Alonso: We blew it

MADRID: Fernando Alonso says McLaren would be celebrating a world championship victory instead of bemoaning a shock defeat had they used different tactics this season.

“McLaren got it wrong, they lost the championship for the mistaken decisions they made in the second part of the season,” the Spaniard told Radio station Cadena Ser yesterday. “It isn’t a secret that they haven’t helped me much. It wasn’t a very well organised season from the point of view of the management.”

“There was no sensation of being a team and the result speaks for itself. Each person will have to draw their own lessons from this season, but if we had taken a different approach we would have got different results.”

Alonso narrowly missed out on a third successive world title, finishing in third spot in the standings level on points with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and one behind winner Kimi Raikkonen.

Arriving from Renault as the man to restore McLaren’s fortunes after the Mercedes-powered team failed to win a race last year, Alonso has consistently complained that he did not receive the special treatment he warranted as a double world champion.

“What the boss said after China about the team racing against me and not Kimi was a clear declaration of intentions,” he said.

“In the last few races my hands and feet were tied. I had no power to make decisions. I had to race as they told me. McLaren lost and Ferrari did a better job than anyone else.”

Alonso added that he would be ashamed if McLaren’s appeal over alleged fuel irregularities by the BMW Sauber and Williams teams gifted the championship to Hamilton.

“Whoever gets the most points is the rightful champion. It would sink the sport if they won the title this way. I would be mortified if that happened.”

Alonso was tight-lipped about his plans for next season. Asked if his former team Renault were his number one choice if he were to leave McLaren he replied: “No, right now I’d say no.” Although disappointed that Alonso had failed to win the title, Spanish media celebrated the fact that Hamilton had been deprived of the crown, saying that McLaren got their just deserts.

“McLaren gifted the championship to Kimi,” said sports daily AS. “The biggest embarrassment of the century,” said its rival Marca.

“The Ferrari family gave McLaren, that pretence of a team that was in reality a pack of egos united only by some stickers, a true lesson,” commented El Pais. – Reuters

Badminton: Lee on hat-trick bid

PETALING JAYA: National number one Lee Chong Wei will get the chance to go on an equal footing with China's Lin Dan for the first time in the Super Series at the Danish Open.

After solid preparation over the last two weeks, Chong Wei is fired up to give a good showing in the ninth leg of the Series, which begins tomorrow in Odense.

If Chong Wei wins the title, he will have the same number of Super Series titles as Lin Dan – three. Chong Wei was the winner in Indonesia (sixth leg) and Japan (eighth) while the Chinese triumphed in South Korea Open (second), All-England (third) and China Open (seventh).

Chong Wei, who celebrated his 25th birthday two days ago, is the second seed behind Lin Dan in the Danish Open and will strive for greater consistency.

“It has been up and down for me thus far. I did well in the Japan Open (last month) but lost meekly in the Taiwan Open (a week later). I want to be more consistent from the Danish Open onwards,” said Chong Wei, who is also down to compete in the 10th leg of the Series, the French Open next week.

“I am happy with my preparation for both the Europe tournaments. I have given a lot of emphasis on my physical condition. It is good that I am free from injury. And I hope to keep it that way.”

Chong Wei has a challenging draw in the Danish Open but he said that it had not douse his fire to win the title for the second time. Lin Dan did not play in the 2005 tournament when Chong Wei emerged as the champion.

Real to punish late-comers Robinho and Baptista

MADRID, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Real Madrid have opened disciplinary proceedings against Robinho and Julio Baptista following their late return from international duty with Brazil last week.

'The board of directors are determined to speed up the enquiry and make their decision on the case as soon as possible,' the club said in a statement on their website.

Spanish media reported that the players would be handed a heavy fine as stipulated in the club's code of conduct.

The two players failed to warn the club that they would miss training last Friday ahead of the team's league match against Espanyol after their flight from Brazil was delayed.

They were both left out of the squad for Saturday's match, which Real lost 2-1.

Robinho was one of the Brazil players reported to have been partying into the early hours of Thursday morning following their team's 5-0 victory over Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier in Rio de Janeiro.

Todt: title an impossible dream come true

Ferrari team principal Jean Todt has paid tribute to drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa after their one-two finish in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix. The result assured the Italian squad of the 2007 championship double.

"A dream that it seemed would be impossible to come true was transformed into reality at the end of a race which the drivers and the team managed superbly, which is self evident from looking at the details of the race,” said Todt, after Raikkonen claimed victory at Interlagos and his first drivers’ crown.

“Two titles, nine wins, four one-two finishes, nine pole positions, 12 fastest race laps: these are exceptional figures in a season which included some difficult moments, but in which we never gave up the fight. Today was our reward for all this work.”

Massa, starting from pole position, dominated the opening stages of his home race, but when Raikkonen moved ahead following their second pit stops, the Brazilian did not contest the lead, knowing that his team mate needed victory to become champion.

“I wish to congratulate Kimi and thank Felipe, who again today demonstrated his loyalty to Ferrari,” commented Todt. “Without his help, we would have not reached this result."

“I am happy to have helped my team mate, who was the only one of us still in with a chance of taking the title,” added Massa. “I am proud to have done it for Ferrari who believed in me even when I was not in Formula One. After everything that has happened this year, both on and off the track, it is great to be able to celebrate two world titles.

Raikkonen, too, expressed gratitude to his team mate: “Felipe's help was vital and he was amazing. We had to get a one-two and then see what the others did. This time, things went our way and the unexpected did happen.”

The Brazilian Grand Prix result meant Raikkonen finished atop the driver standings on 110 points, just one ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Massa ended the season fourth, on 94.

This is the kind of Ferrari dream I dreamt about........

Raikkonen is fastest with late run

SHANGHAI, China -- Kimi Raikkonen was fastest in Friday's practice for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai

The Finn returned the best time in the morning session but stood at fifth for most of the second before displacing McLaren's Fernando Alonso by just 0.006 seconds. Raikkonen's team-mate Felipe Massa was third fastest, and within 0.023 seconds of the one minute, 36.607 seconds clocked by his fellow Ferrari driver.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was fourth quickest in the other McLaren, though he was almost three-tenths-of-a-second down on Raikkonen's best time of the day. Hamilton drove while waiting on the results of an inquriy into his driving behind the safety car on his way to victory in last Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

The McLaren star was later cleared and still leads Alonso by 12 points, with Raikkonen five points further behind in the drivers' standings.

Alonso dominated the afternoon session until the last few minutes, when Raikkonen took control. Massa, whose title ambitions faded out in Japan, went off the track twice during the 90-minute session, as he had in first practice.

Hamilton also went onto the gravel at turn two after the rear of his Mercedes-powered car briefly snapped out of control, though he managed to continue

Track star Marion Jones pleads guilty to doping deception

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Track star Marion Jones pleaded guilty Friday to lying to a federal investigator about taking banned substances.

"It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you I have betrayed your trust," she said outside the courthouse Friday.

"Making these false statements to federal agents was an incredibly stupid thing for me to do, and I am responsible fully for my actions."

She asked for forgiveness, adding that she understood that a simple apology "might not be enough and sufficient to address the pain and the hurt I have caused you."

"Because of my actions, I am retiring from the sport of track and field, a sport which I deeply love," she said.

Further, Jones said the example of her "wrong choices and bad decisions" would "be used to make the lives of many people improve." Jones -- who had long vehemently denied taking steroids -- appeared in U.S. District Court in White Plains, New York, before Judge Kenneth Karas.

Jones, 31, told the court that her then coach, Trevor Graham, first gave her steroids in 1999, telling her it was flaxseed oil. She said she took the steroid known as "the clear," or THG, from that time until 2001, covering her participation in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

BAD choice of selection