NNBABA | Page 4 CYCLING | Page 6 Denver Roglic takes Nuggets even Tour lead as series with Pogacar grabs LA Clippers stage win Monday, September 7, 2020 CRICKET Muharram 19, 1442 AH Buttler serves up GULF TIMES a batting feast in England series win SPORT Page 2 FORMULA 1 Gasly wins ‘crazy’ Italian GP as Hamilton hit by penalty McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll finish second and third behind the AlphaTauri driver AFP after a brakes failure while Max Ver- Monza, Italy stappen of Red Bull also retired with RESULTS (top 10) engine problems. 1. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) 1:47:06.056 On a sunlit afternoon in the old royal 2. Carlos Sainz Jr (McLaren) +0.415 ierre Gasly secured a maiden park, conditions were perfect — with an 3. Lance Stroll (Racing Point) +3.358 Formula One triumph yester- air temperature of 28 degrees and the 4. Lando Norris (McLaren) +6.000 day when he won a tumultuous track at 45 — as the lights went out and 5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +7.108 Italian Grand Prix for the Al- Hamilton sped clear from his record 6. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) +8.391 PphaTauri team after crashes, penalties 94th pole position. 7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +17.245 and safety cars had tipped expectations Behind him, Bottas struggled to de- 8. Esteban Ocon (Renault) +18.691 upside down at Monza. part and dropped to sixth on the open- 9. Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri) +22.208 The fi rst French race winner in 24 ing lap as Sainz and Norris took second 10. Sergio Pérez (Racing Point) +23.224 years seized his opportunity and re- and third. Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton (GBR/ sisted late pressure from Carlos Sainz Verstappen also had a poor start and Mercedes) 1:22.746 on 44th lap of McLaren to claim his team’s second fell from fi fth to eighth. victory with Lance Stroll fi nishing third Ferrari’s miseries, especially those of Drivers’ standings (top 3) for Racing Point. Vettel, were exposed on lap six when he 1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) 164 pts “It was such a crazy race,” said Gasly. pulled up at the fi rst chicane with brake 2. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) 117 It was the AlphaTauri outfi t’s second failure, smashing through the signage 3. Max Verstappen (NED) 110 win on Italian soil — the fi rst having on the run-off area. been scored for them when they raced His left rear brake was ablaze sec- Constructors’ standings (top 3) as Toro Rosso by Sebastian Vettel, his onds earlier. 1. Mercedes 281 pts maiden F1 win in a rain-hit race in 2008. A safety car was deployed on lap 20 2. Red Bull 158 Pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton was on when Kevin Magnussen pulled up close 3. McLaren 98 his way to a comfortable win before a to the pit lane entry. 10-second stop-go penalty for taking Hamilton pitted immediately from He was severely shaken, but climbed a pit stop when the pit lane was closed, the lead, but Sainz and the rest, bar out and jogged back to the pits. pushed the Mercedes world champion Giovinazzi, stayed out — their teams By then, Giovinazzi had his 10-sec- to the back of the pack. obeying a signal that the pit lane was ond stop-go penalty, a sanction re- The six-time champion eventually closed. Hamilton missed it. peated for Hamilton as the race was ended up in seventh place. AlphaTauri’s French driver Pierre Gasly celebrates his Italian Grand Prix win with teammates at the Autodromo Nazionale This left Sainz in the lead for red-fl agged to a halt for repairs to the Gasly, who was dropped by Red Bull circuit in Monza, Italy, yesterday. (AFP) McLaren before the pit lane reopened tyre barriers. to rejoin the junior sister team last year, — Magnussen’s Haas car having been After 25 minutes, the race restarted jumped for joy as he leapt from his car, “halfway disappointed” with his fi rst Lando Norris came home fourth in teban Ocon in the second Renault, Daniil pushed to safety — and both Sainz and on lap 28, Hamilton again moving clear was the fi rst French driver to win a Grand podium fi nish. the second McLaren ahead of Valtteri Kvyat in the second AlphaTauri and Ser- Norris pitted. before pitting. He rejoined 17th, 30 sec- Prix since Olivier Panis was triumphant Bottas of Mercedes and Daniel Ric- gio Perez in the second Racing Point. Hamilton led, but was aware he faced onds adrift of Gasly. at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. LECLERC ESCAPES CRASH ciardo of Renault. Ferrari endured another torrid week- a possible penalty, before the safety car Verstappen then retired from 14th as “Honestly, it’s unbelievable,” said the “You wouldn’t believe I would have a Despite the penalty, Hamilton still end with last year’s winner from pole came in on lap 23. Sainz charged through to second, pass- 24-year-old from Rouen. chance at victory, but in a normal race managed to extend his record run to 41 position Charles Leclerc walking away Stroll, who had not pitted, was sec- ing Raikkonen at the fi rst chicane, in “I don’t think I’m realising what’s I think I could have fi nished second be- successive points fi nishes. after surviving a high-speed crash that ond behind him, the McLarens having pursuit of the Frenchman. happening right now. We’ve been hind Lewis.” He has a 47-point lead over Bottas in led to the decisive 25-minute red-fl ag stopped. Hamilton reeled off fastest laps to through so much in the past 18 months. Stroll said: “It’s been a couple of the championship. interruption. Then, two laps later, Leclerc crashed climb into the top ten, lapping 1.5 sec- I have no words.” years since I was on the podium so it’s Hamilton also had the fastest lap of the Four-time champion Vettel, who is at close to 260km/h at the Parabolica, onds per lap quicker than anyone else, The Ferrari-bound Sainz said he was good to be back.” race yesterday as he fi nished ahead of Es- leaving Ferrari after this season, retired hitting the barriers heavily. while gritty Gasly hung on. FOOTBALL / QNB STARS LEAGUE Rayyan aim to bounce back against Gharafa By Sports Reporter match has become a thing of the past and Doha we must now focus on the next fi xture AFC nominates Al Sadd’s Afi f, Bounedjah for against Al Rayyan,” said Jokanovic. Best Forwards in 2019 Champions League “Al Gharafa player Adlene Guedioura nly one week into the 2020- said, “What was important for us at the QNA 21 QNB Stars League and Al start of the new season was to present Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Rayyan, the runners up last our best in the fi rst three league match- season, are in seventh posi- es, which are played in a space of 10 or Otion in the standings, something they 11 days. he Asian Football Confedera- would fi nd jarring to the eye. “Having beaten Qatar SC, we will tion (AFC) nominated Al Sadd’s Their opening draw with Al Sailiya now play our second match against Al TAkram Afif and Baghdad means they now have a bit of catching Rayyan and we know that it will be a Bounedjah for the best forwards in up to do and, with Al Gharafa lining up big match. Al Rayyan are a good team the 2019 AFC Champions League. against them today, they would have to having outstanding players, such as my The list for the best forwards in the be at their best to pull off a victory. fellow-Algerian Yacine Brahimi. They 2019 AFC Champions League includ- “We have to do what we have to do are solid in defence as well.” ed Bafetimbi Gomis of Al Hilal, Shinzo especially since we had a diffi cult start Meanwhile, Al Sadd are fl ying high Koroki of Urawa Red Diamonds, to the season as a result of losing some after thrashing al Kharaitiyat 5-1 in their Omar al-Soma of Al Ahli, Akram Afif players. But we should not say it as an opening match. of Al Sadd, Graziano Pelle of Shan- excuse and we should focus only on New signing Santi Cazorla scored dong Luneng, Hulk of Shanghai SIPG, In this August 20, 2020, picture, Al presenting a strong and good match, two goals while Guilherme Torres also Sebastian Giovinco of Al Hilal, and Sadd’s Akram Afif (left) celebrates because simply we must believe in our excelled, giving coach Xavi plenty of Baghdad Bounedjah of Al Sadd. with teammate Baghdad Bounedjah strength as a team,” said Al Rayyan Action from the match between Al Rayyan (in red and black) and Al Sailiya (in white) confi dence as they take on Al Sailiya Akram Afif began the year as an AFC (right) after scoring during their QSL coach Diego Aguirre at his pre-match on Thursday. today. Asian Cup UAE 2019 winner and match against Al Gharafa. press conference. “After the coronavirus break, we ended it as the AFC Player of the Year, “We have great players and we have number of points. After that, there will against Qatar SC, but we must continue trained well. We now have a lot of op- producing some fine form in between another as Al Nassr were next to fall. to continue what we did last season. We be a break.