Britain’s Lewis Hamilton reinforced his world championship lead by claiming his fifth win of the season at a dramatic, rain-swept Belgian Grand Prix yesterday.
The 23-year-old Englishman is now eight points ahead of Brazilian Felipe Massa of Ferrari in the championship after luckless defending champion Kimi Raikkonen of Finland crashed out in the final laps after dominating the race.
The race was settled by the infamous and capricious weather conditions at this great circuit, as Massa came home second and German Nick Heidfeld stole through to take third for BMW Sauber.
Raikkonen had taken the lead at the start of the second lap when Hamilton spun at the La Source hairpin, but after controlling the race he lost his lead and his title challenge when he crashed out in heavy rain in the closing laps. It was Hamilton’s fifth win this year and his ninth in Formula One in two seasons. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain came home fourth for Renault, ahead of German Sebastian Vettel in a Toro Rosso and sixth-placed Pole Robert Kubica in the second BMW.
With six laps remaining, the first rain drops began to fall and produced the conditions that created the amazing final few laps, when Hamilton regained the lead.
On lap 42, he caught the Finn and passed him, but as the rain fell heavily with three laps remaining the race was turned into a lottery as they both spun and soon after Raikkonen crashed off into a wall and out of the race for good.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
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