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Watch highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between St Mirren and Hibernian.
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Last Updated: 08/11/23 10:30am
Kevin Sinfield will run seven ultra-marathons in seven days in December to raise funds for MND
Kevin Sinfield will undertake a new challenge to help those affected by motor neurone disease by running seven ultra-marathons in seven days in December.
Sinfield has raised millions of pounds for MND charities since his former Leeds Rhinos team-mate and great friend Rob Burrow was diagnosed in 2019.
The 43-year-old, currently defence coach of the England men’s rugby union team, will start in Leeds on December 1.
He will then head to Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dublin and Brighton before finishing in London on December 7, when he runs from Twickenham Stadium to The Mall.
Sinfield will run 27.2 miles a day – full marathon length plus an extra mile to show how people can always do even more to help friends needing support.
Sinfield says carrying Rob Burrow over the finish line at the Leeds Marathon was ‘really, really special’
This will be Sinfield’s fourth fundraiser, with the former Rhinos man telling the BBC: “I did say last year that the Ultra 7 in 7 would complete the trilogy, but there was always that caveat that Rocky 4 was my favourite Rocky film.”
“For the MND community, every second counts and we will be making the most of every step on this challenge to raise awareness, funds and support for that community.
“The MND community have always given us incredible support and we wanted to find a way we could show that support for more people around the country.
The charities supported by this latest challenge include the Rob Burrow Centre for MND in Leeds.
Donations will also go to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, the Irish MND Association, the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, and the 4ED campaign, with the latter supporting former Leicester rugby union player Ed Slater.
Slater, who also represented Gloucester and Nottingham, was diagnosed with MND in 2022.
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Jamie Carragher and Daniel Sturridge analyse the high defensive line Tottenham persisted with after going down to nine men and what this meant for the Chelsea forwards.
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Ron Walker is joined by Richard Morgan to ask if Antony has been Manchester United’s biggest ever flop following criticism of his recent performances.
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1813 overs
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Last Updated: 06/11/23 12:12am
How fitting it would prove of a Steve Spagnuolo unit to play a defining role on his return to Frankfurt as the Kansas City Chiefs marched to victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Spagnuolo, who coached for the Frankfurt Galaxy in 1998, watched on as a Trent McDuffie-inspired unit contained one of the league’s most potent attacks to underline the story of the season so far for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Tyreek Hill was limited to 62 yards while Tua Tagovailoa threw for a season-low 193 yards as Mike McDaniel’s side suffered their third loss to a team with a winning record this season.
“The fact that they’re so good at all three levels, they’re deep,” said Patrick Mahomes. “Guys rotate in. They can play. It’s hard to get everybody snaps, that’s how good they are. It’s got to be the top defense in the NFL.
“That’s a great offense. To hold them to 14 points where I fumbled in our own area for seven of those points, that’s a tremendous job. I think they’re going to continue to get better because they’re young and they love it.
Sky Sports’ Olivia Harlan Dekker and Cam Hogwood give their verdict on the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over AFC rivals Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany.
McDuffie paved the way for the Chiefs to take a 21-0 lead into half-time when he dislodged the ball from Tyreek Hill to set up Bryan Cook’s 59-yard fumble recovery.
Leo Chenal meanwhile stood firm in the face of Miami’s wide zone running scheme, L’Jarius Sneed took ownership over the task of shadowing Hill, and 2020 undrafted free agent Tershawn Wharton was on hand to deliver a drive-derailing sack late in the fourth quarter.
“I knew they were going to be good. You look at the end of last year, they played great football and no one really noticed. I knew they were going to be good,” said Mahomes.
“They brought back so many people, so many young guys, they were going to develop. I mean, the fact they’re all developing this fast, I don’t know if anyone could have guessed it. I knew they were going to be great as their careers went on. Good to have a lot of young guys that can play like that.”
The Kansas City Chiefs defence comes up with an amazing play as their former teammate, Tyreek Hill is stripped by Mike Edwards who laterals the ball to Bryan Cook for the score.
It marked the latest instalment of a standout year for McDuffie, who was notably acquired in the 2022 NFL Draft with one of the picks the Chiefs received during Hill’s trade to the Dolphins.
“I’m blessed, look at what football can do, take it all across the world and put it in front of a whole new crowd, I love it,” McDuffie told Sky Sports NFL. “They were whistling, yelling, clapping, I wanted to see what that soccer atmosphere look like and they brought it.
“Like I said you’ve got to get your hands on that man (Hill). He’s fast, he’s elusive, he can make a lot of plays, it’s about limiting the explosives.”
Miami threatened an unlikely comeback in the third quarter when Cedrick Wilson Jr and Raheem Mostert both found the end zone to cut the Chiefs’ lead to seven points, only for Spagnuolo’s defense to ice the game.
Travis Kelce hails ‘special ‘Kansas City Chiefs as his side moves to 3-0 in International games with a win over the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt.
“We went in there (at half-time) and knew the game would come back to the defense, we had them at zero and the only way they could win was if we gave it up. Gotta love the tenacity we showed the whole game,” added McDuffie.
“This defense has been wanted to score and create turnovers, it shows how great this defense is becoming.”
Offensive fireworks have often been at the heart of Super Bowl charges for Andy Reid’s Chiefs in recent years. This year has a different feel. The frightening prospect being the might of the defending champions should Mahomes and co. begin to pile up the points.
“Defensively, what a first half,” said Reid. “What a second half. The fourth quarter was really something, which made a very exciting. The McDuffie strip of Tyreek, punching the ball out, Mike Edwards picking it up, Cook scoring. Doesn’t get any better than that. Sneed’s ability to match up most of the day on Tyreek was big, although Tyreek is a heck of a football player. He made a couple real nice plays in there, too.”
“Typically two good offenses, that being the No. 1 offense, the Dolphins, in the National Football League right now,” said Reid. “For the things that our defense did right there, that was a tremendous achievement. Obviously we got to keep it going. You’re just as good as the next game that you play in. That was a heck of an achievement. [Defensive coordinator] Steve [Spagnuolo] did a great job with scheming it. The players executed very well.
Week Nine concludes on Monday night when the Los Angeles Chargers visit the New York Jets, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am in the early hours of Tuesday; Stream the NFL and more with NOW
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Fernando Alonso has admitted he thought a Sao Paulo Grand Prix podium “was gone” before reclaiming third place from Sergio Perez on the final lap of the race to conclude a thrilling battle between the pair.
Having spent the majority of the race chasing Alonso, Perez finally passed the Aston Martin on the penultimate lap of the race with a move into the first corner that appeared to have sealed a double podium for Red Bull, with world champion Max Verstappen easing to victory.
However, a small error from Perez gave Alonso the opportunity to retake the final podium spot in the second DRS zone on the run to Turn Four on their final tour, before the Spaniard held on to the position by just 0.053s on a charge to the finish line.
Alonso explained to Sky Sports F1 that he thought he had blown his chance of responding by running off line on the penultimate lap as he attempted to hit back having been passed.
“Honestly, I thought that maybe my chances were gone in Turn Six,” he said.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso enjoyed an epic battle in the final stages of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
“I went on the outside to change line but then I picked up a lot of marbles and the tyres were dirty, they were vibrating as well and I thought, ‘ok, this is gone’.
“But then I wanted to have one more chance into Turn One or Turn Four with the DRS, maybe braking very aggressive, very late.
“I think he understood that as well, so he broke late into Turn One, missed the apex by one metre and that gave me the run into Turn Four.
“Unexpected, to be honest, when I lost the place I thought it was gone.”
Perez, who crashed out of last weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix and last month’s Qatar Grand Prix Sprint following collisions, said that other drivers could learn from the way he and Alonso had fought for position.
“It was quite an intense battle,” Perez told Sky Sports F1. “We tried everything.
“Unfortunately we didn’t succeed on that, but it was well deserved for Fernando.
The best of the action from a dramatic Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
“I think we had a great fight, very fair and to the limit. I think this is something that a lot of drivers can learn from because what we did, the way we fought today, it’s how it should be done.
“I’m in the wrong side, I end up losing but it’s fine because it was a great fight.”
Alonso agreed that it had been a “clean” contest, and admitted he was surprised to find Perez had matched his tyre-saving ability going into the final stages.
“It was nice, it was a clean battle,” Alonso said. “A very aggressive, but clean battle. Always with Checo I think he has a very good record on finishing the races and always battling hard but keeping both cars on track.
Fernando Alonso overtakes Lewis Hamilton to move into third place at the restart of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
“I knew that he was coming, I knew that he was a threat, and at the end it was maybe more difficult than I thought, to be honest.
“Five laps to the end, I thought that I had things under control, so I start pushing and then I look in the mirror and Checo was there, and I said ‘uh oh, I think he was saving tyres as well’.”
Perez came into the weekend under major pressure amid continued speculation that Red Bull could look to replace him next season, despite a year still remaining on his contract.
While his run of races without a podium extends to six, a solid display in coming from a starting position of ninth to finish fourth was an improvement on many of his recent efforts.
“We’ve seen in the last couple of races that the pace has been there, that we’ve been really strong,” he added.
Ted Kravitz talks to an elated Fernando Alonso after his dramatic podium finish at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
“For some reason or another we haven’t been able to get the final end result, but I just know that it’s a matter of time.”
Alonso’s podium puts an end to a dismal run of form from Aston Martin, with the Spaniard having retired from the previous two races after qualifying outside the top 10 on both occasions.
After a stunning start to the season which saw them surprisingly emerge as Red Bull’s closest challengers, the Silverstone-based team have failed to keep up with the development of the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.
However, after choosing not to go with some of the upgraded parts that have failed to provide improvement, they returned to prominence in Brazil, with Alonso’s team-mate Lance Stroll finishing fifth.
“In the end I’m happy that we did it for the team,” Alonso said.
“We’re struggling a lot in the last two races but we never lost focus on what were the targets, we went deep in the analysis, we stayed united, we stayed together and this was a very nice thing to witness in the last two events.”
Get ready for the big one: Formula 1 in Las Vegas! See drivers race down the Strip, and past landmarks like Caesars Palace and the Bellagio, on F1’s newest street track. Watch the whole Las Vegas GP weekend live on Sky Sports F1 on November 17-19. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW
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Last Updated: 05/11/23 9:04am
Gemma Dryburgh finished sixth at the Toto Japan Classic after a seven-under final round of 65
Defending champion Gemma Dryburgh finished tied sixth at the Toto Japan Classic with a seven-under-par final round leaving the Scottish player three strokes behind winner Mone Inami.
Dryburgh, who won this event by four shots in 2022, made four birdies on her front nine and three more coming home during a blemish-free Sunday at Taiheiyo Club Minori Course.
The 30-year-old ended on 19-under-par for the tournament with Japan’s Inami triumphing on home soil on 22-under, one clear of compatriot Shiho Kuwaki and South Korea’s Seon Woo Bae.
Mone Inami won by one stroke in Japan for her first LPGA Tour victory
Inami trailed Kuwaki and fellow Japanese player Nasa Hataoka by one heading into the final day but a three-under 69 was enough to take the title as Kuwaki carded a 71 and Hataoka stumbled to a 74.
Hataoka’s two-over round included a bogey at the fourth and double bogey at the 15th.
Inami’s victory was the 13th of her career but first on the LPGA Tour, with the win earning her LPGA Tour membership for the remainder of this season and the entirety of 2024.
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Sky Sports’ Sue Smith discusses possible destinations for Emma Hayes following the news that the Chelsea manager will leave the club at the end of the season.
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Last Updated: 04/11/23 1:03pm
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is ‘analysing where we go next’
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has confirmed to Sky Sports that the league will stage a regular season game in a new host country in 2024.
The league’s international expansion is celebrating another milestone over the next fortnight as it prepares to play the first-ever regular season matchups in the city of Frankfurt when the Kansas City Chiefs meet the Miami Dolphins on Sunday before the New England Patriots take on the Indianapolis Colts the following weekend.
It comes a year after the league introduced Germany as a host partner alongside the UK and Mexico as Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Munich.
Spain and Brazil have recently emerged as possible candidates to enter the fold, with Commissioner Goodell telling Sky Sports NFL’s Neil Reynolds that a decision is close to being made.
“We’re looking and analysing where we go next year,” Goodell told Sky Sports in an exclusive interview. “We will certainly go to a new market next year for sure. We’re debating on that and I think we’ll have a decision in the next 30-45 days. So we’ll be ready to. I think that’ll be exciting for us.”
The Dolphins are currently affiliated with both Spain and Brazil as part of the NFL’s Global Marketing Program, while the Chicago Bears also own rights to market in Spain.
With the league’s growing presence overseas has come comparisons to Formula One’s global presence as it delivers its sport from city to city across the world. Goodell agreed with the likening and insists further progress is still to come.
London, Germany, Mexico. Spain? Brazil? The interested parties are forming a queue, Ireland notably among those eyeing a game of their own such is their relationship with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I actually went to my first NFL event in Montreal back in June and just to see and experience what we could learn from it (was great),” Goodell continued. “When we expanded our regular season from 16 to 17 games we talked at one time about whether the 17th game would be all international games.
“We didn’t feel we were in that position, because we didn’t feel we had the markets developed enough for that. And so I think this is something that will get a lot more attention but I do expect to expand in regular game series quite dramatically.”
Cameron Hogwood and Neil Reynolds discuss the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt and where the sport will head to next season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars made history in October as they became the first team to play back-to-back games overseas by facing the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills on a two-week road trip in London, the reward being two victories amid what has since become a five-game winning streak.
Last year had seen the league achieve the clean sweep in the UK when the Green Bay Packers became the 32nd and final franchise to play across the pond, ultimately falling to the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
While travel requirements and changing time zones remain topics of conversation, the feedback over international games continues to be positive. Positive feedback serves as a springboard for further growth.
As the NFL touches back down in Germany this weekend, relive last year’s game in Munich, where Tom Brady showed the fans why many called him the Greatest Of All Time.
“I think they (team owners) completely understand the potential of it,” said Goodell. “Every one of our teams has played an International Series game, every one of them come back with the exact same reaction and there’s clearly something powerful here. And there’s an opportunity for us to become a global sport.
“I think the debate is, how fast and what we do to sort of accelerate that growth. But that’s healthy debate, that that’s what we expect to have. How we make decisions is making sure we hear all the different perspectives including the people on the ground.
“We have made it clear to our ownership that we think this is a unique time in our history and to advance our growth particularly. I think it may be the single most important growth moment in our history. Because we now get a chance to share our game.”
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Following back-to-back 3-0 defeats at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag defends his coaching philosophy and why his side are ‘clear’ on their intentions.
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Last Updated: 02/11/23 9:35pm
Dave Chisnall proved too strong for Jim Williams in Thursday’s Players Championship 30, triumphing 8-4
Dave Chisnall claimed a fifth ranking title of 2023 as the ProTour season concluded with Players Championship 30 in Barnsley on Thursday.
Morecambe-based Chisnall has enjoyed a superb year on the circuit, winning three European Tour events and September’s Players Championship 23 in a memorable campaign.
He added a further title to end the Players Championship season in style on Thursday, overcoming Jim Williams 8-4 to scoop the £12,000 top prize.
Chisnall warmed up for the forthcoming Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts and Cazoo Players Championship Finals in style with seven superb victories in Event 30, with the highlight being a 111.35 average in a 6-2 quarter-final win over Scott Waites.
Chisnall also averaged over 105 in his Last 16 win over Jamie Hughes, and averaged at least 92 in each of his other five wins, which included early round defeats of Jeffrey Sparidaans and Irish duo Dylan Slevin and Steve Lennon.
He followed up his super-show in the quarter-finals by overcoming Winmau World Youth Championship finalist Gian van Veen 7-4, opening up a 4-1 lead before holding out for victory.
Chisnall then proved too strong for Williams in the decider, with a devastating six-leg burst seeing him open up a 6-1 advantage over the Welshman.
Michael Bridge and Mark Webster give out their awards for the 2023 World Grand Prix.
Williams won two of the next three to maintain his hopes, but Chisnall followed up a 167 checkout in leg ten with a seventh 180 of the contest as he closed out victory – going one better than on Wednesday when he was the runner-up to Gerwyn Price.
“I’m playing some good darts,” said Chisnall. “I think I played better yesterday than I did today, but luckily for me I got away with a few games early on and did the job.
“I know I can play the game, I’m playing well and it shows – it’s a good job there was no Gezzy here today to stop me!
“If I can keep winning these, it keeps me up the rankings. If I put some time in, I’ll definitely be better – I’m alright at the moment.”
Williams’ run to the final was his best result on the circuit this year – bettering his semi-final appearance in Players Championship 25 – as he won through to the decider.
His best display statistically came in a Last 16 victory over Mario Vandenbogaerde, where he averaged 105.27, in a result which was sandwiched between averages of 99 and 98 in wins over Josh Rock and Danny Noppert respectively, while he saw off Damon Heta 7-5 in a see-saw semi-final.
Heta was a semi-finalist for the 12th time on the PDC ProTour this year, seeing off World Champion Michael Smith in another strong day of darts.
Van Veen, meanwhile, followed up last weekend’s run to the semi-finals of the Machineseeker European Championship by reaching the last four of a third Players Championship in his breakthrough year.
Smith, Noppert and Waites were joined in the quarter-finals by youngster Cam Crabtree – who won through to the last eight for the second time on the ProTour but narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Players Championship Finals.
Former Grand Slam champion Waites needed to reach Thursday’s final to snatch qualification for the Players Championship Finals, and defeated Krzysztof Ratajski and Ross Smith in his valiant run to the last eight, meaning that he also missed out on a spot in Minehead later this month.
Ricky Evans held on to claim the 64th place in the Players Championship Finals on a memorable day which saw him land a nine-dart finish in the second leg of his first round win over Callan Rydz – taking just 36 seconds to complete a perfect leg!
European Championship winner Peter Wright headlined the stars who missed out on qualifying for the Players Championship Finals following his first round exit on Thursday.
Former finalist Mervyn King, World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall and Mensur Suljovic will also miss the Minehead event, which features the top 64 from the Players Championship Order of Merit following this year’s 30 events.
Welshman Price, who won four of the last eight events he competed in during 2023, topped the final Players Championship Order of Merit, ahead of Gary Anderson, Heta and Chisnall.
Thursday November 2: The Barnsley Metrodome
Last 16
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Jamie Hughes
Scott Waites 6-1 Ross Smith
Gian van Veen 6-5 Rob Cross
Cam Crabtree 6-4 Richard Veenstra
Damon Heta 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith 6-3 Mickey Mansell
Jim Williams 6-2 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Danny Noppert 6-3 Stephen Bunting
Quarter-Finals
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Scott Waites
Gian van Veen 6-2 Cam Crabtree
Damon Heta 6-2 Michael Smith
Jim Williams 6-3 Danny Noppert
Semi-Finals
Dave Chisnall 7-4 Gian van Veen
Jim Williams 7-5 Damon Heta
Final
Dave Chisnall 8-4 Jim Williams
Watch the seventeenth staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from 11-19 November at the Aldersley Leisure Village. Stream your favourite sports and more with NOW
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Formula 1 returns to the legendary Interlagos Circuit on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in part three of the triple header across the Americas, and even if they are tired, the teams and drivers will be arriving with a bounce in their step and smile on their face.
Why the optimism, we hear you ask?
Sao Paulo has a knack for delivering surprises, shocks and a sprinkle of that Senna magic.
We looked back at seven of our favourite moments from one of F1’s best Grand Prix.
Ayrton Senna raises the Brazilian flag after his first home victory
Sport is an integral part of Brazil’s culture, and while football and Pele are No. 1, F1 and Ayton Senna are a close second in terms of legacy.
To say that Senna was special would be an understatement – a hero on and off the track, he was more than capable of winning more than the three world drivers championships were it not for his tragic death at Imola in 1994.
Despite being the home favourite, even Senna struggled to tame the beast that is Interlagos, where anything can happen, and it usually does.
By 1991, Senna was in his eighth season, looking for his first victory at home despite already being a two-time F1 champion.
He qualified on pole position, and it looked like he’d finally do it the easy way as he pulled out a lead.
But Senna – as you sense with Lewis Hamilton in this era of F1 – never did things the easy way.
His McLaren’s gearbox had jammed, and he was stuck in sixth gear, taking the Brazilian to a new level of difficulty in an era with no power steering, which massively increases the exertion on the driver’s upper body.
Martin Brundle and Damon Hill reminisce about the great Ayrton Senna’s personality, 26 years after his untimely death
In 2023, a driver would usually have retired the car, and it was the same situation on this day.
But Senna is not usual – while he wanted to stop, his desire to win the race and raise the flag for his people gave him a hero-like inner strength to take him to the chequered flag.
When he got the job done, the relief and emotion came flooding through on the radio in the form of screams, audible sobbing and the words “I can’t believe it”.
Before he could return to the pit lane to celebrate, Senna passed out at the wheel due to the immense muscle spasms.
While he could not find the strength to eventually lift the trophy, he could raise the Brazilian flag to the delight of his fans – “there could only be one result”, said Senna following the race.
Felipe Massa lost the world championship on the final lap of the 2008 season
Brazil’s hopes of championship success returned when Felipe Massa headed into the 2008 finale needing to win the race with his rival Lewis Hamilton in sixth position or lower – a challenging task – but the home crowd believed.
They especially believed having seen Ferrari’s other driver Kimi Raikkonen beat title rival Hamilton a year earlier.
On the day, Massa did everything he needed to do, winning the Grand Prix in perhaps his most dominant performance – but sometimes even a heroic drive is not enough in F1.
The Interlagos Circuit has a microclimate, allowing rain showers to arrive unexpectedly.
On this day in 2008, a downpour of rain came with just a handful of laps to go.
Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
A young Sebastian Vettel overtook Hamilton for fifth place, putting Massa on course to be champion.
The home crowd erupted.
They thought their driver had done it.
However, another young German called Timo Glock had elected to continue on his dry tyres on the wet track while others had pitted – a risk that nearly paid off.
Felipe Massa reflects on what winning the F1 world title in front of his home Brazilian fans would have meant had the championship not been denied him by Lewis Hamilton on the 2008 season’s amazing final lap
In a frantic finish matched only by Abu Dhabi 2021, in the final corner of the last lap of the final race, Hamilton took the position he needed to become champion.
Massa, Ferrari and the Brazilian fans thought they had won, but they were wrong.
Lewis Hamilton and Timo Glock revisit the dramatic end to the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2008
The news filtered through, and despite losing out, a hurting Massa put on a brave front, sharing love with his people, beating his heart and pointing to the fans.
A genuinely gracious gentleman had become an eternal hero in his city despite losing on the day.
The McLaren garage, on the other hand, were breathless, bouncing around as they had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at a track where they had lost out in gut-wrenching fashion just a year earlier.
Hamilton and team Woking were the away team, and looked to have lost out, but in the against-all-odds fashion that we have become used to in Hamilton’s career, he had become the youngest-ever world champion (at the time).
The first of many titles for the now honourary Brazilian.
Sebastian Vettel and Christian Horner celebrate their third world championship
While 2008 was a fight for two drivers’ first, 2012 saw the titans of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel take one another on to become a triple world champion.
Becoming a triple world champion in Brazil is extra special – this is the number of titles Ayrton Senna managed.
And irony would strike when Vettel was tagged by Senna’s nephew, Bruno, on the first corner, leaving the German, who was leading the championship by 13 points, facing the wrong way and last.
Things got even better for Alonso when he slipped past team-mate Felipe Massa and Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber to take third position – the Spaniard was in place to win the championship.
Sky Sports News’ Craig Slater and F1 content creator Tommo address rumours that Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso is considering retiring at the end of this season. You can listen to the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 Podcast now.
Vettel, though, was not in the mood to give up, and despite the damage he had sustained, somehow had made his way to eighth position by lap eight.
Things were thrown up in the air again when leaders Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton collided on the ever-slippery surface, moving Alonso into second position.
But it wasn’t enough to beat the might of Vettel, who passed his hero Michael Schumacher on his way to emulating Senna, crossing the line in tears to secure the title.
While Vettel was the winner, like 2008, it was the runner-up and his thousand-mile stare that will live on as some of F1’s most iconic content.
Max Verstappen came third at the 2016 Sao Paulo GP
Max Verstappen returns to Sao Paulo this weekend for the first time since matching perhaps one of F1’s most famous triple world champions in Senna, and the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2016 rubber-stamped just how special a talent the young Dutchman was.
This race came towards the end of the third and final episode of the Silver Arrows’ internal tussle between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
The race began beneath the safety car due to some of Sao Paulo’s spectacular rain – but six laps later, conditions were deemed safe enough to get under way.
Hamilton led away from lights to flag, keeping his title chances alive. While this was an impressive drive, Verstappen had all of the attention.
First, the 19-year-old pulled off a daring move up the inside of Kimi Raikkonen into the first corner, finding grip that other great drivers, including Raikkonen and Vettel, could not.
This was exemplified again as Verstappen moved into second position with a jaw-dropping move around the outside of the eventual 2016 champion Rosberg.
The youngster showed his inexperience and raw talent in a flash when it came to lap 38 – his car looked as though it was destined for the barriers, but Verstappen’s supreme car control allowed him to do what the experienced, local Massa could not.
Max Verstappen’s triumph in Mexico City saw the Red Bull driver break his own record for most wins in a season
Massa crashed out of what he thought would be his final Grand Prix, leading to an emotional walk back to the pit lane, greeted with applause from the Mercedes and Ferrari garages before reaching the arms of his wife in the paddock – while it had been raining hard, this was a moment which ensured no dry eye.
Back on track, Verstappen pitted for fresh tyres, dropping to the lower reaches of the points.
That gave us the gift of watching him fight back, including an uncompromising move on Vettel, which we have become accustomed to.
Hamilton had finally won in Brazil – an emotional moment for him as a fan of Senna – but Verstappen’s drive had captured F1’s attention, and he has only improved since.
Lewis Hamilton celebrates his 2021 Sao Paulo GP win
Formula 1 arrived at Sao Paulo with Lewis Hamilton needing some magic – Verstappen had reached the moment in the battle where another win would seriously dent Hamilton’s title defence.
In short, Hamilton needed to win, but this was at a circuit where the fans had good reason to think of him as the pantomime villain.
This was the season that had everything, including, for the first time, Sprint weekends, and in the other two weekends, Hamilton and Verstappen had come together in major flashpoints.
Lewis Hamilton goes from the back of the Sprint to win the 2021 Sao Paulo GP for Mercedes
But this was something the Mercedes driver could not afford.
Things looked to be going swimmingly as Hamilton dominated Friday’s only practice session before qualifying comfortably on pole position by almost half a second for Saturday’s Sprint.
But this is F1, so things could hardly go the easy way – the sport’s governing body, the FIA, discovered that Hamilton’s rear wing had broken and his DRS (drag reduction system) had opened 0.2mm wider than was legal, so he was disqualified and sent to the back of the grid.
Anything can happen in Brazil, but nobody would have predicted the sort of comeback Hamilton would need to produce – this would need to be Senna-like if he wanted to keep his championship alive.
The seven-time champion wasted no time in Saturday’s Sprint, slicing through the field to take fifth position, meaning he could start 10th in Sunday’s Grand Prix after his already-scheduled five-place grid penalty.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was awarded honorary citizenship of Brazil in Brasilia
Again, Hamilton made light work of the majority of the field, but his final target was his rival, the leader, Max Verstappen.
Verstappen made his car as wide as possible – at times, taking Hamilton off the track in what Sky Sports‘ Martin Brundle described as a ‘professional crowd’.
But like Senna, Hamilton thrives when his back is against the wall.
The Briton found a way through, boosting his championship hopes, and celebrated with the fans with parallels to Senna in 1991, with the Brazilian flag raised.
While Hamilton was dominant in 2016, 2021 was the year in which Hamilton became a legend in the Brazilian hearts – and eventually, an honorary citizen.
Another race like no other in this place like no other.
Kevin Magnussen and Haas celebrate their first pole position
If you want proof that anything can happen in Sao Paulo, 2022 brought you a Haas pole position.
Like in 2021, qualifying for Friday set the grid for Saturday’s Sprint, which, in turn, set the starting order for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Friday night saw a dose of challenging rain – the final session saw the top 10 drivers rushing out as the rain intensity increased, and it was Kevin Magnussen first across the line with the fastest time.
Max Verstappen was in second position on the timing screens, followed by the Mercedes’ of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton – but nobody could set a quicker time because Russell went straight on at turn four, getting stuck in the gravel.
This brought out the red flag, and when Magnusen was told of his position, the response was, “you’re kidding”, along with several expletives – similar to the reaction you would imagine from Gunther Steiner.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen capitalised on changeable weather conditions and a red flag to secure the first pole position of his career at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
The Dane was on pole, and the scenes in the garage from Magnussen, who thought he was out of F1 in 2021, were something to behold.
In the Saturday Sprint, the Haas fairytale faded, but the magic of the Brazilian weekend had not ended.
This season, we have been used to the sight of Verstappen taking the lead by lap four, but when that happened in the Saturday Sprint in 2022, it was the Dutchman who then struggled.
Russell passed the Haas of Magnussen and swarmed around the back of Verstappen’s Red Bull like an angry wasp.
George Russell finally snatches the lead from Max Verstappen in the Sprint race at the Sao Paulo GP
He was determined too – Verstappen put up a fight almost as firm as the one he had had with Hamilton a year previously – but Russell slipped through, crossing the line fine to start the Grand Prix from the front.
The Mercedes both looked quick, but it was Russell who snatched the Silver Arrows’ only opportunity to taste victory in 2022.
It was a mature drive, too – it would have been easy for the younger Brit to make a mistake with Hamilton breathing down his neck with just a handful of laps to go at a Grand Prix, which feels like and is technically Hamilton’s second home race.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton celebrate Mercedes’ one-two at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in 2022
It has been a year since Mercedes’ last win in F1.
It now appears to be Russell on the backfoot compared to Hamilton.
Mercedes and Russell hope they can use the positivity of last year to do their talking on the track to answer what will be many questions regarding the departure of Mike Elliott as chief technical officer.
Sky Sports News’ Craig Slater explains how Lewis Hamilton is already turning his attention to 2024 as he bids to win a record eighth world title with Mercedes
Hamilton will also enter the weekend with victory the target – he is returning home following an excellent performance in Mexico, which his engineer Peter Bonnington referred to as feeling “like the old days”.
The immense support and the Sao Paulo magic will also help him and his team dream.
Find out what surprises are in store at this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1.
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Last Updated: 01/11/23 4:13pm
Chase Young will provide a much-needed boost to the San Francisco 49ers pass rush amid their pursuit of a Super Bowl, believes Jeff Reinebold.
The 49ers landed the biggest move of the day ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline as they reinforced their defensive front by adding Young via a trade with the Washington Commanders.
Young joins a San Francisco side that have posted a joint-second-fewest 18 sacks so far in 2023, despite having a third-most 86 pressures across a contrasting start to the year that has seen them follow up a commanding 5-0 run with a three-game losing streak.
The former No 2 overall pick teams up with one of his old college companions to form one of the league’s most impressive edge rush duos.
“I think it’s really going to be really interesting watching that because him and Nick Bosa were college teammates at Ohio State and they reunite,” said Reinebold. “When they were at Ohio State you talk about coming off both edges, they were a dynamic pass rush and that’s what the 49ers are lacking.
“In the last few games, they’ve struggled to get pressure on the passer to finish up the quarterback and Chase Young will certainly do that.
“This is an interesting one because there’s been some discontent with Chase young in Washington, which I couldn’t figure it out. I did a little digging, and what I heard was that sometimes he has a tendency to go off-script and try and make splash plays on his own. I think he’s kind of wore out his welcome a little bit that way with the defensive coaches and head coach.”
Young was not the only departure in Washington on Tuesday, with the Commanders also trading Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears for a second-round draft pick. Sweat, a former first-round pick, has 35.5 sacks over four-and-a-half seasons in the NFL, including 6.5 this season as he joins a unit that has recorded a league-fewest 10 sacks and just 46 pressures in 2022.
“It’s it’s just perplexing to me,” added Reinebold. “When you look at the Commanders give up two pass rushers, and you think about it and say, ‘Okay, what’s the premium right now, in the NFL?’. If you can draft pass rushers, you’ve got to get pass rushers, they have pass rushers and they let them go.
“You’re in a division where you better be able to rush the passer because you have got great passers in your division. So it was really a surprising to see both of those guys leave the Commanders.”
Elsewhere in Minnesota, the Vikings acquired veteran quarterback Joshua Dobbs in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals following the news that Kirk Cousins will miss the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles.
Christian McCaffrey equalled an NFL record by scoring a touchdown in the 17th consecutive game for the San Francisco 49ers against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Dobbs had been the starter across the first half of the season in Arizona as the team waited on the recovery of Kyler Murray, whose return from a torn ACL suffered last year is imminent. The Vikings are riding a three-game winning streak and sit 4-4 to stay alive despite losing Justin Jefferson to injury a couple of weeks ago.
“I think he gives them a guy who has started,” says Reinebold .”If you think Josh Dobbs is going to go over there and be Kirk Cousins and do Kirk Cousins type things, you better think again.
“I think Josh Dobbs is a serviceable quarterback, he’ll be a very good backup quarterback, a bridge guy for them. And they got him for a seventh round draft pick, you have got to say that’s a good trade, because you’re going to get an experienced starter.
“He’s not Cousins by any stretch of the imagination. He’s not an elite quarterback, but he is a guy who has started proving he can win games. He took a Cardinals team and helped them beat the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the year, we’ve seen him do enough to say that’s a good move by Minnesota.”
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Sky Sports’ Anton Toloui analyses the Lionesses’ 3-2 loss to Belgium in the Women’s Nations League.
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Last Updated: 30/10/23 1:52am
Lewis Hamilton says he has total faith in Mercedes and that they can build a great car after seeing progression with a second-place finish in the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton says he has total faith in Mercedes and that they can build a great car after seeing progression with a second-place finish in the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton hailed taking an “amazing” second place in the Mexico City Grand Prix after coming from sixth on the grid to finish behind Max Verstappen.
Hamilton was left disappointed on Saturday as Mercedes struggled to get their tyres into the optimal working window in qualifying, but found a more satisfactory balance in the W14 in the race.
The result reignited Hamilton’s hopes of denying Red Bull a first ever one-two in the drivers’ championship, with his deficit to second placed Sergio Perez reduced to 20 points after the Mexican retired from his home race.
“Honestly, I just wasn’t expecting that. It’s just always a great feeling when you are just putting one foot in front of the other and progressing,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
“The weekend had been really difficult compared to the last race where we had just hit the ground running. This weekend I was really digging deep to try and get the set-up right and I think we did a great job.
Highlights from the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
“Qualifying was a bit tricky and to be far behind the Ferraris, we need to finish ahead of them to keep the constructors’ [position] so that’s what I was pushing for today.
“To have progressed so well through the early phase of the race and be challenging for a podium and then a second place is amazing. I am really happy with the race.”
Hamilton gained a spot at the start when Perez was forced to retire after colliding with Charles Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton passes Daniel Ricciardo down the main straight on the inside to move up to fourth in the Mexico City Grand Prix.
He overtook Daniel Ricciardo for fourth after 10 laps but got stuck behind Carlos Sainz, who had just enough pace to keep the Mercedes driver at bay.
Hamilton undercut Sainz, so was in third place when the race was stopped by a red flag after Kevin Magnussen’s big crash at Turn 8 at the halfway point of the Grand Prix.
Mercedes bravely put Hamilton on medium tyres for the restart, whereas the other leading runners were on hards. It paid off though as the seven-time world champion made a daring move on the inside of Leclerc, briefly putting two wheels off the track to get past the Ferrari driver and take second place.
Lewis Hamilton makes a bold move to pass Charles Leclerc into second place of the Mexico City GP.
Expanding on where the W14 had improved from Saturday, Hamilton added: “I think the car is just quite peaky in qualifying on light fuel, but when you put a load of fuel in the car, it just feels nicer to drive and I think we struck a really nice set-up this weekend and particularly today for the race.
“Other than that, just really good tyre management. I generally enjoyed it. It’s not the most physical of races, being that you can’t push all the way, you’re saving, you’re doing 200 or 300 metres of lifting and coast to keep the car cool and stop it from failing.”
It was the second successive event where Hamilton has shown strong pace, after he pushed Verstappen close for the win in Austin, only to be disqualified for excessive plank wear.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was impressed by Hamilton’s performance, especially on the medium tyres in the second half of the race as the 38-year-old set the fastest lap of the race on his final circuit.
Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen were in the cool-down room to review a chaotic Mexico City GP which saw crowd favourite Sergio Perez crash out on the first lap.
“The smile on our face is because the car was strong. Once Lewis was in free air, we had so much margin in the medium. The lap times were good and fastest lap at the end,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
“It’s been a few weekends now where we say we ‘could have’ but didn’t. I think we need to qualify better. Probably with the straight line speed we wouldn’t have been so competitive against Max, but who knows, the pace is there.
“It was a brilliant, brilliant drive from Lewis. We have these oscillations in performance and we don’t really know sometimes if the tyres stick. Just a few degrees of track temperature and you are out of the window.”
Max Verstappen wins the Mexico City GP picking up his 16th win of 2023 which is a new record for a driver in a single season.
George Russell, in the other Mercedes, had a frustrating race as he found himself on the back foot when stuck behind Oscar Piastri in the opening stages stint.
Russell wasn’t happy about the timing of his first pit stop as he came out in traffic and was seventh when the race resumed following the red flag.
He overtook Piastri and Ricciardo but couldn’t find a way past Sainz, who defended well to hold onto fourth place.
George Russell reflects on ‘another’ difficult weekend as he was left frustrated with his brakes overheating during the Mexico City GP.
During this battle, Russell overheated his brakes and lost a position to a charging Lando Norris and only finished half a second ahead of Ricciardo at the chequered flag to take sixth.
“The last 20 laps were terrible,” Russell said.
“The pace was really strong after the red flag. I felt really good in the car, I was right behind Carlos and just couldn’t quite make the overtake, then my brakes overheated and we were concerned we wouldn’t make it at the end and I had to back of.
“As soon as I did that, I lost all the temperature in my tyres and I could never recover it and it was like driving on ice.
“I was lucky to finish in P6. Story of the weekend – another difficult one and it’s a shame because the car was performing well.”
F1 heads straight to Brazil for the final leg of the Americas triple header and the last Sprint weekend of the 2023 season. Watch every session from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with Sunday’s race at 5pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW
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Last Updated: 29/10/23 9:39pm
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) is carted off the field after sustaining an injury against the Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is likely to miss the rest of the NFL season due to an Achilles injury picked up during his team’s 24-10 victory against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Cousins walked gingerly to the sideline in the fourth quarter after getting sacked for a second consecutive play, a series that ended with Green Bay’s Karl Brooks blocking Greg Joseph’s 44-yard field-goal attempt.
The 35-year-old was getting treatment on the sideline during the Packers’ ensuing possession, which ended with them losing the ball on downs at the Minnesota 10-yard line.
Backup quarterback Jaren Hall – a rookie fifth-round pick from BYU – entered the game when the Vikings regained possession with 7:15 left in the game.
“We are fearing an Achilles injury,” an emotional head coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game. “The severity of that, I do not know at this point.”
O’Connell said further testing to confirm the initial diagnosis at Lambeau Field would be completed in the next 24 hours.
“We’re thinking about our leader… our guy right now and I’m just so proud of him and way he’s played all season,” O’Connell said, adding Cousins was given the game ball in the locker room after leading the Vikings to a 4-4 record following an 0-3 start.
Cousins completed 23 of 31 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns before his injury.
The Vikings have no decision on whether Hall or Nick Mullens would start if Cousins is out for the season, but O’Connell said Mullens could be an option moving forward because his back injury has improved.
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