عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Mugello to Host Ferrari's 1,000th Formula One Race

Scuderia Ferrari supporters, also known as 'Tifosi', and other fans cheer as they follow the awarding ceremony after the Italian F1 Grand Prix at Monza on September 8, 2019. (AFP)
Scuderia Ferrari supporters, also known as 'Tifosi', and other fans cheer as they follow the awarding ceremony after the Italian F1 Grand Prix at Monza on September 8, 2019. (AFP)
TT
TT

Mugello to Host Ferrari's 1,000th Formula One Race

Scuderia Ferrari supporters, also known as 'Tifosi', and other fans cheer as they follow the awarding ceremony after the Italian F1 Grand Prix at Monza on September 8, 2019. (AFP)
Scuderia Ferrari supporters, also known as 'Tifosi', and other fans cheer as they follow the awarding ceremony after the Italian F1 Grand Prix at Monza on September 8, 2019. (AFP)

The Ferrari-owned Mugello circuit will debut on the Formula One calendar in September to host the Italian team's 1,000th championship grand prix, with Russia's race in Sochi also confirmed on Friday.

The Sept. 13 race, to be called the Grand Prix of Tuscany Ferrari 1,000, will follow on from the Sept. 6 Italian Grand Prix at Monza as the ninth round of a season that has been heavily revised due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russia will be the 10th race on Sept. 27.

Formula One said in a statement it still expected to stage between 15-18 rounds in a championship that started at Austria's Red Bull Ring last weekend, with more announcements in coming weeks.

"We are increasingly confident in our plans to race throughout the remainder of 2020," said Formula One chairman Chase Carey.

"The Russian Grand Prix is a major moment in our season and we are looking forward to being back in Sochi in September.

"We are equally excited to see Formula One race for the first time at Mugello, an occasion that will mark Ferrari’s 1,000th Grand Prix."

Mugello will be the fourth Italian circuit to host a championship grand prix, after Monza, Imola and the Pescara road course.

The Tuscan circuit, north of Florence, has been a fixture on the MotoGP calendar and is also used by Ferrari for testing and other races.

"To be able to celebrate an extraordinary anniversary like the 1,000th grand prix for Scuderia Ferrari at our own home at Mugello is an incredible opportunity," said Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto.

"Mugello is not just one of the most spectacular and challenging tracks for drivers and cars, it is also a structure that has made sustainability one of its priorities."

Imola, which hosted the San Marino Grand Prix up to 2006, could yet feature on the 2020 calendar if other races are cancelled.

Formula One is also lining up Portugal's Algarve circuit in Portimao, with Vietnam still a possibility.

While China has said it will not hold any international sporting events this year, aside from trials for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Formula One could yet secure an exemption.

Races in the Americas -- Texas, Mexico and Brazil -- look doubtful due to the spread of the new coronavirus but Bahrain, with a possible two races, and Abu Dhabi are set to complete the season in November.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Sabalenka Pulls Out of Stuttgart Open with Injury

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 28: Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States during the Women's Singles Final on Day 12 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 28: Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States during the Women's Singles Final on Day 12 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
TT
TT

Sabalenka Pulls Out of Stuttgart Open with Injury

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 28: Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States during the Women's Singles Final on Day 12 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - MARCH 28: Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Coco Gauff of the United States during the Women's Singles Final on Day 12 of the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday pulled out of next week's Stuttgart Open citing an injury sustained at the Miami Open in March.

The Belarusian wrote on social media that she had failed to recover in time for the clay court tournament, which starts on Monday, AFP reported.

"Unfortunately, I suffered an injury after Miami, and even though I tried everything to recover in time, I'm not ready to compete," Sabalenka said Thursday.

The 27-year-old did not specify the nature of the injury.

The four-time Grand Slam winner has made it to the final in Stuttgart in four of the past five years but is yet to win the tournament.

"I always love coming back to Stuttgart. The atmosphere, the fans, and the support I feel there are so special to me. And of course, I was really hoping to have another chance."

Sabalenka beat local favorite Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to win the Miami Open to make it a "sunshine double," having won the WTA 1000 at Indian Wells two weeks prior.

Sports

Verstappen's Race Engineer to Leave Red Bull for McLaren

FILED - 19 February 2026, Bahrain, Sakhir: Formula One driver Max Verstappen talks with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 19 February 2026, Bahrain, Sakhir: Formula One driver Max Verstappen talks with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpa
TT
TT

Verstappen's Race Engineer to Leave Red Bull for McLaren

FILED - 19 February 2026, Bahrain, Sakhir: Formula One driver Max Verstappen talks with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 19 February 2026, Bahrain, Sakhir: Formula One driver Max Verstappen talks with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase during the second Formula 1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire/dpa

Max Verstappen's long-time Formula One race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is to leave Red Bull and join McLaren in a supporting role to team principal Andrea Stella.

There was no immediate comment from either team on Thursday but senior insiders confirmed the move, first reported in Dutch media, to Reuters.

The news was also reported by the BBC and Sky Sports, with 2028 given as the likely start date for a man who has been working with Verstappen since 2016 and has played a key role in helping the Dutch driver to four world championships.

Lambiase, 45, had also been linked with Silverstone-based Aston Martin, whose team principal is former Red Bull star designer Adrian Newey.

While Aston Martin have endured ⁠a nightmare start ⁠to the season, struggling to even finish races with an uncompetitive Honda engine, McLaren won both titles last year with champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri.

Lambiase is expected to become head of race engineering at McLaren once a potentially long period of 'gardening leave' comes to an end, with former Ferrari engineer Stella continuing in his position.

Stella, who worked with Michael Schumacher in a golden era at Ferrari in the early 2000s, has a multi-year contract with McLaren ⁠and no intention of returning to Maranello despite some media speculation about his future.

The close but forthright relationship between Verstappen and 'GP' over the team radio has become a familiar part of Formula One, similar to the pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Peter 'Bono' Bonnington during the seven-times world champion's spell at Mercedes.

Former Red Bull boss Christian Horner, fired last July, once compared the relationship to that of "an old married couple arguing about what to watch on television.

"The dynamic between the two is so intense that in between you have to ask yourself who is supposed to be the driver and who is supposed to be the engineer here."

Losing the Briton will be a blow to Verstappen, after the departure of other important figures ⁠in recent seasons and ⁠once-dominant Red Bull's waning performance on track, but the 28-year-old has also increasingly cast doubt on his own longevity in the sport.

“I'm thinking about everything inside this paddock,” he said in Japan last month.

Verstappen is no fan of the sport's new engine era and rules that force drivers to manage energy deployment and take corners at less than full speed.

In 2021, when they won a first title together, the Dutchman went so far as to say that he would not continue without Lambiase.

"I have said to him I only work with him. As soon as he stops, I stop too," he told Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport. "We can be pretty strict with each other sometimes but I want that. He has to tell me when I'm being a jerk and I have to tell him."

McLaren already have former Red Bull employees Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay in senior roles as chief designer and sporting director respectively.

Sports

Nike in Exclusive Talks to be Match Ball Provider for UEFA Men's Club from 2027

Nike sneakers are seen on display at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30. REUTERS/Mina Kim
Nike sneakers are seen on display at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30. REUTERS/Mina Kim
TT
TT

Nike in Exclusive Talks to be Match Ball Provider for UEFA Men's Club from 2027

Nike sneakers are seen on display at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30. REUTERS/Mina Kim
Nike sneakers are seen on display at Westfield Stratford City in London, Britain, July 30. REUTERS/Mina Kim

The joint venture between UEFA and European Football Clubs, UC3, said on Thursday it has entered exclusive negotiations with Nike to become the official match ball provider for all UEFA men's club competitions from 2027 to 2031, Reuters reported.

A deal would mark the first time Nike gets a contract to become the official match ball provider for UEFA men's club competitions after 25 years, taking over from rival Adidas which has held the rights since 2001.

The value of the deal across the competitions could roughly double to more than 40 million euros ($46.70 million) a year, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.