- Ohtani suffers partial shoulder dislocation in Dodgers win: team
- Rare Sahara floods bring Morocco's dried-up south back to life
- Dodgers down Yankees 4-2 to take 2-0 World Series lead
- Far right tipped to gain ground as jaded Bulgarians vote again
- Dodgers' Ohtani injured in World Series win
- China's second-generation factory owners go digital to combat challenges
- Indonesia bets on SE Asia's first battery plant to become EV hub
- Israel's Netanyahu hoping for Trump triumph
- Powell pours in 37 to spark NBA Clippers over Jokic-led Denver
- Recession-hit Argentina gripped by 'Ponzidemia'
- Sakamoto leads Japanese women's sweep at Skate Canada
- Sainz success shows his class as Ferrari rise above the radar
- Verstappen, Norris set for another duel
- Michelle Obama admits fear over vote result, slams Trump
- Sainz takes pole for Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen
- Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps defend Skate Canada pairs title
- Lille score twice in stoppage-time to beat Lens after 'extraordinary' week
- Barca in 'flow' state after thrashing Madrid: Flick
- Curfew extended in French Caribbean territory amid power blackout
- Ruling party set to win Georgia election amid opposition protests
- Lille score twice deep in stoppage-time to beat Lens, Brest win
- NASA astronaut released from hospital after return from ISS
- Lewandowski double as Barca shred Madrid in La Liga Clasico
- Floods hit Saint-Tropez as rains lash south of France
- Japan votes with new PM on shaky ground
- Herve Renard completes surprise return as Saudi coach
- Di Lorenzo fires Napoli five points clear, Atalanta hit Verona for six
- Van Graan has 'utmost respect' for Du Toit as Bath go top of Premiership
- Report details fossil fuel threat to 'Amazon of the seas'
- Michelle Obama to boost Harris, as Trump rages against migrants
- Catholic Church assembly acknowledges 'obstacles' for women
- 'Too early' to say Leverkusen out of title race: Alonso
- World champion Malinin grabs men's lead at Skate Canada
- Farrell 'sorry' for second Top 14 yellow in Racing win
- Ruling party set to win Georgian elections
- Piastri, Norris set Mexico practice pace as Verstappen struggles
- Lewis century gifts West Indies consolation victory in Sri Lanka
- Guardiola vows to learn from rock-bottom Southampton after tight win
- Rooney 'angry' despite stunning Plymouth fightback in Preston draw
- Opposition, ruling party both shown ahead in Georgia elections
- Venezuelan prosecutor accuses Lula of faking injury as tensions with Brazil rise
- Draper into Vienna ATP final, ensures career-high ranking
- Farrell opens Top 14 try account in Racing victory, ends game in sin-bin
- Opposition tipped to win narrow majority in Georgia election: exit poll
- Haaland fires Man City to top of Premier League, Villa held
- West Indies set 195 to win rain-hit Sri Lanka ODI
- Leipzig beat Freiburg to go top, Dortmund lose away again
- Shelton downs friend Fils to reach Basel final
- Di Lorenzo fires Napoli past Lecce and five points clear
- Hussain says Pakistan have found 'kryptonite to Bazball' with England series win
Emphatic Verstappen enjoys 'incredible' pole after China sprint win
Max Verstappen continued his dominant start to the season in emphatic style Saturday by romping to sprint victory then claiming pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix -- an "incredible" 100th for his Red Bull team.
It was an ominous display from Verstappen, who looks on course to win a fourth grand prix out of five on Sunday as he marches towards a fourth consecutive world title.
The Red Bull driver was 0.322 seconds clear of Sergio Perez as Red Bull locked up the front row, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso third on Formula One's return to China after five years away.
Verstappen clocked a fastest lap of 1min 33.660sec to record the team milestone and his first pole at the Shanghai International Circuit.
"Before I jumped in the car (Red Bull chief Christian) Horner told me if you get pole today it could be number 100 for the team, so I was like, 'OK, that's nice, I'll give it a good go'," Verstappen said.
"Of course that's an incredible achievement for the whole team."
Verstappen won the 19-lap sprint in the morning by a huge 13 seconds from Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes as the Dutchman laid down a marker for Sunday's 56-lap race.
"The car worked even better in qualifying," said Verstappen.
"That final lap felt pretty decent and very happy to drive here in the dry, it was a lot of fun.
"If the car is even half as good tomorrow as it was in the sprint we will be all right."
Lando Norris will start on the second row in his McLaren alongside Alonso for the first grand prix to be held in China since 2019 because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Oscar Piastri was fifth fastest in the second McLaren ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, with George Russell's Mercedes eighth.
Perez was relieved to be on the front row.
"Very intense, I nearly got knocked out in Q1," said the Mexican. "In the final run the track was getting quite a bit better and I managed to put a good lap together."
Leclerc said he hoped Ferrari could be stronger on Sunday.
"We compromised our qualifying by prioritising the race tomorrow and struggled slightly more than we expected," said Leclerc.
"Our race pace is strong and it will be a long one, with tyre degradation playing a big role here."
- Joy to despair -
Earlier, Verstappen blasted from fourth on the sprint grid to an easy victory that increased his championship lead over Perez to 25 points.
But Hamilton's joy at coming second turned to despair in Q1 when the Englishman locked up, relegating him to 18th.
It was the first time since the 2022 Saudi Grand Prix that the seven-time world champion had been knocked out so early.
"I made massive changes into qualifying," said Hamilton who won the last Chinese Grand Prix in 2019.
"It is what it is. We can still have some fun even if we are starting from P18."
Sainz is the only driver apart from Verstappen to win a grand prix in 2024 and he survived a huge scare in Q2.
The Spaniard ran wide at the final bend and span across the start-finish straight to lose his nose cone in the barriers.
It brought out the red flags but Sainz was able to limp back to the pits and make it to the top 10 shootout.
"I had a big moment there, touching the gravel," Sainz said. "From then on, a tough quali. I just don't think we have been very quick this weekend. It's a difficult track for us."
Huge crowds turned out to see Shanghai native Zhou Guanyu, China's first Formula One driver, on the first Chinese Grand Prix weekend since 2019.
The fans had plenty to cheer Friday when Zhou propelled his Sauber into the top 10 in a wet sprint qualifying but he narrowly missed out on scoring a sprint point by finishing ninth.
Zhou failed to make it out of Q1, to groans from the packed grandstands, and will start 16th on the grid.
J.Williams--AMWN