Category News

Grand Prix in Italy

Dates: 5-7 September Race start time: 14:00 BST on Sunday

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc got Ferrari’s home race weekend off to a positive start by finishing one-two in first practice at the Grand Prix in Italy.

Briton Hamilton was 0.169 seconds quicker than his team-mate in the race, which has a grid penalty for the race on Sunday.

Leclerc finished third place behind Williams driver Carlos Sainz in 0.364 seconds.

Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli from McLaren and Mercedes’ Max Verstappen finished fourth fastest.

Oscar Piastri, Norris’ teammate, and McLaren protégé Alex Dunne, who drove the car in this first session, share a 34-point championship deficit with Norris.

McLaren believe Norris’ title hopes were hampered by an engine failure at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, which was more a result of McLaren’s fault than a Mercedes engine issue.

Leclerc’s second attempt to complete a lap on soft tires came after he had to cancel his previous two runs.

Leclerc passed a Sauber just after a red flag was thrown due to gravel on the track, despite braking as hard as he could, which caused a second incident.

Stewards immediately reviewed the incident and agreed that he had no choice but to apologize.

Verstappen was 0. 575 seconds off Hamilton, while Alex Albon’s second Williams placed seventh.

Isack Hadjar, a driver for Racing Bulls, ran off track at the Ascari chicane and sprayed the circuit with gravel, leading to the red flag that several drivers ran wide during the session.

Norris had to clear the gravel at the second Lesmo, too.

Fernando Alonso, aston Martin’s fastest driver, was second behind George Russell’s Mercedes in the race to run wide and kick up gravel.

Due to a power failure, Russell was stuck in seventh gear with the rear wheels locked as he ended the session by parking on the grass next to the track before the Roggia chicane.

Chelsea, the reigning champions of the women’s Super League, has paid a club record for Alyssa Thompson.

The 20-year-old is a five-year contract-holder at Angel City.

According to sources at Chelsea, the fee is estimated to be less than £1 million.

“I want to learn a lot, grow and develop a lot, and having the opportunity to play with players who are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity at such a young age.

I think Chelsea is a fantastic place to do that.

Chelsea’s previous transfer record was Naomi Girma from San Diego Wave for $900,000.

In this campaign’s sixteen NWSL games, Thompson has scored six goals. In her 22 games for the USA, she has three goals.

Thompson, who was still in high school at the time, has seen a significant improvement since receiving the first overall pick in the NWSL draft in 2023.

The first pick was ultimately paid for by Angel City’s Portland Thorns and Gotham FC for $450, 000 (£335, 000), breaking the previous record set by USA legend Alex Morgan.

Thompson’s NWSL debut was only 11 minutes away.

The first time in NWSL history that two siblings were named in the same starting XI was a year later, she joined her sister Gisele.

Alyssa was a member of the squad that won gold at the 2024 Olympic Games under former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, and they have also played together for the USA.

Thompson, who extended her contract in January to extend her until 2028, was a target for Angel City.

Since Chelsea will have to pay a higher fee this summer, that proved to be a crucial part of the club’s business.

Grace Geyoro from Paris St.Germain has been signed by the London City Lionesses.

The French club’s sources told BBC Sport that the transfer fee set a new record for the fee of £1. 4 million, according to the club’s sources.

Women’s Super League side London City, however, stated on Friday afternoon that the agreement was unrecord and would not reveal the amount paid.

This summer, the women’s world record has been broken twice.

Lizbeth Ovalle, a Mexico winger, was signed for $1.1 million ($1.5 million) by the Orlando Pride last month.

Olivia Smith joined Arsenal from Liverpool in July as the first £1 million signing.

Geyoro, 28, is Michele Kang’s wealthy American owner’s 16th permanent addition to London City.

Geyoro, who has scored 22 goals for her country and has participated in two World Cups, two European Championships, and the 2024 Olympics, has been captained by France 103 times.

Several well-known players have been signed by London City since obtaining promotion, including 74-cap England forward Nikita Parris, former Manchester United captain Katie Zelem, and Danielle van de Donk from Lyon.

After they also activated Spain international Lucia Corrales’ release clause and paid about $ 430,000 to sign her from Barcelona, Geyoro became their second signing in the closing hours of the transfer window.

Corrales signed for London City for four years after making her full debut for Spain in March but was not called up for Euro 2025.

The 19-year-old made her Liga F and Champions League debuts in the 2022-23 campaign before going on loan at Sevilla last season. She was one of the first female graduates of Barcelona’s renowned La Masia academy.

Geyoro signed for PSG at the age of 15 and started playing for the club in almost 270 games. She won three French Cups, won three, and finished twice in the Champions League.

Jocelyn Precheur, the manager of London City, spent two years with PSG before joining Geyoro.

The 43-year-old described Geyoro as “one of the best players on the planet,” saying at a press conference following the announcement of the deal on Friday.

She has a wonderful career, but Precheur criticized her.

“I was immediately aware that having such a talented player would be a great opportunity for the club.”

We have a lot of young, hardworking players. The balance of the squad is crucial to the signing of a player like her.

She is knowledgeable about my playing style. She will greatly benefit the team and our preferred style of play because she is so knowledgeable about the game.

London City are the first women’s football team to join the WSL without any affiliation with a men’s club, indicating a potential new direction for the sport.

The club operates in female sports markets and attracts independent sponsorships with Kang as president.

The Lionesses have been able to create a new structure with a board full of women’s football expertise and facilities designed specifically for women.

Kang benefited from investing in player salaries and transfer fees as a means of negotiating.

Moving to Geyoro is a remarkable statement of intent, as they broke the second-tier transfer record last year when they signed youngster Izzy Goodwin from Sheffield United for a six-figure fee.

She is a top-notch midfielder who elevates the team and makes other teams notice how committed they are to the market.

PSG, one of the other clubs owned by Kang, is weakened by the addition of its weakening factor, which is a significant rival to Lyon.

Expectations and pressure are likely to rise for London City manager Jocelyn Precheur, who collaborated with Geyoro at PSG.

Since joining the club in 2024, he has dealt with a high player turnover, and he is aware of the club’s unmistakable ambitions to win the Champions League.

Wales vs. Fiji in the 2025 World Rugby World Cup

Exeter, Sandy Park Date: Saturday, September 6 Kick-off: 14:45 BST

On first glance, Wales vs. Fiji appears to be a pointless dead rubber in a World Cup weekend full of heavyweight fights and deciders.

However, if you delve a little deeper, you’ll discover some interesting subplots in this first-ever Test match between the two sides, which attracted a 15, 000-person sell-out Sandy Park crowd.

After suffering heartbreaking defeats by Scotland and Canada, Wales now have one last chance to prove their professional worth.

While Fiji, under the direction of former Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham, will undoubtedly enjoy their chances against a team that is neither confident nor in form.

Cunningham said he had no feelings for Wales after his controversial departure last year, but he would still like to see his former side reunited.

It is challenging to call. Only Carys Phillips, the hooker for Wales, has played almost twice as many Tests as Fiji, who has only ever played 45.

After receiving knocks in the opening round against Scotland, Wales head coach Sean Lynn has had a reshuffle. Co-captains Alex Callender and Kate Williams both made their first appearances in the starting lineup.

In place of Molly Reardon, experienced hooker Carys Phillips has been used to stabilize Wales’ sluggish lineout.

Kayleigh Powell, a sevens player for Great Britain, makes her debut after scoring well against Canada. In place of Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, Wales’ top player Nel Metcalfe switches to the wing and she is named at full-back.

Ioan Cunningham, the head coach of Fiji, has also made adjustments, some of which have been forced through suspensions and injuries.

After receiving a three-game ban for a dangerous tackle against Scotland, vice-captain Bilita Tawake is unavailable and Keleni Marawa takes the hooker position.

Asinate Serevi, the daughter of Fijian rugby king Waisale Serevi, gets a start at lock, while Karalaini Naisewa also makes a new appearance in the front row.

Wales manager Lynn stated, “We want to make sure we’re finishing the tournament on a high.”

“It appears as though both teams will hit each other in the head.” I’m hoping we come out on top, but I’ve asked the girls to leave [the pitch] crawling.

I believed that Fiji gave a very strong performance in the match against Scotland.

“When they have the ball in their hands, they’re very exciting, and it’s just making sure we’re looking after it, going through the phases, and testing them in defense as well.”

Wales co-captain Alex Callender stated: “The tournament hasn’t gone according to plan, results haven’t gone our way, but we want to win this game to show how talented we are and how hard we’ve worked over the past few months.

We have had to make some adjustments, but the team we’ve assembled is a strong one, we’ve put together some strong pairings, and we’ve given credit to some players who have done a lot of training, according to Fiji head coach Cunningham.

It will give us a fantastic opportunity to challenge Wales if we can get our foundations and fundamentals right.

“She’ll be under pressure kicking if we can shut down [George]’s] time and space, but I’m sure they’ll look at it more like a territory and set piece game where we want the ball in hand a little more.

Asinate Serevi, a Fiji lock, said, “We’re reminding each other that we need to end on a high when we play Wales this weekend.”

We’re looking forward to the chemistry, because we won’t know until we play them how good a team is.

In Sean Lynn’s team’s opening two games, things couldn’t have gone much worse, and this game has the potential to worsen Welsh rugby’s overall state.

Replacements: Gwenllian Pyrs, Donna Rose, Abbie Fleming, Bryonie King, Seren Lockwood, Hannah Dallavalle, Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, Molly Reardon, Gwenllian Pyrs, Donna Rose, Abbie Fleming,

Fijian: Litiana Vueti, Repeka Tove, Verenaisi Ditavutu, Josifini Neihamu, Kolora Lomani, Salanieta Kinita, Setaita Railumu, Karalaini Naisewa, Keleni Marawa, Vika Matarugu, Jade Coates, Asinate Serevi, Nunia Daunimoala, Alfreda Fisher (capt),

Assistants: Jess Ling (RA), Lauren Jenner (FIR), and Jess Ling (RA).

Andrew McMenemy (SRU) TMO