McLaren's Lewis Hamilton humbled after breaking Jim Clark's record for most F1 races with same team

He may have endured a torrid time at the Malaysian Grand Prix, but the weekend saw McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton surpass Jim Clark's record for the most races with one team only in a Formula One career.

Record breaker: Lewis Hamilton has surpassed Jim Clark's record of the most races with one Formula One team Photo: AP

Clark is rightly remembered as a Formula One legend, a double world champion with a phenomenal record of 25 wins and 33 pole positions in just 72 grands prix – all with Lotus prior to his death at the age of just 32 in an F2 race at Hockenheim in 1968.

Lewis Hamilton, who has so far spent all of his career with McLaren since his debut in 2007, has now competed in 73 grands prix with the team that has nurtured him since the age of 13.

There remains plenty of time for the Hamilton to fly the McLaren nest but for now it seems loyalty is at the forefront of his mind and the 26-year-old will no doubt take inspiration from Clark as he bids to reinvigorate his season in China this weekend.

"I've been told by someone on the team that of all the drivers in Formula One to have only driven for one team, I'm now the driver who's raced in the most grands prix," Hamilton said.

"I'm told Jim Clark drove 72 races for Lotus, and Malaysia was my 73rd with McLaren. It makes me feel very humble. I never saw Jim Clark race, but I know he'll always be remembered as one of the greats, and as a loyal Lotus driver.

"Loyalty's extremely important, and I'm proud to be mentioned in the same breath as him. It only gives me even more determination to bounce back stronger than ever."
Hamilton's desire to do so stems from a nightmare ending in Sepang when he slipped from second to seventh blaming strategy, tyres and poor pit stops for his lowly finish.
His result in Malaysia worsened when a retrospective drive-through penalty for weaving in attempting to block Ferrari's Fernando Alonso meant Hamilton had 20 seconds added to his time, dropping him from seventh to eighth.
With his criticisms now behind him, Hamilton is eager to focus on this weekend's race in Shanghai which cannot come quick enough in order to get Malaysia out of his system.
"It's always best to put a disappointing weekend behind you and, as always, I'll make a positive of the experience in Malaysia and learn from it," added Hamilton. "With China only a few days away, it's the best possible way to move on, and I'm already throwing myself into my preparations.
"I'll spend a few days training and come back fresh for Shanghai."
So far, Sebastian Vettel has proven unbeatable in his Red Bull as the sport's youngest world champion has won the opening two races with relative ease.
The team's Achilles' heel has been their KERS power-boost system which has been unreliable, yet despite that Vettel has still made a perfect start.
Believing Vettel can be caught, Hamilton said: "What's been most encouraging is that our pace is still extremely strong. Jenson (Button) drove a fantastic race and was able to narrow the gap to Sebastian during the closing laps, and I think we have the pace to continue taking the fight to Red Bull this weekend.
"In both races we've seen that Red Bull hasn't been able to achieve its full potential, and I think it's important we keep applying the pressure to make sure they can't afford to make mistakes."

Nini

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel keeping his feet on the ground after Malaysian Grand Prix victory

Sebastian Vettel is level-headed enough to appreciate that a perfect start to the season does not guarantee him another world title. 

Grounded: Sebastian Vettel is not getting carried away despite winning the first two races of the season Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Vettel has so far not put a wheel out of place in taking pole-to-flag wins in Australia two weeks ago, and again in Malaysia yesterday to secure a perfect maximum of 50 points in his Red Bull.

At this early stage of the championship campaign his nearest rival is McLaren's Jenson Button, who finished runner-up in Sepang, but who is already 24 points adrift of the reigning champion.

The strength of Vettel's latest triumph was underlined on lap 30 of the 56-lap race when he was told by his race engineer to switch off the KERS power-boost system on his car.

Rather than slowing down, Vettel actually increased his lead by a second a lap over the next few laps to his closest chaser at that stage in McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

It underlined his current domination of the sport, but despite the fact he is F1's youngest world champion, the growing maturity is there for all to see.

"Two out two is perfect, it couldn't be any better," said Vettel. "At the moment things are looking good, but there is still a very long way to go.
"The championship is far away and there are a lot of points still to get, so we have to keep our feet on the ground. Of course, we worked hard over the winter to get to this position, and we can be very proud of ourselves.
"If this is the reward there is no problem putting even harder work in. We cannot stop pushing."
The reason being is that Vettel and Red Bull are fully aware of the gains McLaren have made in such a short period of time.
Hamilton was just a tenth of a second off Vettel in qualifying, whilst Button was 3.2secs adrift at the end of the race, although in truth the young German eased off the gas late on.
"We have seen how close it is, much closer than in Australia, so that's how quickly things can change," added Vettel.
"We have to keep our heads cool, keep working, keep pushing, but I am not worried to be honest.
"All the guys know this is the only way forward, so for now we all can enjoy and be very proud.
"I don't think I could be happier right now, but straight away we start preparing for the next race in China (on Sunday) and we will see how we get on there."
Nick Heidfeld secured his first podium for two years by finishing third in a Renault that has now secured third place in each of the last two races.
Red Bull's Mark Webber ran without KERS throughout the entire race, yet was a creditable fourth ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
Both Fernando Alonso and Hamilton incurred retrospective 20-second drive-though penalties after the race, the former for running into the back of the latter who had earlier been weaving excessively in a bid to block his old rival.
Alonso, though, retained his sixth place, whilst Hamilton dropped one to eighth behind Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi.
Paul di Resta again collected a point for coming home 10th in his Force India behind Michael Schumacher for Mercedes.

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Jenson Button encouraged by shift from speed to strategy after finishing second in Malaysian Grand Prix

When even Jenson Button describes a race as confusing you know it has been unusually eventful. The Englishman, now in his 12th season in Formula One, is known for his smooth driving style and his race awareness; his ability to react to the changing situation in front of him. 

 

Celebrations: Jenson Button was delighted to finish second behind Sebastien Vettel (left) in Malaysia Photo: EPA

Some would say it compensates for a lack of blistering one-lap pace.

A good example of Button's more refined approach is his debut win for McLaren in Australia last year when he made the snap decision to switch tyres early in the race, a move that paid off handsomely.

No wonder the Briton was hugely encouraged by what happened in Malaysia on Sunday. Fifty-five pit stops, drivers constantly switching positions and tyres requiring careful ownership. Button found it “confusing” but so did everyone else. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it would have been “an air traffic controller’s nightmare if you were tuned into the strategy channel”.

These sorts of races suit Button. With the new Pirelli tyres — and the drivers’ ability to handle them over a race weekend — set to become the overriding priority this year, Button’s smooth style and calculated approach could leave him well placed to profit.

“A lot of it is about getting the strategy right, which is up to the team, but also the driver,” Button said. “He has to know what strategy he is on and understand the tyres and push them to the limit for a set period of time.”


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Andy Murray has a wealth of reasons why he should be wary of the Monte Carlo bear-pit

The last place any tennis player should come seeking tea and sympathy is the orange clay of the Monte Carlo Country Club, a fabulous spot by the Mediterranean where the millionaires sitting on the dining terrace sometimes like to hiss and whistle and treat the athletes with all the reverence they usually reserve for deckhands and croupiers. 

 

 

Monte Carlo or bust? Andy Murray gets fired up in training on the orange clay ahead of his meeting with Radek Stepanek Photo: GETTY IMAES

 

It was a hesitant and unhappy Andy Murray who played a rotten opening match here last season, and then felt the full caustic blast of the French Riviera as he walked off court. This spring he has arrived for the start of the European clay-court swing in the worst sequence of form of his career.

On those sun-lit afternoons that bring out the turquoises and neon blues in the water, there is no prettier tournament in tennis, yet it is possible to detect a slight viciousness on the Côte d’Azur that you do not get from, say, the Sloanes of London’s Queen’s Club.

There must be some concern among Murray’s entourage that when the Scot opens against Radek Stepanek, a Czech who saved two match points during a final-set tie-break against Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the first round, he will again hear what it sounds like to meet with the disapproval of the white-shirted Euros, the tax-avoiders and the oligarchs.

There are easier places to come when you have not won even a set since January.

The mood around the white tablecloths can change quickly, from indifference to indignation, in just one circuit of the bread basket. If a seed is in trouble, as Murray was last year when he won just three games against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, you can be sure they will put down their knives and forks to watch.

nini/telegraph

 

Roger Federer eases through to round three after straighforward win over Philipp Kohlschreiber in Monte Carlo

Roger Federer marched into the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters as the three-time finalist inflicted a 6-2, 6-1 defeat on German Philipp Kohlschreiber. 

 

 

Clinical: Roger Feder wasted no time in booking his place in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters Photo: AP

By Telegraph staff and agencies 2:36PM BST 12 Apr 2011

World No 3 Federer, seeded second in the knee injury absence of Novak Djokovic, earned a sixth victory without a loss against the 32nd-ranked Kohlschreiber.

"I was able to do all the things I was hoping to." said the satisfied Swiss. "I was consistent, consistently dangerous, too. I felt well in the offence, and in the defence I was fine.

"It was a quick match but it's up to me to back it up in the next match really."

Federer, losing finalist at the Country Club 2006-2008 against Rafael Nadal, was the first of the major players to go into action after a bye, with top seed Nadal and number three Andy Murraymaking their 2011 Monte Carlo debuts on Wednesday.

Nadal, aiming for an historic seventh straight trophy here, had an early-morning fitness session with women's Monte Carlo-based number one Caroline Wozniacki, who had played an exhibition at the club on Monday.

Federer's brief and efficient victory in 50 minutes left him undefeated in 47 straight matches against Germans dating to June, 2002, when he lost to Nicolas Kiefer in Halle.
"Clearly a good start for me into the clay court season," said the winner. "Not much I can take out of this match, I think, except maybe that I varied it well that he couldn't play his game.
"He wasn't able to or he couldn't really play aggressive the way maybe he was hoping to do today. I could finish the point almost whenever I wanted to. I was actually quite surprised I was having no problems with his serve. I wasn't struggling when he was giving me the heavy forehand roller or the backhand roller, which he's really good at."
The Federer victory was his 23rd of the season against four losses, three against Djokovic and his last to Nadal in the Miami semi-finals. Against Kohlschreiber he lost just two points in three games as he made a fast start.
The 16-time grand slam champion is playing Monte Carlo for the first time since 2009, when he lost in the third round to countryman Stanislas Wawrinka.
Federer has played the event on nine previous occasions, and now stands 22-9 at the tournament.
The Swiss admitted he was relieved to have gotten of a flyer in his first clay match of the Roland Garros run-up campaign.
"It's a bit nerve wracking. You figure if you get off to a bad start, you figure, 'Hmm, what am I going to do to get back into it?'
"You can stay calm as much as you want to. If you are not getting the returns back into play the way you want to and you are doing all the running, that's quite stressful. None of that this year, which I'm happy about. I can look forward."
In a pair of first-round results, French 16th seed Gilles Simon defeated Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 6-2 while Spain's Feliciano Lopez overcame Serb Janko Tipsarevic in a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) fightback.

Nini/telegraph

Berlusconi: ronaldo join to ac milan? may be

AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has raised the possibility that the Rossoneri might launch an audacious bid for Ronaldo if they win the Scudetto.

GettyImagesCristiano Ronaldo: A target for AC Milan

The Italian prime minister also said he would try to retain the services of Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf should they successfully wrest the title back from rivals Inter Milan.
Milan are currently three points clear of Napoli at the top of the Serie A table and recently crushed Inter 3-0 in the San Siro, but they will face an uphill task to sign Ronaldo, who moved to Real Madrid for £80 million in the summer of 2009.
"Dreaming isn't forbidden, and sometimes dreams come true," Berlusconi told Italian TV channel Italia 7 Gold. "In the next transfer period, if we win the league title, we will be buying one or two big names. If we signed Ronaldo, I think it would make everyone happy.
"The opportunity of adding a champion like Ronalo to this team will undoubtedly please our fans, but the team will definitely be stronger and more competitive."
Ronaldo has enjoyed a stellar season with Madrid, scoring 28 goals in 28 La Liga games. Berlusconi also said Milan would try to persuade veteran midfielders Pirlo and Seedorf to extend their stay in Milan.
He added: "If we win the Scudetto, in the next transfer market we will add one or two champions considering that some players will leave. I also hope that players like (Andrea) Pirlo and (Clarence) Seedorf can remain at Milan next year.''


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Manchester City linked with summer move for AC Milan veteran Clarence Seedorf

Manchester City are understood to have held preliminary talks with AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf who will become a free agent this summer. 

 

On the move? Clarence Seedorf will be a free agent this summer and is being monitored by Manchester City Photo: REUTERS

The move suggests Roberto Mancini remains confident that City will secure a Champions League spot next season and that he is eager to bring in some players with the experience of playing in Europe's most elite competition.

The 35-year-old is certainly not lacking in knowledge of the competition with 177 Champions League appearances to his name and having become the only player to have won the trophy with three different clubs between 1995 and 2007 (Ajax, Rea Madrid and AC Milan).

But in light of Seedorf's comments after Milan's 2-1 win over Fiorentina, it appears he is holding out for the Serie A side to offer him a contract extension.

"I am hearing a lot of rumours," he said. " But I am awaiting an offer from Milan as there are some concrete offers from the table from Brazil and other clubs. But I will firstly think about the Scudetto before my future."

Another name being linked with a move to Eastlands is Udinese striker Alexis Sanchez who is valued at around £35m.


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