McLaren insists no final decision has been made about Gabriel Bortoleto‘s Formula 1 future, amid growing indications that the Brazilian could be poised to secure a deal with Sauber.

Bortoleto, who is part of McLaren’s young driver programme, has impressed in F2 this season — and currently leads the championship with only the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds remaining.

His strong form, off the back of winning the 2023 F3 championship, has thrust him into contention for a seat at Sauber, which has been pondering whether to go with a youngster for the long-term or stick with an experienced driver like incumbent Valtteri Bottas.

Sources have indicated that Bortoleto is closing in on a deal, although it is unclear if this is for next season or for 2026 when the Sauber team will officially become Audi.

For Bortoleto to be free to race for Sauber, he would need to be released from his McLaren young driver contract.

Speaking at the Brazilian Grand Prix, team principal Andrea Stella reiterated that his squad would have no hesitation in doing so.

It is understood, however, that such a release is dependent on Bortoleto having a firm race contract on the table, rather than it being for a reserve or test role.

Stella said: “Having the possibility to talk about Gabriel, I would like to take this opportunity to say once again how good a work he’s been doing in junior categories, winning F3, leading F2 at the first season.

“This is to lead into the fact that I think it’s very, very normal and natural that Formula 1 teams are interested in having Gabriel as a driver.

“In terms of McLaren, McLaren will not stop the possibility for Gabriel to drive Formula 1. So conversations are ongoing and we will see what the scenario will be for the future.”

Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

Bortoleto has earned some fans within the F1 paddock with his driving this year and three-time world champion Max Verstappen said earlier this weekend that if he was Sauber he would commit to him straightaway.

“If I was Sauber, I would have signed him already,” said Verstappen. “I mean, especially if that’s anyway for the future and ‘26, with the big rule change.

“It’s always good to get used to a team already for a year, make your mistakes here and there, get integrated well, and understand the car a bit. You always feel much more prepared and comfortable when you then start in ‘26.”

THE Autumn Nations Series takes place in November with a new law for fans to get their heads around.

SunSport explains everything you need to know about rugby‘s new 20-minute red card being trialled this month.

1

What is the 20-minute red card?

The new red card will be trialled at November’s Autumn Nations Series and is very different to the pre-existing one.

The new red will give the referee the option to send a player off for 20 minutes.

Once the time period is over, the offending team can send on a replacement player to re-establish a 15-player line-up.

Referees will still be able to dish out red cards in the conventional manner, which will remove players for the rest of the game and leave the offending team a man down.

What offences will warrant a 20-minute red card?

The 20-minute red card will be distributed to players for committing technical offences – such as accidental head contact.

While the permanent red would still be used for four play that is deemed to be “deliberate and dangerous”.

What’s been said about the 20-minute red card?

Following the Six Nations’ announcement that the 20-minute red card will be introduced at the Autumn Nations Series, the Irish Union issued a statement explaining they do not support the permanent use of the 20-minute red card.

An IRFU statement read: “The IRFU does not support the permanent adoption of a 20-minute red card.

“Player welfare and safety are paramount to the core values of the game, and the option of a permanent red card for deliberate and intentional acts of foul play supports those values and protects the integrity of the game.

“The IRFU welcomes the variation to World Rugby‘s closed law trial, which will be adopted in the upcoming Autumn Nations Series.”

The French Rugby Federation were also against the idea of the 20-minute red card being the only one available to referees, claiming it would be “unacceptable and backwards”.

Chief of rugby at Six Nations Rugby Julie Paterson, however, defended the trial.

She said: “No trial or subsequent change is considered without utter confidence that player safety and welfare is front and centre.

“First and foremost, we need to look after the players and their interests, and the trials we have opted to use this November deliver on this commitment.”

The possibility of the 20-minute red becoming the only red card available to referees is to be discussed at a World Rugby meeting on November 14.

The Condit vs. MVP live stream online is for Polaris 30 prelims Saturday afternoon from Fairfield Halls in London, England.

There will be 16 fights on the Condit vs. MVP prelims. The matches below are the following:

Kieran Kichuck vs. Carson Coles

Rosa Walsh vs. Sula Mae Loewenthal

Andy Roberts vs. Marco Canha

Will Stone vs. Matt Inman

Ian Butler vs. Will Nicholls

Paul Redmond vs. Christian Ozbek

Jack Tyley vs. Nathan Jones

Ben Hodgkinson vs. Dave Weston

Paweł Jaworski vs. Faris Benlamkadem

Francesca Lana vs. Martyna Zola

Sam Gibbs vs. Hejraat Rashid

Steve O’Keefe vs. Norbert Novenyi

Craig Young vs. Dinu Bucket

Jean Luca Maltese vs. Harry Loosely

Romao Carvalho vs. Muhammed Mustafa

Tommy Yip vs. Reiss Bailey

After the prelims are over, the event will move to UFC Fight Pass at 3:30 p.m. ET. In the. main event, UFC veteran Carlos Condit meets UFC star Michael Page in a middleweight contest.

Declan Gallagher urges Dundee United to show mental strength as they seek a return to winning ways against Hibernian. (Courier – subscription), external

United manager Jim Goodwin says Hibs head coach David Gray deserves more time in the job at Easter Road. (Record), external

Gray does not want “players to play within themselves”, urging Hibernian to play with “freedom”. (Edinburgh Evening News – subscription), external

Jason Holt tells St Johnstone to stick to their identity. (Courier – subscription), external

Ross County defender James Brown, 26, hopes to force his way into the Republic of Ireland squad. (Press and Journal – subscription), external

Scot Stevie Grieve, 37, is on the verge of guiding Finnish side SJK into next season’s Conference League after just 11 months in charge. (Sun), external

British number one Katie Boulter came through a tough test against Chinese sixth seed Yue Yuan to win 6-2 5-7 6-2 and reach the final of the Hong Kong Open.

Boulter will play either Russian top seed Diana Shnaider or Canada’s defending champion Leylah Fernandez on Sunday as she bids for a third WTA title of the year.

The second seed, who is currently 29th in the world but will move up to at least 23rd when the rankings are next updated, is aiming to add to previous tournament victories in Nottingham and San Diego.

“I just wanted to finish my year on a career high, which is why today meant so much to me,” said Boulter, who reached her previous best ranking of 27th in March.

“I have actually done that, so I have got nothing to lose tomorrow. I am just going to swing free and enjoy it.”

Boulter, 28, edged a competitive opening set and the two players shared four breaks of serve at the start of the second before 26-year-old Yuan broke her again in the 12th game to force a deciding set.

The Briton cranked up the intensity in the opening game of the final set, clinching it with a forehand winner on her fourth break point, and stormed into a 3-0 lead after Yuan served up a double fault to gift her the double break.

Boulter then showed real grit to fend off Yuan in a marathon fourth game before closing out the set against the world number 45 with her sixth ace of the match.

Whoever she faces in the final will pose a tough test – Boulter has never played world number 14 Shnaider before, while she lost her only previous encounter against 32nd-ranked Fernandez.

Jorge Martin can seal the 2024 MotoGP title in the Malaysian Grand Prix after his nearest rival Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of Saturday’s sprint race at Sepang.

In what many see as the decisive moment in their championship scrap, Bagnaia lost the front end of his factory Ducati at the tricky uphill Turn 9 on lap 3 of 10, while running in second place behind Martin.

This has given the Pramac rider a massive 29-point lead in the championship standings, with just two grands prix and a sprint race left to run.

The 26-year-old will have his first match point in Sunday’s full-distance race as he aims to avenge for his title defeat to Bagnaia in 2023.

An early coronation could be crucial for the Spaniard, as the venue and date for the season finale is yet to be announced. Valencia was due to host the final round on 15-17 November, but heavy flooding in the region forced MotoGP to cancel the race just two weeks ahead of its scheduled date. A replacement round could take place in Jerez, Barcelona, Portimao or Qatar.

How Martin can wrap up the title in Malaysian GP

To put it into simple words, Martin needs to extend his lead by at least nine points in order to be crowned the 2024 champion in Malaysia.

That means he must finish at least seventh in order to put the title out of Bagnaia’s reach.

Given the speed both Martin and Bagnaia have shown so far this weekend, it is likely that the two will finish on the podium.

If Martin wins the race, his title rival must finish third or lower for the championship to be decided early. If Bagnaia is able to follow Martin home in second place, that will mean the title fight will continue into the finale – albeit with a mammoth 34-point gap between the two.

A second-place finish for Martin would be enough if Bagnaia fails to finish higher than fifth.

The final spot on the podium would also suffice if the two-time champion has a difficult race and cannot finish inside the top eight.

The championship fight will carry over to the final round if Bagnaia wins the race or finishes second irrespective of Martin’s finishing position.

The opposite scenario

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

No matter where Martin finishes on Sunday, he will head to the final round as the championship leader.

Even if Bagnaia wins the grand prix and Martin fails to score, the Spaniard will still hold a four-point lead in the standings.

While Martin has already put one hand on the title, Bagnaia’s only option is to score the maximum number of points on Sunday and then hope for a miracle in the season finale. A total of 37 points would then be on offer in the last round.

Here’s how the championship picture would look like if Bagnaia wins the Malaysian GP and Martin finishes second or lower: