Month: November 2019

Bruno Fernandes says he ‘has dreams to fulfil’ but the in-demand star won’t force a move away from Sporting Lisbon.

The Portugal midfielder was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League last summer, with Manchester United and Tottenham said to be most keen on the 25-year-old who scored 32 goals and offered 18 assists in all competitions last season.

Fernandes has continued that form into the new campaign, scoring eight goals and laying on another six in 14 league and European matches.

Clubs in England and Spain continue to track the midfielder, but Fernandes says he won’t kick up a fuss to get a big move.

“I’m not worried at all [about transfer window speculation],” he told reporters while on international duty.

“Since 2016, there’s been talk about my possible departure.

“I’m well, doing my job and doing the best I can. I have dreams to fulfil but I have no need to force my departure.

“I feel the love here and if I have to leave, I hope I leave good memories.”

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Chelsea Handler met up with actress Renée Zellweger on her Netflix-sponsored talk show to discuss the strange phenomenon of fame and the transitions the Bridget Jones actress faced as a result.

Zellweger rose to stardom after her breakout role in Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, in which she starred alongside Tom Cruise. Though nearly twenty years have passed since her initial star turn, the actress is still handling the fallout that comes with fame.

During the intimate sit down, the 47-year-old star discussed her odd relationship with her career, a self-deprecating dialogue that can be best described as “Impostor Syndrome.” “I’m not trained,” Zellweger said, “I feel like every job I kind of got by accident because I tricked them and they just haven’t found out yet, but inevitably they’re going to and they’re going to fire me.”

Handler was quick to point out that Zellweger has never seemed completely comfortable in the spotlight, to which the Texan actress agreed. “I really like the job,” Zellweger told Handler. “Fame is just weird to me. It’s not natural … You don’t have an opportunity to really meet people in a genuine way.”

RELATED: Renée Zellweger and Patrick Dempsey Talk Crazy First Jobs

Zellweger admitted that fame is something one never quite acclimates to: “There’s a lot of things that happen, that change, when suddenly people recognize you on the street. You’re not born with the faculties to know how to navigate that immediately, you have to develop skills. I’m still developing those skills,” Zellweger said.

Watch the video above for the full interview—which includes insights into the issues surrounding female self-confidence and a look at Zellweger’s relationship with her family.

Just as Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele took inspiration from wildlife and flora in his Gucci Garden Collection, appearing not only as embellishments throughout the collection, but also in its romantic tone and colorful prints, Gucci’s Gift Giving 2016 campaign finds us in a real-life version of the garden, with the embellishments and prints coming to life before our eyes.

Directed by artist, Floria Sigismondi, the video campaign features, “beautiful plants and exotic animals such as a tiger, a zebra, birds, bees, bunnies and even a unicorn,” reads a press statement from the luxury brand. And indeed, the video showcases a picture of wildlife beyond our imagination, all inspired by the Garden of Eden. We see both the iconic snake slithering through green grass, and the apple tree, from which a model takes a piece of fruit and bites into it, just as Eve did in the story.

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The 60 second video, which you can watch above, plays with “Il Dolce Suono” in the background to further the romantic effect. We’re loving the whimsical animal and wildlife motifs found on many pieces of the collection, including fun key chains, phone cases, backpacks, sneakers, slides, purses, and more. All of which would indeed make amazing gifts for family and friends this holiday season.

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Charles Leclerc says that he wants to win races during his first season with Ferrari in 2019.

In his maiden season in Formula 1 at Sauber, the 21-year-old driver’s best result was sixth place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However next year he will be working with race-winning hardware, and intends to put it to good use.

“It is clear that racing for Ferrari, I would like to win a couple of Grands Prix,” Leclerc said at Autosprint’s Caschi d’Oro ceremony in Italy on Thursday night when asked what his goals were for next year.

Ideally, he said that these would be at his own home race in Monaco, and Ferrari’s equivalent event at Monza.

“But I cannot imagine what it will be like to race in Italy as a Ferrari driver!” Leclerc added.

• Leclerc won’t change Vettel’s ‘basic team mate rule’

He will certainly be under the spotlight in next season and will have to work hard to demonstrate that he deserves the seat formerly occupied by Tifosi favourite Kimi Raikkonen.

In addition, he knows he will also have to prove himself against one of the best drivers in the sport today, his new team mate Sebastian Vettel.

“Pressure? No, I don’t feel it,” Leclerc insisted. “Rather I feel the support and I must say that I am happy. My goal is obviously to do my best and respect the team’s expectations.

“I will have at my side a driver like Sebastian Vettel who will be an important help for me to grow and learn.

“He is a wonderful person, as well as a great driver,” Leclerc added. “I got to know him when I worked at the Maranello simulator and he thanked me for the work I did.”

When it comes to on-track performance, Leclerc was actually faster than Vettel in the SF71H in last month’s post-season tyre test for `Pirelli at Abu Dhabi. Leclerc’s best time of 1:36.450s was significantly faster than Vettel’s 1:36.812s.

However the two men took the wheel on separate days and in different conditions, meaning that head-to-head comparisons will have to wait until they line up on the grid in Melbourne in March.

“How did I find it? Unbelievable,” Leclerc replied when asked how his first run in the car as an official Ferrari F1 driver had gone.

“The car is fabulous to drive. It was a great honour as well as a great emotion,” he added.

“Obviously we are talking about a test [so] it does not make much sense to talk about performance in absolute terms,” he admitted. “But the feeling was immediately exceptional.”

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Sebastian Vettel is unconcerned by the departures of Daniil Kvyat and Antonio Giovinazzi from their simulator roles at Ferrari, confident the Scuderia will find a suitable replacement.

Kvyat and Giovinazzi undertook extensive simulator work at Maranello last year as they contributed to the development and set-up of Ferrari’s SF71-H, a task for which Vettel praised both drivers.

However, with Kvyat heading back to Toro Rosso and Giovinazzi awarded a race seat at Sauber, the Scuderia finds itself short of a simulator and development driver, a role that was offered to Robert Kubica before the Pole committed to a race seat at Williams for 2019.

Kubica admits Ferrari development role ‘not easy’ to turn down

Contracted Ferrari test drivers Marc Gene and Davide Rigon could occasionally be called upon for simulator work but the Scuderia will likely require someone dedicated to the role in the future.

“Personally, I’m not a fan of the simulator because it’s just not fun,” said Vettel.

“But you get the point, it is very important, it is an important tool. Based on our findings, we change the car, it is better and we were happier.

“We’re extremely thankful for the guys, taking in the time because it’s not the nicest job on Friday night, especially when you’re young, but it’s important, it all adds up.

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“Everybody plays his part and in the end we have the honour to have the steering wheel in our hands and drive the machine that we all try to create and reach out with performance.

“For 2019, it’s true, we take a step but I think we will find people that fit in very well and very quickly so I’m confident we will have a strong team on that front as well.”

Ferrari could rely on a member of its junior academy for simulator duties, or perhaps reach out to Sergey Sirotkin following the Russian’s eviction from Williams as a result of Kubica’s nomination.

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Renault has hinted at significant improvement of its power unit, and Daniel Ricciardo says his team’s optimism is fully warranted based on the hard numbers he’s seen.

At Renault’s launch earlier this week, team boss Cyril Abiteboul alluded to progress achieved by the manufacturer’s engineers at Viry Châtillon that has surpassed any gain they have experienced since the advent of the V6 Hybrid engine in F1.

And new recruit Ricciardo has backed up their claim.

Tight-lipped Abiteboul labels Renault engine progress as ‘substantial’

“Obviously being pretty deep in the Renault family, I’ve seen numbers and I know they are not just saying it to please everyone. It has been a good winter,” he confirmed, speaking to Motorsport.com.

“But, race cars are race cars. You might put it on track, and it has done a lot of stuff on the dyno, and then it’s ‘why is it doing that?’ ‘Okay, we didn’t expect that.’

“So you never really want to put all your eggs in that basket saying this is going to be sick.

“But look, so far what they have done over the winter, looking at the numbers they have done in previous years, it has been a good one.

“By no means are they saying it is going to be better than a Mercedes, but from what they have done it is really positive. It is nice to hear that for sure.”

Ricciardo’s team mate Nico Hulkenberg, who embarks on his third year with the French squad, says a performance boost on the engine front is exactly what the doctor ordered

“It is what we needed,” said the German. “Last year we didn’t have much coming on that side, so it was kind of overdue.

“In the second half of last year that really put us in a difficult situation, so we really needed that. It is good that it arrives.

“But then again on the other side, Ferrari and Mercedes may have found another whole lot of power again which means we will have to find more again. It is hard to say without speculating.”

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Toro Rosso rolled out its 2019 Honda-powered STR14 at Faenza, a car that will be entrusted to F1 returnee Daniil Kvyat and rookie Alexander Albon.

The new car has retained its familiar Red Bull blue and red livery but obviously sports all the tell-tale signs of a 2019 racer with the simplified front wing, larger rear wing and modified sidepods.

Overall, a very sleek machine produced by Toro Rosso, its last design partly overseen by McLaren-bound tech boss James Key.

Team boss Franz Tost refrained from making any bold statements about the squad’s new contender, but the Austrian believes his team has produced a good overall package.

“As is always the case before the start of a season, we don’t want to set a specific target – at least not now.

“All things considered, the quality of the synergies with Red Bull Technology, the belief in our very high level of in-house technical knowledge, the impressive development trajectory Honda has shown so far, and the couple of strong young drivers we have available make me feel confident.”

Red Bull’s future in F1 could depend on Honda – Marko

With both Red Bull and Toro Rosso now supplied by Honda, the junior bull outfit’s STR14 has received its complete rear-end design from Milton Keynes’ engineers, with the common componentry making life much easier for Honda.

Toro Rosso concluded its 2018 campaign 9th in the Constructors’ standings, but as a team that was helping Red Bull Racing lay the groundwork for its switch to Honda power this year, the Italian outfit was often forced to the back of the grid on Sundays as a result of grid penalties attached to its chronic engine component changes.

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost has already warned that his team will once again work in the interests of Red Bull Racing this year whenever required to help the senior squad’s development rate.

On the driver front, Red Bull has brought back to the fray 24-year-old Daniil Kvyat, who endured several gyrations between Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso between 2014 and 2017, when he left the Faenza team before the end of that season.

Sitting opposite the Russian in the team’s garage this season will be new recruit Alexander Albon.

The 22-year-old British-Thai racer, who was a front-runner in Formula 2 last year, is seen by pundits as somewhat of an unknown quantity, having never even tested an F1 car yet.

Albon recently said that his first priority would be to get up to speed as fast as possible when pre-season testing kicks off in Barcelona next week.

“In general, the way I’ve gone about my career and my racing, is I never set any goals on anything,” said Albon.

“Every year, it was just each race, take it step by step, focus and race in that session – whatever it would be, practice, qualifying, the race. Just take it as it is. If you start setting long-term goals, you just put unnecessary pressure on yourself. I’m just focused on myself and let’s see how it all goes.”

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The Renault F1 Team published on Twitter the first pictures of Daniel Ricciardo all suited and booted in his new team kit, along with his new team mate Nico Hulkenberg.

A change of colors hasn’t led to a persona switch for Ricciardo however who retains his trademark smile.

The two men head into the season with different challenges. While Hulkenberg will be out to prove himself against a bona fide Grand Prix winner for the first time in his career, Ricciardo hopes his move to the French squad will pay dividends down the road.

• Ricciardo not underestimating Hulkenberg’s ‘calibre’ despite track record

Overall however, it’s a fresh start for the Aussie.

“When I signed, I knew that there was work ahead,” Ricciardo admits.

“I know that they’re putting a lot of effort into making things better and expanding a lot of departments and trying to make ’19 stronger and ’20 and whatever.

” ’19 is a new car and it’s going to be a fresh start again.

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“Obviously, all I can do is try to be fully immersed into it all and try to help as much as I can and see how things go from there.”

For starters, the Honey Badger looks yeasty bananas in yellow!

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After five consecutive drivers and constructors’ titles, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff still doesn’t know if a team should allow its drivers to race each other or choose a clear number one.

Mercedes’ recent dominant period in F1 saw Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg involved in an epic inner team battle for three seasons that proved difficult to manage for Wolff.

Wolff lays it out for Bottas, to keep his seat at Mercedes

But imposing team orders on Valtteri Bottas in 2018 to help Hamilton secure his fifth crown was equally conflicting for the Austrian who still has his doubts about the right team policy to enforce.

“You can disagree on this and I do not know what works best”, Wolff said in an interview with Dutch magazine Formule 1.

“Look at the dominant years of Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and us and it seems that always one driver was the unofficial number one.

“On the other hand, it may be an advantage to have two drivers who chase each other a lot, because as a team you might develop faster and perform better.”

Giving drivers a free rein can lead to drawbacks however as Wolff experienced first hand with the explosive Hamilton/Rosberg duo.

“It can then become rotten between the drivers, and if that spills over to the engineers it can also affect the team,” he added.

“So I don’t know what is the best,” Wolff concludes.

“Ideally, however, you should have two drivers who can find each other and compete with each other on the track, but limit it to the track.”

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Haas team boss Guenther Steiner believes the US outfit will need “to get lucky” to secure its maiden F1 podium this season.

Haas heads into its fourth year of Grand Prix racing, but with opportunities for a spot among the top-three few and far between – thanks to the utter dominance of F1’s unassailable Mercedes-Ferrari Red Bull trio – Steiner’s troops can only “dream” for now of a podium finish.

“That is a dream. If we could make it that would be nice,” said Steiner.

“I would say last year in Baku without the accident we could have got close to it. So hopefully it is our season. So last year luck was not a lot on our side.

Max Mosley has a fix for Formula 1’s budget cap issues!

“Maybe it turns and we get lucky. But if everything goes normal nobody can reach the podium except for the top three teams.

“Sometimes there are things happening in a race where you can make it, and if you are there and about after the three big teams, you can pick it up.

“But you need to be there all the time. You need to be consistently in that fourth spot as a team to get to the podium.”

Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll were the all-too-rare outliers that had the good fortune of sharing the podium with the big guns in the past two years, with both men achieving the feat at Baku.

The Mexican stood proud among the top-three in Azerbaijan last year, while the Canadian did the same with Williams in 2017.

Steiner righty states that F1 fans would love nothing more than to see an underdog upset the front-runner’s race day.

But that prospect is unlikely to materialize without a leveling of the playing as induced by a long-awaited budget cap in F1.

“With a level playing field financially, if everyone can play with the same means, the same resources or a similar amount of money, it makes it more competitive with closer racing,” Steiner told GPFans.

“After a while, just dominating, you know that you are just destroying something.

“I think we are just discussing small details [regarding the 2021 rules] now to get there but I think [all the teams] are on board.

“I think the big teams will still have an advantage anyway because their infrastructures are so much more developed, but their advantage will be smaller.

“What would be better than having an underdog winning a race? Like when Brawn won the championship, I think that was fantastic for the sport. I would like to see that, and I think the fans want to see that.”

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