MELBOURNE, Australia - Formula Ones season-opening race ended in rancour and controversy Sunday as initial second-place finisher Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull disqualified for a breach of fuel regulations, five hours after Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg took the checkered flag.
Cheap MLB Jerseys . Ricciardos exclusion from the results tarnished what had been a day of celebration for local fans, who were jubilant that the Red Bull driver had apparently become the first Australian to finish on the podium at his home race. However just before midnight, stewards ruled that Ricciardos car had "exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel flow" and that the team refused an instruction from the races technical delegate Charlie Whiting to change the fuel-flow sensor before the race and a further request during the race to reduce the fuel flow. Red Bull immediately announced it would appeal the decision. "Inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter have been prevalent all weekend up and down the pit lane," a Red Bull statement said. "The team and (engine supplier) Renault are confident the fuel supplied to the engine is in full compliance with the regulations." The exclusion capped a day of shocks at the Albert Park street circuit. Thought Rosbergs victory was little surprise, given Mercedes had been the dominant team in preseason testing and across the race weekend in Melbourne, few would have expected pole sitter Lewis Hamilton and defending four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel to be mere onlookers after half a dozen laps. Both Hamilton and Vettel suffered engine failures, illustrating the difficulties all teams are having getting performance and reliability out of the sports new V6 hybrid engines. Ricciardos disqualification meant Kevin Magnussen was promoted to second in his debut race, ahead of his McLaren teammate Jenson Button, giving the team a bright start to the season and the lead in the constructors championship after a very disappointing 2013. Rosberg started third on the grid and was first to reach turn one, then drove away from the field to eventually win by 24.5 seconds at the Albert Park street circuit. The margin of victory and the authority of the performance showed why Mercedes is considered a strong favourite to finally win its first constructors title this season. "I had an unbelievably quick car today," said Rosberg, whose world champion father Keke won the inaugural Australian F1 GP in 1985. "It was such a pleasure to drive, its such a great feeling and I really look forward to the new races." Rosbergs delight was a contrast to the disappointment on the other side of the garage as Hamilton quickly retired a car that was only firing on five cylinders. "We looked so strong but to then have a hiccup is tough for everyone, but we will bounce back," Hamilton said. Like Mercedes, Red Bull was on one hand celebrating a strong performance in the opening race while also harbouring concern about the engine problems that caused the retirements of their top drivers. "We learned the car is quick, we just need to get everything together," Vettel said. "No doubt well fix this issue, the question is how soon?" Ferraris Fernando Alonso finished fourth in a worryingly uncompetitive performance for the Italian team, while Williams driver Valtteri Bottas recovered from losing a wheel early in the race to finish fifth; pulling off a succession of impressive passing moves that showed the strong potential of the car. Force Indias Nico Hulkenberg and Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen — in his return to the team after six years away — finished sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of the Toro Rosso pair Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat. After Ricciardos exclusion, Force Indias Sergio Perez was promoted to the final points-paying position in 10th. The 19-year-old Kvyats 10th place made him the youngest driver ever to earn an F1 point, breaking Vettels record set at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. The 21-year-old Magnussen was the second-youngest driver to claim a podium finish, behind Vettels record at the 2007 U.S. Grand Prix. Despite fears that few cars would complete the race due to a series of reliability problems in preseason testing and over this weekend, 15 of the 22 racers finished. There was only one major accident, with Caterham driver Kamui Kobayashi slamming into the back of Felipe Massas Williams at the first corner, immediately ending the race for both drivers. Magnussens heady performance for a rookie driver illustrated why McLaren put such faith in him, discarding Sergio Perez after a single season to make room. McLaren leads the constructors championship after one race; an impressive recovery after a dire 2013 season in which the high-achieving team failed to secure a single podium. "Its not a win but it feels like a bit of a win," Magnussen said. "The team is coming off a difficult season and they just wanted to come back. "The team is massively motivated to stay on top and they are a team that should be on top in Formula One."
NFL Jerseys Factory . - Pierre-Maxime Poudrier scored twice and added an assist, and Antoine Bibeau made 43 saves as the Val-dOr Foreur downed the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 6-3 on Sunday to force Game 7 in their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final series.
Jerseys NFL China . The Italian side scored twice in a four-minute span in the second half to defeat former stars from S.CHICAGO -- Jason Hammel is certain the Cubs are better than their record so far. Hammel pitched seven strong innings, Mike Olt hit a three-run home run and Nate Schierholtz drove in a pair of early runs to lead the Cubs to a 9-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. "With a doubt," he said. "Weve played a lot of close ballgames where we could have come out on the other end. Were a young team and well figure out how to win those ball games pretty soon." Hammel (3-1) allowed just one run and four hits without walking a batter in seven innings to lower his ERA to 2.60. "Very nice job," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "He got some groundball double plays when he needed to. Made some pitches when he needed to. It was pretty efficient." Olt still is hitting below .200 for the season (.195), but has four homers and nine runs batted in despite not playing every day. The Cubs, whove won three of four to improve to 7-12, have won back-to-back games for the first time this season. They last won consecutive games on Sept. 9 and 10 of last season against the Cincinnati Reds. Their last consecutive home wins came on Sept. 4 and 6 against Miami and Milwaukee. Brandon McCarthy (0-4) lowered his ERA from 7.11 to 6.23 because only one of five runs allowed was earned. He yielded seven hits in five innings. Arizona has dropped four straight and has the worst record in the majors at 5-18. "It was a carbon copy of the game (Monday)," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "We made an error there, gave them life and then Brandon got behind in the count 3-1 and Olt hit a ball down over the plate, a pretty big pop into that wind. "We didnt mount any pressure again offensively so I dont know what to tell ya," he said. In the third inning, Luis Valbuena stroked a one-outt double to left-centre field and then scored two batters later on a two-out single by Schierholtz.
Wholesale NFL Jerseys. In the fifth, Schierholtz drove in Valbuena again, this time on a sacrifice fly to right field, for a 2-0 lead. Valbuena led off the inning with a single, went to second on a groundout and then reached third as Arizona second baseman Martin Prado dropped Anthony Rizzos grounder for an error. The Cubs took advantage. Given the extra out, Starlin Castro singled to put two runners on and Olt followed with a homer into the right field bleachers for a 5-0 lead. "I think it probably helped me," Olt said of the wind. "I wasnt trying to hit a home run. I was just trying to put the ball in play and hit it hard." Arizona finally got on the board against Hammel in the sixth when Tuffy Gosewisch led off with a homer. The Cubs then broke things open with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, while the Diamondbacks got one back in the ninth. NOTES: Wednesday is the 100th anniversary of the first game at Wrigley Field, which then was known as Weeghman Park, between the Chicago Federals and Kansas City Packers of the Federal League. The Cubs will wear replica Federal uniforms for the game, while Arizona will wear Packers uniforms. . Diamondbacks OF Mark Trumbo didnt start because of soreness in his left foot. The injury occurred late in Mondays game. . Now that RHP Jose Veres no longer is closing games, Renteria will hunt for opportunities to get Veres on the mound so he can work out his problems. "It could be at any moment," Renteria said. "We could be up by 10 (or) down by 10. He needs to pitch. Hes talked about he wants to get back on the mound and throw." . LHP Wade Miley (2-2) is scheduled to face Chicago RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-2) on Wednesday.
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