sport
US F1 GP: Max Verstappen restrains Hamilton’s attack and wins
The US Grand Prix gave us hot matches, and the strategic actions of the teams took on even more importance at the Autodrome of America. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton gave us a great fight, often at a distance, that had its best moment in the final laps when Hamilton tried to overtake Verstappen. The attack by No. 44 was intense, but it was not enough to dislodge the Red Bull driver from the leading position. Verstappen won and Red Bull took an important step this weekend off-road, where Mercedes has always been strong.
Lewis Hamilton had a better start and Max Verstappen tightened his grip on the Mercedes driver, but No. 44 managed to come out on top in the race, with Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the top three. The fight for fifth place has heated up, with Carlos Sainz. , Lando Norris and Daniel Riccardo put on a show with Riccardo in front, followed by Sainz and Norris. Valtteri Bottas tried to start the recovery, but Yuki Tsunoda did not allow the Finn to get ahead of him.
George Russell was one of the best at the start and managed to secure seven positions in the opening laps after starting from the rear of the grid. Less fortunate was Lance Stroll, who was touched by Nicholas Latifi, which caused the Aston Martin pilot to turn.
Esteban Ocon was the first to enter the pits on lap 4 to change tires, putting on the hardest rubber available for this race, taking advantage of a front fender change after touching an Alfa Romeo. Latifi also switched flanks after touching Stroll, and now the two are in last places.
Lewis Hamilton was starting to set the pace, but Max Verstappen followed closely behind him and Perez followed the lead duo at a pace that took them further away from fourth-place Charles Leclerc, with Riccardo in his mirrors. Valtteri Bottas got off to a hard start and Pierre Gasly overtook 77th place in the first laps, dropping Mercedes to 10th place, while the Frenchman tried to catch up with a less successful start.
Fernando Alonso also went into the pits early to put on some hard tires on lap 8 when he fought Sebastian Vettel for 14th.
On lap 10, Verstappen walked in to change tires, at a well executed stop trying to cut Hamilton, but the Dutchman left Leclerc and Riccardo behind, making life difficult for # 33. Hamilton was happy with his tires and didn’t seem to want to go anytime soon. However, Verstappen’s pace on the new tires was clearly higher. Leclerc stopped shortly thereafter when Perez and Verstappen were given a free lane to pick up the pace and put pressure on Hamilton, which he clearly did. Hamilton entered the pits on lap 14 to change tires and Verstappen took advantage of the good work he had done to take the lead in the race. Perez was third, five seconds from Hamilton and ten ahead of Leclerc.
Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri rear suspension failed on lap 15 when the Frenchman retired from the race, which also reflects the need for cars on the track.
In the fight for third place in the championship, Riccardo, who finished fifth, was ten seconds behind Leclerc and was under pressure from Sainz, this was on the 22nd lap, with the Scuderia cars showing more progress than the single-seat McLaren. A little further, Alonso and Giovinazzi staged a spectacle, the Spaniard tried to recapture the position from the Italian, in a battle that brought George Russell and Sebastian Vettel together, and the German overtook the young British.
We were halfway through the race and had Verstappen ahead, but with Hamilton in “full attack”, just 3 seconds behind the leader after nearly seven. Perez confidently took third place, and Leclerc – fourth. Riccardo was fifth, under pressure from Sainz, Norris lagged a little further, followed by Bottas, Tsunoda and Raikkonen.
A short-term VSC (to remove debris from the track) allowed Verstappen to win a second, and Hamilton was prevented by a latecomer, but the Briton’s pace was strong, so on lap 30 Verstappen made a second stop, and Hamilton was ordered to stay on the track longer. to try and attack at the end of the race. Hamilton has 16 seconds left. advantages to Verstappen and managed to maintain a competitive pace.
Sainz’s second stop took longer, and McLaren seized the opportunity to pick up the pace to take advantage of Scuderia’s miss when the team stopped both cars, saving the Spaniard time. Leclerc, on the other hand, came off well and appears to have finished fourth.
On lap 37, Hamilton entered the pits for a flawless tire change, entering the track in second, seven seconds from Verstappen, and now he had to attack and catch up with his opponent.
The fight for fifth place began to heat up on lap 41, when Sainz attacked Riccardo, who was fighting off the Spaniard as best he could, as Ocon pulled out of the race.
With ten laps to go, Verstappen fought off long-range attacks from Hamilton, Perez was in the neutral zone, as was Leclerc, while Riccardo fought off Sainz, and Bottas was approaching the Spaniard’s Ferrari, and Norris was four seconds behind the trio. in the eighth. Fernando Alonso retired on a rainy day for Alpine, his rear wing giving way to effort.
The distance between Verstappen and Hamilton narrowed, circle by circle, and the victory was decided in the last laps, and Verstappen had to repel attack No. 44. Mercedes was closing the distance dangerously for Red Bull, but Hamilton never got close enough to launch a decisive attack. We got to the last lap, and Verstappen dodged stragglers who didn’t bother him too much and stayed ahead of Hamilton until he saw the checkered flag. Hamilton was pleased with the second place, and Perez entered the top three. Charles Leclerc was fourth, ahead of Riccardo, both with good results. Bottas managed to beat Sainz in the final laps to finish sixth, followed by Spaniard Norris (a somewhat low-key race for the young Brit), Tsunoda (one of the best races for the Japanese this year) and Sebastian Vettel (good final recovery).
With this result, Verstappen managed to get away from Hamilton in the title bills, Red Bull had a great game with another one or two on the podium and hit Mercedes in a hunting ground that was fruitful for Flechas silver. … Hamilton was able to minimize losses by devising a strategy that could bear fruit, probably the only chance given the theoretical advantage of Red Bull, which was not so obvious on the track. Bottas failed to rise above sixth place, which left the team to do math. In Ferrari versus McLaren, Scuderia’s advantage again, when Leclerc showed an excellent race, ahead of the main rivals by many miles, Riccardo returned to good performances and gave important points to his team. Sainz tested positive, but wasted a lot of time in fights and was unable to show all of his progress. Norris played one of the darkest games of the time, unlike Tsunoda, who once again showed that he has potential and that he is very good at defending. Vettel takes the point home, a lesser evil for Aston, who has returned to stay away from what they wanted. Alfa Romeo showed an interesting pace, but failed to score points, but stayed ahead of Williams, having no arguments for more. Haas has the usual scenario, where Schumacher is ahead of Mazepin, and Alpine has a day to forget with two rejections.
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PREVIEW
ABOUT Benfica returns to competition, after a break from national team commitments, with the reception of Chaves this Friday, March 29, at 18:00 at the Estadio da Luz, in the game of the 27th round of the championship. Betkliche League.
Already preliminary press conferencewhich took place on the Benfica campus, Roger Schmidt emphasized that the team is in good shape meet with Chaveza rival who has nothing to lose when faced with the threat of relegation.
At the start of the decisive stage of the season, the coach remembered and praised that the Reds were still fighting for three trophies (Betklić League, Portuguese Taça and Europa League) and this was necessary. “We must use this opportunity and this moment to accelerate our highest level in everything.“, emphasized Roger Schmidt, distinguished Coach's Award at the ceremony dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the Club.
“We are in good shape, the first game is always demanding, but we are ready to play it.”
Roger Schmidt
What was it like preparing for this game against Chavez without any international players?
It was a typical international break, some players were with their teams, and I think it was a good opportunity for us to rest a bit and then get back to training. We did it very well and are excited to play again. Playing at home after the national team break is always a good start. All the national team players returned in good shape, a little tired, but without injuries. I'm happy with that, my biggest fear is always that they will get injured. We are in good shape, the first match is always demanding, but we are ready to play it. The decisive phase of the season begins and everything we have done over the last eight or nine months of this season had to be prepared for these weeks. We have six or seven weeks left to play, we still have three competitions to play and it really is a special season. When you can still win three trophies at the end of March, it's a very good season. Our task is to use this opportunity and this moment to accelerate to the highest level in everything. So, anything is possible. We have this expectation. For tomorrow [sexta-feira, 29 de março]Chavez and I know that this team is always difficult to play against. They are facing relegation, they have nothing to lose at our stadium. This is a good team, they have a good coach, and we have to solve this problem.
How did you feel when you left the Club’s 120th anniversary ceremony?
On Tuesday [26 de março], The gala was impressive. It always gives us a feeling of how great the Club is and how much love and passion there is in it. I'm always pleased to see that and how Benfica treats their history, former players and everything else. It's always something special and I'm so glad to be a part of it. We want to take this opportunity to please everyone around Benfica and within Benfica.
“Playing at home after the international break is always good”
Are you considering resting Otamendi and Di Maria for this game against Chavez before the two matches against Sporting? Is Ba suitable?
Of course they could rest. The question is: “Would it be beneficial for them to rest?” Both players like to play consistently and quickly. Sometimes they need a rest, like I gave Angel a few times. [Di María], when he played a lot of games in a row and there were big games ahead of us. Sometimes it makes sense to keep them out, but they are both key players for us and have performed at the highest level all season. I always have to make a decision about what is best for us and the players. Are they ready to play at this pace? They have shown this over the last 15 years. Are you ready to return to the club after the national team games and play again? They have also shown this over the past 15 years. I have no doubt that they are ready for tomorrow. [sexta-feira], play. Alex Ba is fine, we still have a little problem with load management, he had a problem and we want to be careful that it doesn't happen again. He's fine now, it was good not to play for the national team, he trained again and we tried to rest him at the right time. He's ready to play.
Di Maria has been going through a turbulent time for several days now: he and his family have received death threats. Is the player 100% physically and mentally ready for this game and the rest of the season?
What happened to him and his family shows how crazy the world is. It is catastrophic and catastrophic if something like this happens. It is clear that receiving such messages affects the player and the individual. We try to support him as best we can. He is professional and experienced enough to handle such situations, but such situations are completely difficult and rare, especially in a family. This is the worst thing that could happen, but we talked about it. He is trying to live a normal life. Of course, when something like this happens, some thoughts arise in your head, so we will try to support you as best we can.
“It’s time for all of us to show a very good attitude and performance on the field.”
In the last game of the championship, he said that a player who does what Kökçu did cannot be in the team. So, have you spoken to him? Can we expect him to be in the team for this game against Chaves?
As I said during the challenge with Casa Pia [26.ª jornada], my concern was to focus on the game. It would have been better not to mention him in this interview. He returned today [quinta-feira], we talked about it and it was actually exactly what I expected. It was not his intention to create this noise and negativity around our team. I already said before and after the Casa Pia game that I have complete confidence in him as a player, in terms of quality and also in his character. You made a mistake, this interview did no good to anyone. It was not good for us, for him and for Benfica, that's very clear. Now we have to deal with this. Even when players make mistakes, they are still my players, and sometimes I have to support them in difficult times. This is what we have to do, we've talked about it and now it's time to talk about it on the pitch. It's time for all of us, not just him, to demonstrate a very good mentality and performance in field. Everything that is not good for us, that can distract our attention a little, should be excluded. We have resolved this situation domestically and it is time to look forward. I'll be back tomorrow with the team [sexta-feira].
Kökçu was in the Turkish national team. Do you feel that your role in the national team is different from your role in Benfica?
I think I've said everything about Orkun. [Kökcü]. National teams and clubs are always different. These are different players, different tactical approaches. I don't think much about the choice. National team coaches have their own ideas, their own goals, and they must use the players as they see fit. I'm focused on what's happening here on our team, not just with Orkun. [Kökcü], but in general. Players who make it to national teams love to do it because it's a great honor for everyone. The national teams are preparing for summer competitions… These are two different things, and I am completely focused on the Club.
“Everything we did over the last eight or nine months of this season had to be prepared for these weeks.”
As for Juan Bernat, who was seen in training, will he be fit enough to contribute by the end of the season?
All of us, including himself, expected a different season. He is a very experienced player. Unfortunately, he came in with a minor injury, but he recovered and played a few minutes for us in five or six matches. Not full games, but a few minutes. He has been injured since the end of October, for five months now. I think now is not the time to think too much about next season, we need to think about it. He's working hard to get back on the field. He returned to training with the team this week, the first time in five months he has returned and we hope that he stabilizes with the workload, the football load and, of course, that he makes an impact in the last six or seven years. weeks. This is his situation at the moment. We are on a good track and we hope it will have a good impact at the end of the season.
Social media junkie. Incurable analyst. Food enthusiast. Subtly charming travel scholar.
Social media junkie. Incurable analyst. Food enthusiast. Subtly charming travel scholar.
Social media junkie. Incurable analyst. Food enthusiast. Subtly charming travel scholar.
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