| Button and Hamilton rue Monza errors • Button finishes second behind Fernando Alonso at Monza• Team principal blames Hamilton aggression for crashMcLaren left Italy tonight cursing the mistakes that could cost Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button dearly in the world title race.While Button finished second behind Fernando Alonso at the Italian grand prix, his first podium place in five races, the world champion was left frustrated after two crucial errors by his team denied him victory. His team-mate, meanwhile, crashed out on the fourth corner of the first lap as he lost the leadership of the drivers' championship. He later admitted that mistakes like that could lose him the title."I put my car up the inside and tried to get third – it was obviously a little bit too much. It's my fault. I take the blame," Hamilton said. "I'm very disappointed in myself and sorry for the team. I've got to try to collect my thoughts and move on to the next race. The championship is not over, but it's mistakes like I made today that lose world championships. It did not go according to plan. These things happen. You can't always be perfect."I feel like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time – not too aggressive. There was a small gap and I ran out of room. It is a racing incident. In hindsight I should not have been in that position."It would have been easy to have got fourth today. I have to apologise to the team. We were strong here, just not as strong as we expected. But we are still in the hunt for the championship."Button led for much of the race after a flying start but was let down twice by his team. The first mistake was to go into the pits ahead of Alonso and the second was the time taken to change his tyres. He said tonight "We obviously thought it was the right decision to come in a lap earlier – but looking now I don't think it was the right call. I don't feel it worked for us today. But we got a good result and hopefully we will be as strong as this in Singapore."McLaren's team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, said: "Jenson did a fantastic job. It was a great, great race by him. We could have made a better pit stop but it is fractions of a second and it nearly came off."Defending the decision to bring Button in, to change from soft to hard tyres, he said: "I think it was the right decision. The cars which went on to the prime tyre were quicker and so were we. We would have liked them to have stopped at the same time but that would have been a dumb thing for [Ferrari] to have done."Of Hamilton, Whitmarsh said: "I went in to see him [after the race]. I knew he had been in for some time and I went in to get him out after he had had time to reflect on it. The important thing is that Lewis jumps out of bed tomorrow, gets into training and focuses on Singapore. He wants to do the job better and he will."When he was asked if Hamilton had shown too much aggression, he said: "Viewed from the slo-mo in the armchair ... yes. Viewed from the driving seat, Lewis would not be the great racing driver he is if he did not go for it. That's what he did and with hindsight he wishes he had not gone for it quite as much, and so do we. You have to go out and race. But you break a trackrod and it's game over."Meanwhile Alonso, who won the race to cries of "Stupendi" from his garage, said: "Most of the thanks for the win is to the mechanics."The pit stop felt so quick. I stopped, they changed tyres and there was a green light. I didn't even have first gear in."endsRace report, page 8 McLarenJenson ButtonLewis HamiltonFormula OneMotor sportPaul Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
UTSA inks three-game football pact with Cowboys Officials with the University of Texas at San Antonio say the upstart Roadrunners football program has reached an agreement with the Oklahoma State Cowboys on a three-game series that will begin in 2013 when the team visits the Alamodome. feeds.bizjournals.com |
One hundred British hopefuls for 2012: Dai Greene 400m hurdles"I started training for the season a year ago today on 1 October 2009 and I trained all the way through to [the European Championships in] Barcelona. I could feel myself getting faster and stronger as the weeks went by and it's a fantastic feeling when you improve your times week on week. All that work was made worthwhile when I crossed the line in the European Championships and won the gold medal."I'm based at the University of Bath but we went away in January to Stellenbosch in South Africa and spent three weeks there in a UK Athletics training camp. That broke up the monotony of going to the same venue every day and then we went away to Italy in April to sharpen up for the start of the season."It's been very nice to hear [the head of UK Athletics] Charles van Commenee making positive comments about me and [fellow 400m hurdles competitor] Rhys Williams and our coach Malcolm Arnold has also expressed such confidence in our ability. Charles doesn't mix his words, he says exactly what he thinks and feels."I've been racing against guys from the United States and Jamaica so I'm very conscious of where I stand on the world stage. I've managed to build my world ranking this year and I've consistently been faster. I feel I've moved on to the next level. So while I am incredibly focused on Delhi, the World Championships next year are the biggest test and a great chance for me to make amends for what I thought was a poor final in 2009."I think I'll be a little bit stronger next year and I'm really excited about 2011. That's the thing when you feel you're improving, you're always looking forward to the next thing and I think I've reached a new level of competitiveness with the world's best and all I want to do is step on the track and race against them."BiographyBorn 11 April 1986, LlanelliEducated Degree in sport and leisure management from UWICFavourite film Gladiator. I think it's a fantastic storyline and so much action it keeps you constantly entertained.Favourite book I haven't got a favourite book but I just buy a thriller every few weeks and get through them.Favourite band Muse. I've never been to a concert or festival. I've never seen the appeal of it but one day I'll probably go to one and it will change my mind completely and I'll see what I've been missing.Outside athletics I ... Watch football – I was in Swansea City's youth team when I was younger and I'm still a huge fan of the game and Manchester United in particular. I can't get there much but most Saturdays are spent checking the TV or the internet for results.Training"In training I'm trying to improve all aspects not just concentrating on one specific thing. The best 400m hurdlers are a little bit faster than me over 200m – they can run about 20.3sec whereas I would be limited to 21sec flat really – so that speed is the main area I need to work on but I cannot afford to neglect the other areas. I have got faster this year without concentrating solely on that – it's just I'm a year more experienced and better conditioned so it's been a natural progression as a result of all the work. It's vital that it continues next year."Key statisticsMajor honoursEuropean Championships gold (400m hurdles) 2010, World Championships silver (4x400m relay) 2009Olympic recordNo previous experiencePersonal best400m hurdles 47.88sec2009 recordWorld ranking: 7Best time: 48.23sec2010 recordWorld ranking: 6Best time: 47.88secWorld rankings1 Bershawn Jackson (US) 47.32sec2 Johnny Dutch (US) 47.63sec3 Javier Culson (Puerta Rico) 47.72sec4 Angelo Taylor (US) 47.79sec5 Kerron Clement (US) 47.86sec6 Dai Greene (GB) 47.88secMain 2012 rivalsBerswahn JacksonAge 27Bronze medalist in the 2009 World Championships and 2008 Olympics but has run consistently fast times in 2010Javier CulsonAge 26The 200 Olympic silver medallist will be looking to go one better in 2012Olympic countdown4-6 Mar 2010European Indoor ChampionshipsParis, France18-19 Jun 2010European Team ChampionshipsStockholm, Swede27 Aug – 4 Sep 2010IAAF World ChampionshipsDaegu, South KoreaIn numbers47.82secKriss Akabusi's British record for the 400m hurdles.8The number of Olympic medals British men have won in the 400m hurdles (2 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze).46.78secThe current 400m hurdles world record held by Kevin Young (US) run at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.Athleticsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Anheuser-Busch renews Blue Jackets sponsorship Anheuser-Busch has renewed its sponsorship of the Columbus (Ohio) Blue Jackets hockey team. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Meriweather sorry for his hit on Heap By JIMMY GOLEN 2010-10-20T19:31:34ZFOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Brandon Meriweather says he's sorry for his helmet-on-helmet hit on Todd Heap, and the New England Patriots safety promised Wednesday to "play within the rules" from now on.... hosted.ap.org |