Russell

George Russell wins his fourth career GP while McLaren’s Lando Norris crashes out after touching teammate Oscar Piastri three laps from the finish.

George Russell won his first race of the Formula 1 season as the Mercedes driver held off defending race winner Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix.

It was the fourth victory of Russell’s career, and the race ended under a yellow flag when McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris staged a wheel-to-wheel late battle that ended with Norris hitting the wall on Sunday.

Russell started on pole for the second consecutive year in Montreal and held the advantage most of the race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The British driver became the fourth race winner this year, joining Piastri, Norris and Verstappen, the four-time reigning F1 champion.

Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished third behind Verstappen for his first F1 podium.

The two McLarens came together when Norris, then in fifth, attempted to pass Piastri multiple times on the 67th lap out of 70.

Norris ultimately ran into Piastri and bounced into the wall, drawing a safety car for the final laps.

Piastri finished fourth, ending an eight-race podium streak dating back to the second race of the season. McLaren as a team failed to reach the top three for the first time this year.

Norris, who ended at a standstill by the side of the track with no front wing and a broken car, was quick to blame himself.

“I’m sorry. All my bad. All my fault. Stupid from me,” he said over the team radio.

Piastri pitted as the safety car was deployed and rejoined with a tyre advantage over Antonelli that he could not use as the racing never resumed.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth, with Fernando Alonso seventh for Aston Martin and Nico Hulkenberg bringing in more solid points for Sauber in eighth place.

Piastri stretches his lead over Norris in the drivers’ championship to 22 points after 10 of 24 races in the 2025 season.

The next race of the F1 season is the Austrian Grand Prix on June 29.

Fly-half Finn Russell says he wanted to “give a kid from Bath the limelight” as he explained why he unselfishly passed to Max Ojomoh for the crucial second try in their 23-21 Gallagher Premiership title win over Leicester Tigers.

It helped seal Bath’s first league title since 1996 and their third trophy of the season, having won the Premiership Rugby Cup and Challenge Cup.

Scotland international Russell was influential in the victory, kicking 13 points and intercepting Handre Pollard’s pass to race towards the line before flinging the ball inside for Ojomoh to finish under the posts in the 50th minute at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

Asked why he gave that pass rather than scoring himself, Russell told BBC Radio 5 Live: “He’s a kid from Bath that grew up watching his dad [Steve] lifting this trophy. Giving him a little bit of limelight in the final was nice.”

Ojomoh, 24, joined Bath Rugby when he was six years old before moving to Chippenham RFC aged nine. He then joined the Bath Rugby Academy at 14, with his senior debut coming in 2019.

His father Steve, 58, won 10 trophies with Bath in the 1990s, including five league titles, before joining Gloucester in 1998.

He won 12 England caps and played four times at the 1995 World Cup.

It was Russell’s first league title since the Pro 12 success with Glasgow Warriors in 2015, with the 32-year-old joining Bath in 2023.

“It’s not sunk in yet,” Russell added.

“Winning the Challenge Cup was brilliant but at the start of the year the goal was to win the Premiership. It’s 10 years since I won it at Glasgow in my second season there, and now I’ve won it here in my second season.”

The grid gives the Australian a good chance to extend his championship lead over Norris, who had a tricky session.

He missed the final chicane on his first lap of the top 10 shootout and had to be reminded not to push too much in the braking zones.

His second attempt was slower than Alonso’s first and Norris failed to improve on his final run, and was bumped further down by Russell, Antonelli and Hamilton.

Norris said: “Just a couple of big mistakes. One, hitting the wall on the last lap in the exit of (Turn) Seven and first lap, I think, last corner. So, yeah, just two mistakes that cost me, I guess.

“We’ve clearly not been as quick as normal. I think that’s just because of the layout of the track. I think the cars have been performing relatively well and I was happy through all of qualifying. Maybe not the car to take pole today, but good enough to be up there and fighting for top three.”

Alonso’s sixth place was Aston Martin’s best grid position of the season and confirms the progress the team have made since introducing an upgrade at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

“We maximised for sure the potential of the car,” Alonso said. “I feel happier with the car since Imola, since the upgrade.

“At the beginning of the year, it was a challenge to understand what the car needed and what kind of direction in the set-up I needed to go, but since Imola I am more comfortable and I can be more precise on the feedback and make the changes that I know will make the car faster and sometimes you succeed on that.

“Last four races, four Q3 (places). It makes the whole team a little more relaxed.”

Rounding out the top 10 behind Leclerc were Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Williams’ Alex Albon.

But Hadjar faces an investigation for impeding Williams’ Carlos Sainz at the end of the first session, preventing the Spaniard from progressing.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, who qualified 11th, will start at the back because of a 10-place grid penalty for overtaking Piastri’s damaged McLaren after a red flag during final practice.

Stewards rejected Tsunoda’s explanations for his actions, saying Piastri was not going slow enough to excuse the breaking of a safety rule.

Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart, who led the head coach search along with Thelwell, said Martin was the “standout candidate”.

The Ibrox club spoke to former Real Madrid assistant manager Davide Ancelotti and former Feyenoord manager Brian Priske, while former manager Gerrard and ex-Ajax head coach Francesco Farioli were among those also linked with the post.

“Our criteria were clear: we wanted a coach who will excel in terms of how we want to play, improve our culture, develop our squad, and ultimately win matches,” Stewart said.

“This appointment is about building a winning team and a strong culture. He is no stranger to our club, we expect success and Russell knows that. We are excited for his leadership.”

Thelwell suggested Martin’s time in the Premier League “has sharpened his approach, both tactically and personally”.

Giving an insight into what a Rangers team under Martin will be like, he added: “His teams play dominant football, they control the ball, dictate the tempo and impose themselves physically. They press aggressively and work relentlessly off the ball.

“These are all characteristics that we believe are required to be successful at home, away and abroad.”

A reluctance to adapt is an accusation Postecoglou and Martin both share. But the latter’s former Norwich City team-mate, Angus Gunn, would dispute that.

Gunn came up against Martin’s Southampton team in the English Championship en route to, what turned into, their unsuccessful return to the Premier League.

“They were a tough team,” the Scotland goalkeeper said. “We had a couple of good games against them. One was 4-4, one was 1-1, so quite contrasting.

“When we first played them they were quite open. Then when we played them again, they were a little bit pragmatic and I think that shows a coach that can adapt and change the way his team plays.

“Watching his teams over the few years that he was there, I thought he did that even though some people probably said that he was reluctant to change a lot.

“I thought he did that quite well, especially in the Championship.”

The narrative around the former Scotland defender, particularly with Southampton in the Premier League, was that he was too stubborn and needed to adapt.

The former Rangers defender’s response was firm.

“There is a difference between being stubborn and having conviction,” he told BBC Sport. “If you really believe in something as a coach, manager, leader, then the logic for me is that you stick with it and try to be better at it.”

It suggests the principles of Martin’s approach won’t deviate, if he gets the Ibrox job.

With the benefit of hindsight, this was one of two mistakes Red Bull made in the Spanish Grand Prix.

After the stewards launched an inquiry into the Verstappen-Russell incident in Turn One, Red Bull decided to order Verstappen to give the place back.

Team principal Christian Horner said the decision was based “on recent experience and looking at recent incidents”.

Verstappen had kept fourth position by taking to the escape road after the two had made light contact while Russell tried a passing move. He believed he was justified in keeping the place because he felt the Mercedes driver had barged him off the track.

Horner said Red Bull had contacted FIA race control and received nothing back and that, as it had gone to the stewards, “it looked for all intents and purposes that it was going to be a penalty”.

Horner added: “The argument is, was George under control at that point in time? Would he have made the corner? We’ve seen so many occasions this year where penalties have been given.

“You’re expecting to get a penalty, so that’s why it was, ‘OK, do you know what? We’re going to have to give this place up.'”

The stewards’ verdict was published some time after the race. It said that Russell had “momentarily lost control of the car and collided” with Verstappen, who “did not deliberately leave the track”. As a result, it said, they took no further action.

In other words, in their view, Verstappen could have justifiably kept the place.

There are two parts of the racing guidelines in play here. To be entitled to be given space – ie, to have been judged to have won the corner – the driver overtaking on the inside has to have his front axle “at least alongside the mirror of the other car prior to and at the apex”.

Russell seems to have complied with this.

But the car must also “be driven in a fully controlled manner particularly from entry to apex”.

This, the stewards decided, Russell had not. And that was also Verstappen’s opinion.

Horner said: “With hindsight, was it a mistake? Yeah, but I think that’s where it would be nice, as the referee, as a race director, to either say, ‘Play on,’ or ‘you need to give it back.’ It’s very hard for the team, subjectively, to try and make that call, because you’re going on historical precedents.”

The second decision Red Bull got wrong, Horner admitted, was the decision to pit Verstappen for fresh hard tyres under the safety car, one that Verstappen immediately questioned vociferously once he was back on track.

Horner acknowledged they should have left him out on his soft tyres. “He would have got passed by the two McLarens. Would he have got passed by (Charles) Leclerc? But you can only go with the information you have to hand.”

MAX VERSTAPPEN is on the verge of a Formula One race ban after race stewards made a decision over his collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver lost his head at the end of the race following a safety car restart which culminated in him “undoubtedly” crashing into Russell and initially earning a 10-second time penalty.

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That punishment dropped him from P5 when he crossed the line to P10, which opened a massive 49-point gap between himself and championship leader Oscar Piastri.

A further investigation from the FIA after the race saw the 27-year-old avoid disqualification, despite calls from Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports commentary.

However, F1‘s governing body decided that Verstappen‘s actions also warranted three points on his Super Licence, declaring the collision was “undoubtedly caused” by him.

And this has placed him on the verge of a ban for an F1 race later this season.

With the three points added from his exploits in Barcelona, Verstappen is now just one penalty point away from a race ban.

F1’s penalty points system works on a 12-month rolling basis, and Verstappen currently sits on 11 penalty points out of the maximum of 12 before a ban.

But the next time the four-time world champion will see any of his penalty points expire will be on June 30.

That means Verstappen will need to be on his best behaviour at both the Canada Grand Prix on June 15 and then Red Bull’s home race at the Austrian Grand Prix on June 29.

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Picking up another penalty point in Montreal would mean a ban for Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring, while a point in the second race would mean he is banned from the British Grand Prix on July 6.

Verstappen will become the first-ever reigning world champion to be hit by a ban if he picks up another point in either of those races.

However, if he stays clean across the next two race weekends then Verstappen will see two points expire from his licence and move down to nine.

After that he will need to avoid further incident going all the way to October 27th.

The chaos in Spain began after a safety car restart caused by Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli veering into the gravel. 

Verstappen nearly spun and Charles Leclerc overtook him before Russell, 27, nearly went into the back of him, with the Dutchman going off track onto the escape road.

He was then told by his team to give the place back to the Brit, believing he had gained an unfair advantage by leaving the track.

Fuming Verstappen swore down the radio at the decision before slowing up.

The Mercedes man thought he was letting him through at Turn 5 but his rival then appeared to intentionally ram into the side of him, which landed Verstappen in hot water.

Speaking after the race, Russell said: “I’m too close to give my opinion on behalf of the drivers. It’s like in Austin last year, some of the best moves ever then you go to Mexico and he lets himself down a bit.

“You go to Imola with one of the best moves of all-time, then this happens. It cost him and his team a lot of points. Charles and I actually dropped off like a stone on those last two laps.

“He probably could have come back to fight for the podium, so I won’t lose any sleep [over it]. We have our own problems and that’s making our car go faster.”

Verstappen himself said: “I don’t need to say anything about it because it doesn’t matter anyway.

“I had a big moment there in the last corner. Unfortunately the hard tyres had very low grip so that was quite painful. Basically, we just ran out of tyres.

“In hindsight, was it better to stay out? Maybe, I don’t know. It’s always easy to say afterwards. Because of those hard tyres, you get into those situations.

“I think [the strategy] was good, I think it worked for us. It was the best way forward. It was racy and I liked it. Unfortunately we didn’t get the benefits at the end.”

British comedian Russell Brand remained firm this week in denying he sexually assaulted four women from 1999 to 2005.

The controversial “Get Him to the Greek” actor, 49, appeared in a London court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. Brand, who was charged in April, said “not guilty” after each count was read in Southwark Crown Court. A legal representative for Brand did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Friday.

Brand, who is best known for starring in raunchy comedies including “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Rock of Ages” and “Arthur,” entered his not guilty plea months after U.K. authorities announced its counts against the comedian.

The charges stem from four separate alleged incidents involving different women. Prosecutors allege Brand raped a woman in the English seaside area of Bournemouth in 1999. He also allegedly indecently assaulted a second woman in 2001, orally raped and sexually assaulted a third woman in 2004 and sexually assaulted the fourth woman between 2004 to 2005. The final three allegations occurred in Westminster, according to U.K. officials.

At the time, Brand denied the allegations via social media.

“I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile. But what I never was was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activities,” he said in a video shared to Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). “I pray you can tell that by looking in my eyes.”

Before he was charged, Brand faced previous allegations of rape and sexual assault in September 2023, when the Times of London published its joint investigation with “Dispatches,” a news program on Britain’s Channel 4. Several women came forward with allegations that Brand sexually assaulted them between 2006 and 2013. At the time, Brand refuted the “very, very serious criminal allegations” and claimed he was being targeted by the “mainstream media” because of his views. Since distancing himself from Hollywood, Brand in recent years has refashioned himself as an anti-establishment commentator and platformed conspiracy theories about vaccines and the 9/11 attacks.

In November 2023, the actor was sued for sexual assault in New York by a woman who said she worked as an extra in Brand’s 2011 film “Arthur.” That same month, the BBC said it received multiple complaints about the risqué comedian relating to his workplace conduct when he hosted radio programs from 2006 to 2008.

In recent years, Brand has also turned his focus to religion. In 2024, he doubled down on his commitment to Christianity and was baptized in the River Thames. At the time, he said it was “an opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ’s name.”

As he arrived to court on Friday, Brand was seen clutching a copy of “The Valley of Vision,” a collection of Puritan prayers.

His trial is set to begin June 3, 2026, and is expected to last four to five weeks.

Times staff writer Meredith Blake and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

GEORGE RUSSELL “won’t be saying thank you” anytime soon after blasting Formula One’s swearing rules as too “ridiculous” in the first place.

The Mercedes star, who sits fourth in the Championship standings, showed no gratitude to F1‘s governing body after labelling the walk-back on rules as “suspect” ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

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On Wednesday, the FIA climbed down on its previous stance of drivers facing potential bans and point deductions for swearing or criticising officials, and dramatically reduced the possible fines that can be issued.

Crucially, the stewards are now able to differentiate between ‘controlled’ and ‘non-controlled’ environments, meaning drivers are highly unlikely to be punished for swearing while competing, but will still face action for using offensive language in press conferences.

But Russell, was unmoved by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem cutting the first time fines from £33,700 down to £4,200.

The 27-year-old said: “I didn’t really have any reaction to the announcement because it was so ridiculous in the first place that we are just basically reverting on that.

“At the end of the day we’re not going to be saying thank you for something that was so crazy in the first place.

“We’ve just gone back to something that is slightly more in the name of common sense

“But we should never have moved away from that in the first place. You know, we shouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, also revealed that he “wonders if the change was strategic timing” given that Ben Sulayem is up for re-election at the end of the season.

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Ben Sulayem said when the rule change was announced that he had “led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA World Championships”.

But, Russell has refused that claim, saying: “We’ve still had no correspondence with anyone from the senior level at the FIA. So yeah, it’s all a bit suspect.”

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, 40, also agreed that the situation was “ridiculous”.

The seven-time champion said: “It seems a bit of a mess there at the moment. There are lots of changes that are needed, for sure.”

Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen – who last year was the first driver to be punished for saying his car was “f***ed” with a form of community service – said the change was “a bit better and it’s a start”.

Incredibly, Russell and Verstappen both backed the potential bid of Carlos Sainz Sr, the father of Williams driver Sainz, in this December’s FIA presidential election.

When asked if Sainz would be a better president, the world champion Red Bull star bluntly replied: “You can fill that in yourself.

“He’s very well respected in the world here and in the rally world as a former rally driver.

“Of course people always say it’s conflicting with his son but I think he’s professional enough to keep that separated from each other.

“I think it would be a great addition to run for president.”

Russell also dismissed the idea there could be a conflict of interest because of Sainz’s son, who is also a GPDA director.

The Brit said: “You’re so far removed from a technical standpoint. It’s down to the technical people within the FIA to be the rule makers.

“The president in years gone by has probably been far less involved than what we’ve seen recently and far less visible.”

F1 2025

THE new Formula One season is well underway – and one team appear to be running away with it.

A massive summer of change saw Lewis Hamilton move on from Mercedes and join Ferrari, while the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have a big chance to end Max Verstappen‘s recent dominance.

The Red Bull ace is aiming for a record-equalling FIFTH consecutive world title.

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Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton added that the situation was “ridiculous”.

The seven-time champion said: “It seems a bit of a mess there at the moment. There’s lots of changes that are needed, for sure.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – who last year was the first driver to be punished for swearing, with a form of community service – said the change was “a bit better – it’s a start”.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said when the change of rules was announced on Wednesday that he had “led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA World Championships”.

However, speaking during media day at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Russell said: “We’ve still had no correspondence with anyone from the senior level at the FIA. So yeah, it’s all a bit suspect.”

Russell did not expand on his meaning, but it is likely that he was referring to the series of controversies that have surrounded Ben Sulayem in his three years as president, including his desire to change the statutes of the governing body to further extend his control, as BBC Sport revealed this week.

Asked why the drivers had not had dialogue with Ben Sulayem, Russell said: “That’s a good question. It seems more challenging than it should be really, but we’ve all put our views forward.

“I wouldn’t say it’s gotten to a point of no return, but you at least want to see willingness from the other party.

“I think we feel we’ve put our views forward and we want to have conversations and dialogue and there’s only so much you can ask.”

World championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren said: “The fact there has been changes made is good. The stewards have a lot more control now, in the fine print, which is good because the circumstances definitely need to be taken into account.

“It’s a good step forward. One of the big things for the FIA was putting something for abusing officials which I think is very fair and reasonable.

“I think maybe some of the other areas got caught up in that and it felt a bit harsh. But there are some genuine reasons for what they are doing.”

Russell also backed the potential bid of rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr in this December’s FIA presidential election.

Sainz is the father of Williams driver Carlos Sainz Jr.

“It could only benefit the sport having Carlos with the inside knowledge of Formula 1 from a driver’s perspective and then Carlos Sr’s knowledge from motorsport generally. It could be a brilliant recipe,” he said.

Russell dismissed the idea there could be a conflict of interest because of Sainz’s son, who is also a GPDA director.

He said: “You’re so far sort of removed ultimately from a technical standpoint. It’s down to the technical people within the FIA to be the rule makers.

“The president in years gone by has probably been far less involved than what we’ve seen recently and far less visible.

“We always knew who the president of the FIA was, especially with Jean Todt, but you’re working in the background, you’re not working in the forefront. So I don’t see there ever being a conflict.”