SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: Lewis Hamilton emerged as the winner of a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after Mercedes teammate George Russell, who took the chequered flag, was disqualified when his car was found to be underweight following the race.
It is the second win of the season for the seven-time world champion following his success at Silverstone earlier this month and the 105th of his Formula One career.
It was also the third Mercedes victory in the last four races following a poor run of results in the last two years although they initially thought they had wrapped up a compelling one-two.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was elevated to second with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moving up from fourth to third.
The 26-year-old Russell, who started sixth on the grid, produced a stunning performance on the track, the only driver to opt for a one-stop policy that saw him nursing his second set of tires for 34 of the 44 laps.
He was able to hold off Hamilton and the flying McLaren of Piastri, who finished third, to claim what he thought was his third grand prix victory.
His joy, however, was short-lived as a technical report released after the race said Russell’s car had been found to be 1.5kg below the minimum weight limit for car and driver combined.
“Car 63 is disqualified from the race classification,” the stewards announced in a statement.
“All other drivers move up in the classification,” they added.
Russell’s car was initially weighed at 798kg, which is exactly on the minimum weight limit for car and driver combined.
But stewards found it had not been fully drained of fuel and when it was weighed again it registered 796.5kg.
“Heartbreaking,” Russell said on social media.
“We came in 1.5kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race.
“We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first.
“There will be more to come,” he added.
Leclerc, who started on pole position, crossed the line in fourth ahead of three-time world champion and series leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull, Lando Norris in the second McLaren and Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari.
They were followed by Sergio Perez, who started second, in the second Red Bull, two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon of Alpine.
After Saturday’s deluge, the race began in bright, warm and dry conditions.
Leclerc enjoyed a smooth start from pole as Hamilton beat Perez to take second into La Source, where they battled wheel to wheel.
Norris had a poor start and ran through a gravel trap, falling to seventh behind Russell and Sainz as the early order settled while Verstappen gained two places to rise to ninth, having started 11th due to a 10-place penalty for taking an additional new engine.
Hamilton’s pace took him within reach of Leclerc on lap three when, using Drag Reduction System (DRS), he swept into the lead on the Kemmel Straight.
He stayed there and by lap five led Leclerc by a second ahead of Perez, Piastri and Russell with Sainz sixth, the only top 10 driver on hard tires, ahead of Norris and Verstappen.
Russell and Verstappen came in after 10 laps, both switching from mediums to hards and re-joining in 13th and 14th respectively before Hamilton, Perez and Piastri pitted one lap later.
Norris finally pitted on lap 16, rejoining eighth behind Verstappen with whom he battled until the end of the race.
With all of the other contenders pitting a second time, Russell became the fifth race leader and opted to stay out on the one-stop strategy.
Hamilton closed but instead of waving his teammate through, Russell was given the all-clear to race him, a potentially dangerous strategy from Mercedes as Piastri quickly closed on them.
With five laps to go, Hamilton was two seconds behind Russell and Piastri 5.4 adrift, the top three setting up a grandstand finish that saw Piastri close up to within two seconds while the Mercedes men tussled to the flag.
“We had such a disaster on Friday when the car was nowhere,” said Hamilton.
“We made some changes and it was difficult to know in the wet yesterday, but the car was fantastic.”
Verstappen still leads the championship race with 277 points, 78 clear of Norris. Red Bull top the constructors’ championship 42 points ahead of McLaren.
Formula One now heads into a summer break with the next race in Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25.
Underweight George Russell disqualified after Belgian Grand Prix win, Lewis Hamilton takes victory
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Underweight George Russell disqualified after Belgian Grand Prix win, Lewis Hamilton takes victory
- Russell’s car was initially weighed at 798kg, which is exactly on the minimum weight limit for car and driver combined
March Madness tips off with First Four in Dayton
- The Tar Heels (22-13) seemed a long shot to make the tournament with a 1-12 record in Quadrant 1 games, but were chosen Sunday
- The No. 11 seed is the lowest ever for North Carolina, who are making their 54th NCAA Tournament appearance, second-most to Kentucky’s 62
DAYTON, Ohio: North Carolina was a controversial selection for the NCAA Tournament, but the Tar Heels can silence some skeptics with a win over San Diego State on Tuesday night at the First Four.
The winner will face No. 6 seed Mississippi on Friday in Milwaukee.
The Tar Heels (22-13) seemed a long shot to make the tournament with a 1-12 record in Quadrant 1 games, but were chosen Sunday thanks to a strong nonconference schedule and other metrics.
“I didn’t listen to bracketology,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said Monday. “I didn’t listen after our name was selected on CBS. I didn’t listen to the telecasts. I haven’t listened to anybody’s comments in regards to selections, seedings. I know that we’re really excited to be a part of this, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow night.”
UNC’s inclusion fueled some conspiracy theories, with athletic director Bubba Cunningham being chair of the selection committee.
Rules state that Cunningham could not participate in the debate about his team, so the vice chair, Sun Belt Conference commissioner Keith Gill, presided over discussions about the Tar Heels.
The knock against North Carolina was a lack of Quad 1 wins. But the Tar Heels played the nation’s fifth-toughest nonconference schedule, which included games against No. 1 NCAA Tournament seeds Auburn and Florida, No. 2 seeds Alabama and Michigan State, and a trip to Kansas, which earned a No. 7 seed.
And the Tar Heels had higher rankings in the NET (36th), KenPom (33rd) and BPI (25th) than West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State and Boise State, the first four teams left out of the field.
Additionally, they finished slightly ahead of the Mountaineers for best among that group in Wins Above Bubble (WAB), a metric added this year looking at how many more or fewer wins a team has against its schedule compared to what a bubble team would expect.
Regardless, San Diego State (21-9) isn’t going to make things easy for the Tar Heels.
The Aztecs lead the nation in field goal percentage defense (.378) and rank 13th in defensive efficiency.
“I think our identity is in our defense and our effort,” forward Jared Coleman-Jones said. “I think that if we play really good defense and we play with effort and we play with swagger, I think everything else is going to handle itself.”
RJ Davis carries the load for the Tar Heels, averaging 17 points and 3.7 assists per game.
The No. 11 seed is the lowest ever for North Carolina, who are making their 54th NCAA Tournament appearance, second-most to Kentucky’s 62.
Despite the questions about their resume, the Tar Heels practiced on Sunday and prepared to play.
“I think we’ve all kind of felt the hate, the disagreement, all that,” guard Seth Trimble said. “We’re just running with it. We definitely feel like we’ve got something to prove.”
Familiar foes
When No. 11 seeds Texas and Xavier play on Wednesday night in Dayton, it will mark the fourth time since 1990 the teams have met in the NCAA Tournament.
The Longhorns (19-15) beat the Musketeers 83-71 in the 2023 Sweet 16. In 2004, Xavier beat Texas 79-71 to reach the Elite Eight before losing to top-seeded Duke 66-63.
Zach Freemantle returned from injury and averaged 19.8 points during a seven-game winning streak to close the regular season, helping the Musketeers (21-11) return to the tournament after missing out last year.
The First Four extends the standout freshman season for Longhorns guard Tre Johnson, who led the SEC in scoring with 19.8 points per game.
The Longhorns and Musketeers were firmly on the bubble entering Selection Sunday. The winner will face No. 6 seed Illinois on Friday night in Milwaukee.
“It’s so difficult to make the tournament,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “There’s so much invested. We played our best basketball as we entered March.”
Unlikely dancers
Saint Francis (PA) made an unlikely return to the University of Dayton Arena after becoming the 19th team to reach the NCAA Tournament with a losing record.
The Red Flashes (16-17) lost their season opener 87-57 to the Dayton Flyers on Nov. 4, and few would have predicted they’d return to the same building in March.
“We’re obviously very excited we’ve already played here before,” Saint Francis guard Riley Parker said. “The first game we played here didn’t turn out our way, so we’re just trying to come back here and make it right.”
Saint Francis are making theirvsecond NCAA Tournament appearance, first since 1991.
The Red Flashes face Alabama State (19-15) in a matchup of No. 16 seeds on Tuesday night. The Hornets’ last tournament appearance was in 2011. The winner will face No. 1 overall seed Auburn on Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky.
Teams with losing records entering the NCAA Tournament have gone 0-18.
Deep threat
No. 16 seeds American (22-12) and Mount St. Mary’s (22-12) meet in Dayton on Wednesday night, with the winner earning a date with No. 1 seed Duke in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday.
The player to watch for American is 6-foot-9 Matt Rogers, who leads the team with 59 3-pointers. His 1.7 made 3s per game ranked 12th in the Patriot League.
Dola Adebayo leads Mount St. Mary’s with 13.2 points per game. The Mountaineers averaged more than 70 points per game and shot 34 percent from 3-point range this season.
The two Washington D.C. area programs have a long history. This will be the 71st meeting between the schools. American leads the series 37-33, including four straight wins entering Wednesday.
Messi out of World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil due to adductor injury
- Inter Miami said Messi underwent an MRI “to assess the extent of the discomfort in his adductor region”
- Argentine media initially reported Messi suffered a sore left thigh on Sunday during Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: Lionel Messi will miss Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil over the next eight days because of an injury to his adductor.
The 37-year-old Messi was not included in the 25-man squad announced on Monday by coach Lionel Scaloni. Later Monday, Inter Miami said Messi — the reigning Major League Soccer MVP — underwent an MRI “to assess the extent of the discomfort in his adductor region,” an injury that the team said occurred in Sunday’s win over Atlanta United.
“The examination’s findings confirmed the presence of a low-grade injury in the adductor muscle,” Inter Miami said. “His clinical progress and response to treatment will determine his availability for competition.”
Argentine media initially reported Messi suffered a sore left thigh on Sunday during Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory.
Argentina, who lead South America, will visit second-placed Uruguay on Friday and host fifth-placed Brazil four days later at Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.
Messi was not the only absentee for the two matches that could seal Argentina’s qualification. Also ruled out were Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Montiel and Giovani Lo Celso.
Scaloni also dropped Alejandro Garnacho and Claudio Echeverri from the larger squad announced on March 2.
Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner who captained and led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, has been sidelined several times by Inter Miami this season because of injury concerns.
This month, Messi missed three games but returned on Thursday for the second leg of the round-of-16 CONCACAF Champions Cup tie against Cavalier SC.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said Messi was fit to start against Atlanta on Sunday. Messi scored in the 20th minute, just before he was reported to have been injured.
McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff
- Spaun, whose recovery out of the bunker left him with a long, unsuccessful birdie putt, could only par
MIAMI: Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy cruised to a St. Patrick’s Day victory at the Players Championship on Monday, defeating J.J. Spaun in a playoff at TPC Sawgrass.
The four-time major champion completed the three-hole shootout in 1-over par, while Spaun’s challenge wilted after a disastrous triple-bogey on the second playoff hole.
McIlroy had finished tied at the top of the leaderboard with Spaun following Sunday’s storm-hit final round after failing to hold on to a three-shot lead with five holes to play.
But after returning to the course on Monday in bright, breezy conditions, there was no sign of a repeat of the late stumble by McIlroy on Sunday that had allowed Spaun to force his way into the first playoff of his career.
McIlroy struck first on the opening playoff hole, the par-five 16th, crushing a 336-yard drive straight down the fairway before reaching the green in two.
Spaun,meanwhile, looked out of sorts from the get-go, finding the fairway rough off the tee before landing his second shot into the greenside bunker.
McIlroy failed to make his 33-foot eagle putt but calmly rolled in an awkward five-footer for birdie.
Spaun, whose recovery out of the bunker left him with a long, unsuccessful birdie putt, could only par.
After that early wobble, things got worse for Spaun at the par-3 17th island hole, with the American plunging his tee-shot into the water behind the green.
Spaun then missed a long 10-foot putt for double bogey and eventually finished with a triple-bogey six.
While McIlroy missed his birdie chance and a 10-footer to save par, his bogey four still left him three shots clear heading to the 18th.
McIlroy’s tee-shot on the last went well wide of the right fairway, but Spaun was unable to exert pressure, also going wide of the fairway.
Both players reached the green in three and missed their par putts. McIlroy coolly tapped in for bogey to seal victory.
Favorable draw leaves Saudi clubs in good shape ahead of AFC Champions League Elite quarterfinals
- Al-Hilal are set to take on South Korea’s Gwangju FC, with Al-Ahli facing Buriram United of Thailand and Al-Nassr up against Yokohama F. Marinos
LONDON: The question for much of the AFC Champions League Elite tournament so far has been based around if anyone can stop the three Saudi Pro League teams.
After the draw was made for the quarterfinals in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli now know the identity of their opponent but the same question still remains. It would not be a surprise at all if the same trio make it to the last four, where they will inevitably start to play each other.
Indeed, it could be that the only teams who can prevent the Saudi Arabians are other SPL rivals especially as all the matches from April 25, when the next round kicks off, to the May 4 final, will all be single games in the city of Jeddah. Even if the clashes had been two-legged, the trio would be favorites, but one-off games at home is obviously a major advantage.
Al-Hilal, with a record four titles in the trophy cabinet back in Riyadh, will start it all off against Gwangju FC. South Korean teams can never be underestimated, K-League clubs having won 12 Asian championships (Japan are next with eight, two more than Saudi Arabia). However, Gwangju have not only never reached this stage before, but this is their first appearance in the tournament.
From the southwest of the East Asian country, near the more experienced two-time champions Jeonbuk Motors, Gwangju had their best-ever season last year and started well in the group stage, eventually qualifying comfortably. The Korean media summed it up with the headline on Monday: “Gwangju face a mountain to climb in Saudi Arabia.” With little Asian experience, and indifferent results at home, few will be expecting them to cause an upset.
Though with dangerous Albanian international Jasir Asani, top scorer with nine goals so far, and a tough spirit — they came back from two goals down in the second round clash to beat Japan’s Vissel Kobe – Hilal will need to be own their guard, especially after their scare in the last round when they lost the first leg in Pakhtakor before roaring back in the second.
If the Riyadh giants get past their inexperienced opponents, then there could be a semifinal against Al-Ahli. The Jeddah team are going well and will also benefit from huge support at home. Buriram United of Thailand have plenty of Asian experience but have only been to the last eight once, back in 2013. Again, Al-Ahli coach Matthias Jaissle will say, and rightly so, that any team who makes it this far in Asia is an opponent to be respected and taken very seriously, but it would be a major shock if the team from the northeast of Bangkok could get a result by the Red Sea.
Al-Ahli have been in pretty good form at home but a couple of poor results mean that the Champions League is their best chance of a trophy this season. In Asia, they have been really flying and strolled past Al-Rayyan 5-1 on aggregate. They should really have too much for their Thai opposition at home, with Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney two standouts in Asia and Roberto Firmino also able to play.
If there is an all-Saudi semifinal, and if Al-Nassr can get past Yokohama F.Marinos, then the prospect of an all-Saudi final remains a possibility. Like Al-Ahli, the Riyadh club have never won the title before and the Champions League remains their best chance of major silverware this year.
Once again, the home team will be favorites but perhaps this is not as clear cut as in the other two ties. Yokohama topped the group in the eastern zone, winning six of their games, and got past Shanghai Port in the last round with ease in the end, after losing the first leg. Japanese teams are currently the best on the other side of the continent by some distance but the Kanagawa club are, however, struggling at home.
If Cristiano Ronaldo and his colleagues had to make the long journey to just outside of Tokyo for a first or second leg, it would look to be a tricky task, but in a one-off match on home soil, the expectations will all be on Al-Nassr and the biggest task may be handling the added pressure now that the SPL title is surely out of sight.
The winner of Al-Nassr vs. Yokohama will meet the winner of Qatar’s Al-Sadd and Kawasaki Frontale of Japan. At this stage, however, the money is all on the Saudi Arabians.
McLaren has ominous pace, Lewis Hamilton has work to do: 5 takeaways from F1’s season-opener
- Among the takeaways ahead of Sunday’s race in Shanghai are that McLaren is the team to beat and that Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari have a lot of work to do
- Lando Norris heads to the second round of the Formula 1 season in China with a lead over champion Max Verstappen after winning a thrilling race in Australia
Lando Norris heads to the second round of the Formula 1 season in China with a lead over champion Max Verstappen after winning a thrilling race in Australia.
Ahead of Sunday’s race in Shanghai, here are five takeaways from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix:
McLaren is the team to beat
Without the rain and the safety car, the Australian Grand Prix might not have been much of a contest. The two McLarens of Norris and Oscar Piastri quickly built a lead of more than 15 seconds to Verstappen in third early in the race. The McLarens were also three-tenths of a second faster than anyone else in qualifying. So much for preseason predictions that this year could be exceptionally close between multiple teams.
Norris acknowledged McLaren are favorites but warned the team shouldn’t get complacent. “If you start thinking things are good and groovy, that’s when you get caught,” he said. “We will have races where we struggle.”
Hamilton and Ferrari have work to do
Lewis Hamilton briefly led on his Ferrari debut. Unfortunately for the seven-time champion, a strategy blunder meant Ferrari left Hamilton and his new teammate Charles Leclerc on dry tires in increasingly heavy rain. “Missed a big opportunity,” Hamilton told Ferrari over the radio. Hamilton finished 10th, two places behind Leclerc.
Hamilton and Ferrari may need to work on their communication. After more than a decade working with Peter “Bono” Bonnington at Mercedes, Hamilton was frustrated at regular radio updates from his new engineer Riccardo Adami. “Leave me to it, please,” he said repeatedly.
Lawson’s old teammate may be his closest rival
No one expected Liam Lawson, in his 12th career F1 race, to beat his four-time champion teammate Verstappen. However, Lawson also underperformed compared to Yuki Tsunoda, his old teammate, after being picked over Tsunoda for the Red Bull seat. Lawson qualified 18th and made little progress before crashing out. Tsunoda qualified fifth and was competitive, though a team strategy error meant he finished 12th. If Lawson doesn’t improve, Red Bull could face even more scrutiny of its decision to pick him.
Antonelli is the standout rookie
Formula 1’s biggest rookie class in years struggled — with one big exception. The 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli became the second-youngest driver ever to score F1 points, behind only Verstappen, as he finished fourth with a strong drive from 16th.
Of the other drivers starting their first full F1 seasons, Lawson, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine’s Jack Doohan crashed out, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar crashed before the start and Haas’ Oliver Bearman was the last finisher in 14th.
Teamwork helps Williams make its mark
Alex Albon benefited from his new teammate as he finished fifth for Williams’ best result since 2021. Carlos Sainz, Jr. crashed out early but joined the team staff on the pit wall to offer Albon advice over the radio on how best to handle the rapidly changing weather. “We’re a very bonded team,” Albon said.
