Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/278185
50 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 MARCH 2014 FOOTBALL FORMULA 1 Sport (+356) 800 737 70 Freephone: cabs t minivans t vip transport t luxury coaches t vintage buses 2138 9575 / 9921 5286 info@cabs.com.mt w w w . c a b s . c o m . m t Villa stun Chelsea as Man City win THE race for the Barclays Premier League swung back in Manchester City's favour after indisciplined leaders Chelsea suffered a shock defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday night. Fabian Delph scored a goal that could prove decisive in the final destination of the league trophy come May as Villa grabbed a 1-0 victory over the nine-man Blues with eight minutes remaining at Villa Park. Midfielders Willian and Ramires - and manager Jose Mourinho - were all sent off as tempers f lared in Birmingham. It was a first defeat since early December for Chelsea, who must now look over their shoulders at City given the 2012 champions are only six points behind with three games in hand. Villa, meanwhile, move into 10th place after recording back-to-back wins. Earlier in the day, Manchester City shrugged off the 10th-minute dismissal of captain Vincent Kompany to dredge up a 2-0 win at Hull. David Silva struck a superb long- range opener just four minutes af- ter Kompany was shown a straight red card for hauling down Nikica Jelavic who was through on goal. Manuel Pellegrini's side then sealed their return to second place when Silva sent through Edin Dzeko to make it two in the final minute. Basement boys Fulham secured a vital win - the first of Felix Magath's tenure - at the expense of Newcastle. With Magpies boss Alan Pardew watching via video link from the team hotel due to his three-match stadium ban for headbutting Hull's David Meyler, Fulham substitute Ashkan Dejagah hit the only goal of a 1-0 victory on 68 minutes. Another manager under scrutiny of late has been West Brom's Pepe Mel, who had failed to deliver a win since taking the job in Janu- ary. That changed in dramatic fash- ion on Saturday as Youssouf Mu- lumbu's late strike earned the Bag- gies a 2-1 victory at Swansea. Roland Lamah scored for the Swans after two minutes, only for Stephane Sessegnon to equal- ise in the 52nd minute. Mel then punched the air in celebration as Mulumbu bent the ball past Michael Vorm with five minutes remaining. The victory lifts West Brom three points clear of the relegation zone after 18th-placed Cardiff lost 2-1 at the death in their meeting with Europa League-chasing Ever- ton. On-loan Barcelona forward Ger- ard Deulofeu (59) and Juan Cala (68) exchanged goals in the second half and it looked like the points would be shared until Seamus Coleman fired a winner for the Toffees three minutes into stop- page time. Southampton managed to climb to eighth after surviving a spirited fightback from Norwich to win 4-2 at St Mary's. Morgan Schneiderlin opened the scoring inside five minutes and second-half goals from substitute Rickie Lambert (57) and Jay Rod- riguez (72) looked like putting the Saints out of sight. But, shortly after sub Johan El- mander spoiled the hosts' clean sheet five minutes from time, Rob- ert Snodgrass narrowed the deficit to a single goal. However, Sam Gallagher killed off any hopes of a comeback by hitting his first Premier League goal six minutes into time added on. Stoke came from behind to en- ter the top half of the table, Peter Odemwingie's brace proving de- cisive in a 3-1 home victory over West Ham. It took the Hammers only five minutes to take the lead through Andy Carroll but Odemwingie levelled in the 32nd minute before adding a second goal 10 minutes after Marko Arnautovic notched on 69 minutes. Elsewhere, Sunderland remain marooned in the drop zone after playing out a goalless draw with Crystal Palace at the Stadium of Light. Lewis Hamilton snatches pole from Ricciardo in Australia LEWIS Hamilton is hoping "big things" are looming with Mercedes after starting Formula One's new era with a dramatic pole position ahead of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. In wet conditions around Mel- bourne's Albert Park, that only added to the spectacle for the start of the new season dominated by the major regulations overhaul, Hamil- ton snatched pole at the death from home hero Daniel Ricciardo. For a few seconds it appeared as if Ricciardo, who replaced fellow Aus- tralian Mark Webber at Red Bull after being promoted from Toro Rosso, would clinch a sensational pole for his new team in front of his home crowd. But as last man across the line, Hamilton timed his run to per- fection to beat Ricciardo by three tenths of a second to claim the 32nd pole of his F1 career. While one pole position does not make a championship, Hamilton feels he is at least in the right place to add to the solitary crown he won in 2008. "I said when I joined this team that I knew it was going somewhere, that it would continue growing, and I feel very much a part of that," said Hamilton. "I've been told this pole is the 100th for Mercedes (as an engine supplier and manufacturer), and I've had 32 of them, so I'm really proud to be a part of the history of Mercedes- Benz. "Of course, I'm praying and hoping that with the work we're doing and focus we have this is going to lead to big things. "Right now, though, I'm just tak- ing a day at a time. I'm not thinking about the potential this car has or how far it's going to go because we haven't even started the first race yet. "But it has been incredible to see the car come together. To be able to drive it and have the performance we've had is a true showing of how strong this team really is and where it's going." The pole elevated Hamilton along- side Nigel Mansell as the most suc- cessful Briton in F1 qualifying, a feat the 29-year-old is naturally very proud of. "He is one of the greatest Brtish drivers we've had," said Hamilton of the 1992 world champion. "To get as many poles as him is a great achievement which I owe to my teams, McLaren and Mercedes, and all the good people I've had around me." As to whether Hamilton follows up with his 23rd career win remains to be seen, particularly as Mercedes - like all the teams - are still learning about, and at the mercy of, the new 1.6-litre V6 turbo-charged power units. With further rain forecast, Ham- ilton is predicting "a very difficult race, one of the toughest races I can imagine" as the conditions and the new systems combined to make qualifying captivating and unpre- dictable. Ricciardo on the front row was certainly a surprise given Red Bull's dire pre-season, during which they were blighted with problems. The fact reigning four-times champion Sebastian Vettel starts 12th due to a software issue un- derlines Red Bull are still fighting gremlins. It is the first time in 28 races, since the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix, Vettel has failed to reach the top 10. As far as the race is concerned he is not sure he will finish, as he said: "You don't have to be a genius. We haven't done a race simulation, a race distance in one go. "We have improved reliability compared to testing simply because we have been able to put parts on the car, but there is still a long way to go, we know that. "We're both on the line in terms of seeing the chequered flag." Nico Rosberg lines up third in his Mercedes, followed by Kevin Mag- nussen, who conjured a brilliant fourth on his F1 debut for McLaren. As for the heavyweights, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raik- konen start fifth and 11th, the lat- ter spoiling his return to the team by spinning into a wall at the end of Q2. Either side of the Finn are Jenson Button in his McLaren in 10th and Vettel, the trio all elevated a place courtesy of a five-place grid penalty for Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who drops from 10th to 15th. Marussia's Max Chilton, out- qualified 18-1 by team-mate Jules Bianchi last year, starts 17th with the Frenchman 18th. Lotus' horrid form continued as Romain Grosjean and Pastor Mal- donado start 20th and 21st, aided by a grid penalty for Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez, who lines up at the back. (L to R): Third placed Nico Rosberg (GER) Mercedes AMG F1, pole sitter Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 and second placed Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Red Bull Racing celebrate