MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 24, 2023--

The weather gods did their best on the coast of the North Sea. Twice in fact: once at the start, once at the end. But as has been the case in Formula 1 in the last 18 months, Max Verstappen and his imperious Red Bull team had all the answers again. The inevitability of the Dutch national anthem being bellowed out on the podium – this time in front of 100,000 drenched home supporters – has become as customary as the podium ceremony itself. However, unlike many of this year’s processions for the three-time champion-in-waiting this year, this race was enthralling from start-to-finish. Unusually, team Verstappen were a step behind Sergio Perez’s strategists in the pit stop stakes early on, as rain forced a rethink for the whole pack. Once Red Bull, seemingly aware of the post-mortem should the Dutchman not win in his homeland, undercut Perez for their championship leader, the rest seemed entirely predictable. Until another heavy downpour – and Zhou Guanyu’s hefty shunt – forced a red flag eight laps from the end. Yet upon the race resumption, 45 minutes later, Verstappen maintained his lead from Fernando Alonso, who recorded an impressive finish in second for Aston Martin. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly finished third, after Perez was penalised with five seconds for inexplicably speeding in the pit lane. The Mexican ended up fourth. It is a ninth consecutive victory for Verstappen; his 11th this season and 46th grand prix win overall. A third-straight victory at Zandvoort, too, basking to the tune of the orange-clad contingent in the stands. A victory next week at Monza will see him overtake fellow record-holder Vettel, becoming the first man to reach double figures in consecutive wins. On this trajectory, who would possibly bet against him? Carlos Sainz came home fifth but it was a tumultuous afternoon for Mercedes. George Russell, who started in third, retired late on after a tangle with Lando Norris for seventh, while Lewis Hamilton could only manage sixth. Norris will be disappointed with P7, having started the race on the front row alongside Verstappen. What will hurt more is that the leading contenders had glimmers of hop here, straight off the bat. Just as Verstappen rolled his Red Bull into his grid box after the formation lap, flickers of rain were visible and the drama began. Whilst the hometown hero kept the lead from Lando Norris at the start – unlike at Silverstone last month – a miscalculation in the forecast set him back. But for Perez, with little to lose starting in seventh, it was a route to the front. The Mexican pitted straight away onto the intermediate tyre; a decision which proved inspired. By the time the rest of the pack, amidst pit-lane carnage in the first few laps, realised a change was a necessity Perez had an 11-second lead out in front. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou and Alpine’s Gasly, who also boldly dived into the pits after lap one, completed a helter-skelter top-three early on. Verstappen, to the bemusement of the Dutchies in the stands, had dropped down to eighth. But his ascent was inevitably rapid, passing Zhou within five laps and soon on the cusp of his team-mate. Perez had sparred with Verstappen in the early races of the season before losing his way, impressive staving off the challenge in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. Could he follow suit here? He was given no choice in the matter. By lap 11, it was time to switch back to slick tyres. The track dried out quickly and Red Bull, in full control of their bullets, opted to pit Verstappen first. By the time Perez was out of the pits himself a lap later, the Dutchman was back ahead. Normal order restored. TOP-10 - DUTCH GRAND PRIX 1. Max Verstappen 2. Fernando Alonso 3. Pierre Gasly 4. Sergio Perez 5. Carlos Sainz 6. Lewis Hamilton 7. Lando Norris 8. Alex Albon 9. Oscar Piastri 10. Esteban Ocon “Did Max undercut us?” Perez asked. “Yes, he undercut us,” came the response. You can imagine the look on the Mexican’s red-hot face underneath his helmet. The early shenanigans moved the British contingent out of contention, too. Badly timed pit stops saw Norris drop from second to outside the top-10, while an aghast Russell slumped from third to third-last. “I was forecast for a podium… f***, how did we mess this up?!” he questioned. Hamilton fared little better; a weekend to forget for the Silver Arrows. But within a matter of minutes, light rain had returned. It was too much for Williams rookie Logan Sargeant to handle, dumping his car into the wall to bring out a safety car on lap 17. The order bunched. The race then set forth a familiar tone: Verstappen gradually extended his lead, while those who’d benefited from the early downpour were slowly caught by their superior rivals. Charles Leclerc retired on lap 42; his season with Ferrari going from bad to worse. By the time heavy downpours returned with 12 laps to go, Red Bull had had their dress rehearsal. No panic stations this time – or so they thought. Perez’s spin at turn 1 in the wet allowed Alonso to take second, before Zhou’s crash triggered a red flag. Order reset in the pits, a rolling start plateaued any potential of a late shakeup right at the front. Come the chequered flag, bobbing heads in the crowd showed they were undeterred by the conditions. A victory for their man once more; no rain will stop their celebrations long into the night. Read More F1 Dutch Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates and times as Max Verstappen reclaims lead F1 returns with the now inevitable question: can anyone beat Max Verstappen? Daniel Ricciardo ruled out of Dutch Grand Prix F1 Dutch Grand Prix LIVE: Race updates and times from Zandvoort Daniel Ricciardo ruled out of Dutch Grand Prix F1 returns with the now inevitable question: can anyone beat Max Verstappen?

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Tottenham have completed the signing of James Maddison from Leicester. Spurs entered advanced talks with the recently relegated Foxes earlier this week and have secured the services of the England international in a deal worth £40million plus add-ons. Maddison has agreed a five-year deal with the club and becomes new boss Ange Postecoglou’s third arrival of the summer. The transfer of Maddison will represent a major coup for Spurs, who have been long-term admirers of the 26-year-old. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 7, 2023--

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SOMERVILLE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 1, 2023--

(Reuters) -General Motors' robotaxi unit Cruise is planning to re-launch in one city, the company said on Wednesday. Cruise had

The Dutch government has collapsed after failing to reach a conclusion on controlling high immigration rates. The four-party coalition government was unable to reach a consensus on talks about asylum policies that were led by prime minister Mark Rutte on Friday. Mr Rutte held an emergency cabinet meeting where he said he would hand in his resignation to King Willem-Alexander on Saturday. “The decision was very difficult for us”, Mr Rutte told reporters after announcing his cabinet’s resignation. The differences in views between the coalition partners were “irreconcilable”, he said. “All parties went to great lengths to find a solution, but the differences on migration are unfortunately impossible to bridge.” “The four parties decided that they cannot reach an agreement on migration,” said Tim Kuijsten, a spokesperson for the Christian Union party that was in coalition with Mr Rutte’s conservative VVD party. “Therefore they decided to end this government.” Mr Rutte’s party has in the past year been working towards reducing the flow of asylum seekers due to the issue of overcrowded migration centres in the Netherlands. Last year, hundreds of asylum seekers were forced to sleep outdoors in squalid conditions near an overcrowded reception centre as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands outstripped the available beds. Just over 21,500 people from outside Europe sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, according to the country’s statistics office. Thousands more moved to the Netherlands to work and study. The numbers have put a strain on housing that already was in short supply in the densely populated country. The coalition tried for months to hash out a deal to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people. The proposals on hand included creating two classes of asylum and reducing the number of family members allowed to join asylum seekers The two asylum classes were a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution. Mr Rutte’s coalition government had been in power for a year and a half. He has been Netherlands’s longest-serving prime minister and has been in office since 2010. Until a new government is elected, the current ministers will continue their work as a caretaker cabinet. Elections in the Netherlands will now reportedly take place in November this year. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Top BBC presenter taken off air ‘after paying teen £35,000 for explicit pictures’ Ukraine-Russia war – live: Zelensky’s forces make ‘significant gains’ against Putin in Bakhmut UK weather: Three-day ‘danger to life’ thunderstorm warning as temperatures soar to 30C How to rein in migration to the Netherlands is dividing the Dutch government The leaders of the Netherlands and Luxembourg tell Kosovo and Serbia to normalize ties for EU hopes Jens Stoltenberg’s term as Nato chief extended after Ben Wallace’s hopes dashed

Álvaro Barreal scored two goals, Luciano Acosta added a goal and an assist, and Cincinnati beat the New York Red Bulls 2-0 in Match 1 of their best-of-3 first-round series in the MLS Cup Playoffs