UK News
Formula One 2026: Japanese Grand Prix qualifying – live | Formula One 2026
Key events
But Russell is three 10ths down by the end of the lap. Antonelli on provisional pole, but Hamilton goes fastest in the first sector.
Here comes Q3 and the Mercedes. Antonelli looking so much smoother than Russell so. far, but now the Briton looks as if he may have got it together.
Verstappen is not the only unhappy bunny. Russell is struggling here. Mercedes have had three lockouts so far, including the sprint race in China, but that is not looking likely now.
“There is something wrong with the car. It’s completely undriveable. Jumping at high speed.” An expletive-free reaction from Verstappen. Also out: Ocon, Hülkenberg, Lawson, Colapinto and Sainz.
Verstappen can only go ninth … and is pushed down by his teammate Hadjar. But Hülkenberg struggles in the final sector. But Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls does take 10th! Verstappen out!
Drama down in 10th – Verstappen at risk. Hulkenberg is the man in 11th. But at the top, Leclerc goes fastest!
Russell is down in sixth after the first runs. Out on new rubber, he comes three 10ths down on Piastri – all lost in the last sector. His rear tyres are proving problematic.
Bortoleto up to third, new tyres doing their job. Gasly and Hadjar knock Verstappen down to eighth. That becomes 10th after Piastri goes fastest on his new rubber and Norris comes home too.
Antonelli will be first through: 1:27.774 – Russell is 0.343 slower and is soon pipped by Leclerc. Hamilton fourth.
The Mercedes and the Ferraris are out in Q2.
Bearman is the Q1 disappointment at one end, at the other it’s Norris. The world champion managed only eighth, beaten by the Audis of Hülkenberg and Bortoleto. The top five? Leclerc, Russell, Antonelli, Piastri and Hamilton.
We have our elimination list: Albon, Bearman, Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll. A surprise blow for Bearman, having qualified 12th and 10th in the previous two races.
Here comes the Briton … and he is just 0.052 behind Leclerc.
Top six in the pits – that group does not include Russell.
Albon, Sainz, Bottas, Perez, Stroll and Alonso in the drop zone. No surprises there.
Hamilton third fastest, behind Antonelli … while Leclerc moves ahead of them all. Good signs for Ferrari.
Russell reports an aerodynamic problem, likely caused by tyre temperature.
And Antonelli goes fastest, by 0.043 – while Russell is half a second down in fifth. Hmm.
Hamilton can only split the McLarens, while Leclerc beats Piastri by 0.360. But here come Mercedes.
Piastri is out and goes fastest through the early sectors. He has had more laps from Norris, for technical-hitch reasons – and it is showing. 130.438 for the Australian, the Briton two tenths back.
Liam Lawson comes in at 131.7. He is tipped to make it to Q3 for Racing Bulls, which would be a huge step up for the New Zealander. Teammate Arvid Lindblad goes a 10th faster.
We’re off … The first cars trundling out for their warm-up laps.
It’s not all about the drivers, of course. Here’s Princess Akiko meeting the Haas principal, Ayao Komatsu.
Less than five minutes to the off. Poor, cash-strapped F1 has not been able to update the season graphic to remove Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, or else is leaving them on out of solidarity.
Bernie Collins on Sky is analysing the theoretical best times of the top 10, and there are no surprises on the notional front row, with Russell 0.021 behind Antonelli. But there is more than half a second back to Leclerc in third, leading the Ferrari + McLaren quartet, and Verstappen is in 10th, behind Liam Lawson, who a year ago was demoted from Red Bull to Racing Bulls for this race after struggling in the role of the Dutchman’s sidekick.
Just what has changed this season. Here’s our graphic guide to it all.
At the back of the field, the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and new dad Fernando Alonso were more than four seconds slower than Antonelli. They were close to a second behind the Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, so even if they find some reliability they are practically competing in a different sport to the front row.
What of the rest, starting with the orange elephant in the room?
Max Verstappen, fresh from banishing our Giles Richards from a press conference, is still complaining about the new rules. He is not alone in this – and the powers that be have tweaked regulations at Suzuka to reduce the amount of lifting – but Red Bull’s four-time world champion is the loudest, most famous, least restrained voice. He was 1.548 down on Antonelli in FP3, beaten by Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi. There is surely no way that Verstappen will claim a fifth straight Suzuka pole.
Incidentally, Verstappen’s busman’s holiday to GT3 at the Nürburgring did not quite go to plan. He took pole and the chequered flag, but wound up empty-handed.
FP3, though, was a Mercedes show: Antonelli first, with Russell 0.254 back – and then more than half a second to Leclerc. Piastri split the Ferraris, beating Hamilton by 0.019, with Norris sixth.
How has the weekend gone so far for the other frontrunners?
First free practice was a Mercedes one-two, with Antonelli second by 0.026sec, with the McLarens of Norris and Piastri just behind. There was more encouragement for the constructors’ champions in FP2, with Piastri going fastest. McLaren were quick to say they expected Mercedes and Ferrari to be out in front once the action became competitive but, in the context of Norris’s run to fifth in Melbourne being the only full-race action the team have done this season, this was at least encouraging. Charles Leclerc was the faster of the Ferraris in the first two sessions, ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Norris did manage third in sprint qualifying in China, dropping one place in the sprint race. He and Piastri were less than two 10ths slower than the Ferraris in GP qualifying in Shanghai. For all that both cars failed to start the race because of power-unit problems, McLaren’s underlying form suggests that sooner or later they could disrupt the leading four. As Russell said: “McLaren were pretty fast, so a little bit of a surprise, to be honest.”
Ferrari think they have not made progress. Diego Ioverno, their sporting director, said: “The gap is more or less where we expected it to be, also quite in line with the first two races, especially in the short runs. We have to improve.”
Preamble
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose? George Russell may hope not.
The comprehensive changes in Formula One’s regulations mean 2026 is very different to 2025 in many regards, but a similarity between the results of the first two grands prix this year and last could hint at one enduring echo of the previous campaign.
Last year and this, two different drivers from the same team – then Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, now Russell and Kimi Antonelli – stood on the top step in Australia and China respectively. In 2025 that was the cue for a title battle within McLaren that lasted through to the autumn, when Max Verstappen joined in; could Mercedes v Mercedes be the dominant theme in 2026, and could that then allow a rival to have a late shout at the world championship?
There has been no equivalent yet from Mercedes of McLaren’s “Go racing” mantra, which contributed enormously to the excitement of last season. It also allowed Verstappen, eventually, to close within striking distance, after Piastri and Norris took points off each other – and indeed the team, when they clashed.
You have to think that Russell, like the bookmakers, will see this as being his time: Antonelli is a teenager in his second year in F1, which he started with just three podium finishes, and China was his first pole and first win. The Briton, at 28, had eight poles, five wins and 24 podiums before this campaign, and had waited patiently for the technological advantage to accrue to Mercedes once more, as he discussed with our Giles Richards.
But world titles are not just given to anyone, and Russell needs to seize his moment, starting this weekend at Suzuka and the Japanese Grand Prix. He was unlucky in China: he took the sprint race from pole but his chances of qualifying fastest for the main race were restricted by an electrical problem in Q3, allowing Antonelli to take charge. Russell may also be cursing Donald Trump: while there are myriad more serious repercussions of the US and Israeli war with Iran, the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs means Mercedes will have fewer opportunities to capitalise on their initial technological advantage and other teams, freed of the need to concentrate on the now, may catch up quicker.
There is a five-week gap to the next race, in Miami, longer than the summer pause between Hungary and the Netherlands, and that is the sole race before Montreal on 24 May. The outlook for Russell would be a lot sunnier if he spent the whole of April with a minimum 11-point lead over Antonelli and at least 24 over anyone outside Mercedes. No pressure, George.
Join us from 6am GMT to see how he and his rivals get on.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
Source link
Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
Source link
telent urges UK defence to prioritise tech integration
A rail nightmare: what it’s like on England’s busiest commuter-only train | Rail transport
Brit Award-winning band help launch new Oxford United shirt
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoHSBC UK & Visa test AI shopping with live payments
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoValarian lands USD $50 million backing for sovereign AI
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoMouser warns against viral hacks to cool overheating phones
-
Oxford News4 weeks agoNew romantasy bookshop attracts queues of customers
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoSNP & Palantir launch AI tools for SAP transformations
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoKane tops England influencer rankings after Mexico win
-
Traffic & Transport4 weeks ago‘I felt my spine and body split’: the woman who was hit by a child on a Lime bike – and denied compensation | Ebikes
-
Oxford News4 weeks agoDWP now checking bank accounts for Universal Credit and Pension Credit