- 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
- Seven dead in overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine
- Tehran presses on, uneasy after Israeli strikes
- Masood says Pakistan need stability after famous England win
- Iran warns will defend itself after Israeli strikes
- N.Korea involvement in Ukraine raises regional security risks: analysts
- Santner heroics seal historic New Zealand Test series win in India
- Brignone wins ski World Cup opener as Shiffrin flops
- Thitikul surges into three-way lead at LPGA in Malaysia
- Israel hits Iran military sites in retaliatory strikes
- Santner heroics seal New Zealand's first Test series win in India
Star Zhou, golden oldies, prickly Horner: Chinese GP talking points
Max Verstappen won the main race and the sprint in another all-conquering display as the Chinese Grand Prix returned for the first time since 2019.
Here are three talking points from the Shanghai International Circuit at the weekend:
- Zhou sends crowd wild -
China's first Formula One driver Zhou Guanyu was an enormous draw as he made his home F1 debut.
The Chinese GP was first held in 2004 and there had always been enthusiastic F1 crowds in Shanghai, but the presence of Zhou ramped the excitement levels up to fever pitch.
Tickets for Sunday's race sold out in minutes when they went on sale, huge grandstands were packed all weekend and Zhou's image was plastered all over his native Shanghai for weeks leading up to the race.
The tens of thousands clamouring to see a glimpse of their hometown hero bellowed an ear-splitting roar when he made it into the top-10 shootout of sprint qualifying.
"The support of the crowd has been incredible, something I never felt in my life," said Zhou, who finished 14th for Sauber in Sunday's race and was in tears afterwards as the crowd rose to acclaim him.
"I drove my heart out today, unfortunately not enough for the points, but we go again next time," said an emotional Zhou.
"I am just so happy to see the whole crowd. No words. A mixture of emotions and a day to remember. Hopefully in the future more drivers from my country will be stepping in here."
- Life in the old dogs yet -
The two oldest drivers on the grid showed why they are justified in carrying on into their mid-40s with some vintage displays in China.
Lewis Hamilton, 39, and Fernando Alonso, 42, have nine world titles between them and showed why when they tiptoed their way to second and third on the grid in a treacherous sprint qualifying session.
Hamilton then led in his Mercedes for seven laps before being reeled in by Verstappen and weaved his way from 18th on the grid to ninth in the grand prix in an underperforming car.
"Taking the lead reminded me of what I love so much about this sport," said Hamilton, who will switch to Ferrari next season.
Wily old fox Alonso put his Aston Martin in P3 for the main race, and then sped past the Red Bull of Sergio Perez at the start before eventually finishing seventh and taking the point for the fastest lap.
There were no apologies from Alonso for upstaging many of his younger rivals.
"We can't say sorry for being too fast in qualifying," said Alonso, who has extended his Aston Martin contract until the end of 2026, when he will be 45.
"So let's take it."
- Horner slaps down Perez -
While the whiff of scandal surrounding Christian Horner may have blown away for now, the Red Bull boss is never far away from paddock controversy.
Horner this weekend openly slapped down his driver Sergio 'Checo' Perez, who is out of contract at the end of 2024, after the Mexican told reporters he expected his future to be decided imminently.
"Sergio, of course, would like to make an announcement tomorrow, undoubtedly, but we as a team aren't in a particular rush," chided Horner.
"It is incredible that we are at race five (of the season) and there's so much talk already about drivers for next year.
"We're in a fortunate position where many drivers would obviously like to drive for the team," he added, with Ferrari's departing Carlos Sainz one of those eyeing the plum seat alongside Max Verstappen.
Perez has started 2024 strongly, with three second places and a third in five races, but Horner warned he needed to keep it up if he wanted to stay with Red Bull.
"We just want to make sure that the level of consistency that 'Checo' started the season with is maintained and, in due course, we will evaluate the options."
P.Santos--AMWN