Verstappen’s pseudo-silence spoke volumes of the dissatisfaction in F1 | Giles Richards

In the aftermath of a superb drive at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen went on to give something of another masterclass, in putting across an opinion while ostensibly declining to say anything at all.It was an arch display of discontent and dissatisfaction, delivered with a disarming smile, and aimed at the FIA; the latest expression of a cumulative wave of disquiet with the governing body.Verstappen and his Red Bull team were aggrieved at the penalty he had received in Jeddah which they felt cost him a shot at the win. Fair enough. It’s an unusual race if there isn’t at least one team indignant at a decision that has not gone their way

Simone Biles’ coach says gymnast suffered from ‘twisties’ before 2016 Olympics

Simone Biles suffered from the “twisties” in the run-up to the 2016 Olympics, five years before the condition severely disrupted her performance at the Tokyo Games.Aimee Boorman, Biles’s longtime coach, outlines the story in her new book, The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles. The twisties cause gymnasts to lose their orientation while in the air, a dangerous situation in a sport where falls can cause serious injury. The condition, along with mental health concerns, caused Biles to withdraw from all but one final at the Tokyo Olympics, where her only medal was a bronze on the beam.However, Boorman says Biles suffered from the twisties years earlier, before her Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, when her four gold medals propelled her to worldwide fame

Irish Freemasons apologise for hosting Conor McGregor interview at Dublin hall

The Freemasons of Ireland have apologised for hosting an interview between Conor McGregor and the US commentator Tucker Carlson at the organisation’s premises in central Dublin.Philip Daley, the grand secretary of the Irish Freemasons, said the organisation regretted renting its hall for the event last week and would donate the fee to charity.Carlson, a former Fox News pundit, gave the former mixed martial arts champion who has become an outspoken critic of Irish and European immigration and asylum policies a platform to assail immigration and to promote his potential run for Ireland’s presidency in an election later this year.The 55-minute interview, recorded on 15 April, has been viewed more than 1.4m times on Carlson’s YouTube channel

Bailey Smith embraces the big stage as Geelong hold nerve in another Easter classic | Jonathan Horn

Geelong and Hawthorn have been playing on Easter Monday for 15 years now and have turned in three or four of the best games of the era. Monday’s game perhaps won’t be remembered in those terms but it was an entertaining, high-standard, occasionally spiteful affair that ebbed and flowed all afternoon.With a minute and a half to play, the Hawks were seven points adrift and their slim hopes rested on James Sicily’s boot. Normally a sumptuous kick, he’d had some uncharacteristic shanks throughout the game, three of which had directly led to Geelong goals, and the most important kick of all went sailing out on the full. The professionally provocative Nick Watson had missed an easy shot shortly before

Stawell Gift 2025: silk singlets, a power blackout and Gout Gout add to fun of historic race | Jack Snape

This year’s edition attracted a crowd almost as big as the population of the small country Victoria town where it is held – and they didn’t leave disappointedThe Stawell Gift, one of Australia’s more peculiar sporting traditions, is held each year during Easter at Central Park in the small town of Stawell in western Victoria. Though the ground shares its name with the green hub in the middle of Manhattan, it is not often confused with it.New York’s version has been made famous by literature, film and television. There are the scenes from Ghostbusters. References in The Catcher in the Rye

Grounds for concern with credibility urgently needed on racing data

What is the state of the going at Thirsk before the track’s meeting tomorrow evening? In a well-run racing industry, this should not be a trick question, but it does rather feel that way after James Sanderson, the track’s clerk of the course, admitted in an interview last week that when it comes to GoingStick readings – the numbers that professionals and punters alike rely upon as an objective guide to the state of the ground – he feels at liberty to massage the data as he sees fit.Sanderson told an interviewer from the Barstewards Enquiry podcast, which is a sponsor at his track, that he had knocked a point off the actual reading from his GoingStick before publication ahead of Thirsk’s meeting on 12 April. He subsequently told the Racing Post that he had done so because “if we published the readings as they came out of the ground they would be misleading”, and added for good measure that he does not believe he is the only clerk of course that routinely tweaks the numbers.“If the Racing Post did an anonymous survey of clerks of the course,” Sanderson said, “and asked do they ever change the reading, or manipulate the process to get a reading they’re happy with, I’d be amazed if you didn’t get 50% or more saying yes. I know others do, I talk to them