The Formula One title battle will rage until the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull contender Mark Webber predicted yesterday.
Championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP saw his lead over Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello cut to 16 points at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix after the Briton failed to score for the first time this season.
Red Bull’s Webber also drew a blank at Spa at the weekend, dropping to fourth overall and 20.5 points behind Button after a drive-through penalty. Teammate Sebastien Vettel is third, 1.5 ahead of Webber, with five races remaining.
PHOTO: EPA
“I really believe the championship race will go down to the wire,” Australian Webber said in a column for the BBC.
“Jenson needs to have an 11-point lead at Brazil for that not to happen. And that doesn’t look likely at the moment,” he said.
Webber said all of the contenders had missed opportunities to forge a decisive advantage but insisted Red Bull had not missed their chance.
“There’s still a huge amount of points to go and we’ve seen how wacky and crazy things can be of late,” he added.
“One weekend it’s Rubens, then mine, then Seb. We’re all over the place. But the guy who’s treading water a little of late is Jenson,” he said.
Webber won in Germany in July and had racked up four consecutive podium finishes before retiring in Valencia and Belgium.
The Australian said the next two races, in Italy and Singapore, could play a big part in deciding the outcome but he said he did not feel under pressure.
He doubted Button, winner of six of the first seven races, was feeling too much strain either.
“Brawn as a team have had a little bit of a wobble in the last four races, with the exception of Rubens winning in Valencia. So I don’t think its all down to Jenson tightening up,” he said.
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
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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