Formula One is back for 2021, and the opening race of the season has proved to be more chaotic than ever. It took a few tries to get the race started, but when it did, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes proved why he’s a seven-time World Champion by taking the lead and holding it despite disintegrating tires. But don’t let that predictable outcome let you think it wasn’t a good race, because it was fun as hell.
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Sergio Perez proved that the second Red Bull Racing machine tends to be cursed when his car died on the warm-up lap. It caused an aborted start and resulted in an extra formation lap.
When the lights finally went out, Max Verstappen led from pole position with the Mercedes’ of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas following behind him. But the green flag didn’t last for long, since the Haas of Nikita Mazepin brought out a safety car when the driver spun in the third corner.
The Red Bulls pitted during that early safety car, which saw Verstappen running three wide with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on the restart. But the action was postponed again when Pierre Gasly lost the front wing of his AlphaTauri and Mick Schumacher took a spin. A virtual safety car briefly halted the action before Verstappen took the lead again.
Hamilton nabbed the lead on the 18th lap of the race after Verstappen had a slow pit stop that saw him merge back onto the track in second, in front of teammate Perez.
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Bottas later had a terrible pit stop on lap 31, with his car stationary for almost 11 seconds. The team didn’t get one of the tires off and lost out on several positions, with Bottas falling down to fifth place. In the meantime, Verstappen nabbed the lead, but it wasn’t long before Hamilton’s Mercedes headed back to lead the field.
On lap 45, Esteban Ocon in the Alpine and Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin had a little tangle, with both cars spinning after Ocon pulled in front of Vettel and Vettel ran into the back of him. Both cars managed to get back on track without a safety car needing to come out.
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In the final laps, the gap between Hamilton and second-place Verstappen began to shrink, narrowing down to a second in the final five laps due to Hamilton’s older tires. As Hamilton locked up, Verstappen drew within DRS range and remained there as Hamilton continued to lose grip.
On turn 1 on the 53rd lap, Hamilton pushed Verstappen wide and maintained his position, but Verstappen nabbed it mere seconds later. But because Verstappen took the position with his tires off the race track, he had to give the position back to Hamilton.
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But that turned out to be disastrous for the Red Bull. Verstappen just barely managed to get within DRS range on the final lap, but it wasn’t meant to be Verstappen’s day. Hamilton remained in front, but just by the skin of his teeth.
After the race, Verstappen disagreed with Red Bull’s decision; he felt he could have pulled ahead of Hamilton by five seconds, thus negating any time penalty he would have been given for the sketchy pass.
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All that being said, we might just have an incredible battle between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing to look forward to this year.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
