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Norris takes control of F1 title race with Brazil win

Norris takes control of F1 title race with Brazil win

McLaren's Lando Norris seized the initiative in the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship with a dominant win in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos Circuit. Norris' second consecutive win came as teammate and chief title rival Oscar Piastri was hampered by a 10-second penalty for causing a collision and could only finish fifth. An inspired drive from Red Bull's Max Verstappen saw the Dutchman rise from the pit lane to finish third, just behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who defended stoutly to hold off the charging Dutchman and score his best ever result. A disastrous qualifying performance on Saturday had seen Verstappen eliminated in Q1, and with little to lose, his team elected to fit a new power unit which exceeded his season's allowance, triggering a pit lane start. Yet after having struggled on Saturday, Verstappen seemed a man reborn on Sunday, shrugging off an early tyre change for a slow puncture to carve his way through the field. Returning to the scene of one of his greatest victories last year, Verstappen's pace was such that at one point it seemed as if he might become the first driver to ever win a race from the pit lane, but ultimately came up just short. Piastri's penalty came after a collision following an early Safety Car restart, when the Australian locked a wheel at Turn 1 and made contact with Antonelli. The Mercedes driver in turn hit Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who was forced to retire with suspension damage. Leclerc's retirement capped a disastrous Sunday for Ferrari, with teammate Lewis Hamilton also failing to finish after suffering floor damage following early collisions with Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto. The resultant no-score saw the Scuderia slip behind Red Bull into fourth in the Constructors' standings. George Russell held off Piastri to take fourth and cap a good weekend for Mercedes, which strengthened its grip on second place in the Constructors' Championship. Behind the top five, Ollie Bearman continued his recent impressive form with a fine drive to sixth in his Haas, with Liam Lawson executing a one-stop strategy well to take seventh, just ahead of his teammate Isack Hadjar. Nico Hulkenberg took ninth for Sauber, and Pierre Gasly scored Alpine's first points in eight races with tenth. But the day belonged to Norris, whose win capped off what he called "a perfect weekend," after the Briton had also won Saturday's Sprint race before qualifying on pole for the Grand Prix proper. "I was pushing! It was an amazing race and it's nice to win here in Brazil," Norris said afterwards. "It's an amazing track, amazing fans. This one was for [former McLaren Sporting Director] Gil [de Ferran, who died in December 2023], one of my mentors growing up a couple of years ago. This one was for him - I'm sure he'd be very proud about it all." By contrast, Piastri's troubled race continued a clear downward trend in recent rounds. After leading the championship by 34 points following his victory at the Dutch Grand Prix six races ago, he has reached the podium only once since and now trails Norris by 24 points. Even if Piastri wins all remaining three grands prix and one sprint this year, Norris will still claim the championship if he finishes second each time. Verstappen sits a further 25 points behind Piastri, and despite his recent resurgence, the Dutchman now faces an uphill task to overhaul Norris in the remaining races. The 22nd round of the 2025 F1 season is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 22.

Man City announces title candidacy with easy win over Liverpool

Man City announces title candidacy with easy win over Liverpool

Manchester City underlined its status as Arsenal's main title rival with a 3-0 home win over Liverpool on Sunday, reported Xinhua. Pep Guardiola celebrated his 1,000th game as a coach as his side dominated a Liverpool team that had impressed against Real Madrid in midweek. Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the 29th minute. Nico Gonzalez doubled the lead on the stroke of halftime, and Jeremy Doku finished from Nico O'Reilly's assist in the 63rd minute to seal the win. Aston Villa enjoyed a 4-0 home victory over in-form Bournemouth. Emiliano Buendia and Amadou Onana put Unai Emery's side 2-0 up before Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen added second-half goals. Brentford beat Newcastle United 3-1 after coming from behind. Harvey Barnes gave Newcastle the lead, but Kevin Schade equalized and Igor Thiago scored twice late to secure the points for Keith Andrews' side. Newcastle was reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when Dan Burn was sent off, and Thiago converted the resulting penalty. Nottingham Forest also came from behind to defeat Leeds United. After Lukas Nmecha's opener for Leeds, Forest responded through Ibrahim Sangare, Morgan Gibbs-White and an Elliot Anderson penalty in the closing minutes. Crystal Palace and Brighton drew 0-0 in an even contest between long-time rivals. Sunderland ended Arsenal's nine-match winning run and 812-minute shutout with a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. Daniel Ballard put Sunderland ahead in the 36th minute, Bukayo Saka leveled in the 54th, and Leandro Trossard made it 2-1 in the 74th before Brian Brobbey equalized deep in stoppage time. Chelsea defeated bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 at Stamford Bridge with second-half goals from Malo Gusto, Joan Pedro and Pedro Neto. Tottenham and Manchester United drew 2-2 in a repeat of last season's Europa League final. Bryan Mbuemo headed United in front after 32 minutes before Mathys Tel's 84th-minute equalizer. Richarlison put Tottenham ahead in the first minute of added time, but Matthijs de Ligt made it 2-2 from a corner with virtually the last kick. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane scored in Everton's 2-0 home win over Fulham, while West Ham United made it back-to-back victories under Nuno Espirito Santo with a 3-2 triumph over Burnley.