LUSAIL, Qatar: The sovereign wealth fund of Qatar is acquiring a “significant minority stake” in what will become Audi’s works Formula 1 team from 2026, in a deal announced Friday at the Qatar Grand Prix.
A joint statement said the Qatar Investment Authority will be “a long-term investor and partner” and provide “a substantial capital injection” that will help the team expand its infrastructure.
The team is currently competing as Sauber and will be rebranded as the Audi works outfit for 2026 after it reached agreement for a full takeover earlier this year.
“This additional capital will accelerate the team’s growth and is yet another milestone on our long-term strategy,” Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner said in the joint statement.
Qatar is already an investor in the Volkswagen Group, of which Audi is a part.
“QIA believes that Formula 1 is a sport with significant untapped investment potential,” QIA chief executive Mohammed Saif Al-Sowaidi said.
“The increasing commercialization of professional sports as an entertainment offering globally, and the increasingly global popularity of Formula 1, has made for an exciting opportunity for our first major motorsports investment.”
Sauber is changing both of its drivers for 2025, when Nico Hülkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto arrive to replace Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
It is the only team yet to score a point this season. Bottas placed 13th and Zhou 19th in Friday’s qualifying for the Saturday sprint race, which was the first competitive session since the agreement was announced.
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund takes a stake in Audi’s future F1 team
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Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund takes a stake in Audi’s future F1 team
- the Qatar Investment Authority will be “a long-term investor and partner” in the Audi F1 team
Saudi fighters shine as PFL MENA Championship delivers spectacular action in Riyadh
- Hattan Alsaif, Abdullah Al-Qahtani wow the crowd on electrifying night
RIYADH: The Saudi duo of MMA fighters, Hattan Alsaif and Abdullah Al-Qahtani, shone at the PFL MENA Championship on an electrifying night in Riyadh.
The PFL (Professional Fighters League) delivered an evening of spectacular MMA action which showcased local and international talent while solidifying Saudi Arabia’s place on the global MMA stage.
The event featured a mix of thrilling showcase bouts and championship matches, leaving fans captivated by the high-level competition.
Costello van Steenis began the night with an impressive first-round knockout victory over Joao Dantas, landing a head kick at just 48 seconds. The win improved his career record to 16-3 and marked his fourth career knockout, maintaining his strong form of four victories in his last five fights.
Asael Adjoudj impressed in the featherweight division, securing a third-round guillotine choke submission against Jose Perez. The victory extended his remarkable winning streak to nine, bringing his career record to 9-1. Adjoudj remains undefeated since his professional debut loss, highlighting his rapid rise in the division.
Gabriel Braga bounced back from his PFL playoff semifinal loss with a unanimous decision win over Jeremy Kennedy. With his career record now at 15-2, Braga demonstrated resilience and technical skill, reaffirming his status as a top featherweight contender.
Slim Trabelsi continued his undefeated run with a hard-fought split-decision victory in a clash of unbeaten heavyweights against Englishman Abraham Bably. Utilizing his powerful striking and determination, Trabelsi improved his record to 8-0, showcasing his potential to rise further in the division.
On the Saudi front, Hattan Alsaif delivered a highlight-reel moment with a stunning knockout win over Lilia Osmani, further establishing herself as a fighter to watch.
The night’s crowning achievements came with two championship bouts. Abdullah Al-Qahtani secured the PFL MENA Featherweight Championship in front of his hometown crowd with a dominant first-round TKO against Marouane Bellagouit. The 26-year-old Riyadh native improved his record to 10-2, adding his fourth career knockout and earning his place as a hometown hero.
Egypt’s Omar El Dafrawy claimed the PFL MENA Welterweight Championship with a second-round TKO over Mohammad Alaqraa. The victory not only extended El Dafrawy’s winning streak to seven but also avenged a previous loss to Alaqraa. Now boasting a 13-6 record with eight knockouts, El Dafrawy demonstrated his growth and determination, cementing his status as a dominant force in the division.
The PFL MENA Championship in Riyadh was a landmark event for MMA in Saudi Arabia, showcasing the region’s growing talent and passion for the sport. With electrifying performances and enthusiastic support from local fans, the event marked another milestone in Saudi Arabia’s journey as a key player in the global MMA landscape.
GT World Challenge title to go down to the wire in Jeddah finale
- The 6 Hours of Jeddah race marks the final race of the GTWC season with Mercedes, Porsche and Ferrari battling it out for the title
JEDDAH: Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed topped Friday’s Free Practice in the GT World Challenge finale at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Jules Gounon leading the way in a two-hour session that began in daylight and ended with the sun setting over the Red Sea.
The 6 Hours of Jeddah race marks the final race of the GTWC season with Mercedes, Porsche and Ferrari battling it out for the title.
Gounon was the first driver to break the two-minute barrier, posting a 1m 59.839s at the halfway mark. He subsequently shaved a further three hundredths of this to end Free Practice with a 1m 59.804s.
Matteo Cairoli came within touching distance of Gounon’s benchmark with a 1m 59.894s during the final 30 minutes. In doing so, the Iron Lynx Lamborghini jumped ahead of Maro Engel, whose time of 2m 00.093s demonstrated that the Mercedes Team Mann-Filter entry is fully up to speed following its testing accident on Thursday.
Gold Cup title favorite Sainteloc Racing placed fourth overall with Gilles Magnus at the wheel of the Audi. The Rutronik Racing Porsche continued the strong pace it demonstrated on Thursday by placing fifth overall and leading the Bronze Cup thanks to Loek Hartog.
The Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG was sixth, followed by the title-chasing AF Corse Francorchamps Motors Ferrari.
Sainteloc Racing also paced the Silver Cup with its #26 Audi. Kobe Pauwels posted a 2m 00.494s to place 19th overall. A total of 47 cars were on-track during Free Practice following the withdrawal of the Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin, which crashed during Thursday’s Bronze Test.
In contrast with Thursday’s sessions, Free Practice brought almost no on-track incidents. A number of cars brushed the wall as they tested the limits of the high-speed Jeddah circuit, but there were no stoppages during the two-hour run.
However, there was more bad news for the Walkenhorst squad, which suffered a serious fire in one of its Aston Martins. No one was harmed in the incident, though the car’s continued participation in the event is unclear.
Norris boosts McLaren title hopes with sprint pole
- Norris clocked a best time in one minute and 21.012 seconds to outpace Russell, the winner in Nevada, by just 0.063 seconds at the end of a closely-fought session
- Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was third
DOHA: Lando Norris lifted the spirits of his title-chasing McLaren team on Friday when he powered to pole position ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix.
After a disappointing outing in Las Vegas, where his drivers’ title hopes ended as Max Verstappen clinched his fourth championship with Red Bull, the British driver was back on top form under the lights at the Lusail International Circuit.
Norris clocked a best time in one minute and 21.012 seconds to outpace Russell, the winner in Nevada, by just 0.063 seconds at the end of a closely-fought session. Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was third.
“It’s tough,” said Norris of his laps and the speed of the track.
“It is so quick around here. It feels like the quickest of the year and in the final sector you feel like you are just hanging on.
“I want to win and I want to win every session as a driver. Our target tomorrow is a one-two so we maximize the points for our constructors’ but we know Mercedes and Ferrari will be quick.”
The Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and fifth ahead of Verstappen and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes, an outcome that was not enough to buoy hopes that the Italian team can stop McLaren claiming their first constructors’ title in 26 years.
Pierre Gasly took an impressive eighth for Alpine ahead of Nico Hulkenberg of Haas and RB’s Liam Lawson.
McLaren hold a 24 points lead in the teams’ title race with 608 to Ferrari on 584.
With two Grands Prix remaining, including one sprint, McLaren can clinch the title with a dominant weekend ahead of Ferrari in both the sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
In cooling conditions with temperatures of 19 (air) and 22 (track) falling as darkness descended, Kevin Magnussen set the early benchmark time for Haas in 1:23.750 before the ‘big boys’ joined the fray, Sainz soon going top.
Norris then gave notice of his intentions with a lap in 1:22.785, but it was not enough as speeds increased with the drop in temperature and Ferrari took advantage with Leclerc and Sainz on top.
With three minutes remaining in SQ1, Norris bounced back in 1:22.021, a time Russell equalled exactly with the same lap time. Piastri, last year’s winner, went fourth, six-tenths off his team-mate’s best time.
Norris trimmed his time to 1:21.356 in the final seconds to finish four-tenths clear of Sainz, six-tenths ahead of Russell and Verstappen with Hamilton fifth.
But it was another painful session for Sergio Perez of Red Bull who exited in Q1 along with RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu of Sauber and Williams’ Franco Colapinto.
As prescribed, all of the cars ran on medium compound tires and nearly all of them were under investigation by the stewards for driving too slowly, at times, in SQ1 as they ‘backed up’ to seek a ‘tow’.
The SQ2 segment began with Verstappen on top before Leclerc took over in 1:22.130 and then Piastri in 1:22.050, the leading teams all very clothed matched.
With two minutes to go, Norris was back in control in 1:22.231 ahead of Russell and Piastri with Verstappen fourth until Hamilton knocked him down to fifth ahead of the two Ferraris.
Out this time went two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Williams’ Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas of Sauber, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and Magnussen.
The top ten shootout began with Leclerc in a hurry to clock 1:21.706, as they all switched to softs, Norris lapping in 1:21.012 for top spot with Piastri a tenth down in second. McLaren looked imperious.
Defending champions MI Emirates to play Dubai Capitals in DP World ILT20 season opener
- “We are set for a bigger and better edition” says CEO David White ahead of Jan. 11 start
DUBAI: Season three of the DP World International League T20 will begin with a blockbuster clash between defending champions MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals at the Dubai International Stadium in a rematch of last season’s final. The first ball will be delivered at 6:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, Jan. 11.
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders will launch their campaign with a home game against season one finalists the Desert Vipers on Jan.12 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. In the evening game on the same day, season one champions Gulf Giants will face the Sharjah Warriorz at the DIS. The first match of the season at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium will be a clash between Sharjah Warriorz and Dubai Capitals on Friday, Jan. 17.
DP World ILT20 CEO David White said: “We are set for a bigger and better edition of the DP World International League T20 as we unveil the schedule for season three. Our six teams have gathered a line-up of world-class T20 stars besides the best of the UAE talent who will combine to provide rich entertainment to cricket fans during the 34-match tournament.”
Fifteen tournament matches will be played at DIS, Zayed Cricket Stadium will host 11, while the Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host eight. Evening games will begin at 6:30 local time on weekdays and at 6:00 on the weekends. On the double-header weekends, the afternoon games will be played at 2:00.
The month-long tournament will conclude at DIS on Sunday, Feb. 9.
The six DP World ILT20 franchises have retained cricket superstars including Andre Russell (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Sunil Narine (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Alex Hales (Desert Vipers), Sherfane Rutherford (Desert Vipers), David Warner (Dubai Capitals), Rovman Powell (Dubai Capitals), Chris Jordan (Gulf Giants), Shimron Hetmyer (Gulf Giants), Akeal Hossein (MI Emirates), Nicholas Pooran (MI Emirates), Adil Rashid (Sharjah Warriorz) and Johnson Charles (Sharjah Warriorz).
Additionally, Jason Roy (Sharjah Warriorz), Fakhar Zaman (Desert Vipers), Shai Hope (Dubai Capitals), Lockie Ferguson (Desert Vipers), Roston Chase (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders), Matthew Wade (Sharjah Warriorz), Ibrahim Zadran (Gulf Giants) and Romario Shepherd (MI Emirates) will make their DP World ILT20 debuts this season.
Additional UAE players will be selected next week.
“The DP World ILT20’s glittering trophy is one of the most sought-after prizes in the cricket calendar and we expect a fierce battle between the global superstars who will be giving it their all for their respective franchise,” White said.
“In the coming days we will be launching tickets with special offers for both the diehards and fans while encouraging families to come in numbers especially during the weekends at our fan carnivals at the stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
“The weather across the UAE will be ideal for cricket for both afternoon and night games. For fans and tourists that are set to visit the country, the DP World ILT20 is surely an experience they cannot afford to miss,” he added.
Ronaldo’s brace keeps Al-Nassr in title race after beating Damac 2-0
- It was far from a vintage performance by the Riyadh club
- Al-Nassr should have extended their lead on numerous occasions
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on Friday to give Al-Nassr a vital 2-0 win over Damac that keeps the Riyadh hosts in the title race.
It was far from a vintage performance by the Riyadh club but they move on to 25 points from 12 games, three behind Al-Hilal and five behind Al-Ittihad, with the top two teams in action on Saturday.
Ronaldo went closest early on, heading over from a good position but had an even better one after 16 minutes as Al-Nassr were awarded a penalty following a handball in the area from Abdelkader Bedrane.
Ronaldo stuttered and delayed his run-up before drilling a low shot into the bottom-left corner beyond the diving Amin Al-Bukhari to show his famous “Siu” celebration for the 57th time in 58 league games for the Yellows.
Al-Nassr should have extended their lead on numerous occasions. Angelo rolled two shots just wide of the post while Sadio Mane had a close-range effort saved by Al-Bukhari after being put through on goal by a Ronaldo backheel in the area.
At the break, Nassr coach Stefano Pioli would have been frustrated by his team not getting a second, and after play resumed, the Italian would have been unhappy at his time looking sloppy at the back. More than once Bento had to save the team from defensive laxness.
Some of the pressure was removed after 55 minutes as Damac were reduced to ten men. The unfortunate Bedrane saw red for a dangerous challenge on Mohamed Simakan.
The visitors still managed to cause problems for the star-studded hosts but Ronaldo sealed the win with 10 minutes remaining. Nawaf Boushal got to the byline on the left and provided the five-time Ballon D’Or winner with the perfect pullback and the Portuguese star did the rest, firing a left-footed shot powerfully home. It was his ninth league goal of the season so far.
Al-Qadsia stay fourth behind Al-Nassr on goal difference with a 1-0 win at home to Al-Khaleej, a fifth league victory in succession for the newly promoted team.
