Formula One’s new all-female F1 Academy series has sparked controversy ahead of this weekend’s inaugural races after it was revealed they will not be broadcast live.

When it was announced in November, the seven-round, 21-race competition – which opens with three races at Austria’s Red Bull Ring on Saturday – was billed by organisers as having “intentions…to ensure aspiring female drivers have the best opportunities to reach their potential” with the eventual goal of seeing a woman back in F1.

Some, recalling the adage “if you can see it you can be it”, have pointed out the irony of there being no live or full-race footage for a series designed to raise the profile of female drivers and inspire the next generation – with others even suggesting it could be a worrying indicator of F1’s genuine commitment to its stated ambitions.

Females in Motorsport, a volunteer-run collective working to promote women across the sport, were among the critics on social media, tweeting: “We’re deeply disappointed that #F1Academy won’t be streamed live. This series is meant to inspire girls and women around the world and provide a platform for the 15 drivers on the grid.

“So many F4 championships have live streams but an F1-owned entity won’t. How are we meant to inspire the next generation if we can’t even properly follow the action?”

Academy driver Bianca Bustamante, 18, was singled out by F1 driver Esteban Ocon after she recently spent time at his training centre, with the Frenchman describing her in a video uploaded by the Filipina as having “a gift right away… she immediately managed to impress me.”

Bustamante understands why fans might feel let down by the coverage, but insists the initial lack of footage was a welcome and deliberate move designed to alleviate pressure as the young drivers – the series cut-off is 25, with several well below that age limit – adjust to what for many is already a huge step up in their careers.

She said: “In motorsport you always have to perform in the spotlight, and it’s always been so tough. For a lot of drivers to perform under pressure and to have this sort of worry gone and just focus on pure driving is what makes it so important. Now we don’t have to worry about anything else, we just focus on performance, and the minute you have that secured you can shine in the spotlight.”

PREMA’s Bustamante, one of 15 drivers across the five-team Academy grid, is one of several defectors from W Series, the all-female single-seater series that saw its third season curtailed due to financial issues last year.

W Series – also previously on the F1 support bill – had secured a multi-year broadcast deal with Sky Sports that saw it attract a peak UK TV audience of one million viewers to its Silverstone race in 2022.

In contrast, F1 Academy will release a 15-minute round-by-round highlights programme to rights-holding broadcasters the Wednesday following a race weekend, which will also be available on F1-controlled channels.

Additionally, a race highlights video will be made available across several F1 channels on a Monday following the race weekend, while competition organisers have also promised extensive live coverage on social media.

The PA news agency – which has contacted F1 Academy for comment – understands there are ambitions to live broadcast the season finale, taking place in support of the F1 Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, with a target for more next season when the Academy will be on the support bill for a select number of F1 Grands Prix.

Asked if this year’s plan will be sufficient in recruiting girls to her sport, Bustamante pointed to the Academy’s driver development-first philosophy, saying: “For us to be the role models that these girls can look up to we have to perform at our best. They’re prioritising our performance, our mental health and focus on the track.

“For us to inspire the next generation, we ourselves have to believe it. We have to believe in ourselves first, and that’s what they’re doing.”

Max Verstappen edged out Charles Leclerc to finish fastest in the sole practice session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Formula One bosses have changed the weekend format in Baku, with the introduction of two qualifying sessions – one to decide the order for Sunday’s grand prix, and the other determining the starting grid for Saturday’s sprint race, the first of six sprint events this season.

Practice has been slashed from three hours to just one, ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s main event at 5pm local time (2pm UK) on Friday.

The reduction in practice is designed to create greater jeopardy with the teams unable to gather as much data as they would like.

And the one-hour running on Friday was suspended for 13 minutes after Pierre Gasly’s Alpine caught fire with the Frenchman leaping out of his smoky machine at Turn 12.

In an incident-packed session, Yuki Tsunoda limped back to the pits on three wheels after he banged the wall, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz also brushed the armco at the tight and twisty street circuit on the Caspian Sea.

Double world champion Verstappen has won two of the opening three rounds to establish a 15-point lead over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.

On Friday, the Dutch driver pipped Leclerc to top spot by just 0.037 seconds. Perez finished third, a tenth down on his Red Bull team-mate, while Sainz recovered from his brush with the barrier to take fourth.

Lando Norris provided some encouragement for McLaren to finish fifth, eight tenths down on Verstappen.

But Lewis Hamilton could manage only 11th for Mercedes, 1.5 sec back off the pace with team-mate George Russell also struggling, taking the chequered flag 17th of the 20 runners.

Elsewhere, Nyck de Vries finished sixth in his AlphaTauri ahead of the Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.

Rob Baxter accepts that Exeter will need to get “an awful lot right” when they tackle Heineken Champions Cup holders La Rochelle in this season’s semi-finals.

But Exeter will arrive at the 42,000-capacity Mahmut Atlantique stadium in Bordeaux on Sunday determined to underline their own rich European pedigree.

The 2020 champions are England’s sole survivors, having won five out of six games in Europe this season, including a gripping last-16 success against French champions Montpellier.

And they have got there despite patchy domestic form that undermined their Gallagher Premiership play-off bid as Chiefs missed out behind confirmed semi-finalists Saracens, Sale, Leicester and Northampton.

Exeter beat La Rochelle home and away during their 2019-20 Champions Cup-winning campaign, but the last-four represents Chiefs’ best European run since then.

La Rochelle, in contrast, lifted the trophy last term and were runners-up 12 months before that, confirming their status as strong favourites this weekend.

“They are a good team, and we are going to have to get an awful lot right and be massively resilient,” Exeter rugby director Baxter said.

“They are going to land shots, and we just have to get up and get on with stuff and not get hurt by any one thing that happens. That consistent level of intensity across 80 minutes is always the key in big games.

“We are going very much to overturn the tables, which is a nice challenge for us and one we should be relishing and looking to enjoy.

“We’ve got a pretty good record against French teams, and we’ve got to back ourselves with that a little bit and get on with stuff. We’ve got some good firepower in the team.

“We went to La Rochelle and won in our cup-winning year and we won in Castres this season. Occasions in France are brilliant – players love them, they are incredible experiences.

“I think you either thrive on the atmosphere, or you don’t. Every game has an ebb and flow around it, and you have got to stick in there sometimes for a long time before you get the benefits of scores.”

Sunday’s clash could be the final European game in Exeter colours for players like brothers Joe and Sam Simmonds, who are moving to France next term, England wing Jack Nowell – a major target for La Rochelle – and retiring Scotland star Stuart Hogg.

So the lure of a possible Champions Cup final appointment with Leinster or Toulouse in Dublin on May 20 cannot be underestimated for numerous reasons.

Baxter added: “We’ve got a collection of very good players. There is a lot of international quality in our team.

“The team we take over has got plenty of caps in it, plenty of players who have won important games.

“It is a big game for the club. It feels like a very tight group that is working very hard to make this game successful.

“That is the key, that is how you look after each other, whether you are staying or going, and it feels like we have got that kind of vibe around the place at the moment.

“They are going to come at us, and there are going to be times when we are going to have to weather it, stick together and hold our discipline, hold our work-rate and not take a breath.

“You stay in the fight when it is their moments, and then you take yours when it is your time. There is no way of dressing it up.”

England will welcome Tonga for a historic three-match Test series in October and November.

The contests, which will be played at St Helens on October 22, Huddersfield six days later and Headingley the following week, will mark a maiden international series between the two countries.

It is understood the initial plan was to invite New Zealand over and while that fell through, England head coach Shaun Wane, leading the side on Saturday for the first time since last November’s World Cup semi-final loss to Samoa when they take on France, insisted Tonga will pose a formidable challenge.

“Throughout my time as England head coach I have said we need to challenge ourselves against the best sides the international game has to offer – and Tonga are certainly one of those,” Wane said.

“They’ve been a real success story on the international stage in recent years, building on their exploits at the 2017 World Cup, and they will offer a real test.

“It’s also a great opportunity for us to get three high-quality Test matches under our belt as we continue to push towards the next World Cup in 2025.”

England were given a stiff test when they last played Tonga, who with seven minutes remaining in their 2017 World Cup semi-final trailed 20-0 before running in 18 points to set up a grandstand finish.

England held on to secure a 20-18 victory at Auckland while Tonga pushed eventual runners-up Samoa all the way in last year’s World Cup before going down by an identical scoreline in their quarter-final at Warrington.

Head coach Kristian Woolf is not underestimating how significant the series against England is for Tonga, who have recorded wins over Australia and Great Britain in recent years.

“There is no doubt that this is another historic moment for Tongan Rugby League,” Woolf said.

“This will be the first time one of the Pacific Nations has been invited to play in a full three-Test series against England, in the place where our great game began.

“It is easy to forget that this is an honour usually only reserved for countries like Australia and New Zealand.

“I know our players are excited by this challenge, and are also keen to go back to England to try and prove what we can do in the northern hemisphere. We feel we did not showcase our best at last year’s World Cup, and this will be an opportunity for Tonga to correct that.”

Jayson Tatum would not be drawn on talk that the Boston Celtics are the new NBA title favourites after clinching their first-round playoffs series against the Atlanta Hawks with Thursday's 118-110 win.

The Celtics clinched the series 4-2, setting up a date in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with the Philadelphia 76ers who swept the Brooklyn Nets 4-0.

The shock exit of the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, who boasted the league's best regular-season record at 58-24, to the Miami Heat has opened up the playoffs.

Boston made last year's NBA Finals and finished second in this regular season in the East behind the Bucks with the second-best record in the NBA at 57-25.

"Not looking past nobody," Tatum told reporters when asked about the Celtics being title favourites. "Taking it one game, one series at a time.

"We just had six tough games against the Hawks. Closed it out tonight, now it's time to get some rest and get ready for Philly.

"Not looking past them. It's going to be tough. They've had some time off. It starts with Game 1."

The 76ers benefitted from their sweep, having closed that series out on Sunday, allowing time for MVP candidate Joel Embiid to rest a sprained knee that kept him out of Game 4 against the Nets. The 76ers-Celtics series is due to commence on Monday.

Jaylen Brown, who scored 32 points against the Hawks in Game 6 alongside Tatum's 30, expected a tough test against their old rivals.

"We know they're going to bring the fight," he said. "Philly is a tough environment to win. Their crowd gets involved in the game. It's going to be fun.

"We already know they've got some great players, Joel Embiid, James Harden and company. It's going to be a test again. We've got to be ready to fight and I can't wait for it."

The Celtics were pushed all the way by the Hawks in not only Game 6, but the whole series. Boston needed a final-quarter 11-0 run, which Brown called "winning time", to pull away and punch their ticket into the next round.

"Winning time, I guess," Brown said. "Adrenaline, just that will and perseverance to finish the game. It was close and both teams was exchanging blows, we were both tired.

"And we didn't want to be the team going back home with an 'L.' So we just found a way to win."

Meanwhile, Hawks guard Trae Young was enthused by his side's end to their season after Nate McMillan was axed in February, before an admirable recovery under new coach Quin Snyder.

"Quin is the future," Young said. "I believe with him here, this city's going to win a championship."

New York Rangers coach Gerrard Gallant had no complaints with his side's effort in their 4-0 Game 5 loss to the New Jersey Devils who he said "played their best game of the series".

The Devils have flipped the script in their Stanley Cup first-round series after trailing 2-0 following back-to-back losses in Newark, taking a 3-2 lead with Thursday's triumph at Prudential Center.

Gallant blasted his side after their 3-1 home loss in Game 4 where they surrendered their advantage in the series, but he conceded the Devils were just too good on Thursday led by Erik Haula with two goals and an assist.

"I got no problem with their effort tonight. They competed," Gallant told reporters.

"Jersey played a hell of a game. You've got to give them a lot of credit. They played their best game in the series I thought tonight."

The defeat leaves the Rangers in danger of elimination on their home ice in Game 6. The Rangers rallied back from a 3-1 first-round series deficit last year against the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as when trailing 3-2 in the second round against the Carolina Hurricanes offering Gallant hope.

"The effort is there, we've been in this position before," he said. "We'll see what we can do, go back home on Saturday and rally the troops and get it going."

Rangers winger Chris Kreider also reflected on last year's playoffs after the game, demanding a response from his team.

"We've had a terrific fan base all year. We let them down, we let ourselves down at home," he said. "So it's up to us to show up and play the way we want to play from puck drop.

"All the cliches and euphemisms I throw at you guys all year, it's time to step up and do those things, right? It's time to play for a full 60 minutes. It's time to win a hockey game."

Beyond Haula's outstanding display, Devils goaltender Akira Schmid stopped 23 shots and Dawson Mercer had a goal and an assist. New Jersey captain Nico Hischier praised their approach.

"Tonight we did a lot of good things and that's exactly how we got to play," Hischier said.

"We knew if we use our speed, that's our strength. That's what makes us a dangerous team — if we play with our speed."

Game 6 is on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Will Levis was expected to hear his name called on day one of the 2023 NFL Draft. That did not happen as both he and Hendon Hooker missed out on being taken as first-round quarterbacks.

Kentucky star Levis had been in the conversation to potentially go as high as the second overall pick, but will now need to decide if he wants to continue waiting in the green room on day two.

Levis battled injuries in his second and final season at Kentucky but, with an extremely strong arm and the athleticism to make plays with his legs, he entered the draft seemingly firmly in the top-10 mix.

Yet no team was even willing to take him in the top 31 picks, a surprising turn of events even considering Levis' often inconsistent deep accuracy and his struggles when his process was sped up.

Hooker was seen as more of a fringe first-rounder despite helping Tennessee lead the FBS in points and yards per game in 2022.

He suffered an ACL tear in November but has made good progress in his recovery and this week posted a video on Twitter of him dropping back to pass for the first time since his injury.

Despite Hooker's encouraging recovery, the NFL did not deem him worthy of a day-one selection, the pre-draft conversation around the 25-year-old the Virginia Tech transfer having been dominated by discussion about his age compared to his quarterback contemporaries in the class and the offense he played in at Tennessee, which asks players to do very little of what they will be tasked with at the highest level.

Both Levis and Hooker will be anticipated to go early on day two and eyebrows will be raised if their respective waits go on much longer.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the first wide receiver off the board in the 2023 NFL Draft, getting the chance to join a formidable group at the position with the Seattle Seahawks and prompting on a run on picks at the position.

Five wide receivers had gone in the top 10 over the course of the previous two drafts, but it wasn't until pick number 20 that the Seahawks finally selected Smith-Njigba.

He links up with a receiver group that already features two Pro Bowlers in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, giving more ammunition to quarterback Geno Smith.

Smith-Njigba missed all but three games for Ohio State last season owing to a hamstring injury.

However, he was outstanding in 2021, racking up 1,606 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, his success coming in large part through his tremendously smooth route-running, excellent ball tracking skills and elusiveness after the catch.

The Seahawks, who earlier took cornerback Devon Witherspoon fifth overall, will look for Smith-Njigba to help lift them to the top of the NFC West. Seattle reached the playoffs last season with a 9-8 record, finishing second in their division to the San Francisco 49ers, whom they lost to in the Wild Card round.

Another wide receiver went with the next pick after Smith-Njigba as the Los Angeles Chargers selected TCU star Quentin Johnston and the run continued as the Baltimore Ravens took Zay Flowers from Boston College on the day that saw them finally agree to terms on a new deal with former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.

USC's Jordan Addison, maligned by many because of his 5ft 11in and 178-pound frame, was the next to go off the board as the Minnesota Vikings put those concerns to one side, betting on his route-running prowess and yards after catch upside.

The Tampa Bay Rays re-discovered their free-scoring ways as Isaac Paredes managed a career-high five RBIs in a 14-5 victory over the slumping Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

The Sox fall to their eighth straight loss, even with Dylan Cease on the mound, pounded for seven runs from nine hits across four innings, with only three strikeouts.

Paredes started it off with a second-inning RBI single, grounded out to third to score Randy Arozarena in the fifth, before a three-run double in the sixth opened up an 11-2 lead.

Brandon Lowe maintained his excellent early season hitting with a 358-foot third inning homer along with a two-run single in the fifth. Lowe's solo shot took his season tally to seven homers.

Shane McClanahan (5-0) allowed two runs and struck out five across five innings, while Luke Raley went three-for-five with three RBIs including a ninth-inning homer, and moved from the outfield to the mound in the ninth.

The Rays, who started the season 13-0, had been beaten and shut out in consecutive games by the Houston Astros, 1-0 and 5-0 on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively.

Tampa Bay delivered 16 hits for the game and ended their scoreless run at 20 innings.

Ohtani's mixed game as Angels edge home

Shohei Ohtani responded after a shaky start on the mound to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 8-7.

Ohtani (4-0) earned the win, although he gave up five runs in a rough fourth inning, with three-run blasts to Brent Rooker and a two-run homer to Shea Langeliers. He had thrown three perfect innings to that point and finished with eight strikeouts, allowing three hits across six innings.

The Japanese two-way star went three-for-five with the bat, including a triple, double and single, scoring two runs, with an eighth-inning shot caught by Esteury Ruiz on the warning track in center field.

Brandon Drury delivered a 409-foot three-run home run over left-center field in the first inning, with Ohtani scoring after his prior double.

Keller fans 10 as Pirates continue fine form

Mitch Keller matched his career-high 10 strikeouts as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2.

Keller improved to 3-0, giving up two runs on five hits across six innings, as the Pirates continued their excellent run having won nine of their past 10, moving to an 18-8 record.

Pittsburgh rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, with three runs at the bottom of the first inning, before Connor Joe's two-run blast followed by Rodolfo Castro's 414-foot homer in the sixth.