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Liam Lawson's first Formula One season with Red Bull is coming to an end on a disappointing note after just two races. New Zealand’s Lawson is facing the axe after a disappointing show in the 2025 season opening Australian Formula One at Melbourne and the Chinese GP in Shanghai. The decision by Red Bull management to replace Lawson with Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda has not gone down well in New Zealand as well as the current F1 world champion Max Verstappen. The latter is also the Red Bull flagbearer and Lawson's teammate on the F1 Grand Prix circuit. Verstappen is reported to be frustrated by Red Bull deciding to sack Lawson after only two races. He stated that Racing Bulls, the feeder of Red Bull where Lawson used to race before his elevation, cars are easier to drive. “That Racing Bulls car is easier to drive than ours. I notice that when I talk to Liam. Last year the difference between him and Yuki wasn't that big, I thought. Otherwise the team wouldn't have made the choice to put Liam in at Red Bull,” said the F1 world champion. New Zealand Minister for Sport Mark Mitchell jumped into the controversy backing Lawson. “I'm disappointed if he isn't racing in the Red Bull, but I'm really excited that if he's at least back in the Racing Bull, that he can go and show everyone what he's capable of," he told New Zealand media.

SYDNEY: When Australian Dick Friend bought a Tesla in 2015, he was so impressed with its environmental credentials and performance that he and his wife bought two more of the electric vehicles, plus shares in the Elon Musk-led company. Now, however, he is selling his Tesla stock and will not replace one of his cars, wrecked in an accident last year, citing his objections to Musk's right-wing tilt and his growing role in the administration of Donald Trump. «The cars are brilliant, but we don't like the direction of the owner and we're voting with our feet,» said Friend, who splits time between homes in Hobart and Melbourne. Tesla sales in the four months since Trump's election were down 35% compared with the same time last year, according to data from Australia's Electric Vehicle Council, with a spate of vandalism in Australia and New Zealand over the last week also adding to evidence of contagion from Musk's role in the Trump administration.

Qatar Airways has responded to a distressing incident aboard a flight from Melbourne to Doha, where a deceased woman’s body was placed next to an Australian couple for several hours. The airline conducted an internal review and stated that its crew «acted quickly, appropriately and professionally» in handling the situation. The incident gained attention after Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, who were traveling to Venice, shared their experience with Channel Nine in Australia.

Asian stocks traded in narrow ranges after US shares fell from record highs as a disappointing forecast from the world’s largest retailer added to concern about the health of the economy. The yen strengthened past 150 per dollar. Australian shares edged higher while those in Japan ticked down due to the stronger local currency. Equity index futures pointed to initial gains in Hong Kong after a gauge of US-listed Chinese shares climbed as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced its fastest pace of revenue growth in more than a year.

Jannik Sinner clinched the Australian Open on Sunday after beating Germany's Alexander Zverev in straights sets in the final played in Melbourne The 23-year-old won 6-3 7-6 6-3 to clinch his second consecutive Australian Open title and his third Grand Slam overall. The Italian world No 1 became just the eighth player in the Open era (since 1968) to win the first three Grand Slam men's singles finals he has contested.

Asian stocks advanced with US equity futures after President Donald Trump held off from imposing sweeping trade tariffs in his first day in office. Shares climbed from the open in Australia, Japan and South Korea, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising as much as 0.8%. US futures extended their rally from Monday when the cash market was closed. Asian currencies strengthened as Bloomberg’s gauge of the dollar dropped for a second day. Treasuries climbed.

Asian equities climbed in early Monday trading, tracking US peers following a positive conversation between Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of the US President-elect’s inauguration. Shares in Australia, Japan and South Korea gained. A gauge of US-listed Chinese shares jumped 3.2% Friday as Trump described the talk between the two leaders as “very good.” US futures were slightly lower in Asian trading with Wall Street closed on Monday due to a holiday.

Australian Open — and the first in the quarterfinals of a tournament; each of the others came in either a semifinal or final. «Well, this is not the right player to play in a quarterfinal, I guess,» a grinning Alcaraz said, looking ahead to Tuesday's encounter.

Venue : Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne Melbourne Stars squad - Blake Macdonald, Hilton Cartwright, Thomas Rogers, Beau Webster, Glenn Maxwell, Jonathan Merlo, Marcus Stoinis, Tom Curran, Sam Harper, Doug Warren, Joel Paris, Mark Steketee, Peter Siddle, Usama Mir Hobart Hurricanes squad - Caleb Jewell, Charlie Wakim, Mitchell Owen, Chris Jordan, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Ben McDermott, Matthew Wade, Cameron Gannon, Marcus Bean, Nathan Ellis, Patrick Dooley, Peter Hatzoglou, Riley Meredith Melbourne Stars vs Hobart Hurricanes Live Score: Hobart Hurricanes (Playing XI) - Mitchell Owen, Caleb Jewell, Charlie Wakim, Ben McDermott, Nikhil Chaudhary, Matthew Wade (WK), Tim David, Chris Jordan, Nathan Ellis (C), Cameron Gannon, Marcus Bean. Melbourne Stars vs Hobart Hurricanes Live Score: Melbourne Stars (Playing XI) - Thomas Rogers, Sam Harper (WK), Beau Webster, Marcus Stoinis (C), Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright, Tom Curran (IN FOR BEN DUCKETT), Joel Paris, Usama Mir, Mark Steketee, Peter Siddle.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. During the fourth set of his marathon Australian Open match against one of the world’s top tennis players, 19-year-old Learner Tien had just one thing on his mind. He desperately needed a bathroom break.

Novak Djokovic has revealed a new secret weapon that he credits with helping keep him healthy and prolong his career — a green "energetic disc". Known for his new-age spiritual interests, the Serbian star is in Melbourne hoping to wind back the clock and win an 11th Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam singles title. To help achieve the feat, he has a device made by an engineer in Serbia he claims has helped him deal with several ailments.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Andy Murray knows a thing or two about how to play Novak Djokovic. Murray has beaten Djokovic 11 of the 36 times they have met on the men’s tennis tour—not a figure in his favour.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, there is nothing much to write home about for India. Here’s what went wrong

Gautam Gambhir has lambasted Australian youngster Sam Konstas for his aggressive run-in with Jasprit Bumrah during the fifth and final Test here, saying the 19-year-old had no «right» to talk to the Indian captain. Konstas was seen talking animatedly with Bumrah after the pace spearhead, who was leading the side after the off-colour Rohit Sharma stepped aside, dismissed Usman Khawaja on day one of the game.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India could have come to Sydney with a 1-1 scoreline, but one bad session in Melbourne cost them the fourth Test to make it 2-1 in favour of Australia.

Gautam Gambhir declined to confirm that captain Rohit Sharma would play the fifth test against Australia, committing only to naming the team before the toss on Friday.

Rohit Sharma seems to have nothing left in the tank. «Tough times for him,» the legendary Sunil Gavaskar said while on air with broadcasters '7Cricket'.

Boxing Day Test between India and Australia is set to take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26, marking one of the most iconic fixtures in world cricket. As the series between the two teams is currently tied at 1-1, this test holds significant importance, not just for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but also in the context of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings. A win for India will give them a 2-1 lead and strengthen their bid for a place in the WTC final.