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Verstappen Fastest in Japanese Grand Prix First Practice

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fastest in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fastest in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP
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Verstappen Fastest in Japanese Grand Prix First Practice

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fastest in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fastest in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP

Max Verstappen went fastest on Friday in first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, edging out Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez at Suzuka.
The triple world champion, who failed to finish the race in Australia a fortnight ago, clocked a lap of 1min 30.056sec -- 0.181sec quicker than the Mexican.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who won in Australia after returning from appendicitis surgery, was third-fastest at 1min 30.269sec.
Verstappen won the first two grands prix of the season but the Dutchman retired from a race for the first time in two years in Melbourne after a brake issue, said AFP.
Normal service resumed in dry conditions at Suzuka, in a session that was red-flagged for around 10 minutes after Williams driver Logan Sargeant crashed into a wall of tyres.
George Russell was fourth-quickest followed by Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc coming home in sixth.
Sargeant came skidding off the track at a corner and spun across the gravel before slamming into a barrier midway through the session.
The American walked away unhurt and his car was carried off by a crane, with the session red-flagged.
Hamilton had the fastest lap at that point but the seven-time world champion soon tumbled down the time sheets once the action resumed.
Hamilton is looking to jump-start a frustrating start to the season after finishing seventh in Bahrain and ninth in Saudi Arabia, before retiring in Australia with engine failure.
Russell, who escaped unscathed from a heavy crash late in the race in Australia, voiced his frustration over the team radio as the traffic piled up.
"This McLaren just stopped in the middle of the corner here," he said.
McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished second behind Verstappen at last year's Japanese Grand Prix, set the early pace.
RB's Daniel Ricciardo sat out the session as Japanese driver Ayumu Iwasa took his seat for the team.

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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
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Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.