Fernando Alonso welcomed a surprise present of points on Sunday as McLaren’s Hungarian Grand Prix went from woe to wonder in the space of a day.
The Spaniard, who had got out and pushed his car when it broke down in qualifying on Saturday, started 15th and finished fifth at the Hungaroring.
Teammate Jenson Button, who had been 16th on the grid, joined him in the points in ninth place — the first time this season that former champions McLaren got both cars in the points at the same race.
The haul of points was more than double what McLaren, whose new partnership with Honda has had a troubled start, had managed in their previous nine outings.
“It was a little present, to be honest, you know, to be fifth,” said Alonso, who took his first Formula One win at the circuit with Renault in 2003.
“The race was a little surprise... Chaotic in parts and some opportunities arrived and we took it. It’s fantastic for the team,” he added.
Button, the 2009 world champion who also took his first F1 win at the circuit with Honda in 2006, agreed.
“It was a fun race, and it’s great to get points ahead of the summer break,” the Briton said. “The accidents and penalties certainly helped us, but we still did a good job out there today.”
“This is a step forward for us, but we’ll need to take another step if we’re to repeat this sort of result. The next two races, at Spa and Monza, will probably be difficult for us, but it’s good to see we’re making progress.”
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time