Hamilton claims his first Ferrari win at Barcelona F1 Grand Prix

Montmeló, Spain: Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory for Ferrari on Sunday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Formula One Grand Prix, ending championship leader Kimi Antonelli's five-race winning streak.

The seven-time world champion finished ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris, while Antonelli was forced to abandon in the final stages because of a technical problem.

Hamilton, 41, cut down Antonelli's title lead to 41 points by triumphing on a Sunday nearly two years after he last won a race. goldparty.lat

Mercedes polesitter Russell came in 19 seconds behind Hamilton, with Norris completing an all-British podium.

"You have helped me so much to achieve this dream, I cannot thank you enough," said Hamilton over team radio.

"To the fans, thank you for reminding me who I am. I couldn't have done this without you."

Russell, pre-season favourite for the championship, arrived in Barcelona bemoaning bad luck for his recent struggles but after team-mate Antonelli edged in front of him late on he had some good fortune to cut the gap on the teenager to 53 points after the Italian abandoned.

"Good to be back on the podium and have a clean race, but Ferrari were mighty today so we need to keep pushing," said Russell.

"The last stints were difficult, but it's good to be back here. The pace today was insane from Lewis, they are coming I think."

With track temperatures up at 51 degrees Celsius, Hamilton opted for a three pit-stop strategy and it worked to perfection, with the third of those fortuitously coming while the virtual safety car was deployed.

Ferrari's heavily upgraded car may well have been fast enough for Hamilton to triumph anyway, as he recorded the 106th victory of his career.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen came in fourth, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar in the other Red Bull.

Russell got off to the perfect start from pole, holding off Hamilton on softs, with the Ferrari driver cutting off Antonelli.

Hadjar, who started in position six, was slow off the line and overtaken by eight cars.

Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari, admitted he was "ashamed" by his crash in qualifying which left him starting in 10th but expertly weaved his way up to sixth, although he was later forced to retire.

Early stop

Hamilton took an early pit stop on lap 12 to swap his softs for hards, with Mercedes responding on the following lap with hards for Russell.

Russell was worried his stop "exposed" him to Antonelli but retook the lead from Hamilton with his teenage team-mate back in third after his own stop to bolt on the hards.

With Hamilton 2.3 seconds behind Russell he said "we are on Plan C" over team radio.

The seven-time champion pitted for the second time in the 28th lap, indicating a three-stop strategy, with Mercedes deciding not to follow suit because of the threat of 2025 champion Lando Norris, who was on a two-stop plan.

Antonelli moved right behind Russell, who was forced to fend off his team-mate.

Russell was called in for fresh hards before Antonelli followed suit, allowing Hamilton into the lead, with Ferrari telling the Briton this was the "critical time" for his race.

Home favourite Alonso, in what he said was probably his final appearance in Barcelona, was forced to retire because of a suspected battery issue. It brought out a yellow flag with the virtual safety car deployed, offering Hamilton an ideal chance for a cheap stop.

That worked brilliantly for Hamilton who emerged from his third stop with fresh rubber 2.6s ahead of Russell with 24 laps remaining.

With clean air Hamilton was able to stretch his lead comfortably to triumph in style.

The victory was sweetened further by late drama as Antonelli retired from second place in the 62nd lap to blow open the championship.

Le Mans, France: History will be made later today when Team Qatar takes the start of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race for the first time. Representing Qatar on the international stage, the team’s three drivers — Abdulla Al-Khelaifi, Julian Hanses and Giuliano Alesi — will race twice around the clock in one of the most iconic and demanding events in world motorsport.

The Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG entry will line up 12th on the grid in the fiercely competitive LMGT3 category when the race gets underway at 16:00 local time. Competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans marks a historic moment for Team Qatar, which will go wheel-to-wheel with some of the biggest manufacturers in motorsport and a field packed with world-class drivers.

More significantly, the entry represents a wider milestone for Qatari motorsport.

Developed through the vision and support of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), Team Qatar’s presence at Le Mans reflects a long-term commitment to creating opportunities for Qatari drivers to compete on the world’s biggest stage, while inspiring future generations to pursue careers in motorsport.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the ultimate test of innovation, speed, teamwork, and endurance. Teams have to constantly balance strategy, reliability and outright pace, while pit stops for tyres, fuel and driver changes continue throughout the day and night. In the challenge of multi-class racing, success comes down to negotiating traffic efficiently, minimising mistakes and maintaining relentless focus for 24 hours.

So far this week, Team Qatar by Iron Lynx has enjoyed a promising debut at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The team finished fourth in the opening Free Practice on Wednesday, and thanks to an impressive qualifying performance from Qatari driver Abdulla Al-Khelaifi, progressed to Hyperpole 1 on Thursday, but ultimately missed out on Hyperpole 2 by just 0.072 seconds.

“It was a very, very tight qualifying session,” said Al-Khelaifi. “I'm honestly very, very happy for the team as I really wanted them to have their chance to do Hyperpole. Just to compete in Le Mans is a historic achievement for Team Qatar, but to go to Hyperpole was even greater and I was really happy about it.”

Yesterday, Team Qatar’s three drivers joined the other 183 competitors in the traditional Drivers’ Parade through the town centre of Le Mans. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the popular event held extra significance for Giuliano, as the parade paid tribute to his father, Jean Alesi, the legendary Formula 1 driver who started 201 Grands Prix and competed at Le Mans in 1989 and 2010. The drivers waved to fans and signed autographs as they toured the city in vintage cars.

الأخبارAl Ahly Reportedly Agree €3m Deal for Monsef BakrarAl Ahly have reportedly reached an agreement with Dinamo Zagreb to sign Algerian forward Monsef Bakrar in a deal worth €3 million. According to Croatian reports, Dinamo Zagreb h...فتح →

More than 300,000 are expected to attend the Circuit de la Sarthe over the course of the weekend and experience the unique atmosphere of Le Mans.

Tour de France legend Mark Cavendish has been given the honour of officially starting the race for the 62-car field when he waves the tricolour at 4pm.

Doha, Qatar: Germany will begin their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign against debutants Curacao tonight, with the four-time champions aiming to make an immediate impact in Group E and take an important step towards the knockout stages.

The match, scheduled to kick off at 8pm at Houston Stadium, marks the opening fixture in Group E, which also features Cote d’Ivoire and Ecuador. With every point likely to prove crucial in the race for the knockout stages, both teams will be determined to make a winning start.

Germany arrive at the World Cup after finishing top of Group A in the UEFA qualification stage. Under head coach Julian Nagelsmann, the Germans recovered from an early setback and produced a dominant run to secure their place at the tournament.

The World Cup presents another opportunity for Germany to add to one of the most successful records in international football. The Germans have lifted the trophy four times, winning titles in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014. Expectations remain high whenever Germany compete on football’s biggest stage, despite disappointing group-stage exits at the last two World Cups.

Curacao’s players take part in a training session on the eve of their opener. PICS: AFP

Nagelsmann believes his side is ready for the challenge ahead.

“We are ready,” the Germany coach said ahead of the tournament. “My job is to create the moments that lead to that joy.”

While Germany enter the match as clear favourites, Curacao arrive carrying the momentum of one of the most remarkable qualification campaigns in their history. The Caribbean nation topped CONCACAF Group B to secure first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals.

With a population of approximately 150,000, Curacao becomes the smallest nation by both population and area to qualify for a World Cup, making their participation one of the tournament’s most compelling stories.

Head coach Dick Advocaat has described the achievement as one of the highlights of his distinguished managerial career.

“I consider qualifying the smallest country in the world for the World Cup one of the highlights of my career,” Advocaat said. “I’m proud of my players, staff and the board members who believed in us.”

The experienced Dutch coach is embracing the challenge of facing Germany in the opening match.

“That it’s Germany right at the beginning is fantastic,” Advocaat said. “That way we immediately know where we stand. You have to play them anyway so you might as well play them right at the beginning.”

Much of Germany’s hopes will rest on an exciting generation of players led by Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, two of Europe’s most highly rated young talents.

Veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich are expected to provide leadership and experience as Germany target a strong start.

Defender Nico Schlotterbeck has warned against underestimating Curacao despite Germany’s status as favourites.

“We had a team discussion yesterday on Curacao and it is a good team with players who have been trained in the Netherlands,” Schlotterbeck said. “But we are the favourites and I am confident we will win the match.”

حقق منتخب أستراليا فوزا على نظيره التركي بهدفين من دون رد في المباراة التي جمعتهما اليوم الأحد على ملعب (بي سي بليس) في فانكوفر ضمن منافسات المجموعة الرابعة من بطولة كأس العالم لكرة القدم 2026.

وشهد الشوط الأول تقدما نسبيا للمنتخب الأسترالي من حيث التنظيم والضغط الهجومي أدى إلى إحراز هدف مبكر حمل توقيع اللاعب نيستوري إيرانكوندا في الدقيقة 27 بعد هجمة سريعة أنهاها بتسديدة داخل منطقة الجزاء مانحا فريقه أفضلية مبكرة أربكت الحسابات التركية.

وواصل المنتخب الأسترالي تفوقه في الشوط الثاني من خلال انضباط دفاعي واستغلال المساحات قبل أن يعزز تقدمه بهدف ثان أحرزه كونور ميتكالف في الدقيقة 75 بتسديدة قوية من خارج منطقة الجزاء.

في المقابل كثف المنتخب التركي محاولاته الهجومية في الدقائق الأخيرة إلا أن الصلابة الدفاعية الأسترالية وتألق حارس المرمى حالا دون تقليص الفارق لتنتهي المباراة بفوز أستراليا بهدفين دون رد.

وبهذه النتيجة حصد المنتخب الأسترالي ثلاث نقاط في بداية مشواره بالمجموعة فيما بقي المنتخب التركي من دون نقاط.

The post أستراليا تتغلب على تركيا بهدفين نظيفين في مستهل مشوارهما بكأس العالم 2026 appeared first on كويت نيوز.