Verstappen tops first Canada GP practice, Piastri 14th
Red Bull's Max Verstappen has led first practice for the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed and runaway leaders McLaren made a comparatively slow start to the weekend.
McLaren's British star Lando Norris was only seventh while championship-leading teammate Oscar Piastri finished 14th and received a 100 euros fine for speeding in the pitlane, as the team tested upgrades including a new front wing.
Four-time world champion Verstappen, last year's winner at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and chasing an unprecedented fourth successive Canadian victory, lapped in one minute 13.193 seconds on a bright afternoon.
Williams' Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were second and third fastest respectively, with the Briton 0.039sec slower than Verstappen and his teammate 0.082 off the pace and all using the soft tyres.
Mercedes' George Russell, who started on pole in Canada last year, was fourth fastest with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton fifth and Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar sixth.
The session was halted when Leclerc hit the barriers at the second chicane with 45 minutes remaining, causing extensive damage to his Ferrari. The Monegasque still ended up 10th fastest.
Canadian Lance Stroll returned to action after missing the Spanish Grand Prix due to hand and wrist pain and was 15th for Aston Martin in front of his home crowd.
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Brisbane storm home to bite Sharks, with Walsh on fire
Brisbane have stormed home from a 16-point deficit to beat a wasteful Cronulla 34-28, with fullback Reece Walsh igniting the comeback. When Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey darted over from dummy half to secure a 28-12 lead in the 56th minute, the Broncos appeared cooked in front of 39,042 fans at Suncorp Stadium. But the home side scored four tries in 18 minutes, with Walsh setting up two, to usurp the Sharks in fifth position. "I guess we expect Reece to come up with those things. He just keeps competing," Broncos coach Michael Maguire said. "The captain (Adam Reynolds) spoke to them at halftime and sharpened them up a bit. "It was pleasing that with their backs against the wall ... to fight the way they did and get the win at the end." Sharks forward Teig Wilton went to hospital in the first half after suffering blurred vision from an eye injury, before winger Sione Katoa had a brain explosion on the cusp of halftime. He was sin-binned for a ridiculous touch on Ezra Mam when he was laying in the ruck. The Broncos were too daft to make the most of it. Instead Brailey darted over from close range and the result appeared secured, but the Sharks then fell apart. Winger Ronaldo Mulitalo was ruled to have knocked on and Walsh made the Sharks pay with a bullet pass to centre Gehamat Shibasaki. Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall kicked out on the full and Broncos winger Josiah Karapani stormed in despite Sharks half Nicho Hynes falling over and claiming an obstruction. Skipper Adam Reynolds then darted and weaved in traffic and threw a basketball-style pass for Karapani to complete his double in as many weeks. Reynolds landed the conversion from the sideline for a 30-28 lead. When Walsh carved through Hynes to set up Shibasaki for his second, it was all over. "Our discipline to stick to our plan and defence has been poor for weeks. Even when we were leading, you could see signs we were hanging on," Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said. "I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. We need to do something about it. We've got to address our discipline." The first half was a bizarre affair, with the Sharks leading 22-12 at the break. Brisbane's kicking game and line speed were poor, with fullback Walsh giving up two seven-tackle sets. The Sharks attacked with freedom, with halves Trindall and Hynes playing lead roles. Trindall laid on the pass for centre Siosifa Talakai to score. He was at it again to put Wilton through a gaping hole, and fullback William Kennedy finished it off for a 10-0 lead. The Sharks opened the scoring through Talakai after Broncos winger Jesse Arthars spilt a bomb. Kennedy scored his second with a classic after Hynes sent second-rower Briton Nikora on his merry way. Trindall did the same for Hynes to stroll through for a 22-6 lead after Broncos hooker Cory Paix darted over from dummy-half for the softest of tries. Mam scored on the cusp of halftime to keep the home side in it. Brisbane have stormed home from a 16-point deficit to beat a wasteful Cronulla 34-28, with fullback Reece Walsh igniting the comeback. When Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey darted over from dummy half to secure a 28-12 lead in the 56th minute, the Broncos appeared cooked in front of 39,042 fans at Suncorp Stadium. But the home side scored four tries in 18 minutes, with Walsh setting up two, to usurp the Sharks in fifth position. "I guess we expect Reece to come up with those things. He just keeps competing," Broncos coach Michael Maguire said. "The captain (Adam Reynolds) spoke to them at halftime and sharpened them up a bit. "It was pleasing that with their backs against the wall ... to fight the way they did and get the win at the end." Sharks forward Teig Wilton went to hospital in the first half after suffering blurred vision from an eye injury, before winger Sione Katoa had a brain explosion on the cusp of halftime. He was sin-binned for a ridiculous touch on Ezra Mam when he was laying in the ruck. The Broncos were too daft to make the most of it. Instead Brailey darted over from close range and the result appeared secured, but the Sharks then fell apart. Winger Ronaldo Mulitalo was ruled to have knocked on and Walsh made the Sharks pay with a bullet pass to centre Gehamat Shibasaki. Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall kicked out on the full and Broncos winger Josiah Karapani stormed in despite Sharks half Nicho Hynes falling over and claiming an obstruction. Skipper Adam Reynolds then darted and weaved in traffic and threw a basketball-style pass for Karapani to complete his double in as many weeks. Reynolds landed the conversion from the sideline for a 30-28 lead. When Walsh carved through Hynes to set up Shibasaki for his second, it was all over. "Our discipline to stick to our plan and defence has been poor for weeks. Even when we were leading, you could see signs we were hanging on," Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said. "I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. We need to do something about it. We've got to address our discipline." The first half was a bizarre affair, with the Sharks leading 22-12 at the break. Brisbane's kicking game and line speed were poor, with fullback Walsh giving up two seven-tackle sets. The Sharks attacked with freedom, with halves Trindall and Hynes playing lead roles. Trindall laid on the pass for centre Siosifa Talakai to score. He was at it again to put Wilton through a gaping hole, and fullback William Kennedy finished it off for a 10-0 lead. The Sharks opened the scoring through Talakai after Broncos winger Jesse Arthars spilt a bomb. Kennedy scored his second with a classic after Hynes sent second-rower Briton Nikora on his merry way. Trindall did the same for Hynes to stroll through for a 22-6 lead after Broncos hooker Cory Paix darted over from dummy-half for the softest of tries. Mam scored on the cusp of halftime to keep the home side in it. Brisbane have stormed home from a 16-point deficit to beat a wasteful Cronulla 34-28, with fullback Reece Walsh igniting the comeback. When Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey darted over from dummy half to secure a 28-12 lead in the 56th minute, the Broncos appeared cooked in front of 39,042 fans at Suncorp Stadium. But the home side scored four tries in 18 minutes, with Walsh setting up two, to usurp the Sharks in fifth position. "I guess we expect Reece to come up with those things. He just keeps competing," Broncos coach Michael Maguire said. "The captain (Adam Reynolds) spoke to them at halftime and sharpened them up a bit. "It was pleasing that with their backs against the wall ... to fight the way they did and get the win at the end." Sharks forward Teig Wilton went to hospital in the first half after suffering blurred vision from an eye injury, before winger Sione Katoa had a brain explosion on the cusp of halftime. He was sin-binned for a ridiculous touch on Ezra Mam when he was laying in the ruck. The Broncos were too daft to make the most of it. Instead Brailey darted over from close range and the result appeared secured, but the Sharks then fell apart. Winger Ronaldo Mulitalo was ruled to have knocked on and Walsh made the Sharks pay with a bullet pass to centre Gehamat Shibasaki. Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall kicked out on the full and Broncos winger Josiah Karapani stormed in despite Sharks half Nicho Hynes falling over and claiming an obstruction. Skipper Adam Reynolds then darted and weaved in traffic and threw a basketball-style pass for Karapani to complete his double in as many weeks. Reynolds landed the conversion from the sideline for a 30-28 lead. When Walsh carved through Hynes to set up Shibasaki for his second, it was all over. "Our discipline to stick to our plan and defence has been poor for weeks. Even when we were leading, you could see signs we were hanging on," Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said. "I'm not going to sit here and make excuses. We need to do something about it. We've got to address our discipline." The first half was a bizarre affair, with the Sharks leading 22-12 at the break. Brisbane's kicking game and line speed were poor, with fullback Walsh giving up two seven-tackle sets. The Sharks attacked with freedom, with halves Trindall and Hynes playing lead roles. Trindall laid on the pass for centre Siosifa Talakai to score. He was at it again to put Wilton through a gaping hole, and fullback William Kennedy finished it off for a 10-0 lead. The Sharks opened the scoring through Talakai after Broncos winger Jesse Arthars spilt a bomb. Kennedy scored his second with a classic after Hynes sent second-rower Briton Nikora on his merry way. Trindall did the same for Hynes to stroll through for a 22-6 lead after Broncos hooker Cory Paix darted over from dummy-half for the softest of tries. Mam scored on the cusp of halftime to keep the home side in it.
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The Advertiser
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Boulter falls short in bid for Nottingham hat-trick
Katie Boulter's reign as the queen of Nottingham is over after she lost in the quarter-finals to McCartney Kessler. Boulter, fiancee of Australia's top-ranked men's tennis player Alex de Minaur, was gunning for a third successive Nottingham Open crown, having won in 2023 and 2024, but came unstuck against the world No.42 with victory in sight. The British No.2 was leading 4-3 with a break of serve in the final set, but lost the last three games to her American opponent, including her serve twice, to go down 6-3 3-6 6-4. That saw her 12-match winning run on her home court come to an end. "It was a really tight match, it was close,'' Kessler said. "I wanted to stay within myself and keep playing my game, and luckily I came out on top. "We are both aggressive players, so there was a lot of shot-making. "I am trying to get as many titles as I can and put myself in the position to win titles. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend." She will play Rebecca Sramkova in the semi-finals. Dayana Yastremska will play Magda Linette in the other semi-final. Ukrainian Yastremska beat former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in the quarter-final. Linette downed top seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to book her spot in the last four. Katie Boulter's reign as the queen of Nottingham is over after she lost in the quarter-finals to McCartney Kessler. Boulter, fiancee of Australia's top-ranked men's tennis player Alex de Minaur, was gunning for a third successive Nottingham Open crown, having won in 2023 and 2024, but came unstuck against the world No.42 with victory in sight. The British No.2 was leading 4-3 with a break of serve in the final set, but lost the last three games to her American opponent, including her serve twice, to go down 6-3 3-6 6-4. That saw her 12-match winning run on her home court come to an end. "It was a really tight match, it was close,'' Kessler said. "I wanted to stay within myself and keep playing my game, and luckily I came out on top. "We are both aggressive players, so there was a lot of shot-making. "I am trying to get as many titles as I can and put myself in the position to win titles. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend." She will play Rebecca Sramkova in the semi-finals. Dayana Yastremska will play Magda Linette in the other semi-final. Ukrainian Yastremska beat former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in the quarter-final. Linette downed top seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to book her spot in the last four. Katie Boulter's reign as the queen of Nottingham is over after she lost in the quarter-finals to McCartney Kessler. Boulter, fiancee of Australia's top-ranked men's tennis player Alex de Minaur, was gunning for a third successive Nottingham Open crown, having won in 2023 and 2024, but came unstuck against the world No.42 with victory in sight. The British No.2 was leading 4-3 with a break of serve in the final set, but lost the last three games to her American opponent, including her serve twice, to go down 6-3 3-6 6-4. That saw her 12-match winning run on her home court come to an end. "It was a really tight match, it was close,'' Kessler said. "I wanted to stay within myself and keep playing my game, and luckily I came out on top. "We are both aggressive players, so there was a lot of shot-making. "I am trying to get as many titles as I can and put myself in the position to win titles. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend." She will play Rebecca Sramkova in the semi-finals. Dayana Yastremska will play Magda Linette in the other semi-final. Ukrainian Yastremska beat former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in the quarter-final. Linette downed top seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to book her spot in the last four. Katie Boulter's reign as the queen of Nottingham is over after she lost in the quarter-finals to McCartney Kessler. Boulter, fiancee of Australia's top-ranked men's tennis player Alex de Minaur, was gunning for a third successive Nottingham Open crown, having won in 2023 and 2024, but came unstuck against the world No.42 with victory in sight. The British No.2 was leading 4-3 with a break of serve in the final set, but lost the last three games to her American opponent, including her serve twice, to go down 6-3 3-6 6-4. That saw her 12-match winning run on her home court come to an end. "It was a really tight match, it was close,'' Kessler said. "I wanted to stay within myself and keep playing my game, and luckily I came out on top. "We are both aggressive players, so there was a lot of shot-making. "I am trying to get as many titles as I can and put myself in the position to win titles. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend." She will play Rebecca Sramkova in the semi-finals. Dayana Yastremska will play Magda Linette in the other semi-final. Ukrainian Yastremska beat former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in the quarter-final. Linette downed top seed Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to book her spot in the last four.
