| Hamilton keen to avoid more mistakes • Briton anxious to avoid repeat of Italian grand prix• The 2008 world champion stays positiveLewis Hamilton knows he cannot afford another DNF against his name if he is to be crowned Formula One world champion for a second time.The McLaren driver's first-lap crash in the Italian grand prix at Monza on Sunday was the second occasion in the last three races he had failed to see the chequered flag, sandwiching his victory in Belgium.It means Hamilton now heads into the final five grands prix of a five-way battle for the title trailing the new championship leader Mark Webber by five points.Another "did not finish", however, could ultimately prove too costly as he said: "I've had two non-finishes and one win in the last three races. While that's not bad, it does mean that I lost points to some of the other drivers in the hunt for the title, and those results aren't enough to get me the title."I'll keep pushing. I'll take each race as it comes, but I'll also be making sure I get to the finish of the next five races – that's more important than anything."Despite running over the left rear wheel of Felipe Massa's Ferrari at Monza that broke the front right suspension of his McLaren, the team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, stated afterwards that he could see no reason for Hamilton to change his all-guns-blazing approach.Hamilton is the kind of driver who always rides a rollercoaster of results over the course of a season, as has been epitomised by the last three grands prix.Appreciating Whitmarsh's comments, Hamilton said: "It's nice to hear about the support you get. But in other ways it actually goes without saying as I couldn't really ask for more support from my team. I know they're always behind me."You feel like you've let the team down when you have a bad result, so I'll be fighting harder than ever for the rest of the season."The 2008 world champion has already consigned Sunday's incident to the past, knowing he cannot afford to dwell on his mistake, albeit extracting everything positive in his quest to repeat his feat of two years ago."It's not the first time my race has ended on the first lap, and it probably won't be the last, unfortunately," said Hamilton. "In bad situations, and they've happened to me before in my career, you need to soak up all the lessons that need learning."You absorb that information, put the bad experience to one side, use the benefits and just move on. I got up on Monday morning and I was already focused on the next race, improving the car, and closing in on the world championship. You can't dwell on the negatives, we are still in a good position, and we need to capitalise on that."Lewis HamiltonMcLarenFormula OneMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Sebastian Coe believes the Delhi Games will be a relative success • Coe has vested interest in recovery of Commonwealth Games• 'I think athletes and spectators will fall in love with India'Lord Coe is confident the Commonwealth Games in Delhi will be a success despite last week's chaos in his family's home city. Coe, the chairman of the London 2012 Olympics, has many relatives in Delhi – his mother was half-Indian – and he believes the Games can strike a blow for cities and countries that do not have a history of staging major events.Coe has visited the venues in the Indian capital recently and, having gauged the reaction of athletes arriving in Delhi, he is confident the Games can recover from last week when several teams came close to pulling out due to "filthy" conditions in the athletes' village and safety fears, and a number of individual competitors did so.He said: "I believe that they are going to be a success and I say that with a little bit of self-interest because half my family live in Delhi, I'm half-Indian and I'm very proud the Commonwealth Games are going to be in that country. I think when athletes and spectators get there they will find it an extremely hospitable environment and I think they will fall in love with India. I really want this to work and I see no reason why ultimately it shouldn't."Caster Semenya will be fit for the Games despite fears that an injury might force her withdrawal. South Africa's world 800m champion has shown good signs of improvement since returning from an 11-month ban in mid-July. Her impressive development led to her recall by Athletics South Africa for the Games in Delhi, but a reported back injury has been cast aside by her coach. "She had a slight pain in the back, but the issue has been blown slightly out of proportion," Michael Seme said. "She's going to be 100% fit. We are training and will be there."The news will be greeted with relief by Team South Africa, who have more serious concerns over the fitness of the men's 800m world champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and the long jumper Khotso Mokoena.Sebastian CoeCommonwealth Games 2010guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Biffle claims win in Kansas as Johnson takes over points lead Greg Biffle is back in the title hunt, and Jimmie Johnson has resumed his normal spot atop the NASCAR leaderboard. Kansas Speedway once again ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Yankees rally in 8th, beat Texas in ALCS opener By STEPHEN HAWKINS 2010-10-16T11:07:03ZARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- A chopper by Brett Gardner with a headfirst slide into first base, and the New York Yankees were rallying again.... hosted.ap.org |
Mathieu Bastareaud dropped by France and told to improve his fitness • Lack of training has piled on the pounds• Coach says he's counting on centre for World CupMathieu Bastareaud has been left out of France's squad for next month's home Tests and warned by the coach Marc Lièvremont to improve his fitness or he will miss out on the 2011 World Cup. The player was a starting centre during this year's Six Nations grand slam campaign.Lièvremont said he is counting on Bastareaud for the New Zealand event but wants the midfielder to improve his condition by training more consistently. "It would be sad if a guy like Mathieu doesn't travel with us at the World Cup," Lièvremont said. "It's been one year now that we are trying to make him understand, but he doesn't do enough to be competitive in an event like the World Cup."Despite strong performances with his club in the Top 14, the powerfully built Bastareaud has been punished for his lack of training, which has led to extra weight. Lièvremont picked Dimitri Szarzewski in his squad of 31 even though the hooker risks a lengthy ban following a headbutting incident.Szarzewski has a disciplinary case pending after headbutting Toulon's Jean-Philippe Genevois in a league match last weekend. The French league's disciplinary commission will decide on his case on 8 November. "He risks a suspension but hopefully the commission will show him clemency," Lièvremont said.France play Fiji on 13 November in Nantes, followed by games against Argentina in Montpellier and Australia at the Stade de France.France squadForwards Thomas Domingo, Luc Ducalcon, Nicolas Mas, Jérôme Schuster, Guilhem Guirado, William Servat, Dimitri Szarzewski, Romain Millo-Chluski, Lionel Nallet, Pascal Papé, Julien Pierre, Julien Bonnaire, Sébastien Chabal, Thierry Dusautoir, Imanol Harinordoquy, Alexandre Lapandry, Fulgence Ouedraogo.Backs Morgan Parra, Dimitri Yachvili, Damien Traille, François Trinh-Duc, Fabrice Estebanez, Yannick Jauzion, David Marty, Aurélien Rougerie, Marc Andreu, Julien Arias, Yoan Huget, Maxime Médard, Alexis Palisson, Jérôme Porical.France rugby union teamRugby unionAutumn internationalsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |