The man killed in a shooting on Friday in the suburbs of Paris turned out to be an amateur mixed martial artist, his club said, and French authorities described the attack as racially motivated.
The H Academy in Aubervilliers, north of Paris, said that the victim was Bingo Bossy Wangi (26 years old), and praised him in a statement on Instagram. The French authorities did not publicly announce the identity of the victim.
The authorities said that at least five people, including a 12-year-old girl, were injured when a gunman opened fire from a vehicle at three locations in Trappes and La Ferrères.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that it was a “horrific racist attack,” and that the victims were targeted because of “the color of their skin or their supposed religion.”
A suspect was arrested shortly after the shooting, and the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office took over the case.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the American Grand Prix trials on Friday, while Mercedes driver and championship leader Kimi Antonelli took second place by a small margin, before a race that could make him the youngest champion in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Leclerc recorded the fastest lap time of one minute and 35.291 seconds in the second test session that took place under the sun at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, after he also recorded the fastest lap in the first test, with a time of 1:36.052 in his updated car on a bumpy track.
He said: “Friday was very smooth for me, but others seem to be making greater progress than us from Friday to Saturday, and given the small difference there is, it will not be easy.”
Antonelli (20 years old), who must win on Sunday to have his first chance at the title, occupied fifth place in the first session when Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was closest to Leclerc, who will win the race in 2024.
Then the performance of the Italian driver, who complained that his seat moved, improved, occupying second place and ending the day with a difference of 0.042 from the leader.
Antonelli, who is 102 ahead of his rivals and Mercedes teammate George Russell, said: “The first free practice period was not ideal, and the car’s balance was not at its best.”
He added: “But we were able to improve this in the second testing period, and we achieved remarkable progress.”
Verstappen, who won in Austin last year, is seeking to achieve his third consecutive victory after the Singapore and Malaysia races. He finished the second session in third place, 0.189 behind Leclerc, while Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton ranked fourth and Russell came fifth.
Hamilton said: “We tried a different direction in the settings, but I did not feel comfortable in the car, especially when going over bumps. Charles showed good speed; “So we need to understand how to improve the car’s performance from my side.”
Russell received a white-and-white flag warning due to an accident with Leclerc that sent the Monaco-born driver off the track at the start of the second session, but race stewards decided not to take any further action.
Lando Norris, McLaren driver and defending champion, recorded the third fastest time, 0.245 behind the lead in the first session, and later finished seventh behind Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls driver.
“I think Lando is much faster than his lap time shows,” McLaren team principal Zak Brown told Sky Sports. He did not perform well in the third sector, but his performance in the first two sectors was very strong. So I think we're a lot faster than we looked. “I think the lap times for both Ferrari and Mercedes are very close.”
But Norris seemed less confident, and said: “The speed is not bad. It seems that we are a step away from Red Bull and Ferrari, and perhaps Mercedes as well, but driving the car is very difficult, and it is very difficult to maintain stability and get a good feeling constantly.”
His teammate, Oscar Piastri, was eighth, while Red Bull's Ishak Hajjar was ninth, and Haas' Oliver Biermann completed the top ten.
Gabriel Bortoletto, Audi driver, Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls driver, and Franco Colapinto, Alpine driver, all received penalties of lower positions at the start due to the changes they made to their power units.
Lindblad will fall 5 places from the position he obtained in qualifying on Saturday, Colapinto 10 places, and Bortoletto 20 places.
It seemed that the Williams team was facing difficulties; Carlos Sainz took 20th place and Alex Albon took 22nd place in the second session.
“The car is a mess at the moment,” Sainz said over the team’s internal communication. It's a mess. "I don't feel any confidence at the back."
