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Sunday, 16 August 2026 Reading Room

Culture

F1 2026 mid-season grades: Mercedes' early dominance evaporates as reliability woes strike

After four years in the doldrums with a tough to tame ground-effect car, Toto Wolff's Mercedes empire was desperate to strike back. The combined efforts of its chassis team in Brackley and its power unit division in Brixworth came up with a rocket ship, but enduring reliability problems are taking its grade down to A-. The good Mercedes came out of winter test as the odds-on favourite for ...…

motorsport.com ·

F1 2026 mid-season grades: Mercedes' early dominance evaporates as reliability woes strike

We haven't written up this one. Motorsport.com has the full story — the link below goes straight to it.

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Korean basketball team suffered a crushing 20-point defeat to Japan on Liberation Day, marking a humiliating loss. The Korean men's basketball team, led by coach Ahn Jung-geun, lost 84-64 to Japan in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers at the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on August 15. Korea, which had been undefeated in the qualifiers, was considered the favorite to win, but was thoroughly outplayed by Japan, ranked 56th in the world, on the day. The 20-point loss was a shock to Korean basketball fans, especially on a day like Liberation Day, which commemorates Korea's independence from Japan. The Korean team struggled with poor shooting, making only 29 percent of their field goal attempts, while Japan shot 58 percent from the field. Japan's point guard Yuki Togashi was unstoppable, scoring 24 points, including 5 three-pointers, and dishing out 8 assists. Korea's best player, Lee Jae-yong, scored 17 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome Japan's strong team effort. The loss was a rare defeat for Korea against a lower-ranked team, and it raised concerns about the team's preparation for the upcoming 2022 FIBA Asia Cup. Korea will need to regroup and reassess their strategy before their next game against Japan on August 22. The Korean team's poor performance on Liberation Day was a disappointment to fans, who had been expecting a win against their arch-rivals.

·hani.co.kr

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