It was in December when the Ferrari leadership, headed by boss Fred Vasseur, slowed down the negotiations for the renewal of Carlos Sainz. Until then, the Spaniard saw his future clearly: he expected to sign before the presentation of the Scuderia in Maranello on February 13. Since then he sensed that something was happening, maybe he would have to change his scene.. The officialization this Thursday of the signing of Lewis Hamilton for the team clarified the horizon and placed Sainz facing a new tomorrow.

“We will announce news about my future in due time,” the driver wrote in a statement, although this news is not expected to arrive before the start of the World Championship on March 2 in Bahrain.. In fact, until then, he will barely make any statements, only at the upcoming presentation and for Ferrari channels.. Sainz must now focus on finding a midfielder for 2025. And the task is not easy, although it can be beneficial in the long term.. In addition to him, eleven pilots are out of contract at the end of 2024 and there are many options open.

Audi

One of those options is Sauber, now Stake, which has not yet confirmed its two current drivers, Valterri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou.. Penultimate team on the grid this season, at first it might seem like a bad start, but it is not.. In 2026, when the Formula 1 regulations change, Sauber will become Audi and the German brand has promised a multimillion-dollar investment. It could be the team that dominates the new era. With Andreas Seidl as boss, an engineer who already met Sainz at McLaren, the Spaniard also has a family relationship: his father is already an Audi driver and with them he won the Dakar a few weeks ago.

The risk is in the novelty. As a new team, Audi can be a revelation, but it can also be a troupe and, in addition, Sainz should suffer for an entire year, 2025, in the last positions on the grid. At 30 years old, in full maturity, it would be an expensive price to pay, although it could be worth it.

Mercedes

Another, more pragmatic option would be to negotiate with Mercedes. The German team now suffers from the void left by Hamilton and does not have a clear replacement. The pearl of their quarry is the Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will debut in Formula 2 next year, but he is still too young. If he jumped to Mercedes, Sainz would find himself in a position similar to the one he currently has at Ferrari: in a historic team with a huge budget, competing for podiums behind Red Bull and with a teammate protected by the bosses, in this case George Russell.

Not so long ago, in 2021, Mercedes won the World Cup, so they could do it again in the more or less near future. If perhaps your problem is the competition there will be to grab that steering wheel: Jenson Button this Friday even proclaimed Fernando Alonso as the main driver.

Aston Martin

And precisely Alonso’s team, Aston Martin, would be the third best option for Sainz. After the Spaniard came close to victory in Monaco or Canada in 2023, the evolution of the team is beyond doubt and this 2024 should continue to improve. But getting a position will be difficult. Despite his 42 years, if Alonso wants to continue in green no one will move him and his partner, Lance Stroll, is the owner’s son. Sainz depends on the progress of one of the two.

Audi, Mercedes, and Aston Martin are your three clearest options now, although there are more. Given the departure of Checo Pérez from Red Bull, the Spaniard could choose to take his position despite the competition from Daniel Ricciardo, who seems to be the chosen one, and another possibility is to take a step back in the World Cup. Alpine, Williams, Haas, or RB, the new name of Red Bull’s second team, will be cards to play if everything else doesn’t work out.

In a stunning turn of events, three coaches have left their positions in the African Cup, shaking the benches of their respective national teams. Tom Saintfiet resigned as Gambia coach after losing all three games, while Ghana dismissed Chris Hughton for failing to advance to the next phase. However, the most surprising dismissal was that of Ivory Coast’s Jean-Louis Gasset, who was let go for “insufficient results”. Despite this, the Ivory Coast team managed to qualify for the round of 16 in a miraculous fashion, leading to their current situation of not having a coach for the upcoming match against Senegal.

Desperate to find a replacement, the Ivory Coast Football Federation even approached France to borrow Hervé Renard, the current coach of the French women’s team. However, their request was denied. With no other options available, Gasset’s former assistant, Emerse Fae, took over as coach for the team. Despite his lack of experience, Fae led the team to victory against Senegal in a closely contested match that went into extra time and penalties. This unexpected triumph has ignited dreams of winning the tournament, especially since other top favorites such as Senegal and Morocco have been eliminated. With a quarterfinal match against Mali coming up, the Ivorian team is filled with renewed hope and the support of their home crowd.

However, Fae remains cautious and urges his players to not get too carried away by the recent success. The 40-year-old coach, who had a modest playing career in France and England, understands the challenges that lie ahead. Despite his underdog status, Fae believes in his team’s capabilities and is determined to make the most of this unexpected opportunity. Only time will tell if this Cinderella story on the “ivory bench” will continue to unfold.

Taking a commanding lead and looking ahead to the upcoming duel against Atlético with a comfortable ten-point gap, Real Madrid secured first place in the League after a smooth victory against Getafe. Joselu’s two goals made it a downhill battle for Bordalás’ team, who had previously been undefeated in their stadium. However, this match has left some consequences for the highly anticipated derby next Sunday.

The final moments of the match may require Carlo Ancelotti to make adjustments in the center of his defense. Tchouaméni received his fifth yellow card from referee Burgos Bengoetxea, resulting in his suspension for the match against Atlético. As a result, the Frenchman, who had been playing as a center back due to an injury scare from Rüdiger, will not be available. Rüdiger himself had to leave the game at half-time after a collision with Greenwood, which resulted in a painful blow to his left thigh. With Militao and Alaba also unavailable, Ancelotti is left with Nacho and Rüdiger as the only viable center-back options. In the absence of either of the two, Tchouaméni has been utilized in the starting eleven.

With Tchouaméni suspended, Ancelotti is anxiously hoping for Rüdiger’s recovery. “Tchouaméni won’t be able to play in the derby, but we hope that Rüdiger can make it. It’s a significant thigh injury, but he’s a fighter, and I find it unlikely that he won’t be able to participate in the game,” said the coach, who made seven changes yesterday.

As the fixtures become more demanding and the need for rotations arises, Joselu’s performance becomes crucial. The forward scored his first double in the League for Getafe as a Real Madrid player, which could have been a hat-trick if he hadn’t chosen to be generous with Vinicius. Joselu has now scored a total of seven goals in the League, three of which were headers, and 13 goals in all competitions. “We are blessed to have a forward like Joselu who possesses exceptional qualities different from the others. He has always been a team player, humble, and dedicated. We are delighted with his contribution,” expressed a satisfied Ancelotti, who will have to make a decision regarding the player’s future at the end of the loan period in June. “He is doing everything possible to secure a permanent place here. His performance has been outstanding,” admitted the Italian coach.

Ancelotti had equally high praise for Luka Modric’s game. The midfielder, who started the match and played the full 90 minutes, proved his worth. “He had a flawless performance and controlled possession exceptionally well. He dictated the tempo of the game,” commended Ancelotti.

Two Crucial Matches Ahead

Real Madrid’s six consecutive victories have propelled them to the top of the table with 57 points, two points ahead of Girona and ten points ahead of Atlético Madrid. These two upcoming matches against Girona and Atlético could potentially seal Real Madrid’s dominance in the League.

However, Ancelotti remains cautious and avoids premature calculations. “If we win both matches, we will gain six more points, which will be advantageous for us. Our team is in good form, both mentally and emotionally. We demonstrated great engagement right from the start of this match and managed it well, which was no easy feat,” warned Ancelotti.

Jon Rahm’s new era began with a birdie, the Barrika player came out like a caged lion on the Chameleon course, the weeks of inactivity, the handshakes in the offices, the noise of social networks, that doesn’t go with ‘Rahmbo’. Although Spanish is an example of oratory, where it is best expressed is on a golf course.. It doesn’t matter if it is in America, Saudi Arabia or Spain, in the LIV, the Masters or The Players, there are things that will never change, the intensity of the game of the number three in the world does not distinguish between colors of tickets, when the pilot red lights up, the public has fun and today it was the turn of the Mexicans to experience a memorable day of golf and not only because of the Spaniard’s shots. His return would be completely overshadowed by the anthological 59 strokes that the Chilean Joaquín Niemann established as a new record for the El Camaleón course.. “Yes, I was nervous on hole 1, and starting the way I started calmed me down a lot, I was so happy to compete that the rest I forgot my speed,” said Jon, who chose the song Monaco by Bad Bunny for his first shot.. “The music has not bothered me…, the atmosphere is very different, the chaos of the practices all at the same time, and above all the feeling in general; there are players who are more relaxed and it shows, it is a more similar feeling to what we experienced in the Ryder Cup”, another news for ‘Rahmbo’ is that he has played his first round in Bermuda shorts as a professional player.

The birdies followed one another in a superb start; After the initial success, Rahm also made his birdies on holes 3, 4 and 5, to reach hole six with four under par and leader of this inaugural tournament of the new era of LIV Golf.

‘He’s like a Spanish fighting bull,’ said two Mexican friends, impressed by Rahmbo’s imposing physique.. Another viewer showed Rahm hitting his wife on the other end of the phone in a video call. “shhhhh, don’t talk, everyone is listening to you…. “warned the complimented husband. Rahm achieved another birdie on the 7th hole to reach five under par, a great start result but not enough to lead the tournament, on the other side of the course Sergio García was asserting himself with a start with four consecutive birdies and Chilean Niemann began his historic day in Mayakoba.

All despite the fact that the day began in a rather uncertain way, food poisoning put the tournament in check on Friday morning. Around thirty members of the LIV expedition were affected to a lesser or greater extent.. The Chilean Mito Pereira drank water and saved his strength in the previous minutes, he was not one of the most affected along with Ogletree, whom Green Norman received on the field with a warm hug. One of the latest signings, the Polish Adrian Meronk had to go to the hospital with his wife. But everyone ended up ready after one in the afternoon on their starting holes to start the season.

The initial festive inertia was left alone for Niemann, who continued tirelessly in his rhythm of successes. In the 11th he holed out from the outside for eagle and his round reached -9 with only 10 holes played, the alerts went off in Mayakoba, players like Rahm or García who were building a good result looked at the scoreboards and did not understand how the Chilean could be making this supernatural work. The Chilean had the option of scoring a 58 or even a 57 strokes, but the tension of such a result gripped him in the final holes and he had to settle for -12, 59 strokes.. “I could have made two strokes less, I feel more and more comfortable, I am more and more hungry to win,” commented the player currently lost beyond 60th place in the world ranking. It is a tremendous injustice to deprive golf of Niemann in tournaments. of the grand slam.

Patrick Reed finished with -7 and a great finish, while Sergio García occupies third position, the loner with six under par, today he stood out in the feat of having left El Camaleón after having birdied the four par threes. “It’s not an easy thing to do, I’ve done it a couple of times before, but it’s difficult and beautiful, the par threes here are solid,” commented the Fireballs captain.. Rahm would finally finish with two bogies to lead the group tied with -5 in fourth place, although he was seven strokes behind the leader. In the team classification, Niemann’s Torque GC have obviously escaped to -13, five ahead of their closest pursuers.