World champions Russia were not going to be an easy test for the Great Britain team who are still building a team for the Olympics. This match however seemed out of their reach and Russia came out on top 24-16, but that isn’t to say Great Britain were a push over.
Great Britain started the scoring off after Sarah Hargreaves had made two magnificent saves, something that was repeated throughout the whole game. Kathryn Fudge was able to squeeze through a tight gap to get the game up and running around 3 minutes in. After this though Great Britain were struggling to cope with Russia’s quick counter attacks where they would catch the GB defence off guard and eventually took a 4-1 lead. Then Lyn Byl came into play and was able to launch herself into the box to throw a devastating double either side of another Russia goal making it 3-5.
Great Britain were still struggling to get any pace to their attack with a repetitive sequence of passes going from left wing to centre to right wing and back and forth without any penetration, but when the big Russian, Anna Sen, was sent to the bench for 2 minutes for a foul on Byl, Great Britain were able to unleash a flow of attacks where they were able to battle it back to 5-6. When Anna Sen came back into play Russia looked a constant threat again eventually taking a lead of 8-5, but it could have been a lot worse if it weren’t for that woman between the sticks, Sarah Hargreaves. Countless saves including a remarkable reflex save that denied Russia. Sarah Hargeaves was stopping Russia run away with the game and her saves managed to install some belief into the players and they were battling back to make it 7-8, somehow still holding onto the World champions after a third of the game.
The last 10 minutes of the first half however proved to be too much for the hosts and by the interval were pegged back 10-14. The first half showed promising signs though with Kathryn Fudge, Lyn Byl, the captain Lynn McCafferty and of course Sarah Hargreaves all impressing for the home side. But it was Russia’s devastating speed in which they would break, as soon as Great Britain would score they would be back on them straight away not letting them ease up and by the end of the half you could see it was tiring the GB girls out and let their good first 20 minute form slip, but a quick-fire double from Holly Lam-Moores just before the break proved promising signs for the second half.
Unfortunately the promising signs were a distant memory 7 minutes in as Russia had built a 7 point lead making it 17-10. Kathryn Fudge was having a frustrating spell where the Russian between the sticks equalled Sarah’s heroics in goal saving 3 shots from Kathryn Fudge inside 10 minutes. But back to her heroics, Sarah was brave in taking a hard whack in the face after a hard shot, but showing her grit and determination to continue her fine form she got up and just second’s later Russia were awarded a penalty and she saved it sending the fans into raptures. The trio of Emiliia Turei, Anna Sen and Liudmila Bodnieva were a constant threat throughout with the latter two players towering over all the Great Britain players at 180-185cm and Emiliia Turei a tricky customer to handle.
After 50 minutes had gone Russia were in full control taking full advantage of a tiring Great Britain side that had put up a great fight, but they were playing the World champions. And they were proving their credentials when they increased their lead to 22-13 and without the master class in goal by Sarah Hargreaves it could have easily turned into an embarrassing afternoon. The strength in the Russian side was finally showing when Captain Lynn McCafferty was bundled over by Anna Sen and despite getting back up she had to go off and that was her game finished and with that injury almost ended Great Britain’s chances when the score was 24-15 to Russia with 5 minutes to go. Just like the first half Great Britain were able to snatch a late goal with a sweet move but the game finished 16-24 to the reigning World Champions, but for a team that has only been formed for 5 years it was not bad going at all.
I hadn’t known much about Handball as a sport as it is not a relatively big sport in England like it is in Germany, Denmark and Russia respectively but after watching the fast-paced action today and determination shown by the Great Britain side, the ever-growing fan base of the sport in the UK gained one extra fan. What I liked most about the after-match was the fact you could see the girls were pleased with the performance, and so they should be. The London 2012 Olympics is just what Great British Handball needs to launch the sport to new heights of popularity and for people who may be thinking they lost out getting handball tickets at the Olympics, I for one am jealous.
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Thursday, 20 October 2011
North London has seen a change in the top side... will Manchester soon follow suit?
The North London derby two weeks ago was the first time Tottenham were the real favourites to win the derby, and they did not disappoint winning 2-1. But is this Sunday the first time Manchester City really look like being favourites to beat the countries top side?
Manchester United and Manchester City have ruled the first few months of the season, with City just edging it and being top of the pile... for now. But Manchester United have played Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and have only dropped two points recently against Liverpool whereas Manchester City have only played Tottenham out of the top sides so far, where they did win 5-1.
So this Sunday is City's first real test of title credentials for this year, although it comes pretty early in the season you could claim it as a title decider in the mindset of each Manchester club. Neither has taken Europe by storm this year with City only gaining their first win out of three thanks to a stoppage time winner against Villareal this week, and Manchester United also gaining their first win this week against Galati with Rooney scoring two penalties to decide it. So Europe hasn't seen the threat of Manchester yet, but the Premier League definitely has.
Manchester City have managed 27 league goals this year so far in just 8 games and not to far behind them United have scored 25, 14 more than Newcastle and Liverpool who sit 4th and 5th respectively. Its not just the forwards in both sides that have impressed, the back line of each team have only conceded six goals each this term so far, matched only by Newcastle.
There have been massive improvements in the Manchester City camp, despite the Tevez saga. Sergio Aguero has been a breathe of fresh air not just to Manchester City, but to the Premier League, and we also starting to see a much happier and much more passionate Roberto Mancini, something fans all over the country are liking... despite Manchester United of course. Most will say they don't like it because they will say 'United are the better side...' but City fans will argue United don't like it because they are getting scared of their noisy neighbours.
We will have to wait until Sunday to see whether Manchester City will be able to silence the 'noisy neighbours' tag or Manchester United will be showing they are a hard horse to topple, all we know is this derby is getting more and more exciting each year and this weekend will be the next big one.
Manchester United and Manchester City have ruled the first few months of the season, with City just edging it and being top of the pile... for now. But Manchester United have played Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and have only dropped two points recently against Liverpool whereas Manchester City have only played Tottenham out of the top sides so far, where they did win 5-1.
So this Sunday is City's first real test of title credentials for this year, although it comes pretty early in the season you could claim it as a title decider in the mindset of each Manchester club. Neither has taken Europe by storm this year with City only gaining their first win out of three thanks to a stoppage time winner against Villareal this week, and Manchester United also gaining their first win this week against Galati with Rooney scoring two penalties to decide it. So Europe hasn't seen the threat of Manchester yet, but the Premier League definitely has.
Manchester City have managed 27 league goals this year so far in just 8 games and not to far behind them United have scored 25, 14 more than Newcastle and Liverpool who sit 4th and 5th respectively. Its not just the forwards in both sides that have impressed, the back line of each team have only conceded six goals each this term so far, matched only by Newcastle.
There have been massive improvements in the Manchester City camp, despite the Tevez saga. Sergio Aguero has been a breathe of fresh air not just to Manchester City, but to the Premier League, and we also starting to see a much happier and much more passionate Roberto Mancini, something fans all over the country are liking... despite Manchester United of course. Most will say they don't like it because they will say 'United are the better side...' but City fans will argue United don't like it because they are getting scared of their noisy neighbours.
We will have to wait until Sunday to see whether Manchester City will be able to silence the 'noisy neighbours' tag or Manchester United will be showing they are a hard horse to topple, all we know is this derby is getting more and more exciting each year and this weekend will be the next big one.
Saturday, 25 June 2011
The English Spirit
A standing ovation after a loss at Wimbledon for one of Britain's most talented female tennis players and that is seen as wrong by some people. Why? Simply because they don't embrace the British spirit that British fans possess.
Laura Robson lost yesterday to one of the most talented players in ladies tennis, Maria Sharapova, 7-6 6-3, straight sets. But being world no 254 who gave her a chance at all? So when she went 4-1 up in the first set fans were going wild around Wimbledon in the belief they may witness one of the biggest shocks in the history of Wimbledon. However she wasn't able to hold on and the experience of Maria Sharapova shone through and battled back to win a tie-break in the first set and then win the second set to progress.
So why after her loss have some pundits started questioning Laura Robson's ability and potential in the future? Comparisons were easily made with Maria Sharapova as she was 17 when she won Wimbledon but as you see with other great players in tennis, some people come into the sport amazing and take the tour by storm, and some progress year by year - namely the best player in tennis history, Roger Federer. Some may say being 22 winning your first grand slam is considered quite young, but if you look at him now you would have thought he would have always been that good, but he worked hard over the years to get to where he is now.
So the fact some critics have criticised the reaction of fans when Laura Robson lost to Maria Sharapova was somewhat shocking almost. Britain doesn't have a lot of high quality players in tennis so when Laura Robson won the junior championships at 14 a lot of weight was put on her shoulders, but a main reason why she won that junior championship was because of her strength that other juniors couldn't cope with. In 3 years she has definitely improved as you would expect, but clearly not the player YET to be challenging with the top 10, but as with Andy Murray she could become a late bloomer. Andy Murray suffered from fitness problems and lasting the full 5 sets, but he went away and worked on it and came back stronger to become a force to be reckoned with, Laura Robson will just need to show that same commitment, but as everyone can keep pointing out she is only 17. The Williams sisters are near on 30 and are on the top of the women's game still so one will look and say she has 13 years ahead of her to be making a name for herself in the game.
But as for the British fans, we are more than happy to see a talent that we believe in do well and cheer her on than down-hearten her spirits at such a young age by saying negative things about her game. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" may be something Laura Robson will or even has come to terms with and critics are part and parcel of any ones game but in Britain it seems more likely. The English football team, Andy Murray, English golfers, the English cricket team... the list is endless of teams/players in England that get slated after just one or two losses and not being world-beaters. Boos and bad press are never going to inspire a player/team to succeed in the sport because in theory they are entertainers for their fans and if they see people not enjoying them then why would they want to try and reverse that? They're all still human and are all extremely talented at their respective sport and all deserve to be where they are.
So that's why i chose to write this blog, to applaud the fans who gave Laura Robson a standing ovation, to be able to pick up their countryman after a hard-hitting loss and saluting her efforts. It was that gesture that typifies the British spirit and I for one am proud that I live in a country where we can be well-pleased with a British athletes efforts and look forward to cheering on much more losses in the future.
Laura Robson lost yesterday to one of the most talented players in ladies tennis, Maria Sharapova, 7-6 6-3, straight sets. But being world no 254 who gave her a chance at all? So when she went 4-1 up in the first set fans were going wild around Wimbledon in the belief they may witness one of the biggest shocks in the history of Wimbledon. However she wasn't able to hold on and the experience of Maria Sharapova shone through and battled back to win a tie-break in the first set and then win the second set to progress.
So why after her loss have some pundits started questioning Laura Robson's ability and potential in the future? Comparisons were easily made with Maria Sharapova as she was 17 when she won Wimbledon but as you see with other great players in tennis, some people come into the sport amazing and take the tour by storm, and some progress year by year - namely the best player in tennis history, Roger Federer. Some may say being 22 winning your first grand slam is considered quite young, but if you look at him now you would have thought he would have always been that good, but he worked hard over the years to get to where he is now.
So the fact some critics have criticised the reaction of fans when Laura Robson lost to Maria Sharapova was somewhat shocking almost. Britain doesn't have a lot of high quality players in tennis so when Laura Robson won the junior championships at 14 a lot of weight was put on her shoulders, but a main reason why she won that junior championship was because of her strength that other juniors couldn't cope with. In 3 years she has definitely improved as you would expect, but clearly not the player YET to be challenging with the top 10, but as with Andy Murray she could become a late bloomer. Andy Murray suffered from fitness problems and lasting the full 5 sets, but he went away and worked on it and came back stronger to become a force to be reckoned with, Laura Robson will just need to show that same commitment, but as everyone can keep pointing out she is only 17. The Williams sisters are near on 30 and are on the top of the women's game still so one will look and say she has 13 years ahead of her to be making a name for herself in the game.
But as for the British fans, we are more than happy to see a talent that we believe in do well and cheer her on than down-hearten her spirits at such a young age by saying negative things about her game. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" may be something Laura Robson will or even has come to terms with and critics are part and parcel of any ones game but in Britain it seems more likely. The English football team, Andy Murray, English golfers, the English cricket team... the list is endless of teams/players in England that get slated after just one or two losses and not being world-beaters. Boos and bad press are never going to inspire a player/team to succeed in the sport because in theory they are entertainers for their fans and if they see people not enjoying them then why would they want to try and reverse that? They're all still human and are all extremely talented at their respective sport and all deserve to be where they are.
So that's why i chose to write this blog, to applaud the fans who gave Laura Robson a standing ovation, to be able to pick up their countryman after a hard-hitting loss and saluting her efforts. It was that gesture that typifies the British spirit and I for one am proud that I live in a country where we can be well-pleased with a British athletes efforts and look forward to cheering on much more losses in the future.
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Game, Set and Match Miss Laura Robson
Born in our sporting rival country Australia. But nurtured into a tennis talent in Great Britain.
Laura Robson shot to fame with her Junior Championships title at the tender age of just 14. Three years on since her triumph at Wimbledon she is back and on the professional tour and her first round match was against a former top 100 in Angelique Kerber on which she showed great determination and skill to come up trumps 4-6 7-6 6-3 and now looks forward to a mouth-watering round two match against Maria Sharapova, anyone else backing the Brit for an upset?
Her poise and power shown in the first round match was astonishing in which she was able to conjure up numerous baseline winners against her opponent leaving her defenceless at times. A part of her game however that seemed to be exploited her opponent was simply her lack of experience in some loss in concentration but with time on her side that will no doubt come along nicely into her game.
In the three years since her triumph at Wimbledon she has climbed an astonishing 305 places to 254th in the world and will clearly be following this climb down the rankings with time on her side. A first massive test for Laura Robson comes in the shape of Maria Sharapova, a former world number 1, and although she may be feeling slight nerves about that prospect she is surely looking forward to the feeling if she is able to cause a huge upset.
Laura Robson is flying the Great British flag for the women that aspire to make it as a tennis professional and at the age of just 17 she is setting a fine example to any young girl, or boy even, to make the progress she has shown in her short career so far. What's next to come for the young Briton? A long and illustrious career I am sure.
Laura Robson shot to fame with her Junior Championships title at the tender age of just 14. Three years on since her triumph at Wimbledon she is back and on the professional tour and her first round match was against a former top 100 in Angelique Kerber on which she showed great determination and skill to come up trumps 4-6 7-6 6-3 and now looks forward to a mouth-watering round two match against Maria Sharapova, anyone else backing the Brit for an upset?
Her poise and power shown in the first round match was astonishing in which she was able to conjure up numerous baseline winners against her opponent leaving her defenceless at times. A part of her game however that seemed to be exploited her opponent was simply her lack of experience in some loss in concentration but with time on her side that will no doubt come along nicely into her game.
In the three years since her triumph at Wimbledon she has climbed an astonishing 305 places to 254th in the world and will clearly be following this climb down the rankings with time on her side. A first massive test for Laura Robson comes in the shape of Maria Sharapova, a former world number 1, and although she may be feeling slight nerves about that prospect she is surely looking forward to the feeling if she is able to cause a huge upset.
Laura Robson is flying the Great British flag for the women that aspire to make it as a tennis professional and at the age of just 17 she is setting a fine example to any young girl, or boy even, to make the progress she has shown in her short career so far. What's next to come for the young Briton? A long and illustrious career I am sure.
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Mcilroys Masterclass
We feel like we have been here before this year. Mcilroy taking a golf major by storm and taking a great lead into the final round, but what we hope won't continue the similar trend is the final round performance of Rory Mcilroy.
One can't help but worry and compare to his heartbreaking last round 80 at the masters earlier on in the year, but that fall at the final hurdle has seemed to spur him on even more to concur the US Open with him breaking numerous records on his demolition of the Congressional course.
In the masters there was always this nerve about Mcilroy, never feeling confident at the top of the leader board even with a convincing four shot lead going into the final round, but this time round his game has looked flawless with only a few off-key shots proving that he is still human. But at the tender age of 22 and being the first person ever to reach 14 under par at the Congressional he has definitely learnt from every mistake he made at The Masters and looks set to claim his first major.
Since the return and demise of Tiger Woods there has not been one player to take the tour by storm with new players claiming the number 1 spot every other month, but with Rory Mcilroy young, hungry and showing great maturity we are starting to see the growth of maybe another great for golf in the making.
His ability to come back from such a soul-destroying last round flop at The Masters is something that not even the sturdiest broad shoulders could carry into the US Open, but he has managed to do it, and in some style taking an astonishing 8 shot lead into the final round. Everyone, especially the American fans are cheering him on and giving him the backing in not just the hope that he can win his first major, but hope that he can go on to win much more in what is sure to be an illustrious golfing career
One can't help but worry and compare to his heartbreaking last round 80 at the masters earlier on in the year, but that fall at the final hurdle has seemed to spur him on even more to concur the US Open with him breaking numerous records on his demolition of the Congressional course.
In the masters there was always this nerve about Mcilroy, never feeling confident at the top of the leader board even with a convincing four shot lead going into the final round, but this time round his game has looked flawless with only a few off-key shots proving that he is still human. But at the tender age of 22 and being the first person ever to reach 14 under par at the Congressional he has definitely learnt from every mistake he made at The Masters and looks set to claim his first major.
Since the return and demise of Tiger Woods there has not been one player to take the tour by storm with new players claiming the number 1 spot every other month, but with Rory Mcilroy young, hungry and showing great maturity we are starting to see the growth of maybe another great for golf in the making.
His ability to come back from such a soul-destroying last round flop at The Masters is something that not even the sturdiest broad shoulders could carry into the US Open, but he has managed to do it, and in some style taking an astonishing 8 shot lead into the final round. Everyone, especially the American fans are cheering him on and giving him the backing in not just the hope that he can win his first major, but hope that he can go on to win much more in what is sure to be an illustrious golfing career
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
The final ball has been kicked but the transfer mill keeps football going all year round
The football season ended in dramatic fashion with the play-offs and champions league final. We saw the worlds best team in Barcelona out-play Manchester United like a training match with Messi and co pulling the strings in the middle. And to top it off the Premier League is welcoming its first Welsh side into the top flight. A glorious end to a truly magnificent season of football across the globe.
But us football fans know that isn't the end of football for the season as because of the mass media football now gets its almost a yearly round thing on the back page of newspapers even in the off-season because of the countless transfer rumours. Players' agents are called in left, right and centre for statements on their players future giving away small hints. Papers somehow make up farce accusations such as Ronaldinho being linked with a move to... Blackburn Rovers? Bizarre is not the word. But it is these rumours that keeps football alive all year round and its what football fans love.
Whether your teams manager is going to pull a bunny out of the hat like Fergie did with Hernandez for a cut-price £6 million or your team is going to flop on players like Chelsea did with Andriy Shevchenko for £30 million. It gets the fans pumping and if the January transfer window is anything to go by, August 31st is going to be a stonker of a deadline day too.
But to sum-up the season of football with a football team as an example would have to be Blackpool. Not Barcelona. Not Manchester United. Not even Spain's dominance in international football. Blackpool because of the sheer passion and pride they brought back into just playing in the Premier League. Barcelona we know are the best team in the world that have probably graced a football field, and Blackpool would hardly stand a chance against them. But the tangerines stood out this season not only with their fluorescent orange kit, but with their tenacity and pride of being in English Footballs top tier, and led by one of footballs most fun-loving sons Ian Holloway. The misfortune of being relegated on the last day of the season can not take away the enjoyment they brought back to the Premier League and no doubt will follow into the Championship under Ian Holloway's guidance.
Lets just hope Premier League new-boys QPR and Swansea City can off that same exuberance that is still beaming over football fans' faces after a terrific season of football.
But us football fans know that isn't the end of football for the season as because of the mass media football now gets its almost a yearly round thing on the back page of newspapers even in the off-season because of the countless transfer rumours. Players' agents are called in left, right and centre for statements on their players future giving away small hints. Papers somehow make up farce accusations such as Ronaldinho being linked with a move to... Blackburn Rovers? Bizarre is not the word. But it is these rumours that keeps football alive all year round and its what football fans love.
Whether your teams manager is going to pull a bunny out of the hat like Fergie did with Hernandez for a cut-price £6 million or your team is going to flop on players like Chelsea did with Andriy Shevchenko for £30 million. It gets the fans pumping and if the January transfer window is anything to go by, August 31st is going to be a stonker of a deadline day too.
But to sum-up the season of football with a football team as an example would have to be Blackpool. Not Barcelona. Not Manchester United. Not even Spain's dominance in international football. Blackpool because of the sheer passion and pride they brought back into just playing in the Premier League. Barcelona we know are the best team in the world that have probably graced a football field, and Blackpool would hardly stand a chance against them. But the tangerines stood out this season not only with their fluorescent orange kit, but with their tenacity and pride of being in English Footballs top tier, and led by one of footballs most fun-loving sons Ian Holloway. The misfortune of being relegated on the last day of the season can not take away the enjoyment they brought back to the Premier League and no doubt will follow into the Championship under Ian Holloway's guidance.
Lets just hope Premier League new-boys QPR and Swansea City can off that same exuberance that is still beaming over football fans' faces after a terrific season of football.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Hindsights a wonderful thing when lady luck isn't on your side
The glitz and glam off the track at Monte Carlo had definitely shined a bit of life into the Formula 1 drivers this weekend at the grand prix. Fans were treated to a real spectacle albeit for some unfortunate accidents that resulted in two drivers being hospitalised.
Formula 1 this year has been dominated by Sebastian Vettel's unbelievable ability to drive behind the wheel of that red bull car that everyone wants to try and take a look at to see what it is that makes the German so fast. But the truth of the matter is that we just have another great F1 driver in the making and he did his reputation no harm in winning a crazy and manic formula 1 race that nobody seemed to be fully in control of.
Lewis Hamilton was quickest in qualifying 1 and 2 on Saturday's session, but a risky move by the Mclaren team to send him out with 4 minutes to go to set a lap time backfired in the most unfortunate of cases: on his first flying lap Massa would not get out of his way causing him to give up on that lap and his second lap was halted by an almighty 100mph crash into the barriers for Sergio Perez resulting in Hamilton qualifying in 7th. To add further insult to injury the stewards deemed he ran over the chicane at turn 15/16 and got dropped to 9th. His race didn't prove much luck either with Hamilton on a mission he was pushing his car to the limit and was held up pretty much throughout the whole race by someone and on a circuit deemed Nye on impossible to pass he was never able to really overtake and storm through the pack. A drive through penalty was the kick in the teeth for Hamilton however as he was held back by Massa early on in the race he tried a sneaky move up the inside of Massanet and got cut off when Massa cut across him resulting in them touching and Hamilton getting the penalty. A race in which he was unlucky to finish 6th was mirrored by his team-mate who no doubt went home thinking if lady luck was on his side he would have gone home with the trophy.
Jenson Button had split the red bulls at the start of the grid and after pitting for his first stop he flew out the traps and took full advantage of a mix-up in the red bull garage which saw Button fly in the middle stint of the race into a commanding lead, but for some unknown reason Mclaren saw the need to pit him for a second time which in hindsight ruined his race as soon after he pitted the safety car was deployed and Button found himself 3rd. To his knowledge though he thought Vettel, who pitted only on the 16th lap, and Alonso who had his second stop on lap 34 would need to stop again because of the wear on the tyres. He was proved wrong, Vettel had somehow managed to preserve his tyres up until the 72nd lap where a big pile up where Alguersari and Petrov crashed out, Petrov ending up being hospitalised, and the race was stopped under a red flag but the race was to restart and Vettel and Alonso were both able to change tyres and then finish the race 1st and 2nd.
But a day which saw strategies the key to finding track positions saw sides like Sauber with Kobayashi, Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Pastor Maldonado in the Williams all used the safety cars to their full advantage and even though at the very end Maldonado collided with Hamilton and span into the barriers and Sutil was at the front of the pile up which caused the red flag Kobayashi was able to hold his nerve and finish a well deserved 5th place, no doubt in tribute to his team-mate Sergio Perez who was unable to make the grid due to his concussion.
The race was a real tribute to Formula 1 racing and even though there was some casualties, we saw some of the best contest across the field: the tightest finish for the top three, Hamilton's desire to get through the pack, the smaller sides jumping up the field to show they are here to challenge in Formula 1.
Monte Carlo has produced some amazing memories for every Formula 1 fan and for me this is going to be my amazing memory of Formula 1.
Formula 1 this year has been dominated by Sebastian Vettel's unbelievable ability to drive behind the wheel of that red bull car that everyone wants to try and take a look at to see what it is that makes the German so fast. But the truth of the matter is that we just have another great F1 driver in the making and he did his reputation no harm in winning a crazy and manic formula 1 race that nobody seemed to be fully in control of.
Lewis Hamilton was quickest in qualifying 1 and 2 on Saturday's session, but a risky move by the Mclaren team to send him out with 4 minutes to go to set a lap time backfired in the most unfortunate of cases: on his first flying lap Massa would not get out of his way causing him to give up on that lap and his second lap was halted by an almighty 100mph crash into the barriers for Sergio Perez resulting in Hamilton qualifying in 7th. To add further insult to injury the stewards deemed he ran over the chicane at turn 15/16 and got dropped to 9th. His race didn't prove much luck either with Hamilton on a mission he was pushing his car to the limit and was held up pretty much throughout the whole race by someone and on a circuit deemed Nye on impossible to pass he was never able to really overtake and storm through the pack. A drive through penalty was the kick in the teeth for Hamilton however as he was held back by Massa early on in the race he tried a sneaky move up the inside of Massanet and got cut off when Massa cut across him resulting in them touching and Hamilton getting the penalty. A race in which he was unlucky to finish 6th was mirrored by his team-mate who no doubt went home thinking if lady luck was on his side he would have gone home with the trophy.
Jenson Button had split the red bulls at the start of the grid and after pitting for his first stop he flew out the traps and took full advantage of a mix-up in the red bull garage which saw Button fly in the middle stint of the race into a commanding lead, but for some unknown reason Mclaren saw the need to pit him for a second time which in hindsight ruined his race as soon after he pitted the safety car was deployed and Button found himself 3rd. To his knowledge though he thought Vettel, who pitted only on the 16th lap, and Alonso who had his second stop on lap 34 would need to stop again because of the wear on the tyres. He was proved wrong, Vettel had somehow managed to preserve his tyres up until the 72nd lap where a big pile up where Alguersari and Petrov crashed out, Petrov ending up being hospitalised, and the race was stopped under a red flag but the race was to restart and Vettel and Alonso were both able to change tyres and then finish the race 1st and 2nd.
But a day which saw strategies the key to finding track positions saw sides like Sauber with Kobayashi, Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Pastor Maldonado in the Williams all used the safety cars to their full advantage and even though at the very end Maldonado collided with Hamilton and span into the barriers and Sutil was at the front of the pile up which caused the red flag Kobayashi was able to hold his nerve and finish a well deserved 5th place, no doubt in tribute to his team-mate Sergio Perez who was unable to make the grid due to his concussion.
The race was a real tribute to Formula 1 racing and even though there was some casualties, we saw some of the best contest across the field: the tightest finish for the top three, Hamilton's desire to get through the pack, the smaller sides jumping up the field to show they are here to challenge in Formula 1.
Monte Carlo has produced some amazing memories for every Formula 1 fan and for me this is going to be my amazing memory of Formula 1.
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