Formula One climax, and goodbye from a British boxing legend

This afternoon the 2012 Formula One season comes to a climax at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Defending champion Sebastian Vettel is best placed for victory having qualified fourth with Spaniard Fernando Alonso in eighth. Alonso needs to finish in at least third to have a hope; if Alonso wins the race he needs Vettel to finish fourth or worse to win. When all the permutations are considered, along with the usual unpredictable of Sao Paulo it makes for a thoroughly entertaining race. If Vettel does win, he will park himself neatly alongside some illustrious company (Senna, Prost, Brabham, Stewart, Lauda)  as a triple winner, and he would be the youngest of these. As a consecutive triple winner the company would be even greater, as only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher have achieved this feat. At this point, Formula One has been running for 62 years and there have been 32 different winners in this time so Sebastian Vettel's acievemnt would be truly great. Is he considered one of the greatest drivers of all time at the moment? No, I don't think he is. But if he does go on to win his third title he certainly would be. Maybe we will only be able to give a true perspective to the German's acheivements after he has retired. At the tender age of 25 though, he is really still in his infancy in the sport. His team-mate Mark Webber still looks fresh and hungry at 36! Sebastian Vettel could go on to break all records in the sport if Red Bull Racing can still go on supplying him reliable quick cars. After a very good start to the season, they have had some issues with reliabiliy in the latter part of the season. As much as I hope the championship is not decided until the end of the race, something similar to 2008 would suit me down to the ground. 

Having said all this, if Alonso wins he would also become a triple champion having won in 2005 and 2006 with Renault. After an ill-fated switch to McLaren, the Spaniard has looked much more at home at Scuderia Ferrari and I would like to think will also win a third title at some stage if not today. He certainly has the talent, but the Maranello team have not quite been able to deliver a chmpionship winning car. Alonso had a poor mid-season which to a certain extent was beyond his control. Being caught up in a few first-corner incidents that resulted in DNF's put pay to his season. 

 A track guide from Rubens Barrichello who was born very close to the circuit and used to climb through the fence as a boy to watch the racing. 

There is no doubt that the Interlagos circuit is made for drama. The bumpy crumbly track surface, the weather, the fast straights and off-camber tight corners, the super-enthusiastic Brazilian crowd. 

My last point this week is to say that we should remember one for the career he has had, and not the way it ended last night. Ricky Hatton succumbed to a ninth round body punch from Vyacheslav Senchenko, which ended the Mancunian's career. As I said to many people before the fight, Hatton had already won in getting to the ring. And hopefully now he can live his life with enjoyment, and fulfillment from his other interests in promotion, management and also as a trainer. Here he is in his finest hour on June 4th 2005 beating Kostya Tszyu for the IBF light-welterweight belt who at the time was widely regarded as the pound for pound king. 

Thanks Ricky. 

 

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Let us never forget those who lay down their lives for our liberty.

Morning again sport fans. Having a six week old child might not affect my ability to watch to much sport, but it certainly does affect ones ability to research and write about it. That said, as much as I love my sport I love my little boy considerably more. 

As it has been a few weeks, this blog is going to be a bit of a catch up issue as a lot has gone on in Sportworld over the last couple of weeks.  

Those who know me personally will know that one of my favourite sports is snooker. Two particularly interesting things have happened in snooker recently. Firstly Ronnie O'Sullivan, the best and most exciting player to ever pick up a cue, has taken a sabbatical until the end of the season which may end up leading to his retirement. Followers of the sport will know that the Chigwell cue-man has been battling mental demons for quite a while, and after twenty years in the sport maybe it is time for Ronnie to put the cue down for a while. Over the years we have seen Ronnie walk out mid-game, bite his tip off at the end of a game through dissatisfaction and also physically abuse the table for its inconsistencies. Having watched the great man play live on quite a few occasions, I know he's like a Rolls Royce when at his best, and that is how I like to think of him. Here he is being not only better than everybody else, but quicker than everyone else as well. 

We may be saying goodbye to the mercurial O'Sullivan, but the heir apparent made it to the top of the world rankings last weekend in winning The international Championship in China last weekend. Bristolian Judd Trump had infact ensured this position by getting to the final, but beating former World Champion Neil Robertson in the final certainly consolidated his berth at the top of the game. He has taken the game by storm since his emergence on the scene in 2005. He had been on the radar of all snooker fans even as a junior, and many have tipped him to be a World Champion before he even turned pro. This is a feat he has yet to acheive, although he did make the final earlier this year, but as a three time ranking event winner he will be amongst the favourites in April when the snooker fraternity converges on The Crucible once again. 

Why do we have to have an international friendly at this point of the year? Sandwichwed inbetween weekends with Premier League fixtures it is surely an inconvenience for players and managers alike; particularly as England don't play another game until February 6th. 

Well done to Jorge Lorenzo for winning the MotoGP title at Philip Island. Once Dani Pedrosa crashed out early on Jorge just has to bring it home to clinch the title. There was only one man that was ever going to win that day, as Casey Stoner had been a second a lap quicker than anyone else all weekend. It was fitting that Stoner won as this would be the last time he would race this circuit in MotoGP as he retires from the sport at the end of the season....At 26 years old! As a new parent myself, I can understand why he would want to spend more time with his young family, but there is no doubt the sport is losing one of it's most talented riders. 

David Coulthard races the dirt-track outline in a Red Bull.

Next weekend sees the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. The Circuit of the Americas is said to try and mimic famous elements from other tracks around the world, and is eagerly anticipated by the drivers. Jenson Button said via his Twitter account that the track looks 'epic'. There hasn't been a race in the USA since Indianapolis in 2007 where Lewis Hamilton was victorious. I think the proposed New Jersey race is still in doubt, but hopefully this new race can capture the imagination of the American petrolhead community. 

Email me at floydssporttalk@live.co.uk

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