Haas F1 Team boss Guenther Steiner on Friday savored a rare moment of success, as his Formula One backmarkers pulled off an astonishing first pole position with Kevin Magnussen at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The Italian, whose direct approach and colorful language has made him a cult hero for millions through the popular Netflix Drive to Survive docuseries, reacted in typical fashion.
“When it rains soup, you need to have a spoon ready,” the Italian told Sky Sports television. “And we had the spoon ready today.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Magnussen was first out of the pit lane in the final qualifying shoot-out for yesterday’s sprint race, benefiting from the best conditions before George Russell spun off in his Mercedes and brought a halt to the session.
Rain then meant nobody else could go quicker than Magnussen’s time set on slick tires.
The pole was his first at the 140th attempt, but in his 100th race for Haas, and also the first by a Danish driver in Formula One.
“These are things that if you dream about it, you are scared to dream about it,” said Steiner, whose American team owner Gene Haas was yesterday to turn 70 and has more often than not been presented with a fork when the occasion demands a spoon.
“The whole team is trying hard since seven years and then circumstances let us pull this one off. I think it was not luck. It was well deserved from the driver and team being on the right tires at the right time,” he said.
Haas are eighth out of 10 teams in the constructors’ standings and the surreal afternoon was highlighted by their other driver Mick Schumacher qualifying last for a race that determines today’s grand prix grid.
Last year, with Schumacher and Magnussen’s now-departed Russian predecessor Nikita Mazepin, Haas failed to score a point all season and ended last.
The team had dropped Magnussen at the end of 2020, but Steiner brought the Dane back this season when oligarch’s son Mazepin was ruled out by sanctions triggered by Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine.
Magnussen said the pole was more surprising and felt better than his second place on his debut with McLaren Racing in Australia in 2014.
“In this sport you go up and down, or at least I do. It’s a lot of fun when it’s days like this,” he said.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the