Lewis Hamilton positive despite blown tyre at Spanish GP

Lewis Hamilton remained upbeat despite seeing his chances of second place in the Spanish Grand Prix ruined by a puncture on the penultimate lap.

The McLaren driver skidded off with his front left tyre hanging from his car as Red Bull's Mark Webber claimed victory.

"I was just cruising to the finish line and it was great points for me, but then I blew a tyre," said the 2008 world champion. "That's motor-racing.

"But it was quite a good race for me. I had really good fun out there."

Hamilton had driven superbly to run second for most of the race, despite Red Bull's domination of qualifying.

The Englishman passed Sebastian Vettel for second place during the pit stop period, and comfortably held off the German until his Red Bull suffered brake failure with 12 laps to go and dropped back.

He said: "It's nice to take a step forward and split the Red Bulls, which would have been perfect for the team. But these things happen.

Button frustrated by mechanical problems

"I don't know what it [the cause of the puncture] was. I guess we'll find out, but there's many more races to go."

Team-mate Jenson Button could only manage fifth on a disappointing weekend for McLaren.

The defending champion was left to rue dashboard and clutch problems, causing a slow pit stop which left him trailing Michael Schumacher for the rest of the race.

Button was critical of the German seven-time world champion for not allowing him to pass.

"It's almost impossible to overtake around here and he [Schumacher] was moving round quite a bit and making sure I couldn't get past so it's frustrating," said Button.

"The pace of the car was really good, but it doesn't make any difference if you cannot overtake. I was trying so hard to overtake that I damaged my tyres quite badly.

"It all came from the first pit stop really, we had a problem with the clutch dragging so the pit stop took a lot longer and as I came out I didn't know where he was going into turn one.

ANDREW BENSON'S BLOG
Hamilton was quite brilliant on Sunday, driving with stunning pace but also a maturity that he might not have displayed a couple of years ago

"He turned in and if I didn't back out then we would have crashed, so he didn't give me a lot of room there. There you go, with his experience you would have thought he would know."

After qualifying in third place, Hamilton sped past Sebastian Vettel as the Red Bull driver exited the pits on lap 18 and held onto second place right up until disaster struck on the 65th circuit.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said Hamilton's pace in splitting the Red Bulls had been "encouraging" and that his retirement was "therefore deeply frustrating".

He said the cause of the problem was unclear but refused to blame the team.

"It was a deflation," he said. "It could have been debris caught in the rim, I think that probably caused the failure, but that's speculation. It's not a straightforward puncture.

Whitmarsh disappointed with McLaren performance

Whitmarsh confirmed that Button's delay in the pits had been caused by a dashboard failure which prompted his clutch to drag and his wheels to spin.

"For Jenson, it was a great drive, but he was probably hampered early on by a display failure which was no fault of the driver or the team.

"Then he got stuck behind Michael and that probably dictated his race. It's disappointing for both drivers today and the whole team."

Button remains top of the drivers' championship on 70 points, three clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who took second place on his home track.

Hamilton is joint-sixth on 53 points.

"It's not the result we wanted or deserved," said Button. "Fifth is OK, but it wasn't a very good race."

READ MORE - Lewis Hamilton positive despite blown tyre at Spanish GP

Leicester 0 - 1 Cardiff

Peter Whittingham's stunning free-kick handed Cardiff City the edge over Leicester City in their Championship play-off semi-final first leg.

The Championship's top scorer struck his 24th goal of the season 15 minutes from time curling left-footed from 25 yards in off Chris Weale's near post.

Michael Chopra had earlier hit a post for Cardiff while Leicester's Matt Fryatt squandered a late chance.

The Foxes also had three penalty shouts denied by referee Alan Wiley.

Fryatt's missed opportunity was one of a host of chances for the rampant hosts in a frantic final 10 minutes as Leicester had two of those penalty appeals rejected and keeper David Marshall made two top-class saves.

Substitute Fryatt sprinted through one-on-one as he threatened to capitalise on a tangle between Darcy Blake and Kevin McNaughton but Marshall remained on his feet and beat out the Foxes top scorer's shot.

Cardiff's goal led a charmed life late on as Leicester's pressure intensified as Paul Gallagher curled a right-foot shot wide of Marshall's far post before the same man had a shot blocked in time added on.

Scottish international Marshall had to be at his best again with virtually the last kick of the game as he somehow clawed Alex Bruce's close-range bullet header from Gallagher's in-swinging left-wing corner.

While Marshall was Cardiff's unsung hero at one end, Whittingham stole the show at the other as the Bluebirds winger fired in a goal-of-the-season contender when it really mattered.
Leicester's Jay Spearing and Cardiff's Stephen McPhail battle for possession
Leicester's Jay Spearing and Cardiff's Stephen McPhail battle for possession

Whittingham's desire has often been criticised in previous seasons but his eye for a goal - and timing - cannot be questioned as his beautiful left-foot strike has fired Cardiff to the brink of their first Championship play-off final.

A Wembley showpiece with either Blackpool or Nottingham Forest on 22 May and a shot at money-spinning promotion to the Premier League - potentially banking a £90m jackpot for the debt-ridden Welsh club - is now more than just a dream.

Games of such importance and high stakes are usually fraught, tense chess matches but this was an end-to-end cracker and a superb advert for English football's second-tier.

The excellent Jay Bothroyd had the first-chance as the Cardiff striker held off and turned Bruce before firing narrowly wide of Chris Weale's left-hand post from 25 yards.

But Leicester, roared on by a capacity 29,165 crowd, began to assert authority as Cardiff conceded a string of corners and needless free-kicks in dangerous positions.

And it was only a lack of Leicester accuracy that saved the Bluebirds' blushes - most notably Jack Hobbs' misguided header away from goal after another tantalising inswinging Martyn Waghorn corner.

But the visitors, who boast the Championship's best away record outside of the top-two, always looked an attacking threat and targetman Bothroyd was, as ever, their attacking fulcrum.

And the former Arsenal trainee set-up strike partner Chopra after skipping past three defenders but Chopra, on the right-hand-side of the box, dragged his shot just wide of Leicester's far post.

606: DEBATE
Only half-time. Chance for the Foxes to suck on a few of their glacier mints and remain cool

ToweringSeasider

And Chopra went even closer towards the conclusion of an end-to-end first-half as the former England under-21 international made a late surge into the box to flick Chris Burke's teasing, low right-wing cross on to keeper Weale's left-hand-post.

Richie Wellens fired just wide for Leicester as the hosts regained a little of their lost momentum just after the break but boss Nigel Pearson was left raging after his side were denied a host of spot-kicks.

Wellens' deep right-wing cross was handled by Cardiff full-back McNaughton, who also bundled over striker Waghorn, but referee Wiley turned down the double protest.

The Staffordshire official then waved away Leicester shouts when Stephen McPhail seemed to handle in the area late on and in the dying minutes when Gallagher's cross was blocked by a combination of captain Mark Hudson's leg and arm.

But Whittingham's beauty won the battle of the Championship's form teams although the promotion battle will only be concluded on Cardiff's home turf on Wednesday.

The Bluebirds, though, will feel a tiny step closer to maybe ending their 48-year absence from the top-flight after just their second win at Leicester in 31 years.

And while Whittingham was quiet for most of the game, he spoke up when it mattered most for Cardiff and the strike was fitting for arguably the club's most important in their 119-year history.

But experienced Bluebirds boss Jones will be wary of the wounded Foxes as Nigel Pearson's side had won their previous five.

READ MORE - Leicester 0 - 1 Cardiff

Chelsea 8 - 0 Wigan

Chelsea recaptured the Premier League title in emphatic fashion as Wigan Athletic were thrashed at Stamford Bridge.

Carlo Ancelotti's side needed victory to end Manchester United's three-season reign as champions - and once Nicolas Anelka gave them the lead after only six minutes there was never any doubt they would reclaim the crown.

Chelsea were then able to put the gloss on their triumph with another dazzling display of attacking football that ensured Ancelotti's first season in England ended with the biggest domestic prize in his grasp.

After putting seven past Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke City in a season that has seen them score more than a century of goals in the league, they celebrated by going one better against Roberto Martinez's hopelessly outclassed side.

The thumping win is the biggest in their 105-year history and also saw them break the record for the most league goals in a Premier League season with 103.

The previous best was the 97 Manchester United scored in the 1999/2000 season.

Terry targets double after title win

Wigan's cause was not helped by the first-half dismissal of defender Gary Caldwell. He was sent off for a foul on Frank Lampard that led to the England midfield man effectively wrapping up the title from the spot before half-time.

The second half was exhibition stuff with Salomon Kalou and Anelka on target again before Didier Drogba added the Golden Boot to Chelsea's title with a rapid-fire hat-trick to take his total to 29 in the league this term. Ashley Cole's crisp strike for number eight on the stroke of full-time provided a fitting finale.

Chelsea's celebrations were suitably flamboyant - a reflection of their delight at ending the Old Trafford spell of supremacy in league combat.

It also marked a personal triumph for Italian Ancelotti, brought to Stamford Bridge by owner Roman Abramovich to redefine the style of Chelsea's team and put them back among the major trophies.

Chelsea's feat in becoming the first top-flight team to score 100 goals in the league since Spurs in 1963 was a reflection of the attacking intent Ancelotti has brought, especially on home territory. The ghost of Jose Mourinho, who won the league in 2005 and 2006 to end a 50-year barren spell, may not be banished completely, but Ancelotti has made an indelible mark.

Ancelotti hails 'fantastic' Chelsea team

He was loudly acclaimed by Chelsea's fans throughout the second half - and let his normally impassive mask slip as he responded with a fierce clenched-fist salute to an ecstatic Stamford Bridge.

And Ancelotti can now set his sights on history as Chelsea go in search of their first league and FA Cup double when they face Portsmouth at Wembley next Saturday.

For now, however, the Premier League title will do for starters and the respect for Ancelotti was obvious in the way his players and staff raced to embrace him at the final whistle.

Chelsea's early nerves - if indeed there were any - were settled as Anelka put them on the way to the title after only six minutes.

Wigan failed to clear Drogba's free-kick and when Florent Malouda, from a suspiciously offside position, chested the ball into Anelka's path he drilled a finish past Mike Pollitt at his near post.

Despite Wigan enjoying plenty of possession and territory without posing any serious threat to Petr Cech's goal, Chelsea scored the second goal that sealed their title win 13 minutes before half-time.

606: DEBATE
Deserved title, very well done. Ignore all the bitter comments flying around from rival supporters, you deserved the title 100%, enjoy it

Rafael and Fabio - Perfect Combination

Lampard raced on to Drogba's flick and was hauled down by Caldwell as he closed in on goal. The Wigan defender was shown the red card by referee Martin Atkinson and Lampard scored from the spot with his customary expertise.

As Stamford Bridge celebrated there was one unlikely dissenter in the shape of Drogba, who appeared unhappy that he had not been allowed to take the penalty as he battled with Manchester United's Wayne Rooney for the Golden Boot.

It was a huge over-reaction from the superbly gifted, but on this evidence high-maintenance, striker - with Lampard rightly reasoning the title still needed to be won and came before personal honours.

Chelsea emerged early for the second half and went into a team huddle, before putting their stamp on the title in superb style.

Kalou banished any lingering doubts that this would not be a day of celebration for the west Londoners when he exchanged passes with Lampard before beating Pollitt. And two minutes later Anelka started to put the gloss on another goal glut with a perfect right-foot volley from Branislav Ivanovic's cross.

It was the signal for Ancelotti to send on Joe Cole for what might have been his final Stamford Bridge appearance as a Chelsea player, with a new contract still unsigned.

No team has been as ruthless as the Blues at punishing stricken opponents, and they set about putting Wigan to the sword as the home fans revelled in the slaughter.

Drogba revels in beating Rooney to golden boot

Drogba finally got the goal he so obviously craved when he headed Chelsea's fifth from Lampard's cross - their 100th league goal this season.

The Ivorian striker was at it again for number six after 68 minutes when he finally got to take a penalty after Mario Melchiot fouled Ashley Cole. Lampard stood to one side as Drogba scored via a post - followed by elaborate celebrations that even involved a touchline hug for Ancelotti.

And they made it another seven-goal show with 10 minutes left as Drogba turned home from close range after Pollitt could only parry Joe Cole's shot.

If the game required the perfect finish, Ashley Cole provided it with a low finish past the shell-shocked Pollitt - before joyous scenes engulfed Stamford Bridge at the final whistle.

READ MORE - Chelsea 8 - 0 Wigan