F1 no longer one-team race
Lewis Hamilton may have taken the spoils in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix but Sebastian Vettel’s second-place finish provided clear evidence that Ferrari appear more than capable of taking the fight to the Briton’s Mercedes tam.
Vettel sprung something of a surprise when he won last month’s season opener in Australia and despite racing on a vastly different layout in much cooler weather, there was little to choose between the pair for the second weekend in a row.
The results in Melbourne and Shanghai have raised hopes that the early-season rivalry between a duo with seven Formula One championships between them and locked on 43 points apiece in become a full-blown title duel.
The China performance in particular also erased any lingering doubts about the championship credentials of the sport’s most successful team, for whom the season-opening triumph marked a welcome return to form after a winless 2016.
WESTBROOK BREAKS TRIPLE-DOUBLE RECORD
Los Angeles Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook broke Oscar with his 42nd triple-double of the NBA season — then broke the Denver Nuggets with a buzzer beating three-pointer in a 106-105 Thunder triumph. Westbrook finished the day with 50 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
It was yet another remarkable display of the all-around excel lence that a triple-double — the achievement of double-digit totals in three of five key statisti cal categories — has come to rep resent.
PAVLYUCHENKOVA TOPPLES KERBER
Mexico City Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova shocked world number one Angelique Kerber 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 on Sunday to win the WTA title at Monterrey, Mexico for a fourth time. “I’m really over whelmed and don’t think I real ized that I just won my fourth