15/03/2026

theSun on Sunday MAR 15, 2026

SPORTS 12

Mercedes take front row Antonelli becomes youngest F1 pole sitter as Silver Arrows dominate in China

F1 set to cancel races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia FORMULA 1 is set to cancel races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia next month amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Rounds four and five of the 2026 season, scheduled for April 12 April (Sakhir) and April 19 April, will no longer take place, with F1 set to cancel the grand prix events. Replacing both events with European circuits was considered, but given the logistical challenges of such a last-minute alteration, F1 has decided to wipe them from this year’s calendar, which is now set to be 22 races long. It is highly unlikely they will be rescheduled for later in the year. With no race in April, it means there will now be a five-week gap between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 and the Miami Grand Prix on May 3. F1 has already overcome obstacles presented by airport closures in the Middle East in the transfer of personnel to the season opener in Melbourne, using chartered planes via Singapore and Tanzania. However, with freight due to be moved to the Middle East after this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, a decision will be confirmed in the coming days that the sport will not race in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia next month. It is estimated to cost F1 at least £100 million (RM520m) in hosting fees. Not only are the Middle Eastern races significant financial contributors to F1, but both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have deep ties to the sport; Bahrain owns McLaren, while Saudi Arabia is a prominent sponsor and investor via state-owned oil company, Aramco. Speaking in Shanghai on Thursday, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton backed F1 to make the right decision. He said: “I know that (F1 CEO) Stefano (Domenicali) will do what is right for all of us and the sport. That is the great thing with having a great leader like him.” Various F1 team bosses have emphasised that safety is paramount and have placed trust in F1’s executive team to make the appropriate call. When asked by The Independen t about the situation at the season opener in Australia, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “I leave it to Stefano to manage that situation. I hope generally it gets better there so we are able to come back as soon as possible.” – The Independent

ITALIAN TEENAGER Kimi Antonelli became the youngest Formula One driver to take pole position for a full grand prix after qualifying fastest for Mercedes in China yesterday. The 19-year-old qualified 0.222 seconds faster than cham pionship-leading teammate George Russell, who secured the Mercedes front row lockout after earlier car ߑ trouble. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was third fastest. Antonelli was already the youngest pole sitter in any for mat after leading qualifying for last year’s Miami sprint but in Shanghai yesterday he demol ished Sebastian Vettel’s previous grand prix record that the German set as a 21-year-old in

Verstappen eighth for Red Bull and the Dutch driver’s new team mate Isack Hadjar ninth. Oliver Bearman completed the top 10 for ߑ Ferrari-powered Haas. Williams, Aston Martin and newcomers Cadillac were the teams whose drivers failed to progress from the opening phase. Cadillac’s experienced Finn Valtteri Bottas outqualified Aston’s Lance Stroll while Williams continued to struggle with an overweight car. “Terrible!” Williams driver Alex Albon shouted in frustra tion over the car radio after qualifying in 18th position. – Reuters

clear at the top. “Q2, the front wing broke, we were wrapping our heads around that. Then obviously went out in Q3, car stopped on track, car wasn’t restarting, couldn’t change gear. “Starting the last lap I had no battery, no tyre temp, no noth ing. But the team have done ߑ a really great job to get us into this position, it could have been much worse.” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified fourth with the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and reigning champion Lando Norris fifth and sixth. Pierre Gasly qualified seventh for Renault-owned Alpine with four-times world champion Max

2008. “It was a pretty clean session, so I’m really happy,” said Antonelli. “I saw he (Russell) had the issue and tried to keep ߑ my focus to stay calm and deliver a good lap.” Russell got in only one lap after coming to a halt on track early in the final phase and com plaining over the radio that there was no battery and he could not shift gear. The Briton managed to get the car going again and returned to the pits where mechanics worked flat out to get him back out before the chequered flag. “Definitely damage limita tion,” said Russell, who ߑ won the earlier sprint to go 11 points

SHORTS

FROM LEFT: Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton pose on the podium after the sprint race ahead of the Chinese GP. – AFPPIC

PAKISTAN THRASH BANGLADESH IN RAIN INTERRUPTED SECOND ODI Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 128 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the rain-affected second ODI at the Sher-e Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka yes terday. Maaz Sadaqat was the stand-out performer of the game, blasting a rapid 75 for Pakistan before picking up three wickets. Chasing a revised target of 243 in 32 overs after a two-hour rain and hailstorm delay, Bangladesh collapsed for 114 in 23.3 overs despite a brief counterattack from Litton Das. Tanzid Hasan fell early for one, caught at backward square leg off Shaheen Shah Afridi, while Saif Hassan departed for 12 after offering a catch to short mid-off off Mohammad Wasim Jr. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was bowled by Shaheen Shah for a duck, leaving the hosts reeling at 27 for 3 in 6.3 overs when a sudden thunderstorm accompanied by hail forced the players off the field. When play resumed, Litton attempted to revive the chase with a series of boundaries including two sixes. He was eventually trapped lbw for 41 by part-time spinner Maaz Sadaqat. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz managed just one run as Bangladesh’s innings folded quickly. Salman Agha later top-scored for Pakistan with 64 from 62 balls and shared a 109-run stand with Mohammad Rizwan (44). MEHIDY IGNITES SPORTSMANSHIP ROW Pakistan batter Salman Ali Agha said Mehidy Hasan Miraz should had shown the “sports man spirit” after the Bangladesh captain ended his innings with a controversial run-out in yesterday’s One-Day International in Dhaka. Short of his crease at the non-striker’s end, Salman bent down to pick up the ball to return it to the bowler after his teammate Mohammad Rizwan had driven it towards him. However, Mehidy circled around behind Salman to collect the ball and threw down the stumps. “I think sportsman spirit has to be there,“ Salman told reporters after Pakistan’s 128-run win. “What he has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit.” Pakistan and Bangladesh will play the third ODI today, with the three-match series level at 1-1.

Russell wins Shanghai sprint

years of experience. I’ve still got a little bit to learn there,” said the Mercedes driver. Leclerc said his wheel-to-wheel battle with Hamilton had cost him time to Russell but that it was encouraging to see Ferrari’s race pace was closer to Mercedes than in qualifying. “Pretty happy with the car today,” he said. McLaren’s reigning champion Lando Norris finished fourth with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli fifth after serving a 10-second penalty for a clash with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar on the open ing lap. Oscar Piastri finished sixth for McLaren with Liam Lawson seventh for Racing Bulls after staying out when others pitted and Oliver Bearman taking the final point for Haas. Four-times world champion Max Verstappen was ninth for Red Bull and had little positive to say. “I have not a lot of words at the moment,” he told Sky Sports television. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong. “The start, of course, is one thing we have to fix but then after that the balance was all over the place. Probably the highest (tyre) degrada tion of everyone out there, which was just uncontrollable. “We just need to get our stuff together.” – Reuters

GEORGE RUSSELL held off the fast-starting Ferraris to win the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race for Mercedes yesterday and stretch his Formula One championship lead to 11 points. The Briton started on pole position at the Shanghai International Circuit and finished ahead of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton after an opening tussle and late safety car period in the 19-lap race. Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend in a Mercedes one two. “It was pretty fun in the end,“ he said after taking eight points for the win. “A lot of strategy at play and how you do the overtakes, it is not easy. I hope it was a fun race to watch. Usually the sprint races are pretty bor ing.” Leclerc finished 0.674 seconds behind after a battle with Hamilton, as Ferrari had two cars in the top three of a Formula One race of any sort for the first time since the Abu Dhabi finale in 2024. Last year’s sprint winner Hamilton, who lined up fourth on the grid this time with Leclerc sixth, traded the lead with Russell four times in the opening five laps. “Lewis did an amazing job in the early laps. He caught me off-guard but, you know, 20