Peter Bonnington made a funny error during qualifying ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, accidentally addressing Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton on the radio. The Mercedes race engineer worked with the seven-time world champion for 12 years before his Ferrari switch over the winter. Bonnington is now working with rookie Antonelli as the 18-year-old navigates a baptism of fire in F1, partnering with George Russell to fill Hamilton’s boots in one of the sport’s biggest teams.

During footage captured from Antonelli’s cockpit during qualifying, Bonnington jumped onto the radio to reply to the Italian teenager’s comments. Slipping up, he replied: “Yeah. Copy that, Lewis,” before then correcting himself. Both Antonelli and Hamilton are forging new relationships with their race engineers after major changes in the off-season. The seven-time world champion is working with Riccardo Adami, who previously teamed up with Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz during their time with Ferrari.

Hamilton expressed intense frustration when asked about the new partnership in Shanghai. Pundits micro-analysed the 40-year-old’s radio snippets with Adami after the Ferrari star expressed a desire for fewer messages in Melbourne.

“Everyone over-egged [the situation in Australia],” Hamilton complained in China. “It was literally just a back-and-forth. I was very polite in how I suggested it. I said, ‘Leave it to me, please’. I wasn’t saying ‘eff you.’ I wasn’t swearing.

“It was just at that point I was really struggling with the car and I needed full focus on a couple of things. We’re getting to know each other. He had two champions or more in the past and there are no issues between us. Go and listen to the radio calls with others and their engineers – it’s far worse.

“The conversations that Max has had with his engineer over the years and the abuse that the poor guy has taken, and you never write about it, but you write about the smallest little discussion I have with mine. We’re literally just getting to know each other.

“Afterwards, I’m like: ‘Hey bro, I don’t need that bit of information. But if you want to give me this, this is the place I like to do it. This is how I’m feeling in the car, and at these points, this is what this is, when I do and don’t need the information.’ That’s what it’s about. There are no issues, and it’s done with a smiley face, and we move forward.”

Hamilton and Adami enjoyed the perfect moment to crown their new partnership on Saturday. The 40-year-old fended off Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen to win the sprint race in commanding fashion, capping his first victory in Ferrari overalls.

George Russell was responsible for proving himself wrong at the Chinese Grand Prix, where his qualifying lap split the McLarens on Saturday. Mercedes star Russell has been talking up McLaren‘s dominance since the start of the season, leading to backlash from Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Russell’s bold claims include McLaren holding a bigger advantage than Red Bull ever have, saying their car should win every race, and that they could switch their full attention to developing for 2026 if they wanted to. Norris hit back before qualifying, when he said: “It’s very good – we have got the best car – but the fact he’s been so much ‘season’s over’ after one race is a bit weird. George thinks he can play a lot of games but I don’t fall for any of them.”

After finishing fourth in a sprint race which was won by Ferrari‘s Lewis Hamilton, with Piastri finishing second and Norris ninth, Russell added further proof that McLaren are not as dominant as he says they are by splitting them in qualifying.

The Englishman’s final lap in Q3 was less than a tenth behind pole-sitter Piastri and enough to knock Norris off the front row. Afterwards, he admitted his shock at looking up to the timings board after ruining McLaren‘s one-two.

“It feels incredible,” Russell told Sky Sports. “It was one of the hardest quali sessions I’ve done in a long, long time. I was trying all sorts with my tyre preparation and nothing seemed to be clicking. I did something totally different on that last lap and everything came alive.

“The lap was awesome. I was really surprised when I crossed the line. It’s going to be tough [for the Grand Prix]. We know the McLarens are going to be quick but I’m going to be doing everything I can to stay where I am or jump ahead of them.”

Norris kicked the season off with a win at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend. But he has so far found things tough in China, and he doubled down on the idea that his MCL39 is not as perfect as others may think it is.

“I’ve said plenty of times that it’s difficult to drive,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s still quick enough, it can just be a bit feisty at times. Today it was just mistakes from my side and that’s all.

“It’s always disappointing not to be on pole but Oscar deserves it today and I’m happy for him. I was struggling a lot yesterday [in free practice] and this morning [in the sprint]. I’m not too disappointed.”

Victoria Azarenka was forced to retire from her second-round match in Miami after suffering a freak injury at the beginning of the second set. The three-time former champion cried out in pain and dropped her racket before being treated by the physio on the spot.

Azarenka couldn’t continue and was forced to retire with a shoulder injury while trailing Karolina Muchova 6-0. No. 15 seed Muchova quickly came to her assistance, carrying Azarenka’s bags off the court for her.

Former world No. 1 Azarenka got off to a tough start against Muchova, getting bagelled in the first set. The Belarusian had already started struggling physically and called the physio multiple times.

But things went from bad to worse with Muchova serving in the first game of the second set. At 40-40, Azarenka suddenly dropped her racket and went to the back of the court, where she appeared to be crying.

The physio rushed over again, and Azarenka was given a chair on the court to be treated instead of returning to her bench. Muchova soon joined them, checking in on her opponent.

But world No. 32 couldn’t continue, and she officially retired from the match.

Muchova is no stranger to injury setbacks herself and she stepped in to help Azarenka, carrying her tennis bag off the court and onto the golf buggy that drove the players back to the locker room.

It’s a heartbreaking way to exit the tournament for Azarenka, who got off to a strong start in the first round against Anhelina Kalinina, winning 6-3 6-1 on Wednesday.

After the match, the 35-year-old was joined on the court by a special guest – her son, Leo. He signed the camera lens on his mum’s behalf, writing: “Hello world.”

Leo also took to the court after Azarenka’s first-round win in Indian Wells earlier this month and took part in the post-match interview, grading her performance. “3.5 minus returning her serve,” he smiled, adding that the score was “out of four”.

Azarenka’s ranking is set to take a hit following her heartbreaking retirement in Miami. The Belarusian went on an incredible run to the semi-final last year, beating two seeded players in Qinwen Zheng and Katie Boulter

But by ending her run in round two, she will lose more than 300 ranking points and could drop out of the top 50.

The former champion’s retirement means Muchova advances to the third round. She will now play either Belinda Bencic or 22nd seed Elina Svitolina.