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(Reuters) – Britain’s Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix in a McLaren one-two with team mate Jenson Button on Sunday.
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Hamilton’s second win in a row, from pole position in Montreal, sent him top of the championship standings after eight races. Spain’s Fernando Alonso finished third for Ferrari.
(Editing by Alan Baldwin)
June 13 (Reuters) – Britain’s Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix in a McLaren one-two with team mate Jenson Button on Sunday.
Hamilton’s second win in a row, from pole position in Montreal, sent him top of the championship standings after eight races. Spain’s Fernando Alonso finished third for Ferrari.
(Editing by Alan Baldwin; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
London, June 4(ANI): Red Bull Formula One racing drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber have had clear-the-air talks following Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix ‘disaster’ collision.
The pair met with team bosses at their headquarters in Milton Keynes, and Vettel made the statement that both drivers are happy to continue to work together, The Sun reports.
The crash, a reprise of a collision between the two in Japan three years ago, came on the 40th lap when Vettel attempted to overtake Webber on the inside and then turned right into him.
Vettel spun out of the race, while Webber went on to take third place behind the McLaren pair of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
Red Bull principal Christian Horner said the crash, which robbed them of a one-two finish, was simply an “unnecessary” racing accident, and added that all factions of the team believed both drivers were equally guilty of not giving each other enough room.
“Ultimately we win as a team and we lose as a team and on Sunday we lost as a team, as a result of our two drivers having an incident. Having looked at all the information it”s clear that it was a racing accident that shouldn”t have happened between two team-mates,” Horner said. (ANI)
Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers scored hundreds as South Africa defeated West Indies by 66 runs in their rain-affected one-day international.
Amla anchored the top half of the South African batting with 102 from 109 balls, and de Villiers kept the momentum going with the same score from 101 balls, as the Proteas, put in to bat, reached 280 for seven from their rain-reduced 48 overs on a slow Vivian Richards Cricket Ground pitch on Saturday.
South Africa then dismissed West Indies, who had been set a Duckworth/Lewis target of 288, for 215 in 44.1 overs to clinch a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, which continues on Monday at this venue.
Morne Morkel was the most successful South African bowler with three wickets for 40 runs from eight overs, while Dale Steyn, Ryan McLaren, and Johan Botha collected two wickets apiece.
“We want to play well, and we want to win this series,” said South Africa captain Graeme Smith.
“We want to have a very successful tour of the Caribbean.
I have said this a number of times. We have a lot of bouncing back to do, following the Twenty20 World Cup, and we want to do it well.”
“This is just the first match, and the matches are very close together, so recovery is going to be important to us being successful.”
West Indies captain Chris Gayle, whose 45 from 39 balls was the home team’s top score, felt let down by the batting again.
“It’s one of those things that we can’t seem to catch a break with our batting, so we will have to go back to the drawing board,” said Gayle.
“We are not going to give-up. We know that we are not playing good cricket now.”
Steyn set West Indies back early, when he had Andre Fletcher caught at slip for four in the third over.
South Africa were put on the defensive, however, when Gayle gave West Indies a typically flourishing start.
Ryan McLaren had Dwayne Bravo caught behind for 15, and Morkel had Gayle caught in the deep to leave West Indies 69 for three in the 13th over.
The South Africans then saw Ramnaresh Sarwan make 38, and left-handed compatriot Narsingh Deonarine get 26 to stage a recovery with a stand of 61 for the fourth wicket.
Botha made the breakthrough in the 27th over, when Deonarine top-edged a sweep, and was caught at backward square leg, and Morkel bowled Sarwan, as West Indies slipped to 140 for five.
Kieron Pollard joined Denesh Ramdin, and they put on 52 for the sixth wicket.
Steyn returned for another spell, and bowled Ramdin for 17, when the batsman chopped on, and West Indies lost their last five wickets for 23 runs from 35 deliveries.
Amla, later named man-of-the-match, reached his second ODI hundred from 106 balls, when he steered a short, rising delivery from Pollard to third man for a single in the 33rd over.
De Villiers later reached his seventh ODI hundred from 99 balls, when he dragged a delivery from Ravi Rampaul through mid-on for a single in the 44th over.
They added 129 for the third wicket, after play started half-hour later than scheduled, and a near half-hour stoppage for rain further marred the match.
Amla put on 53 for the first wicket with Smith either side of the rain break before the Proteas’ captain edged a flat-footed drive, and was caught behind for 18 in the seventh over off Bravo, who also had Jacques Kallis caught at third man for one to leave South Africa 57 for two.
After de Villiers added 54 for the fourth wicket with left-hander JP Duminy, South Africa lost four wickets for 40 runs from the last 41 deliveries of their innings.
Bravo was the most successful West Indies bowler with three wickets for 40 runs.
London, May 20 (ANI): Formula One champion Jenson Button, who is trailing this year in drivers competition, has warned that his team’s one more mistake will wreck their title bid.
The Formula One champ has followed teammate Lewis Hamilton in urging McLaren to sort things out.
Button slumped from first to fourth in the standings when a mechanic left a cooling bung in his side pod as he went to the grid in Monaco, causing his engine to blow early in the race.
“Lewis and I have failed to finish in one race. The whole team has got to make sure that’s the only time this year we fail to score points,” The Sun quoted Button, as saying.
“I think we’ve seen all the top teams make small mistakes so far this year. But those small errors can sometimes have bigger consequences,” he added. (ANI)
Melbourne, May 20 (ANI): South African bowler Ryan McLaren, who bowled a career best spell and became the fourth bowler to take five wickets in a T20 match, helped his team register a 13-run victory in the first of the two Twenty20 Internationals against the West Indies.
McLaren took 5-19 from 3.5 overs to get the man-of-the-match award, as West Indies chasing 137 for victory from their 20 overs were dismissed for 123 with one ball to spare.
He finished with the second-best figures in Twenty20 internationals behind Pakistan’s Umar Gul, who took 5-6 from three overs against New Zealand, FOX Sports reports.
“It’s a good way to start off the tour having practised indoors and not outdoors for the last few weeks. But it’s only the first day, and there’s plenty more cricket to come, so hopefully, I can better this performance,” said McLaren.
“We all know the nature of T20 cricket – the bowler is always up against it. You can take five wickets one day, and the next day, take a thumping, but I enjoyed it. It was not an easy day for the batters, and you had to graft pretty hard.
“Playing shots was not easy, and there was a strong wind, so there were a lot of things you had to take into consideration,” the paper quoted him, as saying.
“It was obviously nice to start with a win. This was the most important thing for us. We have worked really hard over the last few days here in Antigua, had a few discussions, the energy has been good around the team, and a lot of new faces have come in,” McLaren added.
Earlier, Jacques Kallis struck one four and three sixes in 53 from 45 balls, as South Africa reached 7-136 from their 20 overs, after deciding to bat on an uneven pitch. (ANI)
Australian Mark Webber made sure of Red Bull’s sixth successive pole position after qualifying quickest for the showcase Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday.
Poland’s Robert Kubica split the two Red Bulls by putting his Renault alongside Webber on the front row and ahead of Germany’s Sebastian Vettel.
Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa completed the second row in fourth place.
His team mate Fernando Alonso, a two times Monaco winner, watched qualifying from the garage after wrecking his car in final practice. The Spaniard, second in the championship behind McLaren’s Jenson Button, will start from the pit lane.
World champion Button, last year’s winner on the metal-fenced streets of the principality with Brawn GP, just sneaked through to the third and final phase of qualifying and secured eighth slot on the grid.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Alison Wildey
To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Australian Mark Webber won the Spanish Grand Prix for rampant Red Bull on Sunday after leading from start to finish at Formula One’s most predictable circuit.
For a record 10th year in succession at the Circuit de Catalunya, the driver who started on pole position took the chequered flag as winner in the Catalan sunshine.
“Fantastic, you were untouchable,” the team told Webber, the first driver to win from pole this year, after he crossed the line a massive 24 seconds clear of Ferrari’s second placed Fernando Alonso.
“It was a fantastic result and I’m absolutely thrilled,” said the Australian of his third career win. “We had a faultless grand prix weekend.
“We’ve missed a few points in the constructors’ (championship) but a very special day for me.”
Spaniard Alonso, celebrating his first home race for the Italian team, inherited a crowd-pleasing runner-up position when McLaren’s hard-charging Lewis Hamilton crashed out when a front tyre suddenly deflated on the penultimate lap.
“I was just cruising to the finish line – it was great points for me. But then I blew a tyre with two laps to go. That’s motor-racing,” Hamilton told BBC television.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who had started on the front row alongside Webber, finished third despite suffering brake problems.
SCHUMACHER FOURTH
Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher was fourth, the best result so far of the 41-year-old’s comeback season, with McLaren’s Jenson Button unable to find a way past and forced to settle for fifth.
Button, Hamilton’s team mate and reigning world champion, stayed top of the standings with 70 points to Alonso’s 67 after five of the season’s 19 races.
“The pace was good but it doesn’t make any difference if you can’t overtake,” said Button.
“I damaged my tyres quite badly. Really disappointing. It all came from the first pit stop. We had a problem with the clutch dragging. It’s not the result we wanted or deserved.”
Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa was sixth, Germany’s Adrian Sutil seventh for Force India and Poland’s Robert Kubica eighth for Renault.
Williams returned to the points with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in ninth place and local youngster Jaime Alguersuari took the final point for Toro Rosso at his home track and despite a drive-through penalty.
The biggest challenge Webber faced, after holding off Vettel’s attempts to squeeze past at the start, was keeping alert as he lapped in splendid isolation and headed for a seemingly inevitable triumph.
Webber was the fourth different winner in five races.
Hamilton’s exit was the biggest shock of what had otherwise threatened to be a slow-burning afternoon after three thrill-filled races in the Far East.
“It was a deflation. It could have been debris caught in the rim. It’s not a straightforward puncture,” said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh.
“The tyres were in reasonable shape. I think probably debris caused the failure, but that’s speculation.”
Germany’s Nico Rosberg, who had been second overall going into the weekend, finished out of the points and behind team mate Schumacher for the first time this season.
On a nightmare afternoon for the young German, he had a problem at his first pitstop when the team released him before the front right wheel nuts had been tightened and had to stop and be pushed back.
(Editing by Kevin Fylan. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
London, May 7 (ANI): Lewis Hamilton is unfazed by the threat posed by in-form Jenson Button, who is leading Formula One’s Battle of Britain.
Button has won two of this season’s four races while McLaren team-mate Hamilton is yet to register a win.
Button leads the world championship table, and Hamilton is back in joint-third place with archrival Fernando Alonso.
Asked whether he fancied his chances at supplanting Button, an unperturbed Hamilton told The Sun, “Yeah, I”m not sweating, it”s all good. It”s a long season and we”ve only had four races, so there”s a long, long way to go.”
Hamilton, who has pulled off 32 overtaking manoeuvres this season against Button”s seven, added, “I don”t fear anyone or any other team. I have not even looked at what points I have or what points I don”t have. We”ll see what happens in the future.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton insists that their rivalry is limited to the racetrack alone, and that their performances are propelling McLaren to greater victories, “We”re coping really well and doing productive work at the team. I”m in the best team with the best team-mate,” said Hamilton.
On the subject of racing with Formula-One giant Michael Schumacher Hamilton said it was a privilege to go wheel-to-wheel with him.
Schumacher’s comeback from retirement has been disappointing with Hamilton easily out-doing him on the circuit. (ANI)
London, Apr 30(ANI): Former Scottish Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart believes that reigning champion Jenson Button is the favourite to beat Lewis Hamilton at McLaren and potentially become the first Briton to claim back-to-back world titles.
Stewart had earlier said that Button had entered a “lion’s den” by choosing to join McLaren, a team that brought Hamilton through the ranks of world motorsport and made him Formula One’s youngest ever world champion in 2008.
However, after two wins in his first four races for the team, Stewart admits he was wrong about Button’s move.
“It is working much better than I think anyone could have expected,” The Telegraph quoted Stewart, as saying.
“I did say that Jenson would be walking into the lion’s den. What he has proved is that he can handle that den very well. That is not to say that he is better than Lewis or vice-versa, but Jenson is in that zone at the moment where he is making the right decisions at the right time.”
“I think if he keeps driving the way he is I would have to say he is the favourite of the two,” he added.
Stewart further said that there does not seem to be any fireworks between Button and Hamilton, as anticipated before the start of the season.
“The drivers themselves seem to get on very well together. There is a good communication there,” Stewart said. (ANI)
London, Apr 27 (ANI): Formula One champion Jenson Button has been criticised for walking out on Brawn GP, the outfit that helped him to the F1 world title last year.
Team boss Ross Brawn, who brought in Button after taking over the former Honda team in March 2009, blasted him for leaving the team.
“I was disappointed Jenson left. He felt people were of the opinion he only won the world championship because he had the best car. So he left us to show them he could do it again elsewhere,” Brawn said.
“We are still friends. We were on the same flight back from Malaysia and we had a good chat. But on the racetrack it is different. There are no friends on the racetrack,” The Sun quoted him, as saying.
“Jenson was a fabulous member of our team last year but now he is the history and we have to beat him. He also wanted to prove himself at McLaren against the guy who is probably the fastest and most naturally talented in motor racing – Lewis Hamilton. He’s set himself a massive challenge and he is doing very well so far.”
The Mercedes GP chief was speaking at the launch of The Brawn Lifeboat Challenge.
The object is to raise 350,000 pounds for the RNLI to buy a new lifeboat for the River Thames.
Brawn is confident that Michael Schumacher will start winning races, while also helping his teammate Nico Rosberg’s career. (ANI)
London, Apr 20(ANI): Reigning Formula One champion Jenson Button reckons he is having a fantastic time following his incredible start to the season.
Button is at the top of the drivers’ standings after leading home team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, and currently has a 10-point lead over second placed Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg.
“This is the best time of my life, no doubt. I’m the world champion and I’ve got the confidence that brings. I’m driving like a world champion,” The Sun quoted Button, as saying.
“I won three of the first four last year and now two out of four this season. That’s not a bad position to be in. Whatever happens in my career at McLaren now I think I”ve had a lot of fun already,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hamilton, who is at third place in the driver’s standings, denied reports that there were some problems between the two Brits.
“There are no issues. The good thing with me and Jenson is that we clearly want to beat each other,” Hamilton said.
“I’ve done it the hard way and he”s had the easier way. I’ve had great races but he has taken the right decisions and the easier route,” he added. (ANI)
Shanghai, Apr 17 (ANI): Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel took pole position for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, ahead of team-mate Mark Webber and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Vettel’s time of one minute 34.558 seconds was 0.248secs quicker than Webber, and 0.355secs faster than Alonso.
It is Vettel’s third pole position in four races, and the second one-two position for Red Bull in this season after doing the same in Australia.
“I felt unhappy with the car at the start of qualifying, but if you look at the points position it is still a fight between four teams. Right now everyone can still win,” The Telegraph quoted Vettel, as saying.
Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg qualified in fourth, followed by reigning champion Jenson Button at fifth, and his McLaren’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton sixth.
Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, who is making a return this season after three years, qualified at ninth. (ANI)
Mark Webber has urged Red Bull to build on its new-found momentum going into this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix after its season start was ruined by two messy races.
The team believes it should have won the season-opener in Bahrain and then in Melbourne, but has righted its season with a one-two in Malaysia.
But Webber says that with Red Bull sitting third behind Ferrari and McLaren on the manufacturers’ table, despite having the quickest car, the impetus from Malaysia needs to continue.
“The momentum needs to start building pretty quickly,” Webber said.
“The job they’ve done to recover off some tough weekends is a real credit to the team.
“The spirit internally in our team and the chemistry is sensational, working with Renault and Red Bull, everyone together is fighting incredibly hard.
“We take on these big manufacturer teams but our team is very unique.
“So far it hasn’t been the smoothest championship but to come back is a very good performance.”
Webber said it was already clear the fight for the championship would be a three-way battle.
“I think Ferrari and McLaren are very strong – clearly it’s three teams already,” Webber said.
“Mercedes are doing OK but it’s Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull who are the most consistent at the moment in terms of pace.”
Team boss Christian Horner said the outfit had endured a “frustrating” season so far.
“We won the last three races of 2009 and we knew we had a good car coming into this year,” Horner said.
“We’ve been very fast in Bahrain, we should have won that, but for a spark plug problem and a wheel problem for Sebastian in Melbourne.
“It’s just frustrating – we should have won the first two races.
“Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes are all strong teams so we don’t take anything for granted,” he told Reuters.
“We’ll just look to extract the maximum we can out of the car. The drivers are both in great form and we’ll try our hardest to try and replicate the sort of form we demonstrated in Malaysia.”
However series leader, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, said outright speed did not necessarily win the title.
“I heard people in Malaysia on Sunday saying that Red Bull was now by far the quickest car and it is true they were in the first two rows of the grid,” Massa said on his personal blog.
“But over a race distance, I believe the story is a bit different.
“You have to remember that in Sepang, they were racing pretty much on their own as the two teams who would have pushed them hardest, started from so far back.
“You need to keep that in mind when assessing the race. They are definitely not unstoppable, but we need to improve a bit to be in a better position to stop them.”
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel heads to a happy hunting ground in China looking every bit a future world champion after a dominating display at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Vettel cruised at Sepang after blitzing past pole-sitting team mate Mark Webber and the second-placed Mercedes of Nico Rosberg before the first turn in Sunday’s race, never looking back in recording his sixth career win.
With Vettel’s main rivals at McLaren and Ferrari unable to challenge him after misjudging the Malaysian rain in qualifying, the German showed Australian team mate Webber who was boss.
The 25 points he earned for the victory moved him third in the drivers standings, two points behind leader Felipe Massa of Ferrari and level with the Brazilian’s team mate Fernando Alonso.
With the Chinese Grand Prix in two weeks time there is a strong chance the German will take the lead in the drivers championship, although the 22-year-old is taking nothing for granted.
“Last year is last year, this year is this year,” said Vettel, who earned his first win for the team in China last year.
“Hopefully we will have the same result in China,” he told reporters after his victory at Sepang.
“Every race is a new challenge. Into the first race (in Bahrain) I think we were pretty quick. Ferrari was very quick and in Melbourne all of a sudden we were kind of back.”
LUSCIOUS LIZ
Vettel, last year’s championship runner-up behind Jenson Button, showed his pace by qualifying on pole for the opening two races in Bahrain and Australia but was robbed of victory after mechanical problems hit the car he has labelled “Luscious Liz”.
“After two races where we didn’t finish where we wanted,” Vettel said. “It’s crucial not to panic in that moment and stay relaxed as it’s a long season.”
Reliability issues seemed to be again haunting Red Bull after Webber was forced out of Friday’s second practice session but a switch of engine for qualifying did the trick as he claimed pole.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed his drivers’ display and spoke up his team’s chances after two disappointing races.
“Obviously we’ve had frustrations in the first two races but the team has stayed focused. Both cars behaved impeccably so it puts us right back in the championship and gives everyone a lot of confidence.”
Engine problems, however, did affect the Ferrari of double world champion Alonso, who drove for the majority of the 56-lap race with a broken gearbox and no clutch before retiring on the penultimate lap to relinquish his championship lead.
“We are not too worried at the moment,” the former McLaren and Renault driver said.
“It’s a very long championship and we are capable of improving the car a lot.”
McLaren’s 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton was also positive about his team’s chances are storming through the field to finish sixth after starting the race in 20th.
“I couldn’t ask for any more to be honest. So we’ll take forward a lot of positives with us into the next race.”
(Editing by Peter Rutherford; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber swept aside all doubts about their cars’ reliability when they drove to a one-two triumph at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
After two races in which Vettel had claimed pole, but failed to finish on the podium due to mechanical problems, there was some poetic justice for him in beating pole-man Webber this time and claiming the sixth win of his career.
“It was anything but comfortable,” said the German of a race driven in dry conditions, but searing tropical heat.
“I had a great start and a big battle with Mark and I just made it. We have big respect for each other and we had a great fight. It was so hot I was hoping it would rain.
“It was a great race for us, for the team, and a great result for the team after the last two races when we just didn’t get the results we wanted.”
Webber, who started the race of pole position, was clearly disappointed and stood with hands on hips on the podium, but shrugged aside his feelings.
“I had some wheel-spin at the start and I didn’t know where Nico (Rosberg) was either,” the Australian said.
“We had a chat before it started and (team boss) Christian Horner said ‘behave yourselves’ which we did, but the spirit in this team is awesome.
“It was a great fight and a one-two is sensational for the team after those first two races where we didn’t get what we deserved.”
On a rare dry afternoon, the Red Bull pair took full advantage of the self-inflicted difficulties of the Ferrari and McLaren teams, whose drivers started near the back after bungled tactical decisions in qualifying.
That forced them to fight through the field to score points in an intriguing, if not thrilling, contest that ended with German Nico Rosberg finishing third for the new Mercedes team.
Rosberg said he was unhappy with his start.
“I lost out a bit there and once I was third it was difficult to follow the Red Bulls. But it is a good result and I feel we have a made big step for our first podium,” he said.
Robert Kubica came home fourth for Renault, another fine result after his second place last weekend in Melbourne.
German Adrian Sutil of Force India held off 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren for fifth.
Hamilton finished sixth, after starting 20th, following an exhilarating drive through the field, and Brazilian Felipe Massa of Ferrari was seventh.
That was enough to bring seven points which lifted Massa to the top of the drivers title race with 39 points ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso, who failed to finish, and Vettel, on 37.
Rosberg and defending champion Jenson Button of McLaren are behind them on 35 with Hamilton sixth on 31 points.
Button finished eighth ahead of Spaniard Jaime Alguerasurari, who was ninth for Toro Rosso. German rookie Nico Hulkenberg claimed his first point in Formula One for the Williams team by finishing 10th.
Webber pushed hard to catch Vettel, but after a pit-stop problem when a wheel-gun problem on his right front tyre cost him 2.4 seconds, he had to settle for second and came home 4.8 seconds behind the 22-year-old victor.
After Saturday’s tropical downpour, the 56-laps race was run in conditions that were clearly to the Red Bulls’ liking and they streaked clear from the start to dominate.
Rosberg, who started second on the grid behind Webber, hung on for his podium finish, but his celebrated team-mate Michael Schumacher was forced to retire after only eight laps.
“I lost a wheel nut, so there was no more drive left,” Schumacher said.
“It’s very unusual for us to have a reliability problem. Last year, Ross (Brawn) didn’t have any retirements at all, so it’s a shame.”
London, Mar.31 (ANI): Australia Grand Prix 2010 champion Jenson Button has warned his fans not to expect another sensational victory at this Sunday”s Malaysian Grand Prix.
Button, 30, romped home in Australia last weekend and had triumphed in torrential rain in Sepang last year.
“It was a tremendous achievement in Melbourne and it”s given every single member of the team even greater enthusiasm. Even so, we travel to Sepang mindful that the characteristics of the circuit probably won”t suit our car as well some of the others – but we will be in there fighting,” The Sun quoted a cautious Button, as saying.
“We”re only two races in but the development race will already be starting to have an influence on performance. It”s the rate of improvement that will influence the battle at the front and I”m confident we can deliver in this area,” he added.
“We have the firepower to develop faster than our key rivals,” Button said
Team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was a disappointing sixth in Australia, was also optimistic about his car being stronger in Malaysia this year after last season”s seventh-placed finish.
But the 2008 Formula One champion said he expected McLaren to have problems matching their rivals in qualifying.
Hamilton, 25, said: “I”m heading to Malaysia optimistic of a good result as we”ve got a car that will be far better suited to the circuit than we did last year. It”s a fast circuit that requires a well-balanced car with good down force. It”s similar to Barcelona, where we tested well before the season.”
“But I still think it might be difficult to make up the difference needed in qualifying,” he added. (ANI)
MELBOURNE, March 28 (Reuters) – Britain’s Formula One world champion Jenson Button won the Australian Grand Prix for McLaren on Sunday.
Poland’s Robert Kubica finished second for Renault with Brazilian Felipe Massa third for Ferrari. (Editing by John O’Brien; To query on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
It was the end of an era in Wollongong this week, with the last of a series of clothing factories owned by Pacific Brands closing down. Nick McLaren spoke to some of the women who are now coming to terms with the loss of their jobs.
When the closure of Bonds’ Unanderra factory was announced nearly a year ago it came as a shock to many workers.
Forty-three-year-old Liz De Vulder says the news was devastating.
“It was like a death in the family for a lot of them. There’s ladies that have been here forty years,” Mrs De Vulder said.
“When they were told it was like someone passed away. Then [it was like we had] the funeral because it all sunk in and the last year has been the grieving.”
The mother of three has worked at the factory since the age of 14 and had planned to stay on another 25 years till her retirement.
She laments the end of an era, especially for those from a migrant background with poor English skills who traditionally find work in manufacturing.
“I feel for the generation that can’t read or speak English very well because they’re always going to be behind,” she said.
“They’ve got to learn to read and write before they can go out to the workforce, so it’s going to be harder for them.”
The closure of the Unanderra plant has led to retrenchments for all 207 employees.
The parent company Pacific Brands is also closing or has closed factories in Bellambi in northern Wollongong, Wentworthville and Cessnock also in New South Wales, West End in Queensland, and in Victoria Nunawading and Coolaroo.
By September this year the company will no longer manufacture clothing in Australia with the jobs moved offshore to China.
Pacific Brands Group General Manager Kate Hahn says the company has worked extensively with the Unanderra staff, fully funding training courses in areas such as computer and IT, aged care, hospitality and retail.
“This has been an extremely difficult period for all of our people and we will continue to work with them to ensure they are provided with the best possible support,” Ms Hahn said
Another retrenched worker, 61-year-old Mercedes Soldi, was first employed at a Bonds factory at Port Kembla in Wollongong in 1966.
Mrs Soldi says initially the staff were angry with the company for the closure, then their anger turned to the Federal Government for not doing more to save at least some of the jobs.
A year later and Mrs Soldi is now looking forward to what lies around the corner.
“They gave me the choice so I’m going back to TAFE to learn English and then I might be able to go into childcare or aged care. I love children,” she said.
Ana De Jesus, 30, is one of the lucky ones.
“I’ve got another job to go to. I’ll be doing cafe work,” she said.
For the moment Ms De Jesus says she experiencing conflicting feelings over the loss of the shared work experiences and friendships, tempered by new opportunities.
“I’ve got friends which are pretty distressed, which is normal for them because they’ve been here for many years. And others are excited because they are starting a new journey, so its mixed emotions.”
London, Mar 25 (ANI): Ferrari star Fernando Alonso, who won the Bahrain Grand prix, leading home a Ferrari one-two with Felipe Massa coming second, has warned organisers not to rush to switch the rules too quickly.
Several teams and drivers have already called for new regulations, which in effect restrict overtaking, to be modified to avoid more predictable races this season.
“I think that many of us have given some hot-headed comments immediately after the race in Bahrain. It’s true that the race in Sakhir wasn’t especially spectacular – although for us it was great and exciting – but it’s too early to talk about changing the rules,” The Age quoted Alonso, as saying.
“We have to wait and see different races and check the situation, without being emotional. Something that confuses the fans is changing the rules all the time,” he said.
Team boss Stefano Domenicali agreed the series needed to await the outcome of several more races before agitating for change.
“It is much too early to jump to conclusions and we should not react in an emotional way. We must wait and see how the races evolve throughout the season and then the subject can be studied calmly based on sufficient evidence,” Domenicali said.
Meanwhile, Alonso has put the Bahrain result behind him, and said the team is viewing the Australian Grand Prix as a new start, pointing out that Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes were major threats.
“The one-two win in Sakhir gave us confidence and was a great result for the hard work during the winter on the track and at the works, but we can”t take anything for granted,” Alonso wrote in his blog on Ferrari’s website. (ANI)
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