11/02/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | FEB 11, 2026

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speaking with him. We were wanting to talk to him about a role as director, not taking creative ideas from him. “We are confident it will be resolved amicably.” The Cadillac advert referenced a 1961 speech by the late president John F Kennedy announcing the aim of putting an American on the moon by the end of the decade. – Reuters T WO-TIMES world champion Fernando Alonso said yester day he planned to enjoy every second of the new Formula One season and had still not decided whether it would be his last. Speaking to Reuters Television from Aston Martin’s livery launch in Saudi Arabia ahead of testing in Bahrain, the 44-year-old Spaniard – oldest driver on the F1 grid – said he remained fully motivated after a record 425 starts. Formula One is entering a new engine era this season and Aston Martin, now a works team, are also starting over with Honda replacing Mercedes as their power unit provider. The season starts in Australia on March 8. The AMR26 car is also the first for the Silverstone-based team under the leadership of multi-title-winning design ace Adrian Newey and technical guidance of former Ferrari man Enrico Cardile. “This first year in this set of regulations will provide a lot of action and a lot of input and feedback from the driver,” said Alonso. “I think it’s going to be a very interesting season from a driver point of view. “I feel very proud to be part of this organisation. I don’t know if it’s going to be the last (season) but, you know, my plan is to enjoy every second. And then if I make one more (season), you know, I will be also happy. So let’s see. I will do race by race.” Alonso, who last won a grand prix in 2013 while with Ferrari, took his titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006. “I feel very motivated. I feel very focused into the new system. But, you know, Formula One is a dynamic sport. It keeps changing every week,” he said. “There is not only the racing part of it, there are a lot of marketing events, a lot of commitments off track that obviously, you know, your batteries are getting drained during the season. “Let’s see these regulations, how they work, how easy or difficult it is to follow cars, how much action we see on track. So, you know, there are things that will play a part also in my decision for 2027.” Aston Martin finished seventh last year and have already started on the back foot, with the new car – striking visually – turning up late at a recent shakedown in Barcelona. Alonso said the team could have a challenging start to the 24-race season but hoped for a much stronger showing in the second half with some special races. “I would say to be in the top five in the constructors’ championship will be a must in a way,” he declared. – Reuters

Alonso feeling motivated Spanish Aston Martin says at least fifth overall is the target but still unsure about F1 future after 2026

‘Piastri on similar trajectory to Norris’

OSCAR PIASTRI is on a similar career trajectory to Formula One world cham pion teammate Lando Norris and should have a shot at the title this sea son, McLaren boss Zak Brown said on Monday as they prepared to test in Bahrain. The American told reporters on a video call that his drivers were raring to get going. “He (Piastri) is now going into his fourth year. Lando has a lot more grands prix than he does so if you look at the development of Lando over that time, Oscar’s on a similar trajectory,” Brown said. “So he’s in a good place, physically very fit, excited, ready to go.” Piastri, who debuted with McLaren in Bahrain in 2023, can become Australia’s first champion since Alan Jones in 1980. While Piastri took his first win in his second season, Norris had to wait until his sixth. Both won seven times last year. Brown said he had spoken a lot with the Australian over the European winter break and expected the 24-year-old, championship leader for much of 2025, to pick up where he left off. He said the discussion had been all about creating the best environment for him and what McLaren needed to do to support him. Brown said Piastri had spent time in the simulator and, in response to a ques tion about lingering sentiment in Australia that McLaren favoured Norris, “he knows he’s getting a fair shake at it”. “You win some, you lose some. Things fall your way, things don’t fall your way,” added the chief executive. Norris’ confidence level was also very high, Brown said: “He’s highly motivated and it’s our job to give him and Oscar the equipment again to be able to let them fight it out for the c’ship. If we can do that, I think Oscar and Lando will both be in with a shot.” Norris can become only the second Briton to take back-to-back titles after seven times champion Lewis Hamilton, who won four titles in a row with Mercedes from 2017-20 as well as two together in 2014 and 2015. “I think there are some drivers that say ‘I’ve done it. Now I’m done’,” said Brown. “And then you have drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and Schumacher who go ‘I’ve done it once, now I want to do it twice and three or four times’.” He reiterated that both remained free to race and said decisions would be taken strategically as and when they arose. “We feel like we’ll be competitive. The top four teams all seem very com petitive. Very early days but indications that we will be strong,” he added. – Reuters

Mclaren’s Oscar Piastri (left) speaking with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. – AFPPIC

Bay sues Cadillac F1 over Super Bowl advert CADILLAC Formula One CEO Dan Towriss said he hoped for an amicable settlement to legal action taken by Hollywood director Michael Bay over a livery launch commercial during Sunday’s Super Bowl. from General Motors. The Athletic and Rolling Stone reported Bay, director of big-budget hits Transformers and Armageddon , filed a US$1.5 million (RM5.9m) breach of contract and fraud lawsuit in Los Angeles on Saturday alleging the team and Towriss had used his ideas without payment. Rolling Stone said he filed the law The spot showed the as-yet unnamed black and white car to be raced by Formula One’s 11th and new est entrants this season, with backing

suit after material related to the advert was released online before the Super Bowl’s launch. “We have a lot of respect for Michael,” Towriss told reporters on a video call yesterday. “I think it’s disap pointing that he chose to do that (legal response). “Certainly, all of the creative (work) was done well in advance of ever

TRAMLINES

Anisimova retired when trailing in the third set to Karolina Pliskova and former US Open Grand Slam champion Emma Raducanu also had to retire in the deciding frame of her meeting with Camila Osorio. Serena eligible to return on Feb 22 SERENA WILLIAMS has been listed as eligible to return to tennis from Feb 22 by the sport’s drug testing body (Itia), though it remains unclear whether the 23-times Grand Slam champion will make a stunning comeback to the women’s tour.

to winning her season opener. “When you come back from injury, it’s never totally pain-free,” Zheng said. “But generally I believe my elbow is in a good process because I could feel it. “I’m in a really good stage, and I can keep going for another two hours serving,” she added. Fifth seed Andreeva kickstarted her tourna ment with a 7-6 (7-0), 6-1 win against Magda Linette after receiving a bye through the round of 64. However, there were several high-profile elimi nations on the day as third seed Amanda

The 44-year-old raised eyebrows late last year after rejoining the tennis anti-doping testing pool, though she denied at the time the move signalled she was preparing to return to the sport she domi nated for nearly two decades.She reignited specu lation last month when she deflected questions about a possible return during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show. The Women’s Tennis Association did not imme diately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours. Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, has not competed since the 2022 US Open.

Zheng advances to round two ZHENG QINWEN marked her return to action with a three-set win over Sofia Kenin at the Qatar Open yesterday, while Mirra Andreeva eased into the round of 16. Olympic gold medallist Zheng, in action for the first time since September last year, beat 2020 Australian Open winner Kenin 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round where she’ll meet Alycia Parks. Now ranked 26th in the world, Zheng made a statement as she threw down 20 aces on the way