Day: 10 April 2022

The victory never looked in doubt for Charles Leclerc as he wrapped up a dominant weekend with a race win in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, extending his championship lead.

Returning to Australia for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, F1 teams were given an impressive welcome. Over 419,000 attended the circuit over the course of the race weekend, making it the most attended sporting event in Australian history.

Leclerc reigned supreme all weekend. He secured pole with a flying lap at the end of Q3, although he couldn’t count on his team-mate Carlos Sainz to aid him in his fight with the Red Bulls, as he could only manage ninth.

It was Sainz who was the big loser off the line. In need of gaining places to help his team-mate fend off a pair of charging Red Bulls, the Spaniard instead went backwards. Bogging down at the start, he lost five places. Languishing down in 14th, he was too steadfast in attempting to atone for his error, and, in an optimistic overtake at a high-speed chicane, missed his braking zone and found himself beached in the gravel trap.

That retirement necessitated a safety car, eliminating the gap that Leclerc had already begun to create to Verstappen up front.

This was a weekend in which Ferrari laid their marker, however, and there remains no doubt that they do in fact have the quickest car this season. Within six laps from the restart, Leclerc had grown a four second lead, giving him a healthy margin going into the first pit window.

Clearly quicker than everyone else on track, it was only the errors of others that put him back into the clutches of his rivals. First Sainz and then Sebastian Vettel. The German’s miserable return to the track following Covid went from bad to worse. A spin into the wall brought out the second safety car, George Russell the main benefactor as he pitted onto a podium position.

For the first, and only time in the race, Leclerc had to get racey at the restart. A poor exit from the final corner gave Verstappen a whiff of an opportunity, and he attacked on the run down to turn one. Leclerc, however, placed his car well, and did so again at the next braking zone to keep the reigning World Champion behind.

If there was any lingering doubt about the superior speed of this Ferrari relative to its rivals, it was extinguished this weekend. Leclerc’s pace was unmatched as he put in quickest lap after quickest lap.

Verstappen himself was in need of an extinguisher on lap 39. Losing power, he had to pull over, registering his second DNF in three races. His erratic start to the season (one victory, two retirements) continues, in a Red Bull that clearly remains dogged by technical issues.

Although Verstappen literally lost power out on-track, he has been figuratively powerless all weekend to prevent Leclerc from strolling to victory in Melbourne.

With a healthy gap to Sergio Perez, Leclerc could enjoy a serene ride to the chequered flag as he picked up his second win of the season.

The only concern for the Monégasque driver was securing the fastest lap, as he repeatedly, but politely, asked his team if he could try for the fastest lap. No need. He already had the fastest lap, and no one could match it. But just to be sure, he put in another fastest lap at the death as he crossed the chequered flag to cap the perfect weekend.

Perez and Russell rounded off the podium, the latter managing to keep team-mate Lewis Hamilton behind to secure his first podium for Mercedes.

Post-race, Leclerc expressed his surprise at his car’s pace. “The car was just amazing and I’m very pleased with how my race went. On paper, this was a track that we expected to be tough for us.” The Monegasque isn’t getting ahead of himself, and still expects a tough title challenge. “It’s a great way to start the season, but we have to keep in mind that we are only three races into a very long championship. We can’t afford to relax at any moment.”

Leclerc next heads to Italy for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where you wouldn’t bet against him extending his already sizable lead of 34 points. It is still early in the season, but should Ferrari and Leclerc carry the same pace into the upcoming races, that much-coveted title battle may not materialise; Leclerc is in a league of his own.

Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari press office

On a night in which basketball played second-fiddle amidst a carnival atmosphere in the stands, AS Monaco Basketball nonetheless did the job on-court, beating Alba Berlin 91-74 on Friday.

Leading the vast majority of the match, the victory rarely looked in doubt. The performance hit many of the same notes as recent weeks: periods of attacking fluidity were supplemented by a defensive fortitude, and game management from a maturing Roca Team kept tension to a minimum.

The match was rarely, if ever, in doubt. Alba Berlin came to the Principality with nothing to play for, their loss against Anadolu Efes the previous week had ended their hopes of a play-off position. They can therefore be forgiven for a lack of motivation, which often showed on court.

Amongst the 3,400 strong crowd at the Salle GAston Medecin was Prince Albert II, who saw the Roca Team race into an early lead that they never looked like conceding. THe home side took the ascendency towards the end of the first-quarter, and took that into the second, registering an 11-point run.

This was another match in which everyone contributed, and Sasa Obradovic referenced this post-match, stating, “Tonight we played as a team once again.” Nonetheless, there were a handful of stand-out performances, notably from Dwayne Bacon, whose poster dunk in the third-quarter got the crowd off their seats.

Berlin showed signs of a comeback towards the back of the third-quarter, but a Brock motum three-pointer and an impressive interception and two-pointer from Mike James put pay to that notion. The ease of the victory (91-74), meant that fans in attendance could sit comfortably and enjoy the spectacle on a night of celebration.

Mike James: MVP for March

Prior to the match, Mike James was awarded on-court the MVP award in the Euroleague for the month of March. During that time, in which Monaco registered four victories for just one defeat, James averaged 19.8 points and 5.4 assists. A quintessential part of Monaco’s run to the play-offs he is only the seventh player to receive three monthly MVP awards, and the first to do so with three different teams.

He received the award from Monaco’s minister of State Pierre Dartout and AS Monaco Basketball’s President Alexey Fedorychev. Things could improve further for James, who will likely be touted by many as the season’s MVP, especially if they advance in their play-off against Olympiacos.

The play-off draw

Real Madrid’s surprise defeat against Bayern Munich in their match on Friday night meant that Monaco will face Greek giants Olympiacos. THe first two legs of a potentially five-legged tie will take place in Greece on 19th and 22nd April.

Monaco will then welcome back their heroes to the Salle Gaston Medecin on 26th April, before another match on 28th April, if the tie has not already been settled. Monaco will fancy their chances. The in-form side, they also stunned the Greeks 92-72 in the Principality just a couple of weeks ago.

Bacon, Monaco’s top scorer last night (19), told Monaco Life that he isn’t expecting such an easy match-up when they next meet. “It’s definitely going to be hard. It won’t be the Same game as when we last played them. They’re going to be at home. Their fans, their stadium is legendary, it’s outstanding.”

His manager, Obradovic, added, “Olympiacos is a team with a lot of experience at this level in the play-offs and of course that counts for something.” Both were, however, remained defiant. Obradovic said, “it won’t be easy to beat us”, whilst the American Bacon added, “We’re ready for the challenge.”

Should they overcome the Greek challenge, they will then head into the “final four” in Belgrade, which takes place from May18th-May 20th. Potentially on the precipice of greatness, Obradovic is allowing his imagination to go wild with the possibilities, and reminded us that we all should too: “We have to allow ourselves to dream.”

Photo by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life