Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and teammate Jens Klingmann delivered a sensational performance to win the second of the one-hour Sprint races at the opening round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Brands Hatch in England on Sunday.
After finishing fifth in the first of the two short races, Al-Zubair and Klingmann delivered a masterclass in pit strategy to kickstart their season in the new series with outright victory in the Gold Cup category and sixth position overall in Sprint Race Two at the helm of the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Al-Zubair said: “Starting off doing very minimal laps in the Sprint Championship was something to get used to. Brands Hatch is such a difficult track, and we didn’t have much running time. There were a few red flags in practice. I think we did a total of 20 laps before we got into qualifying. It was not so easy.
“We started off with qualifying on the wrong foot. We finished fifth in class in the first race and then we won the second race. To jump so many people in the second stint and in the pit stop is something that we should be very happy of. It is good to get a start like this, and we can look forward to the rest of the season.”
Al-Zubair began the opening one-hour Sprint race from sixth on the Gold Cup grid but was not able to make headway through the opening laps. Arthur Rougier drove the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari to give the CSA Racing McLaren a brief lead, but Chris Lulham hit the front again in the Ferrari after the mid-race pit stop and driver change.
Klingmann took over from Al-Zubair with the sole target of moving up the field, and he managed to sneak ahead of James Kell in the CSA Racing McLaren following the driver changeovers after 23 laps.
Lulham continued to lead from Louis Prette in the Garage 59 McLaren as the opening Sprint race headed into its closing stages and on to the checkered flag. Klingmann held on to secure a fifth-place finish for the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW after 42 laps of racing.
Race Two took place in similar cool and overcast conditions in the afternoon. Klingmann took the wheel for the first stint and quickly settled into fourth place behind the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, the Sainteloc Racing Audi and the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi.
Full course yellows failed to prevent Klingmann from maintaining his position, but the damage was done at the driver changeover when the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT delivered the strategy to perfection and Al-Zubair hit the front.
The Omani continued to lead from the defending champions, Sainteloc Racing, and overcame another full course yellow to win Race Two with a margin of just under three seconds to Thierry Vermeulen and Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 after 37 laps.
Al-Zubair and Klingmann carried out free practice on Saturday morning and ran the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW for 30 laps. The team carded a best lap of 1 minute 24.186 seconds that put them fifth of the Gold Cup runners. The Emil Frey Racing Ferrari topped the times with a tour of 1 minute 23.178 seconds.
Pre-qualifying was next on the agenda, but the Al-Manar Racing duo could only manage a best lap of 1 minute 24.720 seconds, and the bragging rights from the Gold Cup session went to the Garage 59 McLaren with a time of 1 minute 24.122 seconds.
Qualifying was split into two sessions, and Al-Zubair managed six laps in Q1. The Omani carded a best tour of 1 minute 24.626 seconds, and that put him in sixth in the stint, with Thierry Vermeulen winning Q1 for Emil Frey Racing with a lap of 1 minute 23.374 seconds.
Klingmann fared slightly better in Q2 and was classified fifth in the Gold Cup runners with a best lap of 1 minute 24.012 seconds, with Lulham winning the stint for Emil Frey Racing to claim pole position for the first of the two one-hour Sprint races.
Action in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Series continues at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on May 16-18.
Oscar Piastri wins at Miami for 3rd straight F1 victory, 4th win of season for championship leader
- McLaren has won Miami the last two years, with Norris on top last season for his first career F1 victory
- Piastri is the first McLaren driver to win three consecutive F1 races in 28 years
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: The first time Oscar Piastri arrived at the Miami Grand Prix as a Formula 1 driver he was in the slowest car in the field and only narrowly avoided finishing last.
Fast-forward two years and Piastri and McLaren Racing have come full circle.
Piastri maintained his advantage in the F1 championship fight by winning at Miami on Sunday for his fourth win through six races this season. Piastri has won three consecutive F1 races for McLaren Racing, where he and teammate Lando Norris are trying to dethrone four-time defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
McLaren has won Miami the last two years, with Norris on top last season for his first career F1 victory.
“It’s just incredible, the hard work that’s gone in,” Piastri said of McLaren. “I remember two years ago here in Miami, we were genuinely the slowest team. I think we got lapped twice and to now have won the Grand Prix by over 35 seconds to third is an unbelievable result of the hard work of every single person.”
Piastri is the first McLaren driver to win three consecutive F1 races in 28 years; Mika Hakkinen did it with a win in the 1997 season finale and then victories in the first two races of 1998.
He widened his lead over Norris in the driver standings to 16 points, while Verstappen trails Piastri by 32 points.
Norris’ win at Miami last season snapped Verstappen’s two-year winning streak at the course surrounding Hard Rock Stadium. Norris also won the sprint race on Saturday — Piastri dominated but a late safety car cost him the victory — but Verstappen won the pole in qualifying.
Verstappen, who announced the birth of his first child Friday morning, has been determined to disprove the myth that fatherhood would make him a more conservative driver. It was evident as he darted away at the start and then aggressively held off Norris’ challenge for the lead.
The Red Bull and McLaren were side-by-side and Norris was trying to edge ahead of the Dutchman, but he ran off track and lost four spots. Norris said Verstappen forced him off track and there was nothing he could do but try to avoid running into a wall — but F1 took no action against Verstappen.
“What can I say? If I don’t go for it, people complain. If I go for it, people complain,” Norris said. “You can’t win. But it really just how it is with Max — it’s crash or their pass.”
Verstappen was unapologetic after fading to fourth and insisted he raced within the rules.
“I mean, I had nothing to lose, so I also wanted to have a bit of fun out there,” Verstappen said, adding McLaren’s strong start to the season is “not frustrating at all.”
“We are here to win and today we were miles off that, so it doesn’t really matter,” Verstappen said.
Norris recovered from the early incident and picked his way back toward the front, but not before Piastri took control away from Verstappen on the 14th of 57 laps. McLaren has decided it will allow Piastri and Norris to race each other cleanly without team orders, and Norris was cleared to challenge his Australian teammate for the victory.
In the waning laps, Norris was able to close the gap but could never catch Piastri and settled for second in a 1-2 finish for McLaren. The two held a nearly 40-second advantage over George Russell of Mercedes, who finished third.
Alex Albon of Williams was fifth, Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes was sixth and Charles Leclerc was seventh after Ferrari ordered Lewis Hamilton to give his teammate the position in the closing laps. Hamilton was eighth.
Carlos Sainz Jr. was ninth for Williams and Yuki Tsunoda was 10th for Red Bull.
Doohan in doubt
Jack Doohan ran into another car on the opening lap and then crashed on the second lap — a showing that won’t quiet chatter the rookie is on the verge of being replaced at Alpine by Franco Colapinto.
There have been media reports in Argentina that Colapinto will replace Doohan at F1’s next race, later this month in Italy. It was dismissed at the start of the Miami weekend by Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes, who indicated “as it is today” the Australian would still be in the seat at Imola.
“I think it was a sponsor from Argentina off-camera giving his view on Franco, when he’s going to be in the car. I’m sure there’s a lot of people in Argentina who’d like him in the car this Sunday,” Oakes said about the speculation. “We’ve been pretty open as a team that that’s just noise. Jack needs to continue doing a good job. But it’s natural that there’s always speculation there.
“As it is today, Jack is our driver along with Pierre (Gasly),” he continued. “We’ve been pretty clear on that. We always evaluate, but today that is the case.”
Doohan, who didn’t complete two laps Sunday and finished last, has yet to score a point this season through six races. His best finish was 13th at the Chinese Grand Prix.
