Max Verstappen Wins His Second Race of the Season

Luis Martinez @luimartineznews

Max Verstappen of Oracle Red Bull Racing drove into his second race win of the year at the Melbourne Grand Prix(GP) on April 2. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes AMG Petronas placed second at the GP.

to attack more as the away team was mentally out of it after the red card. LAFC continued their attack in the last minutes of the first half but did not convert any goals. The score for the first half was 1-0 to the black and gold.

Second Half

FC Dallas kicked off the second looking to make a comeback of a 1-0 deficit being down a player. The away team wasted no time and came out looking for a shot at goal but too easy for LAFC’s very own McCarthy. LAFC continued their dominance in the wings as they created danger for FC Dallas giving their defense trouble. LAFC made their set pieces be known with a dangerous header from the defender number 14 Giorgio Chiellini that went just on top of the goal post. Both teams have continued to battle it out in the midfield for possession but in attack none taking advantage of their chances. Despite being down 1 player, FC Dallas held LAFC’s attack to a minimum. In the 72nd minute of the game, a goal for FC Dallas came off a set piece with number 17 Nkosi Tafari equalizing the score to 1-1. FC Dallas took their opportunity to tie the game as LAFC had not been consistent with their attacks in the second half of the game. The referee ruled a penalty after he checked with VAR with the

Captain number 10 Carlos Vela missing from the spot hitting the crossbar in the 79th minute as the score remained 1-1. Goal from LAFC in the 84th minute by the substitute number 99 Denis Bouanga. From a difficult angle Bouanga was able to put it in the back of the net to put up the black and gold up in the score 2-1. LAFC wins the game 2-1 and remains undefeated with three wins and a draw. Bouanga had a total of 13 hours of travel in a flight. From Franceville to Istanbul to Los Angeles International Airport(LAX). Arrived just an hour away from kickoff. Entered the pitch as a substitute to score LAFC’s winning goal.

Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant placed third to round out the podium. This is Alonso's third podium in a row to start the season. Verstappen's teammate Sergio (Checo) Perez took home the Driver of the Day award after his various overtakes that helped him place in fifth.

The Melbourne GP was an eventful one. This race had three red flags, making it the most red-flagged race in F1 history There were 8 retirements throughout the race. One of the most notable retirements involved George Russel of Mercedes. Most retired drivers on the grid were involved in crashes or driver errors that paused the race. After leading the race for a few laps, Russell pitted during a yellow flag. Unfortunately for Russell, the GP's first red flag happened. This made Russell drop down to seventh. Tragedy struck again as Russell's power unit caught on fire forcing him to leave the race early.

Verstappen widens the gap in the World Drivers Championship (WDC) between him and teammate Checo. Alonso’s third place finish secured his spot as third place in the WDC.

Andrea Rodriguez was losing 0-5 to Azalia Rodriguez but had to retire due to injury

Abigail Madrigal defeated Ebe Romero 6-1, 6-2

In the singles competition

RHC were resilient in their games. Injuries did play a part in the loss but the lady roadrunners gave it their best in the end. “They fought really hard,my number one got injured in the doubles and that really affected her game. Number five is usually tough but she was injured in the middle of the game, you know that’s tough but the others stepped up,” Coach Karen Unger for RHC womens tennis explained. Injuries were tough to deal with and was definitely a challenge for the lady roadrunners but still managed to fight through.

Lule got an injury in the doubles that caused her to not play well in singles. Andrea Rodriguez had to retire for RHC after feeling sick despite putting up a fight in her singles set.

For singles Addyson Nunez and Abigail Madrigal won their sets in singles. Nunez fought hard in a challenging match with a tough second set but still managed to hold on and pull through to win her set. “Abby, she is my little machine, she just keeps winning,” coach Unger said. Nunez also displayed a lot fight in her single sets. Huge comeback from Nunez to get the win. “She was fighting, fighting, fighting,” coach Unger spoke about Nunez and her comeback.