Fan favourite Norris on top in second British GP practice
The Briton was top of the second session with a best effort of 1:25.816 seconds, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc 0.222 slower and Lewis Hamilton 0.301 off the pace after going quickest in the first practice.
McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest with Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen fifth and Mercedes Kimi Antonelli, who will have a three-place grid drop for Friday's race, sixth.
Lance Stroll was seventh for Aston Martin with Mercedes' George Russell eighth. Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar was ninth and teammate Liam Lawson 10th.
Hamilton, last year's race winner, had raised hopes of more home heroics with the fastest lap of 1:26.892 in first practice while 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad looked strong in his debut session for Red Bull.
Hamilton is on a career-low run of 13 races without a podium finish but is a record nine-time home race winner and hoping to end the drought.
The seven-time world champion is racing at home in Ferrari's red colours for the first time. The Italian team have yet to win this season, the only top-four outfit yet to do so.
Hamilton had not led a practice session this year before Friday, though he was fastest in Chinese sprint qualifying.
Norris, winner in Austria last weekend, was 0.023 slower in session one with Piastri third.
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eNCA
9 hours ago
- eNCA
Van den Berg strikes twice as Boks beat Italy
PRETORIA - Scrum-half Morne van den Berg scored two tries as Rugby World Cup title-holders South Africa beat Italy 42-24 in Pretoria on Saturday in the first of two Tests. It was a game of two halves with the Springboks using their scrum power to score four tries and build a 28-3 lead by half-time in front of a near-capacity crowd at the 52,000-capacity Loftus Versfeld. But much-improved Italy outscored the record four-time World Cup winners by three tries to two in the second half despite fielding an experimental team with numerous first choices remaining in Europe. Victory continued the 100 percent record of South Africa when hosting Italy, but it was the second smallest winning margin in eight Tests since 1999. The other Springbok try scorers were captain and centre Jesse Kriel, winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, replacement prop Vincent Koch and flanker Marco van Staden. It was a special moment for tighthead Koch when he barged over as he notched his first try for South Africa while winning his 62nd cap. The outstanding try came from Arendse, who raced through the Italian defence from midfield to score after Test debutant Vincent Tshituka won a lineout. Veteran fly-half Handre Pollard slotted all six conversions, raising his total for the Springboks to 784 points in 81 Tests. Flanker Manuel Zuliani, replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff on debut and captain and lock Niccolo Cannone scored tries for the Azzurri. Fly-half Giacomo Da Re kicked three conversions and a penalty for Italy, whose starting line-up included only five of the team beaten by Ireland in their last 2025 Six Nations Championship match. When Da Re converted the Cannone try with 11 minutes remaining, there were only 11 points between the teams, raising the possibility of a stunning victory for the visitors. But the Springboks put the outcome beyond doubt on 74 minutes when Van Staden powered his way over the line and Pollard maintained his perfect record from the kicking tee. The second Test is scheduled for Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha next Saturday.
Daily Maverick
9 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Sloppy Boks win but are given a second-half scare by Italy at Loftus
The Springboks beat Italy 42-24 (halftime 28-3) in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. It's not often that a six-try performance can be labelled as scrappy and mediocre, yet there is no hiding from the fact that the Springboks gave one of their worst displays in years against a gallant Italy. To be more accurate, the second half was one of the worst by the Boks in the Rassie Erasmus era. The first half was more polished with the Boks holding a 28-3 lead at the break. It went south after halftime though, through a combination of Italian grit and fighting spirit and Bok mistakes. Italy 'won' the second half 21-14, which was a fair reflection of how the match unfolded. The second half was shambolic by the world champions as they coughed up the ball, lost lineouts and fell off tackles. Italy deserve some credit for staying in the fight and disrupting the Boks with their abrasive attitude, but even so, this was as bad as the Boks' display in Santiago against Argentina last year. The most positive outcome for the Springboks was that they won and can move on with another victory. But as Erasmus reiterated during the build-up, the Boks don't measure their success by the final score, but rather on the detail of the performance. By that measure, this was a failure for the Springboks because they let a comfortable and commanding position turn into a scrap. The Boks were beaten badly at the breakdown, especially in the second half; the Bomb Squad failed to provide its usual positive impact, and the set piece also wilted the longer the game went on. The sight of the Springbok pack being mauled back 20m by the Italian eight was a sight that will make the rest of the rugby world happy and send some jolts through South African rugby. That is not supposed to happen to a Bok pack. The Boks will never admit it, but it appeared that there was some complacency after the break. They started the second half well when flank Vincent Tshituka thought he had scored a try, only for it to be ruled out for apparent obstruction during the build-up. Ox Nche was deemed to have blocked a tackler getting to fullback Damian Willemse. Let's just say it was a marginal call. That moment seemed to shift the momentum of the game, two minutes into the second half. Instead of a fifth try and being more than 30 points up, Italy were just about still in the game and that made them keep their heads up. The Boks went into their shell for the next 25 minutes as Italy's chests swelled. With each Bok mistake, and there were many, Italy's confidence grew. If there is another positive for the Boks to take away from the Test, it was a reminder that past performances and achievements count for nothing. Every team is improving and Italy, with as many as 10 regulars missing, will pick far more positives from their display than the home team. Flying start The Boks won the match in the first half, scoring four unanswered tries in the stanza with Italy barely having any possession or territory. Being forced to defend for most of the opening 40 minutes was energy-sapping, yet despite conceding those tries the Italian defence was impressive. Had they not been so committed and organised, it could have been much worse. The tries they conceded though, were not down to defensive lapses as much as simply running out of bodies. The Boks' opening try, scored by captain Jesse Kriel, needed a lovely grubber kick from Damian de Allende to finally break the Italian resistance after 10 phases. Kriel appeared to be marginally in front of De Allende but referee Hollie Davidson let it stand and the Boks were underway, 11 minutes into the match. Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg was an excellent, buzzing presence and was rewarded with two tries. His first came via a familiar route. The Boks earned a penalty close to the Italian line and opted to scrum. It was a good call as they shoved the Italians towards their own line. No 8 Jasper Wiese controlled the ball at the base and Van den Berg perfectly picked his moment to pick up and score. Best try The best try of the match came from superb wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, who scythed through the defence from 40m out when running on to a Malcolm Marx pass. It was a set play from a lineout and it worked a treat, but still needed a player of Arendse's class to provide the finishing touches. Arendse later showed the other side of the game with a try-saving tackle on wing Simone Gesi when the Italians were on top. Van den Berg completed the first half, scoring with his second try, this time throwing a good dummy to a ranging Cheslin Kolbe, which opened the space for the halfback to score. The Boks might have thought the job was done at that stage, but Italy had other ideas after the break. Flank Manuel Zuliani crashed over from close range, going through the double tackle of Marx and Wilco Louw to give the visitors the smallest foothold in the game. The Boks managed a rare foray back into Italian territory, and from a multi-phase attack, Vincent Koch scored as he sniped from the side of a ruck. That didn't end the Italian resistance though. Minutes later replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff scored from the back of that 20m rolling maul, to remind their opponents that they were going nowhere. Lock Niccolò Cannone scored with just more than 10 minutes to go, to narrow the deficit to 11 points and send a brief shiver through the 42,000 at Loftus. But the Boks shut the door with a late Marco van Staden try. DM Scorers: è Pollard (6).
The Citizen
11 hours ago
- The Citizen
Springbok player ratings from 42-24 win against Italy
The Boks struggled to get the better of an Italian team which tested them in a number of areas on Saturday. The Springboks scored six tries to three to beat Italy in the first of two Tests between the teams at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. It was the Boks' first official Test of the 2025 season after opening their year with a match against the Barbarians in Cape Town the previous week. This is how The Citizen rated the performance of the Bok players in Pretoria, out of 10. Damian Willemse 7: In his first Test match back since the 2023 World Cup final, he looked solid in the air and dangerous with ball in hand, making a few good runs. He knocked on badly on one occasion. Cheslin Kolbe 6: He didn't get many chances to show what he can do, but looked for work and made a few darting runs. Competed well in the air. Jesse Kriel 6: A decent showing by the outside centre and captain on the day. He tackled well, cleaned rucks and carried strongly, while he showed plenty of calm in scoring the opening try. Damian de Allende 8: He carried the ball well, and often, and put in a number of good tackles. Made a good kick to set up Kriel for his try, and kicked well at other times as well. Kurt-Lee Arendse 8: He chased kicks and was excellent in defence, putting in one try-saving tackle. He also scored an outstanding try after a well-timed, angled run. Handre Pollard 7: He knocked the ball on early on, but settled to produce a decent performance. He ran nicely with the ball at times and tackled well. Solid goal-kicking was his best bit on the day. Morne van den Berg 8: He knocked the ball on once or twice, but generally kicked well out of hand and made several good tackles. He scored two tries, both of them excellently taken. Morne van den Berg scores the second of his two tries. Picture: Johan Orton/Gallo Images Jasper Wiese 8: He put in a mountain of work, carrying the ball over the gain line on a number of occasions, while he also pulled off several important tackles. Vincent Tshituka 7: He won a number of lineouts, carried strongly and tackled well. He scored what looked like a good try, which was chalked off by the TMO because of earlier obstruction, a pity. Marco van Staden 7: He scored a try late on to ease the nerves, a reward for a good evening's work. He made a number of tackles and cleans and carried the ball strongly at times. Lood de Jager 6: A second good showing in a row by the experienced lock, though not as dominant as the week before. He was solid at the restarts, carried regularly and put in some good tackles. Eben Etzebeth 8: He charged down a clearance kick early on and generally delivered a knockout performance. He was busy in all areas; he won lineouts, stole ball, chased kicks and carried hard. Eben Etzebeth was a big figure for the Springboks. Picture: Ashley Vlotman –Wilco Louw 8: He scrummed excellently, anchoring a Bok set-piece that was way too good for Italy. But he also got stuck in with carries and tackles. Malcolm Marx 8: His lineout throwing was pin-point accurate, he was busy in the tight-loose, and made some good offloads as well, one to Arendse for his try. Ox Nche 7: He also enjoyed a dominant scrum performance and did his bit in general play, with a few good ruck cleans, while he also carried the ball on occasion. Bench 5: Vincent Koch, Bongi Mbonambi, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, RG Snyman and Franco Mostert entered the action in the 48th minute and performed well in the set-pieces and in general play, though the Boks weren't as dominant in the scrums or lineoust as earlier in the game. Faf de Klerk and Kwagga Smith joined the game around the 52nd minute mark, with Smith busying himself in all aspects of the clash. Willie le Roux came on in the 62nd minute for his 99th Test.
