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February 15, 2023 Mercedes Goes Black for 2023 Formula One Season

Mercedes Goes Black for 2023 Formula One Season

Mercedes returns to black livery for the 2023 Formula One season, aiming to reclaim the top spot in Grand Prix racing.

At the launch on Wednesday at Silverstone circuit in central England, Lewis Hamilton and driver George Russell unveiled the new car.

In the previous year, the team had a difficult season, with Hamilton finishing in sixth place, his lowest position at the end of a Formula One championship, due to challenges with new regulations.

Mercedes hopes that the black livery, the same colors that helped Hamilton earn a record-equalling seventh title in 2020, will bring a change in fortune.

Hamilton, one of the few leading people of colour in motorsport, encouraged Mercedes to paint their car black for the 2020 and 2021 seasons as part of an anti-racism campaign.

Mercedes’ traditional racing colour has been silver, hence the Germany-founded marque’s nickname of the “Silver Arrows”.

And team principal Toto Wolff said there was a performance reason behind this year’s change of colours.

“We were overweight last year,” said Wolff. “This year we have tried to figure out where we can squeeze out every single gram. So now history repeats itself.

“The car has some raw carbon bits, along with some that are painted matte black.

“Of course when we changed the livery in 2020, the main driving factor was to support the diversity and equality causes which are always close to our heart.

“The colour black became part of our DNA at that point, so we are pleased to return to it.”

Hamilton saw his record of winning at least one race in every season of his career — a run extending back to his debut campaign for McLaren in 2007 — end last year when he finished a huge 214 points adrift of champion Max Verstappen and even behind Mercedes team-mate Russell, who came fourth.

Hamilton, entering the final year of his current £40 million-a-season deal, will hope Mercedes have now given him a machine to challenge rival Verstappen and Red Bull.

“I have been here a long time,” Hamilton said ahead of his 11th season with Mercedes and his 17th in all in Formula One.

“I continue to love racing and that is never ever going to change. It is part of my DNA and I always believe I can get better.

“I love the challenge of the mental and the physical elements, of having to deep dive, and see how I can extract more performance from me, the people around me, and the car that is constantly evolving.

“There is always a new logbook and new tools that you have to get used to, and I love that so I am planning to stay a little bit longer.”

Hamilton and Russell — who claimed his first victory and Mercedes’ sole win of 2022 during the penultimate round in Brazil — will get their first run-out with this year’s car during three days of testing in Bahrain next week before the curtain-raiser, also in the Gulf Kingdom, on March 5.

Russell, 25, said he knew what was expected as he prepared for his second season with Mercedes.

“We are all here to win,” he said. “It is as simple as that.

“We need to go out there and see the challenges we are faced with, but the team has put so much hard work into this car.”

AFP

February 15, 2023 Tottenham Silent on Speculation of Potential Takeover Bid for the Club

Tottenham Silent on Speculation of Potential Takeover Bid for the Club

Tottenham has chosen not to respond to rumors that billionaire Jahm Najafi plans to start a £3.1 billion takeover of the team.

The head of the sports investment firm MSP Sports Capital is Iranian-American Najafi.

According to The Financial Times, he is putting together a proposal for Spurs with the help of a group of investors.

Najafi will not approach Tottenham owner Joe Lewis or Spurs chairman Daniel Levy for some weeks, it was said.

A minority owner of the NBA franchise Phoenix Suns is Najafi.

Tottenham is now ranked fifth in the Premier League after losing the first leg of their last-16 Champions League match 1-0 at AC Milan on Tuesday.

The 63,000-seat, cutting-edge Tottenham Hotspur stadium, which cost £1 billion to construct and had its inaugural Premier League match in April 2019, is where they play.

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February 15, 2023 Anxiety Grips Arsenal Fans Ahead Crucial City Clash

Anxiety Grips Arsenal Fans Ahead Crucial City Clash

Anxiety is running high among Nigerian Arsenal fans as they face off against reigning champions Manchester City in a Premier League title showdown at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

With the Gunners seeking to avoid a third consecutive league game without a victory and the Cityzens looking to knock them off their perch at the summit, the match is shaping up to be a mouth-watering top-of-the-table contest.

Despite hopes of winning their first Premier League title in nearly two decades, Arsenal have hit a rough patch lately, suffering a 1-0 defeat at Everton and a 1-1 draw at home to Brentford.

While the Gunners still lead the Premier League, their once-comfortable eight-point lead has shrunk to just three after dropping points in three of their last five games.

Moreover, they have not won any of their last 13 Premier League meetings with Manchester City and have lost all of their last 10 – a record losing streak against any opponent in their top-flight history.

A defeat against City would not be a total catastrophe for Arsenal, with 16 league matches still to come, but a victory on Wednesday would be a statement win and give Mikel Arteta's team a much-needed boost heading into a favorable run of seven successive fixtures against teams outside the top six.

Despite his hopes for an Arsenal win, Banjo Adeyosoye expressed doubts about the team's ability to overcome the visitors.

“I will go for a win but won’t be sad if we got a draw as long as we don’t lose the game.

“But it’s been long coming since we beat City in the league and second half of last season we almost did beat them but hopefully we can pull a rabbit outta the hat.”

Olawale added, “So, we will be facing (Erling) Haaland again in today’s match? God help us.”

Njoke Steve is, however, banking on the Gunners’ outstanding game regardless of the outcome of tonight’s encounter.

“We have a game in hand no matter what the outcome would be, we are still in control of the league,” he said.

Another Arsenal fan, Fred, is of the opinion that there is a conspiracy against the Gunners.

“This is what the FA wants, all pre-planned to make the league interesting!! So sad.”

Jelel Ahmed added, “Honestly, it feels almost unfair that a win will take City above Arsenal in the table, despite we all saying Arsenal have been electric and City haven’t been themselves. If City win on Wednesday, I think that’s it.

Biodun Kalejaye said, “It’s going to be an interesting game but knowing Manchester City they’re probably going to win and that’s so unfair to my darling club.”

An optimistic Kenneth Terungwa added, “No one seems to be giving Arsenal a chance here, but we can sprig up a surprise.”

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February 14, 2023 Fans Buy Osimhen Mask As Striker Equals Higuain Record

Fans Buy Osimhen Mask As Striker Equals Higuain Record

Napoli fans are so much in love with Victor Osimhen that they are not only queuing to buy his shirt but also replicas of his protective mask outside the Stadio Maradona, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Nigeria international is Serie A’s leading scorer with 17 goals in 18 matches, including eight in his last six appearances.

He bagged one in Sunday’s 3-0 win against Cremonese and Gazzetta reports the Partenopei supporters even queued to buy replicas of the protective mask he’s been wearing for more than a year following a cheekbone injury suffered against Inter in November 2021.

Replicas of Osimhen’s mask are on sale in stalls outside the stadium and hundreds of fans were seen queueing to buy the gadget on Sunday, before their game with Cremonese.

Napoli fans are so much in love with Victor Osimhen that they are not only queuing to buy his shirt but also replicas of his protective mask outside the Stadio Maradona, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Nigeria international is Serie A’s leading scorer with 17 goals in 18 matches, including eight in his last six appearances. He bagged one in Sunday’s 3-0 win against Cremonese and Gazzetta reports the Partenopei supporters even queued to buy replicas of the protective mask he’s been wearing for more than a year following a cheekbone injury suffered against Inter in November 2021.

Replicas of Osimhen’s mask are on sale in stalls outside the stadium and hundreds of fans were seen queueing to buy the gadget on Sunday, before their game with Cremonese.

The pink describes Osimhen as the ‘king of Naples’ with the Partenopei dreaming of winning their first title in over 30 years. They top Serie A with 59 points after 22 games, losing just one league game — against second-place Inter milan — as the chances of a first league triumph after three decades increasingly look brighter.

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old continues to equal and break records in Italy as he further enjoys his blistering performance.

On Sunday, Osimhen scored Napoli’s second goal in their 3-0 win over struggling Cremonese and in doing so, he became just the club’s second player in their history to score in six consecutive matches after Argentine Gonzalo Higuain, who did the same during his time at Napoli in the 2015/16 season.

After failing to score in Napoli’s 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in January, the Super Eagles striker had since found the back of the net against Sampdoria, Juventus, Salernitana, AS Roma, Spezia Calcio and Cremonese, scoring eight goals in the process.

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