06/05/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | MAY 6, 2026

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From paddock to pitch Miami stadium races to prepare for World Cup after F1

F1 TALKING POINTS

Real deal Antonelli FEW paddock regulars were ready for this and many were dismissive of claims, emanating from Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff, that Antonelli (inset) was a generational talent. But his hard-earned win, under pressure from McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris, ended those doubts. By becoming the first driver to turn his first three consecutive poles into victories, after another almost-trademark poor start, Antonelli has stirred the passions of his peers and the expectations of Italy’s motor racing fans. His teammate George Russell, nine years his senior and in his eighth F1 season, was a hot pre season title favourite and

in Italy’s sporting galaxy.

“The easiest bit is making sure that he keeps both feet on the ground within the team – his par ents have done a great job,” said Wolff. “The bigger problem is the Italian public. Now that they are not qualified for the football World Cup, it is all about Sinner and Antonelli. It is the two superstars and that is something that we need to contain.” Mercedes still top Antonelli’s win kept Mercedes on top and confirmed that, despite major upgrades at McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, and a host of tweaks to the regulations, they remain the pace-setters.

F ORMULA ONE has been and ing next month. Argentine great Lionel Messi was in the Miami Grand Prix paddock at the weekend, visiting Alpine F1 driver and compatriot Franco Colapinto before Monday’s grand prix and treading the green gone for another year but Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium is now in a race to get ready for the football World Cup start

The multi-use venue that also hosts col lege football, tennis and rock concerts on a busy calendar of nearly 60 ticketed events a year is used to operating on a tight schedule and hosted Club World Cup football last year.

Transforming the sta dium from Miami Open tennis to Formula O n e , build

static-charged carpet laid out over the sta dium’s field of play where teams had their tented hospitality units. Within hours of the race ending, the focus was already on starting the trans formation to something more familiar to Messi – real grass and a playing surface fit for the 48-team tournament. The 65,000-capacity stadium in Miami Gardens, home of the Dolphins NFL team, will host seven of the 104 World Cup matches – four group games, a round-of-32 match, a quarterfinal and the third-place playoff. The first is on June 15,

Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma plays a shot during the IPL match against Lucknow Super

The race supplied plenty of incident and much of the new ‘yo-yo’ over taking as batteries were recharging or boosting speed. “It’s still pretty crazy, to be hon est,” said

won the opening race, but has since been unable to establish his authority For Wolff, torn between joyous celebration and cold manage ment-speak, it is a welcome dilemma as Mercedes sit atop the con structors’ title race and plan a major upgrade package in Canada. “It’s astounding, these few races,” said Wolff.

Giants on Monday. – AFPPIC

between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Cabo Verde, Brazil, Scotland, Colombia and Portugal will also play there in the group stages.

ing tem porary infra structure and stands, involved working around the clock from the end of March and it started all over again from Monday. The stadium owners literally sowed the seeds months ago – the Dolphins are unique as a pro fessional US sports franchise in having their own sod farm specifically to grow turf for their arena. The grass for the World Cup has been growing at the 96-acre Loxahatchee Groves facility, some 98km north of the stadium, and will be transported down in mid-May. The farm can grow enough at any one time for 20 separate fields of play. “Each year we probably resod, depending upon the event schedule, eight to 10 times a year,” Todd Boyan, senior vice president of stadium operations for the Dolphins, told reporters ahead of the F1 weekend. “That grass is professionally grown and has the spec that the NFL requires, but Fifa has also required. op s,tod epo te sa ead o t e eeke d.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who fin ished third. “The closing

speeds are huge and trying to anticipate that as a defending driver is incredibly tough. So, not much has really

Notices

322

IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAYA AT SHAH ALAM IN THE STATE OF SELANGOR DARUL EHSAN, MALAYSIA COMPANIES (WINDING-UP) NO.: BA-28NCC-170-03/202 6 In the Matter of Section 465(1)(e) and 466(1)(a) of the Companies Act 2016 And In the matter of Era Universe Development Sdn. Bhd. (Company No.:1085970-T) BETWEEN ACE AUTOMATION CONTROL SDN. BHD (COMPANY NO. 1034899-M) …PETITIONER AND TECHNYGROUP HOLDINGS (M) SDN BHD. (COMPANY NO. 1202099-P) …RESPONDENT ADVERTISEMENT OF PETITION NOTICE is hereby given that a Petition for the Winding-Up of the above named by the High Court was on the 5.3.2026 presented by Ace Automation Control Sdn. Bhd (Company No.:1034899-M) whose address at No. 13,Jalan Perniagaan Seri Juru 2,Pusat Perniagaan Seri Juru,14100 Simpang Ampat, Pulau Pinang.and that the said Petition is directed to be heard before the Court sitting at Shah Alam High Court on 15.06.2026 at 9.00 a.m. and any Creditors or Contributories of the said company desiring to support or oppose the making of an Order on the said Petition may appear at the time of hearing by itself or its Counsel for that purpose; and a copy of the Petition will be furnished to any Creditors or Contributories of the said company requiring the same by the undersigned on payment of the regulated charges for the same. The Petitioner’s Solicitors is Messrs Ang Chambers whose address is at No. 01-03,Jalan Bukit Impian 18/5, Taman Impian Emas,81300 Skudai, Johor Bahru. Dated this 29.04.2026 t.t Signed Petitioner’s Solicitors NOTE- Any person who intends to appear on the hearing of the said Petition must serve on or send by post to the above named Messrs Ang Chambers notice in writing of his intention so to do. The notice must state the name and address of the person,or if a firm,the name and address of the firm,and must be signed by the person or firm,or his or their solicitor (if any) and must be served or if posted must be sent by post in sufficient to reach the above named not later than twelve o’clock of 14.06.2026.

changed.” Wolff hit back at any critics still claiming the spectacle was artificial. “Anyone who complains after that race should hide,” he said. “Honestly, it was a great advert for F1.” FIA open to more change While Mercedes purred, others were encouraged to hear that the current hybrid era may be short lived as the FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem forecast a return for V8 engines and a pad dock return for former Red Bull boss Christian Horner. He also said the FIA were look ing into multi-team ownership in F1 in the future. AFP “It’s the 2% that’s hard, to be honest. But he’s chipping away, he’s working hard, and he’s had a match-winning game earlier in the season. I love it when we see him smiling and playing that swashbuckling style of play.” Pant’s 204 runs from nine innings with a strike rate of 128.30 is under whelming for a batter of his stature. Langer said Pant, who moved down to No. 4 to accommodate Nicholas Pooran at No. 3 against Mumbai, was not far from regaining his touch. “He selflessly moved down the order… to let Nicky P back. Rishy’s not far off (from a big score),” Langer said. “He’s great. As a captain in the IPL, as a coach, you keep fronting up, don’t you? That’s all you can do. And you’ll keep fronting up, and hopefully, he’ll help us get some wins over the next few games.” – Reuters

“In a way, it’s what we pre dicted as a team – to have ups and downs last season, with moments of brilliance, but moments too when you want to tear your hair out. “But this year, it’s coming together and I don’t think anyone expected this. He has monetised on it every single weekend and it’s special. It’s his best race so far and reminds me of his karting days. “It is easier to calm someone down that is wild because you won’t be able to accelerate a don key.” Wolff’s decision to fast-track Antonelli into Mercedes in 2024, before he had passed his normal road car driving test, raised eye brows. On Monday, he placed him alongside tennis star Jannik Sinner

It’ll take us within one day that grass is removed (from the farm), and then there’s about a three-day process to install it. “Then Fifa is going to come in behind that and do the pitch stitching that they’re doing for all World Cup ven ues.” – Reuters

Duo keep Mumbai in the hunt OPENERS Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton took apart the Lucknow Super Giants attack as Mumbai Indians powered to a six-wicket win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive in the IPL on Monday. The 39-year-old Rohit returned from a five-match injury absence to hit his second fifty of the season as he struck six fours and seven sixes in his 44-ball knock.

No pressure for Pant in IPL: Langer

LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS captain Rishabh Pant’s uneven form mirrors his team’s broader struggles in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but head coach Justin Langer says the player is not weighed down by his hefty price tag. Lucknow secured the stumper-bats man for an eye-watering ?US$3.21 mil lion (RM12.7m) in 2024 and retained him for the current season, which has unfolded poorly. Monday’s six-wicket defeat to Mumbai Indians marked Lucknow’s sixth consecutive loss, leav ing them anchored to the bottom of the 10-team league and with playoff hopes in disarray. “I don’t think money has to do any thing with it,” Langer, an Australian, told reporters. “Leadership is a tough posi tion, he’s carrying a lot of pressure for the team, and he does it, with a smile on our face, 98% of the time.

South Africa’s Rickelton kept up his blazing form in his 32-ball blitz before his departure in the 11th over. “One of Mumbai’s greatest, one of India’s greatest,” Rickelton said of his opening partner. “I really enjoy spend ing time out there.” Rohit, who came in as an impact substitute after Lucknow made 228-5, kept up the momentum with his trade mark pull shot and wristy flicks. He finally fell to Manimaran Siddharth’s left-arm spin and Tilak Varma soon fell for 11 to raise Lucknow’s dimming hopes. Stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav departed for 12 before Naman Dhir, who made 23 not out, and Will Jacks, who hit the winning six in his unbeaten 10, steered the team home. – AFP

Rohit, who hit 84, and Rickelton (83) put on 143 runs to lay the foundations for Mumbai’s chase of 229 with eight balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium. Five-time champions Mumbai, who were without unwell captain Hardik Pandya, stay ninth in the 10-team table with three wins in 10 matches. Lucknow, led by Rishabh Pant, lan guish at the bottom and are nearly out of the race for the playoffs. “I think we need some good luck, man,” said Pant. “That’s the only thing I’m going to say. And it’s going to take some more effort from us, for sure.” The top four teams at the end of the league stage will qualify for the play offs.