George Russell stole the show at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday by earning his first career pole and first of the season for Mercedes — on the same day Formula One champion and current points leader Max Verstappen qualified a season-worst 10th.
Russell screamed in celebration after a fast final qualifying lap helped him beat Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz Jr and Charles Leclerc.
“Whooooo, come on. Yes. Hahahaha. You beauty. You beauty,” yelled Russell before jumping into the arms of his engineers.
The Mercedes pace was surprising because Russell said that Mercedes’ second practice was “disastrous” on Friday, when he was about a full second slower than Leclerc’s leading time.
“For us as a team it’s massive. We were all here until 11pm last night scratching our heads, and we all felt pretty lost,” Russell said. “To come back and grab pole position is an amazing feeling. We absolutely nailed today, 100 percent.”
Verstappen unleashed expletives as his qualifying bid was undone.
He struggled with grip then complained of having “no power ... nothing works” on his second attempt.
“I still don’t know what it is. I need to talk to the team, but I hope everything is fixable,” Verstappen said. “I know this track is very hard to pass at, so we have to be patient. This year has shown that a lot of things can happen.”
Lando Norris of McLaren qualified fourth followed by Esteban Ocon of Alpine and teammate Fernando Alonso, and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
Russell, who replaced Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes this year, landed his seat in part by overperforming for struggling backmarker Williams last year with an incredible performance in the wet to qualify second for the Belgian Grand Prix.
“Dare I say better than the Spa one?” Russell said. “This is what racing’s all about. This is why I want to become world champion.”
Russell has what it takes to reach the top, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.
“This is one of many milestones to come. George is a champion in the making,” Wolff said. “We would never have put him in a Mercedes if he didn’t think he could become a world champion.”
Hamilton had some bad luck as his drag reduction system (DRS) stuck.
“My DRS stopped working, which was frustrating after all the struggle we had to finally have the chance to fight for front row,” Hamilton said.
“We didn’t know how strong our pace was and where it came from, so it’s a very positive day for us. Huge congratulations to George, it’s an amazing feeling to get your first pole,” he said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and