21/08/2026

FRIDAY | AUG 21, 2026

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F ORMULA ONE is back after its summer break, with every sign the championship could go down to the wire as the chasing pack seeks to overhaul teenager Kimi Antonelli and his Mercedes. The Dutch seaside resort of Zandvoort is hosting its last-ever Grand Prix and it promises to be action-packed, with an inaugural sprint race and changeable weather keeping the paddock on its toes. Here are key things to watch: Is Kimi catchable? After storming to the chequered flag six times in the first half of the sea son, 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli enjoys a 50-point lead over his nearest rival, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. But recent results have shown that Mercedes are not unbeat able and team boss Toto Wolff admit ted his rivals were gaining ground. “We have left points on the table, our rivals have reduced the performance gap, and we know the second half of the year will demand more from us than the first,” said Wolff ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. Antonelli salvaged a third place finish in Hungary before the break but acknowledged it was a case of “damage limitation” and predicted a “big fight” in the second half of the season starting in Zandvoort. Mercedes have never won at TOMMY PAUL saved a match point on the way to a 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 upset of top seed Alexander Zverev yesterday to reach the quarterfinals of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters. The match was interrupted for 90 minutes in the seventh game of the second set by rain and had two more five-minute pauses as drops were dried from the court. French Open champion Zverev had a chance to close out a victory at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker but stuffed a volley into the net. The German again gained an edge in the deciding set with a break for 4-2, but Paul broke back in the next game and again for a 5-4 lead. He served out the victory with confidence for his third win over Zverev in their last four meetings. “I’m not sure how I did it,” Paul said. “I put some returns in, he gave me some looks at second serves and he threw in a few doubles (faults). That always helps a ton. “I went after the ball a bit more, I was having fun out there. I hope I can keep building on this and peak at the US Open.” Paul next faces Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli, who labored two and a half hours to

Zandvoort showdown

to deal with,” he said last month.

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“I made a huge mistake and I take full responsibility for it. I’m sorry to my fans, my family, my sponsors and every one close to me. Above all, I’m sorry to the kids who follow me. I know the example this sets and I’m deeply disap pointed in myself. “For the next 28 days, I’ll be step ping away from social media and pub lic life while I focus on getting myself right. I’d ask that people respect my pri vacy during that time, and most impor tantly the privacy of my family. “I’m sorry. I’ll do the work and come back better.” Sabalenka’s early exit means she heads towards the final Grand Slam of the season without the deep run she would have wanted during the North American hard-court swing. their meeting. The victory was also Bejlek’s first against a top-10 opponent, making it an even bigger breakthrough for the young Czech. Bejlek has already shown she can thrive on hard courts, having won the Abu Dhabi title in February as a qualifier. She will now face American Madison Keys in the quarterfinals. For Sabalenka, the defeat represents another worrying setback with the US Open beginning on Aug 30. The four-time Grand Slam cham pion was also knocked out in the fourth round in Toronto last week and suffered the same fate at Wimbledon, while her French Open campaign ended in the quarterfinals. After cruising through her previ ous Cincinnati match, Sabalenka appeared on course for another comfortable victory when she estab lished an early lead against Bejlek. But the Czech’s speed around the court repeatedly frustrated the world No. 1, particularly once Bejlek recovered from 5-1 down in the tie break. The last lap From the trains rebaptised “Max Express” to the boozy house parties pumping out tunes along “Verstappen Street” leading up to the racetrack, Zandvoort will miss its F1 weekend. The laid-back Dutch seaside resort will be off the calendar from next year after the promoter decided to pull the plug amid uncertainty over Verstappen’s future in the sport. Just a stone’s throw from the beach, it is a unique course, snaking through the dunes and pre senting drivers with headaches rang ing from sand on the track to unusual banks. Rain on the parade? The other thing Zandvoort is famous for? Rain out of nowhere. Its location on the North Sea coast means the only certainty is unpredictable weather. With the sprint qualification taking place today, teams have only one practice session to dust down the cars from the break – and rain could spoil the best-laid plans. A peculiarity of the F1 season so far is that no com petitive session has taken place in the wet. With some rain forecast for all three days of race weekend, that seems likely to change at Zandvoort. AFP

Antonelli’s title lead faces stern test as F1 revs up again

Yet a day after British-Thai racer Albon extended his stay with the Grove-based outfit, 31-year-old Sainz has followed suit in a “show of faith” in team principal James Vowles and his lofty ambitions to launch the F1 giant back to the front of the grid in the com ing years. “I truly believe in the people that form this team, both at the factory and at the racetracks, and the investments and hard work that are happening in the background,” Sainz said. “We have what it takes to turn this around together. I’m as committed as I engineer a turnaround against red hot Spaniard Rafael Jodar 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. Cobolli has won all three of his matches in Cincinnati in three sets. The durable Italian reached his second Masters-level quarterfinal of the season after Madrid, and he pre vented 19-year-old Jodar from reaching an eighth quarterfinal in nine events. “At the end of the second set and start of the third I told myself to believe, try on every point,” Cobolli said. “I knew I had a chance. “Rafa has had an unbelievable season but maybe he was a bit tired. At the end I deserved to win as I was fresher than him. “I pushed to my limit to get through. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m really strong.” Thiago Tirante, who upset Novak Djokovic in the second round, con tinued his surprise run at the last big event prior to the Aug 30 start of the US Open. He recovered to defeat Jakub Mensik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 and book his first Masters quarterfinal. Australian Alex de Minaur was no match for Frenchman Arthur Fils, who cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 vic tory over the fifth seed. – AFP Zandvoort, noted Wolff. “This is our final opportunity to change that.” McLaren, Ferrari in rear-view mirror Seizing on a dip in Mercedes’ form are a resurgent McLaren and Ferrari, whose star driver Hamilton has seen an extraordinary reversal of fortunes since the last time he raced the Zandvoort track. Reigning world champions McLaren have mixed memories of the Dutch GP from last year. Oscar Piastri, at the time top of the drivers’ championship, led from Pole to chequered flag but the even tual world champion Lando Norris suffered a dramatic breakdown late in the race. McLaren have been unable to reproduce last season’s glories but have grounds for optimism after Norris took his first win in Hungary after a major upgrade to the car. Hamilton arrived in the Netherlands last year in a foul mood, after saying he was “useless” and suggesting Ferrari should find another driver. But the 41

year-old Briton now believes he can challenge for an eighth world title and said last month he was proud of “digging myself out of that place that I was in.” “I arrive now worlds away from where I was last year,” he said. Max power The “Orange Army” will be out in force one last time to roar on their hero, Dutchman Max Verstappen, who will don a special helmet for the occa sion, inspired by the famous blue Delft pottery. The four-time world cham pion won the first three editions of his “home” Grand Prix but has seen McLaren triumph in his backyard for the past two years. “An iconic Grand Prix. Unforgettable memories that will last a lifetime,” the 28-year-old wrote on Instagram ahead of the race. Verstappen has delicately swerved questions about his future amid rumours he could switch teams or even quit F1 altogether. “I am just focused on trying to get the

most from the car and that’s already complicated enough

Sabalenka crashes out in Cincinnati

Top seed Zverev bundled out by Paul in rain-hit upset

WORLD NO. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was sent crash ing out of the Cincinnati Masters in the fourth round after 35th-ranked Czech Sara Bejlek produced a stunning 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 upset. The 20-year-old over came a slow start and a huge deficit in the open ing-set tiebreak before completing the biggest victory of her career in a match that finished shortly after midnight yes

I made a huge mistake: Kyrgios NICK KYRGIOS has admitted that he made a “huge mistake” after testing positive for cocaine. The Australian tennis player recently failed a drugs test in Mallorca and has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). “I wanted you to hear this from me first. I recently failed a drug test in Mallorca after testing positive for cocaine,” Kyrgios posted on Instagram . terday. Sabalenka had looked in control early on, moving a break ahead in the opening set and then racing into a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak. But Bejlek refused to fold. The Czech won six of the next eight points to snatch the tiebreak 9 7, turning the match on its head and leaving the top seed struggling to cope with her opponent’s relentless movement. Bejlek then broke Sabalenka three times in the second set before serving out the match with a love game, sealing victory with an ace. “I lost my words – it feels incredi ble,” Bejlek said after becoming the first player to defeat Sabalenka in

Sara Bejlek returns a shot against Aryna Sabalenka (not pictured) during their Cincinnati Open match at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Ohio yesterday. – AFPPIC

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was on day one to helping get Williams back to where it belongs, and I look for ward to creating more memories with the team.” Sainz recorded two memorable podiums with Williams in an impressive debut campaign last year but, along side Aston Martin, the team have per formed poorly so far in 2026 amid heightened expectations in this new era of regulations. Sainz and Albon will be back in action this weekend as F1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.

Sainz pens new Williams deal

CARLOS SAINZ has signed a multi-year contract to stay at Williams, completing the team’s driver line-up for 2027 alongside Alex Albon. The Spanish race winner, who joined from Ferrari in 2025, has been heavily linked with Red Bull and Alpine given Williams’s struggles so far this season. After 11 rounds, Sainz has just six points to his name.