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Hamilton feeling ‘useless’ after Hungarian GP qualifying flop

Hamilton feeling ‘useless’ after Hungarian GP qualifying flop
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain walks back to his pits after failing to complete during the qualifying session for the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix at the Hungaroring racetrack in Mogyorod, Aug. 2, 2025. (AP)
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Updated 02 August 2025

Hamilton feeling ‘useless’ after Hungarian GP qualifying flop

Hamilton feeling ‘useless’ after Hungarian GP qualifying flop
  • “Absolutely useless. The team has no problem. You’ve seen the car on pole so they probably need to change driver,” said the British driver
  • He was backed to bounce back by four-time champion Max Verstappen

BUDAPEST: A crestfallen Lewis Hamilton declared himself “useless” after qualifying in 12th position for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday as Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc surged to pole position.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton exited the session in Q2 with his head down and his helmet on as the 40-year-old retreated to the team’s motor home.

“I’m useless,” said the British driver.

“Absolutely useless. The team has no problem. You’ve seen the car on pole so they probably need to change driver.”

But he was backed to bounce back by four-time champion Max Verstappen who himself ranted about his Red Bull car and team after struggling to line up eighth on the grid.

“Looking at the whole weekend, I think we’re happy to be in Q3 because I’ve been more outside the top 10 than in it — so, yeah, it’s been difficult this whole weekend,” said the Dutch driver.

“No grip, front and rear, and it was the same in qualifying so, for me, it was not really a shock. I just drove to what I already feel the whole weekend.”

The 27-year-old Dutchman added that Red Bull — who had left a towel in his cockpit during a pitstop on Friday which led him to throw it out of the car, 24 hours after he had declared he was staying for 2026 — did not yet understand the problems with the car.

“No, clearly not,” he said. “I mean, otherwise, of course, we would have changed it already, but somehow, this weekend, nothing seems to work.”

Last year, Verstappen said he had been quick enough to challenge for pole, but this season, “from lap one, it just felt off — and we threw the car around a lot and nothing really gave a direction.

“Now, it’s just nothing works. You know, it’s like just going around in circles and nothing gives you any kind of idea of what to do.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, he said: “There may be a few cars in front of me that I can maybe battle with a little bit and, of course, Lewis is still a bit further down the road which, I think, he shouldn’t be there right? So, he will come through a bit.”

The two multiple champions, who battled so intensely in 2021 when Verstappen claimed his first title after a controversial victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, appear to have found a rapprochement and mutual respect.

But Hamilton’s heart-on-sleeve vulnerability as he seeks his first Ferrari podium after 13 races this year may soon become a sad ending story if he cannot sort out his qualifying woes.

As the record-holder of nine poles and a record eight wins at the Hungaroring, he has to produce a rousing reminder of his best racing days on Sunday, as Verstappen expects.


Protests and heavy security as Maccabi Tel Aviv faces PAOK in Greece

Protests and heavy security as Maccabi Tel Aviv faces PAOK in Greece
Updated 49 min 56 sec ago

Protests and heavy security as Maccabi Tel Aviv faces PAOK in Greece

Protests and heavy security as Maccabi Tel Aviv faces PAOK in Greece
  • Protests called for Israeli clubs to be expelled from European competition in response to mass casualties in the Gaza war
  • Police detained several protesters at the scene

THESSALONIKI, Greece: Police conducted a large-scale security operation outside the stadium Wednesday ahead of Israeli team’ Maccabi Tel Aviv’s game against Greek club PAOK in the Europa League.
Two small protests took place earlier in Thessaloniki in northern Greece, calling for Israeli clubs to be expelled from European competition in response to mass casualties in the war in Gaza.

 


Around 120 Israeli fans traveled to Greece for the match and were held behind a police cordon before entering the 28,000-seat Toumba Stadium.
Officers from a special forces unit escorted the Maccabi team bus to the venue, while bomb squad sniffer dogs inspected the site.
Earlier, protesters climbed scaffolding on a building complex that also houses the US consulate and unfurled a banner reading “Genocide” in English from the side of the building.
Police detained several protesters at the scene.

 


Camilo Ospina set to be crowned champion jockey as Taif summer season draws to a close

Camilo Ospina set to be crowned champion jockey as Taif summer season draws to a close
Updated 53 min 50 sec ago

Camilo Ospina set to be crowned champion jockey as Taif summer season draws to a close

Camilo Ospina set to be crowned champion jockey as Taif summer season draws to a close
  • 10 weeks of racing come to an end with the King Khalid Racecourse Championships on Saturday
  • Camilo Ospina has amassed 20 winners and is seven clear of his nearest rivals, so victory looks assured

TAIF: Camilo Ospina is poised to become Taif Winter Season champion jockey as 10 weeks of racing come to an end with the King Khalid Racecourse Championships on Saturday.

Although the Colombian rider is without a mount in the final event of the campaign, he has amassed 20 winners and is seven clear of his nearest rivals, so victory looks assured.

The SR300,000 ($80,000) King Khalid Racecourse Championship for older horses over 1600m brings the curtain down on the summer season before racing resumes in Riyadh on Oct. 16, and many familiar names have been declared among the 17 runners.

Adel Al-Fouraidi’s mount Waqtuk (USA) is top-rated with the Tuwaiq Cup runner-up on a hat-trick bid after his two Taif wins, including when beating the reopposing Final Destination (GB) and Ibn Toulon (KSA) among others in the King Khalid Racecourse Championship Prep earlier this month.

In addition to Final Destination, trainer Thamer Al-Daihani also sends out Uncle (GB) for owner Sheikh Abdullah Homoud Almalek Al-Sabah, while the Red Stable team of Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz has four runners, including the highly rated Salfan (KSA), who makes a belated return to action.

Nine will go to post in the SR300,000 King Khalid Racecourse Championship for fillies and mares over 1400m with Ospina primed to add to his seasonal haul on the White Stables of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz & Sons’ Aeadat (KSA).

The 6-year-old mare hasn’t tasted defeat since March of last year and looks for a remarkable 10th straight win and her third of the Taif campaign.

Her main rival appears to be fellow White Stables runner and Al-Fouraidi’s mount Halaa (USA), who was fourth in the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint at The Saudi Cup meeting and had Ospina in the plate on her only start of this term when second on July 26.

The King Khalid Racecourse Championship for Purebred Arabians is also worth SR300,000 and could be another big win for trainer Nasser Mutlaq with Mutwakel Al-Khalediah (KSA) following on from Tilal Al-Khalediah’s (KSA) triumph last weekend.

Mutwakel Al-Khalediah is top-rated in the 10-strong field but hasn’t been seen since August 2023, with recent fitness and form resting with the Fahad Al-Fouraidi-ridden Turki Al-Khalediah II (KSA), who beat several of his rivals on Sept. 12.

Ospina has another stand-out chance on Saturday with White Stable’s unbeaten Kanzie (USA), who looks for a third success in the SR150,000 JCSA Challenge, in which the Red Stables have Taif Sprint Cup winner Newtown Runner (USA) stepping back up to 1600m under Nawaf Al-Mudiani.

Friday’s card also has big prize money available to the sprint specialists, with three races over 1200m each offering SR300,000.

The final of those is the Sprint Championship for 3-year-old colts and geldings and features Al-Daihani’s Fouj (USA), who has won both starts this campaign, and Alexis Moreno’s mount, Riyadh Central (USA), who won an equivalent race for juveniles last year and shaped well on his recent return.

Kawafill (KSA) has been dropped back to 1200m on her last two starts and looks interesting in the 3-year-old fillies’ event, with Sprint Championship Prep winner Baseqm And Bake (USA) looking set to go close under Moreno in the Purebred Arabian race.


More than 100 Roma fans arrested in Nice before Europa League match

More than 100 Roma fans arrested in Nice before Europa League match
Updated 24 September 2025

More than 100 Roma fans arrested in Nice before Europa League match

More than 100 Roma fans arrested in Nice before Europa League match
  • A violent altercation broke out Tuesday night and objects were thrown at police officers
  • The two sets of fans reportedly never came into contact as they couldn’t breach the police lines

NICE: More than 100 Roma supporters have been arrested in Nice ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League match between the two teams.
A violent altercation broke out Tuesday night and objects were thrown at police officers, while Nice fans reportedly riled up their Roma counterparts by chanting “there’s only Lazio in Rome.” Lazio are Roma’s fierce rival in the Italian capital.
The two sets of fans reportedly never came into contact as they couldn’t breach the police lines.
“A force of more than 200 personnel, including two mobile units, has been deployed in the city center of Nice since yesterday, to prevent any disturbance of public order and has arrested 102 individuals identified as Roma ultras in possession of weapons,” read a statement by the region’s prefecture.
“These individuals have been taken into custody ... All weapons found have been seized. The rapid and massive intervention of the security forces prevented any physical harm or material damage.”
The Alpes-Maritimes department’s prefecture added that uniformed and plainclothes security forces will be mobilized in even greater numbers Wednesday night, with more than 400 officers involved, to “ensure a visible and dissuasive presence.”
Nice host Roma at Allianz Riviera stadium in the opening round of Europa League matches.
Three years ago, 32 people were injured in a mass brawl between ultras from Nice and German club Cologne before a Europa Conference League match.


Afghan women’s refugee football team to make tournament debut in UAE

Afghan women’s refugee football team to make tournament debut in UAE
Updated 24 September 2025

Afghan women’s refugee football team to make tournament debut in UAE

Afghan women’s refugee football team to make tournament debut in UAE
  • The team’s creation stems from the Taliban’s ban on women’s sports following their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021
  • Prior to the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan had 25 women players under contract, most of whom now live in Australia

The Afghan women’s refugee team will take the field for the first time in an international tournament when they compete in a four-team friendly competition in the United Arab Emirates next month, world governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.
The team’s creation stems from the Taliban’s ban on women’s sports following their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, prompting players to flee the country fearing persecution.
The “FIFA Unites: Women’s Series” tournament will run from October 23-29 in Dubai and feature the nearly-formed Afghan refugee squad alongside the UAE, Chad and Libya’s regular teams.
“Ensuring that all women have access to football is a priority for FIFA and a key element in shaping the future of our sport,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
“We are aware of the potential the game has both on and off the pitch. These friendly matches represent more than just a competition; they are a symbol of hope and progress for women all over the world.”
Prior to the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan had 25 women players under contract, most of whom now live in Australia.
Afghanistan’s men’s team continues as normal.
FIFA has run several talent identification camps around the world to choose a 23-player women’s squad.


3 clubs set for Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Jiu-Jitsu Championship battle

3 clubs set for Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Jiu-Jitsu Championship battle
Updated 24 September 2025

3 clubs set for Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Jiu-Jitsu Championship battle

3 clubs set for Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Jiu-Jitsu Championship battle
  • The 7th round of the competition will take place in Fujairah on Sept. 27-28

ABU DHABI: The seventh round of the Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Jiu-Jitsu Championship, featuring no-gi competitions, will take place at Zayed Sports Complex in Fujairah from Sept. 27-28.

Athletes from leading clubs and academies across the UAE are set to take part in the event, organized by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation.

The decisive round will crown the no-gi champion, with the title expected to go to either Sharjah Self-Defense Sports Club, Al-Ain Jiu-Jitsu Club or M.O.D, the teams which have consistently occupied the top three positions in the previous six rounds.

The first day will host matches in the U-12, U-14 and U-16 divisions, while the second day will feature the U-18, adult and master competitions.

Youssef Abdullah Al-Batran, board Member of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, said the championship represented more than a competition and provided a vital platform for talent development.

“No-gi contests require more talent and adaptability,” he said. “Without the gi as a control mechanism, competitors must rely on strategy, speed and the ability to read their opponents. Previous rounds have demonstrated that teams with strong defensive systems and rapid transitions between attack and defense have had the most success.”

He added: “This round will determine the no-gi champion after a lengthy season of fierce competition. The official crowning of both gi and no-gi champions will take place in Abu Dhabi during the final round in mid-October.”