BUDAPEST, Hungary: Sebastian Vettel considered retiring from Formula One for quite some time before finally announcing Thursday this season will be his last.
The German, who joined Instagram on Wednesday, used the platform one day later to announce he plans to spend more time with his family and work on causes close to his heart.
Vettel won his four F1 titles from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull, but his last victory was with Ferrari in 2019. His best finish this season with Aston Martin is sixth.
“I feel that obviously this decision has been in my head for so long now, and has taken so much energy to be honest, and maybe even at times distracted me,” he said Thursday. “There was a lot of thought leading into this. I think it’s the right time for me to do other things.
“So much dedication means also a lot of time spent in your head, in your thoughts, but also physically away from home, from kids, family,” added the 35-year-old. “I’ve grown other things, other than the children who are growing, it’s other interests and views. I can’t ignore these voices.”
He has been increasingly outspoken on environmental issues.
“It’s one of the one of the factors that definitely played a role,” he added. “I understand that part of my passion, my job is coming with things that I’m not a fan of, obviously, traveling the world, racing cars, burning resources. Once you see these things, and once you’re aware, then I don’t think you can really unsee.”
Vettel has won 53 races, the third-highest total in F1 behind Lewis Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (91). He won an F1 record 13 races in 2013.
Vettel became the youngest world champion at 23 in 2010 and later became the third driver to win four consecutive championships after F1 greats Juan Miguel Fangio and Schumacher, his idol. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has since won four straight.
Vettel’s title bids with Ferrari were unsuccessful after promising starts were undone by driver errors. He led the standings at the midway point in 2017 and was in contention the following year, only to lose both championships to Hamilton. He crashed from pole at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2017 and swerved off track into the barriers when comfortably leading the rain-soaked German Grand Prix the following year.
He was stunned when Ferrari did not renew his contract after he struggled to compete alongside newcomer Charles Leclerc in 2019, and again in 2020.
“It’s sad. Obviously it’s going to be strange not to see Seb in the paddock,” Leclerc said. “I arrived the first year and I was probably very weird to him because I was just shy and didn’t know what to say. Now he’s a friend and he always texts me.”
Along with Hamilton, Vettel has also been increasingly vocal about human rights conditions in countries where F1 races.
“I am tolerant and feel we all have the same rights to love, no matter what we look like, where we come from and who we love,” he said.
His stance on protecting the environment has also escalated. At the Austrian GP in Spielberg three weeks ago, he wore a T-shirt with “Save the Bees” written on it. At the Canadian GP in June he had the message, “Stop mining tar sands. Canada’s climate crime,” written on his race helmet.
“I feel we live in very decisive times and how we all shape these next years will determine our lives. My passion comes with certain aspects that I have learned to dislike,” Vettel said. “They might be solved in the future but the will to apply that change has to grow much, much stronger and has to be leading to action.”
Vettel’s team is sponsored by Saudi state oil firm Aramco.
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez understood Vettel’s decision.
“It’s extremely personal. It’s how you feel and what you want to do,” the 32-year-old Mexican driver said. “You put other priorities in place and you are not willing to pay the price of being an F1 driver.”
Vettel’s former Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo said F1 will miss Vettel.
“You’re losing a bit of a legend of the sport,” Ricciardo said.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. and George Russell of Mercedes praised Vettel’s endearing human side.
“Everyone in the paddock loves him and you will hear anything saying a bad word about Seb,” Sainz said. “I hope we will see him back helping the sport in some of the ways he’s been very vocal about.”
Russell called Vettel “such an inspiration” and will miss the meetings when Vettel spoke up for drivers.
“You do learn how much general knowledge he has, how much F1 knowledge,” Russell said. “It is quite inspiring to see. Above all he’s just a great bloke, a great human being.”
World champion Max Verstappen praised another of Vettel’s achievements: growing his new-look, floppy, surfer’s hairstyle.
“It grew back magically,” Verstappen said. “I wish I had that.”
4-time F1 champion Vettel felt like retiring for a long time
https://arab.news/4awkf
4-time F1 champion Vettel felt like retiring for a long time
- The German, who joined Instagram on Wednesday, used the platform one day later to announce he plans to spend more time with his family
- Vettel won his four F1 titles from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull, but his last victory was with Ferrari in 2019
PSG striker Ousmane Dembélé fit to face Arsenal in Champions League semifinal
- “I have him at my disposal tomorrow,” Enrique said on Tuesday.
- Dembélé was injured during the first leg and rested over the weekend when PSG lost to Strasbourg 2-1 in Ligue 1
PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain striker Ousmane Dembélé has recovered from a slight hamstring problem and will be in the squad taking on Arsenal in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.
Coach Luis Enrique said Dembélé, who scored the winner in PSG’s 1-0 win in London last week, has been training with his teammates for two days.
“I have him at my disposal tomorrow,” Enrique said on Tuesday.
Dembélé was injured during the first leg and rested over the weekend when PSG lost to Strasbourg 2-1 in Ligue 1. Enrique heavily rotated his squad with the match against the Gunners in mind.
Dembélé’s goal against Arsenal was his eighth in nine Champions League appearances since the start of the year.
According to UEFA statistics, PSG have won 18 of the 19 ties in which they won a first leg away, while Arsenal have never overturned a home first leg defeat in European competition, losing all five ties. Enrique, however, isn’t counting on history ahead of the match at the Parc des Princes.
“We’re bound to suffer because our opponents don’t have a favorable result,” Enrique told reporters. “We need to match our performance as closely as possible in the first leg to win the return leg and stay true to our ideas.”
Both teams are looking for a first Champions League title, and second final. PSG lost to Borussia Dortmund at this stage last year. The French side lost to Bayern Munich in their only Champions League final in 2020, while Arsenal were runner-up to Barcelona in 2006.
Jokic-inspired Nuggets stun Thunder, Knicks down Celtics
- The towering three-time NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 22 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in addition to his 42-point tally
- Brunson — the 40-point hero of New York’s series-clinching win over Detroit last week — was once again in superb form as the Knicks climbed out of a 72-52 hole in the third quarter to snatch Game 1 at the TD Garden
LOS ANGELES: Aaron Gordon scored a last-gasp three-pointer and Nikola Jokic produced a 42-point masterpiece as the Denver Nuggets stunned the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 in a dramatic NBA Western Conference semifinal series opener on Monday.
Nuggets forward Gordon drained a 25-foot effort from outside the arc with four seconds remaining to snatch victory against a Thunder lineup who had led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder continued to lead by double digits for much of the fourth quarter, but saw their advantage evaporate after 18 points from Serbian star Jokic in the final frame.
The towering three-time NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 22 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in addition to his 42-point tally.
Oklahoma City were left ruing two missed free throws from forward Chet Holmgren with 10 seconds remaining with his team defending a slender 119-118 lead.
Those misses proved costly, with Denver rebounding and launching the final offensive raid that ended with Gordon’s winning three-pointer.
Denver interim coach David Adelman paid tribute to the all-round effectiveness of Gordon, who finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
“I’m looking at ball-handling, responsibilities, leadership — he is a Denver Nugget, the soul of our team,” Adelman said. “So cool to see him have a moment like that.”
Gordon said the Nuggets’ calmness under pressure had helped them close out the win.
“A lot of guys stepped up,” he said. “We had poise and a belief that we were going to win no matter the circumstances.”
Gordon and Jokic were backed by 21 points from Jamal Murray and 18 points from Russell Westbrook.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, with Alex Caruso scoring 20 off the bench after shooting five three-pointers.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series takes place on Wednesday.
In the Eastern Conference semifinals, a pulsating battle in Boston saw the New York Knicks dig deep to edge past the reigning champion Celtics 108-105 after Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby scored 29 points apiece for New York.
Brunson — the 40-point hero of New York’s series-clinching win over Detroit last week — was once again in superb form as the Knicks climbed out of a 72-52 hole in the third quarter to snatch Game 1 at the TD Garden.
Brunson’s 29 points included five-of-nine from three-point range, with Anunoby pouring in six three-pointers in his 29-point haul.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum led Boston’s scoring with 23 points apiece on a miserable shooting night for the Celtics, who missed 45 three-point attempts — the most ever missed threes in a playoff game.
“It was a great team win,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
“We started well, then we fell into a hole and then we fought our way out and then we made tough plays down the stretch,” Thibodeau added.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said lax defense in the second half cost his team dearly.
“We left some of their good shooters open,” Mazzulla said. “There’s detail stuff that we have to be better at.”
Brown, who shot only seven-of-20 from the field and made only one-of-10 attempted three-pointers, said the Celtics would not get hung up on their wayward shooting night as they prepare for game two in Boston on Wednesday.
“We had a historic night of missed three-pointers,” Brown acknowledged. “We’ll take a look and kind of see what the energy was.
“In reality you’ve got to have a short-term memory — throw it away and get ready for game two.
“We don’t have time to let stuff carry over.”
Jannik Sinner all set for Rome Open after doping ban
- Sinner was welcomed back to action on Monday by thousands of fans who watched his first training session at the tournament on center court at the Foro Italico
- Sinner: I’m very happy, happy to be back here. It has been a very long, long three months
MILAN: Jannik Sinner is the star of the show at the upcoming Rome Open as the world No. 1 and Italian tennis hero gears up for his return to the courts after a contested doping ban.
Away from the game since agreeing a suspension with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in February, Sinner was welcomed back to action on Monday by thousands of fans who watched his first training session at the tournament on center court at the Foro Italico.
Such is the interest in Sinner, who has become a national hero in Italy since rising to the top of the men’s game, that Sky Sport broadcast the practice match with world No. 38 Jiri Lehecka live on television.
All eyes will be on the 23-year-old as he hasn’t swung a racket since retaining his Australian Open title in January, a victory which took his Grand Slam tally to three.
“I’m very happy, happy to be back here. It has been a very long, long three months,” Sinner told reporters in a packed conference room inside the center court.
Fans in Rome have waited two years to see Sinner play their clay court tournament after he missed last year’s edition, won by Alexander Zverev, with injury.
It is on a surface which is not his favorite and his rustiness was clear to see on Monday.
Only one of Sinner’s 19 titles has come on clay, in Umag back in 2022, the same year as his best result in Rome, a quarter-final exit at the hands of beaten finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.
However he does have some time before he finally takes to the court, his status as the top-ranked player on the men’s tour allowing him a bye into the second round which starts on Friday.
Sinner has been fortunate that none of his rivals took advantage of his enforced pause, with second-ranked Zverev still almost 2,000 points behind the man who beat him in the Australian Open final.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz is yet to arrive in Rome after withdrawing from the Madrid Open while Novak Djokovic will have to wait a bit longer for his 100th ATP title after deciding to sit out a tournament he has won six times.
Sinner is eyeing a run at the French Open, the second Slam of the season which follows the Rome tournament.
“My objective is Roland Garros, I’m here to see what level I’m at,” said Sinner.
“I’m not here to beat whoever, but to get past the second round and then see what happens.”
Sinner’s rise to the top of the game in 2024, when he won eight titles including his first two Slams and the ATP Finals, was dogged by the controversy which followed his two positive tests for traces of clostebol in March last year.
He said last month he hit “rock bottom” at the most recent Australian Open, saying he felt like other players “looked at me differently.”
Sinner was aggrieved as he feels he did nothing wrong, and WADA said explicitly he “did not intend to cheat,” accepting he was contaminated by his physiotherapist using a spray containing the banned substance to treat a cut before providing a massage.
Regardless, he also had to accept the three-month ban offered by WADA, rather than risk being forced out of tennis for two years just as he became the dominant force in men’s tennis.
“I didn’t want to do it in the beginning. It was a bit not easy for me to accept it because I know what really happened,” said Sinner.
“But sometimes you have to choose the best in a very bad moment. And that’s what we did. It’s all over now, so I’m happy to play again.”
Milan clinch 2-1 win with two quick-fire goals in rainy Genoa clash
- The result keep Milan at ninth place with 57 points, six points behind fourth-placed Juventus
- Milan completed the turnaround when Genoa midfielder Frendrup, attempting to clear a short cross, inadvertently tapped the ball into his own net
GENOA: AC Milan secured a 2-1 victory over Genoa in a rainy Monday Serie A clash, with a rapid second-half turnaround driven by Rafael Leao’s equalizer and an own goal from Morten Frendrup.
The result keep Milan at ninth place with 57 points, six points behind fourth-placed Juventus, who occupy the last Champions League spot, with three rounds remaining.
With crucial back-to-back clashes against Bologna looming — first in the league followed by the Coppa Italia final — Milan appeared passive for much of the match, lacking urgency and creativity until a late surge turned the tide.
“We always try to improve. We work on individual and group levels. We work a lot,” Milan manager Sergio Conceicao told reporters.
“The players responded well, which shows we have a group that believes in what we do at Milanello (Milan training ground). I’m pleased with that.”
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was the stand out performer in a first half largely dominated by Genoa, making several crucial saves to keep his side level at the break.
Milan began to find their rhythm late in the first half and nearly took the lead just before the break, but Christian Pulisic was denied at point-blank range by a sharp save from Genoa keeper Nicola Leali.
The second half started in a largely uninspired fashion, with the relentless downpour proving more consistent than the football, as play was frequently halted for injury treatments.
Vitinha, introduced only a minute earlier, made an instant impact in the 61st minute, drifting into space inside the box and smashing home a perfectly delivered cross with his first touch to put Genoa in front.
Quick turnaround
A fortunate equalizer from Leao came in the 76th minute, when a low cross from the byline by Santiago Gimenez wrong-footed the Genoa defense and found the Portuguese forward unmarked in the box; his shot took a deflection off Genoa’s Brooke Norton-Cuffy before nestling in the net to level the score.
Less than two minutes later, Milan completed the turnaround when Genoa midfielder Frendrup, attempting to clear a short cross, inadvertently tapped the ball into his own net.
In stoppage time, Milan nearly added a third when Leao fired a powerful effort that Leali was forced to parry away from danger.
“In terms of our game plan, we could’ve done better in possession during the first half. We played against a tough team on a tough pitch. Credit to the opponent — but we could have looked for depth more,” Conceicao said.
“On the goal we conceded, collectively, we could have done more.”
Nottingham Forest draws at Crystal Palace as Champions League hopes fade
- A win at Selhurst Park would have brought them equal with Chelsea and Newcastle but one point means it stays in sixth
LONDON: Nottingham Forest drew with Crystal Palace 1-1 in the Premier League on Monday and saw its Champions League hopes fade.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s men have spent most of the year in the league top three but a run of one win in four has dropped them behind Chelsea, Newcastle and a resurgent Manchester City.
A win at Selhurst Park would have brought them equal with Chelsea and Newcastle but one point means it stays in sixth, with the top five qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Neither team was able to take control of a sometimes scrappy match that saw eight names go in the referee’s book.
Palace took the lead with a penalty kick after an hour. After a video review, Matz Sels was adjudged to have felled Tyrick Mitchell and Eberechi Eze made no mistake from the spot.
Forest bounced right back within four minutes, Murillo doing enough to deflect a goal-bound shot from Neco Williams away from the keeper.
Eze hitting the woodwork in the dying seconds and Eddie Nketiah having a goal disallowed for offside in stoppage time meant FA Cup finalist Palace has not won any of its last five league games.
