22/04/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | APR 22, 2026

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F1 changes formula Tweaks engine rules, energy management issues F ORMULA ONE teams and stakeholders agreed unanimously yesterday to engine rule tweaks ing the race. They have also had to con tend with “super-clipping”

In a first for the awards, the ceremony was hosted by two athletes — both former Laureus winners — Novak Djokovic and Eileen Gu. Last year’s top honours went to gymnast Simone Biles and pole-vaulter Mondo Duplantis. Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy claimed the World Comeback of the Year Award after ending an 11-year wait to complete the career Grand Slam with a playoff victory at the 2025 Masters, a title he defended in 2026. Formula One’s Lando Norris was named World Breakthrough of the Year, while Paris St Germain took World Team of the Year after a trophy haul in 2025 that included the French league and Cup plus their first Champions League crown. Gujarat have three wins and three defeats from six outings this season and Shubman called the latest loss “a small hiccup”, adding the team will soon get back to winning ways. – AFP Tilak century revives Mumbai’s IPL hopes SWASHBUCKLING BATTER Tilak Varma hit his maiden IPL century to lead Mumbai Indians to just their second win of the campaign as they hammered Gujarat Titans by 99 runs yesterday. Tilak’s unbeaten 101 off 45 balls steered five-time champions Mumbai to 199-5 after the heavyweights had slipped to 96-4 at Gujarat’s home in Ahmedabad. The bowlers then took over as pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah claimed his first wicket of the season on the first ball of Gujarat’s chase to help bundle out the opposition for 100 in 15.5 overs. Mumbai, who last won the IPL title in 2020, began this season with a win but four defeats in their next four outings dented their ambitions. Their second win in six matches lifted the team from the bottom of the 10-team table to seventh place. Skipper Hardik Pandya was an ani mated figure throughout the course of the match as his side got back to win ning ways. “It’s always challenging to go away and win,” said Hardik. “And yeah, we just played good cricket. And it feels very special because it was much needed.” Jasprit’s wicket of Sai Sudharsan for a golden duck fired up Pandya, who hugged his lead bowler, and then a later stunning catch in the deep by Naman Dhir further pleased the captain. Hardik trapped Jos Buttler lbw for five in the second over and as impact substitute Ashwani Kumar dismissed opposition skipper Shubman Gill, Mumbai were on the front foot. Mumbai’s New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner struck twice in three balls in the eighth over to send back Washington Sundar, courtesy of Naman’s catch, and Glenn Phillips to fur ther dent the chase. Medium pace bowler Ashwani was the stand-out with figures of 4-24. But it was Tilak’s fireworks with the bat that stole the show for Mumbai as the middle-order batter struck eight fours and seven sixes in his blitz. He punished the Gujarat pace bowl ers to all parts of the ground and finally reached his hundred with a six and four on the last two balls of the innings. He started slowly and was on 19 off 22 balls at one stage, but in his next 23 balls he smashed 82 runs to make it an evening to remember for himself and Mumbai.

closing speeds and limit sudden performance differentials with the maximum power available through boost capped at an additional 150kW. A new system has been devel oped and will be trialled to miti gate the risks of a slow-starting car being struck by a faster one close behind as well as measures to improve safety and visibility in the wet. “These are sensible changes and the teams, FIA and Formula One have done good work over the past few weeks to agree them,” said Williams boss James Vowles on social media. “F1 has seen some great rac ing so far this year but it is right that we always look at ways to keep improving.” – Reuters

number of in-season “refine ments” that would now be put to a virtual vote. “The proposals agreed today… It will be implemented from Miami apart from the race start changes that will be tested in Miami and adopted following feedback and analysis,” it said. The FIA said energy manage ment parameters would be adjusted for qualifying, a key area of concern, with a reduction in maximum permitted recharge from eight megajoules to seven to encourage more consistent flat-out driving and peak “super clip” power increased from 250kW to 350kW to reduce the time spent recharging. In the race, measures were introduced to reduce excessive

where the power unit automati cally diverts energy from the engine to the battery, slowing down the car even if the driver is flat on the throttle. Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen has questioned his future in the sport. The governing

aimed at improving the racing and driver safety from the next race in Miami on May 3. The sport this season started a new era, with the hybrid power units now split roughly 50-50 between electric and combus tion power. Some drivers have com plained over the first three races about having to “lift and coast” into high speed corners so the com bustion engine can recharge the battery, and have aired safety concerns regarding the start and speed differentials dur

International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that an online meeting with the 11 team bosses, power unit CEOs and Formula One had agreed a

Don’t badmouth the sport: Wolff

Notices

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DALAM MAHKAMAH SESYEN DI KOTA BAHRU DALAM NEGERI KELANTAN DARUL NAIM, MALAYSIA GUAMAN NO: DA-B52NCvC-2-01/2026 ANTARA

Ű BY KIERAN JACKSON

public eye. “We have thousands of fans who love the sport, there are some who don’t like it (cur rently), but in order to protect the future, we shouldn’t badmouth the sport in public. “We’ve all fallen foul of this in the past due to gamesmanship or to protect a situation. We need to be very careful. “The impact comes with a lag. That’s the responsibility we have. We owe it to ourselves to express our opinion in the stakeholder group – this has happened in the last few weeks in a constructive way.” Wolff also reiterated his belief that onlook ers tend to look at past iterations of Formula 1 with a “nostalgic” lens, pointing to eras and other racing series that have little or no over taking. “We want to look after the safety of the driv ers but also protect what we see in racing,” says Wolff, who has endured a title-less four years since Mercedes’s last constructors’ champion ship in 2021. There’s a certain degree of nostal gia that makes the past much better than the present. People talk greatly about the 2000s and forget they were years which sometimes did not have a single overtake. If the product is boring for spectators, we don’t gain. “We also need to see the Bearman situation for what it was: a misjudgement of a situation, pushing a boost button. I love Le Mans, but the speed differences are enormous; there are big crashes between GT3 and Porsche cars. But we still love it. “Will it always be the safest sport? It won’t. It’s about reducing the risks but always remind ing ourselves that we are guardians of the sport, rather than looking at certain advan tages or disadvantages for us personally.” – The Independent

TOTO WOLFF urged critics of F1’s new regulations not to “badmouth the sport” in public. New engine and chassis regula tions this year, involving a near 50/50 engine split between internal combustion and electrical power, have resulted in major changes to the spectacle on a grand prix weekend. In qualifying, drivers are being forced to “lift-and-coast” at the end of straights to harvest energy, while overtakes have been labelled “artifi cial” given the numerous overtaking aids available. The likes of four-time world champion Max Verstappen and reign ing world champion Lando Norris have

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. – REUTERSPIC

been the most vociferous in their criticism, with Verstappen threatening to retire at the end of the season. On the flip side, Wolff’s Mercedes outfit lead the way, with three wins out of three and Kimi Antonelli and George Russell the top two in the world championship standings. Before yesterday’s meeting between stake holders to ratify tweaks to the regulations to improve flat-out driving in qualifying and safety concerns arising after Ollie Bearman’s crash in Japan, Wolff insisted “gamesmanship” should not be a factor in behind-the-scenes discussions on the sport’s immediate future. “We need to understand our responsibility as guardians of this sport,” Wolff said. “We all have our opinions and that is absolutely legit. But these opinions and discussions should happen among stakeholders more than in the

SHORTS

“We’ve been trying to do everything we can do to make sure that this test goes well. “I’m trying to be very patient. But we are good, we are just waiting a little bit. We have a few tests in the next few days and then we will see how the injury is, and what the next steps will be,” the 22 year-old added. The French Open will start from May 24 in Paris.

The pair were honoured after glittering 2025 campaigns that saw them finish atop the women’s and men’s tennis rankings respectively. Spaniard Alcaraz, 22, reclaimed the year-end world No. 1 spot after capturing two Grand Slam titles at the French Open and US Open, underlining his supremacy across surfaces. Belarusian Sabalenka, 27, meanwhile, stood alongside him in the winners’ circle in New York and also reached the final in Australia and France, capping a season of relentless consistency. With her triumph, Sabalenka joins a roll call of Laureus Sportswoman of the Year recipients from her sport including Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and Naomi Osaka.

Alcaraz Roland Garros defence at risk

CARLOS ALCARAZ is awaiting the results of tests on his injured wrist before making a decision about defending his French Open title next month, the world No. 2 said. The seven-times Grand Slam champion picked up the injury in the first round of the Barcelona Open earlier this month before withdrawing from the tournament. Scans showed the issue was more serious than initially thought and he then skipped the Madrid Open. “The next test will be crucial,” Alcaraz told Spanish television channel TVE .

Tennis duo sweep Laureus honours

Bertarikh pada 6 April 2026. .....................t.t....................... NURIZA BINTI MUSTAFA Penolong Pendaftar Mahkamah Sesyen, Kota Bharu.

TENNIS ruled the red carpet in Madrid yesterday as Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz were crowned Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus Awards.

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