Category Sports News

After coming back from 12th place on the grid to finish fourth in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton asserts that Ferrari has “more to come” from them.

The tifosi, a seven-time champion, described the race as “a highlight of the year so far” and claimed there were “lots of positives to take” from it.

He finished ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who finished sixth for the first time this year.

The team did a fantastic job of strategy and pit stops, and the setup was fantastic. The car felt fantastic.

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves because of our ongoing struggles with the car this year, and especially because of our qualifying.

“I can’t recall the last time I participated in a race like that as it progressed.” There was undoubtedly one last year, but this one was unique because I drove a red car. It was a really wonderful feeling to finally feel that way about the car.

Hamilton began on the hard tyre, ran long, and was then assisted by two safety cars before moving on. For the final restart, he moved up to seventh place and started in his final position.

When I got on the medium tyres and a great call at the end, Hamilton said, “Bit by bit strategy started to work out and the car really came alive.”

The 40-year-old British driver said that this was his first time racing in Italy.

He said, “It was just really very reminiscent of when I was growing up watching it sitting at home on my couch, having a bacon sandwich, watching Michael Schumacher here racing with Ferrari and seeing the connection.”

“It was quite an incredible feeling to realize that I’m now connected to them in one of the two Ferraris.” It’s unbelievable how passionate I am about it.

Hamilton’s best qualifying result of the year so far in a grand prix came despite Ferrari’s worst qualifying result of the year, with Leclerc and Hamilton starting 11th and 11th.

Hamilton was considering the famed race on the streets of the principality ahead of F1’s scheduled Monaco weekend.

“Getting the tires to work in one lap will still be a question.” I believe we could be in a good position if that is resolved next week, he said.

Leclerc, who won in Monaco last year, fears that a “very difficult weekend” will result from the Ferrari’s weakness in slow-speed corners.

He claimed that “Monaco is exposing quite a few weaknesses of our car.”

Leclerc continued, “I don’t believe the situation we are in is a silver bullet.” Simply put, we need to work and try to understand where this qualifying issue originates. The Saturdays are what are currently causing us to slow down.

It’s obvious that we are attempting to get the most out of the Saturday car, according to team principal Frederic Vasseur. What we didn’t improve on the qualifying set-up the previous two weekends.

As Chelsea’s players celebrated at Wembley, a treble complete and an unbeaten domestic season intact, they draped flags around their shoulders displaying the word “unrivalled”.

They strolled up the steps to collect their winners’ medals and lift the Women’s FA Cup trophy aloft, dancing in front of new £20m investor Alexis Ohanian and waving to family members in the stands and on the pitch below.

Their mission was complete. Domestic dominance was achieved and they have indeed been unrivalled.

For manager Sonia Bompastor, her debut season at the club could not have gone much better.

Words, she says, cannot describe her feelings, but she gave an indication of them when she threw her arms in the air and roared when Catarina Macario scored the second goal in their 3-0 victory over Manchester United.

The gap was evident on Sunday as Chelsea outshone Manchester United in almost every department.

Deeper squad depth, more experience, physicality in midfield and a ruthlessness in the key moments helped Chelsea stroll across the line to complete the treble.

They soaked up a period of United pressure early on, clearing away successive corner deliveries, before eventually imposing themselves.

Scotland midfielder Erin Cuthbert won almost every duel in midfield, Mayra Ramirez and Aggie Beever-Jones ran confidently at United’s defence and Sandy Baltimore was calm and composed from the penalty spot to make it 1-0.

United’s response never came – Chelsea did not allow it – and as the substitutions rolled out, Bompastor’s side only got stronger.

“Even if I have a lot of experience in my squad, sometimes you stress a little bit and it’s OK to have the pressure, but when it’s too high you don’t start the way you want to,” Bompastor said as she reflected on a difficult opening 10 minutes.

“But after that, we were confident enough to turn things around and we were the better team. We were stronger I think and deserved to win the game.”

Chelsea’s depth allowed them to switch things up. They set up with a less familiar back three and played Baltimore higher up the pitch.

Having tried it successfully against Liverpool in their final WSL match, Bompastor said they made small tweaks to improve it and had focused purely on the new system from Tuesday to Saturday, specifically on “how they could hurt United”.

United boss Marc Skinner said he changed his formation three times in the game to combat it but it was not enough – individually, Chelsea were better.

It is Chelsea’s second domestic treble but arguably their greatest season, given it was achieved having gone unbeaten.

Their last one came in 2021 under former manager Emma Hayes but, with the FA Cup final delayed a year because of Covid, two of the trophies were won the season before.

As well as stepping into the shoes of Hayes – who had been at the club for 12 years – Bompastor had to develop her English to aid communication, help her four children adapt to new schools and compete in a new league in a different country.

Former England striker Ellen White said many expected Chelsea “to need a transition period” for Bompastor to implement her style.

The style will come, but the results already have.

“What they’ve achieved this season is phenomenal. Everything’s come together in Bompastor’s first season,” White told BBC One.

“Winning the treble and going unbeaten is extraordinary. Chelsea’s mentality has been phenomenal. The squad depth is unrivalled. It’s mind-blowing.

“It takes a special person to be able to manage those egos and have the communication.

“What’s special about Bompastor is she has been a player, she knows how it works, she’s a proven winner.”

Chelsea became the first WSL club to go unbeaten in a 22-game campaign and the champions broke their record points tally to do it (60).

Their latest FA Cup win – their sixth in total – was the first under a manager that was not Hayes.

Bompastor is also the first non-British manager to win the Women’s FA Cup since Arsenal’s Spanish manager Pedro Martinez Losa in 2016 – when they beat Chelsea.

Former England midfielder Fara Williams said: “I think the most impressive thing is to keep being able to motivate these players to go on and to continue to win.

“Big players want to play and they have got a massive squad. There’s only one way you keep the squad depth together and that is with good management.

What it means for everyone else is a scary prospect – this is just the start of Chelsea under Bompastor.

It’s a new era, there are new ambitions and there is new investment at Chelsea.

Having smashed the world record transfer fee to sign USA defender Naomi Girma in January, she is likely to become a mainstay in the team next season after recovering from injury and returning to full fitness.

Ohanian’s investment could mean more spending in the summer, while Australia striker Sam Kerr is still to return following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

They are still chasing an elusive maiden Champions League trophy – having been humbled by Barcelona in the semi-finals this season – and that is what is driving them. So are Chelsea only going to get better?

“I mean, that’s our ambition for sure. Maybe everyone is saying ‘Chelsea will run away from the pack in England’ but our goal is to compete against the best in Europe,” said Bompastor.

While Chelsea celebrated with their fans, FA Cup medals around their necks, Bompastor said some had pointed out the missing Champions League trophy.

“What sets them apart from everyone else is they don’t stand still. They always want to move forward,” said White.

“Everyone needs to look at their blueprint and be like ‘how can we reach what they are and bridge that gap?’ This team is phenomenal and they’re going places.”

Manchester United are one of those chasing.

Sunday’s result was proof there is still work to do and manager Skinner knows they cannot compete financially – but what else can they do?

“We have to maximise what we have got. We have to come back fitter, stronger, more aggressive and concentrate more,” he said.

“I still believe this – I think we have the best team spirit in the country. I think I have to go and find the other answers.

“We vastly and quite openly spend less than Chelsea. I won’t rest over the summer. I have to find a way to close that gap but we need investment as well.”

Skinner’s plea for more investment is supported by Bompastor, who said Chelsea will only improve on the European stage if they are pushed by others in England.

“If you have more competition you are able to perform better. This is what we want to be a better team,” she added.

As Chelsea’s players celebrated at Wembley, a treble complete and an unbeaten domestic season intact, they draped flags around their shoulders displaying the word “unrivalled”.

They strolled up the steps to collect their winners’ medals and lift the Women’s FA Cup trophy aloft, dancing in front of new £20m investor Alexis Ohanian and waving to family members in the stands and on the pitch below.

Their mission was complete. Domestic dominance was achieved and they have indeed been unrivalled.

For manager Sonia Bompastor, her debut season at the club could not have gone much better.

Words, she says, cannot describe her feelings, but she gave an indication of them when she threw her arms in the air and roared when Catarina Macario scored the second goal in their 3-0 victory over Manchester United.

The gap was evident on Sunday as Chelsea outshone Manchester United in almost every department.

Deeper squad depth, more experience, physicality in midfield and a ruthlessness in the key moments helped Chelsea stroll across the line to complete the treble.

They soaked up a period of United pressure early on, clearing away successive corner deliveries, before eventually imposing themselves.

Scotland midfielder Erin Cuthbert won almost every duel in midfield, Mayra Ramirez and Aggie Beever-Jones ran confidently at United’s defence and Sandy Baltimore was calm and composed from the penalty spot to make it 1-0.

United’s response never came – Chelsea did not allow it – and as the substitutions rolled out, Bompastor’s side only got stronger.

“Even if I have a lot of experience in my squad, sometimes you stress a little bit and it’s OK to have the pressure, but when it’s too high you don’t start the way you want to,” Bompastor said as she reflected on a difficult opening 10 minutes.

“But after that, we were confident enough to turn things around and we were the better team. We were stronger I think and deserved to win the game.”

Chelsea’s depth allowed them to switch things up. They set up with a less familiar back three and played Baltimore higher up the pitch.

Having tried it successfully against Liverpool in their final WSL match, Bompastor said they made small tweaks to improve it and had focused purely on the new system from Tuesday to Saturday, specifically on “how they could hurt United”.

United boss Marc Skinner said he changed his formation three times in the game to combat it but it was not enough – individually, Chelsea were better.

It is Chelsea’s second domestic treble but arguably their greatest season, given it was achieved having gone unbeaten.

Their last one came in 2021 under former manager Emma Hayes but, with the FA Cup final delayed a year because of Covid, two of the trophies were won the season before.

As well as stepping into the shoes of Hayes – who had been at the club for 12 years – Bompastor had to develop her English to aid communication, help her four children adapt to new schools and compete in a new league in a different country.

Former England striker Ellen White said many expected Chelsea “to need a transition period” for Bompastor to implement her style.

The style will come, but the results already have.

“What they’ve achieved this season is phenomenal. Everything’s come together in Bompastor’s first season,” White told BBC One.

“Winning the treble and going unbeaten is extraordinary. Chelsea’s mentality has been phenomenal. The squad depth is unrivalled. It’s mind-blowing.

“It takes a special person to be able to manage those egos and have the communication.

“What’s special about Bompastor is she has been a player, she knows how it works, she’s a proven winner.”

Chelsea became the first WSL club to go unbeaten in a 22-game campaign and the champions broke their record points tally to do it (60).

Their latest FA Cup win – their sixth in total – was the first under a manager that was not Hayes.

Bompastor is also the first non-British manager to win the Women’s FA Cup since Arsenal’s Spanish manager Pedro Martinez Losa in 2016 – when they beat Chelsea.

Former England midfielder Fara Williams said: “I think the most impressive thing is to keep being able to motivate these players to go on and to continue to win.

“Big players want to play and they have got a massive squad. There’s only one way you keep the squad depth together and that is with good management.

What it means for everyone else is a scary prospect – this is just the start of Chelsea under Bompastor.

It’s a new era, there are new ambitions and there is new investment at Chelsea.

Having smashed the world record transfer fee to sign USA defender Naomi Girma in January, she is likely to become a mainstay in the team next season after recovering from injury and returning to full fitness.

Ohanian’s investment could mean more spending in the summer, while Australia striker Sam Kerr is still to return following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

They are still chasing an elusive maiden Champions League trophy – having been humbled by Barcelona in the semi-finals this season – and that is what is driving them. So are Chelsea only going to get better?

“I mean, that’s our ambition for sure. Maybe everyone is saying ‘Chelsea will run away from the pack in England’ but our goal is to compete against the best in Europe,” said Bompastor.

While Chelsea celebrated with their fans, FA Cup medals around their necks, Bompastor said some had pointed out the missing Champions League trophy.

“What sets them apart from everyone else is they don’t stand still. They always want to move forward,” said White.

“Everyone needs to look at their blueprint and be like ‘how can we reach what they are and bridge that gap?’ This team is phenomenal and they’re going places.”

Manchester United are one of those chasing.

Sunday’s result was proof there is still work to do and manager Skinner knows they cannot compete financially – but what else can they do?

“We have to maximise what we have got. We have to come back fitter, stronger, more aggressive and concentrate more,” he said.

“I still believe this – I think we have the best team spirit in the country. I think I have to go and find the other answers.

“We vastly and quite openly spend less than Chelsea. I won’t rest over the summer. I have to find a way to close that gap but we need investment as well.”

Skinner’s plea for more investment is supported by Bompastor, who said Chelsea will only improve on the European stage if they are pushed by others in England.

“If you have more competition you are able to perform better. This is what we want to be a better team,” she added.

It was unavoidable.

He ended his Foxes career with a goal, his 200th for the club, thirteen years after Leicester City paid £1 million to Fleetwood Town for Jamie Vardy.

People inside King Power Stadium drew breath in anticipation as the ball flew past Alex Palmer before exploding in celebration for a Vardy goal one last time.

No one could have questioned whether this was his day as he raced toward the Ipswich fans, placing a finger over his lips before raising the corner flag.

Vardy said, “I missed a few things before, but once JJ [James Justin] put me through there, I was never going to miss it.”

There was only one place I was going, despite the fact that I was obviously getting the dogs’ abuse from the away fans.

Leicester’s relegation, which occurred during a disappointing season, was briefly forgotten as Vardy dominated the narrative as he so frequently has, and a 500th and final appearance couldn’t have gone much better.

A Champions League quarter-final, a Europa Conference League semi-final, and two Championship titles are all represented by the Premier League. Nobody could have anticipated that he had incorporated himself into Leicester folklore.

After Leicester won 2-0 at home, he said, “It’s been amazing, it’s been a rollercoaster, it really has.”

“But the good news is that there have been way, way, way more highs than lows,” I thank everyone. Never did I believe that we would compete for the title, that we would win it, and that we had a purpose.

There are splits at Leicester and fans unhappy with how the club is run after a second relegation in three seasons, but Vardy has been a lightning rod to unite and propel the club forward in his 13 years of service.

The Foxes need to find a replacement for the 38-year-old former England striker, but it will be difficult to move on from Vardy.

When asked how Leicester would proceed without him, Vardy replied, “They’ll be fine, they’ll be fine.”

“We have a strong squad, and all of the young people are also coming through.” Football is a mental killer, and I couldn’t possibly do it all again, if I’m honest.

Both teams will meet in the Championship next year after being previously relegated, so the game itself was a sideshow.

The tributes to the performer on the left were included in the finale.

Vardy’s name was displayed on the stadium’s roof at either end, and flags on the pitch displayed highlights from his Leicester career, including victories in the Premier League and the FA Cup, as well as celebrations of some of his goals.

The big screens sang “Goodbye to the Goat,” and thousands of supporters waved their own flags with the words “Thank you Vards” emblazoned on them.

Vardy chose to end his Foxes career at 500 games in front of Leicester’s own supporters rather than spending the week playing south of Bournemouth at Bournemouth.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, the manager of Leicester, said, “If you score your 200th goal on your 500th appearance, then you’re a great one.”

He has played for this football team in a special way. We’ll soon realize how important this moment was to us. He also has a story and an edge, and he is a character. He also excels as a captain.

“We were inspired by the win over Southampton and the point against Nottingham Forest to do well for Jamie,” he added. There are some positive things to come at the end of the season.

Wes Morgan, Marc Albrighton, Jeff Schlupp, Danny Drinkwater, and Danny Simpson, the team’s titleholder, sat down to pay their respects after the game, while manager Nigel Pearson, who brought Vardy to the club, also watched.

Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the chairman, embraced him, and the audience montaged Vardy’s accomplishments and memorable moments from his time as he watched on with his family in the center circle.

Before speaking to the audience for the last time, he received a golden fox memento and was also named the club’s player of the year.

When he joined the Foxes in 2012, he was the most expensive non-league player in history.

After scoring five goals in his first season in the Championship, few could have imagined how he would have had an impact on King Power Stadium.

Former teammate Mark Schwarzer remarked, “He was always joking and always working full throttle in everything he did.”

Nobody understood Leicester’s plans to win the 2016 League. He was terrible at training when he first signed up, it seems, when he showed up.

His touch was “horrific,” it was everywhere, and they all wondered, “What have we just signed?” ‘.

Vardy attributed that improvement to minor adjustments. He began drinking three cans of Red Bull, a double espresso, and a cheese and ham omelette with baked beans throughout the day before the game.

Prior to games in the 2015-16 season, he stopped drinking Skittles vodka, which had previously been his favorite tipple, and instead drank port from a Lucozade bottle.

He was the oldest player to ever win the trophy and went on to earn the Premier League’s Golden Boot in 2019-20.

As Leicester’s title-winning coach Claudio Ranieri sailed Vardy as “a fantastic horse” back in 2016 as the Foxes sailed into the Premier League.

The veteran, who was Leicester’s last title winner to leave the King Power Stadium, may not be a thoroughbred any more, but he has been a part of their rise and fall.

“I don’t believe Jim questions need to be asked more.” They stated that their main concern is the game.

The issue was Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a minority owner of United, who had watched his men’s side lose to Chelsea on Friday at Stamford Bridge.

At Wembley, co-chairman Avie Glazer and technical director Jason Wilcox, as well as former chief executive David Gill, sat with chief executive Omar Berrada.

However, it seemed significant that Ratcliffe was absent. He pulls the football operation’s rules from the people in charge. Ratcliffe did not appear in the women’s team because Serena Williams was moving through the mixed zone towards the victors’ dressing room 15 minutes after Millie Bright had won the trophy.

When the TV cameras caught her during the game, Williams did not appear overly engaged. However, her husband, Alexis Ohanian, was unaware that he had just invested £20 million in the Chelsea women’s team, giving him an 8 to 10% stake in the club.

Naturally, Skinner was being asked why Ratcliffe wasn’t there. He continued to say that he was unaware.

It’s not his thing in some ways. Ruben Amorim would most likely not be able to provide any explanations as to why Ratcliffe did not play for the men’s team at Old Trafford on any given day.

“In all truth, I don’t know why he wasn’t here, but we were well represented, along with Jason and Omar Berrada,” Skinner said.

Important Old Trafford players complain that the focus is on Ratcliffe and United despite the fact that other significant Premier League clubs and their owners are not involved in their presence at women’s games.

Even a passing nod to the apparent hierarchy at Wembley was made to Skinner.

Before trying to reroute the conversation to his own club, with whom he is contracted until 2027, he said, “Let’s see how many times they fly over in the season for Chelsea.”

“In actuality, the investment in the team is necessary, not whether you are visible,” he said. We need to close the gap created by investing as a means of showing support.

However, the situation is not always straightforward.

Ratcliffe’s involvement is still questioned, but investment will remain a question.

In reality, the course has already been determined for the women’s side, and it doesn’t attempt to match the growing resources Chelsea spent putting forth to make Sonia Bompastor’s debut season a domestic triple-winning effort.

In the wake of the widely reported departures of England goalkeeper Mary Earps and forward Nikita Parris and the so-called substandard training facilities, United are still betrayed by the criticism they faced at the start of the season.

The club is hoping to complete a significant training ground upgrade, both for the men’s and women’s sides, by August, with hundreds of millions of dollars going into it.

They contend that this will enable them to maximize their potential.

Any mention of the word “recruitment” raises questions about Manchester United because of the problems on the men’s side because they have a clear goal.

Given that Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who was once United’s deputy, has been excellent all season and was outstanding at Wembley, making two brilliant first-half saves as United battled to keep their opponents at bay, it is true that whoever made the decision to let Earps go got it right.

Is a fight with Chelsea still possible?

Although there was much discussion about the Champions League, Skinner’s side faces dangers if they advance to the lucrative main draw. To pass the second qualifying round, they must first have to pass both the semi-final and the final. Inter Milan and Roma are well-known potential opponents, but Swedish side BK Hacken is also in the draw and reached the quarter-finals in 2023-24.

If United can survive that, they must defeat a heavyweight final-qualifying-round foe that might include Real Madrid, Paris FC, or Sporting Lisbon.

Officials at United believe their club is expanding. After all, it is only seven years old.

They were competing in their third successive FA Cup final. In the 74, 412 crowd, there were a lot of genuine United fans.

According to those officials, Leigh Sports Village’s attendances are comparable to those of any top-flight team playing outside of their home stadium. On average, they hover around 4,500.

They require more, though. It is no surprise that United’s women will play in this month’s controversial World Sevens tournament in Portugal as a club where the men’s team will travel to Asia for two games in order to make more money.

To maximize the available funds, all options will be explored.

Skinner is correct. Ratcliffe’s investment is what he needs, not to advance United’s women’s team.

However, “the optics” are not very good.

And it is not a negative having the ownership watching on, as Bompastor pointed out a while after Skinner had spoken.

She remarked, “It’s a big lift.” Everyone is involved in the women’s team when we discuss having the right support from the entire club.

It demonstrates to a woman that you belong in the appropriate club. You really want to include that back on the pitch to all of these people.

At Wembley, United engaged in a fierce battle. Even if they could no longer claim to deserve victory, there might have been a different outcome if they had taken chances at the start of each half.

England Test captain Ben Stokes claims he gave up drinking alcohol in the hopes that his injury-related recovery would be aided by his abstinence at the start of the year.

After tearing during the third Test match against New Zealand, Stokes, 33, underwent surgery on his left hamstring in December.

Although he was initially ruled out for at least three months, Durham has not yet made a County Championship appearance.

Starting on May 22nd, England’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe will take place at Trent Bridge.

Stokes, an all-rounder, said he has changed his approach to rehabilitation this time, including reflection on his relationship with alcohol, after a similar injury occurred last summer at The Hundred.

“I remember the shock of it after my first serious injury, and I was thinking, “How has this happened?” Stokes explained the story to Spencer Matthews’ Untapped podcast.

We did have a little bit of a drink four or five nights ago, I thought. Could that have been a factor? It wouldn’t have been helpful.

Then I thought, “OK, I need to start changing what I do.”

Stokes claimed that since the beginning of January, he hasn’t had an alcoholic beverage.

He added that he has learned to manage his behavior with alcohol and that it’s unlikely that he will ever completely give up it.

He claimed to be drinking but not being sober.

Stokes discussed the differences between the drinking habits of cricket in the modern, professional era in his podcast interview.

There were unbelievable stories about drinking in the 1990s and 2000s. Over time, it’s definitely settled down, Stokes said.

The body is more physically demanding than it was then.

It’s just impossible for the body to withstand all that, according to the statement, “even with the drawbacks of what a few beers at the end of the day can do to you for the next day.” There is so much more cricket, there is so much more in the schedule.

Stokes’ recent injury history, which included knee surgery at the end of 2023, has raised questions about his future and ability to play all-around in England’s Test team.

He added, however, that he had no desire to stop and that he had fully committed himself to this most recent strict rehabilitation program.

Stokes hopes to play a full role against Zimbabwe after posting footage of him bowling in training with Durham on social media in recent weeks.

He said, “I think the moment I wake up and can’t seem to stop doing the training program is approaching when I don’t really want it any more.”

“But I don’t want to stop, I think.”

“It’s just getting getting harder to do everything,” says the author, “so why do I feel like I have to work so much harder away from the field, in the gym, and all that stuff” to give me the best chance of performing.”