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Sports journalist, writer and published author with over 15 years of experience.
Charles Leclerc followed up his brilliant Belgian Grand Prix victory with an obstinate defensive drive to become the first Ferrari driver to win the Italian Grand Prix since Fernando Alonso in 2010.
Although most of the plaudits will go to Charles Leclerc for delivering Ferrari its first victory on home soil for nine years, Sergio Perez may also have a valid claim for 'driver of the day' at the Italian Grand Prix.
Despite Racing Point's strong double points finish at the Belgian Grand Prix, there was obviously little cause for celebration following the tragic accident that claimed the life of young French driver Anthoine Hubert on Saturday. Hubert, who drove for BWT Arden, also known as the 'Pink Panthers' in F2, was well known and well liked by those at SportPesa Racing Point.
An extraordinary qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix saw Charles Leclerc take pole position with his first effort in Q3 as no cars crossed the line in time to set a final flying lap.
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes pulled off a tactical masterstroke to reel in and pass Max Verstappen with just three laps remaining and win the Hungarian Grand Prix. With 21 laps remaining, it appeared that Verstappen had the race at his mercy, handily keeping Hamilton behind.
Max Verstappen took advantage of several safety car situations, great strategy and mistakes from rival drivers on a wet circuit to win a dramatic German Grand Prix from a charging Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat, Acronis partner team Racing Point's Lance Stroll finishing a brilliant fourth.
Lance Stroll was left celebrating a brilliant fourth-place finish for Acronis partner team SportPesa Racing Point after a chaotic German Grand Prix that saw six safety car periods and changing weather conditions. Remarkably, with 20 laps remaining, Stroll was well out of the points.
Whilst most of the attention of race fans this weekend will understandably be on the battle at the sharp end of things, with Mercedes celebrating 125 years of motorsport, there will be interesting stories up and down the grid.
The first images and video of the Vietnam Grand Prix circuit, that will be raced on in 2020, have been released by the organisers of the event. Work started on the 5.565km street circuit in Hanoi earlier this year and will be completed in time for a proposed April date on the provisional calendar, with tickets already on sale to the public this month.
Back-to-back Formula E World Champion Jean-Eric Vergne has hailed his winning DS TECHEETAH team as the best in the field after clinching the title on Sunday. The Chinese outfit narrowly missed out on the team title in Season 4 after being pipped by Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler on the final lap last year.
Nissan e.Dams driver Sebastien Buemi put himself back into contention for a second Formula E drivers' title after a dramatic finish to the New York e-Prix. The Swiss, who realistically needed victory and runaway leader Jean-Eric Vergne to experience a disaster of a race, had both of those scenarios come to pass as he drove a flawless pole to flag race whilst Vergne experienced final-lap heartbreak.
New changes announced to the ABB FIA Formula E sporting regulations have been released, the major alteration aimed at encouraging energy conservation. Following Friday's meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris, the regulations have been altered so that energy consumption is set and deducted from cars during full course yellow periods.
Max Verstappen produced a simply stunning drive to catch young rival Charles Leclerc and win the Austrian Grand Prix after dropping from the front row of the grid to seventh on the opening lap.
Lewis Hamilton confirmed what most already know - that he is the overwhelming favourite to lift a sixth Formula One world drivers' title after winning the French Grand Prix with a dominant display.
The great Alain Prost was nicknamed 'The Professor', for the analytical way he went about his racing. From his meticulous preparation, to the surgical way he worked with his engineers and examined data - not to mention his silky-smooth style of driving and management of tyres and machine, he left no stone unturned in his quest to be the best.
On the Friday before the Berlin e-Prix, the VENTURI Formula E Team announced a multi-year technology partnership with Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection and data storage. In all sport, but particularly in motorsport, management of data is of vital importance.
Following on from Lewis Hamilton's fourth victory of the season and his third around the streets of Monaco, it looks like the reigning champion is already tightening his grip on world title number six only five races into the season.
Lewis Hamilton dedicated his third Monaco Grand Prix victory to good friend Niki Lauda after pulling off a defensive driving masterclass to keep the charging Max Verstappen behind him. Hamilton had started the race from pole position and pulled away to lead the race.
Tributes have flooded in following the passing of three-time Formula 1 World Champion, Niki Lauda, who died yesterday at the age of 70. Rest in peace Niki Lauda. Forever carried in our hearts, forever immortalised in our history. The motorsport community today mourns the devastating loss of a true legend.
Jean-Eric Vergne's flawless victory around the streets of Monte Carlo, allied to teammate Andre Lotterer's sterling drive from the back of the field to an amended seventh position, means that DS TECHEETAH holds a strong 38-point advantage over Envision Virgin Racing in the team standings.
The Spanish Grand Prix is often a good gauge of how the Formula One season is likely to unfold as the European leg kicks off in earnest. And following another dominant 1-2 for Mercedes, the team's fifth on the bounce, it certainly looks ominous now for the competition going forward.
With eight different winners from as many electric street races this season, Formula E in 2018/19 is turning into a real guessing game as to who wins next. In winning a chaotic Paris e-Prix, Robin Frijns joined Mitch Evans, Antonio Felix da Costa, Jerome d'Ambrosio, Sam Bird, Lucas di Grassi, Edoardo Mortara and Jean-Eric Vergne as race victors.
There is an adage amongst seasoned Formula One campaigners that the season only really begins when the European round of races gets underway. And after a record four season opening 1-2 finishes for Mercedes on the bounce, Ferrari will certainly be hoping that maxim holds true. Too good, Seb!
The morning after the night before and Mercedes are yet again left celebrating a historic fourth successive 1-2 finish. It leaves Ferrari again scratching their heads after starting well on a circuit that, like Bahrain, appeared to suit them. For other teams, there was also cause for celebration and for some, wounds will be being licked after another difficult weekend.
Dutchman Robin Frijns held off Andre Lotterer and Daniel Abt to win a chaotic Paris e-Prix as a hailstorm and torrential rain created one of the wackiest of electric races yet seen. As cars slithered and slided into the barriers and one another with alarming regularity to bring about four yellow flags, it was Frijns who kept his head above all others to record an impressive victory.
When Mitch Evans pipped Andre Lotterer to win the Rome e-Prix, he became the seventh different winner in as many races in this most dramatic and unpredictable of seasons. In winning, the New Zealander joined Antonio Felix da Costa, Jerome d'Ambrosio, Sam Bird, Lucas di Grassi, Edoardo Mortara and Jean-Eric Vergne as race victors.
With three 1-2 finishes in as many races this season, Mercedes has already seemingly grabbed the 2019 season by the scruff of the neck. It looked an unlikely scenario during pre-season testing and, indeed, during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, when all the figures suggested that it was Ferrari, not Mercedes, who held the upper hand in pace.
For DS TECHEETAH driver Andre Lotterer, winning used to come easy. The triple Le Mans winner is something of a sportscar legend, the German also winning the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship. Yet despite also enjoying success in single seat racing, a victory in Formula E has somehow eluded him.
With seven different pole sitters and winners in as many races, the 2018/19 Formula E season is being hailed as a huge success for its unpredictability and close racing.
Lewis Hamilton took the lead of the drivers' championship for the first time in 2019 after getting the jump on teammate Valtteri Bottas at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix.
Mitch Evans became Jaguar Racing's first e-Prix winner and the seventh of the season following a titanic battle with Andre Lotterer around the streets of Rome. With the race starting in wet but drying conditions, the circuit was too slippery for some to handle and when Jose Maria Lopez hit the kerb on the exit wall of Turn 18, it created a traffic jam of cars behind him that brought about a red flag.
From the first ever official Formula One Grand Prix won by Giuseppe 'Nino' Farina at Silverstone back in 1950, to Lewis Hamilton's win in Bahrain a fortnight ago, the pinnacle of motorsport is now only a race away from reaching a landmark 1000th GP.
When you or I jump into our car, we don't give the steering wheel a second thought. The most challenging thing we may have to do is toggle radio channels or volume levels whilst turning a corner. For a Formula E driver, it does a lot more than merely steer the car and is arguably the most important piece of equipment.
In motorsport, data is everything. It's an inescapable fact. The hundreds of gigabytes of telemetry accumulated from thousands of miles of testing as well as state-of-the-art software development back in the factory is aimed improving, and ultimately winning.
Lewis Hamilton lucked into victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix as pole sitter Charles Leclerc dropped out of the lead with engine recovery problems only eight laps from the finish. It was a bitter blow for Leclerc, who had driven a superb race and looked set for a comfortable victory until misfortune intervened.
Only two weeks after touching down in Hong Kong for the first 'home' race of the season, Acronis partner teams DS TECHEETAH and NIO Formula E Team arrive in China full of confidence.
The first and only open-wheel electric racing series in motorsport, it's clear that the ABB FIA Formula E Championship is very different indeed to all other forms of motorsport. Yet the uniqueness of this fascinating series runs much deeper than just battery development alone.
Valtteri Bottas pulled off a supreme drive to win the Australian Grand Prix by a massive 21.379 seconds from teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Honda's Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel finishing fourth.
There's a certain champion English driver in the Albert Park paddock this weekend who exudes charm, magnetism and the confidence of adding yet more titles to his impressive racing resume. The driver I'm talking about is neither Lewis Hamilton nor fellow hot-shoe Lando Norris but reigning Formula 2 champion and Williams driver George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton stormed to an incredible sixth successive Australian Grand Prix pole position to lay down an ominous marker in the defence of his world title. The reigning world champion's 1m20.486s lap record was just enough to pip teammate Valtteri Bottas by just 0.112s with arch rival Sebastian Vettel lining up third on the grid ahead of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen.
After months of development and thousands of miles of testing and data gathering, Formula One teams have arrived in Melbourne to kick off the eagerly-anticipated 2019 season. Whilst the winner of the Australian Grand Prix doesn't always give away firm clues about who the champion teams and drivers will be come the end of the ...
Venturi secured a controversial and sensational first ABB FIA Formula E victory in the Championship's 50th ePrix after Sam Bird was handed a late five-second penalty for hitting race leader Andre Lotterer on the penultimate lap. The English Envision Virgin driver had been piling immense pressure on race leader Lotterer's DS TECHEETAH but was unable ...
In motorsport, they say, a rainy race weekend is the one true variable that separates the men from the boys. The great drivers from the good, mediocre and also-rans. But what if there's never been a wet race day in a motorsport series?
Following on from one of the most dramatic Formula E races in recent memory, teams arrive in the bustling hive of activity that is downtown Hong Kong for round five of this most enthralling of championships. With four different winners in as many races, there is certainly all to play for with exactly a third ...
After eight days and hundreds of laps on differing fuel loads, aero settings, track temperatures and tyre compounds around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, teams have packed up and made their separate ways home. The next stop is the vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Melbourne, Australia, where the 2019 Formula One season springs into life.
The famous name of McLaren once again sat atop the lap times as the sun set on the second day of the final pre-season Barcelona test. In a repeat of yesterday, Racing Point were second but another famous name in Ferrari had a more troubling day as Sebastian Vettel suffered a high-speed crash in the ...
There is an intriguing 'cloak and dagger' aspect to pre-season Formula One testing. Always has, always will be. In this multi-million-dollar game of motorsport poker, where so much is at risk, no team wishes to show their hand too early. That would surely be a foolhardy thing to do.
It has been my motto of the week on Motorsport Tech that it's foolish to read too much into lap times in the first pre-season test. I'm certainly sticking to that.
As emphasized in Tuesday's Motorsport Tech Barcelona column, it is extremely difficult to read too much into pre-season testing times. Hats off to Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat, though, who set some tongues wagging by posting the quickest time of the day. Yet the reality check of the situation is that the Russian's time ...
For all fans of Formula One, the winter break can be a painfully long one. It has been just over three months since the final grand prix of an exciting season that saw Lewis Hamilton close his emphatic championship-winning season in style in Abu Dhabi.
Lucas di Grassi took a dramatic final corner victory after Pascal Wehrlein's Mahindra ran out of power on the final corner of the race, as did Oliver Rowland's Nissan e.dams which had been running in third. It had looked as if Wehrlein would secure a maiden win in the series after leading the entire race ...
Racing Point became the latest and one of the most eagerly anticipated teams to unveil its 2019 machine as the new Lawrence Stoll led outfit began life under its new name and brand-new livery. Streamed live online at the Canadian International Auto Show, new teammates Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez pulled the covers off what ...
The Williams F1 team became the third team to unveil images of its 2019 challenger, a car the team hopes will rectify the problems encountered during a testing 2018 season and start on path to getting the historic name back to where it belongs.
Britain's Sam Bird scorched to a brilliant victory at the Antofagasta Minerals Santiago e-Prix after his relentless pressure on race leader Sebastien Buemi forced the Swiss into a late retirement.
Acronis partner NIO Formula E Team is committed to improvement as the championship moves to Chile, South America. Drivers Oliver Turvey and Tom Dillmann have certainly had their moments in the opening two rounds, impressive qualifying in Ad Diriyah scuppered by unfortunate technical infringements. And both were looking good for points in Marrakesh until energy ...
After what was a highly encouraging but ultimately disappointing season opener for the NIO Formula E Team at the season opener in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, the team is confident that bigger things are just around the corner, starting in Marrakesh on Saturday. New driver Tom Dillmann appeared to have given the team a brilliant ...
One of the unwritten rules in Formula One is that only the big car manufacturer-backed teams with huge budgets win world titles. The rest simply don't stand a chance. Throughout the history of the sport, with one or two notable exceptions, this has certainly been the case.
With one race of the new Formula E season already completed, the NIO Formula E team has much to be enthused about heading into the rest of 2019. New driver Tom Dillmann appeared to have given the team a brilliant start, initially putting his car on the front row of the grid alongside eventual race ...
As the new Gen2 cars hit the Ad Diriyah circuit for the most eagerly anticipated season in Formula E history, every team in the paddock was taking a bold new step into the unknown. New rules, new regulations and, most importantly, a new Gen2 machine has meant many months of preparation.
Following on from an encouraging but ultimately points-free inaugural Ad Diriyah ePrix, the NIO Formula E team remained at the circuit for a day of testing. Importantly, joining regular drivers Oliver Turvey and Tom Dillmann at the circuit was Test driver and British GT4 champion Jamie Chadwick, rival teams also running female drivers.
For existing fans of Formula E, as well as relative newcomers to the sport, the new season offers no shortage of excitement due to new regulations, new teams and faces. Without doubt, one of the most eagerly anticipated innovations for the 2018/19 FE season is what has been dubbed 'Attack Mode'.
For all eleven teams and 22 drivers assembling at the new Ad Diriyah Formula E venue this weekend, the excitement of kicking off a new season is palpable. This season, new regulations including 'Attack Mode' and faster 'Gen2' cars that will last the duration of the race on one battery charge means that every team ...
Antonio Felix da Costa laid down an early marker by winning the inaugural Ad Diriyah ePrix from defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne and Jerome d'Ambrosio as a new dawn of Formula E racing began in dramatic fashion. Da Costa had started on pole but had to use all his racing nous, the lead changing hands several ...
New teams, new faces, new regulations and an all-new Generation 2 car are just some of the treats that await fans of Formula E as the 2018/19 championship gets underway at Ad Diriyah this weekend. Now in its fifth season, Formula E is set to gain an even bigger fan base than ever before with ...
As Formula E prepares to step into a brand-new era of faster, more powerful 'Gen2' cars with exciting new rules and innovations such as 'Attack Mode', one former F1 star is also taking his first step into the unknown. Having graced the F1 paddock for 16 years, Felipe Massa is one of the most recognizable ...
Motorsport's governing body, the FIA, has concluded that the halo device introduced for the first time for the 2018 season, saved Charles Leclerc from being hit by Fernando Alonso's endplate during the Belgian Grand Prix. Motorsport Technology concluded after the incident that the halo debate must now surely end and the FIA's investigation into the ...
In Formula One, data is everything. It is exactly why the Williams F1 team entered into a partnership with Acronis to keep all this vital date protected, backed-up and recoverable within seconds. Of course, data is also of importance to fans of the sport. Graphics showing telemetry including car position on track, speeds, gear changes ...
It was the same venue that brought down the curtain on the 2018 F1 season only a few days ago but it had a very different feel about it. Two days of testing at the Yas Marina Circuit was about much more than testing the revised Pirelli tyre compounds for 2019, it was about many ...
As the sun set on another dramatic Formula One season in Abu Dhabi, it was perhaps fitting that the driver who has stood apart from all others once again stood atop the podium. Lewis Hamilton has proven supreme this season in winning a fifth world drivers' title, and just because the job was done didn't ...
During an intoxicating and captivating Formula One season that has sometimes been blighted by bitter rivalry and unsavoury post-race incident, it is fair to say that before the sun sets in Abu Dhabi, there will be a warm glow around the paddock. As the sport bids farewell to one of the great drivers of his ...
It's one of the most popular of discussions between fans of almost every sport on the planet. Comparing the icons of the game and wondering who would come out on top, regardless of the era, when at the peak of their respective powers. Woods vs Nicklaus in golf, Navratilova vs Williams in tennis, Ali vs ...
Without doubt, the Mexican Grand Prix weekend represents the most colourful event on the Formula 1 calendar. Taking place during the 'Dia de los Muertos' (Day of the Dead) holiday period, colour invades every stand and fans dress to impress. This year, there were Mariachi Bands, Piñatas and even Tequila bars inside the F1 paddock ...
Lewis Hamilton joined the great Juan Manuel Fangio as a five-time world champion after finishing fourth in the Mexican Grand Prix, Max Verstappen recording a popular win from Sebastian Vettel after Daniel Ricciardo's late retirement from second. US Grand Prix winner Kimi Raikkonen finished on the podium, but the day belonged to the man who [...]
It was perhaps something of a shock that Lewis Hamilton wasn't able to wrap up a Juan Manuel Fangio-equalling fifth world title in Austin, Texas on a circuit he has practically made his own over recent years.
Lewis Hamilton will have to wait another race to join the great Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio as a five-time Formula One world champion after Kimi Raikkonen scored a popular first victory since Australia 2013 and a first in a Ferrari since Belgium in 2009. In a frantic and dramatic finish, the Finn held out to ...
There really is a massive buzz around the forthcoming Formula E Series that kicks off on December 15 in Saudi Arabia, and the first test sessions for the 'Gen2' cars in Valencia received no shortage of media coverage. The three days of intensive testing in Spain revealed new teams, new drivers, new liveries and faster, ...
Lewis Hamilton will join Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio on five world titles should he outscore title rival Sebastian Vettel by eight points at this weekend's US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. For the Englishman, greatness is already guaranteed as he is already one of only five drivers in history to have secured four world ...
As the FIA Formula E Championship announced that Heineken has entered into a five-year sponsorship partnership as the sport's official beer and cider partner, there is an increasing buzz around the electric series. Heineken has been a sponsor of Formula One since 2016, and with Stoffel Vandoorne the latest of a raft of other former ...
Williams Racing has announced that current Formula 2 Championship leader George Russell will join the team for the 2019 season onwards. "I am delighted to announce that George Russell will be joining Williams from the 2019 season," commented Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal. "We have always tried to promote and develop young talent at Williams, ...
For many fans of motorsport, the biggest event of the weekend was neither the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka nor the Thailand MotoGP at the Chang International Circuit. Indeed, for lovers of V8 Supercars and 'Tin Top' racing, the biggest showpiece of the year was taking place at the 1000km long Bathurst 1000, held at [...]
As Silverstone celebrated 70 years since hosting its first ever British Grand Prix this week, the Formula One circus moves on to another iconic venue at Suzuka in Japan. Suzuka first hosted a grand prix back in 1976, making it one of the oldest existing F1 circuits and it is loved by drivers and fans ...
In Formula One, controversy is never far away. And almost nothing sets tongues wagging quite as much as the prickly subject of team orders. The very issue once again reared its head on lap 25 of the Russian Grand Prix as Mercedes ordered Valtteri Bottas to move aside and hand the lead of the race over to championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
The Racing Point Force India team is once again confident that the new tech upgrades that were in place for the Singapore Grand Prix will pay dividends this weekend in Sochi. The team traveled to Singapore with high hopes of a competitive result, having bought a raft of tech upgrades, including front wing revisions, new [...]
With no margin for error whatsoever and with only six races of the season remaining, it appears highly unlikely that Ferrari will make the same mistake twice when racing resumes in earnest at the Sochi Autodrom. The Maranello team seemed to make a crucial strategic error in pitting Sebastian Vettel for the faster wearing super-soft ...
Lewis Hamilton extended his lead at the top of the championship standings to 40 points over title rival Sebastian Vettel after winning a tactical Singapore Grand Prix from Max Verstappen. Vettel had to settle for third after losing out to Verstappen during the pitstop window, the German finishing ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen and ...
As part of helping to celebrate 15 years since the founding of Acronis in Singapore, Williams drivers Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll were on hand to make the occasion an enjoyable one. Their task, in front of an intrigued audience of employees and guests, was a race against one another to fill a travel suitcase ...
When McLaren announced this week that 18-year-old hot shoe Lando Norris would be replacing Stoffel Vandoorne at the team for the 2019 season, it raised no shortage of eyebrows. Norris currently lies second in the Formula 2 series and boasts an impressive junior record of racing in seven different categories and winning three of these, ...
Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in the drivers' championship to 30 points over Sebastian Vettel after pipping Kimi Raikkonen to victory in a dramatic Italian Grand Prix. In doing so, he equaled Michael Schumacher's record of five wins at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.
It's almost a year exactly since the sport's governing body, the FIA, announced that it was to introduce a radical and controversial cockpit protection device known as the 'Halo' for the 2018 season onwards. The decision taken during last year's Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
There is a famous cliché that says 'a week is a long time in politics'. With all that is happening in the world today, that statement certainly seems to ring true. So, for fans of Formula 1, not to mention the teams and drivers, the mid-season break will have seemed like an eternity when racing finally gets underway in Belgium after almost a month of inactivity.
Lewis Hamilton extended his lead at the top of the drivers' championship standings to 24 points over title rival Sebastian Vettel after completing a welcome routine victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix. After the dramas of Silverstone and Hockenheim, where the Mercedes driver had to produce two of his greatest ever drives to slice his ...
Lewis Hamilton retook the lead of the drivers' championship after title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out of the lead of his home grand prix in dramatic fashion. Vettel had looked likely to back up his British Grand Prix win with another at his home race with only a dozen laps remaining.
With Jean-Eric Vergne having sewn up the drivers' title on Saturday, there was still the small matter of the team championship to be decided on race Sunday and it turned out to be a dramatic season finale. The race proved to be a victory parade for the Frenchman, who outlined his superiority over the course ...
Jean-Eric Vergne produced a championship-winning drive from the back of the grid to beat Sam Bird to the Formula E title after a dramatic opening race in New York. The drivers' championship, that the resilient Bird had battled so hard to take to the wire against all the odds, was decided after a gripping race ...
Sebastian Vettel played the role of pantomime villain to briefly burst the great British sporting summer bubble and win the 70th running of a brilliant British Grand Prix at Silverstone from Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen. England may still be in the FIFA World Cup after Germany's shock group exit but it was the Ferrari ...
Max Verstappen took full advantage of a rare double retirement from both Mercedes drivers to win the Austrian Grand Prix, leading home the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel and the Haas duo of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, located on the Ile Notre Dame, is a true test of driver skill and certainly not for the faint of heart. Just ask Williams driver Robert Kubica, who miraculously escaped unharmed after a massive 75G shunt during the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix before winning the race a year later.
England's Sam Bird launched himself into contention for a first Formula E title after a dramatic inaugural Zurich ePrix saw him finish second behind Lucas di Grassi as championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne could only manage tenth. The result means that Bird cuts the championship lead to just 23 points with only the final round of two races in New York remaining.
Esteban Ocon made up for his unfortunate retirement in the Spanish Grand Prix to secure a brilliant sixth place for Force India as Daniel Ricciardo scored a superb maiden Monaco Grand Prix victory and Red Bull Racing's first at the Principality since 2012.
Many of us may have experienced the feeling of excitement after taking delivery of a brand-new chair or sofa. It looked great in the store and felt perfect at the time. Yet it often takes weeks until it truly feels a part of yourself and your home.
The Acronis Mission Control Centre in Silverstone was left with mixed emotions as Sergio Perez backed up his fantastic Baku podium with a strong ninth place for Force India at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Acronis partner Force India were left celebrating a fantastic result as Sergio Perez scored an incredible podium finish after the most dramatic of Azerbaijan grands prix .
Jean-Eric Vergne drove a flawless race from pole to flag to win the Paris ePrix in front of his adoring home fans and extend his championship lead.
Data drives innovation and the gigabytes of telemetry information collected during the race is used to improve car performance and enhance the already amazing Formula E technology.
Sebastian Vettel celebrated his 200th grand prix start in style by extending his championship lead over arch-rival Lewis Hamilton to 17 points after an incident-packed Bahrain Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo claimed a sensational victory in an incident-packed Chinese Grand Prix after a bold two-stop strategy paid handsome dividends. The Red Bull driver started sixth on the grid but forged his way through the field and took advantage of a safety car situation to surge past his Ferrari and Mercedes rivals for an impressive victory, taking the chequered flag from the fighting Finns of Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen.
Race Review: England's Sam Bird narrowed the gap to championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne to 26 points after winning a gripping inaugural Formula E Rome E-Prix from Lucas di Grassi and Andre Lotterer in the wonderful setting of the Italian capital.
Controversy is never far away in the fascinating sport of Formula 1. And it didn't take long during the season opening Australian Grand Prix before spectators, television viewers and even race commentators were left scratching their heads and asking, "what on earth just happened there?"
It had been looking like a cruise to victory for reigning world champion Hamilton, who had led every lap from pole position. But all that changed on lap 25 when Romain Grosjean's Haas stopped on the circuit in an unsafe position, bringing about the virtual safety car.
Cars also carry data recorders similar to those used in aircraft and cars also carry these 'black boxes'. After any serious accident, data is sent to the FIA institute for analysis and several improvements have come about as a result, including new crash tests and innovations such as wheel tethers, the HANS (head and neck support) device and of course the new HALO, which has been introduced for the 2018 season.
Punta del Este ABB FIA Formula E Championship - Round 6 - Race Report Jean-Eric Vergne extended his lead at the top of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship after a classic race long scrap saw him take his second victory of the season from Lucas di Grassi at the beautiful and speedy beach circuit located on Uruguay's Punta del Este.
With every new Formula 1 season comes new rules, new expectations and excitement aplenty. Most fans of the sport have been flooding social media with their opinions on which cars have the sexiest plumage and the most aesthetically appeasing curves. And that's even before the racing begins in earnest in Melbourne.
Monger has worked hard since his accident to realise his ambition of racing again and worked closely with the FIA and Motor Sports Association over the winter to successfully overturn a rule that prevented disabled drivers from racing in single seaters.
The decision from new owners Liberty Media to do away with grid girls next year has split opinion. Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has labelled the move as 'prudish' whilst three-time world champion Niki Lauda told Austrian paper 'Der Standard' that it goes even further than that and that it is a decision against women's rights.
Replacing Felipe Massa as Stroll's teammate for 2018 is the highly-rated Russian Sergey Sirotkin, which means they will have the youngest driver line-up on the grid. But there is another veteran racer also in the team this year, Pole Robert Kubica making a return as reserve and development driver seven years after he last raced in F1 for Renault.
Sometimes, even in the ultra-competitive world of Formula 1 racing where even a single point can be of huge significance come the end of a season, just taking part and gaining valuable experience can be of equal importance.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso team bid a fond farewell to outgoing driver Carlos Sainz as the sun set on the Suzuka paddock after an event filled Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
Ever since its inaugural grand prix in 1999, the Malaysian Grand Prix has been a favorite for teams and drivers alike. Located close to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the challenging Sepang circuit layout with two long straights and numerous sweeping corners, designed by Hermann Tilke, has provided many exciting races over the years.
Being a sponsor of Scuderia Toro Rosso, Acronis knows only too well the importance of keeping things safe and well protected. It had been three weeks before the trucks arrived in Belgium to unload their precious cargoes and once again go racing again after the long summer break.
A recent government announcement that Britain is to ban all new petrol and diesel cars by the year 2040 has put the motorsport industry on red alert.
The year is 2049. The polar ice caps have melted. Nanotechnology has made disease and illness virtually redundant to the autocracy and the reliance upon artificial intelligence means that all transport is automated and humans are virtually indistinguishable from their android counterparts.
Jorge Sampaoli enjoyed his second victory in as many matches as new Argentina boss as his side put six past a game, but overmatched, Singapore. It took Argentina - minus the rested Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain - a while to get into their stride against a red wall of defence that were always going to put numbers behind the ball.
Argentina kept up their impressive recent record against bitter rivals Brazil, a 1-0 victory at a near capacity MCG giving Jorge Sampaoli his first victory as new manager. Gabriel Mercado tapped home on the brink of half time after Nicolas Otamendi's header bounced into his path off the post to give Argentina a deserved half-time advantage.
Any Formula One fan who has ever spent hours thrashing out laps on their Xbox or Playstation gaming console has allowed themselves to dream, however briefly, about what it must be like to actually be an F1 driver.
Manchester United eased past Ajax 2-0 to win the Europa League title and progress to next season's Champions League on an emotional night in Stockholm. Paul Pogba 's deflected effort and Henrikh Mkhitaryan's improvised finish proved the difference as United collected their second trophy of the season following their League Cup triumph in February.
Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure netted as Manchester City enjoyed a 3-1 win over West Brom to leave themselves one win away from finishing third. Victory at Watford in their final match of the season on Sunday will see them finish above Liverpool and Arsenal in third place, and qualify for the Champions League group stage alongside champions Chelsea and second place Tottenham.
Crystal Palace ran riot in the relegation decider at Selhurst Park, beating Hull City 4-0 to send the Tigers down into the Championship. Needing victory to keep their slim hopes alive, the Tigers suffered the worst possible start as a horrible missed clearance from Andrea Ranocchia let Wilfried Zaha in to score in the third minute.
Tottenham Hotspur signed off their final game at White Hart Lane in winning style, beating Manchester United 2-1 thanks to goals from Victor Wanyama and a first against the Red Devils for Harry Kane.
Manchester City grabbed all three points in their penultimate home game after a frantic, dramatic encounter saw them defeat Leicester City 2-1. City took the lead in controversial circumstances as Raheem Sterling may have touched David Silva 's goalbound effort in an offside position, and they went two up after Gabriel Jesus scored from the spot.
Everton wrapped up their home programme with a deserved 1-0 victory thanks to a cracking Ross Barkley strike early in the second half. The match began with speculation surrounding the midfielder's future, manager Ronald Koeman putting pressure on Barkley to sign a new contract.
Hull City were plunged back into relegation trouble as Sunderland ended Marco Silva's three-year unbeaten home record with a 2-0 win. Silva had not lost a home league game since March 2017 when he was manager of Estoril, but saw his side come unstuck against an already-relegated Sunderland outfit.
West Ham dealt Tottenham's Premier League title hopes a massive blow as Manuel Lanzini 's second-half strike earned the Hammers a 1-0 win at the London Stadium. Spurs conceded their first league goal in more than eight hours when Lanzini latched onto a loose ball inside the box after 65 minutes.
A stunning strike from Pedro and late goals from Gary Cahill and Willian gave Chelsea a 3-0 win at Everton and strengthened their grip on the title. Everton should have gone ahead as early as the second minute, Dominic Calvert-Lewin clattering a shot against the inside of the post as Lukaku lost his footing with the goal gaping.
Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League in dramatic circumstances on Saturday as they lost to Bournemouth and Southampton had an injury-time penalty saved against Hull City. Josh King struck in the 88th minute at the Stadium of Light, meaning David Moyes' Sunderland were heading into the Championship as a result of their defeat, and the fact Hull were still drawing.
Manchester United produced arguably their best performance of the season to damage Chelsea's title charge with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford on Sunday. United boss Jose Mourinho made the controversial decision to bench his star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and in-form winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan before kick-off and handed the captain's armband to bit-part player Ashley Young, putting the omissions down to fatigue following Thursday's Europa League tie at Anderlecht.
The prolific Romelu Lukaku scored for the ninth consecutive home game this season as Everton extended their Goodison winning run with a 3-1 win over Burnley. It was actually the visitors, seeking a rare double over the Toffees, who had the better of the early exchanges - Ross Barkley heading off the line and Joel Robles denying Sam Vokes with a decent save.
A Zlatan Ibrahimovic special and a straight red card dealt to Sebastian Larsson helped Manchester United defeat Sunderland 3-0 at the Stadium of Light. Jose Mourinho made some surprising team changes with David de Gea missing due to an unspecified reason, Marouane Fellaini captaining the side and Luke Shaw also starting.
Goals from Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and substitute Olivier Giroud threw West Ham right back into the relegation mixer and eased the mounting pressure on Arsene Wenger. The Gunners came into the match amidst growing dissatisfaction from fans surrounding the future of their manager and an almost half-full crowd reflected just that.
Jamie Vardy scored his fifth goal in five games as revitalised English champions Leicester enjoyed a sixth win on the bounce in a 2-0 victory over doomed Sunderland. Marc Albrighton made all the difference as he set up fellow substitute Islam Slimani to nod home the opener on 69 minutes.
Atletico Madrid had no trouble in booking their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after seeing off a spirited Bayer Leverkusen with a goalless draw at the Vicente Calderon.
Eden Hazard and Diego Costa scored either side of half-time as Chelsea restored their 10-point lead at the top of the table with a 2-1 win over West Ham. It was the home side who actually started the better, dominating the early possession and putting pressure on the Chelsea defence without carving out any clear cut chances.
A stoppage-time Fernando Llorente header snatched all three points for Swansea City, who came from 2-1 down to defeat Burnley 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium. The fixture looked destined to end in a draw as the game headed into stoppage time.
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as Tottenham eased into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win away at Championship Fulham. Spurs totally dominated the opening exchanges and it was no surprise when Kane grabbed the opener, sliding home his 17th of the season from Christian Eriksen's cross.
Leicester City's shambolic title defence continued with a limp 2-0 defeat to Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium. The Foxes are now 17th in the Premier League, just a point above the drop zone, and have an ominous set of fixtures between now and May - all while juggling Champions League and FA Cup duties.
Cameroon ended a 15-year wait to win the Africa Cup of Nations for the fifth time, a fantastic late individual goal from Vincent Aboubakar sealing victory as the Indomitable Lions came from a goal behind.
Essam El Hadary was the hero as the veteran Egyptian goalkeeper saved the final two penalties to deny Burkina Faso in their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final shootout. Egpyt opened the scoring in the second half when Mohamed Salah curled home an excellent shot from the edge of the box.
Tottenham lost the opportunity to close the gap on league leaders Chelsea after being held to a goalless draw by a resolute Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. In a game few on clear chances, Victor Wanyama squandered the clearest for the visitors, heading over the bar from a few yards out from Heung-Min Son's accurate cross.
The 35-year-old, who had not won a major since his Wimbledon triumph in 2012, took the final set in front of a packed Rod Laver Arena after an epic exchange which ebbed and flowed throughout. The 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 win means Federer is now four Grand Slam titles ahead of his Spanish rival, who remains on 14 with Pete Sampras.
Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick and Danny Welbeck a brace as Arsenal cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a clinical 5-0 demolition of a much-altered Southampton side at St Mary's. Only days after defeating Liverpool to reach the final of the League Cup, Claude Puel decided to make 10 changes in fielding an almost unrecognisable side and their inexperience showed.
Liverpool's awful January continued as they were humbled at home in the fourth round of the FA Cup by Championship side Wolves. Fans had barely settled into their seats before Richard Stearman headed home Helder Costa's free kick and things got worse for Liverpool just before the break, Andreas Weimann latching onto Costa's pass before beating Loris Karius and slotting the ball into an empty net.
Pre-tournament favourites Ivory Coast came from behind twice to grab a vital point against DR Congo and keep their hopes in the Africa Cup of Nations alive.
Tunisia gave themselves hope of making the knockout phase of the Africa Cup of Nations after upsetting Algeria 2-1 victory and edging their North African rivals close to elimination. A fortuitous Aissa Mandi own goal gave Tunisia the lead just after the break before a calamitous Faouzi Ghoulam back header and subsequent foul on Wahbi Khazri allowed Naim Sliti to extend the lead from the spot.
Marcos Alonso scored twice and Pedro added a third as Chelsea went seven points clear at the top of the Premier League with a win over champions Leicester. The Spanish wing-back struck after six minutes and added a deflected effort just after half-time to give Antonio Conte's men the advantage in the absence of star striker Diego Costa, who was left out of the squad for the match.
West Ham United poured further misery on former boss Sam Allardyce after an Andy Carroll wondergoal helped them to a crucial 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace. All of the pre-match talk had revolved around Dimitri Payet's wish to leave the club and his absence was certainly notable in a first half in which neither side failed to create many meaningful chances.
Tottenham Hotspur continued their winning streak at White Hart Lane with a well-earned 2-0 victory over Aston Villa to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Following a drab first half in which the hosts mustered just one shot on goal, they hit their stride in the second half after the introduction of Dele Alli for the disappointing Vincent Janssen.
Liverpool's youngest ever starting XI failed to break down an obdurate Plymouth defence as they were held to a 0-0 draw in the third round of the FA Cup. Jurgen Klopp made 10 changes from the side that played Sunderland and fielded the Reds' youngest ever side, with an average age of 21.
Olivier Giroud scored for a fourth game in a row as Arsenal survived a major scare, coming from 1-0 down to eventually beat Preston 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup. Callum Robinson put the hosts ahead in only the seventh minute and Preston could and should really have been further ahead at the break against a very poor Arsenal.
Wayne Rooney equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's Manchester United goalscoring record as the Red Devils eased into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Reading. Rooney was on hand to deflect home Juan Mata 's flick within the opening 10 minutes to set the ball rolling and equal Sir Bobby's record of 249 goals.
Jermain Defoe scored a brace of penalties as Sunderland held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light. Liverpool started the game six points behind leaders Chelsea and looked to be well on their way to closing the gap after Daniel Sturridge headed home Dejan Lovren 's scuffed shot direct from the corner.
Manchester United completed a late show that birthday boy Sir Alex Ferguson would have been proud of, two goals in the last five minutes snatching victory against Middlesbrough. Aitor Karanka looked to be headed for a memorable smash and grab victory over his old Real Madrid boss after Grant Leadbitter put Boro ahead with little over 20 minutes remaining.
Substitute Karim Benzema headed Real Madrid's winner with three minutes remaining as the holders kept alive their hopes of topping Group F with a 2-1 victory.at Estádio José Alvalade. Needing only a draw to progress, a Raphael Varane goal gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at the break after Cristiano Ronaldo, seeking a 100th goal in Europe, miskicked into his path.
Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League table after Diego Costa 's 10th goal of the season gave them a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough. Costa lashed home after Boro failed to clear direct from a corner just minutes before the break and the hosts' failure to score means that Chelsea made it six wins in a row without conceding a goal since Antonio Conte switched to a 3-4-3 formation.
Manchester United forgotten man Memphis Depay dug the Netherlands out of trouble with a second half brace to help his side overcome a game Luxembourg 3-1. The Netherlands laboured to create many meaningful chances before the lively Arjen Robben broke the deadlock with a composed finish on his return to international duty.
France fought back from a goal down to defeat Sweden 2-1 thanks to goals from Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet. The hosts had carved out the better chances before the break but found themselves a goal behind after Emil Forsberg's free kick caught a statuesque Hugo Lloris by surprise, the France keeper rooted to the spot.
Manchester United ended their run of four Premier League matches without a win in emphatic style, Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbing a brace and Paul Pogba another in a 3-1 defeat of Swansea City. World record signing Pogba has been slow to re-adjust to life in the Premier League but set the ball rolling with a stunning effort on the volley that flew past Lukasz Fabianski.
Sunderland fought back from a goal down and Steven Pienaar's second-half sending off to grab a first league win of the season for under-fire David Moyes. Dan Gosling put the home side ahead in just the 11th minute as Bournemouth totally dominated the opening half.
Leicester City had Kasper Schmeichel to thank for pulling off a terrific last minute save as the Foxes closed on the knockout phase of the Champions League with a goalless draw at FC Copenhagen. Schmeichel was on hand to palm away Andreas Cornelius' header and was relieved to see Federico Santander then blast wide from a tight angle.
Tottenham stuttered to their third straight draw in the Premier League as Leicester City hit back to claim a share of the spoils at White Hart Lane. Vincent Janssen fired his first league goal from the penalty spot to hand Spurs the advantage moments after Dele Alli had rattled the crossbar, but Leicester scored shortly after the restart through Ahmed Musa.
Wales followed up their 2-2 draw away in Austria on Thursday with a 1-1 draw at home to Georgia on Sunday. Talisman Gareth Bale gave Wales the lead with a towering header in the tenth minute and he led the team in a breath-taking start.
Watford twice came from behind to take a share of the points in an entertaining encounter at Vicarage Road. Callum Wilson headed the Cherries into a half-time lead before Troy Deeney levelled shortly after the break.
Arsenal recorded their fourth straight victory for the first time since October 2015 after brushing aside London rivals Chelsea 3-0, giving Arsene Wenger one of his best-ever wins against his rivals just two days after he marked 20 years as Arsenal manager.
Liverpool leapfrogged bitter rivals Manchester United to go third in the Premier League table with an impressive 5-1 rout of Hull City. Adam Lallana got the ball rolling with a scuffed finish that crept inside the far post but the game was effectively killed when Ahmed Elmohamady was shown a straight red for handling Phillippe Coutinho's goalbound shot.
Crystal Palace piled more misery on Mark Hughes ' Stoke, thumping the Potters 4-0 in a one-sided affair at Selhurst Park. Goals from James Tomkins and Scott Dann put Palace two goals up at the break thanks to non-existent Stoke defending from set pieces.
Gareth Barry inspired Everton with an equalising goal on his 600th Premier League appearance as the Toffees beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at Goodison Park. Middlesbrough took a surprise lead thanks to a controversial goal as Alvaro Negredo appeared to foul Martin Stekelenburg in bundling the ball into the net.
Arsenal climbed to second in the Premier League table after a controversial match saw Jake Livermore sent off for handball late in the first half and Alexis Sanchez missing the resultant penalty. The Gunners were already a goal to the good after Sanchez's slight deflection of Alex Iwobi's shot.
Bayern Munich maintained their perfect record at the start of the Bundesliga season, beating Schalke 2-0 thanks to late strikes from Robert Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich. Lewandowski scored an opening day hat-trick in Bayern's 6-0 demolition of Werder Bremen and was at it again as he latched onto Javi Martinez's fine pass to finish with aplomb.
Del Potro secured a surprise win over Wawrinka in the second round of Wimbledon but there was to be no repeat as the Swiss completed a 7-6 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory as the clock ticked over to 01:20 in the New York morning.
Williams seemed on course to be in for an early night after breaking Halep twice to win the opening set 6-2, but Halep dug deep in the second set and hung on to a single break of serve to take it to a decider.
Novak Djokovic moved into a remarkable 10th successive US Open quarter final with an entertaining straight sets victory over Britain's Kyle Edmund. "It feels great to play a match," Djokovic said in an on-court interview. "I haven't played much tennis. Baseline shots, both forehand and backhand, were working very well.
Defending champions Germany eased past Norway in their opening Group C World Cup qualifier in Oslo, a brace from Thomas Muller helping them to a comfortable 3-0 victory. The prolific Muller got the ball rolling, the Bayern Munich striker latching onto a loose ball into the box to score his 27th goal for his country.
Marcus Rashford struck in injury time to snatch a 1-0 win over Hull City and preserve Manchester United's perfect start to the Premier League campaign. The youngster, introduced off the bench in the second half, latched onto Wayne Rooney 's dangerous low cross to spark wild celebrations amongst the visiting support.
Champions Leicester City and runners-up Arsenal are still awaiting their first wins of the season after the sides played out a 0-0 draw at the King Power Stadium. Arsenal somehow avoided conceding a late penalty as Mark Clattenburg failed to spot Hector Bellerin clearly bringing down Ahmed Musa right at the end.
Arsenal kick-started their Premier League campaign in emphatic fashion, turning on the style to rout a lacklustre Watford 3-1 at Vicarage Road. The impressive Santi Cazorla got the ball rolling with a ninth-minute penalty after Nordin Amrabat elbowed Alexis Sanchez in the box, and the latter doubled Arsenal's lead when he turned home Theo Walcott 's cross.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored after just four minutes as Manchester United put five past Galatasaray in Gothenburg. The Swede came out to a rapturous ovation in front of his home fans on his United debut, with every touch cheered vociferously.
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a second International Champions Cup defeat after Diego Godin's goal gave Atletico Madrid a 1-0 victory at the MCG. Godin was on hand to flick home at the far post from a free-kick late in the first half, Anton Walkes heading into his path.
Lee Casciaro was the hero for the Imps, pouncing on a mistake from Efe Ambrose to fire home what turned out to be the decisive goal past Craig Gordon. Celtic had chances of their own, Leigh Griffiths twice clattering the crossbar and Nir Britton missing a guilt-edged chance.
Last update 09/07/2016 at 21:50 Published on 09/07/2016 at 18:56 Serena Williams followed up her historic Wimbledon singles title triumph by helping her sister to yet another doubles title, defeating Yaroslava Shvedova and Timea Babos 6-3 6-4. The sisters secured the crucial break at 4-3 in the opening set and Serena slammed away a smash to put them a set up.
Australian 15th seed Kyrgios, 21, is often a controversial figure, and many of his critics will again accuse him of failing to give maximum effort after pushing the tournament favourite hard in the first set before appearing to collapse mentally against the world number two.
Last update 02/07/2016 at 18:52 Published on 02/07/2016 at 17:04 Millman put up an excellent fight in a match that was interrupted for rain delays while the Centre Court roof was open. Murray saved his best for the final set where his sheer class and power made the difference, and finished up with an ace.
Last update 02/07/2016 at 18:58 Published on 02/07/2016 at 15:55 The world No 1 fought back to take the third set having started the day two sets down on Saturday. But Querrey, the No 28 seed, battled to a fourth-set tie-break, in a match that was interrupted by rain on Court No 1, and clinched it 7-5.
Belgium have progressed to the final 16 of the European Championship after a superb Radja Nainggolan strike saw them beat Sweden 1-0 in Nice. Nainggolan struck a brilliant shot from distance to win the game with just six minutes remaining, rifling a shot into the far corner from outside the box.
Switzerland followed France through to the last 16 of Euro 2016 by holding the host nation to a 0-0 draw in their final Group A match on Sunday after the unlucky French hit the woodwork three times on Sunday. Didier Deschamps sprung a huge surprise before kick-off, leaving out star of the tournament and former Lille player Dimitri Payet.
Antoine Griezmann struck twice as France came from behind to beat Ireland 2-1 and make the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. The match in Lyon was barely a minute old when Irish forward Shane Long was brought down in the penalty box by Paul Pogba, with Robbie Brady stepping up to smash home via the post and give Ireland a surprise lead.
Nakajima had been leading by over a minute with less than two minutes remaining when his Toyota TS050 Hybrid lost all power, allowing Porsche to snatch the victory and break Japanese hearts as victory went to the #2 car driven by Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb.
Italy are through to the knockout stages of Euro 2016 after a superb late Eder goal saw them beat Sweden 1-0 in Toulouse. A cagey affair that saw only three shots on target, all from Italy, looked like ending in stalemate after Marco Parolo saw his header clatter back off the bar.
Slovakia survived a late rally from Russia to secure a 2-1 win at Euro 2016 and blow Group B of Euro 2016 wide open. The rank outsiders in a group also including England and Wales, Slovakia did the damage late in the first half.
Dimitri Payet was the hero of France after the West Ham midfielder grabbed a sensational late winner as the hosts beat Romania 2-1 in the opening match of Euro 2016 at the Stade de France in Paris.
A young Netherlands side gave Poland much food for thought on the eve of Euro 2016 by condemning them to a 2-1 defeat. The Poles came into the fixture having lost only once in their last 18 internationals, but goals from Vincent Janssen and Giorginio Wijnaldum in each half extended Poland's run without a victory over the Netherlands - one that stretches back to May 1979.
AFC Wimbledon secured promotion into League One after beating Plymouth Argyle 2-0 in the League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium. Lyle Taylor's excellent finish broke the deadlock after a turgid opening half and Wimbledon had chances to extend their advantage against a strangely subdued Plymouth before Adebayo Akinfenwa, in the knowledge he was to be released by the club, sealed promotion with a penalty deep into stoppage time.
Barnsley will be playing Championship football next season after overcoming Millwall 3-1 in a pulsating League One play-off final at Wembley. Ashley Fletcher got Barnsley off to the perfect start, scoring in just the second minute before Adam Hammill, who also scored in the JPT final, made it another Wembley cracker with an unstoppable curling shot into the top corner.
Marcus Rashford became England's youngest ever goal scorer on debut as Roy Hodgson's men followed up Sunday's victory over Turkey with another 2-1 victory over Australia. Wayne Rooney netted early in the second half before Eric Dier headed into his own goal.
This year, perhaps more than any other before, the greats of the sport to have competed in 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' will be remembered and honoured.
Steve McClaren's job as Newcastle United boss appears to be in the balance after his side slumped to a dismal 3-1 loss at home to Bournemouth. McClaren was given a vote of confidence from his own players before kick-off but an unfortunate own goal from the luckless Steven Taylor soon put the fans on his back, the defender turning Joshua King's cross past Rob Elliot.
England roared back from two goals down to seal a hugely-impressive 3-2 victory over Germany in their international friendly at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Germany had gone into a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez, the first as a result of an injury to keeper Jack Butland.
Newcastle United fought back from two goals down at the break to claim a vital point against Liverpool in their battle to avoid relegation. Daniel Sturridge stunned the travelling support with a wonderful chest down and strike on the turn to put Liverpool ahead in only the second minute, his fourth goal in as many starts.
Leonardo Ulloa scored twice as Leicester City continued their fairytale march toward the Premier League title with a 4-0 rout of Swansea City at the King Power Stadium. Victory means they are eight points clear of Tottenham Hotspur - who face West Brom on Monday - with just three games of their season left and require only five points to become champions, no matter what the North Londoners can muster.
Manchester City have handed the advantage to rivals United in the race for Champions League football after twice surrendering the lead to draw 2-2 with Arsenal. It had started well on Manuel Pellegrini's final game in charge at the Ethiad Stadium, Sergio Aguero rifling a shot past Petr Cech.
Newcastle United's Premier League fate is in the hands of bitter rivals Sunderland after they could only manage a goalless draw at relegated Aston Villa. And with Sunderland coming back to beat Chelsea 3-2, it means that the Black Cats can relegate the Magpies if they win their next home game against Everton.
Leicester City ended their fairy-tale season with an entertaining 1-1 draw against outgoing champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Former manager Claudio Ranieri was given a guard of honour prior to kick-off and received a standing ovation from both sets of fans.
Tottenham Hotspur scored three goals in six minutes against Manchester United to record a first home victory against the Red Devils for 15 years and keep their title hopes alive. A tight match, sparse on chances, was deadlocked until the 70th minute before Dele Alli converted Christian Eriksen's cross at the far post to spark a rush of three goals in the space of six minutes.
Liverpool backed up their incredible Europa League midweek comeback with a 2-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. Jurgen Klopp made ten changes to the side that stunned Dortmund at Anfield but an unfamiliar like-up was still too much for Bournemouth. Roberto Firmino tapped home the first just before the break after Artur Boruc palmed Daniel Sturridge 's cheeky backheel into his path.
Norwich City took a crucial step in their bid for Premier League survival, beating Newcastle United 3-2 in a thrilling battle at Carrow Road. The match looked to be headed for a 2-2 draw when Aleksandar Mitrovic levelled from the spot with just two minutes remaining.
Sunderland dragged Norwich deep into the relegation dogfight with a 3-0 Premier League victory at Carrow Road. Goals from Fabio Borini, the prolific Jermain Defoe and Duncan Watmore gave the Black Cats a win which brings them just one point behind their opponents with a game in hand.
A late Xherdan Shaqiri strike proved enough for Stoke City to grab their third straight league win in a game of few chances at the Britannia Stadium and plunge Newcastle United deeper in trouble. Shaqiri left Robert Elliot flat footed and beaten for pace as a poor affair looked headed for a draw with just nine minutes of normal time remaining.
Liga leaders Barcelona got their campaign back on track in stunning style with an 8-0 demolition of Deportivo La Coruña. Luis Suarez was the hero for Barca with four goals and three assists, with Ivan Rakitic, Lionel Messi, Marc Barta and Neymar scoring the other goals.
The relegation battle is tighter than ever on Saturday evening as Newcastle thumped Swansea 3-0 to give their survival hopes a huge boost. Sunderland had beaten Norwich in the lunchtime match to close up to within a point of the Canaries, making it all the more important for Rafa Benitez's men to win and thereby keep pace.
A solitary Andriy Yarmolenko goal confined a Wales side shorn of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey to a 1-0 defeat in Kiev. Yarmolenko swivelled to volley home skipper Ruslan Rotan's chip from a free-kick to notch his 23rd goal for his country in a niggly match that saw few chances for either side.
Manchester United recovered from the shock of conceding the opening goal to rout Midtjylland 5-1, with late starter Marcus Rashford scoring twice on debut after replacing Anthony Martial before kick-off. Martial tweaked a hamstring during the warm-up, handing a debut to the 18-year-old moments before the start.
A below-par Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw by a spirited Augsburg side in the opening leg of the round of 32 tie at the WWK ARENA.
Barcelona took up where they left off in El Clasico, qualifying top of Group E after a 6-1 hammering of AS Roma. A brace from Luis Suarez and a sublime Lionel Messi chip gave Barca a 3-0 half time lead.
Aston Villa slumped to their seventh successive league defeat and a step closer towards inevitable relegation after a 4-0 thrashing at home to a new-look Chelsea team shorn of many regular starters. Alexandre Pato, who signed from Corinthians in January, came off the bench to replace Loic Remy in the 23rd minute and had a hand in the first goal for Ruben Loftus-Cheek just three minutes later.
Athetico Madrid scraped into the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a nerve-jangling penalty shootout against a resolute PSV Eindhoven following two goalless legs. After 14 perfect penalties, Luciano Narsingh rattled the bar with his spot-kick, leaving it to defender Juanfran to put Atleti into the last eight.
Anthony Martial hit the only goal to beat Everton 1-0 as Manchester United kept up their challenge for Champions League football. United celebrated 60 years at Old Trafford for Bobby Charlton before kick-off, the Red Devils legend honoured with a stand in his name.
A Kenedy goal after just 39 seconds at Carrow Road spurred Chelsea on to a tense 2-1 victory over Norwich to leave Alex Neil's Canaries in deep trouble. Kenedy's goal was the fastest in the Premier League this season, the Brazilian receiving the ball from Eden Hazard on the left flank before cutting inside to arrow his left-footed shot past John Ruddy.
Leicester City celebrated their coronation as Premier League champions with a 3-1 win over a hapless Everton at a jubilant King Power Stadium. The home faithful were treated to a spine-tingling performance of Nessun Dorma from Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli ahead of the game and were once again on their feet with only five minutes gone when Jamie Vardy opened the scoring.
Sunderland climbed out of the relegation drop zone after battling to a deserved point against Arsenal at the Stadium of Light. Indeed, with a little more luck, it could have been Sunderland who took all three points from their spirited performance.
Leicester City are within touching distance of becoming the first team to become new champions of the English top flight for 38 years after fighting back for a gripping 1-1 draw at Manchester United. Should Tottenham Hotspur fail to win at Chelsea on Monday night, they will be crowned champions.
Manchester United recovered from their disappointing Europa League first-leg loss at FC Midtjylland to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, beating Shrewsbury Town 3-0 at Greenhous Meadow on Monday.
Christian Benteke scored a penalty with the last kick of the game as 10-man Liverpool came from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in dramatic circumstances at Selhurst Park. The Belgian went to ground under minimal contact from Damien Delaney in the fourth minute of stoppage time and referee Andre Marriner pointed to the spot.
Anthony Martial scored a sensational injury-time winner to send Manchester United into the FA Cup final with a 2-1 win over Everton. United led thanks to Marouane Fellaini's goal but both sides had enough chances to make the score more than just 1-0 at the break, Romelu Lukaku squandering two great opportunities.
A brace of goals from Enner Valencia and superb individual performance from Dimitri Payet helped West Ham come from a goal behind to beat Bournemouth 3-1. A first Premier League goal from Harry Arter had put Bournemouth a goal up at the break, Artur Boruc keeping them ahead with two fine saves.
Eldin Jakupovic produced a man-of-the-match performance in the Hull City goal as the Championship leaders held Arsenal 0-0 at the Emirates. Hull made 10 changes while holders Arsenal, who have beaten the Tigers in the FA Cup in each of the past two seasons, also fielded an under-strength team ahead of their Champions League match with Barcelona on Tuesday.
PSG rounded off their penultimate game before the Ligue 1 winter break with a resounding 5-1 victory over Lyon. Zlatan Ibrahimovic 's brace means that he has scored 14 goals in 14 games in the league, with further goals from Serge Aurier, Edison Cavani and Lucas Moura completing the rout.
Argentina produced a nine-try masterclass of attacking rugby to crush Namibia 64-19 in the final Pool C encounter at the King Power Stadium. The Pumas had already booked their quarter-final slot as group runners-up to New Zealand and made ten changes to the side to field one of their youngest ever teams. But Namibia had no answer to their attacking flair, Argentina running in six first-half tries and three more in the second to complete the rout.
A much better performance than the stuttering quarter-final effort that almost cost them against Scotland. Will still need to improve on their cutting edge to beat New Zealand with Argentina still only a converted try behind going into the final ten minutes.
To recover from losing talismanic players in the form of Paul O'Connell and Johnny Sexton and bounce back the way they did will rank as one of their greatest-ever performances. However, if O'Connell and Sexton are ruled out for the rest of the tournament, it could prove fatal to Ireland's hopes of going much further.
Very unfortunate to lose three such influential players as Juan Imhoff, skipper Agustin Creevy and Juan Martin Hernandez to injury but they kept on going until the end. On the end of one or two iffy decisions. 1- Federico Nicolas Sanchez His willingness to take the game to Australia cost his side dear early on with an intercept pass.
Ukraine will face a play-off match to decide their Euro 2015 fate after slipping to a 1-0 defeat at home to Spain. The home side went into the match knowing a good victory was likely required with Slovakia heading to Luxembourg and second on goal difference.
Chelsea progressed safely through to the fourth round of the FA Cup after goals from Diego Costa and a first from Ruben Loftus-Cheek saw them overcome a plucky Scunthorpe at Stamford Bridge. Costa latched onto a cross from Branislav Ivanovic to put Chelsea ahead but Scunthorpe then had a huge penalty shout waved away when Ramires looked to have clipped Kevin van Veen early in the second half.
Everton fought back from two goals down to stun West Brom and take all three points at The Hawthorns. Saido Berahino put the hosts ahead near the end of a dire opening half before Craig Dawson added to the lead with a header direct from the corner.
Chelsea's unbeaten run stretched to ten matches as a game of few chances ended 0-0 at Vicarage Road. Watford were the better side in the opening half, Odion Ighalo missing a glorious chance to head his side ahead.
Hamburger SV produced a spirited performance to deservedly beat a strangely under par Dortmund side, winning 3-1 in the Volksparkstadion. The match was delayed by 15 minutes as heightened security caused traffic congestion outside the stadium.
Adam Ashley-Cooper became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup semi-final after Jonah Lomu as Australia beat Argentina 29-15 to make their fourth World Cup final. It started disasterously for Argentina as Rob Simmons opened the scoring with an interception from Federico Sanchez in the second minute, and Australia never surrendered their lead.
West Brom twice battled back from a goal down to hold Chelsea to a 2-2 draw in an ill-tempered affair at Stamford Bridge. Cesar Azpilicueta put the hosts ahead somewhat against the early run of play, meeting Branislav Ivanovic 's cross to net his first home goal.
Came in as underdogs but showed huge character and fight, dominating the breakdown in the first half to lead at the break. Just ran out of steam at the death. 1. Duane Vermeulen A massive first half with some key turnovers. Carried the game to the All Blacks for the entire 80.
England rounded off their dismal home World Cup campaign with a convincing, if entirely expected ten-try demolition of Uruguay. Veteran Nick Easter and winger Jack Nowell both weighed in with a hat-tricks, a brace from Anthony Watson, one from Henry Slade and a penalty try completing a 60-3 rout.
Manchester United may need at least a point in their final match at Wolfsburg after being held to a 0-0 draw at home to PSV Eindhoven. United dominated possession but only created two chances of any note, Anthony Martial foiled by the leg of Jeroen Zoet in the first half before Jesse Lingard blazed over a glorious chance in the second.
Thomas Tuchel's Bundesliga reign as coach of Borussia Dortmund got off to an emphatic start as his side thrashed a lacklustre Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0. Marco Reus got things off and running with an early thunderbolt after being played in by Shinji Kagawa before further well-worked goals from Pierre Aubameyangand and a Henrikh Mkhitaryan brace completed the rout.
The Australian Grand Prix answered many questions about how the biggest regulation changes in a generation would affect the spectacle of racing for the Formula One fans. There were some positives.
Leicester City are top of the Premier League table after goals from Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez saw them edge West Ham United 2-1. Leicester came into the match having lost all six Premier League games in London last season but were a different proposition after their opening victory against Sunderland and they have now won nine of their last 11 Premier League matches.
Coach Philippe Saint-Andre will be furious. To lose so convincingly against an Ireland side that lost its key players in the first half isn't good enough. No discipline, no consistency and they got bullied. They'll probably go and beat New Zealand now. Frustratingly, that's France.
Wales laboured to a comprehensive 54-9 victory over Uruguay but at a high cost as the already injury-hit squad suffered yet further losses. A nervy start from Warren Gatland's men saw them fall 6-0 behind courtesy of the boot of the excellent Felipe Berchesi.
Romelu Lukaku forced an own-goal with just a minute of normal time remaining to salvage a 2-2 draw for Everton against Leicester. The Belgian striker had squandered a trio of excellent chances as Leicester fought back from a goal behind to take the lead through goals from David Nugent and Esteban Cambiasso following keeping errors from Tim Howard.
A solitary Sergio Aguero goal proved enough for Manchester City to see off a stern Sunderland challenge at the Stadium of Light. City where nowhere near their best but grabbed a crucial early lead when Aguero finished well past Vito Mannone after David Silva 's cross deflected fortuitously into his path.
Neymar put South Africa to the sword with three goals in Soccer City as Brazil cruised to a 5-0 win in Johannesburg. Oscar had already put Brazil ahead in the opening ten minutes before Neymar added the second just before the break.
Brazil continued their resurgence since their nightmare 7-1 hammering against Germany in the World Cup with a morale-boosting 3-1 victory in Paris. France started the better and went ahead through a Raphael Varane header but a well-worked Oscar goal saw Brazil level just before the break.
An unlikely brace of goals from defensive midfielder Mathieu Flamini saw Arsenal beat Spurs 2-1 in the Capital One Cup third round. Flamini pounced on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 's parried shot to give the Gunners the lead before Calum Chambers deflected into his own net to draw Spurs level.
Manchester City lost ground on Chelsea in the title race after a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. Fernandino's close-range header via David Silva's deflected shot looked as if it may well give City the points with little over 15 minutes remaining, but the lead was short lived as Steven Naismith nodded Leighton Baines' corner past Joe Hart four minutes later.
The Netherlands suffered their first defeat for over a year after goals from Karim Benzema and Blaise Matuidi helped France to a 2-0 win in Paris. Louis van Gaal's side came into the match unbeaten in 17 matches stretching back to summer 2012 but France looked the sharper from the outset.
West Ham recorded a historic victory over Liverpool after goals from Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and Diafra Sakho gave them their first win at Anfield since 1963. Lanzini converted Noble's early cross before the Hammers skipper doubled his side's lead before the break.
Scotland survived an almighty scare to advance to the quarter finals after a edging Samoa 36-33 in a World Cup classic. A frantic first half full of free-flowing rugby and defensive lapses to match saw five tries, three from Samoa, as the south sea islanders went into the break 26-23 ahead.
Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to score a record-breaking FIVE goals in nine minutes to stun Wolfsburg and go top of the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg had been deservedly leading at the break courtesy of a well-taken Daniel Caligiuri goal midway through the first half.
Queens Park Rangers will be playing Championship football next season after a Sergio Aguero hat-trick helped Manchester City to a 6-0 rout at the Ethiad Stadium. Nothing short of victory on the day would be enough to keep Rangers up and so manager Chris Ramsey decided to risk starting players carrying injury concerns in Clint Hill, Steven Caulker and Bobby Zamora.
Chelsea missed a big opportunity to put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League as they let a goal advantage slip in a 1-1 draw against Galatasaray. Fernando Torres, preferred in attack to Samuel Eto'o, rewarded his side's good start when he poked Cesar Azpilicueta's cross into an empty net with Galatasaray keeper Fernando Muslera committed.
The game boasted two sides with 100 per cent league records and looked to be heading for a draw until Bonucci fired a wonderful volley past Lukasz Skorupski with 86 minutes gone. This after frenetic first half that had seen three penalties - two dispatched by Carlos Tevez and one by Francesco Totti - and a fine Juan Iturbe finish put the duo at 2-2 at the interval.
Arsenal lifted the Emirates Cup trophy for the first time since 2010 after a solitary Theo Walcott goal saw off for a competitive Wolfsburg side. The visitors had given a good account of themselves until a moment of magic from the impressive Jeff Reine-Adelaide unlocked their stubborn defence, a fine run and pass from the youngster slipping in Walcott to fire home.
Queen's Park Rangers avoided a fourth defeat of the season as Nico Kranjcar's brilliant free kick rescued a point two minutes from time at home to Stoke City. Stoke had twice led through goals from Mame Biram Diouf and Peter Crouch after Steven Caulker 's equaliser just before the break.
Why Formula E could be the future of motorsport.
Hull City denied Brighton a first FA Cup quarter-final since 1986 as Yannick Sagbo pounced with five minutes remaining to force a fifth round replay. Brighton looked on course for the quarter-finals after Leonardo Ulloa scored his third goal in as many matches with a beautifully taken finish.
Robert Lewandowski scored his second hat-trick and tenth goal within the space of a week as Bayern Munich thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 5-0 in the Allianz Arena. Douglas Costa got the ball rolling after a mistake from keeper Eduardo and Lewandowski bagged his first after a defensive error from teenager Filip Benkovic.
A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick helped Portugal bounce back from conceding a goal of the qualifying campaign contender to secure a 3-1 victory in Armenia. The hosts took a shock lead when Marcos Pizzelli fired in an unstoppable free kick from fully 30 yards.
Manchester United's 18-year-old prospect James Wilson scored twice on his debut as United beat Hull City 1-0 at Old Trafford to bounce back from their shock home defeat against Sunderland at the weekend. Interim manager Ryan Giggs sprang a big surprise before kick-off, giving debut starts to young strikers Wilson and Tom Lawrence and naming himself on the bench alongside the departing Nemanja Vidic.
QPR climbed off the foot of the table thanks to a Charlie Austin brace that gave Harry Redknapp's side a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa. Austin rifled home a fantastic half-volley on the edge of the box from Bobby Zamora 's knock-down to put the home side ahead early in the first half before adding a well-taken second with 20 minutes remaining.
Certainly not their best performance and a shadow of their clinical showing against France. Conceded nine first-half penalties but showed champion qualities to edge a tight game. 1. Dan Carter In slotting two conversions, a penalty and a drop goal, Carter (172) overtook Grant Fox (170) as New Zealand's all-time leading points scorer in World Cup history.
With the start of the Formula One season now only a month away, one of the biggest unanswered questions-aside from how reliable the new cars will be-is how the relationship between Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen will work at Ferrari.
A solitary David Silva goal proved sufficient for Spain to edge out a determined Belarus 1-0 and stay in touch with Slovakia at the top of Group C. Sliva pounced on a goalkeeping error from Andrei Gorbunov to fire Spain in front on the cusp of half time.
Jurgen Klopp netted his first win as Liverpool boss as a first goal from Nathaniel Clyne accounted for Bournemouth 1-0 in the Capital One Cup Fourth Round. Klopp made nine changes from the weekend and Liverpool survived a number of scares in the opening half, Adam Bogdan to thank for keeping Junior Stanislas at bay on three occasions.
James Rodriguez scored the goal of the tournament, then added a second as Colombia beat Uruguay 2-0 to make the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time. With the sides locked at 0-0 and Uruguay defending deep in numbers, Rodriguez chested down the ball with his back to goal, swivelled on the spot and unleashed a fantastic volley that crashed in off the underside of the bar.
It was announced today that 1997 Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve is to start a new career in yet another form of motorsport.
Swansea came from a goal down to record yet another 2-1 win over Manchester United, their fourth in the last five matches against United by that very scoreline. Juan Mata scored his 50th goal in English football to give United the lead just after the break.
For many Formula One fans, setting their alarms for the early hours of Sunday morning in the eager anticipation of watching the opening grand prix of the season in Melbourne would have been a huge disappointment.
Athletic Bilbao celebrated reaching the Copa de Rey final by upsetting Real Madrid with a 1-0 victory at the new San Mames Stadium. The hosts, who defeated Espanyol in midweek, showed no signs of a cup hangover and went ahead courtesy of Aduriz's fine header midway through the first half.
French driver Jean-Louis Schlesser will go down in history as the man who wrecked McLaren's chances of an unprecedented clean sweep in the 1988 season. When Nigel Mansell was ruled out of the Italian Grand Prix through illness, Schlesser was brought in to deputise but with disastrous consequences.
Arsenal climbed above West Ham and Spurs to fifth in the table after a hard fought victory at Upton Park. West Ham were arguably the better side for long periods of the game but found themselves 2-0 down moments before the break fokllowing Santi Cazorla's third penalty of the season and Danny Welbeck's tap-in from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 's cross.
Lionel Messi was in fine form as he scored a hat-trick to inspire Barcelona to a 4-0 victory over Granada in their La Liga clash at the Camp Nou. Messi had put Barca 2-0 up after only 14 minutes, finishing off crosses from Arda Turan and Luis Suarez as Granada's defending left a lot to be desired.
When Mark Webber told Sky Sports he expected then-teammate Sebastian Vettel to join Fernando Alonso at the team in 2016, it raised a number of interesting questions. Vettel had been tipped for a move to Maranello for the 2014 season, as reported by BBC Sport at the time, but the deal never materialised.
Arsenal kept up their slim hopes of a top three finish with a 1-0 win that keeps West Brom waiting to secure their Premier League survival. Olivier Giroud headed the Gunners ahead direct from Santi Cazorla's corner in the 14th minute and that's the way it stayed in a match of precious few chances that also saw Lukas Podolski hit the post.
Hull City leapfrogged Manchester United to ninth in the table as two moments of quality proved enough to overcome Crystal Palace at the KC Stadium.
Borussia Dortmund scored an early psychological blow ahead of the forthcoming Bundesliga season by beating bitter rivals Bayern Munich 2-0 in the curtain-raising German Super Cup. Bayern had beaten Dortmund in both the league and cup last season and also bossed the early exchanges.
Ireland recovered from the huge setback of losing Johnny Sexton, Paul O'Connell and Peter O'Mahony to injury to record an historic first World Cup victory over France. Sexton had twice booted Ireland ahead but with the scores tied at 6-6, the influential fly-half limped off to be replaced by Ian Madigan.
Guus Hiddink eased the pressure on his second stint in charge of the Netherlands as his side thrashed Latvia 6-0 in Amsterdam. Hiddink hinted before the match that he may quit - should Netherlands fail to beat Latvia - following a disappointing run of four defeats in the last five matches.
Before the recent four-day test of the 2014 Formula One season, Jenson Button joked on that the radical new regulations would make it "hilarious."
Chelsea and Norwich played out a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge that did neither side any favours in their respective ambitions. The home side went into the match needing victory to boost their title hopes with Norwich needing the same to realistically avoid relegation.
Leicester City will be top of the Premier League tree over Christmas after a Riyad Mahrez brace helped them to a 3-2 win at Everton. Tim Howard barely had a save to make before a foul by Funes Mori on Shinji Okazaki allowed Mahrez to put Leicester ahead from the spot.
Manchester United won their fourth match in succession for only the second time since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson with a hard fought 2-1 win over Stoke. Marouane Fellaini rose at the far post to nod home Ander Herrera's cross for his first home goal before Steven N'Zonzi rifled in his first of the season with a fierce drive from outside the area.
New Zealand recovered from a 12-7 half-time deficit to fight back and reach their fourth Rugby World Cup final, beating arch-rivals South Africa 20-18 in a tense affair at Twickenham. Handre Pollard had given the Springboks and early penalty lead but New Zealand responded with a well-worked try, Richie McCaw offloading for Jerome Kaino to finish off in the corner.
The sport of Formula One racing has seen so many changes over the decades since the inaugural championship season in 1950 that it's impossible to keep track of all of them. This season sees one of the most radical changes in the sport's history with the introduction of 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged power units replacing the 2.4-litre V8 engine.
Glenn Murray scored two goals and was sent off as Crystal Palace recorded their biggest ever league win over West Ham with a 3-1 victory at Upton Park. Murray, making only his second away start in the Premier League, opened the scoring towards the end of the first half as his goal-bound header was deflected past his own keeper by Aaron Cresswell.
When Ayrton Senna's Williams veered suddenly off the Imola circuit and crashed head-on into the wall at Tamburello, it changed the face of F1 forever. Already a legend of the sport, Senna gained mythical status, and new and improved measures came into the sport to make it a safer one for drivers.
South Africa kept their hopes of a World Cup quarter-final berth alive with a clinical 34-16 win over Scotland in their Pool B clash. Following Japan's comprehensive earlier win over Samoa, the Springboks came into the match knowing that defeat may end their World Cup at the group stage.
Two late West Ham goals in the final 10 minutes at Upton Park secured a third successive victory for Sam Allardyce's men and put Norwich City deep in relegation trouble. The match looked certain to end in a draw with six minutes of normal time remaining but James Collins' first Premier League goal for almost two years and a deflected stoppage time effort from Mohamed Diame secured all three points.
Lionel Messi drew level with Raul's Champions League record of 71 goals as Barcelona overcame a resolute Ajax with a 2-0 win at the Amsterdam Arena. Messi headed home Marc Bartra's cross late in the first half after Jasper Cillessen was caught in no mans land, having excellently saved the Argentine's free kick.
Steven Fletcher scored the first international hat-trick by a Scotland player for 46 years as his side recovered from the shock of conceding an equalising goal to rout minnows Gibraltar 6-1. It took an anxious 18 minutes before Scotland went ahead through Shaun Maloney 's penalty, but the joy was short-lived when Lee Casciaro finished off a slick counter to score Gibraltar's first ever qualifying goal a minute later.
Bate Borisov and Bayer Leverkusen's hopes of reaching the knockout phase of the Champions League were both diminished after a 1-1 draw in Belarus. A goalkeeping howler from Berndt Leno saw Bate ahead inside two minutes when Mikhail Gordeichuk's shot squirmed underneath him.
Liverpool ended their tour of Australia and the Far East with their only draw as a stubborn Malaysia XI held them 1-1 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. Indeed, it was the hosts who enjoyed the better start and stunned Brendan Rodgers' side with a well taken opener.
Sebastian Vettel has enjoyed something of an easy ride over recent seasons as far as being pushed by a teammate is concerned.
Arsenal have reached the FA Cup final for a record 19th time but they needed an extra-time howler from goalkeeper Adam Federici to squeeze past a game Reading side. The Championship side had done well to get themselves on level terms, Garath McCleary's goal cancelling out Alexis Sanchez 's well-taken opener to force extra time.
The FIA announced on Friday that Red Bull's appeal against Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix will be heard on April 14. Ricciardo was excluded from the Australian Grand Prix for exceeding the maximum fuel-flow rate, according to the FIA sensors that are there to make sure that teams must not exceed a maximum rate of 100 kg/h.
Atletico Madrid lost the chance to close the gap on rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga after Valencia struck late at Vicente Calderon. The hosts led through a well-taken Koke goal in the first half and looked relatively untroubled until 12 minutes from time when keeper Diego Alves appeared to misjudge a Dani Parejo free kick, Shkodran Mustafi gratefully heading home after the ball came back off the bar.
Celtic slipped to a damaging first defeat in the Europa League after suffering a 3-1 loss to Molde under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ola Kamara fired the Norwegians into an 11th-minute lead, beating Craig Gordon at his near post before Vegard Forren volleyed home to put Molde further ahead at the break.
A Jonjo Shelvey wonder strike and a Wilfred Bony brace helped Swansea City to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium. Bony had put Swansea ahead after ten minutes only for Gabriel Agbonlahor to level after a competitive opening spell.
As revealed on Autosport last week, Formula One teams and the sport's governing body, the FIA, are to discuss plans to change the format of the qualifying regulations.
Everton finished their most productive season in the Premier League on a high with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Hull City at the KC Stadium. A first goal for his side for James McCarthy and a 15th of the season from goal machine Romelu Lukaku proved more than enough to see of a subdued Hull City side.
Arsenal produced a polished performance in the heat of the Singapore evening to beat Everton 3-1 and lift the Barclays Asia Trophy for the first time. A record crowd of 52,107 supporters turned up to watch and were rewarded with a slick opening goal, a lovely through ball from Santi Cazorla finding Theo Walcott, who clipped the ball past Joel Robles.
If you thought today's Formula One cars were too quiet as a result of the radical new engine regulations, you're unlikely to approve of the new series that launches in September this year.
It's no exaggeration to say that Red Bull Racing endured a nightmare four days of testing at Jerez last week. The new engine regulations caused no shortage of headaches for the Renault engineers with battery and overheating problems restricting Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo to a paltry 21 laps between them.
Australia survived an intense period of Welsh pressure with only 13 men on the pitch to notch their 11th successive win in games between the sides to top Pool A. They now march on to face Scotland in the quarter-finals after winning all of their group matches.
Thomas Mueller claimed a hat-trick as Germany thrashed 10-man Portugal 4-0 in their Group G match in Salvador. The Germans had coasted into the lead courtesy of a 12th minute Mueller penalty, after Joao Pereira tugged back Mario Gotze, and Mats Hummels doubled their tally with a towering header from Toni Kroos ' corner.
The news that Ross Brawn has ruled out a return to Formula One in the near future means that the sport will be the poorer for his absence.
It's time for the big one. The Rugby World Cup kicks off at Twickenham on Friday September 18 when hosts England take on Fiji. Shortly after that, one of the best-selling video games series of all time releases its latest incarnation as football fans worldwide prepare for FIFA 16.
Matt Ritchie scored his first international goal as Scotland warmed up for next Saturday's crucial Euro 2016 qualifier against Ireland with an uninspiring 1-0 win over Qatar. A spartan Easter Road was in attendance for a match that began under the cloud of the FIFA corruption scandal as Scotland took on the hosts of the 2022 World Cup.
Never before in the history of Formula One has there been so much importance attached to pre-season testing before the start of a new season. The radical regulation changes put in place for the 2014 season means that every team on the grid is entering into the relative unknown as far as engine development is concerned.
Chelsea had Nemanja Matic controversially sent off and conceded a late equaliser as Burnley grabbed a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. With Chelsea leading courtesy of a fourth goal of the season from Branislav Ivanovic, Matic reacted to an awful challenge from Ashley Barnes, launching himself into the player.
The race was expected to be another straight fight between pole-sitter Rosberg and Hamilton but that ended when Rosberg clipped his teammate's left-rear wheel attempting an aggressive overtake. It resulted in a puncture that effectively put Hamilton out of the race. "I didn't really understand what happened - I felt a big thud at the rear," said Hamilton afterwards.
When McLaren unveiled their new challenger for the 2014 season at an online launch last Friday, there was a distinct air of optimism in the Woking factory. In truth, attitudes could hardly have been anything else but optimistic after a disastrous 2013 season that saw not a single podium finish to the famous team's name.
A late Jonjo Shelvey stunner gave Swansea a dramatic late victory 1-0 against Southampton as Ryan Bertrand saw red for a challenge on Modou Barrow. The home side totally dominated in terms of possession and chances but Swansea defended solidly and took the lead with just seven minutes remaining when Shelvey beat Fraser Forster with a pile driver from distance.
Crystal Palace handed Watford their first home defeat of the season as a late Yohan Cabaye penalty gave the visitors a 1-0 victory. Both sides had hit the woodwork early in the second half but a clumsy challenge from Allan Nyom on substitute Wilfried Zaha allowed Cabaye to take full advantage.
A late double from substitute Papiss Cisse rescued an unlikely point for Newcastle and under-fire manager Alan Pardew at St James' Park. The home side found themselves two down with less than 20 minutes remaining thanks to glorious strikes from Nikica Jelavic and Mohamed Diame respectively.
The launch of several of this season's Formula One cars have so far met with almost universal condemnation that they are amongst the ugliest ever to grace the sport.
Italy and Croatia played out a 1-1 draw in Milan after crowd trouble in the Croatian section of fans almost caused the match to be abandoned. The group's leading teams were locked at 1-1 after early goals in the first half from Antonio Candreva's fine strike and Gianluigi Buffon's mistake that let Ivan Perisic's shot squirm underneath him.
Scotland's slim chances of qualifying for Euro 2016 were dealt a massive blow as they slipped to a dismal 1-0 defeat in Georgia. Gordon Strachan's team came into the match knowing nothing short of victory would realistically be enough to put any pressure on Poland and Germany at the top of Group D.
Both Sheffield United and Fulham go into the hat for the FA Cup fifth round draw after an incident-packed 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane. In a match that saw swamp-like conditions in the opening half the Blades took the lead courtesy of a Chris Porter strike, but Fulham then looked to have a clear penalty denied as keeper George Long appeared to bring down Hugo Rodallega.
Southampton notched their first victory of the season with a 3-0 win against Norwich after Steven Whittaker 's first half sending off changed the course of the game. The Norwich defender received his marching orders after receiving two needless yellow cards in as many minutes and Graziano Pelle made the extra man count by firing Saints ahead right on half time.
Tottenham Hotspur salvaged a dramatic late draw against West Ham at White Hart Lane, coming back from 2-0 down to draw with the last kick of the game. The visitors were deservedly ahead thanks to goals from Cheik Kouyate and Diafra Sakho but Danny Rose pulled one back with ten minutes remaining before Harry Kane was awarded a controversial penalty deep in stoppage time.
Chelsea set up a mouth watering fifth round FA Cup tie against Manchester City with a comfortable a 1-0 victory against Stoke on Jose Mourinho's 51st birthday. Oscar 's sublime first half free-kick proved the difference between the sides, but in truth the gap was far wider as Chelsea squandered a hatful of chances.
The opening test session of the 2014 Formula One season has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for Red Bull Racing.
England's disappointing World Cup ended with a goalless draw in Belo Horizonte as Costa Rica advanced as group winners. But Roy Hodgson 's much changed side showed some promise and created enough chances to beat a lacklustre Costa Rica side comfortably in Belo Horizonte.
Newcastle United never overcame an early red card for Aleksandar Mitrovic as they lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal. Mitrovic, having been booked in his first two matches of the season, was shown a straight red for putting his studs down the shin of Francis Coquelin.
Who can argue that Lewis Hamilton is not a worthy winner of his second world drivers' title? In the end, the eagerly anticipated 'Duel in the Desert' turned into a walk in the park for Hamilton after his season-long rival and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg suffered an ERS failure half way through the race.
Chelsea lost valuable ground on leaders Manchester City as a resolute West Ham defence earned a valuable draw for the relegation candidates. As expected, the hosts dominated the match in terms of possession, Oscar going closest to breaking the deadlock by hitting the bar in the opening half as Adrian was made to work hard in the West Ham goal.
Newcastle United secured a first victory of the season in front of home fans who had waited an extra hour for kick-off with a 1-0 win over Leicester. The match had been delayed by an hour after technicians worked to fix a new scoreboard that was deemed unsafe as it was swaying in the wind.
PSG closed the gap on title rivals Marseille to a solitary point at the top of the Ligue 1 table with a 2-0 victory at the Parc de Princes. The visitors had arguably the better of the chances in the opening half but Lucas slammed home Ezequiel Lavezzi 's cross just before the break and Edison Cavani wrapped things up five minutes from time with a trademark header.
Unless you've been living on Mars, you'll know by now that young Danish driver Kevin Magnussen will be partnering Jenson Button at the McLaren team for the 2014 season.
An inspired Guus Hiddink substitution helped the Netherlands on the way to a 2-0 win over a stubborn Latvia in Riga. Latvia had keeper Andris Vanins to thank for heeping the scores level until late into the second half.
Belgium survived an almighty scare by coming up from a goal down with 20 minutes remaining to beat Algeria 2-1 in Belo Horizonte. Algeria took a shock lead after Jan Vertonghen pulled back Sofiane Feghouli in the box, the striker getting off the deck to convert from the spot.
Manchester United spurned a host of chances as they were held to a goalless draw by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at White Hart Lane as Hugo Lloris starred in goal. An unchanged United side completely dominated the first half, and had more than enough chances to be leading at the interval.
Hands up who thinks Sebastian Vettel will make it five world championships on the bounce after the 2014 season? Okay, so I obviously can't see which of you loyal Formula One fans have stuck their paws in the air on reading that question.
A Silvestre Varela header in the final seconds of the final minute of injury time kept Portugal in the World Cup after the USA had looked to have dumped them out. Having conceded an early goal to Nani in the opening five minutes, the USA rallied excellently to lead 2-1 thanks to goals from Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey.
Formula One racing and movies are two of my favourite things. So when today's Oscar nominations were released, I was understandably disappointed to see Ron Howard's Rush miss out among the films competing for the industry's biggest awards.
Arsenal progressed to the last 16 of the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund thanks to a first goal for Yaya Sanogo and a lovely finish from Alexis Sanchez. Sanogo pounced to slot home his first in Arsenal colours after just two minutes before Sanchez curled in a beauty from the edge of the box in the second half to round things off.
Iran and Nigeria were responsible for the first bad game of the 2014 World Cup as they played out a 0-0 draw in Curitiba and were booed by supporters in the stands.
Robert Kubica's stunning victory in last weekend's Janner Rally was the perfect way to build up to what will be a challenging first season in the WRC.
Everton climbed above Tottenham Hotspur and up to fifth place in the table after seeing off a spirited Swansea City 3-2 at Goodison Park. Swansea were actually the better side for long periods of the match and created far more chances but Everton were the more clinical in their finishing.
A Ricardo Quaresma brace and a further strike from the returning Jackson Martinez gave Porto a 3-1 win over a depleted Bayern Munich. Two defensive horrors from Xabi Alonso and Dante gifted Porto an early two-goal advantage and although Bayern pulled one back through Thiago, a further goal from the returning Jackson Martinez puts Porto in the driving seat for next Tuesday's tie.
With the 2014 engine regulations set to shake up the sport of Formula One as never before next season, one team boss is of the opinion that it could alienate the smaller teams even further.
Norwich City are back in the Premier League only a year after being relegated to the Championship after beating Middlesbrough 2-0 in the play-off final at Wembley. Both sides had rattled the bar in the opening ten minutes before two goals in three minutes, first from Cameron Jerome and then Nathan Redmond, rocked Boro.
Tottenham Hotspur recorded their first win under new manager Maricio Pochettino after an Erik Lamela brace helped them overcome Toronto FC 3-2. Argentine Lamela, who sat out much of last season through injury, struck twice in the opening half to put Spurs 2-0 up at the break.
A second minute strike from Romelu Lukaku was enough to give Everton all three points against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park and relieve the pressure on manager Roberto Martinez. Lukaku bundled the visitors into the lead when Julian Speroni palmed Steven Naismith 's cross straight into the advancing striker and that proved the difference between the sides on the day.
The world of Formula One remains in a state of shock after a serious skiing accident involving seven-time champion Michael Schumacher. Schumacher remains in a critical condition on Monday morning after suffering a brain haemorrhage in a skiing accident at the Meribel Alpina resort in the French Alps on Sunday, Dec.
The last time Ferrari came away with anything substantial in terms of titles was in 2007 when ambushed the in the final race of the season to take the drivers' title. Ferrari also clinched the constructors' crown by virtue of having their points taken away in Hungary before they were also disqualified altogether for their part in the "" espionage controversy.
You may find it strange that the first of Vettel's title-winning years comes in at third in the list, but if you look back at the season as a whole, it's one he should have won comfortably and yet one that he so nearly blew and perhaps should have lost.
Both Germany and the USA have progressed to the second round of the World Cup after a solitary second-half Thomas Mueller goal settled matters in Recife. And with Portugal defeating Ghana 2-1 in Brasilia Germany went through as group winners with USA in second place.
With the Formula One world united in wishing Michael Schumacher a speedy recovery from a skiing accident that has left him in a critical condition, we look back on a career that has made him a giant in the sport.
Steven Gerrard saw a late penalty saved by Robert Green before heading a dramatic winner three minutes from time as Liverpool beat QPR 2-1. Liverpool went into the break a goal to the good through Philippe Coutinho's excellently taken strike but a Leroy Fer equaliser looked to have rescued an unlikely point.
You just don't think it's possible for people with such an aura of invincibility to be seriously hurt. For someone who has been directly connected to the sport of Formula 1 for over a decade, the news came as a huge shock.
It seems something of a shame that the 2013 season was not a little bit closer, not only to give viewers an exciting finish to the season, but because no real rivalries developed.
Referee Mark Clattenburg was again the centre of controversy as West Brom and Crystal Palace drew 2-2 at The Hawthorns. Palace led when Brede Hangeland bundled home from the corner but only after Mile Jedinak appeared to clearly impede Ben Foster.
Sebastian Vettel 's fine drive to victory at Sunday's Indian Grand Prix meant that he joins an elite list of drivers to have won four world drivers' championships. Vettel's title triumph was his fourth in succession and in achieving the feat he draws alongside compatriot Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alain Prost in having won at least that many and only Schumacher and Fangio have also won four on the trot.
Tottenham Hotspur leapfrogged bitter north London rivals Arsenal to sixth in the Premier League table after a 2-1 home win against Burnley. A first home league goal of the season from Harry Kane put Spurs in front before an Ashley Barnes cracker from the edge of the box drew Burnley level.
Georgios Samaras scored a dramatic injury time penalty to send Greece through to the last 16 for the first time.
In finishing a revised ninth in the Australian Grand Prix, Russian teenager Daniil Kvyat overtook Sebastian Vettel as the youngest driver to score a world championship point. Considering those who had gone before him, including the likes of former champions Vettel and Fernando Alonso, it ranks as a significant achievement.
Norwich City remain in the relegation zone after failing to break down a resolute Cardiff City, keeper David Marshall keeping his team in the game with a string of fine saves. It looked as if Norwich had stolen the result in controversial circumstances as Leroy Fer passed the ball into an empty net whilst Alexander Tettey was down injured.
What immediately springs to mind about the 2013 Formula One season was that it was a Sebastian Vettel romp. The all-conquering German won the last nine grands prix on the bounce to seal a fourth successive drivers' title.
With only a little over two weeks of shopping available before Christmas, the rush is on to get those stocking-fillers and other presents sorted.
Stoke City maintained their impressive home record of only having lost once at The Britannia but they needed a controversial goal from Peter Crouch to seal a 2-1 victory. Substitute Charlie Adam had given Stoke the lead with practically his first touch five minutes into the second half, but a calamitous back header from Erik Pieters gifted Libor Kozak an equalising goal.
Crashes and smashes are all an integral part of F1 Racing. Opening lap collisions between cars are commonplace and only as far back as the Korean Grand Prix did we see Mark Webber's race end in a fiery blaze.
Rosberg had been leading the race from Hamilton following a huge accident involving Kimi Raikkonen at the start that caused the race to be red flagged on the opening lap for the first time since 2000.
Luiz Suarez produced a four-goal masterclass which inspired his Liverpool side to a thumping 5-1 win over Norwich City. Suarez struck a brilliant first half hat-trick including a 42-yard screamer and added to hit tally in the second half before turning provider for Rahim Sterling as Liverpool struck five past Norwich for the third game in succession.
Nico Rosberg stretched his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship standings to 29 points after holding off teammate Lewis Hamilton in a tactical Austrian Grand Prix. Hamilton started down in ninth after a disappointing qualifying session but made up five places on the first lap alone and had a good go at team-mate Rosberg, right up until the penultimate corner. Valtteri Bottas claimed third and a place on the podium after starting on the front row, the Williams driver finishing ahead of...
Maldonado lost a lot of respect in the eyes of many during the U.S. Grand Prix weekend when he accused his own team of sabotage during qualifying, as reported by The Telegraph at the time: I think in my car somebody is playing with the pressure and the temperatures.
Murray Walker celebrated turning 90 years of age last week, 12 years after hanging up his microphone. We will almost certainly never get to see the likes of another Murray Walker again, and there have been many who have tried to pick up the mantle over the years.
When Force India team boss announced that Sergio Perez would be joining Nico to form an all-new driver pairing for the 2014 season I, for one, was excited.
Maribor qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 1999 as late Morales Tavares strike was enough to beat a poor Celtic 1-0. Tavares scooped home over Craig Gordon with 15 minutes remaining to score the only goal of the match following one of many defensive lapses from the home side.
Brazil put on a polished display at the Estadio Nacional in their 100th World Cup performance to beat Cameroon 4-1 and top Group A.
Newcastle United paid tribute to the two fans lost in the Malaysian Airlines tragedy with a comfortable 4-0 win over Sydney FC in Dunedin, New Zealand. A debut goal from Emmanuel Riviere and an Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa deflected effort followed Siem de Jong 's opener and substitute Adam Armstrong added a fourth eight minutes from time.
The Japanese Grand Prix yet again saw the issue of team orders rear its ugly head as Felipe Massa received the instruction "multi-function strategy A now, please" which was a message to let teammate Fernando Alonso past. Massa appeared not to observe the message to concede his fifth place position with Alonso having to fight his own way through.
The standard PR talk coming from team bosses and drivers alike after the opening race of any Formula One season is that a clear picture of how the season will develop will not emerge until the European races.
Arsenal paid for some shambolic defending as they lost 3-2 to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, as Mark Hughes's side held on for their fifth win in nine home games against the Gunners.
Guillermo Ochoa was the star as hosts Brazil could not break down Mexico in an atypically-entertaining 0-0 Group A draw. The Mexican keeper brought back memories of Gordon Banks' dramatic save from Pele midway through the first half, scrambling across his goal to claw away Neymar's header from Dani Alves ' cross.
Two maiden international goals from Diego Tardelli proved the difference as Brazil overcame bitter rivals Argentina in the 100th meeting of the two great sides in Beijing. Tardelli struck midway through each half after Argentina had a legitimate penalty claim turned down before Jefferson saved Lionel Messi 's spot kick at the end of the first half.
Algeria progressed to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time in four attempts after coming back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Russia. Kokorin has put the Russians ahead after just six minutes with a towering header from Oleg Shatov's cross.
Liverpool recovered from the disappointment of losing successive Premier League matches to reach the FA Cup semi-final after beating Blackburn Rovers 1-0. A cagey affair with few chances was always going to be decided by the odd goal and one moment of quality decided it twenty minutes from time, Philippe Coutinho exchanging passes with Jordan Henderson before rifling his sixth of the season past Simon Eastwood from a tight angle.
Wayne Rooney grabbed a brace to help Manchester United bag all three points at Old Trafford but there was controversy in the second half as referee Roger East sent off Wes Brown incorrectly. Sunderland had held out resolutely for 65 minutes but the game turned on a decision involving two former United defenders.
Bayern Munich dashed Manchester United 's hopes of progressing to the semi-finals of the Champions League after a thrilling tie in Munich which ended 3-1 to the hosts. After a cagey opening half in which neither side managed a shot on target, Patrice Evra gave United hopes of a famous victory by rifling a fierce shot into the top corner to put his side ahead early in the second half.
Only one race into the 2014 Formula One season and fans of Formula One are already forming their own opinions of how the year ahead may take shape...
The Netherlands have finished on top of Group B after substitutes Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay scored late against a competitive Chile. Chile had looked the better team for long periods of the match but two moments of class from Louis van Gaal's men decided the match.
Cardiff City have been relegated to the Championship after losing 3-0 to Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
Following the dominant manner of Nico Rosberg's victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, some are already writing off the season as a Mercedes march to victory.
It was revealed on Thursday that Red Bull has lodged an appeal to the FIA over Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix .
Arsenal jumped above north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to fifth in the PL table following a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Aston Villa at The Emirates. Olivier Giroud put the Gunners ahead in the eighth minute after latching onto an exquisite flick from the fit-again Mesut Ozil, the Frenchman slotting home past Brad Guzan for his seventh goal of the season.
Chelsea took a huge stride towards reaching the knock-out stage of the Champions League after a Samuel Eto'o brace set them on their way to a 3-0 win against Schalke at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho made six changes to the team that suffered a shock 2-0 away defeat at the hands of Newcastle United at the weekend.
Having lost out to his Mercedes teammate by 18 points in the 2013 drivers' standings, Nico Rosberg recently said that his goal is to beat Lewis Hamilton in 2014.
The last time a driver went on a winning streak as dominant as Sebastian Vettel's current run of form was in 2009 when Jenson Button won six of the opening seven races of the season. It is four years ago to the day today that Button sealed his one and only drivers' title to date with a fifth-place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The 1950s is where the Formula One story began and the early pioneers of the sport laid the foundations of the technological advancements we see in today's racing cars. It was very different back then with no seat belts, front-mounted engine blocks, drum brakes and a frightening lack of safety measures that led to many deaths.
Now that Formula 1 has a place in the homeland of U.S. stock car racing in Texas, fans of both sports will get the chance to judge for themselves which is the better spectacle.
Ivory Coast are one victory away from winning their first Africa Cup of Nations since 1992 after beating DR Congo 3-1 in the semi-final. The favourites, who last reached the final three years ago, went ahead on the night thanks to a blistering strike from Yaya Toure, who lashed home an unstoppable drive from the edge of the box.
By Fraser Masefield on November 21, 2013 The Brazilian Grand Prix marks the end of the road for one of Formula One's true nice guys as Mark Webber hangs up his F1 helmet after a distinguished career.
For one of the most successful team principals in the history of Formula 1, the sun is setting on a glittering career. Current Mercedes Motorsport boss Ross Brawn will quit the team at the end of the season, at least according to reports on BBC Sport earlier in the week.
Celtic suffered more Champions League late heartbreak, conceding two late goals in the San Siro to lose their opening group game 2-0. It was harsh on Celtic who held their own and dominated for spells against an injury depleted Milan side missing the likes of Riccardo Montolivo, Kaka and Stephan El Shaarawy.
The first time I attended the Australian Grand in person was way back in 1998 as a guest of Stewart Grand Prix. A young driver by the name of Jan Magnussen was making his debut for the team in a first full season in Formula One that promised much.
Everton's hopes of Champions League football next season are all but over after two calamitous own goals gave Southampton a 2-0 win at St Mary's. The visitors went into the match with plenty to play for but their ambitions suffered an immediate blow, Antolin Alcaraz heading past Tim Howard after only 53 seconds from Rickie Lambert 's cross.
2007: A Champion at Last Raikkonen's debut for Ferrari couldn't have gone much better, as he won his first time out in Australia. But he would not win again until the eighth race of the season in France, following it up with victory in Germany.
Formula One will award double the amount of points in the final race of the season in an attempt to increase the interest right up until the season finale. The highly-controversial rule change will come into immediate effect for the 2014 season after a meeting between the F1 strategy Group and the Formula One Commission in Paris finalised the change on Monday.
With the 2013 Formula 1 season pretty much done and dusted, the focus on the development of next year's machines is already well underway. While the Adrian Newey-designed Red Bull machines have dominated over the past few seasons, brushing aside all before them, next season may present a very different story.
Liverpool closed the gap between themselves and fourth place Manchester United to just two points and stretched their unbeaten run to 13 league games after edging Swansea 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium. The visitors rode their luck in the first half and had keeper Simon Mignolet to thank for keeping the scores level with a trio of fine saves.
Brazil came through their last-16 match in breathtaking fashion as they beat Chile 3-2 in a penalty shootout in Belo Horizonte. The host nation earned a meeting with either Colombia or Uruguay after seeing off Chile in a pulsating clash which saw both sides have chances to clinch it.
With the recent announcement that Felipe Massa will no longer be a Ferrari driver after the end of the current season and the fact that it is the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, I was reminded about one of the great overtaking moves in recent times.
All Sebastian Vettel has to do at Sunday's Indian Grand Prix to seal a remarkable fourth world drivers' titles in as many years is finish fifth. Regardless of where closest rival Fernando Alonso finishes, fifth will seal the deal for Vettel once again.
A helmet worn by Sebastian Vettel fetched a staggering £58,000 when it went under the hammer at Bonhams in Oxford on Monday. The signed helmet, worn by the four-time world champion during his first ever victory at his home grand prix at the Nurburgring, features a glittering design based on Germany's national colours of black, red and gold.
As F1 Shifts To Abu Dhabi, Can Anyone Stop Vettel? In winning in India for the third year running and securing his sixth successive victory, Vettel joins Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Juan Manuel Fangio as a four-time world champion.
Sebastian Vettel is doing everything he can to wrap up a fourth successive drivers' title well before the end of the 2013 F1 season. The German has been in a class of his own this season with seven wins, including five wins in his last six races...
On the face of it, the decision taken by Ferrari to pair Kimi Raikkonen with Fernando Alonso seems a highly risky one. Alonso is known to like being the team leader and have a compliant teammate, much like Michael Schumacher before him.
Whilst the radical new engine regulations imposed for the 2014 season promised closer racing than ever before, one team has already forged ahead in its understanding of the new rules. Such was the dominance of Mercedes in Australia that Nico Rosberg stormed to a dominant victory over Kevin Magnussen by a massive 26.777 seconds.
New Zealand made it eight Rugby World Cup wins on the bounce after seeing off Argentina 26-16 with a clinical second half display at Wembley Stadium. Argentina threatened a second big upset of the tournament, having led 16-12 early in the second half thanks to a converted Guido Petti try and four Nicolas Sanchez penalties.
This season certainly hasn't been a close title race. But this week back in 1999, a certain Eddie Irvine found himself on the brink of being one of the unlikeliest world champions in recent memory.
Something strange happened on the podium after the Japanese Grand Prix. As race winner Sebastian Vettel collected his sixth winner's trophy in seven races, there was generous applause, cheering and some whistles of the supportive kind.
With two new drivers so far confirmed on the grid for 2014 and one more possibly to follow, the new drivers will be under pressure to perform.
By Fraser Masefield on September 15, 2013 Twelve years on to this very day since the accident that almost killed him and changed his life forever, Alex Zanardi is still as chippy and cheerful as he ever was.
When Felipe Massa crossed the finish line in the Brazilian Grand Prix to bring down the curtain on an eight-year spell with Ferrari, he had tears in his eyes. Team boss Stefano Domenicali spoke from the heart over the radio when he told Massa, "We love you.
By Fraser Masefield on November 29, 2013 The decision by Mercedes to part company with one of the finest tacticians and team principals the sport of F1 has ever seen must have been a hard one to come to.
West Bromwich Albion found the back of the net for the first time this season as they snatched an injury time equaliser courtesy of Gareth McAuley's late header in a 1-1 draw at Fulham. Steve Sidwell's goal looked to have been enough but McAuley rose to meet Chris Brunt 's corner two minutes into stoppage time to give his team another vital point.
Sebastian Vettel took a giant leap towards a fourth successive world title after claiming a fourth win at Suzuka in five years. The German came into the race knowing that if he won and title rival Fernando Alonso finished lower than eighth he would be champion.
By sheer reputation alone, Williams are not just a big team, they're massive. Boasting no fewer than 114 race victories, nine constructors' titles and seven world drivers' titles, they're one of the most successful teams in the history of the sport.
Mark Thompson/Getty Images Jean Todt gets re-elected unopposed as the FIA president on Friday, but what does that really mean for the sport? In understanding whether or not Todt's tenure as FIA president has been a good or bad thing so far, we must first consider a few options.
The Italian Grand Prix weekend was a landmark for the famous McLaren team as it celebrated 50 years of Formula One involvement. It was back in 1963 that New Zealander Bruce McLaren rented building space in New Malden, Surrey to begin building cars and form a team under his own name.
Unless you've been living on Mars, you will be aware that the story of Niki Lauda's epic 1976 title clash against James Hunt is soon to hit our cinema screens in Ron Howard's Rush.
By now, most keen followers of Formula One know that it's going to be a very different sport next season. The era of the V8 engine is over, the 2.4-litre normally aspirated units to be replaced by 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 units.
In somewhat of a shocking announcement on BBC Sport last week, McLaren revealed that it had made the re-signing of Fernando Alonso its highest priority for the 2014 season. It was a shock because McLaren already has two capable drivers in the team and Alonso is still under contract with Ferrari.
Nobody in the history of Formula One racing has come as close to winning the world championship without actually doing so than Felipe Massa. Rewind to the final round of the 2008 world championship in Brazil.
Rewind back three months to the day exactly and Lewis Hamilton was in a good place. The Mercedes driver had just produced one of the performances of his career in Hungary to win his first Grand Prix for Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton painted a glum picture in his post-race interview with BBC Sport after the Italian Grand Prix, describing his ninth-place finish as the result of "a disaster of a weekend."
When Maria de Villota's Marussia MR-01 crashed into a support truck at Duxford airfield in Cambridge on July 3, 2012 a promising career was cut short. De Villota had been completing a straightline test when her car struck a team support truck while returning to the pits.
Honourable Mentions: Stirling Moss and Richie Ginther Having finished world title runner-up an agonising four times in the 1950s, Moss switched to Rob Walker Lotus for the first time at the start of the 1960 season and won his first race behind the wheel of the Lotus 18 at Monaco.
With Sebastian Vettel threatening to tear up the record books as he continues on his current winning spree, the question as to whether he is one of the quickest drivers of all time still remains.
Immediately after the Italian Grand Prix, a clearly frustrated Lewis Hamilton let his emotions get the better of him and conceded to BBC Sport that his title chances were over. He had lost his radio communication, a driver's lifeline to his team, during the race and was effectively driving blind in having to make his own calls on when to push and when to pit.
The 2014 Formula One season will go down in the history books as a record-breaking one for Sebastian Vettel. But if we look beyond the Vettel victories alone, many of the races in a season that marks the end of the V8 era threw up great racing and incident aplenty that makes some of them classics in their own right.
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is a race steeped in tradition. A mainstay on the Formula 1 circuit since its inaugural grand prix in 1950 and set in the leafy backdrop of the famous Royal Park, the race has seen triumph and tragedy in equal measure...
I recently assessed Fernando Alonso 's season so far at the halfway point of the 2013 season, and my conclusion was that he was my driver of the year to date. That was before another stellar drive in Belgium that saw him finish second behind you know who.
Although it was Kimi Raikkonen who stole the Lotus headlines for his stunning drive from 13th on the grid to finish third while nursing a painful back, Lotus is certain Romain Grosjean would have bagged that podium slot but for his retirement.
The news that Daniel Ricciardo has been confirmed as Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull teammate for the 2014 season brings to an end one of the worst kept secrets of the midseason break. It's surely a foregone conclusion that as the team leader, Vettel will take his young Aussie teammate to the cleaners in 2014 and have all the backing to do so.
And so the dust settles on what has been a season of total dominance for Sebastian Vettel. Victory in Brazil meant that the German set yet another record, equalling the legendary Alberto Ascari's feat of nine consecutive race victories.
To say I'm excited about the UK release of RUSH on September 13 is something of an understatement. Formula One and movies are two of my favourite things, so having Ron Howard put the them together to celebrate one of the greatest F1 seasons ever known and you get a measure of where I am.
Before Sky Sports F1 entered the fray in 2012, the choice for the Formula 1 fan was limited to BBC Sport, who had exclusive rights after taking over from the ITV. However, a review of cost constraints and a license fee freeze meant that there was now a new major player in the game, offering viewers a choice of viewing avenues.
Over 15,000 fans at London's Craven Cottage witnessed a pulsating international friendly as Italy and Nigeria played out a 2-2 draw in the second meeting between the sides. A friendly on paper it may have been but a well-attended stadium witnessed an absolute cracker of a match between two teams who went unbeaten during their World Cup qualifying campaigns.
With the announcement that Daniel Ricciardo will join Sebastian Vettel at the Red Bull team expected during or shortly after the Italian Grand Prix weekend, the young Australian will already be thinking about how he will match up against the three-time world champion.
When Mark Webber's Korean Grand Prix ended in a fiery blaze, it at first appeared as if his Red Bull had suffered a rare engine blowout. The reason for the fire was, in fact, due to an oil leak that dripped onto the exhaust, but it did get me thinking whether we will see more engine failures in 2014 with the introduction of the 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 units.
Whilst watching television the other day, I was painfully reminded why Formula 1 drivers really should just be on our screens doing their primary job of driving cars fast. Seeing Jenson Button advertise Santander Bank, I got to thinking about other occasions when the media has not exactly portrayed the sport in the best light.
After another fine drive from Sergio Perez in Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix, McLaren may well be wondering if they have been a little too hasty in letting the Mexican go. Perez discovered only a week before the U.S.
I've been to enough Formula One paddocks on race day to know that the sport's inner sanctum is a very exclusive club indeed. If you're not a recognisable celebrity or pitching a big business deal, people simply won't give you the time of day.
While nothing is absolutely certain in the complex world of Formula One racingnot least which driver is going where for the 2014 season-some things in the sport never change. Near the top of this list has to be the fact that there is always a likelihood of rain over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
Although it's not always the case, you will find that many car enthusiasts are also keen fans of one form of motorsport or another. Even if you're just a fan of F1, which is probably why you're reading this article, you probably also drive a road car.
Back markers, mobile chicanes, call them what you like, but they've been in Formula One pretty much from the outset. Of course, they're not everyone's cup of tea, and many champions have voiced their grievances at having a result compromised by a slower car holding them up.
Lewis Hamilton 's maiden victory for Mercedes at the Hungarian Grand Prix catapulted him firmly back into the world title race. It also proved that Hamilton still has what it takes to mix it at the top of the table just as people were beginning to write off his title challenge and instead focus on Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.
Kimi Raikkonen's remarkable drive from 13th on the grid to finish third at the Singapore Grand Prix has to go down as one of the drives of the season because it was achieved in arguably the most demanding race on the F1 calendar.
One of the purest tests of driver skill on the Formula One calendar, the fabulous Spa-Francorchamps circuit has thrown up some absolute classics over the years since its inaugural race in 1950. The list of winners at Spa reads like a who's who of the legends of the sport and it would be easy to pick out 10 classic races.
Today's Formula One cars incorporate numbers and different-coloured camera mountings to enable media and fans alike to tell drivers apart. But the easiest way to tell one driver apart from another has always been in the drivers' helmet designs.
Barcelona made it 13 victories from 14 matches this season as they comfortably dispatched Granada 2-0 at the Nou Camp. Two first half penalties from Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas gave the hosts a deserved half time lead and after Granada were reduced to ten men after Manuel Iturra received a second yellow, Alexis Sanchez and Pedro Rodriguez completed the rout.
With all the fanfare and focus surrounding Sebastian Vettel's record-breaking eighth consecutive grand prix victory in a single season at the U.S. Grand Prix, some viewers may have missed another impressive Red Bull record. With Vettel cruising serenely to victory, Red Bull's other focus was on Mark Webber closing the gap to Romain Grosjean in second place.
Lotus. Lovely, lovely Lotus. The team has a special place in my heart as my earliest Formula One memory was of Ayrton Senna driving the beautiful black and gold liveried JPS Lotus 98T. Of course my father reminded me, and still does, that Jim Clark was the greatest driver ever and would have won multiple titles for Lotus if it wasn't for his tragic death.
Jose Mourinho kept up his incredible record of never having lost a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge as his Chelsea side came back from a goal down to beat Cardiff City 4-1. Cardiff took a shock lead after only 10 minutes after a calamitous error from David Luiz, who let Ramires's back-pass run straight into Jordon Mutch's path before the midfielder calmly chipped over Petr Cech.
Swansea City kept up their impressive start to the season after cruising to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Goals at the start of each half from Michu and Nathan Dyer masked a bigger gulf between the sides and the margin could well have been more as Michu squandered further easier chances.
When Romain Grosjean made a small mistake in the penultimate corner late in the Korean Grand Prix, teammate Kimi Raikkonen pounced like the opportunistic tiger he is to snatch second position from his grasp. Fair enough, you may say. Raikkonen has always been a racer and a great passer, and a leopard never changes its spots-or a tiger its stripes.
This time just eight short years ago something happened that would change the fortunes of a team forever. On 8 November 2005 a design genius by the name of Adrian left then-employers for a new challenge, to transform the fortunes of Red Bull Racing.
West Ham produced a late smash and grab to ruin interim Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood's first game in charge as two goals in the last 10 minutes gave Sam Allardyce's team a 2-1 win and put them through to a League Cup semi-final with Manchester City.
Chelsea finished top of Group E after beating Steaua Bucharest 1-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a first half goal from Demba Ba. Ba latched onto a flicked Oscar header to smuggle Chelsea ahead after only ten minutes but from then on the match produced few chances and little excitement as the home side progressed ahead of Schalke.
Mercedes may have cracked their tyre issues but there's still work to be done
How Lewis Hamilton has edged closer to his best
1. "Crashgate" Singapore 2008 After a poor qualifying session that left him 15th on the grid at the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix, Renault's Fernando Alonso was the first driver to make a routine pit stop for fuel and tyres on lap 12, rejoining the race at the back of the field.
Why the three-time world champion is firmly on course for four on the trot
Should Sebastian Vettel decide to stay at Red Bull beyond the end of his current contract and if Adrian Newey continues to turn out world beating machines, the German ace is set to dominate Formula 1 for the next decade.
Why the return of the Austrian Grand Prix affirm's Red Bull's F1 dominance
During Sunday's US Grand Prix we could have witnessed the coming of age of the latest in a long line of Finnish F1 stars. Valtteri Bottas' superb drive to eighth place means that he's now his team's leading points scorer during his debut season with the team.
Horses for courses means my money's on the English sporting summer of success continuing
Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok - Singha All Stars 1 (Winothai 49) Manchester United 0
Sebastian Vettel led from start to finish to secure a dominant maiden victory in the Canadian Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso showed Ferrari’s pace at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve by setting the fastest time in second practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Paul di Resta led Jenson Button for a British one-two after the opening session of free practice for the Canadian Grand Prix
Why Pirelli's quick wearing tyres will make Monaco a very different proposition
Premier League, Loftus Road - QPR 0 Stoke City 2 (Crouch 42, Walters 75 pen)
Serie A, Stadio Olimpico - Roma 1 (Totti pen 56) Lazio 1 (Hernanes 16)
Why Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are in good company
La Liga, Estadio de la Romareda –Real Zaragoza 1 (Rodri 6) Real Madrid 1 (Ronaldo 38)
David Beckham started his first game for PSG against Saint-Etienne
Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Fulham
Former F1 Playboy Eddie Irvine gives his ever colourful take on the new season
Premier League - Sunderland 2-2 Fulham
La Liga - Atletico Madrid 1-0 Espanyol
FA Cup 5th round - Manchester United 2-1 Reading
Capital One Cup quarter-final - Norwich City 1 (Morison 19) Aston Villa 4 (Holman 21, Weimann 79, 85, Benteke 90+1)
Mark Selby recovered from 4-0 down to beat Neil Robertson in York
Shaun Murphy recovered from 5-4 down to beat Belgian teenager Lucas Brecel
John Higgins lost a final frame decider to Mark Davis in a UK Championship classic
Shaun Murphy dispatched Graeme Dott 6-2 in the UK Championship in York
Mark King beat Mark Williams in the second round of the UK Championship
Barcelona suffered their second defeat in the space of a week and their first in La Liga for nine months as Iker Muniain 's second half strike proved the difference between the sides. Although the visitors enjoyed the better of the possession for long periods it was the hosts who carved out the clearer chances, Barcelona managing just two shots on target during the match.
Sebastian Vettel became only the third F1 driver in history to win three world titles on the bounce
Champions League Group A, Porto 3 (Lucho 20, Moutinho 67, Varela 85) Dinamo Zagreb 0
Champions League - Shakhtar through after controversial win
Wales slumped to a 26-19 defeat against Samoa to lose their fifth match on the bounce
World Cup qualifying report: Wales 2-1 Scotland
Europa League match report: Liverpool 2-3 Udinese
Why the sport of Formula One is arguably the toughest of tests on the human body
How Juventus stretched their incredible record away to Fiorentina
Novak Djokovic fought back from a set and a break down to beat Juan Martin Del Potro in London's O2 Arena
Judd trump beat Neil Robertson 10-8 to win the Inaugural International Championship
How the Kinetic Energy recovery system boosts drivers' chances