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F1 Driver Esteban Ocon to Join American Haas Team from Next Season 

Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon arrives at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest on July 18, 2024, ahead of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix. (AFP)
Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon arrives at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest on July 18, 2024, ahead of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix. (AFP)
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F1 Driver Esteban Ocon to Join American Haas Team from Next Season 

Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon arrives at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest on July 18, 2024, ahead of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix. (AFP)
Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon arrives at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest on July 18, 2024, ahead of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix. (AFP)

Frenchman Esteban Ocon will drive for Haas from next season as a replacement for Kevin Magnussen, the American Formula 1 team said on Thursday.

Details of the deal were not announced, with Haas only saying that the 27-year-old driver committed to a “multi-year contract starting with the 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.”

Ocon, the only driver to win a race for Alpine since it rebranded from Renault at the end of 2020, has picked up just three points this season and had already announced he was leaving the French-owned team. His Alpine contract is expiring at the end of the season.

Ocon made his F1 debut in 2016 with Manor and joined the then-Renault team for 2020. His sole career win came at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021 for Alpine after a crash in wet conditions took out much of the field.

“I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my Formula 1 career,” Ocon said.. “I’ll be joining a very ambitious racing team, whose spirit, work ethic, and undeniable upward trajectory has really impressed me.”

Haas announced last week that Magnussen would leave Haas at the end of the season when his contract expires.

On the eve of the Belgian Grand Prix, team principal Ayao Komatsu said Ocon will bring crucial experience to the team after 19-year-old Oliver Bearman also joined.

The British driver will take the seat vacated by German driver Nico Hulkenberg, who is joining Sauber at the end of the year ahead of its rebranding to Audi for 2026.

“I think we have a hungry, dynamic driver pairing,” Komatsu said.

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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
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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.

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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
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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
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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.