MELBOURNE: An upbeat Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari were right in the fight for the Formula One championship despite being outpaced by Mercedes in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli in the season-opener, crossing more than 15 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third and Hamilton in fourth.
“I’m genuinely really proud of the team,” the seven-times world champion told Sky.
“I think we’ve done an amazing job to get the car to where it is. Of course we’re not as fast as Mercedes, we’ve got work to do, but we’re right in the fight.”
Hamilton said Ferrari’s race pace was stronger than qualifying suggested, having started seventh on the grid.
“I think all weekend I’ve been really, really strong, but qualifying didn’t show the true pace,” he said.
“We had a few problems through qualifying which meant that I was further back than I should have been.”
Once the race began, Hamilton said he felt competitive from the outset and believed he might have had his first podium with Ferrari if the cars were on the track for a bit longer.
“It was a really, really fun race and it felt good for me,” he said.
“I was obviously closing the gap right at the end to Charles. A couple more laps and I think I would have had him — maybe one or two more laps.”
While conceding Mercedes hold a clear advantage in the early season, Hamilton said the deficit was not insurmountable.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to catch Mercedes, but it’s not impossible,” he said.
“I do believe we can close the gap. It’s not going to be easy because it’s quite significant, particularly on a single lap. We need to find out whether it’s power or battery power.
“But the car is just as quick through the corners, so we’ve just got to keep pushing.”
Ferrari can reel Mercedes in, says Hamilton
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Ferrari can reel Mercedes in, says Hamilton
- Hamilton said Ferrari’s race pace was stronger than qualifying suggested, having started seventh on the grid
China beat North Korea 2-1 to take top spot in Group B
- Uzbekistan finished third in the group with a 4-0 win over Bangladesh in Perth, also securing a spot in the knockout stage
SYDNEY: Defending champion China edged North Korea 2-1 in a physical, high-energy game Monday to take top spot in Group B in the Women’s Asian Cup.
The result sent North Korea into a quarterfinal Friday against Australia in Perth, where the hosts and 2023 World Cup semifinalists opened the tournament with a win over Philippines.
China and North Korea were already assured of quarterfinal spots with two wins apiece ahead of their showdown at Western Sydney Stadium. Uzbekistan finished third in the group with a 4-0 win over Bangladesh in Perth, also securing a spot in the knockout stage.
Playing in their first Women’s Asian Cup tournament since losing the 2010 final to Australia, North Korea only needed a draw against China to top the group. And they took the lead when Kim Kyong Yong finished off a counter-attacking goal in the 32nd minute, the first shot on goal in the game.
The lead was shortlived, though, with China equalizing two minutes later with Chen Qiaozhu’s stunning strike through traffic from the edge of the area.
China went ahead in a tense finish to the first half, when Wang Shuang’s goal was awarded after a VAR review deep in stoppage time.
The VAR decision to overturn the assistant referee’s offside call upset the North Korean players and led to coach Ri Song Ho being yellow carded by referee Thi Ly Le as his team protested on the sideline. The North Korean players didn’t return to the pitch before halftime was called.
Both teams had chances in the second half, with North Korea goalkeeper Yu Son Gum making a full-length diving save to Wang’s powerful left-foot shot in the 78th, and then 19-year-old Choe Il Son appearing to equalize two minutes later before being ruled offside after a VAR review.
In Perth, Dildora Nozimova scored twice in six minutes for Uzbekistan, her first just two minutes after entering the game as a substitute on the hour.
State of play
The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.
In Group A, South Korea edged Australia for top spot on goal difference after the 3-3 draw in Sydney on Sunday night. The South Koreans will play the third-place team from either Group B or Group C in the quarterfinals. Philippines still have a narrow chance of advancing after placing third, finishing with a win over Iran. That put Iran women’s team out of contention, and facing the prospect of a return to country at war.
In Group C, two-time champion Japan lead with six points ahead of their last group match against Vietnam, who are tied with Taiwan for second spot on three points. Taiwan finish the group stage against India.
