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Mexico Grand Prix: Sainz on pole, but Norris ‘happy’ with third

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Mexico Grand Prix: Sainz on pole, but Norris 'happy' with third

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz beat title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris to pole position at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Sainz, who took his first pole position since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, was fast enough on both his runs in final qualifying to take pole.

The Spaniard ended up 0.225 seconds quicker than Verstappen, with Norris just 0.089secs further back.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took fourth ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

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Norris starts the race 57 points behind Verstappen with 146 points still available over the remaining five races.

Third on the face of it is not ideal for a driver who needs to gain an average of nearly 12 points a race over the rest of the season to win the title.

But Mexico has one of the the longest runs to the first corner of any circuit in F1 and sometimes starting behind can be an advantage because of the powerful slipstream effect.

The winner in Mexico has come from third on the grid in three of the last four races.

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Norris said: “I am pretty happy with third, honestly. I feel like I got to the limit of the car quite quickly, which made us look quite good but I struggled to get any more out of it.

“None of us have done proper long runs on the tyres we’re going to be on tomorrow but Ferrari have been very quick in qualifying and on the long runs recently so it’s going to be tough.”

Both Norris and Verstappen faced more pressure than normal going into the final laps because neither had a good lap time on the board.

Verstappen’s first lap was deleted for exceeding track limits and Norris’ was just slow.

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Verstappen, who lost nearly all of Friday with an engine problem, said: “Yesterday I did basically no laps, so I was already under a lot of pressure and then that added a little more pressure.

“I’m very happy to be on the front row, I didn’t think that would be possible.”

Sainz said: “Great couple of laps. A lot of times around Mexico you always have the feeling like you cannot put a lap together and it is extremely difficult with how much sliding there is. But my two laps were almost identical, almost perfect.

“Since Austin, we have done especially on my side a step up, also in qualifying trying to find something different with the out-lap and the tyre preparation. Looking forward to finishing the job tomorrow but I will take pole position. Very happy.”

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Norris has no support from his team-mate Oscar Piastri, who was knocked out in the first session for the second race in a row.

McLaren did their first runs on medium tyres in the first session to try to save softs for later but it seems to have harpooned Piastri.

The Australian said: “The medium I didn’t have much confidence on, the first soft lap I was going well and then I just went wide at Turn 12. We tried to go again but I had zero grip because the tyres were too hot. Disappointing.

“The car is quick. Just a shame I have to start from the back again. Ironically, it’s the same place Lando started last year and he did have a good race, so all is not lost.”

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Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez also had another difficult session, 0.8secs slower than Verstappen in Q1 and knocked out in 18th place.

“Into the low speed, I cannot brake, I cannot attack the car,” Perez said. “I just start sliding. That is my main issue at the moment and here it showed even more.

“Every time I try to attack, it just starts locking up. There are four races to go and we have to get on top of it as a team.”

Russell was positively surprised to be as high as fifth after crashing in second practice on Friday, the fourth incident for a Mercedes driver in four days of on-track action. That meant he is running an older-specification car while Lewis Hamilton has the upgrade introduced in Austin.

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“Really happy with the recovery,” he said. “We are still on the old bits from 12 races ago. My lap felt really strong, super-happy with it.

“Checo and Piastri are out of position. P5 is probably is the best we could have hoped for. The three teams in front have got a bit of a battle on their hands so maybe the race will come towards us.”

Fernando Alonso qualified 13th for Aston Martin on the weekend on which he is celebrating his 400th grand prix, but said he felt he could have been in the top 10 had it not been for a red flag that truncated second qualifying when Yuki Tsunoda crashed his RB coming into the stadium section.

“There was more to come,” Alonso said. “I was happily surprised by the car in qualifying. It felt much better and I could attack with confidence.

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“The lap with red flag I was 0.2secs up and maybe P9 or P10 was possible. Happy with the car and maybe this gives us a trend to come back in the race.”

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Joey Logano: ‘We need to have all our focus on Phoenix’

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Man City 1-0 Southampton: Pep Guardiola says he ‘will learn’ from Russell Martin

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Man City 1-0 Southampton: Pep Guardiola says he 'will learn' from Russell Martin

Southampton were beaten at Manchester City, as most people expected.

They are bottom of the Premier League, with a single point from their first nine games of the season.

Manager Russell Martin is under pressure, despite guiding Saints back to the top flight only five months ago.

But a strange thing happened at Etihad Stadium.

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Speaking to the media after Saturday’s 1-0 result, both managers heaped praise on the beaten team.

It was not so much that they were unlucky to lose. If Erling Haaland had a better day, he would have scored more than just the fifth-minute match-winner.

Manchester City beat Southampton in an open game – not just because they found a way through a blanket defence.

Towards the end of the first half, the visitors had the majority of possession. It was down to 42.3% by the end. As a guide, City’s previous two opponents, Sparta Prague and Wolves, have had 20.1% and 22.4% respectively.

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If Southampton are to go down, or Martin is to lose his job, it will be by committing to a gameplan he believes in.

“I took the job [at MK Dons] nearly five years ago, with the club in the League One relegation zone and the chairman saying he didn’t care if they got relegated if he could see something he believed in and could be proud of,” said Martin.

“There have been some moments of real difficulty at MK and Swansea and here, where you get questioned and have to make a big decision.

“But if I end up losing my job at some point, which is inevitable, at least I can say I have stuck to what I want to be, as a person first, then a leader and then as a manager.

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“To get to the Premier League and then change would be illogical. I cannot stand on the sidelines watching something I don’t feel connected with or love. I don’t see the point in that.”

That requires Southampton’s players to have courage to take the ball in tight areas, carry on passing when the pressure is at its greatest and not allow poor results or adversity to change that mindset.

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Campbell Hatton facing HUGE questions over future after ANOTHER unanimous defeat to Jimmy Joe Flint

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Campbell Hatton facing HUGE questions over future after ANOTHER unanimous defeat to Jimmy Joe Flint

CAMPBELL HATTON is facing major questions over his future after a second devastating defeat to Jimmy Joe Flint.

Hatton jumped straight in for a rematch on Saturday night in Manchester after an unexpected unanimous defeat in March.

Jimmy Joe Flint beat Campbell Hatton by unanimous decision AGAIN - leaving Hatton at a major crossroads

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Jimmy Joe Flint beat Campbell Hatton by unanimous decision AGAIN – leaving Hatton at a major crossroads
Hatton suffered a huge gash over his left eye that bothered him through the rest of the fight

3

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Hatton suffered a huge gash over his left eye that bothered him through the rest of the fight

But was again outclassed as the Yorkshireman scored a 97-94, 96-94, 96-95 victory.

Hatton had previously been undefeated in 14 fights before his now back-to-back losses to Flint.

But the manner of the defeats has already prompted many to question where he goes from here – with some saying on X: “Campbell Hatton is done on the pro scene”.

Hatton employed Anthony Joshua’s trainer Ben Davison in this fight to try and reverse his fortunes.

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The son of former world champ Ricky started off in a more controlled manner, trying to learn from the mistakes of the first fight.

But he suffered a nasty gash over his left eye in the second round that continued to bother him throughout the fight.

And Flint soon took control of the centre of the ring, showing off his superior skill and picking his shots.

Meanwhile Hatton fell back into the wild, pressing style that had served his dad so well.

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Flint was a deserved winner again

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Flint was a deserved winner again

Unfortunately, it did not work so well for Hatton Jr – with his wide and wild shots easy pickings for the better fighter.

Flint, who now boasts a record of 15-2-2, was himself left with a badly swollen eye when the final bell sounded.

DAZN forced to apologise as boxer Reece Bellotti launches foul-mouthed tirade on live TV leaving Eddie Hearn squirming

But it can as little surprise to anyone watching on when his name soon rang out as winner.

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And there will be many questions for Hatton to answer in the immediate future.

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MMA

Magomed Ankalaev def. Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308: Best photos from Abu Dhabi

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Magomed Ankalaev def. Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308: Best photos from Abu Dhabi

Check out the best photos from Magomed Ankalaev’s unanimous decision win over Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. (Photos by Craig Kidwell, special to MMA Junkie; MMA Junkie; UFC)

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McInnes questions Donnelly dismissal in Kilmarnock loss

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McInnes questions Donnelly dismissal in Kilmarnock loss



Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes reacts to the 2-1 Scottish Premiership defeat by Ross County, in which his midfielder Liam Donnelly was sent off.



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Ollie Chessum: Leicester Tigers forward a doubt for England’s autumn campaign

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Ollie Chessum: Leicester Tigers forward a doubt for England's autumn campaign

Leicester Tigers forward Ollie Chessum is a doubt for England’s autumn internationals after sustaining a knee injury in training.

England are waiting on the results of a scan and have yet to confirm the severity of the injury to the lock, who can also play at flanker.

The 24-year-old was a key part of England’s pack during this year’s Six Nations but missed the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand following shoulder surgery.

Steve Borthwick’s England side begin their November campaign at home to the All Blacks next Saturday.

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Speaking after his side’s 32-29 win at Saracens, Leicester boss Michael Cheika described Chessum as a “warrior” and said he would be “ready to go” as soon as possible.

The Tigers won at the Stone X for the first time since 2018 to make it five wins out of six under new boss Cheika.

Sarries – who were badly hit by injuries in the build-up – missed the chance to go top of the table, with Bath leading the Premiership after six rounds following a 40-13 win over Sale.

Elsewhere, Gloucester beat Newcastle 36-7 at Kingsholm.

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