Sebastian Vettel ended Lewis Hamilton’s run of four straight pole positions yesterday when he secured the prime starting spot for today’s Italian Grand Prix.
Vettel’s Red Bull team swept the front row in qualifying, with the 26-year-old German in awesome form and teammate Mark Webber just behind in second.
Seeking his third win at the Autodromo Nazionale in Monza, the series leader and defending triple world champion Vettel clocked a best lap time of one minute and 23.755 seconds ahead of Webber, who recorded a best of 1:23.968. They were the only two drivers to go below 1:24.
Photo: AFP
German Nico Huelkenberg delivered a stunning late lap to snatch third place for Sauber ahead of the Ferraris of Brazilian Felipe Massa and Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who were a disappointing fourth and fifth in front of watching Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.
German Nico Rosberg was sixth for Mercedes while his teammate Hamilton qualified only 12th after running off the circuit during Q2.
Daniel Ricciardo, who will succeed Webber at Red Bull next season, was seventh ahead of the two McLarens of Sergio Perez and Jenson Button, with Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne completing the top 10 for Toro Rosso.
Vettel was in dominant form in Q1, setting the pace ahead of the McLaren pair of Rosberg and Hamilton.
A late fast lap from Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado saw him carry his Williams into Q2 and avoid the cut which claimed exits for Mexican Esteban Gutierrez of Sauber, Finn Valtteri Bottas in the second Williams, the two Caterhams of Dutchman Giedo Van Der Garde and Frenchman Charles Pic and the two Marussias of Frenchman Jules Bianchi and Briton Max Chilton.
Alonso showed he and Ferrari were in shape when he clocked 1:24.227 to go top before Vettel responded with 1:23.977 in a busy session that saw Hamilton run off the track at the Parabolica and miss the cut for the top 10 shootout.
He ran wide at the corner and bounced through the gravel at high speed, but managed to retain control and avoid hitting the barriers.
It was enough to wreck his bid for a fifth straight pole, and though he recovered, he could not improve on 12th after finding himself trapped behind Adrian Sutil’s Force India car.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB