IMOLA, Italy:Runaway championship leader Lewis Hamilton overcame a sluggish start to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday for a record-extending 93rd Formula One victory.
Hamilton beat Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by 5.7 seconds and rushed over to celebrate with the team’s engineers and mechanics after the team clinched a record-extending seventh straight constructors’ title.
“Seven times champs, something to tell my grandchildren,” said Hamilton, who also clinched an extra point for the fastest lap. “It is very overwhelming right now.”
Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo placed third for a second podium of an impressive season, while Daniil Kvyat placed a commendable fourth in what is expected to be his last season before being replaced at AlphaTauri.
“It was a bizarre one, I’m not sure what happened to Max but that put us in the fight for a podium,” Ricciardo said. “Cyril (Abiteboul) will not be getting another tattoo though.”
Abiteboul is the team principal and, at the start of the season, agreed to have a tattoo done if Ricciardo finished a race on the podium.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez.
Hamilton started from second on the grid and was overtaken by Max Verstappen, who span off track 11 laps from the end after his rear right tire blew, bringing out the safety car and prompting drivers to change to quicker tires.
Hamilton had missed the first pit window and came in after the other drivers, but his lead was sufficient enough and he came back out about two seconds ahead of Bottas.
The safety car remained on the track following another crash as George Russell lost control and slammed into the track barriers. He was unharmed but upset at his own error while behind a safety car, as he sat on the grass and slapped himself several times on the leg in frustration.
This gave Bottas a chance to pressure Hamilton with six laps left, but Hamilton got away cleanly after the re-start and clocked fastest laps on his way to another comfortable win.
F1 returned to Imola for the first time since 2006, when Michael Schumacher won at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit situated in Italy’s auto racing heartland and the site of Ayrton Senna’s death from a high-speed crash in 1994.
Hamilton broke Schumacher’s record for wins when he clinched a 92nd victory last weekend.
He is now closing rapidly on matching Schumacher’s record seven F1 titles and leads Bottas by 85 points with four races and a maximum of 104 points left. Hamilton can clinch the title at the Turkish GP on Nov. 15.
Bottas took an excellent pole position and made a good start, while Hamilton almost lost another position but managed to block Pierre Gasly, who retired his AlphaTauri on Lap 9.
“It was an exhausting race, the speed we were having to go after a poor start,” Hamilton said.
Verstappen pitted to switch from medium to hard tires on Lap 19, with Bottas following on the next lap as his team covered his move. But this played into Hamilton’s hands.
He stayed out longer, having asked his team not to bring him in, and set fastest laps before coming in for his tire change with a lead of nearly four seconds ahead of Bottas — hindered by a large piece of debris stuck under his car since Lap 2.
“I think (the damage) made quite a big impact today,” Bottas said. “Out of Turn Seven there was the debris, I didn’t have time to avoid it.”
The gap was larger than expected for Hamilton. He was entering the pits just as a virtual safety car call was made when Esteban Ocon’s Renault stalled on the side of the track, meaning drivers had to slow down.
Still, the decision to bring Bottas in right after Verstappen appeared strange, seeing how quick he was going on the medium tires and that the race leader usually has priority over strategy calls.
He then lost second place on Lap 43 when locking his tires entering a turn, allowing Verstappen to zoom past a short time later.
“I was pushing hard to avoid Max getting through,” Bottas said. “I had to push over all of my limits which led to a few mistakes.
“Second!” Verstappen said with evident irony on the team radio, such is Mercedes’ dominance.
Soon after, it was despondency as he trudged back to the team garage with his race over.
Soon after the restart, Alexander Albon span his Red Bull and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. showed remarkable reflexes to swerve left and avoid any contact.
It was another dismal day for four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, who lost out on a points finish after an awful 13-second tire stop and finished 12th.
He is 14th in the standings while teammate Leclerc is fifth and 67 points ahead.
Vettel arrived at Ferrari in 2015 with high hopes that he could win the team’s first drivers’ title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
But this season Vettel has not finished a race higher than sixth.
Hamilton wins Emilia Romagna Grand Prix for 93rd F1 win
https://arab.news/n7mh2
Hamilton wins Emilia Romagna Grand Prix for 93rd F1 win
Indian walks from Dubai to Riyadh hoping to meet hero Ronaldo
- “I pray to God to make this dream come true and meet Ronaldo”
JEDDAH: A Cristiano Ronaldo superfan has arrived in Riyadh after a grueling walk from Dubai hoping to meet the Al-Nassr star.
After 1,200 km and 36 days of travel mostly across the arid landscape separating the cities, Civin KP arrived in the Saudi capital.
“Finally, I am here in front of Al-Awal Park where Al-Nassr plays (their) official games and I hope I can meet Ronaldo,” he said.
He posted images of himself on Instagram at the stadium where he managed to take a seat at the home team’s bench and walked pitch-side at the 25,000-capacity venue.
“I came all the way from Dubai on foot and crossed all this distance just to pay respect and show my love to the best player in the world,” said Civin, who is originally from the state of Kerala in India.
Ronaldo is one of the most recognizable faces of international football and has fans across the world who enjoy his skills and passion for the game. He signed for the Riyadh club in 2022 after years of playing in Europe’s top leagues.
Civin feels proud to have completed the journey but still awaits the biggest prize.
“The unexpected moment is always sweeter,” he wrote, “hopefully waiting for more.”
A photo with the Portuguese great and an autograph would be a moment of a lifetime, Civin told MBC as he visited the ground.
“I pray to God to make this dream come true and meet Ronaldo,” he said. “I will cherish this moment, if it happens, for the rest of my life.”
On Friday, Civin was able to secure a ticket to watch Al-Nassr beat Al-Fayha 3-1, but unfortunately his hero did not feature as he is serving a suspension.
KL Rahul shines as Lucknow Super Giants beat Chennai Super Kings in IPL
- Innings played key role in pushing Lucknow past Chennai’s 176-6 with six balls to spare.
LUCKNOW: KL Rahul’s solid 82 runs off 53 balls helped Lucknow Super Giants comfortably beat Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in the IPL on Friday.
Rahul’s time at the crease, which saw him smash nine fours and three sixes, played a key role in pushing Lucknow past Chennai’s 176-6 with six balls to spare.
“I felt that if we bat well, we could chase it down... when your partnership goes on, you can take a few more chances. Glad that it happened,” said Rahul.
Chennai got off to a slightly jittery start after being invited to bat first, losing Rachin Ravindra (zero) and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (17) in the first five overs. Ajinkya Rahane looked to steady the side, with the help of Ravindra Jadeja, but fell in the ninth over after racking up a respectable 36 runs off 24 balls.
Lucknow’s clinical bowling restricted Chennai in the middle overs, with Shivam Dube (three) not being able to pop off.
But Jadeja soldiered on for the rest of the game, getting his half-century in the seventeenth over.
Reliable warhorse M.S. Dhoni, who smacked 28 runs off 9 balls, helped Chennai turn up the heat in the last three overs and pushed the team to 176-6.
Lucknow openers Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul set up the chase with a superb 134-run partnership, before de Kock, who hit five fours in his 43-ball 54, fell in the fifteenth over.
Rahul went onto smash an incredible 82 runs off 53 balls before being dismissed in the eighteenth over. A final push by Nicholas Pooran (23) helped seal the victory for Lucknow.
“We lost wickets regularly and were 10-15 short,” said Gaikwad.
“Good to play them again soon, will come back with homework done.”
Saudi Arabia’s PIF signs sponsorship deal with Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament
- Agreement is latest in wider partnership with the ATP
LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced on Friday it had agreed a multi-year deal to sponsor the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament.
The deal is the latest in PIF’s wider tennis partnership with the Association of Tennis Professionals as a Platinum Partner and as the official naming partner of the PIF ATP Rankings.
The fund said the agreement marked its continued investment in growing tennis globally, along with a wider focus on its four sponsorship pillars: inclusivity, sustainability, youth, and technology.
As part of the partnership, PIF will develop a platform to allow tennis fans new and old to engage and train with legendary players and coaches on the ground in Madrid, and youth-focused fan zones.
A statement said: “PIF is committed to providing opportunities for young players across all levels of the game, inspiring participation, enhancing talent discovery and developing new pathways for future generations of tennis players around the world.
“As part of this priority, PIF is engaging local tennis academies in Spain and supporting future players through the PIF tennis bootcamp.”
PIF has also partnered with ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami and the Nitto ATP Finals, in addition to the Beijing ATP 500 event, and the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, to be hosted in Jeddah until 2027.
John Catlin sets himself up for victory going into final round of Saudi Open in Riyadh
- American shoots men’s course-record 62
RIYADH: John Catlin continued his dominance at the 2024 Saudi Open on Friday as he shot a men’s course-record 62 to open up an eight-shot lead at the top of the leaderboard at Riyadh Golf Club.
The American began the third round one shot ahead of Scott Hend and Haotong Li and signaled his intentions early with two birdies in his first five holes.
It was a special back nine that saw him pull away from the field as six birdies, including two in his final two holes — which also earned him the PIF Moment of the Day — put him in the driving seat for a sixth Asian Tour victory.
Thai favorite Kiradech Aphibarnrat made the biggest move of the chasing pack and will head out with Catlin in the final group on Saturday.
His round of 67 moved him into second place with Wade Ormsby, David Puig, Hend and Li one further back.
If he is victorious on Saturday it will mark back-to-back wins on the Asian Tour for Catlin after he lifted the International Series Macau trophy in March, but the 33-year-old is taking nothing for granted ahead of the final round.
He said: “My game has felt in good shape. Today was just one of those days where the putter just gets hot and it’s like you can’t miss. I kept going and tried to make as many birdies as I could because there are so many good players out here and there are plenty of birdies to be made tomorrow. I knew I had to keep the pedal to the metal.
“Nothing changes tomorrow: the job is not finished. David (Puig) has shown he can shoot some really low numbers and there are a lot of other guys very capable of doing that here.”
It is Catlin’s second trip to Saudi Arabia but his first to Riyadh, and after his record-breaking day he admitted he will be back in the Kingdom whenever he gets the chance.
“I’ve loved it here. The people have been so friendly to me, the facilities are really good and I love the course. I will be back whenever there is a tournament here,” he said.
South African Jaco Ahlers produced the day’s second-best round with his 65 moving him to 7 under par, while LIV Golf star Peter Uihlein catapulted himself up the leaderboard after four birdies in four holes to start his back nine took him to the same score. Uihlein is looking forward to an attacking final round.
He said: “You’ve got to shoot 10 under tomorrow to win — I’m going to try. Hopefully my caddie will let me hit the driver on some holes where I probably shouldn’t, and just have a go.
“I played nicely on the front, but it was a different wind. I felt like the back nine, with the way the wind was, is easier than the first couple of days, so I thought I could make some birdies. I didn’t birdie the 15th or 18th hole, which is disappointing.”
Moroccans Othman Raouzi and Ayoub Lguirati, the two invited Arab golfers who managed to make the cut, endured difficult days and both sit over par heading into the final round.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem receives Arab and MENA backing
- Statement condemns “false allegations” of interference in sporting decisions during 2023 Formula One season
DUBAI: The FIA Members for Sport for MENA region and Arab Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs sub-region have released a statement of support for FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem against what they see as “false allegations” of interference in sporting decisions during the 2023 Formula One season.
“Knowing that Mr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been committed to promoting transparency within the FIA since he was elected president of the FIA, his full co-operation with the FIA Ethics Committee and the Compliance department during the 30 days of investigations is highly regarded,” the statement said.
“The Ethics Committee were unanimous in their determination that there was no evidence to substantiate allegations of interference of any kind involving the FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and strong evidence beyond any reasonable doubt was presented to support the determination of the FIA Ethics Committee.”
The statement said that the FIA president was cleared of any wrongdoing over allegations he interfered with the stewards’ decision at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023, and cleared of any wrongdoing regarding allegations that he attempted to interfere with the track certification process for the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023.
The statement continued: “The FIA Members for Sport for MENA Region and ACTAC Sub-Region condemn, and at the same time are profoundly disappointed with the unjust and relentless attempt to undermine the integrity of the FIA Leadership by such unfaithful allegations to serve narrow personal agendas, and we strongly encourage the FIA administration to initiate legal actions against those responsible for those allegations against the FIA President.
“We are confident that Mr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem will continue to serve the FIA and its Members in a transparent manner implementing the FIA Code of Ethics as top priority.
“We also would like to assert our support to Mr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s leadership of the FIA and will continue our co-operation with him in his efforts to serve and develop the FIA and its Members,” it said.
