‘A real struggle out there’ – Hamilton unhappy with car as Verstappen dominates practice

Lewis Hamilton admits it was a “real struggle” as he finished outside of the top 10 in both practice sessions at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished 16th in P1 and 14th in P2 and half a second off Mercedes team-mate George Russell – who came fifth in the later session in Suzuka.

Max Verstappen topped both timesheets and finished 1.141 seconds ahead of Hamilton. The seven-time world champion admitted it was a “pretty bad day” for him and hope to be able to “at least back up” Russell this weekend.

“It was a pretty bad day to be honest,” Hamilton said.

“A real struggle out there. A long way off, two seconds off in the first session and over a second off in the second.

“Just working away at trying to fix the car, fix the balance. It’s just figuring out what is wrong. We were obviously much closer in the last race but we didn’t have any high-speed (corners) and nowhere near the speeds of the corners here.

“Our car has more often than not been a little bit weaker in the high-speed corners, looking at places like Silverstone for example. An area where we need to work on, getting the car a little bit more in a sweet spot and not overheating our tyres as much.

“We’ll work on it overnight and try to turn it around for [Saturday]. We definitely won’t be winning this weekend but if I can move a little bit further up the order so I can at least back up George, who did not such a bad lap. A tough one.”

For Charles Leclerc it was a far better day as he finished 0.320 seconds behind championship leader Verstappen.

Leclerc says he has adjusted his driving style with the new floor after coming second to Carlos Sainz in the last three events.

“[The new floor] did what we expected it to do which gave us a little bit of consistency which was good to see,” he said.

“I don’t think there was a lot of performance into it but let’s wait and see, we keep learning about this car.

“The last two or three races we learnt a lot and now it’s about putting all of it together which we did in Singapore and we need to do that here too.

“Red Bull seem to be extremely quick this weekend but I don’t think we are so far off.”

McLaren’s Lando Norris finished in third as he looks to improve on his second-placed finish in Singapore last weekend.

“The pace has been pretty good,” Norris, who is looking for his first F1 win, said. “Probably one of the closest times we’ve been to Red Bull and the front lot on a Friday so encouraging on a pace point of view.

“But the car feels pretty all over the place. But I think it does for the majority, I think it’s very low grip. I don’t think it’s just us in particular, it’s just a handful.

“For us, if we can just try and calm it down a little bit, bring the balance together then I think we can have a good day (on Saturday).”

Japanese GP P2 timesheet

No Filter UEL: Behind the scenes exclusive contnet as Seagulls make historic European debut

Football

Go behind the scenes with the TNT Sports team at the Amex Stadium and across the city of Brighton as Brighton & Hove Albion FC made their historic European debut in the Europa League group stages against Greek giants AEK Athens. It wasn’t to be on the night for the Seagulls but it will be a night that they and their fans will never forget for as long as they live.

00:10:07, 22/09/2023 at 13:21 GMT

A ‘really noticeable’ generational change is happening in tennis – Federer

Roger Federer says there is a “really noticeable” generational change happening in men’s and women’s tennis.

This year, two of tennis young stars have won Grand Slam titles. Carlos Alcaraz, 20, beat Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final while USA’s Coco Gauff, 19, lifted her maiden Grand Slam at the US Open by overcoming Australian Open 2023 champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (25).

Federer, who won 22 Grand Slam titles and 103 in total in his decorated career, believes the “records will always tumble”.

“A lot still going on in tennis of course, as always,” he said.

“The records will always tumble. Or just the stories always rewritten. And just for example the US Open was great with the record [24 Grand Slam titles] of course by Novak Djokovic.

“And of course I was also very happy about Coco Gauff’s victory. I’ve known her for five years, when she was very young, and this was a great victory for her.

“We have a new world No.1 in women’s tennis [Sabalenka], Alcaraz, who won Wimbledon.

“And just the new generational change is really noticeable. It’s a bit of a shame for me that I haven’t been able to play against a few in the last couple of years.

“But I think it’s great what’s going on in tennis at the moment and I still follow it very, very closely.”

Federer says tennis is in a healthy place right now and that more new players will continue to break up the dominance previously maintained by himself, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the men’s game.

Federer said: “I think it’s still going well, not that there would somehow be a slump after I retired or that Rafa is injured at the moment.

“The story continues and that will always be the case. Tennis will always be played by new players but at the same time, the way I see these players moving on the court now is unbelievable. And I think many more will come.

“The new players have interesting personalities and tennis is still right up there in the world of sport, and that is beautiful for me to see.”

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Eight Wimbledon titles? Most weeks in a row as No. 1? Wilander ranks Federer’s achievements

Federer also reveals what he has been up to during his retirement.

“I’m surprised how much I actually still have going on,” he said.

“I was thinking, so okay, you stop and then there’s nothing left to do. But it’s not like that at all. I’m still very busy with all my partners together or then also for the foundation I’m travelling a lot, was also in Africa for the first time, in Lesotho, with the family. That was absolutely great.

“Then, of course, I was also at the UN right now, working for early learning in the world and especially in southern Africa, so that hopefully more children can go to school, because that needs a lot more money and a lot more opportunities from the big countries. And I’m committed to that and then I’m designing shoes, clothes, tennis racquets.

“So I’m still fully involved and I’m always very happy when there’s a new project for me.”

picture

‘I want to learn from the best’ – Alcaraz on watching videos of Federer and Murray

Stream and watch the 2023 Laver Cup exclusively live across Europe on Eurosport and discovery+.

A ‘really noticeable’ generational change is happening in tennis – Federer

Roger Federer says there is a “really noticeable” generational change happening in men’s and women’s tennis.

This year, two of tennis young stars have won Grand Slam titles. Carlos Alcaraz, 20, beat Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final while USA’s Coco Gauff, 19, lifted her maiden Grand Slam at the US Open by overcoming Australian Open 2023 champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (25).

Federer, who won 22 Grand Slam titles and 103 in total in his decorated career, believes the “records will always tumble”.

“A lot still going on in tennis of course, as always,” he said.

“The records will always tumble. Or just the stories always rewritten. And just for example the US Open was great with the record [24 Grand Slam titles] of course by Novak Djokovic.

“And of course I was also very happy about Coco Gauff’s victory. I’ve known her for five years, when she was very young, and this was a great victory for her.

“We have a new world No.1 in women’s tennis [Sabalenka], Alcaraz, who won Wimbledon.

“And just the new generational change is really noticeable. It’s a bit of a shame for me that I haven’t been able to play against a few in the last couple of years.

“But I think it’s great what’s going on in tennis at the moment and I still follow it very, very closely.”

Federer says tennis is in a healthy place right now and that more new players will continue to break up the dominance previously maintained by himself, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the men’s game.

Federer said: “I think it’s still going well, not that there would somehow be a slump after I retired or that Rafa is injured at the moment.

“The story continues and that will always be the case. Tennis will always be played by new players but at the same time, the way I see these players moving on the court now is unbelievable. And I think many more will come.

“The new players have interesting personalities and tennis is still right up there in the world of sport, and that is beautiful for me to see.”

picture

Eight Wimbledon titles? Most weeks in a row as No. 1? Wilander ranks Federer’s achievements

Federer also reveals what he has been up to during his retirement.

“I’m surprised how much I actually still have going on,” he said.

“I was thinking, so okay, you stop and then there’s nothing left to do. But it’s not like that at all. I’m still very busy with all my partners together or then also for the foundation I’m travelling a lot, was also in Africa for the first time, in Lesotho, with the family. That was absolutely great.

“Then, of course, I was also at the UN right now, working for early learning in the world and especially in southern Africa, so that hopefully more children can go to school, because that needs a lot more money and a lot more opportunities from the big countries. And I’m committed to that and then I’m designing shoes, clothes, tennis racquets.

“So I’m still fully involved and I’m always very happy when there’s a new project for me.”

picture

‘I want to learn from the best’ – Alcaraz on watching videos of Federer and Murray

Stream and watch the 2023 Laver Cup exclusively live across Europe on Eurosport and discovery+.

Nagelsmann named Germany head coach until end of Euro 2024

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Nagelsmann named Germany head coach until end of Euro 2024

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media

Exclusive: Cole backs ‘Grealish, Maddison type’ Palmer to thrive at Chelsea

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media

Dupont suffers facial fracture in France win over Namibia

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including Gallagher Premiership Rugby, the Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup and Premiership Rugby Cup. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

Odegaard signs new five-year contract at Arsenal

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media

Sheffield United Women midfielder Cusack dies aged 27

Sheffield United Women midfielder Maddy Cusack has died aged 27.

Cusack made over 100 appearances for the Blades and was the club’s vice-captain.

She also worked at the club as a marketing executive after moving over from the Sheffield United Community Foundation in 2021.

Stephen Bettis, Sheffield United’s chief executive officer, said: “This is heartbreaking news for everyone at Bramall Lane. Maddy had a unique position of being part of a number of teams at Sheffield United and was popular with everyone that she came into contact with.

“Her personality and professionalism made her a credit to her family – she will be sadly missed. Whilst taking in the news and moving forward, the club will offer as much support as possible to Maddy’s family, friends and colleagues.”

Sheffield United men’s team manager Paul Heckingbottom wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Sad day. Maddy was one of our family. A big part of our club both on and off the pitch.

“Love and thoughts to Maddy’s family.”

A statement from the FA read: “We are all devastated to learn about the passing of Maddy Cusack.

“On behalf of The FA, the Lionesses, the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship, our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Maddy’s family, friends, team-mates and everyone at Sheffield United.”

Cusack previously played for Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest.

City said in a statement: “The club are saddened to learn of the passing of former player Maddy Cusack.

“All of our thoughts are with Maddy’s family and friends at this extremely difficult time.”

Villa posted: “Everyone at Aston Villa is devastated to learn of the passing of former player, Maddy Cusack.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with Maddy’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

Forest wrote: “We are deeply saddened to learn the passing of Maddy Cusack.

“Maddy played for Forest during her time at our academy. Our thoughts go out to her friends, family and everyone at Sheffield United at this truly difficult time.”