BAKU: Sebastian Vettel was penalized for dangerous driving after deliberately crashing into title rival Lewis Hamilton in a wild and chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix won by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo on Sunday.
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas snatched second place from 18-year-old Williams driver Lance Stroll in the final straight, as Vettel finished fourth ahead of Hamilton to extend his championship lead to 14 points.
Despite Ricciardo’s win, the race will be remembered for the angry confrontation between former world champions Vettel and Hamilton.
Ferrari star Vettel was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for “dangerous driving” after he deliberately drove into Hamilton’s Mercedes while both were following the safety car.
Vettel claimed Hamilton had braked in front of him and he responded by driving into the back of his rival before then bumping the Briton from the side.
“I think it’s just not driver conduct. It’s dangerous driving and to get a 10-second penalty for that... I don’t need to say anything else,” Hamilton told Sky Sports.
Vettel pleaded innocent.
“Nothing happened, did it? He brake checked me as well, so what do you expect?,” the German told Sky.
“I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose but for sure it was not the right move. If I’m struggling, people at the back struggling even more, so I don’t think it was necessary.
“I got damage, he risked damage. He’s done something similar in China at the restart a couple of years ago so it’s not the way to do it, I think.
“I passed him because he pitted. After the incident, we were side by side, I raised my hand and told him, well I didn’t say anything, but showed him that I wasn’t happy with that.”
Making the most of a series of extraordinary incidents and interventions in an action-packed race, which included three safety car interventions and a red-flagged stoppage, Ricciardo, who started 10th, roared home 3.904 seconds ahead of the rest to deliver his first win of the season.
Esteban Ocon of Force India was sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen of Haas, Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso, who also survived a first-lap collision, two-time champion Fernando Alonso, who scored McLaren’s first points of the year in ninth, and Pascal Wehrlein of Sauber.
Hamilton, who had dominated after a strong start from his 66th pole position, was also undone by a loose headrest that caused him to be ordered to pit for repairs, for safety reasons.
Bottas, meanwhile, produced a brilliant drive to take his fifth podium finish of the season, having dropped to the back of the field after a first-lap bump with fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen.
Further chaos unfolded when Daniil Kvyat stopped, his Toro Rosso having lost all electrical power on lap eight. A safety car was deployed on lap 12, for the first time.
By then, after a great scrap with Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen was also forced to retire with an engine failure, his fourth retirement in six outings in his Red Bull.
The first safety car came in after 16 laps, racing resuming with Perez making an attack on Vettel who resisted, before another safety car, the second, was deployed due to debris.
Racing resumed, for a third time, on lap 19, but only after the incident in which Vettel hit the rear of Hamilton’s car, under braking as the leader tried to avoid the slow-moving safety car.
It appeared Hamilton had done nothing untoward, but the German was clearly irate and pulled alongside the Mercedes, waving an arm, before turning into his car.
It seemed a clear case of Vettel losing his temper and causing an accident, but both emerged unhurt as the serious action resumed and Raikkonen picked up debris and a puncture to trigger a third safety Car intervention — after only 20 laps.
The racing resumed, for a fifth time, behind a safety car and when it came in after one lap Hamilton pulled away and Ricciardo dived past Stroll to snatch third.
Nico Hulkenberg of Renault then followed teammate Jolyon Palmer into retirement after the German crashed into the wall while Felipe Massa slowed and retired with a broken damper on his Williams.
Hamilton opened up a 2.7 seconds lead before he was told by Mercedes that his headrest was loose. Behind him, teammate Bottas was back up to eighth and Vettel was closing.
Hamilton was then ordered to pit, on safety grounds, and rejoined ninth with his headrest secured.
By lap 40 of the 51, Ricciardo had the lead which he would not surrender.
Vettel, Hamilton clash as Ricciardo triumphs in Baku
Vettel, Hamilton clash as Ricciardo triumphs in Baku
Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes hit by 2-0 loss to Everton. Man United survives another scare
Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes hit by 2-0 loss to Everton. Man United survives another scare
- Man. United came from behind twice to beat last-place Sheffield United 4-2.
- Crystal Palace ensured top flight safety after 2-0 win against Newcastle
LIVERPOOL, England: Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of a dream send-off were left in tatters after a 2-0 loss at Everton dealt a major blow to Liverpool’s Premier League title bid on Wednesday.
Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park meant Klopp tasted a bitter defeat in his last Merseyside derby before standing down at the end of the season.
The loss keeps Liverpool three points behind league leader Arsenal in second place and one ahead of defending champion Manchester City, which is in third and has two games in hand on both of its rivals.
Klopp had spoken last week of needing perfection to win his second title at the club. But this was the latest setback for his team, which has lost two of its last three games in the league.
While the result hurt Liverpool’s title chances, it delivered a boost to Everton’s survival bid, with the win moving Sean Dyche’s team eight points above the relegation zone.
That fact seemed to be of less concern to the home fans, who were too busy reveling in the damage caused to Liverpool’s season.
“You lost the league at Goodison Park,” they chanted as the final whistle approached and the majority of the 39,000 crowd remained inside the stadium to drink in the atmosphere as the players celebrated on the field.
Klopp had dominated this fixture since taking over at Anfield in 2015, winning nine of the past 16 derbies before Wednesday’s match.
Statistics showed Everton won 75 percent of all duels in the opening half hour, a league record for any top flight team this season.
After just six minutes, Liverpool was grateful for VAR as it escaped an early penalty when Alisson brought down Calvert-Lewin in the box and referee Andrew Madley pointed to the spot. The decision was overturned because of an offside in the build up.
That pressure was made to count when Everton took the lead in in the 27th. Liverpool’s defenders repeatedly failed to clear the danger from a free kick and Branthwaite’s shot squirmed through the hands of Alisson and off the post before crossing the line.
Again there was an agonizing wait for a VAR check, but on this occasion there was no reprieve for Liverpool.
Luis Diaz had the chance to level before the break, but was denied by the legs of Jordan Pickford from close range.
Liverpool came out with more intent for the second half without forcing Pickford into serious action before conceding a second goal.
Again the visitors failed to deal with a set piece when Dwight McNeil swung a deep corner to the far post and Calvert-Lewin rose unmarked to head home.
Liverpool came close to pulling one back in the 69th, but Diaz’s effort came back off the post.
United scare
Manchester United survived another scare — twice coming from behind to beat last-place Sheffield United 4-2.
Having been taken to the wire by second-tier Coventry in the FA Cup semifinals on Sunday, Erik ten Hag’s team looked in danger of dropping points in its bid qualify for Europe.
Sheffield United led 1-0 and then 2-1 through goals from Jayden Bogle and Ben Brereton in each half at Old Trafford. But Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes from the penalty spot leveled on each occasion.
Fernandes put United ahead in the 81st and and Rasmus Hojlund sealed the points four minutes later.
United is up to sixth in the standings, 13 points behind fourth-place Aston Villa.
Palace safe
Crystal Palace ensured top flight safety after Jean-Philippe Mateta struck twice in a 2-0 win against Newcastle.
Palace is on 39 points — 14 clear of 18th-place Luton, which can only pick up a maximum of 37 if it wins its last four games of the season.
It was Palace’s third-straight win to erase fears of being relegated. Defeat saw Newcastle drop to seventh.
Bournemouth beat Wolves 1-0 at Molineux through Antoine Semenyo’s first-half strike.
Riyadh Season to host Crawford-Madrimov world title clash in Los Angeles
RIYADH: Riyadh Season will hold the first boxing event outside Saudi Arabia as Terence Crawford challenges Israil Madrimov for the WBA and WBO interim World Super-Welterweight title.
The event will take place at Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium on Aug. 3, 2024, the Kingdom’s entertainment authority said on Wednesday.
Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority, announced that Visit Saudi, MDL Beast and Red Sea Global will be the sponsors of the event.
Promotion will be handled by Riyadh Season Card, Sela, League 1 and Matchroom Boxing in association with World Of Boxing, TGB Promotions, Golden Boy, Goldstar, Queensberry, Salita Promotions and Warriors Boxing Promotions.
“We are delighted for Riyadh Season to host its first overseas event in Los Angeles and this fight in the United States is a special one to mark this moment,” Alalshikh said.
“We want to give people around the world the opportunity to enjoy their own Riyadh Season experience and this is exactly what we hope to achieve by staging this and also future events around the world.”
Crawford (40-0 31 KOs) is gunning to become a Four-Weight World champion as he moves up to 154lbs after conquering the Welterweight division with a stunning KO win over Errol Spence to be crowned the undisputed champion at 147lbs in Las Vegas in July.
The Omaha star has already ruled the roost at Super-Lightweight and Lightweight, and now the pound-for-pound great is arrowing in on cementing greatness by claiming honors at a fourth weight.
Madrimov (10-0-1 7 KOs) is the man that stands in Crawford’s way, and the Uzbek champion makes his first defense of his title against the toughest opposition possible after winning the belt in spectacular fashion in his last outing in Saudi Arabia.
The 29 year old took on Magomed Kurbanov for the vacant title in Riyadh in March, and stopped the Russian in five rounds with a dominant performance to continue his impressive unbeaten run in the paid ranks, following a glittering amateur career.
British boxing promotor Eddie Hearn said: “This is a fantastic fight between a pound-for-pound great and one of the best World champions in the sport.”
“Terence is a pound-for-pound great and continues to strive to be the very best, but in Israil, he meets a hungry champion that has no intention of relinquishing his title in his first defense - this promises to be one of the fights of the year.”
“I cannot wait to get back in the ring in my fourth weight class and remind the world why I’m the best pound for pound fighter in the world,” said Terence Crawford. “Israil Madrimov is a tremendous and entertaining fighter, but on August 3, he will be my next victim. This is the Terence Crawford era.”
“Terence Crawford is one of my favorite boxers and one of the best boxers in the world,” said Israil Madrimov. “I am very excited to get this opportunity to make a statement, and I will Inshallah.”
The main event is complemented by an undercard that is set to captivate fight fans.
Recently crowned WBA Super-Lightweight champion Isaac Cruz defends his title for the first time against United States southpaw Jose Valenzuela.
Two of the United States’ most fearsome boxing Heavyweights will do battle with former unified Heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz returning to the ring for the first time since a unanimous decision win against Luis Ortiz in September 2022, to face Jarrell Miller, who will be going all out to produce a winning outcome after losing his undefeated record in Riyadh in December last year.
Former Super-Welterweight world champion Tim Tszyu awaits Vergil Ortiz Jr, subject to the outcome of his fight against Thomas Dulorme this weekend, while David Morrell of Cuba will seek to preserve his unbeaten record in a Light Heavyweight contest against US fighter Radivoje Kalajdzic.
Andy Cruz, the Olympic Lightweight gold medalist, continues his Lightweight campaign when he takes on Mexico’s Antonio Moran.
Saudi Arabia’s Joud Bukhari wins bronze at Asian 9Ball Ladies & Girls Tournament
RIYADH: Saudi billiards national team player Joud Bukhari won the bronze medal at the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports 9Ball Ladies and Girls Tournament 2024 currently held in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
As Saudi Arabia marks its first official participation in the tournament, Bukhari became the first Arab, gulf, and Saudi woman to win a medal during the championship.
Separately, eight Saudi male and female officials completed a course held on the sidelines of the Asian tournament, enabling them to officiate international billiards and snooker matches.
Xavi to remain Barcelona coach: club to AFP
- The 44-year-old decided on his dramatic change of mind after a day of meetings
BARCELONA: Xavi will remain as coach of Barcelona, the Spanish giants told AFP on Wednesday, despite having announced in January that he planned to quit at the end of the season.
Spanish media reported that the 44-year-old, who had signed a contract extension until 2025 last autumn, decided on his dramatic change of mind after a day of meetings with club president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco.
Kewell’s Yokohama beat Ulsan to reach Asian Champions League final
- Yokohama will host Al Ain in the first leg of the final on May 11, with the return being held in the UAE on May 25
YOKOHAMA: Harry Kewell said his Yokohama F-Marinos players can “handle any pressure” after beating Ulsan Hyundai 5-4 on penalties on Wednesday to set up an Asian Champions League final against Al Ain.
Former Liverpool and Leeds forward Kewell’s side came through a pulsating semifinal that ended 3-3 on aggregate to reach the Champions League final for the first time.
Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in South Korea, Yokohama scored three goals in the opening 30 minutes in Japan but then conceded twice and had a man sent off before halftime.
Goalkeeper William Popp saved from Ulsan’s Kim Min-woo in the shootout to hand Yokohama the advantage in constant driving rain, before Carlos Eduardo converted the decisive spot kick.
Kewell, who took over as Yokohama coach at the start of the year, said he told his players that “the hardest games you will play are semifinals.”
“I said: ‘Nothing easy in this game’,” said the Australian.
“You are going to get pushed to the limit where I believe you can handle it.
“I think it showed them tonight, they believe now they can handle any kind of pressure.”
Yokohama will host Al Ain in the first leg of the final on May 11, with the return being held in the UAE on May 25.
Al Ain beat Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal 5-4 on aggregate on Tuesday to reach the final.
Yokohama looked certain to join them after a barnstorming start to the second leg but two goals for Ulsan and a 39th-minute red card for defender Takumi Kamijima cranked up the tension.
Ulsan laid siege to the Yokohama goal but Kewell said his players grew in stature as the game went on.
“The players were composed, they were confident,” he said.
“They were getting stronger and stronger as they got closer to the final whistle.”
Ulsan, who had already booked their place in next year’s 32-team Club World Cup in the US by winning the semifinal first leg, were looking for their third Champions League title.
“My players kept going until the end,” said coach Hong Myung-bo.
“It’s unfortunate because we had a lot of chances to score in both the first and second legs.”
Yokohama took the lead in the 13th minute when a defensive mix-up between Kim Young-gwon and Hwang Seok-ho allowed Asahi Uenaka to streak through and score.
Anderson Lopes added a second in the 21st minute, firing home a left-foot shot from just inside the box.
The home side kept up the pressure and Uenaka notched his second of the game on the half-hour mark when he slipped his marker and curled a shot past goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo.
But just as it looked like turning into a rout, Ulsan hit back when Matheus Sales headed home direct from a corner in the 35th minute.
Moments later, Ulsan had a penalty and Yokohama were reduced to 10 men when Kamijima was red-carded for a handball as he slid in to make a tackle.
Substitute Darijan Bojanic, who had come on in the 34th minute, made no mistake from the spot.
Kewell admitted Yokohama “rode our luck at times” as they held off Ulsan but said his players “deserved everything they got.”
“We’re going to enjoy the final,” he said.
“You don’t get a chance to play many finals in your career so when you do, enjoy it and play the way that you’re born to play.”
