Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff on Sunday congratulated Charles Leclerc on his maiden Formula One victory and said it was fitting that he did so in tribute to his late friend Anthoine Hubert.
The 22-year-old French driver Hubert lost his life after crashing in Saturday’s Formula Two race at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Leclerc claimed his first win and Ferrari’s first of the season with a polished drive to resist a late surge by Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.
Wolff said that he felt the final result was right on a difficult weekend for the paddock and the sport.
“We’re torn because we need to look at the race, but then a young man has lost his life and that is overshadowing everything,” Wolff said. “We should remember him — and in a way it’s good that Charles won the race. They were close, the two Frenchmen, so everything happens for a reason.”
He added that if the race had continued for two more laps Lewis Hamilton might have caught and passed Leclerc, whose tires were badly worn.
“Overtaking on the straight is very difficult against that Ferrari, but maybe two would have done it,” he said. “I think for us it was not really a great track. We are lacking the speed on the straight line so if that is damage limitation we have to be very, very happy with it.”
Ferrari team chief Mattia Binotto said that he was glad that the race had only been 44 laps.
“Lewis Hamilton was doing some very fast lap times and it was important somehow to keep the distance to him,” the Italian team boss said. “Lucky for us, the race was only 44 laps. I think it was important — the first win for Charles, of course, and I am sure it won’t be the last.”
Binotto added that Leclerc’s victory exemplified his mental strength and the valuable contribution of Sebastian Vettel to the team triumph.
“We said at the start of the season that team points come first,” he said. “Charles drove very fast the entire weekend. We had to protect the position against Mercedes — and we had no choice at the time. I think Sebastian has been very helpful for Charles today and it’s good for the team spirit.”
He shrugged off suggestions that after showing dominant straight-line speed in Belgium, Ferrari would be clear favorites at their home Italian race at the weekend.
“We know that Monza is long straights and speed is required — and I think our pace here has shown that we can be competitive,” he said.
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
Mary McGee, a female racing pioneer and subject profiled in an Oscar-contending documentary, Motorcycle Mary, has died, her family said. She was 87. “McGee’s unparalleled achievements in off-road racing and motorcycle racing have inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps,” her family said in a statement. The family said McGee died of complications from a stroke at her home in Gardnerville, Nevada, on Wednesday, the day before the release of the short documentary Motorcycle Mary, on ESPN’s YouTube channel. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was an executive producer on the film, which became available globally on Thursday. Its premiere
RSS