ABU DHABI: Double world champion Max Verstappen signed off on a dominant 2022 Formula One campaign with a record-extending 15th win of the year in Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Charles Leclerc secured second in the overall standings.
The Dutchman, who wrapped up the title last month in Japan with four races to spare, was unchallenged as he led from pole position to chequered flag.
He crossed the line 8.7 seconds ahead of Leclerc, who having made just one stop, held on to second ahead of Verstappen’s two-stopping team mate Sergio Perez to edge him in their battle for second.
The pair had gone into the race level on points with Leclerc ahead on a countback of wins.
Sunday’s victory was the 35th of Verstappen’s career and second in a row at the Yas Marina track.
However, unlike last season, it was a straightforward race that required no safety car interruptions.
“Incredible to win again here and 15th win of the season — unbelievable,” said Verstappen.
“It’s been really enjoyable to achieve something like this this year, I know it will be hard to replicate but it is good motivation to try and do the same next year.”
Perez, who completed a front row lockout for Red Bull in qualifying, was unable to hand the team a one-two finish on Sunday.
He chased down Leclerc at the end on fresher tires but, delayed by slow moving backmarkers, ran out of laps.
“It’s how it is sometimes,” said Perez.
“At the end of the day, I have to be happy as I gave it my all and I’m sure we’ll be back stronger next year.”
Leclerc hailed a perfect race.
“I was 110 percent from the first lap to the last lap,” he said.
“I knew the only way to beat Checo was with a different strategy.”
Carlos Sainz, who went wheel-to-wheel with Lewis Hamilton early in the race, was fourth for Ferrari ahead of Mercedes racer George Russell, who served a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release from his pitstop.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton had his hopes of keeping intact his record of winning a race every season dashed by a hydraulics failure.
The Briton pulled into the pits to retire his Mercedes on the 55th of the race’s 58 laps.
Mercedes’s misfortunes, a week on from taking a resurgent one-two in Brazil, meant the formerly dominant champions were unable to overhaul Ferrari and had to settle for third behind the Italian team in the overall standings.
Sebastian Vettel scored the final point in 10th on what has been an emotional swansong weekend for the Aston Martin driver.
The German raced hard from his ninth-place grid spot but a long first stint compromised him and dropped him down the field.
He signed off with some tire smoking donuts on the start-finish straight.
Daniel Ricciardo took points in his last race for McLaren with a ninth-place finish.
Fernando Alonso, replacing Vettel at Aston Martin next year, failed to finish his last race for Alpine but the French manufacturer still secured fourth in the overall team standings ahead of McLaren.
Mick Schumacher, out of a drive next season after being replaced by Nico Hulkenberg at Haas, finished 16th ahead of team mate Kevin Magnussen.
He survived contact with Williams driver Nicholas Latifi, also out of a drive next year, that tipped both cars into a synchronized spin.
Max Verstappen signs off with record-extending win in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 finale
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Max Verstappen signs off with record-extending win in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 finale
- Ferrari’s Leclerc secures overall runners-up spot
- Vettel brings curtain down on F1 career with points finish
James Harden, Clippers force Game 7 versus Nuggets
- James Harden recorded 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Los Angeles Clippers
- Kawhi Leonard added 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and Norman Powell scored 24 points
James Harden recorded 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers remained alive in their first-round series with the Denver Nuggets, winning 111-105 on Thursday night in Inglewood, California.
Kawhi Leonard added 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and Norman Powell scored 24 points as the Clippers evened the Western Conference matchup at three games apiece. Ivica Zubac had 10 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots for fifth-seeded Los Angeles.
Nikola Jokic registered 25 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals for fourth-seeded Denver. Jamal Murray had 21 points, eight assists and eight rebounds and Aaron Gordon scored 19 points.
Game 7 is Saturday night in Denver.
The Nuggets trailed by 15 midway through the fourth quarter before getting back into the game with an 11-2 run.
A 3-pointer by Gordon and a fastbreak layup by Murray brought Denver within 107-101 with 2:43 remaining.
But then Russell Westbrook missed a layup 30 seconds later. Powell made the Nuggets pay with a 3-pointer to make it a nine-point advantage with 1:47 to play.
Gordon’s tip-in and two free throws by Christian Braun brought Denver within 110-105 with 58.5 seconds remaining.
Denver had a chance to move within three, but Zubac blocked Jokic’s close-range shot with 24.4 seconds left. Leonard split two free throws with 18.8 seconds remaining for a six-point lead that held up as Murray and Gordon each missed 3-pointers on the Nuggets’ final possession.
Westbrook had 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Braun also scored 14 points for Denver, which connected on 52.4 percent of its shots, including 11 of 27 from behind the arc.
The Clippers shot 50 percent from the field and made 12 of 39 from 3-point range.
Denver trailed 68-66 after Murray’s basket with 8:11 left in the third quarter before going 4:43 without a point.
The Clippers took advantage with 12 consecutive points. Powell had half of them, including a layup to cap the spurt to make it 80-66.
Braun drained a 3-pointer with 3:28 to go in the quarter to end the Nuggets’ drought.
Denver got back within 90-79 on Jokic’s 3-pointer with 39 seconds left in the quarter.
The Clippers led 105-90 on a 3-pointer by Bogdan Bogdanovic with 5:57 left, before Denver made its frantic charge.
Harden scored 21 points in the first half as Los Angeles led 58-57 at the break. Jokic had 20 in the half for the Nuggets.
Canelo aims to land knockout blow against Scull in Saudi debut
- Alvarez, 34, brings a record of 62-2-2 with 39 knockouts into what promises to be a high-stakes clash
RIYADH: Mexican boxing legend Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will be looking to unify the super middleweight titles this weekend, when he squares off with IBF champion William Scull in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh.
Alvarez, 34, brings a record of 62-2-2 with 39 knockouts into what promises to be a high-stakes clash, as he continues his tradition of fighting during the Cinco de Mayo weekend.
Canelo is coming off a punishing unanimous decision over Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas in September.
Ahead of that bout, Alvarez was stripped of his International Boxing Federation belt when he opted to box Berlanga rather than Scull — the IBF’s mandatory challenger.
This weekend’s contest will mark the first time the Mexican champion will fight outside of North America during his nearly 20-year professional career.
The boxers are set to enter the ring in the early hours of Sunday morning in Riyadh to coincide with Saturday evening festivities over the Cinco de Mayo weekend back in North America.
“Believe me. This is nothing new for me. But for him, it’s gonna be something different, for sure,” said Alvarez during a press conference in Riyadh on Thursday.
The betting lines show that Scull remains a massive underdog going into the weekend’s fight.
With the contest flying under the radar for casual fans, many see the bout as a warm-up match ahead of a widely anticipated super fight between Alvarez and Terence Crawford later this year, which is rumored to be in the final stages of negotiations.
But all of that hinges on Canelo winning in Riyadh this weekend.
“No one could be a bigger spoiler than William Scull,” said veteran combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani during a podcast this week.
“If William Scull wins somehow, someway on Saturday night, he ruins all of those plans.”
In the lead up to the fight, Scull said he remained relaxed and confident, as he brushed away concerns that an early-morning start time could affect his performance.
“This is a fight and I’m ready to do it any time,” Scull told AFP earlier this week.
“Canelo is a great boxer. It’s a tough fight but it’s another man. I’m looking to take what is mine as well,” the undefeated 32-year-old Cuban added.
On the undercard, French super middleweight Bruno Surace will be looking to silence any remaining doubters during his rematch against Jaime Munguia, after scoring a devastating sixth-round knockout in Tijuana in December.
The win earned the Marseille native the prestigious Ring magazine’s “Upset of the Year” award.
Man Utd seize control of Europa League semi against 10-man Bilbao
BILBAO: Bruno Fernandes struck twice as Manchester United put one foot in the Europa League final with a clinical away performance to beat 10-man Athletic Bilbao 3-0 on Thursday.
The fervent home fans were enraged when Athletic defender Daniel Vivian was sent off for pulling back Rasmus Hojlund and Fernandes slotted home the resulting penalty, after Casemiro had opened the scoring against the run of play in the semifinal first leg.
Fernandes rolled in a third before half-time as Ruben Amorim’s side moved a step closer to the final, to be held at Athletic’s San Mames stadium.
The hosts have been dreaming of winning a first European trophy on their own soil but their hopes were demolished by United’s professional display in the north of Spain — and Athletic’s supporters argued, the refereeing.
Languishing in 14th in the Premier League, Champions League qualification for United is only possible with a Europa League triumph, as is access to the £100 million ($133 million) honeypot it entails.
Despite regularly crumbling under pressure this season, the Red Devils — who produced a stunning comeback against Lyon in the quarter-finals — first survived and then thrived in a hostile environment.
With May 1 a bank holiday in Spain the streets of Bilbao were filled with red-and-white striped shirts from the morning onwards, with thousands of fans turning up at their team’s hotel to see the Athletic bus set off for the stadium.
The San Mames was rocking, with fans raising red and white cards around the stadium ahead of the game to welcome the players, all of them born or raised in the Basque country, as per the club’s century-long policy.
“This is not the theater of dreams, this is The Cathedral of football,” it read on the back, a reference to the stadium’s nickname.
Alejandro Garnacho’s early strike gave the hosts a scare but the forward was offside.
Beyond that the early stages of the match for United were about gritting their teeth and holding off the Basque side and their raucous supporters.
Alex Berenguer forced a smart low save from Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana, and Inaki Williams headed narrowly over.
Victor Lindelof made a vital block to thwart Berenguer after Nico Williams fed his brother Inaki, who was given too much space on the right wing.
The hosts were ascendant and when former Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro opened the scoring for United it came as a shock.
Just as much of a surprise was the way United created the goal, with center-back Harry Maguire dribbling down the right flank as Mikel Jaureguizar floundered in his wake.
The defender fizzed a cross into the area which Manuel Ugarte flicked on to the back host for Casemiro to nod home from close range.
It seemed like a smash-and-grab but soon United had a second, when Vivian was penalized for pulling back Hojlund as he tried to connect with a cross.
It was a key moment. The defender was sent off to add insult to injury, as Athletic fans howled in anger.
Fernandes rolled the penalty into the bottom right corner, sending Julen Agirrezabala the wrong way.
Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde made a double substitution, trying to stem the bleeding, but his team shipped a third before half-time.
Ugarte’s clever backheel played Fernandes through on goal and he stroked home with ease.
Noussair Mazraoui crashed a shot off the crossbar from the edge of the box as United almost grabbed a fourth before the break.
Norwegian referee Espen Eskas and his colleagues were barracked by the home fans, seeing their aspirations to glory evaporate before their eyes.
They were further enraged, waving the white cards from the pre-match tifo to show their disgust, when Maroan Sannadi tumbled under pressure from Maguire as he ran toward goal but no foul was awarded.
United largely controlled the game in the second half, with Casemiro and Fernandes making life hard for the 10-man hosts, but they could not add a fourth despite probing.
The second leg takes place next Thursday at Old Trafford, ahead of the final on May 21 against Tottenham or Bodo/Glimt.
Chilean football team Colo Colo to challenge ban imposed after two teenage fans were killed
- “It is a hard penalty for Colo Colo and we will appeal,” team president Edmundo Valladares said
- “We hope that we can overturn it, at least in part“
SANTIAGO: Chilean club Colo Colo said on Thursday they will appeal a ruling that they must play five home matches in continental competition without fans and that their supporters will be banned from the next five away matches.
South American football’s governing body CONMEBOL confirmed the bans Wednesday after two teenage fans were killed in a crush ahead of a Copa Libertadores match last month.
“It is a hard penalty for Colo Colo and we will appeal,” team president Edmundo Valladares said. “We hope that we can overturn it, at least in part.”
Two fans died before the start of a Copa Libertadores match between Colo Colo and Fortaleza of Brazil near Santiago’s Estadio Monumental on April 10. According to authorities, a group of fans attempted to force their way into the stadium and tore down one of the venue’s protective fences. The victims were reportedly trapped beneath them.
“Let’s also hope that this experience serves to ... make fans more aware,” Valladares added.
CONMEBOL also ruled that Fortaleza won the match 3-0 and Colo Colo must pay a fine of $80,000.
“The penalty is hard — it hurts us on the field if we lose 3-0 and the economic side also hits us. But we will present the best appeal possible,” Valladares said.
Colo Colo, the winningest club in Chile with 32 league championships, is last in its group in Copa Libertadores after the first three rounds.
Verstappen awaits birth of first child, misses Miami media day
- The 27-year-old’s partner is Kelly Piquet
- The Dutch driver is third overall after five races
MIAMI: Four times Formula One world champion Max Verstappen was withdrawn from scheduled media commitments at the Miami Grand Prix on Thursday as the Red Bull driver awaited the birth of his first child.
The 27-year-old’s partner is Kelly Piquet, daughter of Brazil’s triple world champion Nelson, who already has a daughter from a previous relationship with Russian former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat.
A team spokesman said all was well and Verstappen “will attend track tomorrow for the race weekend.”
Friday has a sole practice session ahead of sprint qualifying, with a 100km sprint race followed by regular qualifying on Saturday before Sunday’s race around the Hard Rock Stadium.
The Dutch driver is third overall after five races, 12 points behind McLaren’s Australian championship leader Oscar Piastri.
