GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It was a fine weekend for sports fans, with the best and the brightest putting on good shows:
Football – Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 in a master class performance, with the Man United team and coach graciously afterwards that Barcelona is simply the best team in Europe. Details, The Guardian
Tennis – Roger Federer smoothly sailed past fellow Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. He now has his 28th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final place. Details, Roland Garros
Formula 1 – Sebastian Vettel won in Monte Carlo, with Fernando Alonso second and Jenson Button in third. Details, Formula 1 de Monaco
Abu Dhabi (GenevaLunch) – Sebastian Vettel, 23-year-old German Formula 1 driver, made history Sunday 14 November by being the youngest ever winner of the F1 driver’s title. He ended the season with 10 wins for Red Bull to his name. Fernando Alonso and Ferrari went into the race needing to finish in the top four for Alonzo to take the title, but he finished in seventh place. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished second and Jenson Button third.
Red Bull also took the constructor’s title, earlier in the season in Brazil.
Links to other sites: BBC, F1, post-race interview with Vettel, rankings on F1
International sports, Formula 1
Circuit de Catalunya, Spain (GenevaLunch) – Before the race began Mark Webber, the Australian Red Bull driver, was asked what he was hoping for: he replied that he wanted a boring race and that is what he delivered at the Spanish Grand Prix 9 May. In the first dry race of the season he lead from pole position to the end and was never challenged for the lead. Behind him it was more a question of the reliability of the cars than the skill of the drivers. Sebastian Vettel started second but fell back behind Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso as he had braking problems.
Hamilton crashed out with a puncture on the final lap when he was in second place. Alonso then took second for Ferrari, Vettel finished third. Michael Schumacher was fourth, his best finish since coming out of retirement. Jenson Button, the current champion, came fifth and retains a lead of three points from Alonso in the drivers’ championship.
Sepang, Malaysia (GenevaLunch) – Red Bull dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix Sunday 4 April. Their two drivers started on the front row and ended first and second: the only change was that Sebastian Vettel passed Mark Webber on the way to the first bend and then stayed in front for the rest of the race.
Further back there was more action. Both Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes made a mess of the qualifying stages and started almost at the back of the grid.
Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (GenevaLunch) - Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber grabbed the top two places in the final Grand Prix of the 2009 season in Abu Dhabi. It was the first race to take place on the track, and the first day-night Grand Prix race. Jenson Button, who had captured the championship in the previous Grand Prix, took third place after an unsuccessful fight to pass Webber in the final laps.
Tokyo, Japan (GenevaLunch) – Sebastian Vettel drove his Red Bull to a routine victory in the Japanese Grand Prix to preserve his chances of upsetting Jenson Button in the championship race.
The German driver lead from pole position and was never really threatened. Italian Jarno Trulli was second for Toyota with current champion Lewis Hamilton third in his McLaren. Button picked up one point for coming eighth but still has a 14-point lead over teammate Rubens Barrichello and is 16 points clear of Vettel with two races left.
Details: Guardian, UK
Singapore (GenevaLunch) – Lewis Hamilton predicted that the Singapore Grand Prix would be a pleasant evening drive and that turned out to be the case, at least for him. The British driver, current champion but well out of the running after a poor start to the season, started from pole position and was never in danger. Jenson Button, current championship leader came in fifth despite starting from 12th to pick up four points, extending his lead over Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello to 15 points, with three races to go. Timo Glock was second in his Toyota and Fernando Alonso third in his Renault. Sebastian Vettel was fourth for Red Bull, and is third in the championship, 25 points behind Button.
The next Grand Prix will be in Japan on Sunday, October 4, and could secure the title for Button.
Details: Formula 1.com
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (GenevaLunch) - Kimi Raikkönen drove his Ferrari to victory in the Belgian Grand Prix after a pile-up on the first lap knocked four cars out of the race, including last year’s champion Lewis Hamilton and this season’s leader, Jenson Button.
Valencia, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Rubens Barrichello was the popular winner of the European GP in the streets of Valencia, his first win since 2004 with Ferrari. The Brawn GP driver started in third place behind Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen for McLaren. In the first lap Kimi Raikkönen moved up from sixth to fourth while Championship leader Jenson Button went down from fifth to ninth.
Lewis Hamilton extended his lead through the opening laps.
Mugello, Italy (GenevaLunch) - Michael Schumacher, seven-time Formula 1 Champion has abandoned his comeback as replacement driver for Felipe Massa in the Ferrari team for the European Grand Prix to be held in Valencia, Spain.
Budapest, Hungary (GenevaLunch) - Felipe Massa left hospital and joined his wife Raffaela, six months pregnant, to return by private jet to his home in Brazil. He was seriously injured during the qualifying stages for the Hungarian Grand Prix when a spring that had fallen off compatriot Rubens Barrichello’s car struck his helmet. Massa said that he remembers nothing of the crash and will wait until he sees how he recuperates before deciding whether to return to racing. Michael Schumacher is coming out of retirement to replace Massa in the Ferrari team.
Details: The Times
Gland, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Seven-times world champion racing driver Michael Schumacher announced he would stand in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa in the upcoming race in Valencia, Spain 23 August. Schumacher, 40, who lives on the shores of Lake Geneva, retired from Formula 1 racing in 2006 but continued as a team advisor for the Ferrari team where he won five of his seven championships.
Budapest, Hungary (GenevaLunch) - It was just like old times as Lewis Hamilton, current Champion drove an almost faultless race, with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkönen second, and Mark Webber third for Red Bull. It was Hamilton’s tenth Grand Prix win, but his first this season.
Fernando Alonso started in pole position in his Renault but was forced to stop at the pits with tire trouble, and then to retire as a front wheel was not properly fitted and later flew off.
Budapest, Hungary (GenevaLunch) - Fernando Alonso will start on pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix after an incident-packed qualifying session which saw Felipe Massa taken to hospital by helicopter after crashing at 200 kph. The Brazilian Ferrari driver has undergone emergency surgery after suffering skull damage and concussion, reports the BBC. Ferrari says he will remain under observation in intensive care.
Nuerburgring, Germany (GenevaLunch) – Australian Mark Webber drove his Red Bull team to his first Grand Prix victory after 130 starts, all the more amazing considering that he spent the winter in rehab after a severe cycling accident gave him a badly broken leg and shoulder injuries. His German teammate Sebastian Vettel was second while Brazilian Felipe Massa was third for Ferrari. Nico Rosberg came in fourth for Williams while current leader Jenson Button was fifth ahead of fellow Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello.
Istanbul, Turkey (GenevaLunch) – Jenson Button drove his Brawn GP car to his fourth consecutive Formula 1 victory. He has now won six of the seven races this season. He then thanked the team for producing a “monster of a car.” Only four other drivers have won six of the first seven, Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher (twice).
