Ferrari Revel in Putting Red Bull under Pressure

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 24, 2024 Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. celebrates with his team after winning the Australian Grand Prix along with second placed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 24, 2024 Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. celebrates with his team after winning the Australian Grand Prix along with second placed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. (Reuters)
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Ferrari Revel in Putting Red Bull under Pressure

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 24, 2024 Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. celebrates with his team after winning the Australian Grand Prix along with second placed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 24, 2024 Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. celebrates with his team after winning the Australian Grand Prix along with second placed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. (Reuters)

Thousands of red-clad Ferrari fans descended on Lygon St in Melbourne to party in the Italian restaurant strip until the wee hours of Monday after Carlos Sainz's unlikely win in the Australian Grand Prix.

The Italian Formula One team will hope the celebrations continue at Suzuka in two weeks after Albert Park breathed new life into the championship.

Sainz and team mate Charles Leclerc's 1-2 in Australia trimmed Red Bull's lead to four points in both the drivers' and constructors' title races, a major momentum shift following Max Verstappen's Middle East dominance.

Ferrari had the fortune of Verstappen flaming out with a brake problem at Albert Park which ended Red Bull's two-year run of avoiding DNFs (non-finishes) on race-day.

Ferrari nonetheless leave Melbourne delighted by the pace of their SF-24 car after being trounced by Red Bull in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

"This weekend is good evidence that when we are putting everything together, and I'm not sure that we'll be able to do it every single weekend, we can put (Red Bull) a little bit under pressure," said team boss Frederic Vasseur.

"It's when they are under pressure that they will also have more mistakes. We have to continue in this direction."

With triple world champion Verstappen topping the podium ahead of team mate Sergio Perez in the season's first two races, Red Bull were blindsided by setup struggles from the get-go in Melbourne.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said Red Bull had not got to grips with conditions while Ferrari, clearly, had.

"I think the nature of the surface (was a factor), as well. I think that the tire graining here in particular was something that Ferrari looked in control of," he said.

"Certainly from Friday their long runs looked good."

Perez, who finished fifth after the floor of his car suffered damage, said Ferrari "absolutely" had the pace to beat Verstappen had the Dutchman gone the distance.

However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko was unconvinced.

"I spoke to Max and he said that, despite the problems, he kept up with Sainz's pace relatively easily," Marko told Sky Sport.

"With Max in the race, it would have turned out completely differently."

Ferrari may not know where they sit until their next proper duel against Verstappen, who won 19 out of 22 races last season and will be eager to hit back at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Mercedes, by contrast, can have little doubt of their place in the pecking order, with Melbourne confirming their also-ran status.

With no championship points at Albert Park and their first double DNF since 2018, the Silver Arrows have slumped to fourth in the championship, 71 points behind leading Red Bull.

The free-fall may continue as the Brackley-based team battle to understand the fluky performance of their overhauled W15 car.

"We haven't swallowed a dumb pill since 2021. It's just we don't understand some of the behaviors of the car," said team boss Toto Wolff.



Filipino Gymnast Who Won 2 Olympic Golds in Paris Gets Hero's Welcome

Filipino gymnast Carlo Yulo, who won two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, arrives in Manila, Philippines, on Tuesday, Aug 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan)
Filipino gymnast Carlo Yulo, who won two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, arrives in Manila, Philippines, on Tuesday, Aug 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan)
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Filipino Gymnast Who Won 2 Olympic Golds in Paris Gets Hero's Welcome

Filipino gymnast Carlo Yulo, who won two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, arrives in Manila, Philippines, on Tuesday, Aug 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan)
Filipino gymnast Carlo Yulo, who won two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, arrives in Manila, Philippines, on Tuesday, Aug 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan)

Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo, who won two gold medals in the Paris Olympics, flew home to a hero’s welcome Tuesday with a planned national tribute by the president and donors pledging more than $1 million worth of cash and gifts, including a resort house and free lunch buffets for life.

The 24-year-old’s wins in the men’s floor exercise and vault were the largest victory ever by a Filipino athlete since the Philippines joined the Games a century ago. Two Filipino boxers, Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, won bronze medals in women’s boxing in Paris.

The euphoria over Yulo's wins has provided a respite for a nation long ridden with poverty, deep divisions and conflicts, The AP reported.

“Filipinos all over the world stood united, cheering and rooting for you,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said after Yulo, fondly called Caloy by friends, captured his second Olympic gold. “No words can express how proud we are of you, Caloy. You have achieved GOLD for the Philippines, not once, but twice!”

Arriving in Manila, Yulo and the other Filipino athletes who participated in the Olympics were welcomed by flag-waving admirers who yelled his name, reached out for handshakes and took selfies. The athletes were met by their families before proceeding to the Malacanang palace, where Marcos would honor them with medals and cash gifts, officials said.

Cash and gifts pledged by the government, business tycoons and leading Philippine corporations for Yulo, including a condominium unit and a resort house south of Manila, would amount to more than 58 million pesos ($1 million). Prominent companies offered free pizzas, ice cream and lunch and dinner buffets for life.

Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, who rose to global fame for winning titles in eight different weight classes and for his rags-to-riches life story, promised to reward Yulo with an unspecified amount of cash.

A celebratory parade for Yulo and the other athletes on Wednesday along Manila’s main streets is expected to draw thousands of people. It will pass near a poor community where he grew up and first trained in gymnastics with his siblings in a public gym, where a coach first noticed the impressive skills of the then-7-year-old.

"I’ll welcome him with a hug and we’ll jump together in joy,” Rodrigo Frisco, a 74-year-old relative, told The Associated Press in the neighborhood where the gold medalist has become a poster boy for hope. “Who would believe that these narrow alleys and small houses would produce a champion?”

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz clinched the first-ever Olympic gold for the Philippines in Tokyo in 2021.