Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello claimed his 10th Formula One victory yesterday when he drove his Brawn GP car through a perfectly judged race in searing heat to win the European Grand Prix.
It was his first win this season and his first triumph in five years since the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai for Ferrari.
Barrichello’s win lifted him from fourth to second in the drivers’ championship standings. Briton Jenson Button, his Brawn teammate, now leads with 72 points ahead of the Brazilian on 54, with Australian Mark Webber third on 51.5.
PHOTO: AFP
The 37-year-old driver from Sao Paulo delivered one of his finest races of modern times as he came home ahead of defending drivers champion Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren and Finn Kimi Raikkonen for Ferrari. Hamilton had started from pole but his hopes of victory were dashed by a muddled second pitstop when the McLaren team had not prepared his tires.
Another Finn, Hamilton’s McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen, came home fourth ahead of German Nico Rosberg of Williams and the local hero, two-times world champion Fernando Alonso of Renault, who was sixth. Button came home seventh to improve his place in the title race with Pole Robert Kubica finishing eighth for BMW Sauber.
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
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
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