Kimi Raikkonen of Finland won a shortened Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday after the race on a rain-drenched track was stopped because of spinouts and crashes.
The race was halted during the 55th lap, with Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella in front. But officials declared the race over at the end of the 53rd lap, when Raikkonen was first.
PHOTO: AFP
Only 10 of the 20 drivers finished the race, which normally runs 71 laps.
This was the second consecutive victory for Raikkonen, who won last month's Malaysian Grand Prix.
Fisichella celebrated with his crew moments after the race was stopped, then learned he came in second.
``I won the race, but rules are rules,'' he said. ``But I never thought I would get second place to begin with, so this is a great result.''
Five-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher was knocked out of the running earlier when his car spun off the 4.309km Interlagos course. Also spinning out in the same wet corner were Juan Pablo Montoya, Antonio Pizzonia, Jensen Button and Justin Wilson.
No one was hurt but all the cars were damaged.
Rubens Barrichello, on the pole, was forced out because of engine trouble. The Brazilian drove his Ferrari off the track during the 47th lap after taking the lead in the 44th.
That left both Ferrari drivers, Schumacher and Barrichello, out of the race.
``The car came out of the lake corner and it cut out, completely,'' Barrichello said. ``I'm not sure yet what happened. Up to that moment it was all going fine.''
Raikkonen, in a McLaren-Mercedes, finished in one hour, 29 minutes, 53.179 seconds. Fisichella was 0.831 seconds behind. Spain's Fernando Alonso was third, followed by Britain's David Coulthard and Germany's Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
The race was stopped shortly after Alonso went out of control and crashed in debris that littered the track following Mark Webber's crash a short time earlier.
Alonso was taken away in a stretcher and gave a thumbs up sign as he was carried away. The Spanish driver was taken by helicopter to a hospital and was ``out of danger,'' but details of his injuries were not immediately available, race spokesman Marcio Fonseca said.
A hospital statement said that he was conscious and in stable condition.
Webber appeared unharmed and wasn't sure why he spun and crashed into a fence. ``I lost all grip,'' he said. ``I don't know why. There may have been something on the track.''
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to