Sports

MUGELLO, Italy —Lewis Hamilton claimed a record-increasing 95th pole position on Saturday when he outpaced Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to seize the prime grid position in qualifying for Sunday's inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix.

It was the series leader and six-time champion's seventh pole in eight races this year as Mercedes continued their dominant run to nine poles out of nine this season with an eighth consecutive front row lockout.

"It's been a really tough weekend, if I'm honest," said Hamilton. "Firstly, this track is phenomenal — it's a really challenging circuit and you saw Valtteri was quicker than me all day yesterday and even this morning.

"But I've been working hard in the background to improve on my lines and set up and the engineers and mechanics did a great job, so finally I got the lap that I needed."

Bottas had been fastest in all three practice sessions, but he was unable to maintain his superiority over Hamilton in the decisive hour albeit that his second run was affected by yellow flags after Esteban Ocon spun in his Renault.

"The yellow flag definitely hampered me — I had more time to come, but didn't get the opportunity to do it," said Bottas. "It's disappointing as I've been quick all weekend. It's a long run to Turn One tomorrow and the headwind could help me there."

Ferrari escape embarrassment 

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third ahead of his teammate Alex Albon with Charles Leclerc claiming fifth for Ferrari, as they celebrate their 1000th Grand Prix at their own circuit.

"I didn't expect to fight for pole, but overall this has been a promising weekend," said the Dutchman. "We have bounced back well from Monza where it was tricky so, at the end, to be third here...We can be happy with that.

"This track is amazing to drive and qualifying was really something special."

Hamilton agreed.

"The track is crazy," he said. "You go through Turns Six, Seven, Eight and Nine at 170-180 mph and the G-force we're pulling is insane — it gets more and more as you go through.

"Valtteri did a great job pushing me, so I'm really, really happy to be on pole."

Leclerc said he was surprised and delighted.

"I'm very happy with the lap overall," he said. "P5 is higher than our expectations, so we're very happy. Monza and Spa were very disappointing.

"The balance was good today and gave me confidence and in the end we made it happen.

"I think it helps that we had experience of the track in FP1, but onwards, all the guys are F1 drivers and can get up to speed quickly. There's a good opportunity tomorrow, but there was quite a lot of cars that had better race pace on Friday."

Sergio Perez, who faces a one-place grid penalty for his brush with Kimi Raikkonen on Friday, qualified sixth ahead of his Racing Point team-mate Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo of Renault, Carlos Sainz of McLaren and Ocon.

On a glorious day in the Tuscan hills, the air temperature was 29ºC and the track 46 as Q1 began with Bottas topping Hamilton by almost three-tenths, leaving Verstappen adrift by half a second in third.

Perez was fifth behind Albon with Leclerc in sixth while, in the drop zone, Vettel scrambled through to Q2 in his Ferrari to dump last Sunday's Monza winner Pierre Gasly into 16th.

That meant the Frenchman was eliminated along with Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo, the two Williams of George Russell and Nicholas Latifi and Haas's Kevin Magnussen.

Lando Norris then missed out on the top 10 shootout along with Daniil Kvyat of Alpha Tauri, Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo, Vettel and Romain Grosjean of Haas.

MUGELLO, Italy — Former world champion Sebastian Vettel has signed for the renamed Aston Martin team for the 2021 season "and beyond", the ambitious British Formula One outfit announced Thursday.

The 33-year-old German won four consecutive titles from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull before joining Ferrari, but the Italian team has not renewed his contract.

Signing Vettel was "a clear signal" to the racing world, said Racing Point, which will take the Aston Martin name next year after Canadian billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll's investment in the British brand.

Vettel will drive alongside Stroll's son Lance and replace Mexican driver Sergio Perez who announced on Wednesday he will leave Racing Point at the end of the season.

"It's a new adventure for me with a truly legendary car company. I have been impressed with the results the team has achieved this year and I believe the future looks even brighter," said Vettel.

"The energy and commitment of Lawrence to the sport is inspiring and I believe we can build something very special together."

He added: "I still have so much love for Formula 1 and my only motivation is to race at the front of the grid. To do so with Aston Martin will be a huge privilege."

Vettel has spent six seasons with the Italian team without repeating his title-winning heroics at Red Bull.

This term has proved particularly difficult with Vettel sinking to 13th place in the championship ahead of Sunday's Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello in Italy as Ferrari have suffered a miserable season.

The last of Vettel's 53 victories -- the third most in F1 history -- came at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix. Only Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (89) have won more races.

Vettel has also finished on the podium a further 67 times.

'New era' at Aston Martin

"Everybody at Silverstone is hugely excited by this news. Sebastian is a proven champion and brings a winning mentality that matches our own ambitions for the future as Aston Martin F1 Team," said team principal Otmar Szafnauer.

"On a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, Sebastian is one of the best in the world, and I can't think of a better driver to help take us into this new era. He will play a significant role in taking this team to the next level."

Racing Point's current season has been marred by controversy with accusations they had copied Mercedes' brake ducts.

On Sunday, Racing Point dropped their appeal against a 15-point deduction and 400,000-euro ($472,000) fine.

Vettel's arrival means that the team will dispense with the popular Perez, a dependable and fast racer who played a prominent role in saving the former Force India team during a financial crisis two years ago before it was taken over by the consortium that renamed it Racing Point.

"It hurts a bit as I bet on the team during very rough times; we managed to overcome obstacles and I am very proud of saving jobs of several my teammates," Perez said on Twitter.

Vettel was informed brusquely by Ferrari in May prior to the launch of the coronavirus-hit 2020 season that his contract was not being renewed.

His name was linked immediately with Racing Point ahead of most other teams, notably because they made a very strong start this year with the so-called "pink Mercedes" car, claimed to be essentially a copy of last year's title-winning Mercedes.

Vettel helped rebuild Ferrari into title contenders in 2017 and 2018 but the team fell short both years, partly as a result of several driver errors.

He was then outshone by the highly-rated Charles Leclerc last season, finishing fifth overall and 173 points behind championship winner Hamilton.

Ferrari, set to celebrate their 1000th race at the Tuscan Grand Prix, are the sport's most successful team but their 2020 slump hit a new low last weekend when they failed to qualify at least one car in the top 10 on home soil for the Italian Grand Prix for the first time since 1984.

PARIS — Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning brace to take him to 101 international goals for Portugal in a 2-0 victory over 10-man Sweden in the Nations League on Tuesday, while France won a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final 4-2 over Croatia.

Ronaldo broke the mythical 100-goal mark on the stroke of half-time, the 35-year-old Juventus attacker curling in a free-kick from 25 yards over the wall and into the far left corner beyond Sweden’s stranded goalkeeper Robin Olsen for a memorable milestone in his trophy-laden career.

The bonus second goal, and his 101st, came in the 72nd minute, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward cutting back inside the Swedish defence and producing a deft finish into the far corner from 20 yards.

“They are two important goals because it means I managed to reach this mark I’d been seeking,” Ronaldo told Portuguese public television RTP.

“I’m very happy, first because the team won and of course to score the 100th and then the 101st, two great goals.”

While acknowledging health came first, he lamented the COVID-19 enforced empty stadium in Solna.

“It’s sad playing without fans, it’s like going to the circus with no clowns or into a garden with no flowers,” Ronaldo said.

After making his first senior international appearance as an 18-year-old in 2003, Ronaldo notched up his first goal for Portugal in a 2-1 defeat by eventual winners Greece at Euro 2004.

Ronaldo, capped 165 times by Portugal, is second only to Iran’s Ali Daei, on 109, in the list of top men’s international goal scorers.

“The record, it’s step by step,” Ronaldo said. “It’s not an obsession because I think records come naturally.”

Incredibly for Ronaldo, just 17 of his 100 goals have come in friendly matches, and his nine hat-tricks all came in FIFA or UEFA tournaments or qualifying games.

At the Stade de France north of Paris, Eduardo Camavinga became France’s youngest international in 96 years as les Bleus won a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final over Croatia.

Midfielder Camavinga, aged 17 years and nine months, replaced Ngolo Kante in the second half and is only surpassed by Julien Verbrugghe, aged 16 years and 10 months in 1906, and Maurice Gastiger, at 17 years and 4 months in 1914.

Deschamps made seven changes from Saturday’s win over Sweden in Solna with Wissam Ben Yedder and Anthony Martial leading the attack after Kylian Mbappe contracted Covid-19.

Antoine Griezmann, Dayot Upamecano, Olivier Giroud as well as an own goal from the visitors’ goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic secured a repeat result from Russia two years ago after Dejan Lovren had opened the scoring for Croatia, Wolfsburg’s Josip Brekalo adding their second in the 55th minute.

The result sees Didier Deschamps’ World Cup winners second on goal difference in Group A behind Portugal.

FIFA’s No. 1 ranked side Belgium, led superbly by Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, handed Iceland a 5-1 drubbing to follow up on their 2-0 win over Denmark.

The Islanders actually opened the scoring through an 11th-minute deflected shot from Holmbert Fridjonsson.

But a reshuffled Red Devils outfit hit back almost immediately through Axel Witsel in the 13th minute, before a Michy Batshuayi double (17, 70) coupled with goals from Dries Mertens (50) and new cap Jeremy Doku (80) combined to put the game out of sight.

Belgium’s win moves them to the top of League A Group 2 ahead of their trip next month to England, who were lucky to escape with a 0-0 draw away to Denmark in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Gareth Southgate’s preparation for the game was thrown into turmoil when Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were sent home after breaching coronavirus protocols following Saturday’s 1-0 victory in Iceland.

Southgate can use that distraction and a lack of match fitness ahead of the start to the Premier League season on Saturday as excuses for the Three Lions’ lack of sharpness going forward, in sharp contrast to their free-scoring form in qualifying for Euro 2020 prior to the coronavirus shutdown.

Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips and Wolves captain Connor Coady were handed their international debuts, but clear chances were few and far between.

The best opportunities to break the deadlock for both sides came in the final 10 minutes as firstly Christian Eriksen blazed over from Yussuf Poulsen’s cushioned header.

At the other end, his former Tottenham teammate Harry Kane thought he had notched the winner deep in stoppage time as he rounded Kaspar Schmeichel and fired goalwards only for Mathias Jorgensen to make a brilliant goal-line clearance.

AMSTERDAM — Italy moved top of its UEFA Nations League group on Monday after an impressive 1-0 win over The Netherlands that was slightly spoiled by news rising star Nicolo Zaniolo might have suffered another serious knee injury.

Nicolo Barella’s bullet header in first half stoppage time was enough for Roberto Mancini’s side to take all three points in Amsterdam and top spot in League A, Group 1.

The “Azzurri” are a point ahead of the Dutch, who are playing under interim coach Dwight Lodeweges following Ronald Koeman’s defection to Barcelona, and third-placed Poland following its 2-1 away win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“I’m happy for the mentality, the performance, the boys really played brilliantly,” said Mancini to Italian broadcaster Rai.

Mancini made seven changes from the team that drew 1-1 with Bosnia on Friday, ending an 11-match winning streak, and his team dominated at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

“You don’t win 11 games in a row if you don’t have a good mentality. The teams we beat [in Euro 2020 qualification] weren’t as good as The Netherlands or Germany, but winning games is still tough,” the former Inter Milan and Manchester City coach added.

Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile and Leonardo Spinazzola all had plenty of joy attacking down the left flank, with left-back Spinazzola creating the first chance of the game with a rapid burst towards the byline in the 17th minute.

His cross found his Roma teammate Nicolo Zaniolo who was unlucky to not open the scoring with an acrobatic bicycle kick.

Two minutes later Immobile cut in from the same flank before firing a shot just wide, and 10 minutes before the break it was Insigne’s turn to charge in from the left and curl a decent effort just wide of the far post.

Zaniolo knee fears

Things took a turn for the worse for Italy when Zaniolo limped off in the first half with a knee problem, a worry for the 21-year-old who only returned from a serious left knee injury in the summer.

After the match Italy’s chief doctor Andrea Ferretti confirmed that it was a “significant sprain”, adding that “he is worried, as are we”. 

However, in the post-match media conference Mancini said that attacking midfielder Zaniolo was “calmer” as he was wasn’t “experiencing serious pain”.

Later on Monday evening Roma said that Zaniolo had suffered “trauma” to his left knee, adding that he would undergo tests to “assess the full extent of the injury” when he returns to the Italian capital on Tuesday.

With Moise Kean on in Zaniolo’s place Italy continued to control the match and in added time Barella gave the away side a deserved lead, crashing home a header from an Immobile cross — again from the left.

The hosts started the second half on the back foot but would have been level in the 55th minute had Gianluigi Donnarumma not tipped over Donny van de Beek’s stinging close-range drive.

However Italy continued to cause the Dutch problems, wasting a host of promising positions against a Netherlands team that lacked the vitality of the side Koeman had led to qualification for Euro 2020.

Kean should have put the result beyond doubt as the Dutch pushed hard for a leveller in added time but after rounding Jasper Cillessen could only shank his shot wide.

MIAMI — Khris Middleton starred as the Milwaukee Bucks, their backs against the wall and star Giannis Antetokounmpo injured, beat the Miami Heat 118-115 in overtime on Sunday to stay alive in the NBA play-offs.

With reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo ruled out after aggravating his sprained right ankle in the first half, Middleton stepped up to score 36 points — including nine of the Bucks’ 11 in overtime.

A Middleton three-pointer put Milwaukee up 116-112 with 6.9 seconds left in the extra session. Miami rookie Tyler Herro drained a three-pointer to close the gap before Middleton made two free throws to seal the win.

Milwaukee, the Eastern Conference top seeds after posting the league’s best regular-season record, trimmed the deficit in the best-of-seven East semi-final to 3-1.

In Western Conference action, Anthony Davis scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and LeBron James added 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 117-109 to level their series at 1-1.

Milwaukee still have a mountain to climb as they try to become the first NBA team to rally from an 0-3 deficit to win a series.

“We all fought,” said Middleton, who led six Bucks players who scored in double-figures in the must-win game.

“Especially with Giannis going down the way he did. He came out and tried to fight for us with a bad ankle. We wanted to have his back and just fight for him and fight for everybody.”

Antetokounmpo had rolled his right ankle in the Bucks’ game-three defeat and twisted it again and went down hard in the second quarter.

He stayed in the game and shot two free throws, making one, before limping to the locker room, clearly emotional as he was assisted by team personnel.

“Giannis put it all out there for us,” said Milwaukee’s Eric Bledsoe, who scored 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. “We wanted to come out and get this win by taking it one play, one possession at a time.”

Heat forward Jimmy Butler said Antetokounmpo’s exit affected Miami, too.

“I think that we relaxed a little bit,” said Butler, who scored 17 points. Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

It wasn’t clear if Antetokounmpo will be available when the Bucks again try to fend off elimination in game five on Tuesday.

Middleton came through in his absence, scoring 21 points in the third quarter to send the Bucks into the final frame trailing by three.

Middleton was 0-for-6 in the fourth, but Brook Lopez poured in 10 of his 14 for the Bucks. After Herro put the Heat up 107-106 with a three-pointer Milwaukee’s Donte DiVicenzo drained one of two free throws to force overtime.

Butler remained confident the Heat have what it takes to close out the series, if they bring the same urgency they did to the first three games.

“We did what I always say you can’t do, which is get comfortable,” he said. “We thought this one was going to be easy and it was not.”

James said the Lakers can’t expect anything to be easy against the potent offense of the Rockets after he and Davis led the Los Angeles side to a series-levelling win.

Stung by a game-one loss in which they were outscored 27-18 in the fourth quarter, the Lakers came out firing. A James dunk pushed their lead to 21 early in the second quarter.

Reserve Markieff Morris scored 16 points for the Lakers — 12 of them in the first quarter.

The Rockets roared back, out-scoring Los Angeles 41-23 in the third quarter to seize the lead before the Lakers regrouped.

James scored eight points in the fourth, revving up the Lakers with a couple of early dunks. His dominant defensive effort included two blocked shots — one that sent a shot from Russell Westbrook out of bounds.

“We got dominated in the fourth quarter last game and after that third-quarter rally, that flurry of threes they hit, I knew that the team that dug down deep, tried to get as many stops as possible, pushed the tempo, would get an opportunity to win this game,” James said.

“I’m happy I was able to make a few plays for my teammates to even the series up.”

James Harden scored 27 points and Eric Gordon made six three-pointers on the way to 24 for Houston, who made 22 three-pointers on 53 attempts.

MONZA, Italy — Pierre Gasly secured a maiden Formula One triumph on Sunday when he won a tumultuous Italian Grand Prix for the Alpha Tauri team after crashes, penalties and safety cars had tipped expectations upside down at Monza.

The first French race winner in 24 years seized his opportunity and resisted late pressure from Carlos Sainz of McLaren to claim his team's second victory with Lance Stroll finishing third for Racing Point.

"It was such a crazy race," said Gasly. 

It was the Alpha Tauri outfit's second win on Italian soil — the first having been scored for them when they raced as Toro Rosso by Sebastian Vettel, his maiden F1 win in a rain-hit race in 2008

Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton was on his way to a comfortable win before a 10-second stop-go penalty for taking a pit stop when the pit lane was closed, pushed the Mercedes world champion to the back of the pack.

The six-time champion eventually ended up in seventh place.

Gasly, who was dropped by Red Bull to rejoin the junior sister team last year, jumped for joy as he leapt from his car, was the first French driver to win a Grand Prix since Olivier Panis was triumphant at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.

"Honestly, it's unbelievable," said the 24-year-old from Rouen. 

"I don't think I'm realising what's happening right now. We've been through so much in the past 18 months. I have no words."

The Ferrari-bound Sainz said he was "halfway disappointed" with his first podium finish. 

Leclerc escapes crash 

"You wouldn't believe I would have a chance at victory, but in a normal race I think I could have finished second behind Lewis." 

Stroll said: "It's been a couple of years since I was on the podium so it's good to be back."

Lando Norris came home fourth in the second McLaren ahead of Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and Daniel Ricciardo of Renault.

Despite the penalty, Hamilton still managed to extend his record run to 41 successive points finishes.

He has a 47-point lead over Bottas in the championship.

Hamilton also had the fastest lap of the race on Sunday as he finished ahead of Esteban Ocon in the second Renault, Daniil Kvyat in the second Alpha Tauri and Sergio Perez in the second Racing Point.

Ferrari endured another torrid weekend with last year's winner from pole position Charles Leclerc walking away after surviving a high-speed crash that led to the decisive 25-minute red-flag interruption.

Four-time champion Vettel, who is leaving Ferrari after this season, retired after a brakes failure while Max Verstappen of Red Bull also retired with engine problems.

On a sunlit afternoon in the old royal park, conditions were perfect — with an air temperature of 28 degrees and the track at 45 — as the lights went out and Hamilton sped clear from his record 94th pole position.

Behind him, Bottas struggled to depart and dropped to sixth on the opening lap as Sainz and Norris took second and third.

Verstappen also had a poor start and fell from fifth to eighth.

Ferrari's miseries, especially those of Vettel, were exposed on lap six when he pulled up at the first chicane with brake failure, smashing through the signage on the run-off area. 

His left rear brake was ablaze seconds earlier.

A safety car was deployed on lap 20 when Kevin Magnussen pulled up close to the pit lane entry. 

Hamilton pitted immediately from the lead, but Sainz and the rest, bar Giovinazzi, stayed out - their teams obeying a signal that the pit lane was closed. Hamilton missed it. 

This left Sainz in the lead for McLaren before the pit lane reopened — Magnussen's Haas car having been pushed to safety — and both Sainz and Norris pitted.

Hamilton led, but was aware he faced a possible penalty, before the safety car came in on lap 23. 

Stroll, who had not pitted, was second behind him, the McLarens having stopped.

Then, two laps later, Leclerc crashed at close to 260km/h at the Parabolica, hitting the barriers heavily. 

He was severely shaken, but climbed out and jogged back to the pits.

By then, Giovinazzi had his 10-second stop-go penalty, a sanction repeated for Hamilton as the race was red-flagged to a halt for repairs to the tyre barriers.

MADRID — Lionel Messi said on Friday he will stay at Barcelona, insisting he could never go to court against “the club of his life”.

But he launched a stinging attack on Barca President Josep Maria Bartomeu, accusing him of going back on an agreement to let him leave for free at the end of last season.

“The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he didn’t end up keeping his word,” Messi said in an interview with Goal, released on Friday.

“I thought and we were sure that I was free. The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not and now they hold on to the fact that I did not say it before June 10 when it turns out that on June 10 we were competing for the league in the middle of this virus and this disease that altered all the dates.”

Messi, 33, added: “And this is the reason why I am going to continue in the club... because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the 700-million-euro release clause. 

“This is impossible, and then the other way was to go to trial. I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, that gave me everything since I arrived, it is the club of my life, I have made my life here.”

Messi had said he wanted to leave the club he joined as a boy after Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals in August.

His lawyers sent a burofax stating his intention to go for free on August 25 but Messi says he had made his feelings clear to Bartomeu many times before.

“I told the club, especially the president, that I wanted to go,” said Messi. “I’ve been telling him all year. I believed it was time to step aside. 

‘Everything became difficult’

“I believed that the club needed more young people, new people and I thought my time in Barcelona was over, feeling very sorry because I always said that I wanted to finish my career here. 

“It was a very difficult year, I suffered a lot in training, in games and in the dressing room. Everything became very difficult for me and there came a time when I considered looking for new goals, new horizons. 

“It wasn’t because of the Champions League result against Bayern, I had been thinking about it for a long time. I told the president and the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he did not end up keeping his word.”

Despite his unhappiness, Messi insists he will give his all for Barcelona next season under their new coach Ronald Koeman, with his current contract due to expire in June next year.

Messi was absent from pre-season training last week as he continued to try to force a move.

“I am going to continue at Barca and my attitude is not going to change, no matter how much I have wanted to go,” Messi said. 

“I will do my best. I always want to win, I am competitive and I don’t like to lose ever... I said before we couldn’t win the Champions League. Now I don’t know what will happen. 

“There is a new coach and a new idea. That’s good, but then we have to see how the team responds and if it means we can compete or not. What I can say is that I’m staying and I’m going to give my best.”