Bottas leads way in Russian Grand Prix practice
Valtteri Bottas set the practice pace on Friday for a Russian Grand Prix that could see Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton equal Michael Schumacher’s all- time record of 91 Formula One wins.
Bottas was quickest in both sessions, with Hamilton ending the day second overall — 0.267 slower — after tire problems in the morning left him 19th.
It was the sixth race weekend in a row that Bottas, who has so far won only the opening race in Austria in July, had topped the first session timesheets and Mercedes again looked like the team to beat.
The Finn also led the way at the Tuscan Grand Prix in
Italy two weeks ago, only for Hamilton to seize pole position and then take his sixth win in nine races this year and 90th of his career.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo signalled the emerging threat from Renault by posting the second fastest time in the morning and third in the afternoon when Mclaren’s Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris were fourth and fifth.
Sainz had hit the barriers in an interrupted first session, damaging his car’s rear wing.
Mercedes technical director James Allison told Sky Sports that Hamilton damaged his hard tires early in the opening session.
“It’s incredibly easy to lock up a tire and destroy the tire
set for the remainder of the session,” he said.
The Russian Grand Prix will be the first race of a COVID-19- hit season with a significant number of fans present and organizers, who had aimed for a 30,000-strong crowd, said all tickets were sold out.
Mercedes has won every race at the Sochi circuit since the first in 2014, with sixtime world champion Hamilton triumphant on four occasions.
The champions have also started every race this season on pole position. Hamilton leads Bottas by 55 points after nine races.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third fastest in the morning, when Canadian Nicholas Latifi crashed and brought out red flags, but dropped to seventh after lunch. Mexican Sergio Perez was fourth and sixth fastest in the sessions for Racing Point.
Suarez moves on to Madrid
Luis Suarez has completed his move to Atletico Madrid, signing a two-year deal with the club after passing a medical following his switch from La Liga rivals Barcelona.
Suarez, 33, joined Atletico on a free transfer after Barca agreed to rescind his contract with one year left although the Madrid side will pay the Catalans up to US$7 million in bonuses.
“With the arrival of Suarez, Atletico gets a great goal scorer with a wealth of experience in Europe who has always been characterized for his commitment on the pitch and considered one of the best in the world in his position,” Atletico said in a statement.
Suarez, who scored 16 La Liga goals for Barca last season, had his first training session with Atletico on Friday and could make his debut in Sunday’s home match against Granada.
Millsap opens gym to voters
Denver Nuggets forward
Paul Millsap is turning his training centre near Atlanta into a centre for early voting.
In a statement issued via the NBA, Millsap said the 44,000- square- f oot CORE4 in suburban Chamblee, which he runs with his brothers, will serve as a place for residents of Dekalb County to vote Oct. 12-30.
He said in a statement posted to his Twitter account:
“The 2020 Election is believed to be the most important in our lifetime. Therefore, I’ve chosen to become more involved in the voting process by using my social media platform to encourage voting and my facility as a Dekalb County early voting polling station.”
The Atlanta Hawks’ home, State Farm Arena, is also serving as an early voting location for residents of Fulton County.
Millsap, 35, is concluding his 14th NBA season.