Rosberg sitting pretty this time as Hamilton chases
Nico Rosberg sat slumped in his chair, exhausted and exasperated after another race and world title was taken away by Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. Then came the hat toss seen around the world.
These friends- turned rivals return to Austin, Texas and the US Grand Prix in very different places this week, both psychologically and in the title chase. This time, it’s Rosberg with the big lead and Hamilton running out of time if he hopes to retain his Formula One championship.
Rosberg leads Hamilton by 33 points with four races left on the schedule. That means Hamilton has to make a big push starting on Monday ( NZT) on a track where he’s won three of the last four years.
“America has been good hunting ground for me,” Hamilton said.
A win streak alone won’t do it. Hamilton needs a bad race from Rosberg somewhere. If Rosberg finishes second three times and finishes third once, he’ll still claim his first career championship.
A Rosberg victory anywhere along the way would all but clinch it.
“My frame of mind at the moment is to have fun,” Hamilton said. “I’m determined to win. There’s never a day in my life when I don’t want to win. I could come here like I’ve got to win every race, but I’ve been racing a The Cleveland Indians this week kept alive their shot at a first world baseball championship since 1947 — but that kind of dry information is not why this page exists. Rather, we need to highlight the bloody tale of Trevor Bauer, the Indians starting pitcher who grossed out everyone while attempting to help his side beat the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bauer was unsuccessful in his personal efforts in Tuesday’s game three — not to worry, though, the Indians eventually won the game and the series — and now he’s facing a race against time to be fit for a World Series joust against either the Chicago Cubs or the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This is no in- game injury he’s suffering from. He didn’t get hit by a batted ball or collide with a teammate. No, Bauer could miss the biggest start of his life due to a drone.
An enthusiast of the flying crafts, long time. I know what I’m doing so just go do it the best I can and enjoy.” Is that concession? “Absolutely not,” Hamilton said. “There’s still 100 points out there. It’s possible.”
Former four- time F1 champion Bauer decided last weekend, during the American League Championship Series, it was an opportune time to clean one of his toys. And, to be fair, what’s the worst that could have happened?
Well, Bauer found out, when the drone unexpectedly sparked to life and his pinkie was sliced by the propeller blade. The injury, while requiring stitches was initially thought to be insignificant, and fellow Indian Jason Kipnis was able to rib his teammate.
“I laughed,” Kipnis said. “If anybody has covered Bauer or talked to Bauer, it's kind of funny. He's a big, dumb animal you need to babysit sometimes with his drones and his toys. I don't care, as long as he can still pitch for us.”
But when Bauer attempted to do just that, Kipnis and Cleveland found it was no laughing matter. Having recorded just two outs, with only Sebastian Vettel, who won a couple of title chases, agreed.
“He’s quick enough,” Vettel said. “I’m sure he’ll go for it. It’s only over when it’s over.”
Rosberg may dictate when the end comes. He’s been a different driver since his moment of post- race infamy in 2015.
After Hamilton clinched last season’s title in Austin, he playfully tossed Rosberg his podium cap in the drivers’ cool- down room. Rosberg immediately threw it back at him in a petulant moment captured on live television.
The split- second reaction symbolised the meltdown of Rosberg’s title efforts and the relationship between two drivers who became friends when they were coming up through the junior circuits.
“Last year this race obviously didn’t work out so great for me, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there and doing my best to get it right this time,” Rosberg said.
Rosberg emerged from his Austin disaster with steely determination. He won the final three races of 2015 stitches to protect the wound due to ball- tampering rules, Bauer’s finger sprang a serious leak.
Captured by the cameras, the blood was draining out of the poor pitcher’s pinkie like a tap, all over the mound and the pitching rubber. Bauer tried to conceal the evidence with the aid of his dark blue jersey but was soon forced to leave the field.
But despite the disappointment of letting down his team in such a big spot, Bauer was able to retain his sense of humour after the game. At least, I think he was joking: “I even had a soldering iron in my hotel room,” he said. “Instead of going to the ER, I probably should’ve sealed it closed myself.”
Maybe that will be an option during the World Series.
Bauer seems like a guy worth rooting for — as do the luckless Indians. and the first four of 2016. A midseason slump allowed Hamilton to charge back from a 43- point deficit, but Rosberg has been coolly efficient of late with a run of four wins in the last five races.
Hamilton’s title hopes took a huge dent two races ago in Malaysia when he was leading late but was forced to retire with an engine problem. Hamilton looked dejected when he got out of the car day and said it felt like “something or someone” was working against him.
“A higher power,” he later said. “It feels right now that the man above or any higher power i s intervening a little bit.
Like the previous t wo seasons, Mercedes has dominated the field with 15 wins in 17 races. No other driver has factored into the title chase.
If he loses the title, Hamilton said he’ll “try to take it like a man because you can’t win them all”.
“Look at all the champions in the past who have who have won championships and lost championships,” he said. “It is part of the game.”
And while many baseball fans are dreaming of a showdown against the similarly star- crossed Cubs, Dodgers slugger Adrian Gonzales is also attracting plenty of new fans.
Because in the latest tale of the ever- amusing intersection between Donald Trump and the sporting world, it was revealed this week that earlier in the season Gonzales refused to stay with his teammates in a Trump hotel.
In May, when the Dodgers were playing the Cubs in Chicago, Gonzales made alternative arrangements when the team were booked to room at Trump International Hotel and Tower.
“I didn’t stay there,” Gonzales confirmed this week. “I had my reasons.”
Could those reasons possibly involve the fact Gonzales was born in Mexico and the fact Trump has repeatedly denigrated Mexicans throughout his deplorable campaign?
Nah, probably just a coincidence.