SILVERSTONE, UK: On a day when Brad Pitt joined the Formula One grid to shoot his new movie, defending champion Max Verstappen was reduced to a cameo role in his own win with F1 fans gripped by the fight for second place.
Apart from losing the lead to Lando Norris at the start — and then taking it back — Verstappen’s cruise on Sunday to yet another win — his sixth in a row — lacked the Hollywood-style drama of Norris’ battle with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton for second.
That fits a pattern this season of dominant wins for the Red Bull driver and increasingly hard-fought battles behind him as Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and now McLaren jostle to be the second-fastest team.
“It’s very confusing, to be honest, because every single race it’s someone else,” Verstappen said.
Filming for Pitt’s upcoming F1-themed movie had been taking place all weekend around the F1 sessions, using black-and-gold cars from the fictional APX team. Pitt himself and co-star Damson Idris joined the grid in racing suits before the start.
Verstappen extended his overall lead to 99 points over teammate Sergio Perez. First place in a race earns 25 points.
Starting in pole position, Verstappen was overtaken off the line by McLaren’s Norris in what he later admitted was a “terrible” start but swept back into the lead on lap five and held on until the end. Red Bull has won all 10 races this year, 11 in a row including the final race of 2022, matching the record of McLaren with 11 consecutive wins in 1988.
Norris had been expected to drop back after qualifying a surprise second on the grid, but instead remained Verstappen’s closest challenger throughout the race. After a safety-car restart, he fought wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton, who had what were in theory faster tires, but held on to second for his and McLaren’s best result since 2021. “It was an amazing fight,” Norris said.
Hamilton had started seventh and credited the crowd for powering him to a 14th career podium finish at his home race. “I didn’t do it, the crowd did,” he said. “I felt the energy, I felt the support. This is the reason we got back up there.”
McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was a career-best fourth ahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate George Russell as McLaren’s upgraded car proved far more competitive than even the team had predicted.
Perez was off the podium for the fourth time in five races, finishing sixth after starting 15th, with seventh for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and an impressive eighth for Alexander Albon of Williams.
When Kevin Magnussen broke down with flames coming from the back of his Haas on lap 33 of 52, it gave drivers including Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton the chance to pit under the safety car without losing time. Ferrari was among the losers because Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had just pitted. They finished ninth and 10th respectively.
Race organizers and police were on high alert to prevent a repeat of the protest at last year’s race when environmental activists stormed the track. That included police using a facial recognition system on the entry gates to the circuit, a relatively new and controversial technology in Britain.
Drivers had warned against a repeat of track protests, arguing it would risk their safety and that of any protesters entering a live track. Last year’s protest took place shortly after a crash had caused a red-flag stoppage, meaning cars were already going more slowly on their way to the pits.
Before the Grand Prix on Sunday, environmental group Last Generation delayed the start of a DTM sportscar race in Nuremberg, Germany, after pouring oil onto the track.
Max Verstappen takes 6th straight F1 win at British GP after epic fight for 2nd
https://arab.news/g3kms
Max Verstappen takes 6th straight F1 win at British GP after epic fight for 2nd
- Starting in pole position, Verstappen was overtaken off the line by McLaren’s Norris
- F1 fans gripped by the fight for second place
‘Sincaraz’ set to dominate as 2026 tennis season kicks off
- The new season gets under way on Friday with the mixed-teams United Cup in Perth and Sydney, headlined by women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and men’s world No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
- Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is pursuing a third Melbourne Park trophy, starts at the Brisbane International from Jan. 4-11 in a stellar field also boasting Australian Open champion Madison Keys and fourth-ranked Amanda Anisimova
- Djokovic begins what could be his last year on tour at the Adelaide International starting on Jan. 12, still chasing an elusive record 25th major crown and 11th Australian Open title
SYDNEY: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are set for more world domination in 2026, starting at the Australian Open, while Aryna Sabalenka is bubbling with confidence as she chases further Grand Slam success.
The new season gets under way on Friday with the mixed-teams United Cup in Perth and Sydney, headlined by women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and men’s world No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is pursuing a third Melbourne Park trophy, starts at the Brisbane International from Jan. 4-11 in a stellar field also boasting Australian Open champion Madison Keys and fourth-ranked Amanda Anisimova.
Alcaraz and Sinner, or “Sincaraz” as they have been dubbed, play an exhibition in South Korea on Jan. 10 in their only warm-up before the Australian Open eight days later.
While Spanish sensation Alcaraz bumped his Italian rival from the season-ending world No. 1 spot, Sinner had the last laugh by edging him to retain his ATP Finals title in Turin.
It capped a stellar year in which Sinner retained his Australian Open crown and added a landmark triumph at Wimbledon among six titles, despite missing three months over a doping ban.
“I feel like a better player than last year,” said Sinner after completing his 2025 campaign with 58 wins and just six defeats.
“A lot of wins and not many losses. And in the losses I had, I tried to see the positive thing and tried to use it to evolve me as a player.”
Alcaraz was similarly dominant, clocking a 71-9 win-loss record with eight titles including the French Open and US Open.
But he is yet to go beyond the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, losing to Novak Djokovic in the last eight in 2025.
It is the only Slam missing from his resume and the 22-year-old will start afresh with a new coach after his shock split from Juan Carlos Ferrero, who mentored him since he was 15.
Djokovic last hurrah?
Djokovic begins what could be his last year on tour at the Adelaide International starting on Jan. 12, still chasing an elusive record 25th major crown and 11th Australian Open title.
Now 38, he has had to settle for a secondary role since Sinner and Alcaraz took control of the men’s tour, making the semis at all four majors in 2025 but not going further.
“I can do only as much as I can do,” he admitted after defeat at the US Open.
“It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner or Alcaraz in a best-of-five in a Grand Slam.”
Since his last Slam title, in 2023 at the US Open, Alcaraz or Sinner have shared all eight majors.
A resurgent Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur, ranked five, six and seven respectively, all feature at the United Cup, while Daniil Medvedev and a returning Nick Kyrgios play in Brisbane.
Sabalenka heads into the new season as undoubted world No. 1, having collected a second US Open title while also winning events at Brisbane, Madrid and Miami.
The Belarusian is favorite for a third Australian Open crown and fifth Slam title, although the likes of Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina will have something to say.
“The Australian Open is very special to me,” said Sabalenka, who lost a three-set thriller to Keys in the 2025 decider and heads to Australia after losing the controversial “Battle of the Sexes” clash to Kyrgios in Dubai.
“Winning it twice gives me confidence, but every year brings a new challenge. I’m excited to return and see what I can achieve.”
Challenging her on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane will be Keys, along with fellow top-10 stars Rybakina, Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva.
Swiatek leads Poland in Sydney at the United Cup, again teaming up with Hubert Hurkacz in their quest for revenge after being beaten by Team USA in the final in 2025 and Germany a year earlier.
The US are spearheaded by Gauff and Fritz, while four-time major winner Naomi Osaka plays the event for the first time, representing Japan.
