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Verstappen Wins 3rd Straight Canadian Grand Prix for 60th Formula 1 Victory

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen races during the 2024 Canada Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, on June 9, 2024. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen races during the 2024 Canada Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, on June 9, 2024. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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Verstappen Wins 3rd Straight Canadian Grand Prix for 60th Formula 1 Victory

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen races during the 2024 Canada Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, on June 9, 2024. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen races during the 2024 Canada Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, on June 9, 2024. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Max Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix for the third straight year Sunday for the Red Bull star's 60th Formula 1 victory and sixth in nine races this season.
Verstappen started second in the rain alongside pole-sitter George Russell and dominated late again at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Ile Notre-Dame. The 26-year-old Dutchman has a staggering 50 victories in the last 75 F1 races.
Verstappen finished 3.879 seconds ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris in the 70-lap race on the 2.71-mile (4.36-kilometer) road course, The Associated Press reported. Last year, Verstappen started from the pole and led every lap.
The race Sunday started with a soaking wet track before the sun emerged 10 minutes in, but rain showers returned periodically throughout the afternoon.
“It’s a lot of fun to drive these kinds of races now and then,” Verstappen said. “You don’t want it all the time because that’s too stressful. But I had a lot of fun out there today.”
Norris lost a 10-second lead when Logan Sargeant brought put the safety car on Lap 26.
“We should have won the race today and we didn’t so, frustrating,” Norris said. “We had the pace. We should have won today. It’s as simple as that.”
Mercedes took the third and fourth spots, with Russell third and seven-time Montreal winner Lewis Hamilton fourth. Oscar Piastri was fifth for McLaren, followed by Aston Martin drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, the lone Canadian in the race.
“It was a tough track with the condition, so I’m really satisfied to score points,” Stroll said. “Lots of points, the sixth and seventh positions are really good for the team.”
Verstappen increased his season lead to 56 points over second-place Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
“As a team, we made the right calls today,” said Verstappen, coming off a sixth-place finish in Monaco. “It’s great to have three wins in a row here. I hope I can add more in the future.”
On Lap 46, Norris stayed out while Verstappen and Russell pitted. Verstappen regained the lead three laps later when he squeezed past Norris as the McLaren driver came out of the pit lane. Verstappen hung onto the top spot the rest of the way.
Verstappen managed to avoid hitting a groundhog on Lap 31.
“He was almost dead,” Verstappen said. “I started to get to the last chicane and I thought it was debris initially. So, I started to close in and then I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that’s an animal.’ Last year, a bird flew into my car, so I didn’t want to have a groundhog stuck in my car as well.”
Verstappen joined Hamilton and Michael Schumacher as the only drivers to three-peat in Montreal. The three-time season champion is third on the career victory list behind Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (91).
Ferrari had a terrible weekend. Leclerc retired on Lap 43 after gambling with his tire strategy and falling far behind, and Carlos Sainz exited later when he spun out.
“Just a very weak, disappointing weekend for the whole team,” Sainz said. “We never seemed to find pace.”
Organizers said 350,000 spectators made the trip to the track over the event’s three days.
Verstappen started second Sunday on a tiebreaker after having the same lap time as Russell in qualifying Saturday. Russell got the pole because he posted the time first.

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Fernandez’s Chelsea Future Uncertain as Alonso Seeks Commitment

Football - Premier League - Fulham v Chelsea - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2026 Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez comes on as a substitute. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Fulham v Chelsea - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2026 Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez comes on as a substitute. (Reuters)
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Fernandez’s Chelsea Future Uncertain as Alonso Seeks Commitment

Football - Premier League - Fulham v Chelsea - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2026 Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez comes on as a substitute. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Fulham v Chelsea - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - August 24, 2026 Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez comes on as a substitute. (Reuters)

Xabi Alonso said he wants players that "feel a desire" to play for Chelsea after Enzo Fernandez was left out of Thursday's League Cup win over Luton.

The Argentina midfielder has been linked with a move to Manchester City, but no suitor has yet met Chelsea's reported £120 million ($163 million) valuation of Fernandez.

The 25-year-old came off the bench in the Blues' 3-2 win over Fulham to give Alonso a winning start to his reign in the Premier League on Monday.

However, the former Real Madrid boss hinted that Fernandez may not be involved against Brighton on Sunday.

"We need to take everything into consideration, players that are in good moments, players that are not feeling that energy to play. For me it's very important that they feel that desire to play and to have good preparation," said Alonso.

"We talked and we decided that (for Luton) it was better not to be part of the squad. He's a top player, there's no doubt about that."

Selling Fernandez would ease the pressure on Chelsea to meet financial sustainability regulations after another window of heavy investment in the transfer market.

Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Marco Palestra, Valentin Barco, Pep Chavarria, Danny Welbeck, Emmanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda have arrived at Stamford Bridge for combined fees in excess of £300 million.

Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez is also expected to join to replace the error-prone Robert Sanchez as Chelsea's first choice goalkeeper.

There have also been a raft of departures from the club in recent days, with strikers Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson bringing in nearly £100 million between them.

Alonso, who previously said his bloated squad size needed to be drastically cut, is satisfied with the clear-out.

"We are quite close to the plan that we had. We will see where we finish, if it's fully executed or there are some things still to be done," he added.

"But overall the balance of what we have is going to be good. We need to see how the last few days develop."

Sports

Roger Federer Heads to the Tennis Hall of Fame and Says He ‘Had the Best Time’ During His Career

Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer in action during the "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York" exhibition match during US Open Fan Week at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 25 August 2026. (EPA)
Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer in action during the "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York" exhibition match during US Open Fan Week at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 25 August 2026. (EPA)
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Roger Federer Heads to the Tennis Hall of Fame and Says He ‘Had the Best Time’ During His Career

Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer in action during the "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York" exhibition match during US Open Fan Week at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 25 August 2026. (EPA)
Swiss former tennis player Roger Federer in action during the "Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York" exhibition match during US Open Fan Week at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, US, 25 August 2026. (EPA)

Roger Federer loved to win, of course, and at the peak of his career almost always did.

All those victories and trophies he piled up alone would have made Federer remembered forever in tennis, but they were only part of the reason he enjoyed playing. He liked traveling to tournaments, meeting people and making new friends, whether they were on the other side of the net or sitting in the stands.

Only after he finished competing did Federer realize how much that impacted his legacy in the sport.

“I think when you retire, I think I said it before, that there was a lot of talk also about maybe my personality and what I brought to the game overall when I wasn’t on court, which I was a little surprised,” Federer said. "I thought it was about, in the moment, forehands and backhands and saving break points and victories and all that stuff.

"But actually it becomes a little bit, not irrelevant eventually, but it’s about what were you remembered for, how did you behave in the locker rooms or in the corridors or maybe with the media, or with the tournament directors, the ball kids."

Federer will have a chance to reflect back on it all Saturday when he is enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

The 45-year-old from Switzerland, who will be honored along with broadcaster and former player Mary Carillo, said it would be his first trip to Newport. That seemed surprising, given how many places he's gone for his tennis.

Sure, there was regular stops such as New York and London and Paris for Grand Slam tournaments, but there were also cities like Cape Town, South Africa, for an exhibition match against Rafael Nadal that drew nearly 52,000 fans; or Mexico City, for one against Alexander Zverev that drew more than 42,000.

Those were near the end of his career, when Federer was forced to limit his schedule for health reasons. He hated having to do so, because he liked going too many places, even ones that didn't host the biggest events.

“For me, if I look back, that’s kind of what I’m very happy about, that I went through 25 years on tour, and actually felt like I made a lot of friends and a lot of people miss me,” Federer said. "Same with fans. They come up to me and say, ‘What a shame you’re not playing anymore.’

“Then I get a flashback saying it was an amazing time, and I say it every time. I loved it, and it’s a shame I can’t be on the tour anymore. But it was a great, great time and I miss it dearly.”

The fans clearly miss Federer. When he returned to the US Open this week for an exhibition, his first time playing in Flushing Meadows since 2019, the lines of fans waiting to get into Arthur Ashe Stadium resembled a night in the second week of the tournament, not well before it even began.

Federer won five straight US Open titles from 2004-08, during a stretch when he compiled a 247-15 record from 2004-06 and reached a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals from 2005-07, winning eight. He went on to win 1,251 matches and 103 tournaments, including 20 Grand Slams.

“He’s the best I’ve ever played against,” Andre Agassi, Federer's opponent in the 2005 final, said in a video the US Open showed before Federer took the court Tuesday.

The way he won, with far more flair than some stuffy champions of the past but without the temper tantrums of others, earned him accolades that his skills alone couldn't. He won the ATP Tour's sportsmanship award every year from 2004-09, and again from 2011-17, and the fan favorite award every year from 2003-21. Those came while earning prize money of nearly $130.6 million.

Federer hits sometimes with his children — he and wife Mirka are parents of two sets of twins — and tries to attend a few events a year to keep him connected to the sport.

“I’m in a very comfortable place today, but I’m still happy to be out there and being in the tennis world from time to time, because it is the glue to everything that surrounds me still today,” Federer said.

“I had the best time, had a lot of friends on tour, from players to people who were organizers, et cetera. So I hope that a lot of the players who retire also feel the same way about the game, because I care dearly.”

Sports

Frankfurt Signs Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu from Freiburg as Bundesliga Season Starts

Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP)
Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP)
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Frankfurt Signs Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu from Freiburg as Bundesliga Season Starts

Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP)
Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany, on Oct. 26, 2025. (AP)

Eintracht Frankfurt signed the up-and-coming German goalkeeper Noah Atubolu from Freiburg on the day the new Bundesliga season gets underway.

Atubolu was key to Freiburg's run to the Europa League final last season — where it lost to Aston Villa — and had been linked with a potential move to Villa in the summer as he sought to leave.

Instead, he heads to Frankfurt on what is initially a season-long loan with “a purchase option, which will automatically trigger an obligation to buy under certain conditions,” Frankfurt said.

Atubolu had a year left on his old Freiburg contract and has signed an extension to make the loan-to-buy deal possible, Freiburg said. That prevents him from moving elsewhere as a free agent next summer instead of joining Frankfurt permanently.

It ends a long-running transfer saga which included Freiburg signing Germany Under-21 goalkeeper Mio Backhaus from Werder Bremen as its replacement for Atubolu, who was left out of the squad for Freiburg's opening three games of the season in the German Cup and Conference League qualifiers.

“We have very complicated weeks and months behind us,” Freiburg sporting director Jochen Saier said in a statement.

The Bundesliga gets underway with defending champion Bayern Munich playing Stuttgart on Friday. Frankfurt visits Union Berlin on Saturday before Freiburg takes on Backhaus' former club Bremen on Sunday.