POLANC IN THE PINK
Emotional Mercedes chief Wolff & Hamilton mourn Lauda as Monaco remembers GIRO D’ITALIA
MERCEDES boss Toto Wolff is constantly on the verge of crying over the death of Niki Lauda – and claims Lewis Hamilton is in a similar mental state.
Hamilton has not spoken in depth about Lauda’s death after he withdrew from a press conference before Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The five-time world champion delivered the fastest time in both practice sessions yesterday, with Mercedes once again dominating.
But their preparations for F1’s Monte Carlo showpiece have been clouded by the tragic death of the popular F1 figure.
The Austrian, who won three world titles and joined Mercedes as non-executive chairman in 2012, died on Monday night in Zurich. Yesterday, in an emotional press conference, team principal Wolff spoke publicly for the first time.
“The last 48 hours have been terrible,” said Wolff, who used to travel to races with his compatriot.
“I feel like a zombie. Every half an hour, I keep looking at pictures of him with tears in my eyes because he is not here any more. We knew that it wasn’t going well in the last days and it would be a matter of time before we received the message.
“I got a text from Niki’s wife Birgit on Monday evening and since then I have not been myself. It feels so surreal to be in a Formula One paddock with Niki not alive.
“Lewis and Niki are bound together by an additional link, and that is the one of being multiple world champions. Only very few have experienced that, to win over several years against the best.”
Another F1 great, Sir Jackie Stewart, has said it would be a fitting tribute to Lauda if Hamilton can conquer Monaco.
The three-time world champion admitted: “He doesn’t need to do it for Niki. He just needs to do the best he can. It would be a fitting tribute to win.” SERENA GUTHRIE will lead England in the Netball World Cup.
She replaces Commonwealth goldwinning captain Ama Agbeze, who was left out of the 12-strong squad named yesterday.
Centre Guthrie is one of eight players picked from that victorious squad – alongside Jade Clarke, Eboni Usoro-Brown, Joanne Harten, Helen Housby, Geva Mentor, Natalie Haythornthwaite and Chelsea Pitman.
“Being selected and asked to be captain is a proud moment for me,” said Guthrie. “It’s going to be a real honour for us all to step out in front of the nation. I can’t wait.”
Head coach Tracey Neville said: “It is fantastic to see the versatility we have among the final 12, plus the emergence of two outstanding leaders in Serena Guthrie as captain and Jade Clarke as vice-captain.”
The tournament begins in Liverpool on July 12 when England face Uganda. SLOVENIAN Jan Polanc seized the leader’s pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia, as Cesare Benedetti claimed victory on the route’s first mountainous stage.
After two pancake-flat days, UAE rider Polanc (above) got in a breakaway group on the 158km stage 12 from Cuneo to Pinerolo, and finished 25 seconds behind Italian Benedetti.
Benedetti, riding for Bora-Hansgrohe, had been dropped on the category one Montoso climb around 35km from home, but worked his way back before sprinting to the biggest win of his career.