عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Hamilton Vows Maximum Attack from 11th on the Grid in Turkey

Lewis Hamilton. (Reuters)
Lewis Hamilton. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Hamilton Vows Maximum Attack from 11th on the Grid in Turkey

Lewis Hamilton. (Reuters)
Lewis Hamilton. (Reuters)

Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton promised "maximum attack" in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix and would not rule out winning from 11th on the grid.

The Mercedes driver was quickest in qualifying at Istanbul Park but a 10-place penalty for exceeding his season's engine allocation, a strategic move, left the Briton with plenty of overtaking to do in the race.

Hamilton won in Turkey last year, in wet and slippery conditions, after starting sixth.

He also stood out in his pre-F1 days when he roared back from 19th to second in a GP2 race in the dry in 2006.

This time he risks losing his championship lead unless he finishes ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who is two points adrift with seven races to go and lines up on the front row with Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas on pole.

"I was third already at turn one last year so that made a bit of a difference," said Hamilton, now chasing a record eighth title.

"It's a much different weekend, a much different track grip, so we're faced with different circumstances this weekend," he added.

"My eyes are still solely set on winning the race. It's going to be very hard, from 11th, but not impossible ... so just staying on my toes and making sure that we deliver maximum attack tomorrow."

Hamilton has three other Red Bull drivers ahead of him on the grid, with Verstappen's Mexican team mate Sergio Perez on the third row while Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, from Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri, are fourth and ninth.

McLaren's Lando Norris, who lines up seventh, said he expected to stay ahead of Hamilton for only a couple of laps.

"I'm not going to say I'm going to beat him because I'm not," said the 21-year-old, who started on pole in Russia and nearly won.

Hamilton said he would just take it one step at a time, and had to get through the opening lap safely first from his midfield position.

"If I can be higher up early on, then great. I've got to stay out of trouble of course, and that will be probably my priority initially, and then see if it's possible to pick them off one by one."

Most Viewed

 
Sports

Horner Leaves Red Bull After Reported 80 Million-Pound Payoff

Red Bull Racing's British team principal and CEO Christian Horner reacts prior to the third practice session at the Red Bull Ring race track in Spielberg, Austria, on June 28, 2025, ahead of the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix. (AFP)
Red Bull Racing's British team principal and CEO Christian Horner reacts prior to the third practice session at the Red Bull Ring race track in Spielberg, Austria, on June 28, 2025, ahead of the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

Horner Leaves Red Bull After Reported 80 Million-Pound Payoff

Red Bull Racing's British team principal and CEO Christian Horner reacts prior to the third practice session at the Red Bull Ring race track in Spielberg, Austria, on June 28, 2025, ahead of the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix. (AFP)
Red Bull Racing's British team principal and CEO Christian Horner reacts prior to the third practice session at the Red Bull Ring race track in Spielberg, Austria, on June 28, 2025, ahead of the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix. (AFP)

Former Formula One team boss Christian Horner officially left Red Bull on Monday after being ousted in July, with British media reporting an 80 million-pound ($108 million) settlement.

A Red Bull statement on the team website announced the 51-year-old's formal departure but did not mention any financial terms.

Horner, one of the sport's most successful team principals, was removed from his position at Milton Keynes by the Austrian energy drink company on July 9 after 20 years at the helm.

The Briton, who was replaced by Laurent Mekies, had remained an employee technically despite being released from his operational duties with the team.

The Daily Mail and Times newspapers both reported he had left with an 80-million-pound package -- less than he would have received had he served out his contract to 2030 -- and would be in a position to return to Formula One next year.

Media reports have said that Horner, who had been cleared of allegations of misconduct by a female employee at Red Bull, could take a stake in another team if he does make a comeback.

"I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved as a team breaking records and reaching heights no-one would ever believe were possible and I will forever carry that with me," Horner said in the statement.

There was no immediate comment about his future plans.

Red Bull have won the last two races, including Sunday's in Azerbaijan, with four-times world champion Max Verstappen dominant from pole position.

Sports

Dembele and Kelly Among the Favorites to Win Men’s and Women’s Ballon d’Or Award in Paris 

PSG's Ousmane Dembele during the League One soccer match Paris Saint-Germain against Angers at the Parc des Princes stadium, on Aug. 22, 2025 in Paris. (AP)
PSG's Ousmane Dembele during the League One soccer match Paris Saint-Germain against Angers at the Parc des Princes stadium, on Aug. 22, 2025 in Paris. (AP)
TT
20
TT

Dembele and Kelly Among the Favorites to Win Men’s and Women’s Ballon d’Or Award in Paris 

PSG's Ousmane Dembele during the League One soccer match Paris Saint-Germain against Angers at the Parc des Princes stadium, on Aug. 22, 2025 in Paris. (AP)
PSG's Ousmane Dembele during the League One soccer match Paris Saint-Germain against Angers at the Parc des Princes stadium, on Aug. 22, 2025 in Paris. (AP)

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele and England forward Chloe Kelly are among the leading contenders to win the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or award on Monday.

They are frontrunners among the 30 men’s and 30 women’s nominees revealed last month by France Football magazine, with the winners announced at a ceremony in central Paris.

The 28-year-old Dembele was inspirational in leading PSG to its first Champions League title and is among a remarkable nine PSG players vying for the men’s award. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has since joined Manchester City but was nominated as a PSG player.

Teenage Barcelona star Lamine Yamal and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah are among the other men's candidates.

When England won the women’s European Championship in July, the 27-year-old Kelly blasted home the decisive penalty in the final against World Cup winner Spain. She also won the women’s Champions League with surprise winner Arsenal.

She faces competition from defender Lucy Bronze and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton — her England teammates who both play for Chelsea — and from Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, the winner of the past two awards.

Barcelona players have won the past four women's awards.

PSG players absent

Because the French soccer league postponed Sunday night’s match between host Marseille and PSG by 24 hours due to a severe weather forecast, the match at Stade Velodrome is scheduled to start Monday at 8 p.m. local time (1800 GMT).

That clashes with the Ballon d’Or ceremony and prevents most PSG players from attending.

However, Dembele, and his fellow nominees Desire Doue and Joao Neves are injured and not in the matchday squad, leaving them free to attend the ceremony.

PSG’s Luis Enrique was nominated for best coach.

The Ballon d’Or was created by France Football magazine and has been awarded since 1956 for men, and since 2018 for women. It is voted for by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings for the men’s award and the top 50 FIFA-ranked countries for the women’s award.

Each journalist, one per country, selects players in ranked order with points attributed to each position.

Sports

Barca Ease to Getafe Win, Atletico Held after Missed Penalty

Barcelona's Spanish forward Ferran Torres (C) opened the scoring with a powerful finish at the end of a slick move. Josep LAGO / AFP
Barcelona's Spanish forward Ferran Torres (C) opened the scoring with a powerful finish at the end of a slick move. Josep LAGO / AFP
TT
20
TT

Barca Ease to Getafe Win, Atletico Held after Missed Penalty

Barcelona's Spanish forward Ferran Torres (C) opened the scoring with a powerful finish at the end of a slick move. Josep LAGO / AFP
Barcelona's Spanish forward Ferran Torres (C) opened the scoring with a powerful finish at the end of a slick move. Josep LAGO / AFP

Ferran Torres struck twice for champions Barcelona as they beat Getafe 3-0 on Sunday to stay on Real Madrid's tails at the top of La Liga.

Dani Olmo was also on target for the Catalans, who trail leaders Madrid by two points after Xabi Alonso's side beat Espanyol on Saturday to maintain their 100 percent record, AFP said.

Atletico Madrid's stuttering start to the season continued in a 1-1 draw at Mallorca, in which their striker Julian Alvarez missed a penalty.

Playing at the 6,000 capacity Johan Cruyff stadium besides their training ground again as the club waits for the necessary licenses to reopen their renovated Camp Nou home, Barcelona dominated an unambitious Getafe team.

Despite his brace against Newcastle in the Champions League, German coach Hansi Flick left Marcus Rashford on the bench, with Spanish media reporting that it was because the England international was late for a morning meeting.

Flick has dropped other players from the line-up for the same offence in the past, including defender Jules Kounde.

"(Rotation) is normal because every three or four days we have a match, we need fresh legs on the pitch," said Flick, when asked why Rashford did not start.

Rashford's replacement as the stand-in for injured teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, Torres, took his chance with both hands.

"We have a lot of matches so it's really good to have everyone on this (level of) performance," added Flick.

The Spaniard opened the scoring with a powerful finish at the end of a slick move, with Olmo backheeling the ball into his path in the box.

Torres's second finish was even better, guided into the bottom left corner from outside the box after Raphinha sent him through on goal.

The forward crashed a shot off the bar as a first half hat-trick beckoned.

Several Barca players lost their temper before the break as Getafe put in several hard and late tackles, with Kounde the victim of many of them.

Flick sent on Rashford for Raphinha at half-time, perhaps in order to save the Brazilian from a potential red card.

"A lot of the time, they don't try to do anything apart from too many fouls, in my opinion, but we managed it well," Torres told DAZN.

"I said to the team: we have to focus on our match, not on their match," said Flick.

Rashford created Barcelona's third, zipping inside from the right flank and unselfishly cutting the ball back for Olmo to finish, and had two efforts of his own saved by Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.

The only bad news for Barca was substitute Fermin Lopez appearing to pull up hurt in stoppage time.

Frustrated Atletico

Earlier, Atletico were held by Mallorca despite outplaying the hosts.

Diego Simeone's side, reduced to 10 men after Alexander Sorloth's red card, took the lead through Conor Gallagher but Vedat Muriqi levelled in the 85th minute.

The draw left Atletico 12th, having won just one of their first five league matches.

"I think we dominated the game from start to end, until we scored and they, with one more player, turned up the pressure," Atletico captain Koke told DAZN.

"It's clear that what matters is scoring goals and they don't want to go in."

The draw leaves Atletico nine points behind leaders Real Madrid, and seven behind Barcelona.

Licking their wounds after a painful late Champions League defeat at Liverpool in midweek, Atletico were left with a similar feeling.

"We have to improve to hold on in games... (but) we're building a new team, a lot of players have come in. We're on the right path," said Simeone.

Mallorca goalkeeper Leo Roman made several saves, including from Alvarez's penalty after captain Antonio Raillo handled David Hancko's shot in the first half.

The Rojiblancos' job was made harder when Sorloth was dismissed for a high challenge on Raillo in the 72nd minute, but a few minutes later they took the lead as Gallagher netted a rebound.

Simeone's side could not hold on and Muriqi nodded the hosts level with five minutes remaining.