ZANDVOORT: McLaren’s Lando Norris stormed to victory at the Dutch Grand Prix Sunday, a superb drive consigning home favorite Max Verstappen to his first-ever loss in front of his “Orange Army” fans.
The British driver claimed his second career chequered flag after winning in Miami in May, closing Verstappen’s lead over him in the world championship to 70 points, with the Dutchman coming second.
Despite raucous encouragement from a packed Zandvoort circuit, Verstappen could not extract enough from his Red Bull to compete with a recently upgraded McLaren that is beginning to look like the car to beat in Formula One.
“It feels amazing... The pace was very strong and the car was unbelievable today,” said Norris, who also secured a point for the fastest lap.
The start was critical. Questions have been asked of the starting ability of Norris, who has three times this season failed to convert pole position into a first lap lead.
And again Norris was sluggish off the line, allowing Verstappen to power around the outside to huge cheers from the crowd, who saw their man take a 0.9-second advantage into the second lap.
Buoyed by the fast start, Verstappen clocked the quickest lap in lap two, putting clear daylight between him and the McLaren of Norris.
But the McLaren had been the fastest car in the paddock all race weekend and Norris started slowly but surely eating into Verstappen’s lead.
By lap 17 out of 72, Norris was only a few tenths of a second behind Verstappen, the Dutchman complaining on his team radio of a lack of grip from his tires.
Norris passed him a lap later on the outside at turn one, Verstappen powerless to prevent the overtake and quickly falling further behind.
“I can’t go faster. The car is not responding to my inputs,” a desperate Verstappen told his engineers as Norris stretched his advantage to more than four seconds.
On lap 25, Verstappen decided enough was enough and he needed a new set of tires.
Norris pitted the lap after, his team taking 0.6 seconds longer than the Red Bull for the pit stop.
Nevertheless, Norris emerged from the two stops five seconds ahead of his rival and promptly produced the fastest lap of the race on his new set of tires.
By lap 40, Norris had extended the advantage to more than 10 seconds over the three-time champion and just had to stay out of trouble to take the chequered flag.
His eventual margin of victory was 22.896 seconds, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc holding off Norris’s McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to claim the third podium spot after a thrilling battle.
Red Bull’s struggling second driver Sergio Perez finished in sixth position, meaning the gap in the constructors’ championship also narrowed from 42 points to 30.
“I wouldn’t say a perfect race because of lap one again, but afterwards it was beautiful,” said Norris.
“I expected Max to start pushing and get a bit of a gap. And he never did. So from that point, I knew we were in with a good fight,” added Norris.
“But he seemed to just keep dropping off. And my pace was getting better. So it’s a nice feeling inside the car. And especially when I got past, you know, I could just get comfortable.”
The F1 circus now moves on to the famous Monza track in Italy next weekend, round 16 of 24 with everyone snapping at Verstappen’s heels.
Verstappen has not won a Grand Prix since Barcelona in June, his longest barren spell since 2020 and while it is premature to talk of panic stations at Red Bull, the Dutch weekend will have given some cause for concern.
“You always try to do better and we had a good start, we tried everything we could today, but throughout the race it was quite clear that we are not quick enough, so I tried to be second today,” said Verstappen.
Brilliant Lando Norris stuns Max Verstappen to win Dutch Grand Prix
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Brilliant Lando Norris stuns Max Verstappen to win Dutch Grand Prix
- Despite raucous encouragement from a packed Zandvoort circuit, Verstappen could not extract enough from his Red Bull to compete
Unwanted history as Afghanistan-New Zealand test match is rained out after 5 days of trying
- After continuing steady rain, officials called off the test match on the fifth and final scheduled day on Friday
GREATER NOIDA: A test match between New Zealand and Afghanistan at Greater Noida, India has joined some select company in the history of cricket — just not necessarily for the best reason.
After continuing rain, officials called off the test match on the fifth and final scheduled day on Friday without a ball being bowled.
It marked only the eighth time that a test match had been abandoned without any play because of rain. The first was in 1890 and the most-recent nearly 26 years ago also involved New Zealand.
On Dec. 18, 1998, New Zealand’s home test against India was abandoned on day three because of persistent rain at Carisbrook Oval in Dunedin.
The Greater Noida region received more than a week of drenching rain, leaving the ground staff at Greater Noida Sports Complex struggling to get the ground fit for play.
It was Afghanistan’s third cricket test in 2024, following one-off matches against Ireland and a 10-wicket loss to Sri Lanka.
New Zealand was scheduled to kick off a three-month subcontinental tour that will involve series against Sri Lanka and India.
LIV golfer Jon Rahm appeals European tour fines and is clear to play in the Spanish Open
- Rahm’s formal appeal was a pivotal move because it allows him a chance to reach the minimum four European tour starts required to be considered for the Ryder Cup next year
- European tour: Jon Rahm has a pending appeal against sanctions imposed on him and in accordance with the DP World Tour’s Regulations, he is eligible to participate in the (Spanish Open) later this month
NEW YORK: Jon Rahm on Thursday appealed the European tour sanctions against him for playing the LIV Golf circuit, allowing him to play the Spanish Open and other European tour events until an independent panel decides if he must pay fines.
Rahm’s formal appeal was a pivotal move because it allows him a chance to reach the minimum four European tour starts required to be considered for the Ryder Cup next year.
Rahm, a former Masters champion and world No. 1, joined the Saudi-funded league late last year for a signing bonus reported to be in the $300 million to $400 million range.
Other players who defected to LIV, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk, are going through the same appeal and are allowed into tournaments as the process plays out.
Hatton played the British Masters two weeks ago. Both are entered in the Spanish Open.
The European tour said in a statement, “Jon Rahm has a pending appeal against sanctions imposed on him and in accordance with the DP World Tour’s Regulations, he is eligible to participate in the (Spanish Open) later this month.”
The DP World Tour is the commercial name of the European tour.
“I don’t intend to pay the fines, and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen,” Rahm said on Wednesday from LIV Golf Chicago, where he is battling Joaquin Niemann for the individual title worth $18 million to the winner.
Rahm said he has entered the Dunhill Links Championship and the Andalucia Masters. That would give him four starts because the Olympics counts toward the minimum.
The appeals process is the same as it was when several Europeans first joined LIV Golf in the summer of 2022. An independent panel, Sport Resolutions, ruled in April 2023 the players committed serious breaches and the European tour was within its rights to penalize them.
“I’m glad Jon decided to appeal and he can play his events in which he wants to play and be eligible,” European captain Luke Donald said Thursday from the Irish Open. “I know the Ryder Cup means so much to him, and I’m sure that was a massive factor in his decision.”
Rahm is primarily opposed to being fined for playing LIV events opposite tournaments he had never played or did not intend to play. Among European tour events opposite LIV this year were stops in Bahrain, South Africa, Japan, China and the Czech Republic.
“He has his thoughts and he doesn’t agree with the fines and paying fines, especially for events that he would never have played on the DP World Tour. But those rules are the rules, and they were certainly in place when he signed with LIV,” Donald said.
Donald said he hoped golf’s landscape would be different before the September 2025 matches at Bethpage Black. Executives with the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia met this week in New York to continue negotiations about PIF becoming a minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises and what that would mean for players on both sides.
The tour and PIF first had a framework agreement announced in June 2023.
“I’ll take today as a nice little victory for me personally to know that Jon is eligible and can play his three events now,” Donald said. “What happens in the future, I can’t tell. What happens in 15 months, I think all of us thought something more would happen.”
Canada, Australia and Germany set to advance in Davis Cup Finals after group-stage wins
- Canada won 3-0 against Finland, Australia beat the Czech Republic by the same score, and Germany swept aside Chile 3-0
- The Netherlands picked up their first win against Brazil in the only one of Thursday’s ties that was decided in doubles
- Four groups of teams are playing in four cities this week to qualify for the eight-team Finals in Malaga, Spain, in November
MANCHESTER, England: Canada, Australia and Germany remained unbeaten in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals after each winning their second straight match on Thursday, while Czech player Tomas Machac retired injured for the second time in two days after playing only six minutes.
Canada won 3-0 against Finland, Australia beat the Czech Republic by the same score, and Germany swept aside Chile 3-0.
Denis Shapovalov beat Eero Vasa 7-6 (2), 6-2 and Felix Auger-Aliassime followed up with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Otto Virtanen for the 2022 Davis Cup champions in Manchester, England.
There was an element of revenge after Canada lost to Finland in last year’s quarterfinals.
“Everybody’s in good spirits, so it’s very good,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Any motivation is good, but I think it’s a different year, a different time, and (last year’s loss) was behind us. This year we have a full team and everybody’s playing better than last year. Everybody’s improved.”
Auger-Aliassime was back on court soon after with Shapovalov in doubles to wrap up the tie with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara.
Machac’s injury was the focus as Australia marched into a 2-0 lead against the Czech Republic in Valencia, Spain.
What had seemed to be simply cramps when he retired against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday proved more serious and long-lasting as Machac played just nine points in his match with Alexei Popyrin.
Machac was playing with bandages around his right calf and called for a medical timeout after Popyrin held serve in the first game, before retiring at 30-15 down in the second.
“We saw him last night, and he didn’t look too good last night, so we wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully he’s back on tour quickly,” Popyrin said.
Earlier, Thanasi Kokkinakis had given Australia the lead in the opening match by beating Jakub Mensik 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3. Australia made it 3-0 in the doubles as Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell beat Mensik and Adam Pavlasek 6-4, 6-2.
On an indoor hard court in Zhuhai, China, Germany’s Maximilian Marterer beat Tomas Barrios Vera 6-1, 6-3, then Yannick Hanfmann defeated Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 6-4 to clinch the tie. Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, who have lost only one cup match, beat Barrios Vera and Matias Soto 6-1, 6-3. In no match was Germany broken. Germany has never lost to Chile, which didn’t use an ill Nicolas Jarry.
The Netherlands picked up their first win against Brazil in the only one of Thursday’s ties that was decided in doubles. Wesley Koolhof and Botic van de Zandschulp won a close match 6-4, 7-6 (5) against Brazil’s Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo to hand Brazil its second loss in Bologna, Italy.
Brazil had led after Joao Fonseca beat van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the first match but Tallon Griekspoor leveled the tie with a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win over Thiago Monteiro.
Four groups of teams are playing in four cities this week to qualify for the eight-team Finals in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two countries in each four-team group advance.
Revered by teammates, captain and US fans, Lexi Thompson hopes for a win in her final Solheim Cup
- Thompson and Alison Lee are the only players on the American squad who’ve won a Solheim Cup, which the US last captured in 2017 in Iowa
- The US is favored statistically, with the top two players in the world in Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu and an average world ranking of 26.75 to Europe’s 40.5
GAINESVILLE, Virginia: Lexi Thompson worked her way down the rope line between the second and third holes at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on Thursday, signing dozens of hats, flags and golf balls. The fans on the other side, worried they would miss their chance with the US Solheim Cup team’s most popular player, began chanting, “Lexi! Lexi!”
Thompson obliged, finally informing her still-waiting supporters, “Sorry, guys, I’ve got to go hit, OK?” There was a practice round to play, after all. But then she stopped again to sign the hats of two school-age girls and the vest of a service dog.
“We’re excited for you, and we’re excited for your retirement,” one fan told Thompson. “Enjoy life.”
The Solheim Cup begins Friday at this battle-tested venue about 40 miles west of Washington, D.C., that has hosted four Presidents Cups. And if it’s truly Thompson’s last as a player, she’s going out on top — at least in the eyes of American fans, teammates and captain Stacy Lewis.
There was never a doubt that Lewis would select Thompson to play in her seventh consecutive Solheim Cup. Although the 29-year-old hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour in five years, she brings power, proficiency in the tricky alternate-shot format and — rare on this US team — memories of hoisting the trophy in the biennial team competition against Europe.
Thompson and Alison Lee are the only players on the American squad who’ve won a Solheim Cup, which the US last captured in 2017 in Iowa. Europe won in 2019 in Scotland and 2021 in Ohio and retained the cup last year with a 14-14 draw in Spain. The event returns a year later — with Lewis and European captain Suzann Pettersen reprising their roles — to move back to even-numbered years and avoid the Ryder Cup.
The Solheim Cup dates to 1990, and no team has captured it four straight times. Also, neither side has won twice in a row on foreign soil.
The US is favored statistically, with the top two players in the world in Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu and an average world ranking of 26.75 to Europe’s 40.5. While Europe’s biggest margin of victory in the past three events was two points, it has gotten strong contributions from the likes of Carlota Ciganda (4-0 last year) and Leona Maguire (7-2-1 in the last two).
“The US team, they’ve been playing better than us on paper,” Ciganda said. “But I think this week is different.”
Lewis made “Unfinished Business” her team’s motto this year, and Pettersen, too, has tweaked her approach after neither side was fully satisfied with its performance in Spain. The US got off to a strong start in alternate shot, typically a strength for Europe, but was unable to maintain that advantage.
“We put a lot of emphasis last year on alternate shot, which you guys saw in the result,” Lewis said. “Looking back, was it maybe too much? Probably.”
Lewis shook things up with her foursomes pairings for Friday morning’s opening session. She announced Thursday she would send out rookies Lauren Coughlin (with Rose Zhang) and Sarah Schmelzel (with Vu) and bench Thompson, who is 9-7-7 overall in six Solheim Cups and 5-2-1 in alternate shot. Korda was tapped for the leadoff match alongside Allizen Corpuz, with Charley Hull and rookie Esther Henseleit as Europe’s opening team.
Four better-ball matches will be played Friday afternoon, with more alternate-shot and better-ball matches on Saturday and 12 singles matches on Sunday. Europe needs 14 points to retain the cup, while the US needs 14 1/2 to win it.
Lewis said finding alternate-shot duos who use the same or similar golf balls was important — even though the brand of ball doesn’t seam to matter to Thompson.
“She’s one of those you could literally pair with anybody, and she’s like, ‘I’ll figure it out,’” Lewis said. “She was testing a golf ball the other day that was going like 7 or 8 yards shorter with the wedge. She’s like, ‘It’s OK, I’m just going to get my numbers, it’s good.’ Where anybody else would just be freaking out.”
Thompson’s career could be remembered just as much for near-misses in major championships as for her 11 LPGA victories and one major. As generous as she can be with fans and sponsors, she is in some ways a reluctant star. Guarded with the media, she declined again this week to detail her plans for the semi-retirement she announced earlier this year.
“I’m just going to take it day by day, take some time for myself, and see how I feel after that,” Thompson said.
The team format, where success isn’t measured by individual strokes and she can contribute to others’ success, brings out the best in Thompson.
“I think it is her legacy, is her and the Solheim Cup. Just the way she is with the crowd and the fans, this event is Lexi to a T. ... She plays better golf here,” Lewis said. “She’s going to do whatever it takes to win, and I wish I had 12 of them.”
Al-Nassr’s Ronaldo thanks fans after amassing a billion followers across social media
- The Al-Nassr captain said he has always appreciated those who supported him during his rise to stardom
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated reaching another milestone in his career on Friday, this time off the pitch, as the Al-Nassr star said he now has a billion followers across social media channels.
The Portuguese striker took to social media to thank his fans who made it possible.
“We’ve made history — 1 BILLION followers! This is more than just a number - it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” he wrote.
The Al-Nassr captain said he has always appreciated those who supported him during his rise to stardom.
“From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1 billion of us stand together.”
He shared a collage of photos depicting his career with clubs such as Manchester United, Juventus, Real Madrid, and his current side Al-Nassr. But the biggest image is that of the legend wearing the iconic ruby red jersey of Portugal, who he led to a European championship win in 2016. The artwork also includes his family and selfies with fans over the years.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows,” Ronaldo wrote. “This journey is our journey, and together, we’ve shown that there are no limits to what we can achieve.”
The player has 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook, and 113 million on X, formally known as Twitter, and 60 million on the video platform YouTube. He also has another 9 million on the Chinese network Weibo and has a presence on Kuaishou.
In August, the star shattered the YouTube record for the fastest-growing channel, achieving a milestone just hours after its launch.
“Thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life. The best is yet to come, and we’ll keep pushing, winning, and making history together,” he wrote.
In another remarkable milestone, Ronaldo became the first player in football history to score 900 goals, for club and country combined. The player achieved the feat a week ago with a tap-in against Croatia playing in the Nations League.
The footballing legend moved to Saudi Arabia in 2022 and has made even more fans in the Kingdom after his transfer to the Riyadh-based Al-Nassr, who have embraced him as one of their own.
He broke the record for the number of goals scored in a season by a player in Saudi Arabia’s top league, netting 35 in the 2023/2024 contest.
