NASCAR: Horror crash mars end of Daytona 500

MIAMI -- Denny Hamlin sealed back-to-back victories in an incident-packed Daytona 500 on Monday, winning a photo finish in a race marred by a horrific crash that left veteran driver Ryan Newman seriously injured.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Hamlin followed up his victory in 2019 with his third career win at Daytona, becoming the first racer to win the opening leg of the NASCAR season since Sterling Marlin in 1995.

However, Hamlin's celebrations were muted by a last-lap crash that left Roush Fenway Racing's Newman hospitalized.

The 42-year-old Newman's Ford Mustang had led on the final lap but spun out of control, hit the wall and flipped onto its roof before bursting into flames at the Daytona International Speedway.

Newman's car was also sent flying into the air after being struck by Go Fas Racing's Corey LaJoie.

Several ambulances sped onto the circuit to attend to Newman's stricken vehicle following the crash. 

Black screens were erected around the site of Newman's car as workers extracted the driver from the wreck. 

NASCAR executive vice president Steve O'Donnell later told reporters that Newman was in serious condition at a local area hospital, but his injuries were deemed non-life-threatening.

"He's in a serious condition, but doctors have indicated his injuries are non-life-threatening," a statement from Roush Racing read out by O'Donnell said.

"We appreciate the thoughts and prayers and ask that you respect the privacy of Ryan and his family at this time," O'Donnell added.

Newman's fellow competitors had earlier voiced concern over the plight of the driver following the race.

"I knew it was bad," race-winner Hamlin said. "I knew him crossing the track there was a bad scenario in the first place. It's a weird balance of excitement and happiness for yourself, but obviously someone's health and their family is bigger than any win in any sport. 

"We're just hoping for the best."

Hamlin's team boss Joe Gibbs meanwhile apologized for celebrating the win in the immediate aftermath of the chequered flag when Newman's car was still being tended to on the track.

"I was focusing on our car, and everybody started celebrating around us," Gibbs said. "Some people may have saw us and said, 'Well, these guys are celebrating when there's a serious issue going on.' 

"So hopefully I apologize to everybody, but we really didn't know. We got in the winner's circle, and then that's when people told us. 

"It just makes it so hard. Such a close-knit community."

Agence France-Presse

First Saudi woman driver to race car in kingdom

DIRIYAH, Saudi Arabia—Sliding behind the wheel of a sleek electric SUV, Reema Juffali is set to blaze a trail in male-dominated motor sports as the first Saudi woman to race in the kingdom.

Such adrenaline rushes were unimaginable for women in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom until June last year, when it overturned the world's only ban on female motorists as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's wide-ranging liberalization drive.

Juffali, a 27-year-old who made her motoring debut just months after the decades-old ban ended, will compete Friday and Saturday in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, an all-electric race in Diriyah, close to the capital Riyadh.

"The ban was lifted last year and I never expected to race professionally," said Juffali, sitting in her black-and-green Jaguar I-Pace, an electric sports utility vehicle.

"The fact that I am doing it... is amazing," Juffali, clad in a racing suit, told AFP in an interview close to the racing circuit in Diriyah.

Juffali, who hails from the western city of Jeddah and was educated in the United States, will participate as what organizers call a "VIP" guest driver, becoming the first Saudi woman to race on home soil.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's sports authority chief, has touted it as a "watershed" moment for the kingdom.

"Reema will have thousands cheering her on, as a professional racing driver," the prince told AFP.

Juffali, who made one of her first appearances in competitive racing at the F4 British Championship at Brands Hatch in April, has only about a year of professional racing experience under her belt.

But she has had a passion for fast cars since her teenage years and grew up watching Formula One.

She passed her driving test after she moved to the United States to study some years ago, and is now one of only a handful of Saudi woman to have obtained a "racing licence" in her home country, a mandatory requirement to race professionally.

Even outside the Kingdom, only a few Saudi women have raced professionally.

"For a lot of women who haven't had the opportunity to learn how to drive, to get behind the wheel is definitely something scary," explained Juffali.

"For a lot of women in Saudi it's something so far away."

Juffali said her dream is to one day race at Le Mans—a 24 hour competition in France that is one of the world's most prestigious and gruelling competitions.

In Riyadh she will be racing against the season's veterans but will not score any points.

THRILL OF SPEED

Prince Mohammed has sought to shake off his country's ultra-conservative image by allowing greater freedoms for women, including easing so-called "guardianship" rules that give men arbitrary authority over female relatives.

But alongside reforms he has also overseen a sweeping crackdown on dissent.

Around a dozen women activists who long campaigned for the right to drive are on trial after being arrested last year, sparking widespread condemnation.

Some allege they were tortured and sexually harassed by interrogators; Saudi authorities deny the allegations.

The driving reform has been transformative for many Saudi women, freeing them from dependence on private chauffeurs or male relatives.

Newly mobile Saudi women are now embracing what was previously deemed a male entitlement—fast cars.

Many are defying the perception that only dainty cars in bright colors are popular with women drivers.

Auto showrooms tapping women clients have rolled out a line-up of cherry red Mini Coopers, but sales professionals say many exhibit an appetite for muscle cars like the Chevrolet Camaro or the Mustang convertible.

Some women are taking up drifting—oversteering the car to slip and skid or even spin, and other high-speed daredevilry—which is illegal in public but tolerated in the controlled environment of some theme parks.

Clad in skinny jeans and Harley-Davidson T-shirts, some women are also training to ride motorbikes at a Riyadh driving school, a scene that is still a stunning anomaly in the conservative petro-state.

"Many (people) are surprised by all the changes happening in Saudi," said Juffali.

"Seeing me in a car, racing... For a lot of people it's a surprise, but I am happy to surprise people."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hamilton wins Formula One's 1,000th race

SHANGHAI -- Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday to retake the overall lead from Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas in Formula One's 1,000th world championship race.

Bottas, who had started on pole but lost out to five times world champion Hamilton into the first corner, finished second for his team's third one-two finish in as many races this season.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took third place, the German's first podium appearance of the campaign, with Red Bull's Pierre Gasly taking the fastest lap.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Vettel wins Brazilian GP, Hamilton fourth from pits

SÃO PAULO, Brazil -- Sebastian Vettel bounced back from his world championship disappointment in fine style on Sunday when he won a sunlit Brazilian Grand Prix for Ferrari.

The four-time champion took the lead at the start and, apart from a period after his pit-stop, controlled an incident-packed race to finish 2.8 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes.

Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 champion, resisted late challenges from newly-crowned four-time champion Lewis Hamilton to hang on to third ahead of the second Mercedes driver, who had started the race from the pit lane.

Dutchman Max Verstappen came home fifth ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Australian Daniel Ricciardo and retirement-bound local hero Felipe Massa, a rousing seventh for Williams in his final home city race.

The Brazilian emerged triumphant in his own private scrap to the line with two-time champion Fernando Alonso of McLaren Honda, who finished eighth.

Sergio Perez finished ninth for Force India and Nico Hulkenberg 10th for Renault.

It was Vettel’s first win in eight outings since the Hungarian Grand Prix in July and his fifth of the season. It was also Ferrari’s first win in Brazil since 2008.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks for us, but it’s nice to get both cars on the podium here,” said Vettel.

“I had a good getaway and then I had wheelspin, so I thought I missed my chance but I think Valtteri had the same so I surprised him.

“I wanted to pull out a gap and then to control the race from there and it worked out.”

Bottas admitted: “My goal was to win so it was very disappointing. We lost it in the start. After that it was very close. I tried to put some pressure on Sebastian, but it didn’t happen. Lewis did a great comeback to score points.”

- Massa farewell -

Raikkonen admitted: “Lewis got close to me at the end, but it’s impossible to overtake here if you have close speed between the cars.”

Massa gave the home crowd something to cheer about as the Williams driver heads to retirement.

He won the race at Interlagos in 2008 when he was pipped to the title by Hamilton.

“I feel so emotional today,” admitted Massa. “All you guys, thank you very much for everything that we passed together and for all the support and energy.”

On a hot blue-skied day, with a track temperature of 60 degrees Celsius, the key action took place on the first lap when, following a multiple collision at the first corner, the Safety Car was deployed.

This incident saw Ricciardo spin on a kerb, hit luckless Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne’s McLaren and, in turn, Dane Kevin Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

 The latter two were forced to retire as, in a separate incident, Frenchman Romain Grosjean lost control of his Haas and slid into compatriot Esteban Ocon’s Force India, taking the pair of them off into a gravel trap.

It was the first retirement of Ocon’s career after 27 races and Grosjean was handed a 10-seconds penalty.

In the chaos that ensued, Hamilton took advantage and rose to 14th before the Safety Car pulled off and racing resumed.

The world champion, who had clinched his fourth title two weeks earlier in Mexico, made the most of his rebuilt car, powered by a new engine, following his crash in qualifying on Saturday.

While Vettel pulled clear by 1.9 seconds ahead of Bottas, it was Hamilton setting the fastest laps as he sliced through the field. By lap 21, of the 71, following an immaculate demonstration of speed and passing moves, he was up to fifth before settling for fourth place.

“It was fun,” said Hamilton. “Just like my karting days when I started from the back. But I messed up yesterday and I know I was quick enough to win from pole to flag, but I made the job a lot harder.

“When I woke up this morning my goal was to do the team proud and score points. I tried, but ran out of tyres at the end.”

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hamilton takes fourth title despite collision

MEXICO CITY - An ecstatic Lewis Hamilton became Britain's first four-times Formula One world champion on Sunday after fighting back from last place following an opening-lap collision with arch-rival Sebastian Vettel at the Mexican Grand Prix.

In a race won by 20-year-old Dutch prodigy Max Verstappen, in a Red Bull, the 32-year-old Mercedes driver finished ninth to cement his place as his country's most successful driver of all time.

Vettel, the only man who could have delayed the seemingly inevitable, ended up fourth after starting on pole position and then dropping to 19th following a pitstop to replace a broken front wing.

Hamilton has an unassailable lead of 56 points with two races, worth a total of 50, remaining in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

"It doesn't feel real. That's not the kind of race that you want but I never gave up. I kept going right to the end," said a jubilant Hamilton, the British flag proudly draped over his shoulders.

He had raised both hands to his helmet as he took the chequered flag, with the crowd rising to applaud.

"Lewis has done a superb job all year and deserves to win the title," said Vettel. "Congratulations to him. It is his day."

Sunday's race was both the best and worst of afternoons for the sport's biggest star, who ended up sprinting down the pitlane chased by fans.

A winner nine times this season, including five of the six before Mexico, ninth was his lowest placing of the campaign and he did it despite having a badly damaged car at a track where overtaking is difficult enough anyway.

Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas finished second at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen third.

   
AGGRESSIVE MOVE

Vettel had needed to be in the top two to have any chance of taking the title fight down to Brazil in two weeks' time but his already slim hopes seemed to have disappeared within seconds of the start.

Verstappen, with nothing to lose and everything to gain from his front row position, seized the lead with an aggressive move through the opening right-left-right corners and the Red Bull bumping wheels with Vettel as he went through.

Hamilton, starting in third place, tried to follow Verstappen but the Ferrari's front wing sliced Hamilton's rear right tyre as they made contact at turn three.

"Did he hit me deliberately?" asked Hamilton over the radio, limping back to the pits and fully aware that Vettel's only real hope of getting back into the reckoning would be if the Briton went out.

"Not sure, Lewis," his race engineer Peter Bonnington said in reply. It looked far from deliberate and stewards swiftly decided that no further investigation of the incident was necessary.

Vettel pitted while Hamilton, who had started the day 66 points clear of his rival, had a longer stop while mechanics inspected his car for further damage.

The incident robbed the crowd of the prospect of a real duel between the two contenders, who will both be four-times champions when next season starts, but they still provided thrills as they fought back.

HIGH FIVE

Hamilton, who had a thrilling wheel-to-wheel tussle with former McLaren team mate Fernando Alonso in the latter stages that could have cost him dear, had hoped to celebrate by spraying the winner's champagne from the top of the podium.

Instead, there was the considerable consolation of being one of only five men -- Germany's Michael Schumacher, Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio, France's Alain Prost and Vettel -- to win four titles or more since the championship started in 1950.

Prost and Vettel both have four, with the late Fangio on five and Schumacher seven.

Hamilton's tally of titles took him above fellow-Briton Jackie Stewart and also his late Brazilian idol Ayrton Senna in the all-time lists.

"An unusual way to be world champion but you are world champion very simple. Nobody cares how you do it," said Mercedes' non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, himself a triple champion.

"Who cares? It's about the result," said team boss Toto Wolff, when asked how it had felt to see Hamilton lapped by Verstappen. "He was lapped because he was crashed into."

The victory was the third of Verstappen's career and second of the season, cementing the youngster's position as the rising star of the sport.

France's Esteban Ocon was fifth for Force India, with his Mexican team mate Sergio Perez seventh and behind the Williams of Canadian rookie Lance Stroll.

Danish driver Kevin Magnussen was eighth for Haas with Alonso taking the final point.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hamilton wins in Mexico but Rosberg is right behind

MEXICO CITY - Lewis Hamilton won the Mexican Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, his landmark 51st career victory cutting Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg's overall lead to 19 points and keeping the German waiting for a first title.

The pole-to-flag victory was the triple world champion's eighth of the season and put him level with France's Alain Prost in the all-time lists of winners. Only Michael Schumacher (91) has more.

Rosberg, who would have clinched the title had he won and Hamilton finished 10th or lower, crossed the line 8.354 seconds behind to anchor champions Mercedes to a sixth one-two finish of the season.

The German can still clinch the title with a race in hand if he wins at Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit in Brazil in two weeks' time.

"Lewis has been too fast this weekend," said Rosberg. "I just have to accept second place."

The race was largely processional until it exploded into controversy in the final laps with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finishing fourth and then promoted to the podium before demotion back to fifth.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third on the track but was then handed a five second penalty for gaining an advantage by going off, pushing him down to fifth before Vettel's penalty for dangerous driving lifted him back to fourth.

That left Australian Daniel Ricciardo in third place but without a podium appearance and the chance to pour the champagne into his boot for another trademark 'shoey' celebration.

The Vettel-Verstappen-Ricciardo controversy provided the major talking point of the day, with bad language flying and accusations going to and fro.

"He has to let me go, he has to let me go," Vettel, who had been trying to pass Verstappen on the 67th of the 71 laps, exclaimed furiously over the team radio as the Dutchman refused to concede the place.

Vettel also directed a foul-mouthed outburst at race director Charlie Whiting, which was heard on television and for which he apologised, and then swerved across to the Red Bull driver after the finish with a finger raised and wagging.

"I was using a lot of sign language. You have to understand the adrenaline," said the four-times champion.

Verstappen said Vettel should go back to school.

"I don't know how many times he is using very bad language," said the teenager. "I will speak to him because this is how ridiculous he is handling it, he is just a very frustrated guy at the moment."

TIME PENALTY

Verstappen joined the Mercedes drivers in the waiting room before the podium ceremony but was hauled out after his penalty was imposed, with Vettel running hastily down the pit lane.

The arguments and accusations continued afterwards, with Vettel and Ricciardo then summoned to stewards and the German accused of changing his line while braking as Ricciardo tried to pass him.

In a race that saw all but one of the 22 starters finish, the safety car was deployed on the second lap when Mexican Esteban Gutierrez tagged Pascal Wehrlein's Manor and pushed him into Marcus Ericsson's Sauber.

There was more drama at the front where Hamilton made a good getaway but then locked up and trekked across the grass, cutting the first corner.

That incident, which left him battling serious tyre vibrations until his first pitstop, was held up by Verstappen as inconsistent stewarding, with the Briton also gaining an advantage but escaping any sanction.

Verstappen and Rosberg also made contact at the start, with the Dutch driver trying to find a way through on the inside from third place on the grid, but stewards took no action.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was sixth, Nico Hulkenberg seventh for Force India and the Williams pairing of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa eighth and ninth.

Mexican Sergio Perez, the crowd favourite, took the final point for Force India in 10th place after a long battle with Massa.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris and Ian Ransom)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

SPORTS WRAP: Pirelli to host 'vital' meeting on F1 tyres

LONDON - Pirelli will host a meeting of Formula One's key stakeholders in Milan next week to discuss how the sport wants the tyres to perform in future.

Formula One is currently planning a rewriting of the rules from 2017 to improve the show with faster and more aggressive-looking cars.

Drivers have said repeatedly that they want tyres that let them race flat out from start to finish rather than the current quick-wearing ones that require careful management over a distance.

Pirelli said in a statement on Thursday that the meeting, to be held at the company's headquarters, would "discuss target tyre performance guidelines".

"Pirelli sees this meeting as being of vital importance in order to further consolidate the close collaboration that got underway last year with the (governing) FIA, FOM (commercial rights holder), and the drivers," it added.

Describing Formula One as their "biggest challenge", the sport's sole supplier said the technical aspects would become ever more complex in 2017 and that would require more on-track testing.

"This is a factor that has been extremely limited in recent years, despite the important evolution of the cars and subsequent increase in performance," the company said.

"All these are vital steps towards tyre development that takes into account the future evolution of the cars and added performance, which will be particularly notable in 2017."

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone told the BBC that the drivers would also be welcome at the Feb. 2 meeting with Pirelli.

"Whatever drivers want to turn up can turn up," he said. "Whatever teams want to turn up can turn up. It will be the president of Pirelli who is there, not a messenger." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by John O'Brien)

Brown and Loupe upstage big guns at Torrey Pines

American journeyman Scott Brown stole the limelight from some of golf's biggest names as he recovered from a shaky start to charge into a share of the lead at the Farmers Insurance Open outside San Diego on Thursday.

While defending champion Jason Day struggled after the turn to card a level-par 72 in the opening round at Torrey Pines and world number four Rickie Fowler carded a 73, Brown reeled off eight birdies in his last 11 holes to fire a 66.

Despite playing on the more difficult South Course, Brown caught fire over his closing stretch after making two bogeys in the first six holes to end the day level with fellow American Andrew Loupe, who set out on the easier North layout.

"I knew I was hitting it good," Brown, 32, told Golf Channel about his mindset after his stumbling start. "I was hitting good shots, I just made a couple of stupid bogeys.

"I hit a ball in the hazard and made bogey on a par-five but I really hit some close iron shots and fortunately made some putts. And it turned into me birdieing eight of my last 11 (holes,) so that was nice."

Brown, whose only PGA Tour victory came at the 2013 Puerto Rico Open, planned to maintain a strategy of attack on the North Course for Friday's second round.

"The rough is still high over there and thick and you've still got to drive it good to get yourself into position," he said. "But you can make a few more birdies over there so I'll just try to keep the aggressive mind-set."

Americans Billy Horschel, Patton Kizzire, Tom Hoge, Rob Oppenheim and Harold Varner III all opened with 67s on the North Course while three-times champion Phil Mickelson rebounded from a double-bogey on his second hole to card a 69 on the South.

"I really didn't feel the stress," Mickelson, who tied for third at last week's CareerBuilder Challenge in his first event of the season, said of his stumbling start on Thursday. "I knew that I had been playing so well.

"I tried to be patient ... and the round just slowly progressed. I just kept hitting good shots. I hit a lot more good shots on the back and had a few tap-in birdies. It was a good start."

American Fowler, who won the European Tour's Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday, said of his 73: "Terrible. I think that sums it up pretty easily. It was just bad golf. I couldn't get anything going."

Australian world number two Day, who withdrew from the pro-am competition on Wednesday because of flu-like symptoms, looked fatigued throughout his opening round and declined to speak to reporters afterwards as he returned to his hotel room to rest. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Hamilton hot favorite for triple triumph

LONDON - Lewis Hamilton starts the Formula One season as red-hot favorite to become a triple world champion but Niki Lauda, who knows how that feels, fears the battle could be tougher than ever.

The Briton won 11 races to Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg's five last year, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo taking the other three, and heads for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 15 with every reason to be confident.

The 'Silver Arrows' have been ominous in testing, lapping with metronomic efficiency and eye-openingly faster than anyone else once they finally got around to bolting on the quicker soft tyres.

"Expectations are enormously high because we won everything that we could win last year," triple champion Lauda, now non-executive chairman of the Mercedes works team, told Reuters in an interview.

"The logic is that everybody expects and wants to have the same thing (again) but I can tell you it is not that easy. A new season is a new season and everything starts from scratch.

"I think Lewis and Nico will fight again like always for the championship but my worry is there will be a third guy also getting involved, no question."

Who that man turns out to be remains an open question, although Finland's Valtteri Bottas may be a shrewd bet after Williams looked closest to Mercedes in testing.

The ever-smiling Ricciardo, now Red Bull's team leader following the departure of four times champion Sebastian Vettel to Ferrari, looks another solid candidate to take the fight to Mercedes.

"At the moment I would say that Williams is the closest, Red Bull and Ferrari I cannot tell you now because they had some signs of speed and then nothing happens again. Red Bull you can never under-estimate," said Lauda.

"They are all trying to catch up...the question is how close can they get?"

If last year was dominated by the duel, and deteriorating relationship, between Hamilton and Rosberg then fans can expect more of the same in a season that will be both faster and louder than 2014.

The latest William Hill betting odds have Hamilton 8/13 favourite to become only the second Briton after Jackie Stewart to take three titles, Rosberg 5/2 for the title and Vettel at 14/1 with Ricciardo 20/1.

"For me it's clear that Nico will attack even more this year because he lost last year, very simple," said Lauda. "I think it's going to be a tighter fight between them, because Nico wants to make sure now he can beat him."

The rules have not altered dramatically over the winter, with changes to the fronts of the cars and power unit allocation reduced from five to four per driver per season.

Honda have returned as partners to McLaren, after leaving the sport as a constructor in 2008, while Mexico City is back on the calendar for the first time since 1992.

Vettel's switch to underperforming Ferrari, where he follows in the footsteps of seven times champion and compatriot Michael Schumacher, was the headline move along with Fernando Alonso's return to misfiring McLaren.

Alonso will be absent from Australia on doctors' orders, with the Spaniard still recovering from his crash in testing in Barcelona last month, with Denmark's Kevin Magnussen serving as a stand-in.

Dutch rookie Max Verstappen will become the youngest ever driver, at just 17 years old, with Spanish newcomer Carlos Sainz joining him at Toro Rosso in a line up with a combined age of just 37.

Only 10 teams are entered in what should be a 20 race championship, subject to Germany being confirmed, with Caterham losing their fight for survival and some others facing another tough struggle to keep going.

"I think we are at very significant risk of losing more teams. We said that last year and nothing's changed," Force India deputy principal Bob Fernley told Reuters. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Rosberg error hands Hamilton victory in Italy

MONZA, Italy - Lewis Hamilton battled back from a troubled start to win the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday after Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg cracked under pressure and saw his Formula One championship lead cut to 22 points.

Rosberg, whose 29th lap mistake at the first chicane cost him the lead and the race, finished second as dominant Mercedes celebrated a first one-two since Austria in June and their seventh in 13 races.

Brazilian Felipe Massa was third for Williams in his first podium appearance since May 2013.

Rosberg, who now has 238 points to Hamilton's 216 with six races remaining after the end of the European part of the season, recognised his error.

"It's a terrible feeling to lose the lead like that but in the end Lewis was really quick in the whole race. He came like a rocket and I had to push and I made the mistake," he said.

With the sport taking a deep breath as the rivals lined up together on the front row, two weeks after they had collided in Belgium on the second lap, the start provided immediate drama.

Hamilton had taken pole position for the first time since May but problems with the car's start controls left him struggling to get away. He was fourth into the first corner as Rosberg led untroubled but kept his cool.

"I'm quite grateful today that I didn't lose it, I didn't end up crashing in the first corner, I didn't end up touching anyone, I didn't end up locking or anything like that. I managed to keep my composure," he said.

It was the start of a thrilling chase, with the 2008 world champion hunting down his quarry and seizing the lead when Rosberg missed the chicane.

The Briton had earlier shunned advice from his race engineer to back off and save tyres for a later attack and it proved the right approach.

The two crossed the finish line 3.1 seconds apart, with Hamilton celebrating his first win since Britain in July. It was his sixth of the season and 28th of his career, taking him ahead of triple champion Jackie Stewart in the all-time lists.

DIFFICULT RACE

"It was a difficult race," said Hamilton. "For whatever reason, at the start the button didn't press which engages the launch sequence.

"For the formation lap it didn't work and when I got to the grid and put it on again, again it didn't work. It was very strange. I've never really had that happen before."

In a sport full of conspiracy theorists, Rosberg and team bosses ridiculed a suggestion that he might have been ordered to cede place to Hamilton as a result of what happened in Spa.

"I've heard about that, but what would be the reason for me to do something like that deliberately? There is no possible reason," he said, explaining that he had missed the chicane to avoid locking up and 'flat-spotting' a tyre - which would have forced an extra pitstop and a lot of lost time.

Massa's podium came on Brazilian independence day and after the team had announced the former Ferrari driver was staying for 2015 along with Valtteri Bottas.

The points, at the fastest track on the calendar, meant Williams leapfrogged Ferrari into third place.

"I hope really we can get this third place in the Constructors' Championship. It would be fantastic for the whole team. I'm so happy to be on the podium here in this amazing place that I really love," said Massa.

In the absence of their current Ferrari heroes, the passionate home crowd welcomed Massa onto the podium with cheers as they spilled out in a vast red wave onto the finish straight.

Rosberg, blamed by his own team for the second lap Spa collision that led to Hamilton's retirement from that race, was booed for the second grand prix in a row.

Massa's Finnish team mate Bottas was fourth following another impressive day of overtaking after he had dropped from the second row to 10th at the end of the first lap.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso retired from his team's home race on lap 29 with a failure in the car's energy recovery system, his first mechanical retirement in 86 races, while Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth.

The Finn crossed the line 10th but moved up after McLaren's Kevin Magnussen was penalised for forcing Bottas off.

Until Sunday, Alonso was the only driver to have scored points in every race this season.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo, winner of the two previous races, had another brilliant race for Red Bull and finished fifth after some breathtaking overtaking moves including one on four times champion team mate Sebastian Vettel who was sixth.

Mexican Sergio Perez came seventh for Force India after a wheel-to-wheel battle with McLaren's Jenson Button in eighth. The championship now heads east to Singapore and Japan. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Justin Palmer)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Mercedes may meet their match in Monaco

MONACO - After dominating the first five races of the Formula One season, with four successive one-two finishes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg may not have it all their own way on the streets of Monaco on Sunday.

If the sound of Mercedes' rivals clutching at straws has become more audible, unlike the cars, a flutter on a different winner could still be a better bet than many placed in the imposing casino this weekend.

"I think Monte Carlo will be one of the few opportunities to challenge Mercedes, especially for Red Bull," Ferrari's Fernando Alonso told reporters after Spain where Hamilton chalked up his fourth win in a row for the German manufacturer with team mate Rosberg second.

"On the corners they (Red Bull) are very fast and on the straights they seem to lose a lot of lap time. In Monte Carlo there are no straights so maybe Red Bull could challenge Mercedes there. We'll see," said Alonso.

Alonso has won twice in Monaco, once for Renault and once for McLaren, and would become the first driver to win the most glamorous race on the calendar with three separate teams.

Monaco, with its narrow streets ringed by unforgiving metal fences, may be a processional race with little overtaking but it can never be predictable. The fickle weather, and the ever-present risk of safety cars and collisions, sees to that.

However Ferrari, the most glamorous team, have not threaded their way to victory in the year's most alluring race since Michael Schumacher's triumph in 2001.

TOUGHEST RACE

Red Bull, with Australian Daniel Ricciardo and quadruple champion Sebastian Vettel third and fourth at the previous race in Spain, look to be picking up speed.

"They are still the benchmark," recognised Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff.

"The power unit (in Monaco) is not so important," said the Austrian. "Monaco is always different and I guess there is a team that has clearly an advantage at the moment and probably on a street circuit like Monaco everything can be different."

History backs that up: On the last three occasions that a team has started a season with five straight wins - Ferrari in 2004 and Williams in 1996 and 1992 - the run has bust in Monaco.

This year, it may just be Hamilton's rather than Mercedes' winning streak that comes to an end as the championship-leading Briton chases his fifth in a row.

Rosberg won from pole last year and grew up in the principality.

The German knows every kerb and corner, every turn and twist, from his boyhood journey from home to school and is determined to use that familiarity to good effect after falling three points behind his team mate in Spain.

"To re-gain the advantage at my home race would be fantastic, so I'll be pushing harder than ever to make that happen," he said.

It is also a favourite of the Briton, also a Monaco resident and winner with McLaren in 2008 when he took the championship.

"I honestly never expected I'd win four consecutive Grands Prix in my career and I'd love to continue that run here," said Hamilton.

Red Bull have won Monaco three times in four years, twice with now departed Australian Mark Webber whose successor and compatriot Daniel Ricciardo is raring to go.

If racing around Monaco is, as Brazilian triple champion Nelson Piquet once observed, like cycling around your living room then Ricciardo is up for it.

"When I was a kid I used to love riding my little bike around inside the house. It was more fun, there were more obstacles and a bit more danger. That really is what this is like," he said.

The new V6 turbo hybrid engines, with more torque and wheelspin, also threaten to liven things up with drivers likely to be more on the ragged edge than ever.

"I think Monaco will be a very, very difficult race," commented Brazilian Felipe Massa.

"We drive with the car a lot more sideways. The torque we have from the engine is maybe double what we had last year, and the grip from the tyre is not very high, so Monaco will be a very easy race to crash," added the Williams driver.

"I think it will be the toughest race of the season."

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Patrick Johnston)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Straight eight puts Vettel ahead of Schumacher

AUSTIN, Texas -- Sebastian Vettel promised he would never get used to winning, even as he celebrated a record eighth victory in a row at the U.S. Grand Prix on Sunday.

Asked whether he felt like pinching himself at what he had achieved, Red Bull's quadruple world champion grinned: "Not just step back and pinch. I think step back and hit hard. That's more like it."

Amid the back-slapping and champagne being sprayed in the Red Bull hospitality, Vettel and team principal Christian Horner struggled to come to terms with a season that continues to rewrite the record books.

Red Bull, like their 26-year-old driver, has won every title for the past four years but this year has set a new level of dominance.

Having clinched a fourth consecutive drivers title last month in India, and become the youngest ever quadruple champion, Vettel had managed to find fresh motivation where others might have eased up.

He showed the same hunger and zeal at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday as he did two weeks earlier when he had equaled Michael Schumacher's 2004 record of seven wins in a row in a single season.

"I think the moment you are not hungry any more and are asking yourself what are you doing, it's time to move on and do something else." he said. "I jump into the car and I just want to be fastest. It's still there, same as a couple of years ago.

"Obviously it (winning races) was more the case lately than many years back, but still I think you should not allow yourself to get used to it."

With just one race remaining in Brazil next weekend, Horner said the team will keep their foot on the gas all the way to the checkered flag in Sao Paulo, where Vettel can equal Schumacher's record of 13 wins in a season after collecting his 12th of the year in Texas.

"I think when we reflect at the end of the season on what we have actually achieved this year, it's very remarkable," Horner told reporters.

"He (Vettel) was quite emotional at the end of the race because he has beaten the record of one of his idols when it seemed likely that kind of record would not be beaten.

"To have won every race since July is mind-blowing, especially against the quality of opposition that we are up against. I think it will take a while to sink in."

Speechless

Vettel had said earlier in the week that he was not driven by records but he was well aware of the magnitude of what he had achieved the minute he crossed the finish line in Texas.

"I'm speechless," the German told his team over the radio. "We have to remember these days. There is no guarantee they will last forever."

Later, talking to reporters, Vettel was still trying to put it all into perspective.

"I think you should never lose the passion and the joy and always remember the days when you were just dreaming of these things to happen," he said. "So therefore I think it's important for all of us to just enjoy the moment.

"There's more time later in our lives to realize what it meant."

With massive changes to the cars coming next season that could turn the sport on its head, or at least threaten Red Bull's supremacy, Horner agreed that it was important to make the most of present success.

"In sport whether it is Roger Federer or Ferrari, or Williams or McLaren there are phases of sportsmen being dominant and at some point that does come to an end and then you have to regroup and you have to go again," said Horner.

"Sebastian is right, it's important to savor moments like today. It's easy to become complacent but you have to appreciate every single moment.

"It never gets boring because you have to remember the days when we weren't winning," said the principal, who marked his 40th birthday on Saturday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com