 | Alonso targets idol Senna’s title haul
22 September 2012
|
| 
Singapore: Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso set his sights on matching Ayrton Senna’s career haul of three world titles after equalling his boyhood idol’s number of podium finishes.
The Spaniard finished third two weeks ago in Italy to claim his 80th podium spot, putting him level with the late Brazilian legend.
He said he could scarcely believe his achievement after growing up with Senna posters on his bedroom wall. Only Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost have climbed the podium more times.
“I feel extremely proud,” Alonso said, ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix. “When you equal some numbers of Ayrton Senna it’s always quite a big thing, especially for me.
“I always followed his races, I had his cars, I had his poster in my room so when you have the same (number of) podiums as him it’s something you can’t believe.”
But Alonso also said he had a bigger target in mind: clinching his third drivers’ title, which would put him level with Senna’s wins in 1988, 1990 and 1991.
Alonso, who won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, leads the championship by 37 points with seven races to go, starting with Sunday’s night race through downtown Singapore.
“Everything is going well in my career, I feel very well, very happy and I hope to reach more important numbers of Senna,” he said with a smile.
Lewis Hamilton is known to favour the tight, challenging Singapore street course. © AFP
However, Alonso acknowledged that McLaren were favourites for this weekend’s race after winning the last three races, including two victories for Lewis Hamilton who now lies second in the standings.
Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen and defending world champion Sebastian Vettel are both within two points of Hamilton, with Red Bull’s Mark Webber also within touching distance.
“Everybody’s strong at the moment and everybody’s a contender. So there are still five or six drivers that can fight for the title,” Alonso said.
“Lewis is a strong rival — I’ve been saying since February that Lewis is the one I respect the most, because I know what he can do with good cars and bad cars, and he’s (lying) second.”
He added: “McLaren have won the last three races and they’re again favourite for this one so we need to stop hopefully this dominant position.”
Hamilton is known to favour the tight, challenging Singapore street course, which has 23 turns as it snakes through the tropical Asian city’s spectacular harbour front.
Sunday’s race will be preceded by a minute’s applause for safety pioneer Sid Watkins, who died this month. His innovations are credited with helping keep Formula One free of fatal accidents since Ayrton Senna’s crash in 1994. | | See Also in Sports News
|
|  Liverpool manager’s son found not guilty
25 May 2013
LONDON: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers voiced his family’s relief after his footballer son Anton was cleared Friday in a sex case at England’s central criminal court.
Anton Rodgers, 20, and three Brighton team-mates were found not guilty of sexual assault and voyeurism.
The retrial, at the Old Bailey in London, followed an earlier trial in which a jury could not agree verdicts.
Brendan Rodgers said: “The last 18 months have been extremely traumatic for us as a family, but we are ... Full Story |  Chaotic end as Giro hit by snow, doping positive
25 May 2013
VAL MARTELLO, Italy: The 96th edition of the Giro d’Italia is facing a chaotic finale as wintry weather in the Dolomites forced the cancellation of Friday’s stage and changes to Saturday’s final day in the high mountains.
Despite the white-out, it proved something of a black Friday for organisers who woke to the news that 2007 race winner Danilo Di Luca was out of the race after reportedly testing positive for the banned blood booster EPO (erythrpoietin).
Amid unseasonably cold conditions ... Full Story |  Champions League: Bayern, Dortmund eye glory in historic final
25 May 2013
LONDON: The home of English football will reverberate to the roar of German voices tonight when Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund collide at Wembley Stadium in the first all-Bundesliga final in Champions League history.
It is only two years since Barcelona confirmed their status as Europe’s pre-eminent side by outclassing Manchester United in the same arena to win the 2011 tournament, but the way that Bayern and Dortmund have torn through this season’s competition suggests a new continental ... Full Story | |
|
|
|
