Motor racing-Leclerc puts Ferrari on pole in Hungary
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The Star
44 minutes ago
- The Star
Motor racing-F1 is healthier without Horner, says McLaren boss
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Formula One is a healthier place after the firing of Christian Horner as Red Bull team boss, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said on Sunday. Speaking to reporters after talks with Horner's successor Laurent Mekies at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the American welcomed the Frenchman's appointment and said his predecessor had crossed a line. "I just left having a chat with Laurent, I'm happy he's in the role he's in," he said. "I like Laurent, and I think that'll be healthy, and maybe we can get back to focusing on competition on the track. "There's always going to be some political aspects to the sport, I think it's going to be healthier with Laurent," he added. "I'm a fan of Laurent, I've known him for a long time and I think it'll be good to go racing against Laurent." Brown and Horner were not friends, to put it mildly, and clashed frequently -- with the former accusing Red Bull of cheating in 2022 when the team were found to be in breach of the 2021 cost cap. The pair raced in British Formula Three and renewed their rivalry as bosses, trading barbs in the media with Horner a "pantomime villain" for audiences of the Netflix series 'Drive to Survive'. McLaren dethroned Red Bull as constructors' champions last year -- although Max Verstappen won the drivers' crown for Horner's team for the fourth time in a row -- and have been dominant this season. Brown said the Milton Keynes-based team, who dismissed Horner on July 9, had not seemed to be a healthy environment. Horner, who last year faced allegations of misconduct made by a female employee which he denied and was cleared of after an investigation, has not commented publicly on the reasons for his departure. Brown looked forward to racing Red Bull in the same way McLaren enjoyed competing against Ferrari and Mercedes -- hard on track but celebrating in a more collegiate spirit for the good of the sport. "From a fan's point of view, the drama of the villain stuff I think works, but I also think the celebratory 'fight it out on track but then kind of photobomb each other' ...I think that's a more fun way to go racing," he said. Brown said the rivalry with Red Bull had gone too far, with Horner's accusations about 'flexi-wing' breaches and other technical matters. "When you start getting into frivolous allegations, I think that's just going too far, and I think if I look up and down pit lane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically but there being a line that's not crossed," he said. "I think that line got crossed before... so I think that we'll see a little bit of a change for the better." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon)
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
Motor racing-F1 is healthier without Horner, says McLaren boss
FORMULA ONE is a healthier place after the firing of Christian Horner as Red Bull team boss, McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said on Sunday. Speaking to reporters after talks with Horner's successor Laurent Mekies at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the American welcomed the Frenchman's appointment and said his predecessor had crossed a line. 'I just left having a chat with Laurent, I'm happy he's in the role he's in,' he said. 'I like Laurent, and I think that'll be healthy, and maybe we can get back to focusing on competition on the track. 'There's always going to be some political aspects to the sport, I think it's going to be healthier with Laurent,' he added. 'I'm a fan of Laurent, I've known him for a long time and I think it'll be good to go racing against Laurent.' Brown and Horner were not friends, to put it mildly, and clashed frequently -- with the former accusing Red Bull of cheating in 2022 when the team were found to be in breach of the 2021 cost cap. The pair raced in British Formula Three and renewed their rivalry as bosses, trading barbs in the media with Horner a 'pantomime villain' for audiences of the Netflix series 'Drive to Survive'. McLaren dethroned Red Bull as constructors' champions last year -- although Max Verstappen won the drivers' crown for Horner's team for the fourth time in a row -- and have been dominant this season. Brown said the Milton Keynes-based team, who dismissed Horner on July 9, had not seemed to be a healthy environment. Horner, who last year faced allegations of misconduct made by a female employee which he denied and was cleared of after an investigation, has not commented publicly on the reasons for his departure. Brown looked forward to racing Red Bull in the same way McLaren enjoyed competing against Ferrari and Mercedes -- hard on track but celebrating in a more collegiate spirit for the good of the sport. 'From a fan's point of view, the drama of the villain stuff I think works, but I also think the celebratory 'fight it out on track but then kind of photobomb each other' ...I think that's a more fun way to go racing,' he said. Brown said the rivalry with Red Bull had gone too far, with Horner's accusations about 'flexi-wing' breaches and other technical matters. 'When you start getting into frivolous allegations, I think that's just going too far, and I think if I look up and down pit lane now, I see us fighting each other hard politically but there being a line that's not crossed,' he said. 'I think that line got crossed before... so I think that we'll see a little bit of a change for the better.' -REUTERS
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Rugby-Farrell's Lions fall short of greatness after conquering Australia
SYDNEY (Reuters) -The British & Irish Lions had already done enough to assure their legacy before their dream of a 3-0 series triumph was washed away in a maelstrom of lightning, rain and defiant Australians on Saturday night. Lions test series triumphs are rare and the 2025 squad captained by Maro Itoje and coached by Andy Farrell will take their rightful place alongside the esteemed post-war tourists of 1971, 1974, 1989, 1997 and 2013. "I know we're disappointed but we should be unbelievably proud of what we achieved as a group," Farrell said after the 22-12 defeat. "Lions tours are tough and ... upon reflection after tonight, I'm sure we'll be super proud of the achievements. "How we got the job done in that type of theatre will live with us forever. These lads have been an absolute dream to work with. It's been the time of our lives." In fact, had the Lions reproduced their dominance of the first hour of the Brisbane opener and final 50 minutes in Melbourne to take a third test win in Sydney, it might only have diminished their achievement in taking out the series. Starting with Ben Youngs last year, there have been plenty of voices suggesting that Australian rugby has fallen so far that the country no longer deserves the honour of the Lions visit every 12 years. Those voices were noticeably absent from the Lions camp during a series where the two teams were separated by only a single point over the three tests. Lions coach Farrell is convinced his old friend and mentor Joe Schmidt is building something special in Australia and if he is correct, it may be a couple of years before the achievement of his squad is fully appreciated. "Come the 2027 World Cup they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100%," Farrell said this week. "It would be tragic not to tour here. We've had a blast." Farrell may have been formed as a player in rugby league but the Englishman has shown over the last eight weeks that few understand the spirit and dynamics of the Lions better. SQUAD COHESION In Itoje, he chose a captain who was an automatic selection in the test team and there was never a hint of the sort of squad divisions that have plagued previous tours once it became clear which players were first choice. "It hasn't felt like there's been any separation in the group whatsoever," New Zealander Andrew Goodman, one of Farrell's assistant coaches, said this week. "A big part of his philosophy as a coach is to make sure everyone's all-in all the time in terms of what we do on the field and off the field. "He's a great man motivator. He's a great man around connecting, not just the playing group, but the wider staff and management group as well. "He's an amazing coach and I'm privileged to work underneath him." Itoje said Farrell's attention to detail had surprised him and thought the way the tour had been organised ensured the players formed genuine bonds with each other. "If we won every game and we absolutely hated one another in some ways. Yes, that's what you're going for, because it's a test series win," the England lock said. "But I think life is more than that." That squad cohesion was vital because it quickly became clear that Farrell, on sabbatical from his job as Ireland coach, was going to rely on a test team with a distinctly Irish tinge. LIONS OOZE CLASS That was most controversial in his back row selections, where the likes of Wales captain Jac Morgan and English youngster Henry Pollock missed out and the trio of Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan and Tom Curry started all three tests. His selection paid off with Beirne named Player of the Series and the energy and power of all three ensuring the Lions were often dominant and never overwhelmed by the Wallabies. Farrell's halfback combination of scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell was also locked in and paid huge dividends with the Scottish flyhalf rivalling Beirne for individual series honours. The tour started with an understrength Lions side losing to an understrength Argentina in Dublin, but once the Lions arrived in Australia they oozed class in all areas of the park. Six wins in six tour matches followed with only the inaugural First & Pasifika XV coming close to claiming a famous upset in Melbourne. Some 450,000 souls, many of them red-clad travelling fans, packed into stadiums around country to watch the nine games and prove the spirit of the Lions was alive and kicking after the COVID-impacted 2021 tour had played out to empty stands. The Lions will be back on the road in 2029 and it would be a huge surprise if Farrell was not asked to repeat his coaching alchemy against the All Blacks in New Zealand. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
