Michael Schumacher was minutes away from cutting Fernando Alonso's Formula One lead to single digits.
Then it all went bad at the Hungarian Grand Prix for the seven-time series champion.
Alonso dropped out of Sunday's race after crashing on the 52nd lap, and it looked as if Schumacher would make up ground on the Spaniard in the drivers' standings.
But on the 68th of 70 laps, Schumacher pulled into the pits with a shredded tire and was out of the race. He ended up eighth, getting one point to cut Alonso's lead to 10 -- 100-90.
"I am very disappointed. We had a great opportunity but we did not take it," Schumacher said. "The weekend and especially the race was something of a rollercoaster."
Jenson Button won the race, followed by Pedro De la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld. Schumacher originally finished ninth, but Robert Kubica was disqualified when his BMW-Sauber was found to be 2kg underweight.
"It's easy to say that this situation could have been avoided, but there is no point in crying over spilled milk," Ferrari team boss Jean Todt said. "There is not much we're taking home from this GP."
Schumacher had the fastest car in qualifying, but a two-second penalty dropped him to 11th in qualifying. He was caught passing two cars under a red flag in Saturday's practice.
Although Schumacher started four places ahead of Alonso -- who also was penalized in qualifying and started with the second fastest car in 15th -- it was Alonso who passed Schumacher and even lapped him on the 24th lap.
Then another turnaround.
Kimi Raikkonen smashed into the back of Vitantonio Liuzzi's Toro Rosso on the 26th lap. That brought out the safety car, closed the field and suddenly Schumacher was just 10 seconds back in eighth place when the safety car went off.
Cars dropped out, and Alonso and Schumacher were flying when the track dried from an early rain. But it soon came to an abrupt end.
"There are still five races to go," Schumacher said, looking ahead to the next race on Aug. 27 in Istanbul. "Nothing is yet lost and I will give it my all in trying to win the title."
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported £400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported £400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported £900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically