SPIELBERG, Austria: Defending six-time champion Lewis Hamilton topped the times ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas as Formula One roared back at Friday’s opening practice at the belated and surreal season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.
Three months after the cancelation of the original campaign starter in Australia and six months on from the last race meeting, it was business as usual for the dominant black arrows with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull ahead of McLaren’s Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz.
After a slow start on a damp surface at the Red Bull Ring, following overnight rain, Hamilton, sporting a new Black Lives Matter helmet to match his black race suit, was on the pace immediately in his W11 car of the same color, repainted from silver this year to support equality and diversity.
It was as if the lengthy delay created by the COVID-19 pandemic had no effect on the teams, cars and drivers other than Ferrari whose new SF91 machine was, as forecast, unable to match the pace set at the front by Mercedes.
Ferrari plan to revise their car with updates for the Hungarian race in two weeks’ time following the second event in Austria next week.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who is set to leave the outfit at the end of the year, struggled to 12th, two places behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, in the eerie surroundings of the fan-less circuit in the Styrian Alps where pit-stops were curiously controlled with all the mechanics in masks and protective gear.
In mild weather conditions, with track temperatures measured at 22 degrees Celsius compared to 57 degrees for last year’s race, Mercedes had no cooling problems as Hamilton outpaced Bottas by three-tenths and was six-tenths clear of Verstappen.
Sergio Perez was fifth in Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’ ahead of Lando Norris in the second McLaren, Alex Albon in the other Red Bull and McLaren-bound Daniel Ricciardo of Renault. Kevin Magnussen was ninth for Haas.
The session saw Verstappen recover from a spin at Turn One and Daniil Kvyat of Alpha Tauri run off at the final corner, causing Williams’ George Russell to take dramatic avoiding action while Romain Grosjean was stuck in the Haas garage with brake problems throughout the session.
Lewis Hamilton on top as Mercedes dominate Formula One opening practice
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Lewis Hamilton on top as Mercedes dominate Formula One opening practice
- Lewis Hamilton tops times ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas at season-opening Austrian Grand Prix
Filipino fans celebrate as favorites advance at Dubai Tennis Championships
- WTA 1000 event off to dramatic start as Kabayan community-loved duo Alexandra Eala and Leylah Fernandez thrill center court with contrasting victories
- Britain’s top-ranked female player Emma Raducanu takes on Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto in Monday’s action, with tickets still available
DUBAI: After weeks of anticipation, women’s week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship burst into life on the opening day as two favorites of the Filipino expatriate community progressed to the second round in front of capacity crowds.
Rising star Alexandra Eala — still only 20 and already the highest-ranked Filipino in WTA history at world No. 40 — lined up against powerful American Hailey Baptiste, the world No. 39.
Baptiste, having qualified for the match as a lucky loser after falling to Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in Saturday’s final qualifiers, she nonetheless cut an imposing figure compared to the diminutive Eala, who is four years her junior and making her Dubai debut.
Yet with every corner of center court transformed by the red, white and blue of the Philippines flag, Eala immediately tapped into the energy with an array of crowd-pleasing winners as she railed against Baptiste’s power advantage.
After trading breaks early on, Eala buzzed around court and stole the momentum with a break of serve before nervelessly holding to seal the set 6-4.
Baptiste valiantly held serve in the opening game of the second set before Elea suddenly found herself advancing to the next round after the American retired with an abdominal injury.
An expectant crowd was stunned and fell silent, but noise levels soared back to deafening as the victor addressed center court. “No-one likes advancing in this way,” she said.
“Being on tour, I am starting to discover how difficult it is to maintain your health physically. I’m really hoping that Hailey will bounce back soon.”
Turning her attention and affections to her adoring fans, Eala added: “I’m super happy to be in the next round.
“This tournament is serving up such great experiences for me, especially playing in front of the best crowd ever. Hello everyone, hello Kabayans. I’m very happy to advance to the next round.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, the world No. 27, and Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, ranked 10 places higher, played out an epic three-set showdown that lasted close to three hours.
After a tense first set in which Samsonova eventually prevailed 7-5, Fernandez — who boasts Filipino heritage — battled back in a knife-edge second set.
The 23-year-old unleashed a series of immaculate winners to sail into a 5-2 lead, before a resurgent Samsonova won three consecutive games to wrestle back momentum and level the set at 5-5.
The Russian’s mini comeback flattered to deceive however, as Fernandez held her serve and then immediately broke serve to clinch the set 7-5 and force a deciding set.
With Fernandez moving into a 2-0 lead in the early throes of the third set, Samsonova suddenly found herself holding two break points and a chance to regain her match footing.
Fernandez, buoyed by a partisan crowd that reveled in celebrating her Filipino ancestry, dug deep. Occasionally scurrying and battling to stay in points, she produced winners under pressure and benefited hugely as Samsonova’s unforced errors tallied up.
Brimming with confidence, Fernandez surged into a seemingly unassailable 5-0 lead in the third set, only for the never-say-die Samsonova to hit back with three quick games in a row.
Serving for the match for a second time, Fernandez regained her composure to hold serve and eliminate the 13th seed.
After signing dozens of autographs on caps, T-shirts, balls, souvenir programs, and anything frenzied fans could find for a signature, Fernandez was quick to acknowledge the acclaim she received from fans at the tournament.
“It definitely felt different tonight,” she said.
“I remember the past couple of years I’ve played day matches, sometimes first on, so there wasn’t a lot of fans. Today, there were a lot more and to see so many fans come watch women’s tennis means a lot, it shows the sport is growing, so I’m very happy.”
When asked if she feels a type of home advantage in Dubai, she added: “Yeah, actually, kind of. It does feel nice because you kind of feel at home. It helps a lot.
“Sometimes when you’re travelling so much you forget why you play tennis and fans always help you to remember. To feel that warmth, that love, and the passion that they have is a lot of fun.”
The final match of the night had the Czech Republic’s Sara Bejlek, ranked No. 38 in the world, needing only 75 minutes for a 6-2, 6-2 dismantling of Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu, another massive Dubai favorite, will face a first-round tie against Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto on court two at 3 p.m.
