Chaos in the Monaco paddock ensued after a Lewis Hamilton comment, which proved to be the first time many teams heard about it.

Following the Monaco Grand Prix, the first ADUO is on the horizon. ADUO is Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities for manufacturers and teams. This allows the teams further upgrades for 2026 and 2027, depending on how far down the power engines are from the benchmark.

From the FIA’s findings, they’ve declared that Red Bull has the fastest engine and, therefore, won’t receive the additional help. The news came as a surprise to many, as they’ve had their own problems to contend with this season, though, it is important to note that only the internal combustion engine is taken into account for ADUO.

Mercedes have so far been the team to beat this season. They have won every Grand Prix, while leading both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. Following the opening race of the season, George Russell also gave his glowing verdict on the package.

“Very nice, very nice. I like this car, I like this engine,” he said.

Despite this, they are deemed to be 2% behind Red Bull in terms of engines and will, as a result, be granted an additional upgrade for 2026 and 2027.

Lewis Hamilton’s Reveal Stunned ‘Several’ Teams

When discussing the situation on The Race F1 Podcast, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm noted that many teams only learned the outcome through Hamilton’s interview.

“What was quite funny, to be completely honest, is several teams only found out about the ADUO outcome because Lewis Hamilton had said it in the press conference,” he said.

“And we then stood that up with our sources and ran a story on Sunday evening, because it was only the manufacturers that got informed about what the FIA was doing on the Sunday. The teams didn’t, because the teams aren’t manufacturers, so why would they get that initial assessment?

“So I know there were people in teams that were discovering it on Sunday evening in Monaco, and that’s why it was such a surprise to people, because they hadn’t had that information in advance, and when they got it, they were like, ‘Well, how have they come to this solution?’

“So it is quite messy, and I am very curious to see what the fallout is politically, what we see when it’s finally communicated and then in the coming days, maybe even weeks and months, as people try to argue it or work it out. Because it’s not set in stone, like this is the only judgment now that happens over the rest of the year, it’s quite curious, quite curious situation overall.”

Alongside many teams suddenly hearing the news, Red Bull were also surprised by the decision, as not every component was assessed.

It’s likely to hurt the team from Milton Keynes as they won’t benefit from the upgrades. The kings of the Ground Effect era are already struggling to come to grips with the new regulations; they remain fourth in the Constructors’ Championship with just 72 points.

When reacting to the news, Max Verstappen admitted he was surprised and that they are looking into the situation. He said: “I think we can be proud of the job we have done, but it never felt like we were, let’s say, the best. That’s why we were surprised and that’s why I think we’re discussing with the FIA to understand what happened there.”

As the FIA does not allow a formal challenge, Red Bull won’t be able to protest too hard. Instead, looking to understand the decision seems the more likely plan of action.

Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria showed glimpses of the champion he would become after just a handful of fights in the promotion.

Fans instantly began to appreciate him for his precise striking, fluid combinations, and staggering power. There was one question, though, that kept coming up; why did he have a hole above his knee?

In July 2022, El Matador posted a photo of himself on Instagram entering the Octagon, where he had a visible scar that looked like a hole just above his left knee.

MMA fans immediately began to speculate as to the cause of the scar, with some fans theorising that it could have been the result of a staph infection or a medical procedure like amniocentesis, which is a prenatal test performed by a doctor to assess the health of an unborn child, while others hypothesised that it could’ve been the result of an injury.

Conspiracies as to the cause of the scar have continued to emerge over recent years, but the most popular fan theory was that it had been caused by a gunshot wound, which had healed but left a hole-shaped scar.

Ilia Topuria Put Gunshot Wound Theory to Bed

Speculation grew to the point where Ilia had to shut it down

Topuria was confronted with these rumours by Shak MMA’s Shakiel Mahjouri, who told him that fans were convinced that the Spanish-Georgian fighter had been shot when he was younger, asking him to clarify the cause of the scar.

The 28-year-old was quick to dismiss these theories, clarifying that the scar was caused by a childhood injury.

Mahjouri then joked that the actual cause of the scar was far less exciting than the bullet wound theory, and a smiling Topuria responded: “No, it’s not a bullet.”

Ilia Topuria Returns at UFC Freedom 250

In one of the quickest, most impressive runs the sport has recently seen, Topuria captured both featherweight and lightweight gold, with knockout victories over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira.

This momentum has been slightly curtailed in recent months, with his time outside the Octagon almost reaching a year. A well-documented divorce played a part in this absence, with the interim lightweight belt being brought into action.

Of course, Justin Gaethje managed to get the better of Paddy Pimblett and ultimately set up this eagerly anticipated match-up. This weekend will see Topuria, the young star on a rampage of finishing big names in the sport, go up against Gaethje, for whom it could be one last dance, one last shot at gold after coming up short twice before.

If the occasion didn’t write itself, the two have also been going back and forth during fight week. It’s become personal, making the clash at the White House all the more exciting.

United States broadcaster FOX has sparked massive backlash after breaking a FIFA rule in the opening game of the World Cup between Mexico and South Africa.

The 2026 World Cup officially got underway on Thursday as Mexico took on South Africa at the Azteca Stadium.

It was the hosts that cruised to victory in a match that featured three red cards. South Africa duo Yaya Sithole and Themba Zwane, as well as Mexico’s Cesar Montes, were all sent off as the hosts won 2-0.

Football fans watching the match on FOX were not happy at all with the broadcaster for their coverage of the game, though.

FOX Break FIFA Rule During Mexico vs South Africa

Eloisa Sanchez via Reuters

Due to the high temperatures in North America for this World Cup, FIFA have instituted two mandatory, three-minute hydration breaks, which will take place in the middle of both halves.

FOX, the home of the World Cup in the United States, took the opportunity to go straight to commercials when the hydration breaks were called.

The broadcaster proceeded to show so many ads during the hydration break that it went over the allotted time. When FOX returned from their ad break, the match had already resumed and fans watching had missed a portion of the game because of the ads.

Football fans watching the match on FOX were, understandably, not very happy at all.

The Athletic’s Tom Bogert said: “All it took was literally the second hydration break for FOX to run too many commercials and miss some live action. Absolutely ridiculous conceit.​​​​​​”

While Paul Tenorio, also of the Athletic, said: Fox comes back late from its hydration break commercials. Unreal. Second break of the tournament, and we’re already missing live World Cup action. Brutal and embarrassing.”

A FIFA source revealed to the Athletic that broadcasters were told the ad break shouldn’t start within 20 seconds of the referee’s whistle pausing play, and that they should return to the match feed at least 30 seconds before play resumes.

FOX broke the rules in both halves.

How Other Broadcasters Covered the Hydration Break

Henry Romero via Reuters

In the United Kingdom, ITV did not cut away from the match and instead focused on the players with commentator insight. Australian and Danish broadcasters both stayed with the feed as well.

In Germany, Magenta TV went on a full ad break. While in Argentina, Telefé went to a full break, but DirecTV Sports stuck with the match feed.

Interestingly, Telemundo, the Spanish-language broadcast rights holder in the United States, did not cut away to commercials. They have insisted they will stay with the match feed throughout the tournament.

The World Cup continues on Friday, with Canada taking on Bosnia and Herzogovina, and United States going head-to-head with Paraguay.