Tag: stunning

Turkey advances at Euros thanks to stunning save from Mert Günok turkey,advances,at,euros,thanks,to,stunning,save,from,mert,g,nok,sbnation,com,front-page,soccer

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Turkey is moving on to the quarter-finals at Euro 2024.

And they can certainly point to keeper Mert Günok as well as Merih Demiral as huge reasons why.

In Tuesday’s knockout match between Austria and Turkey, Turkey enjoyed a 2-1 lead in the closing minutes, thanks to a brace from Merih Demiral. Demiral’s first goal came just 57 seconds into the match, making it the second-fastest goal in Euros history. Turkey took a 1-0 lead to the break, and Demiral’s second goal, which came in the 59th minute, gave Turkey the two-goal advantage.

Michael Gregoritsch netted for Austria on this well-designed set piece in the 66th minute as the Austrians cut Turkey’s advantage to 2-1:

Both sides pressed on in the rain, trying to find either the goal to ice the game or, in Austria’s case, the equalizer. In the 95th minute, Christoph Baumgartner thought he delivered the equalizer for Austria, but that is when Günok delivered his hero moment:

Somehow, some way, Günok turned Baumgartner’s point-blank header aside. The save is certainly worth another look, as Günok goes full stretch to deny Baumgartner:

Turkey held on for the 2-1 victory, advancing to the quarter-finals where they will face Netherlands.

F1 Austrian Grand Prix results: George Russell’s victory caps off three stunning weeks for Mercedes f,austrian,grand,prix,results,george,russell,s,victory,caps,off,three,stunning,weeks,for,mercedes,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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“It’s not over, until it’s over.’

Those were the words of Mercedes driver George Russell, as he spoke with his team just moments after taking the checkered flag at the Austrian Grand Prix in stunning fashion. One might be excused for believing there was some bewilderment behind Russell’s comment, given how the race stood just minutes prior. Russell was running in third, behind the climactic fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, but he kept himself in striking distance, giving himself a chance to capitalize if something happened at the front.

Something did happen, a collision between Norris and Verstappen that ended the McLaren driver’s day and saw Verstappen limp back to the pits with a puncture of his own. The door was open for Russell, and the British driver barged through, capturing the second Grand Prix win of his Formula 1 career, and the first for Mercedes this season.

“It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race,” said Russell to David Coulthard trackside immediately following his stunning victory. “The team has worked so hard, we’ve made so many strides since the start of the season. The last three races have been incredible, and there’s more to come … what an exciting time for us.”

Indeed it is an exciting time for the Silver Arrows. Mercedes struggled out of the gate this season, and arrived in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix just a few short weeks ago languishing in fourth place in the F1 Constructors’ Championship standings.

They were a staggering 180 points behind first-place Red Bull, and 156 points behind Ferrari.

But then came signs of life. The first signs came at the Canadian Grand Prix when Russell captured pole position, and while he could not hold off at the front of the race he secured the team’s first Grand Prix podium of the year with a third-place finish, to go with a second place from Lewis Hamilton in the F1 Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton matched Russell’s P3 with one of his own in Barcelona.

Then came Sunday.

With Russell’s win and a fourth-place finish from Lewis Hamilton — along with their results from Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race — Mercedes banked another 45 points in the standings. Making them the hottest team on the grid over those three race weekends.

Here is what the teams at the top of the grid have done over this period:

Red Bull: 79
McLaren: 84
Ferrari: 39
Mercedes: 100

That has seen Mercedes cut not only into Red Bull’s lead over them, but pull to within 95 points of Ferrari up in second place.

A stunning turnaround for the Silver Arrows.

“Incredible! That’s the only way I can describe it. We had a tough fight in the early stages to make sure we held on to P3. That would prove crucial at the end,” said Norris in the team’s post-race report. “I could see that Max [Verstappen] and Lando [Norris] were having a big battle. We were only just over ten seconds behind the pair of them, which is really encouraging pace-wise.

“I knew there was a possibility that they could come together, even if it was only a slim chance. You have to be there at the end to pick up the pieces and that’s exactly where we were. I am so proud to be back on the top step of the podium.”

“It is a great feeling to get back on to the top step of the podium. It is a fantastic reward for the hard work and efforts of everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. We have taken good steps forward in recent races, and we are excited about what is still to come,” described Team Principal Toto Wolff. “We knew our outright pace today wouldn’t quite be enough to challenge for victory. We therefore made sure we [maximized] our race and were able to pick up the pieces, should anything happen. We enjoyed some good fortune but that is motor racing.”

On the other side of the garage Hamilton — whose fourth-place finish added another 12 points to that tally for the team — hailed the effort these past few weeks from the entire organization.

“Congratulations to George and the team. Everyone at Brackley and Brixworth really deserves this result,” offered Hamilton. “They have worked so hard to bring performance to the car and we are starting to get us closer and closer to the very front. We put in so much effort so to get a result like this is a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts.”

The grid now shifts home for Mercedes, for next weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. While the fight at the front — and the collision between Norris and Verstappen that opened the door for Russell in the first place — will likely dominate the headlines the surge from Mercedes is absolutely worthy of note.

A year ago it was McLaren who pulled off a surge of their own, rocketing up the Constructors’ Championship to ultimately finish fourth. Their turnaround showed its first signs of life in Austria, where Russell just captured Mercedes’ first win of the season.

The Silver Arrows showed their own signs of a turnaround a few weeks earlier than that. So it might be fair to ask: Just how high can Mercedes climb this year?

F1 results: George Russell seizes a stunning victory at the Austrian Grand Prix f,results,george,russell,seizes,a,stunning,victory,at,the,austrian,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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We should just take a moment to catch our breath.

At the start of the Spanish Grand Prix last week a fight at the front of the field between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris off the start opened the door for George Russell to sweep into the lead. However, as you know by now Verstappen eventually wound his way by Russell, holding off Norris down the stretch to capture the Spanish Grand Prix.

Something similar played out at Red Bull Ring on Sunday, but with a much different result.

For around 50 laps of the Austrian Grand Prix it seemed as if Max Verstappen was going to run away from the field, as the Red Bull driver had built a commanding lead over Lando Norris and the rest of the field. The feeling that the other ten teams, the other 19 drivers, and perhaps the overwhelming majority of fans watching around the world was one of dread, at the sight – and potential – that Verstappen was going to run away not just on this day, but over the rest of the days this season.

However, moments later the door opened, just a crack, and the fight was on.

A slow pit stop from Verstappen and Red Bull on Lap 51 – coupled with a much quicker stop from Norris and McLaren – opened that door. Red Bull struggled with the left rear tire on Verstappen’s RB20, leading to a pit stop of 6.5 seconds for Red Bull. McLaren bested that with a 2.9-second stop for Norris, and the two lumbered off pit lane with Norris nipping at Verstappen’s heels.

For over ten laps the two friends-turned-rivals battled it out pushing their machines, each other, and themselves to the absolute limits. At one point Norris got by Verstappen, but the overtake came off the track and the McLaren driver immediately gave the position back. Both drivers were all over the track – and their radio – griping to their teams and airing their frustrations as they pushed their machines to the limit.

Then, on 63, the simmering pot that was this fight between friends boiled over.

On Lap 63 the fight was renewed, and it ended poorly for both drivers. The two drivers came alongside each other and contact was made, with a disastrous result for both. Norris and Verstappen both limped back to the pits with punctures, bringing out the safety car and seeing another driver sweep into the lead.

George Russell.

As the laps ticked down Wolff looked on with a shy smile, seeing the silver and black W15 of Russell’s wind around the track. Oscar Piastri was more than two second behind, and Russell just needed to bring his W15 home to deliver his second-career victory.

He did just that.

“It’s not over, until it’s over,” declared Russell on the radio to his team after taking the checkered flag. “We wouldn’t have thought this in Bahrain. Well done.”

Starting at the Miami Grand Prix, Mercedes began a series of upgrades to the W15, their challenger for the 2024 season. Those upgrades have seen the team improve their performance in recent weeks, marked by their first grand prix podiums of the year. The first came from Russell in Montreal, and the second from Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona. But those were P3 finishes.

This is a win, the first for the team since Russell won in Brazil back in 2022.

“It was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race,” said Russell to David Coulthard trackside. “The team has worked so hard, we’ve made so many strides since the start of the season. The last three races have been incredible, and there’s more to come … what an exciting time for us.”

Much will be said and written in the coming days about the fight between Norris and Verstappen, and whether these friends will see their relationship start to change given the fight at the sharp end of the grid. But on this day a winner emerged, and it was Russell, who fought to the very end and delivered a victory that Mercedes badly needed. A win that not only helps their standing in the Constructors’ Championship but also rewards the hours upon hours of work that the team has put in to solve the issues with the W15. At the Miami Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton described the car at that point in the season to the media, including SB Nation, as being on a “knife’s edge.”

That edge is something very different right now.

And it might be enough to get Mercedes to the sharp end of the grid too.