Sports

AMMAN — Women’s football teams are upbeat as they prepare for upcoming qualifiers and competitions with an uphill battle ahead for both the senior and U-16 squads.

The women’s team has regrouped for the second phase of the qualifying journey to the 2016 Summer Olympics Football tournament with Round 2 Asian qualifiers kicking off in September . 

Jordan topped Asian Group B qualifiers when they beat Uzbekistan 2-0, Hong Kong 1-0, and Palestine 6-0 and qualified to Round 2 where the tough task lies ahead as the Kingdom will join other group leaders Myanmar, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand, following which only the top team will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea and China – which eventually qualifies the top two to represent Asia at the Olympic Games.

The Jordanian squad is scheduled to have a training camp abroad in mid-August ahead of Round 2. The Jordan Football Association is also trying to secure matches from August 24-26 against North African teams — Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco — to ensure the team’s competitive readiness.

 It will be Jordan’s second time in qualifications after the 2012 London Olympic qualifiers, when they advanced to Round 2. 

In 2014, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2014, where they were also the only Arab team to have ever qualified. The squad is reigning West Asian champs after winning the title with Iran, Lebanon and the UAE missing the event.

Meanwhile, as Jordan has started the countdown to hosting the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup, team head coach Maher Abu Hantash said the opportunity to represent Jordan would be open to all players adding that “the best would be chosen to undertake the tough task”.

The team is readying to hold a training camp in Germany from August 2-7 which Abu Hantash described as “vital”.

Women’s teams have been competing in all age divisions in the Asian zone. In 2014, the U-19 team was eliminated from Group A qualifiers for the 2015 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship. The squad was hoping to qualify for the second time after Jordan was the first Arab team to play in the 3rd finals in 2007. The U-16 girls team also failed to qualify to the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship after qualifying in 2013. 

This week, the women’s team went up one spot to 53rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings and the Kingdom leads all Arab teams at 11th in the Asian continent trailing Japan, North Korea, Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Myanmar and Uzbekistan.

Newly crowned women’s World Cup champs the US now lead the top 10 table after overtaking Germany, followed by France, Japan, England, Brazil, Sweden, North Korea, Australia and Norway. 

AMMAN —  Abdullah Dasouqi on Saturday was crowned champion of the Micro Max category in the 3rd and 4th rounds of the Jordan Karting Championship (Rotax Max Challenge) which was held at the Jordan Speed Centre, with the participation of 21 drivers representing Lebanon, Oman and Jordan.

Dasouqi secured the championship with one round left to be held in August. Ameer Najjar won first place in the Mini Max category followed by Fadi Habaybeh.

The Senior Max category was won by Abdullah Rawahi of Oman followed by Lebanon’s Kristof Rezq and Oman’s Sanad Rawahi. Ala Khalifeh won the DD2 category followed by Mohammed Hilo.

Najjar also won the Junior Max category followed by Royd Hanoush and Abdullah Hamadeh. Lina Hadidi won the Ladies’ Cup.

In Friday’s 3rd Round Ameer Najjar the Mini Max Category. Tareq Sukhtian won the Senior category followed by Ezz Bustami. Ala Khalifeh won the DD2 category followed by Hilo. Najjar won the Junior Max.

PLUMELEC, France — Race leader Chris Froome heads to the first mountain stages of the Tour de France in confident mood — and with an unexpected main rival.

The British rider, seeking his second Tour win after his dominant victory in 2013, safely kept the yellow jersey after his Team SKY finished one second behind American rider Tejay van Garderen’s BMC in Sunday’s team time trial, the ninth stage of a crash-marred race.

Van Garderen is 12 seconds behind Froome in second place, putting him ahead of Nairo Quintana of Colombia, the 2013 Tour runner-up and the Giro d’Italia winner in 2014, as well as two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador of Spain and defending Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy.

The 26-year-old van Garderen has never finished higher than fifth at the Tour, but is so far riding like a contender.

“Those guys have that tag of ‘Fab Four’ which is getting a bit irritating,” van Garderen said. “All those guys in the top four have won Grand Tours... It doesn’t mean I’m intimidated by them... I’m not afraid to beat them.”

The most disappointing of the ‘Fab Four’ has so far been Nibali, who cracked in a short climb at the end of Saturday’s eighth stage and lost more time in Sunday’s TTT, when his Astana team finished fifth, behind Contador’s Tinkoff-Saxo and Quintana’s Movistar.

“I thought [Nibali] was going to be the one guy from the main contenders who would gain time in this first phase of the race,” the 30-year-old Froome said. “I am surprised.”

Contador, who entered the Tour on the back of his second Giro d’Italia win and seventh Grand Tour title, is in fifth place — 1 minute, 3 seconds behind Froome — while Quintana is 1:59 behind in ninth and Nibali sits 2:22 behind in 13th spot.

“It’s one thing not to lose any time to your rivals, but it’s another to gain time on them,” Froome said. “The pressure’s certainly not on my shoulders.”

Following Monday’s rest day, Tuesday’s 10th stage snakes up the Pyrenees mountains.

There is only one significant climb, right at the end. But it is a notable one — 15.3 kilometres up La Pierre-Saint-Martin, a mountain resort hosting a stage for the first time. The ascent is classed as Hors Categorie (Beyond Classification) — the rating given to the toughest climbs.

Wednesday’s 11th stage features a climb up the Category 1 Col d’Aspin and then an HC trek up Col du Tourmalet, a famed Tour climb.

A few riders might crack on Thursday’s 12th stage: featuring two Cat. 1 climbs and an HC up Plateau de Beille to top things off.

Froome has identified van Garderen, second behind him at last month’s Criterium du Dauphine race, as his main Tour rival.

“[The Pyrenees] will be the test who is fit enough to win the Tour and the Alps will [show] who has enough stamina to get to the end,” van Garderen said. “With the way I was climbing at the Dauphine, compared to Froome, I think I’m pretty close.”

Before Sunday’s 9th stage, van Garderen was 13 seconds behind Froome in third place, meaning his BMC team — world champions in the discipline — needed to win the TTT by 14 seconds for the American rider to take the yellow jersey.

The 22 teams started the TTT within five minutes of each other over a 28-kilometre trek that ended with a short and sharp hill of 1.7 kilometres. Teams have to get five riders over the line with the overall time credited to the fifth rider to finish.

BMC’s team featured four riders from the team that won last year’s worlds: van Garderen, Rohan Dennis, Daniel Oss and Manuel Quinziato. The Australian rider Dennis won the Tour’s opening individual time trial in a record average speed.

At the Criterium du Dauphine, BMC won the team time trial with Froome’s Team Sky placing sixth, 35 seconds behind — but on a less challenging course.

“The team in the first week has been incredible, we passed every test with flying colours, it gives me the morale for the mountains, it gives the team a lot of morale,” van Garderen said.

With an experienced team around him, van Garderen survived bunch-splitting winds, cobbled sectors and escaped multiple crashes.

“Everything is clicking, it’s all about momentum and we’ve gained a lot of momentum this first week,” the American said.

Froome has singled him out as his main rival, but van Garderen remained cautious.

“That’s tall order. First the Pyrenees are going to be the test, who’s going to be fit enough to win the Tour and the Alps will show who’s going to have the stamina to make it to the end,” the 26-year-old said.

Van Garderen was beaten by Froome in the Criterium du Dauphine last month, but the Briton failed to gain a lot of time in the final climbs.

“I think I’m pretty close to Froome, we’re really going to know that in the first week [in the mountains] to see who really has the depth,” said van Garderen,

“The tour is a marathon, we’re not close to the end.”

Thousands of fans, many waving the black-and-white flag of the Brittany region, packed the undulating route. Starting in Vannes and rolling past Chateau de L’Hermine, a resplendent castle residence for Dukes of Burgundy between the 14th and 16th century, it ended in Plumelec.

BMC and Sky were level at the first time check, Sky one second ahead at the next.

Wearing a tailor-made yellow skin suit, Froome hammered down on the pedals as his team reached speeds of 70kph approaching the final climb. But then they lost time.

Belgian rider Greg Van Avermaet — a BMC rider — is third overall behind Froome, 27 seconds behind, while Slovak sprinter Peter Sagan is fourth, 38 behind.

But neither is a contender for the Tour win.

“Right now, the biggest threat is Tejay van Garderen,” Froome said.

Meanwhile, former Giro d’Italia winner Ivan Basso is withdrawing from the tour after revealing he has testicular cancer on Monday.

“We discover this two hours ago, I have to stop,” the 37-year-old Italian told a news conference on the first rest day of this year’s tour.

LONDON — For the second year in a row, Novak Djokovic solved Roger Federer's superb serve in the Wimbledon final.

And for the second year in a row, Djokovic claimed the championship at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, preventing Federer from earning a record eighth.

The match was as even as possible through two sets, before the No. 1-seeded Djokovic grabbed ahold of it and wouldn't let go, generating four service breaks that carried him past Federer 7-6 (1), 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday for his third title at Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam trophy overall.

That puts him more than halfway to the record 17 collected by Federer, who has reached two major finals over the past three seasons — both at Wimbledon, both against Djokovic, both losses. They have met 40 times, each winning 20 matches. As always, it presented a fascinating duel: Federer's serve and attacking style vs Djokovic's return and scrambling, body-twisting defence.

"He makes you push your limits, he makes you work hard and earn every single point," said Djokovic, who equaled his coach Boris Becker's three Wimbledon titles. "He's not going to hand you the match."

Federer was grim-faced as he walked across the Centre Court lawn to receive his runner-up tray.

"You sort of walk away empty-handed. For me, a finalist trophy is not the same," Federer said. "Everybody knows that."

At Wimbledon in 2014, Federer held serve in 88 of 89 games through the semifinals, then got broken four times by Djokovic during the five-set final.

This fortnight, Federer held serve in 89 of 90 games entering the final, then again met his match in Djokovic.

Djokovic's serve was stout, as well: He saved 6 of 7 break points. It helped, too, that Federer was not the same height-of-his-powers player who defeated Andy Murray in the semifinals. Pressured by Djokovic's ability to extend points, Federer committed 35 unforced errors; Djokovic made only 16.

"Novak played not only great today," said Federer, who turns 34 on August 8 and was the oldest Wimbledon finalist since 1974, "but the whole two weeks, plus the whole year, plus last year, plus the year before that".

Federer is right.

He might very well be the greatest of all time, as some say, but right now, the best in the men's game is Djokovic.

The 28-year-old Serb won the Australian Open in January, then was the runner-up at the French Open last month. Go further back, and Djokovic reached 15 of the past 20 Grand Slam finals, winning eight.

Still, it was clear which player most spectators were pulling for: Federer. So breathlessly quiet between points that ball bounces at the baseline could be heard before serves, fans voiced an "awwwww" of lament after a fault by Federer or a mid-point "ooooh" of excitement when he would hit an exquisite shot.

So Federer and his supporters, rued letting the opening set get away, when he twice held set point. The opening tiebreaker was all Djokovic, ending flatly when Federer double-faulted.

That was part of a run in which Djokovic reeled off 14 of 15 points, particularly noteworthy against this foe, on this surface, at this tournament. Federer owns seven Wimbledon titles, including five straight from 2003-07.

That was the last time a man lifted the trophy in consecutive years at the All England Club until Djokovic crouched down Sunday to pluck a few blades of grass and shove them in his mouth.

"It tasted very, very good this year," Djokovic joked. "I don't know what the groundspeople have done, but they've done a great job."

He had a chance to run away with it in the second set, seven times standing a point from a two-set lead. But seven times, Federer wouldn't let him convert.

So 110 minutes in, they were all tied up. Not just at a set apiece, mind you, but here's how close it was: In the first set, each man won 37 points; in the second set, each man won 51 points.

"A pity I couldn't make more of the momentum, I guess," Federer said.

Indeed, 15 minutes later, Djokovic regained the upper hand, breaking to lead 2-1 in the third. After a 20-minute rain delay at 3-2, Djokovic finished off the set. Federer failed to put up much resistance in the fourth, getting broken twice more.

When Djokovic redirected a 198 kmph serve by smacking a down-the-line backhand return winner, he reached championship point and bellowed. A forehand winner followed, and it was over.

"It feels good when you make a return winner off Roger's serve on the grass," Djokovic said. "It doesn't happen often."

Not for most. But Djokovic is alone at the top for the moment.

AMMAN  — Jordan went up 11 spots to 92nd in the latest FIFA World Rankings issued on the weekend as Argentina took over the top spot from Germany.

Jordan climbed to 9th among Asian teams trailing Iran (38), Japan (50), South Korea (52), Australia (59), the UAE (69), Uzbekistan (75), China (77) and Iraq (86). 

Argentina in the top 10 is followed by Germany, Belgium, Columbia, Netherlands, Brazil, Portugal, Romania, England and Wales.

Uruguay, France and Spain are out of the top 10.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom beat Tajikistan 3-1 in their opening Group B qualifier for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup as well. In other Group B matches, Bangladesh held Tajikistan 1-1 after they lost to Kyrgyzstan 3-1 and Australia beat Kyrgyzstan 2-1 as 40 teams are playing home and away in a round-robin format in the second qualifying round, which runs until March 2016. 

Jordan will next play Kyrgyzstan on September 3, before facing Bangladesh on September 8 and Australia on October 8 in Leg 1. The next phase will be led by Belgian Paul Put, who was recently contracted by the Jordan Football Association as head coach. He replaced Ahmad Abdul Qader, who took the helm in the transitional period, following the departure of Ray Wilkins under whom the team failed miserably and did not advance past the quarters of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

In their latest friendly, Jordan beat Trinidad & Tobago 3-0. Earlier, they played four friendlies holding Kuwait 2-2, Lebanon 0-0, losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia and 1-0 to Syria. 

The Jordanian squad had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when they lost a possible chance to play at the World Cup for the first time. Jordan advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup, where they lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match. 

Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers as of 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers since 1986.

In the Asian Cup, Jordan reached the championship three times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972. The pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37 in August 2004. In 2011 Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

AMMAN — The third and fourth rounds of the Jordan Karting Championship (Rotax Max Challenge) kick off on Friday and Saturday with the participation of 18 drivers from Lebanon, Oman and Jordan at the Jordan Speed Centre.

The Jordan Karting Championship includes several categories: Micro Max (7-10 years), Mini Max (10-13 years), Junior Max (13-16 years), Senior Max (15 years and older), DD2 (15 years and older) and Masters Max (32 years and older).

Jordan Motorsports CEO Othman Naseef told The Jordan Times that these two rounds are vital to determine the champion.

“Drivers will be battling it out for a chance to win a place at the prestigious Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals, which will take place at the International Karting Circuit of Portimão in Algarve, Portugal November 8 to 14 that is why we can understand the pressure they are facing in these two rounds,” he said.

More than 300 drivers from more than 50 countries will take part in the finals in Portugal.

“It will be a great issue for karting in Jordan when one driver representing the Kingdom takes part in the finals,” he added.

So far Abdullah Dasouqi won the Micro Max category in rounds 1 and 2, while Ameer Najjar won the Mini Max category followed by Yanal Hamadeh and Fadi Habaybeh in third place.

In the DD2 category: Mohammed Hilo took the first spot while the Junior category was won by Royd Hanoush.

The Senior category went to Oman’s Abdullah Rawahi.

“Karting has always been one of the most popular auto sports in Jordan, as it is fun and the first step towards becoming a professional rally driver or Speed test enthusiasts. We are happy that we are hosting drivers from outside the Kingdom as this gives it an extra edge and in a way forces our drivers to take things more seriously,” he said.

The Rotax MAX Challenge follows strict regulations starting with the technical specifications of the engines in which only Rotax Max kart engines are allowed.

In 2014, the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals was held in Spain in which Juri Vips of Estonia won the Junior Max category, while Mikko Laine of Finland won the DD2 Masters with South Africa winning the Nations Cup.

SINGAPORE — Could women’s football in Asia surpass the corruption-marred, under-achieving men’s game in the popularity stakes?

It might be a long way off but another successful women’s World Cup for the continent’s teams is likely to have only helped close the gap in a region, where the men’s game’s biggest mark on the world stage is the match-fixing endemic.

It was a familiar sorry story last year at the men’s World Cup for Australia, Iran, Japan and South Korea as all four failed to record a victory and exited at the first hurdle promising, as ever, to do better next time.

But in Canada, at the recently concluded women’s tournament, the region shone brightly with debutants Thailand the only of the five not to make it through to the knockout stages.

China and Australia made it to the quarter-finals, South Korea won their first match and reached the knockout stages for the first time, while Japan put up a brave defence of the title before losing 5-2 to the United States in Sunday’s final.

Eleven million television viewers in Japan tuned in to watch the final, FIFA said, higher ratings than any of the matches at last year’s men’s World Cup that did not feature the Japanese team.

Praise for the Nadeshiko came from all corners, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while the men humbly looked on.

“They always provide a dream,” Japan men’s striker Shinji Okazaki told Kyodo News this week of the women’s efforts.

“The fact that they got to the final shows how strong they are. We [the men] must learn from them.”

Room for growth

The achievements of the Asian teams were also praised by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, more used to firefighting corruption amongst his members than lauding performances.

The Bahraini was quick to praise his organisation’s work in promoting the women’s game, highlighting the body’s annual women’s day and the $200,000 subsidies Asia’s five finalists in Canada received from the AFC.

“I am confident that Asian women’s teams will continue to excel on the world stage, with new contenders also starting to challenge established teams for the top positions,” he said in a statement.

“This shows that our women’s football development programmes are starting to bear fruit.”

While green shoots are emerging for the women’s game in Asia, backed by Australian Moya Dodd, the first woman elected to the AFC’s executive committee, there is plenty of room for growth to muscle in further on the men’s popularity share.

Only half of the continent’s near 50 countries signed up for the television rights of the Women’s World Cup, with the game receiving little traction in countries where women’s sport is not widely encouraged.

Just 20 member associations out of Asia’s 46 put forward a women’s team for the 2014 Asian Cup qualifiers, while the women’s football tournament was dropped by Singapore organisers at the Southeast Asian Games last month.

Dodd, though, believed there was a huge support and commitment to grow women’s football in the AFC.

“It’s a credit to our Member Associations and their commitment to make football accessible for girls and women,” she said earlier this year at the first ever AFC Women’s Football Day.

World No 1 Rory McIlroy is facing a real struggle to be fit for next week’s British Open at St Andrews after rupturing ligaments in his left ankle, according to former European Tour physio Jonathan Shrewsbury.

Shrewsbury told Reuters in a telephone interview on Monday the normal recovery time was 12 weeks for the injury that the 26-year-old Northern Irishman sustained while playing football with friends.

“Rory is really up against it to play in the Open,” the Englishman explained. “He’s going to have to walk around seven or eight miles a day.

“It’s hard, a really hard links course and that’s going to take its toll.

“The other thing is the confidence of being able to hit through the ball. As he comes into the follow through he is going to be rolling his ankle over and that is going to pose significant challenges.”

Shrewsbury, who worked for the European Tour between 1992-2001, now runs a centre on the outskirts of London helping a range of elite sports professionals.

While he believes McIlroy is unlikely to be fully fit to defend the Claret Jug he won for the first time a year ago, Shrewsbury says the four-times major champion will benefit from having treatment morning, noon and night.

“It’s a very, very common injury, many people go through this, from the weekend warrior to elite sports people. It’s normally around a 12-week recovery,” he added.

“Rory may be a superman on the golf course but he is going to heal pretty much at the same rate as anyone else. The one thing he does have to his advantage is that he has a team who can treat him pretty much around the clock.

“The normal average person can’t ice around the clock as Rory can, in order to get the swelling, the bruising and the pain under control,” said Shrewsbury.

The Northern Irishman is already undergoing rehabilitation, with doubts over his participation at the British Open later this month.

Perhaps the only consolation for the world’s No. 1 golfer is that he is not the first athlete to be injured while not playing the sport that pays the bills.

Here is an Associated Press look at some other sports stars’ freak injuries.

Greg LeMond

LeMond was at the peak of cycling in 1987 after becoming the first American to win the Tour de France the previous year. LeMond didn’t get to defend his title — and not due to any injury suffered while on his bike. Instead his career was derailed after being shot accidentally by his brother-in-law. He was sprayed with shotgun pellets while they were turkey hunting. He recovered slowly and the following year he had an emergency appendectomy, and knee and shin problems.

Serena Williams

Celebrations after winning her fourth Wimbledon singles title in 2010 were short-lived. Barely a week later, Williams was walking out of a restaurant in the German city of Munich when she stood on some glass. The American had to undergo surgery to repair deep cuts on her right foot and that was just the start of her problems. There were a series of health complications and she missed around a year of the tennis tour.

Rio Ferdinand

Even doing nothing can be dangerous for a football player. With his foot propped up on a coffee table while watching television in 2001, Ferdinand strained a tendon behind a knee. He had more time to watch TV as he recovered from the injury. At the time, Ferdinand was world football’s most expensive defender following a $26-million move from West Ham to Leeds in 2000. After going on to play for Manchester United and Queens Park Rangers, Ferdinand has just retired from football so has more time to put his feet up.

Joel Zumaya

Living out a rock star fantasy through a video is not without its perils. Zumaya, a former reliever for baseball’s Detroit Tigers, missed three games in the 2006 American League Championship Series with an inflammation in his wrist and forearm. The cause? Spending too much time playing “Guitar Hero” where buttons are tapped on a fake instrument.

Gus Frerotte

Modest celebrations are not just a matter of good sporting etiquette. Over-exuberance has its dangers. The most replayed moment of this NFL quarterback’s career came in the second quarter of a 1997 game while playing for the Washington Redskins against the New York Giants. Frerotte suffered a sprained neck when he headed-butted a concrete wall after running for a touchdown — an incident that is still a favourite for blooper reels.

Bode Miller

Many athletes are prevented by their insurers from risking their limbs by hitting the ski slopes for fun. For American skier Miller, the injury that nearly prevented him going to the 2010 Winter Olympics happened indoors playing sport. Miller sprained his right ankle during a team volleyball game at the end of 2009, forcing him to miss some pre-Olympic races. Although he made the Vancouver Games in February 2010, he wasn’t in top shape. Still, Miller left Canada with a complete set of medals — gold, silver and bronze.

Glenn McGrath

The biggest cricket series for Australians is the competition for the hallowed, tiny Ashes urn against England. McGrath had to miss one of the five Test matches in the 2005 series in England after sustaining an injury while messing around with teammates with a ball. McGrath was running to catch the ball when he stood on a cricket ball left on the ground and damaged a ligament. In future he stuck to cricket.

SILVERSTONE — Rain soaked Silverstone and water then filled Lewis Hamilton’s eyes.

The world champion won on home soil for the third time on Sunday, as the inclement weather provided the conditions for a thrilling British Grand Prix — a riposte to some of the complaints about Formula One being boring this season.

Hamilton overcame a bad start to hold off Nico Rosberg’s challenge in front of 140,000 fans for his fifth win of the season, extend his championship lead over his Mercedes teammate to 17 points.

“As I came round that last lap I was welling up seeing all those people on their feet,” Hamilton said.

It was a different feeling on the first lap, as Hamilton started from pole position but was overtaken on the first corner by McLaren pair Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.

“We had poor grip,” Hamilton said. “It made the race even more exciting for the fans.”

But Hamilton recovered and his late decision to switch to intermediate tyres allowed him to beat Rosberg by almost 11 seconds.

The result may have been predictable, but Mercedes’ ninth straight 1-2 finish was anything but boring.

“It was exciting for me, the start made it exciting and the English weather helped,” said Hamilton, who became the first back-to-back Silverstone winner since David Coulthard 15 years ago. “It’s an indication for us not to throw our toys out of the pram and say everything is wrong.”

Sebastian Vettel, who remains third in the drivers’ standings, was also thankful for the late downpour. The Ferrari driver was able to battle his way up to third from as low as ninth.

“I had a really bad start — I nearly didn’t get off the line and lost positions,” the four-time world champion said. “We recovered through strategy, mostly by being very aggressive. ... I’m sorry for the people that got wet, but the rain helped us today.”

The loser was the Williams team, which looked set for a third consecutive podium finish after the opening-lap drama, when Massa stormed out in front from third. However, he was slowed down by the safety car, which came out after a first-lap incident when Fernando Alonso span into McLaren teammate Jenson Button, who was forced out of his home race.

Alonso was able to return to the race after repairing his front wing and went on to finish 10th and collect his first points of the season. Lotus duo Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado also collided and had to retire.

Having locked out the front row in qualifying, the Mercedes duo found themselves behind the Williams drivers, who were initially prevented by their team from racing each other.

“It would have nice to be able to race at that point when I had the best opportunities,” Bottas said. “I wasn’t allowed to overtake. Obviously then we were allowed to race, but I never had that sort of opportunity again.”

And the race swung in Mercedes’ favour.

Massa and Rosberg went into the pits at the same time, then Bottas went in, and Hamilton forced his way back in front on lap 21 to roars from the crowd in a four-way fight for the lead.

Hamilton’s eight-second lead over Rosberg was cut in half, but the perfect timing of the Briton’s pit stop to switch to intermediate tyres with eight laps to go allowed him to take the 38th career win with ease.

“As the one in front it was so hard to judge where to push and my front tires went so cold,” Hamilton said. “I think that’s the best pit call I’ve ever made to come in at that time. From there it was just bringing it home.”

Massa and Williams were left to reflect on a missed opportunity after a great start.

“It could even have been possible to win the race if it had stayed dry,” Massa said. “We waited one lap longer on the second stop which is where we lost the opportunity to be on the podium.”

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers moved to reinforce his depleted coaching set up with the left field appointment of Sean O’Driscoll and the promotion of Pepijn Lijnders from the academy.

O’Driscoll, sacked by second tier Bristol City 18 month ago, leaves his head coach position with the England U-19s to become Rodgers’ assistant following the axing of Colin Pascoe after a review of a disappointing season by the club’s American owners.

The Fenway Sports Group also decided to dismiss first-team coach Mike Marsh following the evaluation in Boston last month, but Rodgers was kept on despite a trophy-less campaign and sixth place league finish.

“I have made these appointments because I want to take us in a new technical direction, in terms of coaching,” Rodgers said in a statement on Monday.

“I believe the entire first team setup will benefit and I am extremely positive and excited about what we can achieve, as a group, going forward.”

The Northern Irishman came under heavy pressure last year after failing to match the heights of the previous title-challenging campaign following the sale of talismanic striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona.

A vast outlay on new signings failed to fill the void left by Suarez’s departure and a disappointing Champions League campaign ended at the group stage, while a meek exit to Aston Villa in the FA Cup semifinals ended any hopes of silverware.

The former Swansea City, Watford and Reading boss was also criticised for his constant tinkering of tactics and personnel through the campaign.

He was confident, though, of a change in fortunes at the 18-times English and five-times European champions following the introduction of O’Driscoll, a former Ireland international whose management experience has been limited to the lower echelons of English league football.

O’Driscoll enjoyed promotion success with Doncaster Rovers and Bournemouth but the 58-year-old, known for playing a Rodgers-like passing style, was sacked from his more recent roles with Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.

“My admiration for Sean, as a professional, is well documented,” Rodgers added.

“He is someone with a clear vision and philosophy and has proved he has the ability to transfer that knowledge, through his coaching, to the players.”

O’Driscoll was understandably thrilled at the opportunity.

“I am excited to be joining one of the world’s most iconic football clubs,” he said.

Lijnders is already familiar with the Anfield surroundings having joined in August last year to oversee the development of the U-16s having held similar roles with PSV Eindhoven and Porto.

The Dutchman will take on the newly created role of first team development coach.