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SPORTS Monday 1 april 2019
Ferrari gifts Hamilton another win after Bahrain GP blunder

By JEROME PUGMIRE est winner of an F1 race Ferrari last won the drivers’
AP Sports Writer — after Max Verstappen title in 2007 with Kimi Raik-
SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — and Vettel — having al- konen, and its constructors’
Lewis Hamilton’s surprise ready become the second title the following year re-
win for Mercedes at the youngest to qualify on pole mains its last. In the past two
Bahrain Grand Prix on Sun- after Vettel. seasons, Ferrari challenged
day was the latest present “You have a dream since strongly before badly fad-
from rival Ferrari, served on childhood, your first win in ing in the second part of
a silver plate and wrapped Formula One,” the 21-year- the season after a series
with a red ribbon. old driver from Monaco of mishaps, strategy errors
Hamilton won at a canter said. and mistakes by Vettel.
despite the Silver Arrows Red Bull’s Verstappen Ferrari replaced struggling
lagging behind the red- placed fourth with Vettel team principal Maurizio Ar-
and-black Ferraris for most crossing in fifth. rivabene with Binotto, for-
of the race. Leclerc only finished third merly Ferrari chief techni-
First, Sebastian Vettel im- Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain in the pits after winning because the safety car cal officer. But he’s in much
ploded under pressure the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Bahrain International came out near the end af- the same position: with a
from Hamilton, spiraling out Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Sunday, March 31, 2019. ter the Renaults of Daniel fast car and a driver — Vet-
of contention some 20 laps Associated Press Ricciardo and Nico Hulken- tel — appearing prone to
from the end as the pair checkered flag on Hamil- go,” Hamilton said. “It defi- berg went off track. problems and errors. Head-
of five-time Formula One ton’s 74th career win. Only nitely feels weird. But what Under safety car rules driv- ing into the Chinese GP in
champions fought for what seven-time F1 champion can you do? You can’t ers must hold position. Ver- two weeks’ time, Ferrari has
seemed like second place. Michael Schumacher has deny yourself (victory).” stappen could not attack to find a way to stop throw-
Then it got even worse more with 91. Then, to rub further salt into and missed out on a sec- ing away points and Vettel
for Ferrari as race leader Leclerc finished third be- Vettel’s wounds, Hamilton ond straight podium, after needs to regain control.
Charles Leclerc’s engine hind Valtteri Bottas as Mer- heaped praise on Leclerc third place at the season- Vettel did well to overtake
started losing power. cedes somehow clinched — who drove brilliantly to opening Australian GP two Leclerc at the start of Sun-
“(It was) just a loss of pow- a second straight 1-2 from secure pole position on Sat- weeks ago behind Hamil- day’s race, but Leclerc re-
er, completely,” Leclerc two races, having been urday and was only denied ton and Bottas. claimed his lead soon after
said. “There were no signs slower than Ferrari in pre- victory by problems with his Leclerc picked up a bonus with an audacious move
before.” season testing and in Bah- car. point for posting the fast- on the German driver’s out-
It was the F1 equivalent rain. Ferrari looked in omi- “Charles was incredible this est lap. But Ferrari will know side.
of an open-goal in soccer nous form after dominating weekend. He was so much third and fifth spots were It looked even more like
for Hamilton, who took full every practice session and faster than his teammate,” simply not good enough, being Ferrari’s day when
advantage before get- every section of qualifying Hamilton said. “He has a after fourth and fifth in Aus- Hamilton went too wide
ting a post-race hug from on the 5.4-kilometer (3.3- bright future ahead of him.” tralia. on Lap 20 and drifted fur-
former Manchester United mile) desert circuit. A despondent Leclerc “We’ll check everything we ther behind Leclerc. Vettel
and England star David “We were lucky. Ferrari out- thought he was going to can,” Ferrari team principal overtook him on Lap 23 to
Beckham, who waved the performed us from the get- become the third-young- Mattia Binotto said. put Ferrari 1-2.q

Alvarez upset by Nasyukhin in One Championship debut

By JIM ARMSTRONG American Demetrious pan, where several major
AP Sports Writer Johnson, also making his MMA organizations have
TOKYO (AP) — Russian One Championship de- risen and fallen over the
Timofey Nasyukhin upset but, won his flyweight bout years. One also plans to de-
American Eddie Alvarez when he got Japan’s Yuya but in Vietnam and South
with a first-round technical Wakamatsu in a choke Korea later in 2019.
knockout in the mixed mar- hold at 2 minutes, 40-sec- With 30 seconds left, La N
tial arts One Champion- onds of the second round. Sang landed a massive
ship on Sunday at Ryogoku “Yuya is a tough oppo- right hand. Hasegawa im-
Kokugikan, Tokyo’s premier nent,” Johnson said. “Be- mediately fell to the can-
sumo venue. ing my first fight in Japan, vas and La N Sang moved
Nasyukhin floored Alvarez I knew I was going to face in to get the finish.
with a right hand to the side some adversity. I wanted to Jing Nan Xiong defeated
of the head with 55 seconds challenge him and when Angela Lee to keep her
left in the opening round of you challenge someone, strawweight title.
the lightweight bout, which you leave yourself open Xiong survived a series of
was Alvarez’s debut with Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin to getting hit but it was a submission attempts in the
,left and Eddie Alvarez of the Unites States fight during their
One Championship. lightweight world grand prix quarterfinal of One Championship great fight.” fourth round then coun-
Nasyukhin kicked high early bout in Tokyo, Sunday, March 31, 2019. Johnson and Alvarez are tered in the final frame with
and put a two-punch com- Associated Press two former UFC champions body kicks and got the TKO
bination together when and his opponent was re- and he’s an MMA legend who moved to the Singa- stoppage at the 1:37 mark
Alvarez attempted to pres- lentless until the referee but I used that as motiva- pore-based One Champi- of the fifth round.
sure him backward. He sent stepped in. tion.” onship this year. Challenger Shinya Aoki
the former UFC 155-pound “This has been the case The 35-year-old Alvarez, One has staged shows gave the sellout crowd
title holder down with a most of my career, people who hadn’t fought since across Asia from Myan- of 11,000 a thrill when he
right hand two minutes in. have underestimated me,” July 2018, was unavailable mar to China over the past won his lightweight bout
With a minute left, Nasyukh- the 28-year-old Nasyukhin for comment after the bout seven years, but waited to over Eduard Folayang with
in again stunned Alvarez said. “I knew that he was a as he was taken to a near- take its shot at the martial a choke hold in the first
who went down on a knee better opponent than me by hospital. arts-loving fan base in Ja- round..q