The old men of Formula One were first and last in opening European Grand Prix practice yesterday, with Rubens Barrichello quickest while Ferrari stand-in Luca Badoer was a second slower than anyone else.
Badoer — the 38-year-old Italian preparing for his first start in a decade after Brazilian Felipe Massa was seriously injured in Hungary — was watched by retired seven-times champion Michael Schumacher.
The veteran test driver completed 25 laps of the Valencia street circuit, clocking a best time of 1 minute 45.840 seconds.
PHOTO: AP
That was 3.380 slower than Brawn GP’s 37-year-old Brazilian Barrichello, the oldest man on the grid until Badoer came along, and more than two seconds slower than 10th-placed teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
Schumacher, who retired in 2006 and is now 40 years old, would have taken Massa’s place, but the German had to abort his planned comeback because of a neck injury suffered in a bike crash earlier in the year.
Barrichello, chasing his first win since he was at Ferrari in 2004, was 0.176 faster than the McLarens of Heikki Kovalainen and world champion Lewis Hamilton as Formula One got to back to work after the extended summer break.
Kovalainen, who needs to raise his game if he is to stay with McLaren next year, was trying out a new front wing.
Championship leader Jenson Button, Barrichello’s teammate, was fourth fastest in a sign that his Mercedes-powered team have got to the bottom of the problems that have kept him off the podium for the past three races.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was fifth quickest on a hot morning in the Mediterranean port city.
France’s Romain Grosjean made an assured debut after replacing Brazilian Nelson Piquet at Renault, lapping 17th fastest.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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