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Favorite for the Formula 1 title: Max Verstappen
Photo:
Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Will the title fight in Formula 1 finally be exciting again this season?
Will Jonas Vingegaard also dominate the beginning of the cycling year?
And will relegation candidate Cologne be able to thwart Leverkusen in the Bundesliga title fight and thus strengthen FC Bayern?
The upcoming sports weekend will provide the first answers to these and other questions.
Here are ten events that promise special excitement.
Formula 1 starts the new season
24 races – the upcoming season will be the longest in the history of Formula 1. The 20 drivers start in Bahrain.
The special feature: The qualifying takes place on Friday (6 p.m., Sky and RTL), and the race starts on Saturday (4 p.m., Sky and RTL) instead of on Sunday as usual.
The process is identical a week later at the Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia with the start of the fasting month of Ramadan on Sunday, March 10th.
In order to get used to it, Formula 1 has decided to change the schedule for the first race of the season.
The big question is: Will defending champion Max Verstappen dominate the action again this season?
In any case, during the opening session on Thursday, the Dutchman only finished sixth, complaining and complaining about difficulty shifting gears.
Minor problems or first signs of more exciting competition?
At the start of the Eberl: floodlight show in Breisgau
At the start of his term at FC Bayern Munich, Max Eberl will be heading to SC Freiburg on Friday evening (8:30 p.m.; stream: DAZN; live ticker: SPIEGEL.de).
Was the new sports director able to create a spirit of optimism around his start?
With a success in Freiburg, Bayern would at least create the conditions for something like excitement to arise in the Bundesliga title fight.
Because: League leaders Bayer Leverkusen are facing a game that seems to be an easy one on paper, but that's probably just there.
Coach Xabi Alonso's team will take on relegation-threatened rivals 1. FC Köln in the Rhine derby on Sunday (3:30 p.m.; TV: Sky; live ticker SPIEGEL.de).
A game that is likely to be a fight.
And possibly has the potential to surprise.
St. Pauli's footballers hope, FC Schalke's fear
It was a debacle.
FC Schalke 04 lost 3-0 to 1. FC Magdeburg on the last matchday of the 2nd Bundesliga, and the result was already clear at half time.
Schalke needs success in the relegation battle, but their upcoming opponents have it all: league leaders FC St. Pauli are visiting the Knappen on Friday (6.30 p.m.; TV: Sky; live ticker SPIEGEL.de).
While the Royal Blues are only four points ahead of the relegation place and fear falling into the third division, Hamburg can take another step towards promotion.
St. Pauli is already seven points ahead of third place.
Decisions in winter sports
The 2023/2024 winter sports season promises further excitement in the fight for titles and World Cup victories.
ZDF will broadcast the competitions live throughout the weekend.
It starts on Friday at 2 p.m. with, among other things, the men's Biathlon World Cup and the women's Bobsleigh World Cup.
The broadcast begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday and includes, among other things, the Luge World Cup final and the Nordic Combined World Cup.
Foretaste of the Olympics at the World Athletics Indoor Championships
Almost five months before the Olympic Games in Paris, the first highlight of the season in athletics will take place this weekend: At the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow from March 1st to 3rd, athletes will be fighting for medals (11:05 a.m., live stream: eurovisionsport .com).
Among those taking part are high jumper Tobias Potye and shot putter Yemisi Ogunleye.
World champion in the Big Apple
Basketball star Dennis Schröder will face the Atlanta Hawks with his new employer, the Brooklyn Nets, on Saturday (9:30 p.m., stream: DAZN).
Schröder recently moved from the Toronto Raptors to New York.
The 30-year-old doesn't really have a chance of winning the title with the Nets, but there could at least be a small sense of success against Atlanta, who are doing similarly badly.
Manchester derby in the Premier League
It couldn't be more traditional - Manchester City and Manchester United will meet in the city derby for the 192nd time.
The balance of power in the north-west of England is clearly divided in the Premier League duel on Sunday (4.30 p.m., Sky).
City wants to conquer the top of the table.
United coach Erik ten Hag, on the other hand, does not want to lose touch with the international places.
A question of the game: How do United get the opposing star players Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne under control?
Both had shone in the cup game against Luton Town during the week.
Haaland scored five times in the 6-2 win and de Bruyne prepared four of these goals.
First tour highlight with Evenepoel and Roglič
Cycling really starts the season with the Paris-Nice stage race (1:15 p.m., Eurosport).
The classic takes place from March 3rd to 8th and is traditionally the first major tour highlight of the year.
A total of more than 1,000 kilometers and more than 17,000 meters of altitude in eight stages await the riders.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) are starting as favorites.
Final day in volleyball
Two volleyball cup finals will be played in Mannheim on Sunday.
First the women of SC Potsdam and Allianz MTV Stuttgart fight for the title (1.30 p.m., SWR and live stream: DYN) and then in the men's final the WWK Volley Hersching meet the defending champions Berlin Recycling Volleys (4.15 p.m., live stream: DYN).
The DHB players are fighting for participation in the European Championship
For Germany's handball players, this weekend is about qualifying early for the European Championships.
And the chances of that happening are good.
On Thursday they beat Slovakia 40:18 in the first leg in Sala.
The second leg in Düsseldorf should also be won on Sunday (6.15 p.m., Sport 1), then qualification for the European Championship would be perfect.
A positive side effect: The DHB selection could then concentrate entirely on Olympic qualification.