SportsNews

Ferrari ‘hurting’ as it misses out on F1 title to McLaren

Published

1 year ago

December 9, 2024

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24 © Autosport.com

Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclercadmitted they were left ‘hurting’ to miss out on the 2024 Formula 1 constructors’ title.

Both Ferrari and McLaren were in the running for the teams’ title this year, but ultimately McLaren claimed the crown by 14 points courtesy of Lando Norris taking victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The second McLaren of Oscar Piastri was restricted to fighting back to 10th having been hit by Max Verstappen at the start, with Sainz finishing second and Leclerc recovering brilliantly from 19th to also make the podium.

Despite taking second and third place, Ferrari’s 16-year wait for a constructors’ championship goes on.

“Obviously, it is a bit of a bittersweet feeling, in the end,” said Sainz, who took second place in his final race for Ferrari ahead of his move to Williams.

“P2 I think was the maximum we could do today, given the pace of Lando in the McLaren. Yeah. I gave it everything, especially the first stint it looked like, we could hang on to them.

“Then as soon as we put the hard tyres, they just seemed to be that one or two tenths quicker per lap, like we’ve seen all weekend, and they just got a bit out of out of reach.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“But yeah, congratulations, first of all, to McLaren. They deserved this championship. They’ve been rock solid in the last two-thirds of the championship, and they’ve been incredible from our side, I think we can be proud of the effort and the championship we put together.

“It’s been a tough year, but definitely a year where we need to be proud of and hopefully be back here soon.”

Leclerc’s impressive drive through the field began as he avoided the first-lap drama to pick up plenty of places, with the speed of his Ferrari ultimately allowing the Monegasque to battle through to third place.

Leclerc’s weekend was compromised on Friday when he was hit with a 10-place grid penalty for a new battery pack that was outside of his allocation for the season.

“I knew I had to be very aggressive. So I knew that in lap one I had to take all the risks possible in order to gain as many places as possible to then be in a good position for the rest of the race, which was achieved,” he explained.

“But then, unfortunately, we were just starting too far back to do anything better than what we’ve done today. I think we’ve done the maximum.

“It hurts, obviously, because when, the season is so close until the end, and it was a hard hit on Friday when we knew we had the penalty, we still gave it all, and we just come short of our goal, which is a shame, but at the end, we’ve tried everything.

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, 3rd position, congratulates Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, in Parc Ferme
© Autosport.com

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, 3rd position, congratulates Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“If we look [at] our first part of the year, we were nowhere near being in the fight for the constructors’. Then the second part of the season was really good, and the team has done an incredible job.

“I think Carlos and I have done a really good job as well together. So yeah, we ended strong, and I’m sure that next year will hopefully start as strong as what we have ended this year.”

SportsNews

EPL: Full list of players leaving for 2025 AFCON

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

At least 25 players in the Premier League are set to travel for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The tournament is scheduled to take place from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

Nigeria, Ivory Coast, DR Congo lead the way in terms of players based in the English topflight, with four selected from each club for the AFCON.

FIFA has directed clubs to release the eligible players from Monday, December 15.

Full list of players confirmed

Sunderland (5):
Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo (Mozambique), Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo).

Manchester United (3):
Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco).

Fulham (3):
Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria).

Burnley (3):
Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia).

Nottingham Forest (2):
Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast).

Brentford (2):
Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria).

Manchester City (1):
Omar Marmoush (Egypt),

West Ham United (1):
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo)

Wolves (2):
Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast).

Brighton & Hove Albion (1):
Carlos Baleba (Cameroon).

Crystal Palace (2):
Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal), Cheick Doucouré (Mali)

Liverpool (1):
Mohammed Salah (Egypt)

SportsNews

NNL bars fans from Ranchers Bees vs Adamawa United

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

The Nigeria National League, NNL, has announced that matchday six fixture between Ranchers Bees and Adamawa United will be played behind closed doors.

The announcement was made in a statement by the league body.

Only the State Football Association representatives, staff of both teams, kit managers and medical personnel will be allowed into the stadium.

Others are the match officials, security personnel and camera men.

The reason for the decision to play the game without club supporters wasn’t stated by the league body.

The encounter will take place at the Bako Kontagora Stadium in Minna on Saturday (today).

SportsNews

Nigeria vs Egypt Friendly Gets New Date

Published

6 days ago

December 8, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Nigeria’s preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations have taken a fresh hit, with Egypt confirming that the highly anticipated friendly between both nations has been shifted from 14 to 16 December.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced the adjustment late Friday, noting that FIFA’s updated international release directive, which allows clubs keep African players until 15 December, made the original date unworkable.

EFA Vice President Khaled El-Darandaly explained that the new rule left both Egypt and Nigeria without full squads for the initial date.

Key Pharaohs players, including Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, are now expected to arrive only after the new release window.

Egypt had already named its 28-man provisional squad and opened camp in Cairo, with head coach Hossam Hassan accelerating final preparations for a Group B campaign that includes South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe.

Nigeria’s disruption is more extensive. The Super Eagles were originally scheduled to open camp on 10 December and progress through a streamlined friendly schedule before departing for Morocco. That entire framework has now been dismantled.

Under the revised timeline, camp will open on 14 December, leaving Eric Chelle with barely a week to prepare before AFCON kicks off.

The venue for the friendly is also now uncertain, with Cairo no longer feasible and both federations considering shifting the match to Morocco.

Nigeria’s build-up has been further destabilised by injuries to Ola Aina, Taiwo Awoniyi, Benjamin Fredrick and Felix Agu.

The shock retirement of captain William Troost-Ekong, winner of the 2023 AFCON Player of the Tournament award, creates an additional leadership vacuum in defence.

Chelle, who released a 55-man provisional list, must now trim his squad to 28 within a compressed window. Nigeria will compete in Group C alongside Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania as they chase a fourth continental title.