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Horner Praises Lawson for ‘Elbows Out’ Performance

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner speaks to Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner speaks to Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Horner Praises Lawson for ‘Elbows Out’ Performance

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner speaks to Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner speaks to Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)

Liam Lawson drew praise from Red Bull boss Christian Horner after the driver marked his return to Formula One for the first time in more than a year by racing from 19th to ninth in Sunday's US Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old New Zealander has taken the place of Australian Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull-owned RB for the remainder of the season with a 2025 race seat there for the taking.

Lawson, who started at the back of the grid on Sunday due to an inherited engine penalty, had already made his mark on Saturday when he clashed with Aston Martin's double world champion Fernando Alonso in a sprint race.

The Spaniard had called him an idiot and also exchanged words with him afterwards.

"I think if you're getting into a spat and getting your elbows out with Fernando on your first race back in, you're doing alright," Horner told reporters.

"I think that he drove an exceptional race today from 19th to ninth. He was fast, he was courageous and I thought it was an excellent comeback for him."

Lawson, who made five appearances last year as a stand-in for the injured Ricciardo, said he had not expected to do so well.

"I just went for every little gap and made up some positions. We made a really good step up with the car yesterday, which we hoped would replicate in the race today and thankfully it did," he added.

Team boss Laurent Mekies said it was a great job "especially when one considers he has not raced since October last year."

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Sharapova, the Bryan Brothers Are Elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame

FILE - Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Italy's Karin Knapp during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 31, 2008. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)
FILE - Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Italy's Karin Knapp during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 31, 2008. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)
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Sharapova, the Bryan Brothers Are Elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame

FILE - Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Italy's Karin Knapp during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 31, 2008. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)
FILE - Russia's Maria Sharapova returns the ball to Italy's Karin Knapp during their third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, May 31, 2008. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)

Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion known for plenty of on-court grit and off-court attention, and Bob and Mike Bryan, twins who won a record 16 major titles in men's doubles together, are first-ballot selections for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall announced the Class of 2025 on Thursday.
Sharapova won at least one championship at each of her sport's four most prestigious events, making her one of 10 women in tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam, and she was the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings. She retired in 2020 at age 32 after a career that included 15 years in the spotlight, a 15-month doping ban and multiple operations on her right shoulder.
In a message posted on social media, Sharapova called herself “incredibly grateful to receive this honor.”
The Bryan brothers also compiled a career Grand Slam and spent 438 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP doubles rankings. They won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and helped the United States win the 2007 Davis Cup title; Bob is currently the captain of the American team that will go to Malaga, Spain, for next month's finals to compete for the country's first triumph in that competition since then.
Mike Bryan — he’s right-handed, and his brother is a lefty — is the career leader with 18 major men’s doubles trophies overall; he got two with Jack Sock while Bob was injured in 2018.
“We are truly humbled and grateful to receive this honor. Though making it to Newport was never our goal, being included among so many of our idols and role models is incredibly special,” Bob Bryan wrote in a text message to The Associated Press on Thursday. “Mike and I continue to be best friends, and we feel lucky to have been able to ride this tennis rollercoaster together.”
Sharapova became an instant star when she won her first major title at Wimbledon in 2004 at age 17 by beating Serena Williams in the final, then collected the trophies at the US Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova helped Russia win the team competition now known as the Billie Jean King Cup in 2008, and she claimed a silver medal in singles at the 2012 Olympics, losing to Williams in the final.
All the while, Sharapova earned millions of dollars more in endorsement deals than prize money.
“There are a couple of sides of me,” Sharapova said in an interview with the AP in 2006, shortly before she won the title at Flushing Meadows. “There’s the Maria that’s a tennis player. There’s the Maria that is a normal girl. And there’s the Maria who’s a businesswoman. And that’s where the ‘Maria Sharapova brand’ comes into play.”
At the 2016 Australian Open, Sharapova tested positive for the newly banned drug meldonium and initially was handed a two-year suspension. After appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Sharapova was given a reduced penalty when it was determined that she bore “less than significant fault” in the case and could not “be considered to be an intentional doper.”
The Bryans and Sharapova will be inducted in August.
“We are thankful to so many people who supported us along the way, and we look forward to sharing this moment with them next year,” Bob Bryan wrote. “Our parents created a magical environment at their club and made tennis fun for us. They helped us fall in love with the game, so tennis never felt like work; it was always play."
Daniel Nestor, a Canadian who won 12 Grand Slam titles in men’s or mixed doubles, did not receive the 75% of the vote required to qualify for the Hall in balloting among members of the media, historians, Hall of Fame members, industry experts and fans. This was his third — and final — year as a candidate.