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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I'm Back!!

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. 

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A shoe-in for Team of the Year at the BBC sports personality awards?

 
Having been out of the sports blogging loop due to the birth of my first son, there's a fair bit to catch up on! There are not many things that would have kept me away from the Ryder Cup, but I'm deliriously happy to say that the arrival of my little boy did. Well done Team Europe! I'd say that the performance of Team Europe in the singles on Sunday is well up there with the best come backs of all time. I am not quite sure whether it tops Liverpool's second half performance in the Champions League final in 2005, but it is certainly equal in my mind. I think the team as a hole performed fantastically well in the face of the extreme adversity brought by the partisan home, but I have to give particular plaudits to Ian Poulter. He showed tremendous mettle through the entire weekend, and gave the other lads the platform to release the shackles and play without fear. I hope he can use this performance as an inspiration to shine in the majors when it's just him and his caddie against the rest. He has proved now that he has the full game to follow Rory McIlroy on the major trail!

One other thing that's happened in the recent sporting past, is Lewis Hamilton's move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 F1 season after signing a three year deal with the Silver Arrows. Many have been critical of the move and suggested that it is just for the financial benefits. I agree with David Coulthard who said that the move is necesary for Lewis to mature as a driver. As everyone knows Lewis has been with McLaren since the age of thirteen, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he hasn't quite shed some of the child-like characteristics usually seen in adolescence. I am quite sure that once he makes the move, Lewis can mature in to the driver everbody knows he can be, and at the same time he can be the catalyst to take Mercedes on to the next level. I don't think Merecedes have ever lacked ambition, and although the progress maybe hasn't been as rapid as they may have liked, it will come. After all, next year will only be year four in the project and companies like Mercedes employ people like Nick Fry and Ross Brawn to settle for second best. It will also help that he's been friends with future team-mate Nico Rosberg since their karting days as team-mates. 

This week in boxing we see the heavyweight clash between David Price and Audley Harrison. I can't see the fight gong to far past four rounds or so. He hasn't exactly been bathed in glory in his twelve years as a pro, and he's been down once or twice! I think Price's big bombs will be far too much for Harrison to deal with. Hopefully that will then bring the curtain down on the farce that has been Harrison's career as a pro. Even my brother, who I consider to certainly be more of a boxing nut than me, admitted that he gets sucked in by the hype every time. All suggestions for forfeits will be considered. That's how confident I am that Price will win, and it will be funny to see what people can come up with. Reply via email, facebook or twitter on the links below. 

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Formula One: Most exciting season for years?

Chinese Grand Prix grid

I don't claim to be any sort of authority on Formula One, but I am a massive enthusiast and I would have to say that I am enjoying this season more than any for quite a long time. All the hard work that the FIA have been doing over recent years to try and improve the sport looks like it is starting to come to fruition.  There have been quite a few changes made in recent years to try and make the sport a more enticing spectacle, such as the introduction of the Drag Reduction System (DRS), Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), the change from Bridgestone to Pirelli as well as the change in tyre compounds, and also the removal of refuelling from pit stops. No doubt purists are against these changes, and as a long standing F1 fan part of me agrees, but nobody can argue that the sport needed a shake up and these changes have certainly done that. The sport is now less predictable than it has ever been. At the start of this mornings race we had an all Mercedes front row which hasn't happened for about sixty years, and the back to back world champion started in eleventh on merit. And who would have thought a Sauber would finish in second in Malaysia on merit; but for a tiny misjudgement by Sergio Perez as he was catching Fernando Alonso in the closing laps, he might well have won the race. I am watching the closing laps of the Chinese Grand Prix as I write and the racing is amazing. There has been more overtakes this race than you would get in a whole season a few years ago! It must be exciting; who would have thought Carol Vorderman and Kelly Sotherton would be tweeting about F1 on a Sunday morning! 

I very much take the point that the sport had always been an example of the best engineering and aerodynamics, and a small part of me misses that part of F1 but the laps I am watching at the moment have been up there with the most enthralling I have ever watched. They have been as good as watching Senna and Prost, or Schumacher and Hill go wheel to wheel in years gone by. And these laps are right at the beginning of the season so there is no championship at stake yet! The race has just finished, and well done Nico Rosberg on your first win! With the two McLarens taking second and third that's an all Mercedes podium. Well done Silver Arrows! It was never going to be too long before a Ross Brawn car returned to the top step of the podium.


So, off to Bahrain then. Should F1 be going there? I have to agree wholeheartedly with Bernie Ecclestone in the fact that religion or politics should not come in to sport at all. As long as it is safe, Formula One should definitely go to Bahrain. If Bahrain is good enough for an international invitation pro-celebrity golf tournament, then why should F1 be any different. 

SPORT SHORTS

• Well done to my beloved Liverpool FC for getting to the FA Cup final yesterday. Even though there is massive rivalry between Liverpool and Everton, it is largely not bitter and the banter is good natured.  This tribute laid at Anfield proves this more than anything. Justice for the 96. Gone but not forgotten.

Thanks to Everton for this tribute. #JFT96

• Good luck to Spurs and Chelsea today in the second semi-final. Not sure who I'd rather we played.
• Very sad to hear this morning of of the untimely death of Piermario Morosini during the game between Livorno and Pescara in Serie B in Italy. My thoughts are with his friends and family. 
• Not long until the Snooker World Championships now, which is one of the highlights of my sporting year. The Crucible is a special place. Pleased to hear that Ken Doherty has managed to qualify so hopefully he can do it for the old boys! Unlucky to Steve Davis and Jimmy White who didn't manage to qualify.

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