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Sébastien Ogier is on the cusp of an unprecedented 10th Rally Monte Carlo victory after another flawless performance on Saturday, further extending his lead at the iconic French Alps event.
The Frenchman, driving a GR Yaris Rally1 for Toyota GAZOO Racing, heads into Sundays final leg with a commanding lead of 20.3 seconds, having delivered a measured and calculated drive through six challenging stages west of Gap on Saturday. His and co-driver Vincent Landais efforts kept the chasing pack firmly at bay.
Despite milder temperatures offering respite from ice, Ogier had to battle the toughest of the days conditions.
His 10th-place starting position meant he faced mud and loose stones left on the road by the cars ahead, yet the eight-time world champion used every ounce of his Monte-Carlo experience to push on, extending his lead which stood at 12.6 seconds after Friday. Behind him, Elfyn Evans and Adrien Fourmaux continued their fight for second place, while a fast-finishing Ott Tänak also staked his claim for a podium result.
We are still in the lead. Its not increasing much, but its still going the right way, reflected Ogier. It was a positive day, but I am happy to have it behind me. Starting last [on the road] of the Rally1s was definitely the most challenging conditions, so I am happy with what we have done.
Just 4.3sec separated Evans and Fourmaux at the end of the rallys longest day, with the Welshman taking back control of second place after a thrilling back-and-forth. Fourmaux, on what has been a stunning Hyundai WRC debut so far, hit top gear in the morning to snatch second from Evans on SS11, but the Toyota driver fought back in the afternoon, edging ahead once more.
Tänak came alive in the afternoon after set-up tweaks unlocked more speed from his Hyundai. He surged past Toyotas Kalle Rovanperä on SS13, then set a blistering pace on SS14 winning the stage and beating Fourmaux by 13.3 seconds. Another powerful run on the days finale left the Estonian only 2.5sec adrift of his team-mate heading into Sunday.
Two-time WRC champion Rovanperä, who ended 27.9sec behind Tänak in fifth, felt that he couldnt have done much more. His preference for faster, flowing stages left him at a disadvantage on the days tighter, more technical roads.
More than two minutes separated the Toyotas of Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari in sixth and seventh overall, with both drivers relieved to have completed another day without any major drama. The same couldnt be said for Thierry Neuville, who languished eighth after a power delivery issue on SS10 cost him around 50 seconds and stunted any hopes of a fightback after his Friday struggles.
For Grégoire Munster, the day was bittersweet. The M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 driver celebrated his first-ever fastest WRC stage time on Saturdays opener, but after retiring with a technical fault on the final liaison section back to service on Friday, hes unable to challenge his Rally1 rivals for an overall position. Without the issues, Munster could have been in the mix for a top-five finish.
Puma Rally1 debutant Josh McErlean made huge strides, breaking into the top nine as he gained valuable mileage in the car. Nikolay Gryazin was 10th overnight, while Yohan Rossel extended his lead in the WRC2 category and also sits 11th overall.
Sundays final leg starts from Gap and includes three more tricky stages as the rally journeys south to the finish in Monaco.
As Will Power stares at year No. 18 behind the wheel of an Indy car, his drive to keep rolling only grows.
The longtime Team Penske driver, who turns 44 in March, is coming off perhaps one of his more impressive seasons behind the wheel of the No. 12 Chevrolet.
Three victories and four runner-up results propelled Power to a fourth-place points effort by seasons end.
However, it very well couldve been a third championship had the final two races turned out differently.
Following a second-place result in the first of two races at The Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin, Power was in prime position to threaten points leader Alex Palou.
Palou endured uncharacteristic battery failure prior to the start of the second event, which sidelined the Chip Ganassi Racing driver for the first 28 circuits.
The points situation swung Powers way momentarily until a spin relegated the driver of the No. 12 to 10th on the grid.
Looking ahead to the finale at Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee, Powers title hopes were dashed due to a belt issue early in the event. Hed finish 24th.
While the season could be chalked up as a what couldve been year, Powers mentally thrown away the negatives and is ready for a fresh slate.
Based on the performance the second half, really most of the season last year were very strong, Power said. A very disappointing end, obviously, there to drop back a couple in the championship standings.
Yeah, very determined to come back and have a strong 2025. I think well have the car, engine, package to do it, and I think Penske is in a very good spot right now.
As Penskes longest-tenured driver in the series, the question of how much longer Power will remain with the team is a recurring question seemingly every year with the rise of teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin.
Power inked an extension with the team following his second title in 2022.
However, hes entering a contract year in 2025. Earlier in January, Power signed with Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonsos agency, A14 Management, as Power looks ahead to negotiations.
With high performance a must, especially in the final year of his deal, Power stressed the importance of staying at the pinnacle of his game.
Its not just so about being impressive, its like necessary. Youre certainly not sticking around if youre not doing that, Power said. Youd better turn up or else shes over. Thats just the way it is.
But I love it. I love the competition. I love the preparation. I love finding new little details and things to be better every year.
Yeah, its kind of funny you get to this point in your career and I feel youre at your absolute best as far as putting a whole series together, weekend together, races together. You kind of have the same speed that you had but you dont really build on speed, Power continued.
I think its just a natural thing that you have. But the whole other package takes a long time to get unless youre Palou, like some of those guys that just mature, and they work that out very early.
As far as a timeline of how much longer Power feels hed be able to compete at a high level, he believes he could be absolutely competitive for another five years if I wanted.
Its absolutely the goal, yeah, to definitely keep rolling while Im really competitive, Power said. I was like very competitive last year. I won three races and seven podiums. No one else in the field but McLaughlin did that. So Im still performing really high.
Yeah, if I wasnt performing, I wouldnt want to do it. Im still learning. Its crazy, but youre still learning stuff.
Competitive, Frantic and Fast Six Hours in the Books At Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. A full, talented and ambitious 61-car field featuring IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar champions, NASCAR stars, IndyCar winners, Formula 1 veterans and a wide assortment of accomplished drivers from 31 countries took the green flag Saturday afternoon at Daytona Intl Speedway for the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Blue skies, cool temperatures, a large crowd that even included Miss America showed up to watch a global A-list of racers competing to earn coveted Rolex Daytona timepieces for their work on the 3.56-mile infield road course that also incorporates portions of the famous speedways high banks.
A restart five minutes before the six-hour mark following the races third full course caution period saw a typically frantic move forward among the lead Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars which went three-wide into the first turn.
Ultimately, American Colin Braun prevailed taking the front position in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 ahead of the defending Rolex 24 race-winning No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 at the races quarter-mark.
Mathias Beche held the 12-car Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class lead in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 exchanging the front spot with Felipe Fraga, co-driver of the No. 74 Riley ORECA, in a spirited battle out front of that class.
GTD PRO
The new two-car Paul Miller Racing team paced the 15-car Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class. At the six-hour mark, Jesse Krohn was out front in his No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Connor De Phillippi third in the sister No. 1 car. They sandwiched Nico Varrone, in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the races first quarter point.
The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette co-driven by NASCAR stars Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch, along with IndyCar standout Scott McLaughlin and sports car champion Ben Keating was 12th place in GTD at the six-hour mark.
The entire GT field had a moment on the opening lap when Nick Boulles No. 2 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07 car spun directly in front of them. The evasive action cost the pole-sitting No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 to relinquish the early lead, but the two Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustangs quickly recovered and ranked among the leaders for much of the following hours.
It was really bad actually, we were really lucky there, said Mike Rockenfeller, who was driving the pole-sitting No. 64 Mustang and had took early evasion action.
We lost a position, both of us (Mustangs) but it doesnt matter. Its a long race and the track will change and hopefully it will be a clean race for us and well see where we are at the end.
I was definitely not ready for that, even though you should be, Rockenfeller smiled. Somehow I wasnt expecting that.
GTD
David Fumanelli led the fields most populous class, the 22-car Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class, in the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3.
For most of the early going, it was the pole-winning GTP BMW M Team RLL team and Porsche Penske pacing the overall field. However, as expected and as usual, the racing was dramatic from the drop of the green flag in all four classes.
The prototype class, in particular, featured numerous lead changes among all the different makes and a wide assortment of drivers.
Im not surprised, theres just so much talent on this grid in terms of manufacturers, drivers, teams, everybody is so close and weve seen it in the Roar (test sessions), weve seen it in qualifying and the practice sessions, everyone is so close together, said BMW driver Austrian Philipp Eng, whose No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 started on pole position in the hands of co-driver Dries Vanthoor.
I was just watching 10 minutes ago and there were three former F1 guys driving cars. So I must say it is incredible and I feel very privileged to be racing against them and with them, he added. So this (competitive field) is not a surprise to me. I just hope at the end of the race there is a BMW leading the race.
Among those former F-1 drivers putting on a show out front was Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racings Kamui Kobayashi, who spent most of his time in his No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R at the races quarter-mark putting on a passing display.
His teammate Jordan Taylor spoke to the media as the Japanese super-talent pulled into the lead earlier in the night, glanced up and could only smile.
Its fun to watch him, said Taylor, who shared that while other drivers spent their off-days travelling or doing something fun, his teammate Kobayashi instead spent one night doing laundry at a local 24-hour laundromat, watched a bit of Netflix and even went to a local Dicks Sporting Goods and bought a portable sauna hes used ever since.
We knew he was going to be like that (pushing to lead the race), Taylor continued. You see it all weekend through practices watching his onboards and as hes learning the new car, you see him making the adjustments to the steering wheel and just having fun. Thats his style and why people love him.
Thats exactly what I would expect from him watching a restart where everyone is kind of unsure about the conditions and he just goes forward.
Of note, there were three full-course cautions and the weather dropped from starting temperatures nearing 60 degrees ambient and 90 track to a much cooler mid-50s track and ambient into the night stint. Soft compound tires are now available for GTP teams to run until 10 a.m.
IMSA also hands out the first IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup points of the 2025 season at the sixth hour. The top three teams in each class at designated time periods are awarded five, four and three points, respectively with all others taking home two. At the Rolex 24, Michelin Endurance Cup points are awarded at the sixth, 12th, 18th and 24th hours. Naturally, the cars leading at the six-hour mark take home the five points.
BOSTON -- Facing the prospect of Colorado's star winger Mikko Rantanen becoming an unrestricted free agent after this season, general manager Chris MacFarland felt the timing was right to deal him away and bolster the Avalanche's roster for the future.
"I think it was just a tough business decision here for us," MacFarland said Saturday before the Avalanche faced the Boston Bruins. "I felt that the pieces we got made sense to strike now."
Colorado traded Rantanen in a three-team deal to Carolina a night earlier, acquiring forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, as well as a second-round pick in this year's draft and a fourth-rounder in 2026.
Carolina also got forward Taylor Hall from Chicago in the trade.
Drafted 10th overall in 2015 by Colorado, the 28-year-old Rantanen, a two-time 100-point scorer who had an Avs' record 55 goals in 2022-23, was in line to become an unrestricted free agent after he and the organization couldn't agree on a new deal entering this year.
He had 25 goals and 39 assists when he was traded, and leaves Colorado with 287 career goals in his ninth full season. He helped them win the Cup in 2022.
The Avalanche and Hurricanes had been discussing Rantanen since last summer. Carolina GM Eric Tulsky said the past six to eight weeks saw them table "serious offers" for the winger, with the Hurricanes pushing hard to complete the trade in the last two weeks.
Trading a superstar is never easy, and MacFarland certainly had some anxious moments.
"It hurts, right. He's a homegrown talent. He's a superstar person, he's a superstar human being," he said. "I think that's sports, right. We're going talk about it, people are going to talk about it. Your heart strings get tugged. That's why we all do this.
"I'd be lying, I'm like that. He's that good of a hockey player. ... He had the UFA card and we felt this is what we had to do."
Rantanen was seeking a contract in the neighborhood of the eight-year extension Leon Draisaitl signed with the Edmonton Oilers in September. That deal carries an average annual value of $14 million. Both Rantanen and Draisaitl are represented by agent Andy Scott.
Now, Colorado faces the immediate future trying to remain a Stanley Cup contender along with planning for the future.
"You lose a superstar and we're going to have to try and replace him in the aggregate -- 50-goal scorers don't grow on trees," MacFarland said. "You have to usually draft and develop them. Mikko was a home run for us for many, many years."
And his former star player will now try and help Carolina win its first Cup since 2006.
"You feel that you do what's best for the logo and best for the team," MacFarland said.
MacFarland said it was important to have Necas, a speedy forward who led the Hurricanes in scoring this season, and Drury, an "emerging player" down the lineup, under contract and "cost-controlled" beyond this season. He said the trade will allow the Avalanche to potentially make more moves before the March 7 deadline.
"I think we're always sort of looking to get better. Certainly over the next few weeks that won't change. I think obviously there are a little more bullets in the draft pick cupboard and some cap space," he said.
In the end, retaining Rantanen for the contract he was seeking would have had too many repercussions for the Avalanche, who will have to resign star defenseman Cale Makar in 2027. While the salary cap is rising in the NHL, MacFarland said the team needs all the flexibility it can muster.
"The cap is going to go up but you still have to have your internal outlooks. It's clear we are not deep enough. I think that you've got to be deep to go four rounds and hopefully this is going to help that," MacFarland said. "Obviously Mikko is a superstar. You can't replace that. But he's a superstar that earned the right to be a free agent."
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Carolina Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said Saturday that his team has the desire and the financial flexibility to give newly acquired star winger Mikko Rantanen the massive contract he's seeking ahead of unrestricted free agency this offseason.
That is if he wants to remain with the Hurricanes.
Carolina stunned the NHL on Friday night by acquiring Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche in a three-way deal that also sent Chicago Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes. Rantanen is sixth in the NHL with 64 points in 49 games this season, including 25 goals. Since the 2021-22 season, he is fifth with 365 points in 286 games, including back-to-back 100-point seasons.
But Rantanen, 28, is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and his contract demands created a significant impasse with the Avalanche, with whom he has played for 10 seasons. The Hurricanes are hoping to meet Rantanen's asking price and convince him to commit long term.
"At this point, it's more of a recruiting pitch than a negotiation in my mind," Tulsky said Saturday.
Carolina has reached the playoffs in all six seasons of Rod Brind'Amour's head coaching tenure, including two trips to the Eastern Conference final. The team boasts a few players from Rantanen's native Finland, including friend and star center Sebastian Aho. Tulsky hopes the franchise's virtues -- and a contract to his liking -- will be enough to retain him.
"[Rantanen] is an incredible player. If he gets to free agency, I'm sure there will be teams that will pay him a lot of money, and so our job in the next weeks and months is to make it so he wants to be here," Tulsky said. "He has the right as a free agent to decide where to sign and it may not come down to the money for him. It may come down to where he wants to be. So our goal is to make him want to be here and then offer enough money that he doesn't have to think twice about it."
The Avalanche picked up Carolina forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, as well as a second-round pick in this year's draft and a fourth-rounder in 2026. Chicago acquired its 2025 third-rounder from Carolina for Hall, the rights to Swedish forward Nils Juntorp and 50% retention on Rantanen's $9.25 million salary cap hit.
Colorado GM Chris MacFarland called the trade a "tough business decision." Rantanen was a popular star and clutch performer, amassing 101 points in 81 career playoff games. That included 25 points in 20 games when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Rantanen was seeking a contract similar to the eight-year extension Leon Draisaitl signed with the Edmonton Oilers in September. That deal carries an average annual value of $14 million. Rantanen and Draisaitl are represented by agent Andy Scott.
This is the second straight season the Hurricanes have traded for a star scoring winger with an expiring contract. Last year, they acquired Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel. The Hurricanes' efforts to re-sign him failed and he landed with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tulsky, who is in his first season as Hurricanes general manager, said the conditions are more favorable to keep Rantanen than they were for retaining Guentzel.
Last season, the Hurricanes didn't have the cap flexibility to sign Guentzel and the other players they wanted. This offseason, Tulsky estimates the team could have between $35 million to $40 million in cap space. The Hurricanes will be the only team that can give Rantanen an eight-year contract, per NHL CBA rules.
"Our team situation is totally different right now," Tulsky said. "We don't feel nearly as constrained."
The Avalanche and Hurricanes had been discussing Rantanen since last summer. Tulsky said the teams tabled "serious offers" for the winger during the past six to eight weeks. The Hurricanes were pushing hard to complete the trade in the past two weeks.
Those talks with Colorado were happening while Carolina was also discussing trades with other teams. Sources told ESPN that the Hurricanes and Vancouver Canucks had engaged in negotiations about forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.
Tulsky said in the past week there was a desire for all parties to "get their best offers on the table" so the Hurricanes could decide which player to pursue.
"Everybody had multiple offers. It was sort of time for everyone to figure out what they wanted to do and this deal got done," he said. "It was a complicated dance."
The New York Rangers on Saturday agreed to terms with veteran defenseman Will Borgen on a five-year contract extension, the club announced. The deal will carry a $4.1 million average annual value, sources told ESPN's Kevin Weekes.
Borgen, 28, was acquired from the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 18 in the deal for forward Kaapo Kakko, a former No. 2 pick,. Borgen has three points since the trade, but more importantly, he ranks third on the team in blocked shots (29) and sixth in total ice time (316 minutes).
"He's been outstanding since he's been here," New York coach Peter Laviolette said this week. "For me, he's a big reason why things have quieted down a little bit. He skates well, he's physical, he plays with an edge, and he doesn't back down from anybody."
Borgen usually has been paired alongside veteran K'Andre Miller on the club's second defense pairing. He has been a pivotal piece in New York's overhaul on the blue line, especially after the in-season trade of former captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks.
Borgen, who was scheduled to become a free agent July 1, was originally selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the fourth round in 2015.
Everton manager David Moyes celebrated his 700th game in the Premier League with a gritty 1-0 win at Brighton, but has been left to sweat over the fitness of two key players in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Orel Mangala.
A penalty from Iliman Ndiaye gave Everton the three points as they defended stoically in the face of relentless Brighton pressure, especially in the second half.
The win moves Everton seven points clear of the relegation zone and is the first time this season they have won back-to-back Premier League games.
"My 700th game in the Premier League and to come here and win, it is a great result for us," Moyes said. "It wasn't an easy task and in some areas we needed to play better. We are not at the levels we need to get to, but the players showed backbone and a bit of steel.
"It's incredible really," Moyes added to the Premier League when discussing the milestone. "When you start out, I don't think you ever believe you will become a Premier League manager but to get 700 games behind me is a fair achievement, I am very pleased.
"There's two great managers ahead of me in Arsene [Wenger] and Alex [Ferguson]. I don't think I'll be making their numbers, that's for sure."
Ferguson is second in the league's all-time list with 810 games as manager, while former Arsenal boss Wenger holds the record with 828 matches.
Calvert-Lewin went off after 10 minutes with what looked a hamstring injury and Mangala limped out of the game near the end. Both are key to how Everton play and will be sorely missed if they face a spell on the sidelines.
"They need to get checked but we are a bit worried about both Dom and Mangala," Moyes said. "I don't want to say they are serious injuries until we find out what they are, but the medical team don't seem to think they look the best."
Everton put in a battling display that had little finesse, but Moyes said while they ward off the threat of relegation, it is going to be the case that they seek substance over style.
"I think the supporters understand at the moment that we need to get ourselves out of trouble and it is a short-term fix," he said.
"There was bits of today when it was not so good, we could not control the game in the second half and we need to find ways to be better."
Pep: Khusanov 'will learn' from disastrous debut
Pep Guardiola has said Abdukodir Khusanov "will learn" after the young defender's nightmare debut against Chelsea.
Khusanov gifted Chelsea a goal inside three minutes of his first City appearance following his 33.6m ($41.6m) move from Lens last week.
The 20-year-old Uzbekistan international was booked for a foul on Cole Palmer just a minute later and was eventually substituted early in the second half.
City recovered from their poor start to win 3-1 thanks to goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden to move back into the top four of the Premier League.
"Well, what I thought is not the best start, right?," Guardiola said.
"He will take a lesson. He's so young, he's come for many years. It's not the best start of course, but dealing with [Nicolas] Jackson, with Cole ]Palmer], with all these incredible players is not easy.
"He will learn. He's young, he will learn, I'm pretty sure. Take a lesson from that."
Khusanov was forced into an early debut at centre-back because of injuries to Rúben Dias and Nathan Aké. John Stones was only fit enough to be named on the bench.
Guardiola said needs Stones to be available for the crucial Champions League clash with Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Khusanov is not eligible to play in the Champions League and Dias and Ake remained sidelined, with City having to win to have a chance to progress from the league phase after a difficult campaign.
"I have to learn Russian or Uzbek to communicate with him [Khusanov]," Guardiola said.
"He doesn't speak fluently in English. In this kind of situation, there's nothing much to say. He knows he made a mistake.
"What can I say? Don't do a mistake? He doesn't want to do it, so we know that.
"I make a substitution mainly for the yellow card, not just for the mistake. I need John for Wednesday."
Manchester City earned a 3-1 comeback win over Chelsea at Etihad Stadium on Saturday to go back into the top four in the Premier League.
New signing Abdukodir Khusanov had a disastrous start to his City career, gifting Chelsea the opener in the third minute, but goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden spared him as Pep Guardiola's team bounced back from their harrowing Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
City are fourth in the league on 41 points, while Chelsea now sit sixth on 40, with Newcastle United between the two teams.
Khusanov, signed this week from French side Lens, left his header back to Ederson short, which allowed Nicolas Jackson to steal the ball and square it for Noni Madueke to put Chelsea in front.
A minute later, the Uzbekistan international was booked for a challenge on Cole Palmer, and after struggling to find his feet in English football he was eventually replaced early in the second half by John Stones.
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Fellow new signing Omar Marmoush fared better up front as he too made his debut. The Egypt striker caused plenty of trouble for the Chelsea back line in the opening 45 minutes, and his industry up front helped peg the visitors back.
City struck back with defender Gvardiol levelling three minutes before half-time as he reacted quickest to slot home a rebound.
Haaland then put the hosts in front after 68 minutes with an impudent chip that took advantage of some suspect positioning from Robert Sánchez in the Chelsea goal.
Foden's breakaway goal, which came after more good work from Haaland in the 87th minute, wrapped up the three points to give City a positive end to a chastening week ahead of their must-win Champions League clash with Club Brugge on Wednesday.
"When we had the start like we did it is difficult, but we played really well and we kept on going and kept on going," Haaland told the BBC.
"We kept pushing, and second half was the same. In the end it is what we need to do. We need to lock it in the back and keep going attacking-wise."
Pep Guardiola declined to criticise Khusanov despite the defender's rocky start.
"The players were together. That was massively important. Any player can make a mistake. The fans always support the new players. He's so young. He will learn," Guardiola said.
Kylian Mbappé said he's more concerned about Real Madrid winning the league than finishing as LaLiga's top scorer after grabbing his first hat trick for the club in their 3-0 win at Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Mbappé opened the scoring in the 30th minute -- after a smart one-two with Jude Bellingham -- before adding a second goal in the 57th minute and then converting a penalty in added time.
The result left Madrid top of the LaLiga table on 49 points, four points clear of second-placed Atlético Madrid, who drew 1-1 with Villarreal earlier on Saturday.
"I'm happy with the hat trick, but I'm more happy with the win," Mbappé told Real Madrid TV. "It was very important to win today. After Atleti's result, there was more pressure."
Mbappé has now scored 15 league goals this season -- 22 in all competitions -- and is on a red-hot streak of eight goals in his last five games.
Speaking earlier this week, teammates Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo said they wanted to ensure Mbappé ended the season as Spain's leading goal scorer, or Pichichi.
"Rodrygo and I are going to do all that we can for Mbappé to be top scorer in every competition, because that's why he came here," Vinícius said.
"That's nice, but I could say I need to help them too," Mbappé responded on Saturday after his treble. "We all want the team to win. If I'm top scorer, great -- I've done it a lot of times in my career -- but winning the league is the most important thing for me."
Coach Carlo Ancelotti called Mbappé "the best centre-forward in the world" last weekend.
"I said the first day here that I can play in all three positions in attack," Mbappé said, when asked about playing centrally.
"My adaptation is over for sure. I feel good, with my movements, and my teammates, you can see it on the pitch."
"[Mbappé] has been playing well for a while," Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. "He scored three goals for the first time. He's contributing a lot. He found his rhythm a couple of months ago. It's a plus for us. He's a player who has a lot of quality."
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