How 'scalpel' changes to F1 will change the racing at the Miami Grand Prix

Formula 1 is back, and the show has changed.

F1 Miami GP Regulations Explainer

This week's Miami Grand Prix is the first test of apackage of changesthat curb the influence of the electrical battery power which has redefined howF1drivers go racing in 2026.

Drawn up during theenforced month-long breakwhen races in the Middle East were called off, the changes follow a backlash from many drivers aggrieved at the regular need to go slow to charge the all-important battery. Max Verstappen ispublicly consideringwhether to leave F1 entirely.

The electrical power has produced some thrilling on-track action with plenty of overtaking, but fans and drivers are split over how much driver skill matters when many moves are hard to defend against. Champion Lando Norris has even reported making overtakes by mistake when the power kicked in unexpectedly.

Many senior F1 figures are playing down the changes or deny there was a problem in the first place. Toto Wolff, whose Mercedes team dominated the first three changes, wanted changes made with a scalpel, not a baseball bat. The rule makers seems to have listened.

Nikolas Tombazis, the top F1 regulations official at the FIA, the sport's governing body, sees his role as a doctor prescribing diet, exercise or vitamins.

“It was quite clear we need to take certain steps. I think it was quite clear that people also need to come out of their comfort zone for some of these discussions,” he said Monday.

Avoiding another huge crash

Drivers had been warning for months about big differences in speed, and the big crashes that could result.

It finally happened at the Japanese Grand Prix in March as Oliver Bearman hurtled toward a barrier at 190 mph (306 kph) while trying to avoid Franco Colapinto. Bearman was left limping but it could have been worse at a street circuit with barriers closer to the track.

There’s now a cap on the extra power from the overtake “boost” mode, and other limits to electrical power in certain areas.

Other safety-focused changes will speed up slow-moving cars at a race start or aim to make cars more controllable in wet weather — conditions the 2026 cars have yet to face.

Qualifying becomes a different challenge

Qualifying will feel faster but actually be slower now that drivers aren’t lifting off the gas as often to recharge batteries.

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That's because the batteries won't recharge quite as much, and they'll charge more quickly at high speed, too. That means the drivers will be “flat out” more often, even if less electrical power means the cars will be slower overall, Tombazis has said.

“We felt drivers had to do some slightly counterintuitive or unnatural things in order to extract the best performance out of qualifying,” he said.

That largely matchesrecommendationsby Mercedes’ George Russell, who’s started 2026 as a title contender and is influential in the paddock as a drivers' association director.

What hasn't changed

The changes don't give drivers much more control over how and when most of the electrical power is deployed.

Except for the optional boost button for overtaking, most of the time, complex algorithms release the power or cut it back in a way that isn't directly related to the driver's use of the gas pedal. That could mean drivers still get unexpected power spikes which can waste power or make the car tricky to control.

Some of the changes mean more automatic control of the power, lowering the limit in certain parts of the circuit for safety reasons.

Tombazis confirmed there was no measure specifically to stop unintentional overtaking, often caused by getting more power than expected at an unfavorable point on the track, but argued other safety-focused changes “go to some extent towards addressing this issue.”

What’s next

Tombazis said the FIA will keep reviewing how the regulations work at upcoming races and could make further changes. There isn't an obvious time to do so until the summer break in August, with eight races before then.

Teams will be hunting for any loopholes in the meantime. Tombazis says he has a regulations staff of around 15 at the FIA, compared to 3,000 engineers across the 11 teams.

“The fact we had a break meant that we could concentrate on these discussions while we didn’t have to go racing every other weekend. It doesn’t mean that these discussions cannot continue,” he said Monday.

There's also the looming question of what comes next for F1 when these regulations run their course, by 2030 at the latest.

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

byCUSTOS CAELORUM

in

May 02, 2026

How 'scalpel' changes to F1 will change the racing at the Miami Grand Prix

Formula 1 is back, and the show has changed. F1 Miami GP Regulations Explainer This week's Miami Grand Prix is the first te...

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Jaden McDaniels and the feisty Timberwolves oust the Nuggets and move on to meet the Spurs

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — TheMinnesota Timberwolveshad plenty of lulls during the regular season, seemingly coasting at times while struggling to recapture the form that fueled them to consecutive Western Conference finals appearances over the last two years.

APTOPIX Nuggets Timberwolves Basketball

The postseason switch sure got flipped against the rival Denver Nuggets, as the players promised all along. The energy and urgency was never greater than in the series-clinchingGame 6 victoryon Thursday, when the determined Timberwolves shook off the absence of their three best guards and beat the Nuggets 110-98.

“Still part of our growth,” coach Chris Finch said. “We’ve been really good with the high moments. Our consistency sometimes throughout the season isn’t always there, which we don’t really like about ourselves, but we know we have it in ourselves to meet these moments.”

Jaden McDaniels clearly does.

Nobody on the Timberwolves embodies the mercurial nature of this close-knit but often-moody team than McDaniels, the sixth-year forward who made a name for himself in this series.

Tirelessly chasing All-Star guard Jamal Murray around screens and everywhere he tried to go along the perimeter, limiting him to 4-for-17 shooting in Game 6, McDaniels did even more on the offensive end.

With a big chunk of the team's shot creation missing due to injuries to Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu, McDaniels went 13 for 25 from the floor for 32 points with 10 rebounds.

“What I was the most proud about him was just his emotional control, being able to stay poised, not overreact to adversity, calls or missed shots, or mistakes,” teammate Rudy Gobert said. "He stayed present, and he stepped up big time when we needed him the most, so I’m really, really proud of him.”

McDaniels tossed even more spice into thiswell-developed rivalryearly in the series with his blanket “bad defenders” jab at the opponent, and he made no secret of the motivation he gets from seeing “Denver” or “Nuggets” sewed on the other team's jersey.

“The only thing I said to him, after he had made his comments, was, ‘Now it’s time to back it up,’” Finch said. “And talking doesn’t matter. You've got to go do it. I knew he was going to put the effort in, so he was ready for it, and he owned it, and he responded.”

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McDaniels later irked Nuggets star Nikola Jokic by taking an uncontested layup in the closing seconds of Minnesota's blowout win in Game 4, sparking a brief shoving match.

McDaniels had his worst game of the series in the loss in Game 5 on Monday, when he was booed often by the Denver crowd, but he responded on his home court with one of the best games of his career.

With the Timberwolves trying to put away the game, McDaniels delivered the dagger shot — swishing his signature mid-range pull-up to give them a seven-point lead with 1:06 to play. Then he intercepted a harried pass by Jokic to get the ball back and start a parade to the line.

Jokic gave McDaniels a hug after the final horn, a sign of respect from the three-time NBA MVP despite the irritation he caused all series long.

“I’m just happy it’s over, happy we were able to come out on top,” McDaniels said. “Stuff was said. I’m just happy we were all able to prove our point, get the win and move on to the next round.”

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have been waiting. They'll host Game 1 on Monday.

“I figured the real winner of this series was going to be San Antonio, because both these teams were going to take a lot of pieces out of each other, and did,” Finch said. “So I’m not sure what we have left standing there before we go down there.”

Even if they're short-handed and overmatched, the Timberwolves are a good bet to put up a strong fight.

“You have to believe that you can win, no matter what,” Gobert said. "Obviously we’re missing some pretty important players, right? But no matter who’s out there, we believe in our defense. We believe in trusting one another. Anything’s possible.”

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

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May 01, 2026

Jaden McDaniels and the feisty Timberwolves oust the Nuggets and move on to meet the Spurs

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — TheMinnesota Timberwolveshad plenty of lulls during the regular season, seemingly coasting at times while struggling...

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Integrity for thee, casinos for me: The NCAA’s gambling lie | Opinion

Before we get into dissecting the latest round of self-inflicted stupidity from theNCAA, there has to be a red line somewhere.

IfTexas Techquarterback Brendan Sorsbywagered on his teamwhile at Indiana in 2022 — whether he played or not, and no matter how much he won — it’s going to be be extremely difficult for the NCAA to ignoresome form of punishment.

A suspended percentage of the season, or a complete loss of eligibility, something must happen. You can’t have players gambling on their own teams, no matter the amount of money.

ARMOUR:Brendan Sorsby's gambling addiction a symptom of our broader illness

The integrity of the game, and future of the sport depends on it.

With that out of the way, it’s here where we introduce the remarkably ironic and brazen embrace of gambling by an NCAA member institution: the University of Arizona’s football stadium is named after a casino.

That’s right, Casino Del Sol paid Arizona$60 million over 20 yearsfor naming rights to Arizona Stadium. The Tucson casino and resort has a sports book, five betting windows and 15 self-service kiosks.

But we’re not done yet with this wildly inappropriate dalliance of the NCAA and gambling, not by a long shot.

Three years ago, theBig Tenbegan announcing weekly injury reports of its football teams. A stunning move from the conference that holds itself higher than all others. Legends and Leaders, no less.

A year later, theSECfollowed, and a year after that, the Big 12 and ACC joined the club — and college football had officially let the wolf through the door.

I ask you, why do the conferences release injury reports? Why does the NFL, the largest money-maker in professional sports history, have injury reports?

And if the train is barreling down the tracks, why stop it? The NCAA has all but locked up its longterm dream of expanding the annual men’s basketball tournamentto 76 teams, and as much as hoop purists want to believe, it’s not about more teams, more access. It's about gambling.

Embrace it when you need to, decry it when you have to.

The Big Ten last July held its annual Media Days ― a four-day celebration of the ascending football Power conference ―at the monstrous Cosmopolitan resort and casino in Las Vegas. And if all that doesn’t do it for you, here comes the hammer.

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The College Football Playoff national championship game will be played this season in — wait for it — Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It takes some stones to be that ridiculously two-faced.

Meanwhile ― and I know this will shock you (sarcasm font) ― the 2028 Final Four will be played in Allegiant Stadium, too.

Hey kids, don’t gamble, but you're going to play the most important games of NCAA sports competition in the gambling capital of the world!

At the very least, the NCAA has dialed back the zero tolerance narrative of gambling to avoid the obvious 12,000-pound gorilla in the room. What used to be a mortal sin — Rick Neuheisel was once fired by Washington after participating in an NCAA tournament pool — is now just an oddly structured agreement between the NCAA and gambling.

You scratch my back with millions, and I won’t say you’re the devil. And I’ll throw in a couple of championship events, you know, for the effort.

The hypocrisy is enough to make you puke.

Soone member institution of the NCAA knew of Sorsby’s gambling problems, and another found out months after he transferred there. But only after someone — just some random someone, I’m sure ― informed the NCAA police of the problem.

Gee, I wonder how that happened?

The Southwest Conference has come full circle, everyone. From the renegade conference that ate itself alive in the late 1980s by siccing the NCAA on each other for recruiting violations, to the revamped, rebranded Big 12 that began by adding a handful of former Big Eight teams, and eventually survived by adding from the Group of Five.

And now all the way back to the Southwest Conference.

When the NCAA used the dreaded death penalty on a football program for the first and only time, SMU was forced to cancel the 1987 season (and couldn’t play a home game in 1988) — and the resulting carnage was the beginning of the end of the SWC.

The only person who loses this time around is Sorsby. Depending on the severity of the penalty.

Because, you know, integrity.

Matt Hayesis the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at@MattHayesCFB.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NCAA hates gambling. Except when it cashes the checks

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April 30, 2026

Integrity for thee, casinos for me: The NCAA’s gambling lie | Opinion

Before we get into dissecting the latest round of self-inflicted stupidity from theNCAA, there has to be a red line somewhere. If...

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Andy Serkis explains why he changed Orwell's iconic 'Animal Farm' ending for new movie

NEW YORK –Andy Serkishas been trying to animateGeorge Orwell’s “Animal Farm” for 15 years. In 2026, he says it “couldn’t, actually, be more relevant.”

Serkis and his producing partner, Jonathan Cavendish, started tinkering around with an adaptation after he filmed 2011's “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” The rebellion in that movie reminded him of “Animal Farm,” which he read for the first time on the bus to school when he was 10 or 11. Fifty-some years later, it sticks with him. He wore a red hat to the premiere that read, "Make Animal Farm Fiction Again."

“It was just the most amazing experience of reading something that hits you viscerally,” Serkis tells USA TODAY. “It feels like it's something else, but you're not quite understanding the ground swell of darkness that's underneath it.”

Orwell is often lauded as prophetic because his 1940s dystopian novelsring true with readers today. The theme of last year's Banned Books Week was"Censorship Is So 1984."When he wrote “Animal Farm,” he intended it as an allegory for the Russian Revolution and rise of Stalinism. Barnyard animals overthrow their farmer to build a utopia but by the end of the novel have devolved into a corrupt power structure where "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

Serkis approached the adaptation by asking himself what Orwell would write about if he wrote “Animal Farm” today. He didn’t want it to be a story about Stalinist Russia. Instead, he gravitated toward themes of capitalism, wealth and overconsumption. The billionaire antagonist, Pilkington (Glenn Close), drives what closely resembles a Cybertruck.

The lead-up to this adaptation, in theaters May 1, has been largely controversial. Whenthe trailer droppedin December, oversaturated with middle-school knee-slappers and set to the upbeat “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, the criticism was swift. After all, “Animal Farm” is a serious and violent story with a bleak ending. This advertised butt jokes, campy fight montages and sinister Seth Rogen laughs. Even a star-studded ensemble of Rogen, Close,Gaten Matarazzo, Jim Parsons,Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi andLaverne Coxcouldn’t sell the new “Animal Farm” to some.

Andy Serkis welcomes criticism of new animated ‘Animal Farm’

Backlash to the trailer included one particular sting: “Orwell is rolling in his grave.” But Serkis maintains his estate signed off on the adaptation when he secured the rights. He insists “Orwell would have wanted” controversy.

“He's sort of adored and abhorred by both left and right, and that's the other thing about our film. We're not having a go at any one administration or regime. It's about authoritarianism and our response to that and power corrupting,” Serkis says. “I welcomed it. I loved that debate because that's what it's all about, creating a debate. That's what I do in my job as an actor, storyteller, filmmaker. Any act of creating art for me is about saying to the audience or the viewer, ‘Think about this differently.’ And if you don't agree with me, that's not a problem, but think about it differently."

When he bought the rights, Serkis said the Orwell estate didn’t exert much creative control, only requesting that he not stray too far from what the book is about.

Representatives for the Orwell Estate did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Anti-dictatorship, but for kids

Serkis scrubs the story of its violence, at least in any graphic manner. Snowball (Cox), for example, is escorted off the farm rather than chased by hounds and torn to pieces like in the book. Boxer’s (Harrelson) horrific glue factory death is largely implied. It didn’t stop Serkis’ team from giving me apromotional bottle of craft gluewith the horse’s face on it, though. I'm not sure how this bit of dark humor will go over with the kiddos.

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Deciding who the audience was, Serkis says, was part of why it took a decade and a half to get the project off the ground. He points out “Animal Farm” was once subtitled“A Fairy Story”: “It was meant for a younger audience. He was writing with children in mind … I think we’ve remained loyal to that,” Serkis says. He added a new protagonist, Lucky (Matarazzo), a “young innocent piglet” with a moral arc and a slightly off-beat side-plot romance.

Did he worry that replacing the violence with potty humor would dilute the message? Serkis doesn’t miss a beat in his reply.

“We didn’t. We wanted to translate it in such a way that the threat is there, the impending threat is always there,” Serkis says.

Many of the secondary school English classes that teach “Animal Farm” study violence as a central theme and abuse of power. The atrocities make the seemingly silly feel sobering. But Serkis prefers his Trojan horse without the slaughter.

“We’re almost desensitized by the amount of violence that we are subjected to through news. But in a way, we’re so desensitized, we can’t cope with it,” Serkis says. “For a young person, if you can allow them to emotionally feel something like I did when I read the book, emotionally feel something, but not fully understand it, that's a good place to be, I think.”

Why Andy Serkis made major changes to ‘Animal Farm’ ending

“Animal Farm,” classically, is a story without a happy ending. But Serkis’ interpretation gives viewers closure. The film adds an entirely new third act: Lucky has a change of heart and apologizes, the animals take down Napoleon and the evil capitalistic Pilkington. Lucky tells the cautionary tale for a new generation.

While the book haunts, the film aims for hopeful: dictators are bad, we should help each other and freedom is working hard “not because we have to, but because we choose to,” as Lucky says.

Serkis chose this new ending because he was hesitant to dog-pile on an already “bleak world,” he says.

“We live in a world where there seemingly is no hope at the moment. We keep making the same mistakes. There are oppressive regimes globally. There are bosses in companies that maltreat their workers globally. We're living in such a difficult time. All times are difficult for humanity, but we're living in, it seems, certainly a world without truth or the inability to really know what is true and what isn't true,” Serkis says. “So we wanted the next generation, the kids who we hopefully are going to be watching this film, to at least have the ability to question what they should do next time around. History will inevitably repeat itself.”

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find heron Instagram, subscribe to our weeklyBooks newsletteror tell her what you’re reading atcmulroy@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Andy Serkis welcomes criticism of new 'Animal Farm' movie

byCUSTOS CAELORUM

in

April 30, 2026

Andy Serkis explains why he changed Orwell's iconic 'Animal Farm' ending for new movie

NEW YORK –Andy Serkishas been trying to animateGeorge Orwell’s “Animal Farm” for 15 years. In 2026, he says it “couldn’t, actually, be ...

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Gorman, Burleson and Walker drive in 3 runs apiece to lead Cardinals over Pirates 11-7

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nolan Gorman homered and drove in three runs and Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker drove in three runs apiece to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Cardinals Pirates Baseball

JJ Wetherholt and Ivan Herrera, the top two hitters in the Cardinals’ batting order, scored three runs each. Burleson, Walker and Masyn Winn each finished with two hits.

Gorman opened the scoring with a homer leading off the second, his fourth of the season. Victor Scott II started a two-run second with his first home run of the season before Wetherholt doubled and scored a single by Walker.

The Cardinals extended their lead to 6-0 in the fifth when Burleson doubled in a run and Walker and Gorman followed with consecutive sacrifice fly balls.

Kyle Leahy (3-3) allowed three runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts. The Pirates scored all three runs in the sixth on homers by Oneil Cruz and a two-run shot by Ryan O’Hearn, cutting their deficit to 6-3.

The Cardinals broke the game open with three runs in the seventh inning and two in the eighth.

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The Cardinals have won the first two games of the four-game series after entering on a four-game losing streak. The Pirates have lost three in a row for the first time this season.

Braxton Ashcraft (1-2) was rocked for six runs in 4 1/3 innings after being activated from the bereavement/family medical emergency list before the game. He allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked three.

Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin hit a solo homer in the ninth inning. O’Hearn had two hits and three RBIs and Nick Gonzales had two hits and knocked in two runs.

Up next

Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (2-2, 4.26 ERA) starts on Wednesday night against rookie RHP Bubba Chandler (1-2, 4.88).

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

byCUSTOS CAELORUM

in

April 30, 2026

Gorman, Burleson and Walker drive in 3 runs apiece to lead Cardinals over Pirates 11-7

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nolan Gorman homered and drove in three runs and Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker drove in three runs apiece to lead t...

Read More