MONACO: Red Bull denied Sergio Perez a chance to race for the win in Spain with team orders that left the Mexican star unsettled.
Assured that he’d be allowed to race for wins this season, Perez moved on to the Monaco Grand Prix with Red Bull’s disappointing decision in his rearview mirror. Then he scored his first Formula One victory of the season.
Perez rebounded from the Red Bull team orders one week ago to pick up the win Sunday in the rain-marred Monaco Grand Prix.
The third win of Perez’s career came after a questionable strategy call by Ferrari that cost pole-sitter Charles Leclerc a win on his home circuit. Although Leclerc finished the race for the first time in four tries, he finished fourth and allowed reigning world champion Max Verstappen to extend his lead in the standings.
Carlos Sainz Jr. finished second for Ferrari and Verstappen was third for Red Bull. But Ferrari protested both Perez’s win and Verstappen’s finish, alleging the Red Bull drivers failed to stay to the right of the yellow line at pit exit following their stops.
The FIA race stewards were examining the Ferrari protest.
“We made the protest because we believe it was right to seek clarification,” Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said.
Verstappen has a nine-point lead over Leclerc in the standings; Leclerc has two wins this season, Verstappen and Perez have combined for five victories as Red Bull and Ferrari have claimed all seven races.
The win on the slick city streets of Monaco went to Verstappen’s teammate just one week after Perez was ordered to cede the lead to Verstappen during the Spanish Grand Prix. Leclerc had dropped out of the race with an engine failure and Red Bull chose to capitalize by manipulating the finish to get Verstappen the win in Spain.
The team promised Perez he’d be allowed to race for wins and held its word Sunday.
“You dream of winning this, and after your home race, there is no place more special to win,” Perez said after waving the Mexican flag. He is third in the standings and only six points behind Leclerc.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner patted Perez on the back as he walked alongside him. Perez is in a contract year and both Red Bull and Perez have said discussions on an extension would ramp up over the summer months.
“Checo was sensational,” said Horner, who joined Perez on the podium and as the driver struggled to hold back tears and wiped his eyes as the Mexican anthem played. Perez is the first Mexican driver to win Monaco.
“It’s a massive day for myself and my country. I am very happy. I was wearing a Pedro Rodriguez helmet,” Perez said. “I am sure he was looking down on me and hopefully he would be very proud. I’m the only Mexican or Latin-American driver on the grid. It just shows how difficult it is for us to make it into the sport.”
Rodriguez, a Mexican driver who won two F1 races, died in 1971.
Verstappen celebrated with Perez, whom he considers the best teammate of his career. Verstappen told Perez after the race that the win “might help, just a little bit,” in Perez’s contract talks.
Leclerc led from the pole and screamed in rage when told to pit for a second tire change on Lap 22 — at the same time as Sainz. His engineer realized the mistake and yelled “stay out!” but it was too late and Leclerc returned to the track in fourth.
“What are you doing?” Leclerc shouted.
After the race, he lectured Ferrari again.
“No words, no words. We cannot do that,” he radioed.
“It was a freaking disaster today,” Leclerc said after. “The win was clearly in our hands. We had the performance, we had everything. I just don’t really understand the call.”
Binotto accepted the team made the wrong call for Leclerc.
“I know he’s not happy. It’s normal that he’s not happy because we only made mistakes. If you’re first and end up fourth it’s obvious something didn’t work,” Binotto said. “We should have stayed out. We’ll look at why we made that decision.”
Leclerc also won the pole a year ago but never got to start because he crashed at the end of qualifying, and the car’s gearbox failed moments before the start. In 2018 and 2019, Leclerc had retired from the race with crash damage.
The race was delayed by 70 minutes for heavy rain and began from a rolling start behind a safety car.
It was then red-flagged on Lap 30 after Mick Schumacher’s heavy crash three laps earlier sliced his Haas car in two. He was uninjured.
George Russell finished fifth for Mercedes ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Alpine of Fernando Alonso. Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton was eighth for Mercedes — extending his winless run with the Silver Arrows to eight races — while Valtteri Bottas was ninth for Alfa Romeo and Sebastian Vettel 10th for Aston Martin.
“Crazy afternoon. I thought the rain would make it more exciting but we struggled still on our cars,” Hamilton said. “Probably one of the worst (starts to the season).”
Relentless rain drenched the track 20 minutes before the scheduled start at 3 p.m. local time.
The field initially lined up and completed a delayed formation lap behind the safety car. But drivers climbed from their cars when the rain intensified and it became clear Sunday’s start would be delayed.
“With the length of the race, and the delays and interruptions, it felt more like an NFL game than a Grand Prix,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said. “The rain at the beginning was torrential, then there was an issue with the connectivity for the TV broadcast which meant we couldn’t get going.”
When the rain subsided enough to start the race, Leclerc led the field on a rolling start and started clocking fastest laps.
Then came a team order that played straight into Red Bull’s hands and left Leclerc despondent in Monaco.
Once again.
Perez wins chaotic Monaco GP, Ferrari blows it for Leclerc
https://arab.news/jybgy
Perez wins chaotic Monaco GP, Ferrari blows it for Leclerc
- The third win of Perez’s career came after a questionable strategy call by Ferrari that cost pole-sitter Charles Leclerc a win on his home circuit
- Although Leclerc finished the race for the first time in four tries, he finished fourth and allowed reigning world champion Max Verstappen to extend his lead in the standings
Klopp says he has ‘no problem’ with Salah after touchline spat
- Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists his spat with Mohamed Salah has been “completely resolved“
- Salah was asked after the game to comment on the incident and he was heard saying: “There’s going to be a fire today if I speak”
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insisted Friday his spat with Mohamed Salah has been “completely resolved,” saying his long history with the star forward ensured there was no lasting damage to their relationship.
Klopp and Salah were involved in a touchline confrontation during the 2-2 draw at West Ham on Saturday. When Salah was asked after the game to comment on the incident, the Egypt international was heard saying: “There’s going to be a fire today if I speak.”
Nearly a week later, Klopp said the matter was a “non-story.”
“There’s no problem,” said Klopp, who was speaking ahead of Liverpool’s home match with Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. “If we wouldn’t know each other for that long, I don’t know how we would deal with it but we know each other for that long and respect each other too much that it’s really no problem.”
The incident happened as Salah was preparing to come on as a substitute, having been selected on the bench for the second time in three games.
“In general, the best situation would be everybody is in the best possible place, we win games, we score lots of goals. Yes, then the situation (with Salah) would probably not have been exactly like that,” Klopp said. “Then Mo wouldn’t have been on the bench in the first place.”
Klopp, who is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season after nearly nine years in charge, was asked if the 31-year-old Salah should be part of the new manager’s plans. Salah, a Liverpool player since 2017, has been linked with a move to the Saudi league.
“I’ve said before, what a player he is. That he’s incredible,” Klopp said. “But I don’t think I should speak about that, to be honest. Other people will decide that, especially Missouri
“I don’t have any signs it will not be like that. But I’m really the wrong person already for a few weeks to talk about these kind of things.”
Mounir Lazzez to launch new MMA promotional company with big fight night in Dubai
- 971 Fighting Championship hosts its inaugural event at The Agenda on Saturday, May 4
- Mouhamed Fakhreddine faces Gianni Melillo in main event on 14-bout card
DUBAI: Mounir Lazzez, having recently made the move into mixed martial arts promotion, is confident of surpassing his achievements as a fighter when he launches his new venture, 971 Fighting Championship, in Dubai on Saturday.
Spearheaded by Tunisian Lazzez, the first fighter born and raised in an Arab country to be signed to the UFC, 971 Fighting Championship is an innovative MMA entertainment brand that has been created with view to changing the face of the combat sports industry in the region.
Saturday’s high-profile launch event, at The Agenda in Dubai Media City, features 14 professional bouts, with Lebanon’s Mohammed Fakhreddine, the first Arab double champion, and Italy’s Gianni Melillo going head-to-head in the main event.
The two co-main events, meanwhile, are equally intriguing, with Ireland’s John Mitchell facing Egypt’s Adham Mohammed, while Eslam Abdul Baset, another Egyptian, takes on the UK’s Dan Vinni.
With further shows confirmed for August, October and December, Lazzez believes the arrival of 971 Fighting Championship signals an exciting new chapter for MMA.
“This is a big moment in relation to the long-term future of the sport, with 971 Fighting Championship providing a platform for fighters at various stages of their careers to showcase their talents,” he said.
“As a company, 971 Fighting Championship is fully committed to hosting entertaining events where elite athletes push their bodies to the limit and fans … go away knowing they have witnessed something special.
“Saturday’s launch event features some fantastic fighters, and The Agenda is a perfect location to launch such an amazing concept. We’re really looking forward to what promises to be a truly special occasion.”
After taking up MMA classes at the age of 15 in Tunisia, Lazzez’s career began to take off after a move to Dubai, where he represented several promotions, including the likes of Brave Combat Federation, and UAE Warriors, before signing to UFC in 2020.
Lazzez enjoyed a stunning debut, picking up the Fight of the Night award after a unanimous decision win over Abdul Razak Alhassan, before going on to face the likes of Warlley Alves, Ange Loosa and Gabriel Bonfim.
Now Lazzez is focused on ensuring 971 Fighting Championship is in a position to compete with some of its more established competitors in the long term.
“Becoming a professional MMA fighter was always my ambition and to have achieved a personal goal is a source of great pride, but that particular chapter is now closed,” he said.
“The 971 Fighting Championship has big aspirations, and everybody involved in the project is fiercely passionate about making the brand a major success.”
Lazzez now has an opportunity to make his mark on the sport in a different way, and he is well aware 971 Fighting Championship’s first event is a huge opportunity to put the brand on the map.
“While we have been working extensively behind the scenes for many months, Saturday’s event marks the beginning of our journey,” he says.
“Having been involved in the industry for many years, I’m well placed to assess what works well and, perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t.
“We believe our brand will become a huge success, but that will only be achieved with hard work and dedication.
“For a launch event, Saturday’s show is huge, with 14 bouts and a card made up of fighters from all around the world, which is what 971 Fighting Championship is all about. We can’t wait to get started.”
Knicks edge 76ers, book NBA 2nd round clash with Pacers
- The Knicks, through to the second round for the second straight season, will host the Pacers in Game 1 of their series on Monday
- Embiid, last season’s Most Valuable Player whose campaign was disrupted by knee surgery in February, scored 39 points and grabbed 13 rebounds
LOS ANGELES: Jalen Brunson scored 41 points and the New York Knicks held on for a 118-115 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday, clinching a 4-2 series win to book an NBA playoffs second-round clash with the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers powered into the Eastern Conference semifinals with a convincing 120-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks that sealed their 4-2 series win.
It came down to the wire in Philadelphia, where Knicks forward Josh Hart, fed by Brunson, drilled a three-pointer to put New York up 114-111 with 25.6 seconds remaining.
Sixers star Joel Embiid cut the deficit to one with a driving layup seconds later but then fouled out and the Knicks polished it off with free throws from Donte DiVincenzo and Brunson.
Brunson said that after failing to close out the 76ers at home in game five, the Knicks knew they needed a faster start in this one.
They led by 22 points in the first quarter, only to see the 76ers claw back to lead by three at halftime and push their advantage to as many as 10 in the third quarter.
“Obviously they fought back and took the lead, but that good start helped us,” he said. “The way we kept fighting, that’s what we’ve been talking about all year — just making sure we keep fighting no matter what.
“No matter what the situation is, we’re going to stick together, we’re going to fight.”
Brunson added 12 assists, DiVincenzo scored 23 points with two steals and three blocked shots and OG Anunoby contributed 19 points.
Hart finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds and heard the cheers rain down from Knicks fans who made the trek to Philadelphia, despite the fact that the 76ers owners bought 2,500 tickets on the secondary market to try and limit the invasion of New York supporters that irked Embiid during Game 4.
Embiid, last season’s Most Valuable Player whose campaign was disrupted by knee surgery in February, scored 39 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Buddy Hield added 20 points but Tyrese Maxey, who scored 46 in Tuesday’s series-extending victory, was held to 17.
The Knicks, through to the second round for the second straight season, will host the Pacers in Game 1 of their series on Monday.
Unable to close out the depleted Bucks on Tuesday, the Pacers got their uptempo offense flowing again, relentlessly pulling away after trailing by seven in the opening minutes in Indianapolis.
All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton delivered a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists, but it was reserve guard Obi Toppin leading the Pacers scoring with a career playoff high 21 points.
T.J. McConnell added 20 points off the bench along with nine assists and four steals as the Pacers reserves contributed a whopping 50 points.
“I’m so proud of the perseverance,” Haliburton said of Toppin and McConnell. “Obviously neither of them had a really good game last game — none of us did. We just responded the right way.”
Indiana led by 12 at halftime, and after the Bucks cut the deficit to seven on a Brook Lopez layup with 1:05 left in the third the Pacers authored an 11-0 scoring run and romped away in the final period.
Eight-time All-Star Damian Lillard returned from a two-game injury absence and led the Bucks with 28 points.
Lopez and Bobby Portis scored 20 points apiece, but with two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo still sidelined by the calf injury suffered late in the regular season the Bucks couldn’t find an answer.
The Bucks, who won the title in 2021, lost in the first round for the second straight season after falling to Miami last year.
The Pacers hadn’t won a playoff series since 2014, when they reached the Eastern Conference finals.
‘Saudi Smash’ in Jeddah set to boost table tennis
- One of the sport’s biggest events takes place at King Abdullah Sports City from May 4-11
JEDDAH: Table tennis in the Kingdom is set for a boost with the debut of the “Saudi Smash” tournament at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City from May 4 to 11.
The event, organized by World Table Tennis, the Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Table Tennis Federation, is the latest example of the Kingdom’s mission to promote active lifestyles as part of Vision 2030.
Table tennis has grown in Saudi Arabia over the past three years, fueled by investments and initiatives by the STTF and the ministry.
The number of clubs has surged by 50 percent to 181, with nearly 5,000 players registered.
Several Saudi Arabia athletes will compete including Ali Alkhadrawi, Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi and Turki Almutairi.
The tournament will have equal prize money for the men’s and women’s champions.
The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 transformation plan aims to ensure 40 percent of the country’s people engage in sports.
There has been a 300 percent increase in sports participation since 2015, accompanied by a surge in females taking part.
Professional Fighters League’s Ali Taleb looks to bounce back in Riyadh following first career loss
- Only defeated by Khurshed Kakhorov in his 10-bout mixed-martial arts career
Things did not go quite according to plan when Ali Taleb last stepped inside the Smart Cage of the Professional Fighters League.
With a chance to advance to the bantamweight finale of the inaugural season of PFL Europe, Taleb fell short, losing via unanimous decision to eventual champion Khurshed Kakhorov.
The loss last year was the first blemish on Taleb’s 10-fight professional mixed-martial arts resume, but it also became a bit of a learning experience for the Iraqi-Swedish bantamweight.
“What I learned is not to be jittery, don’t chase the knockout all the time,” Taleb said in a recent interview on the Rondvilan Podcast.
“It was his turn, it was his time to win the million,” said Taleb.
The 26-year-old reigning UAE Warriors Bantamweight Champion added: “There’s still a lot for me to learn, honestly.”
Looking ahead, Taleb has his sights set on his PFL MENA debut in Riyadh on May 10. He will be facing a familiar opponent in Jordan’s Nawras Abzakh, whom he defeated in 2021.
“It’s the first time I’m going to rematch someone,” Taleb said. “It’s going to be good, I’m excited, man.”
Taleb will try to make history by becoming one of the first PFL MENA champions.
He said that Abzakh had asked to face him. “It’s a tournament, but he said ‘I want to fight him.’”
“He’s gonna get a taste,” Taleb continued. “Nothing can stop me now. I’m going to take his soul, and that’s that. This guy won’t stop me.”
He also revealed that he will be defending his UAE Warriors’ title.
“I’m allowed by the PFL to take a fight in UAE Warriors, so I think I’m going to defend my belt there,” Taleb said.
The PFL MENA: Riyadh tournament takes place on Friday May 10 at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All PFL MENA events will air live on MBC Action and SHAHID.
