Latest - Max Verstappen won a thrilling Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix for Red Bull after the Ferraris collided and Mercedes' six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was demoted from third to seventh.
Max Verstappen Photo: PHOTOSPORT
In a race of safety cars and surprises, Verstappen's former team mate Pierre Gasly made a first podium appearance in second place for Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso, a rare Honda-powered one-two.
Hamilton chased the Frenchman across the line for third but was handed a five-second penalty for tangling with Red Bull's Alex Albon in a frantic finale to the season's penultimate round.
The Thai, who replaced Gasly at Red Bull in a seat switch last August, finished 14th after being sent spinning in the penultimate lap collision.
Hamilton's demotion lifted Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who started last after an engine problem in qualifying, to third and McLaren's first podium since the 2014 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Both titles had already been won by Mercedes for an unprecedented sixth year in a row, with Hamilton securing his sixth in Texas two weeks ago.
- Reuters
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O'Shea stands down
Italy coach Conor O'Shea has resigned with immediate effect six months before his contract had been due to expire, the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) has announced.
Conor O'Shea. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Irishman O'Shea, who had been linked in media reports with a post in the England set-up, took charge of the Azzurri in March 2016 and was contracted to stay in the job until the end of May 2020.
"I loved every minute I spent in Italy and I really believe in what we have done," O'Shea said in a FIR statement.
"We have started a process and generated a new, well-founded hope, but I also believe that the end of the Rugby World Cup represents the best time for everyone to make changes."
Italy won nine and lost 31 of 40 Tests under O'Shea, losing all of their Six Nations fixtures and failing to get out of their opening-round pool at the World Cup in Japan.
London's Daily Telegraph last month reported O'Shea would be installed in a new post at England's Rugby Football Union before the start of the 2020 Six Nations, working closely with head coach Eddie Jones.
- Reuters
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck wins league gong
New Zealand fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been named winner of the prestigious 2019 Golden Boot as international rugby league player of the year.
The Warriors number one edged out Tongan prop Siosiua Taukeiaho and Kiwis teammate Jared Waeraa-Hargreaves, who both play for his former NRL club, the Sydney Roosters.
The 26-year-old Tuivasa-Sheck, having missed the 2018 season through injury, is only the fifth New Zealander to win the award since its inception in 1984, joining Hugh McGahan (1987), Stacey Jones (2002), Benji Marshall (2010) and Shaun Johnson (2014).
"Receiving this Golden award is a huge honour," says Tuivasa-Sheck.
"Thank you to all those who voted, the players in the shortlist are all world-class and I'm very honoured to have been considered alongside them.
Canberra's John Bateman was the only Great Britain player in contention for the prize, won in 2018 by St Helens winger Tom Makinson.
Australia's Jesse Sergis won the women's Golden Boot, beating teammate Ai Brigginshaw and England captain Emily Rudge for the honour.
- AAP
England warmup ends in draw
England's final warmup match before the first Test ended in a draw in Whangarei.
New Zealand struggled to 129 for 8 at tea, but a ninth wicket stand between Will Somerville and Ajaz patel snuffed out any chance of a result.
An unbeaten 32 from Somerville and 10 from Patel meant the teams shook hands with a little less than an hour remaining, with the locals 169 for 8.
The first test starts in Mt Maunganui on Thursday.
Top 10 finishes for Kiwis at Macau Grand Prix
New Zealand drivers Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong threaded their way through traffic on the tight Macau Grand Prix street circuit to secure unlikely top ten positions yesterday.
After being caught up in other people's crashes during Saturday's qualifying race, Armstrong began the race in 17th place and Lawson 20th.
Lawson fought his way through to seventh, with Armstrong one place behind.
The race was the first for the new bigger-engined F3 cars and was won by by Dutchman Richard Verschoor.
Marc Marquez wins Valencia GP
World champion Marc Marquez won the Valencia GP with a superb performance for his 12th MotoGP victory of the season to ensure that the Repsol Honda team won the teams' world title.
The 26-year-old, who began the day behind Petronas Yamaha's pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo, overtook the French rookie with a superb move in the eighth lap and never looked back to finish the race in 41 minutes, 21.469 seconds.
Quartararo finished second, 1.026 seconds behind Spaniard Marquez, while Australia's Jack Miller was third for the non-works Pramac Ducati team.
Marquez, who won his sixth world title last month, recovered from an early fall to top the warm-up session earlier in the day but looked unstoppable in the race despite a slow start.
Victory meant that the Repsol Honda team captured the teams championship ahead of Ducati, in addition to the constructors' title for a memorable triple crown.
Triple MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo, who announced on Thursday that he would retire after the season-ending race, kept his cool in windy conditions that made racing tricky with a number of riders crashing out.
The 32-year-old Mallorcan, representing the Repsol Honda team, finished his illustrious career and an injury-blighted season in 13th place.
- Reuters
