There had been a lot of talk about Max in karting. The first time I saw him was in his opening Formula Three race at Silverstone in 2014.
I remember raising it to Helmut Marko – Red Bull’s motorsport consultant – that this kid looks the real deal. Helmut watched him at the Norisring in Germany and he was convinced.
There was interest from Niki Lauda and Mercedes, but Red Bull could take him to Formula One immediately. So, he came to us a very young age. He was 16. And I remember in his very first outing for us – a demonstration run in Rotterdam – he took the front wing off the car! But you could tell in the seat fitting the confidence he had for a young guy was exceptional.
All of the drivers that came through the junior categories learned their trade out of the spotlight, but Max became the youngest driver in Formula One ever. He was only 17. Every move and every mistake he made was scrutinised.
Jean Todt, who was the FIA president at the time, changed the regulations to ensure someone as young and inexperienced as Max could not enter F1. There will never be a driver that moves so rapidly from karting to F1 again. But the way he dealt with it mentally made him a standout character.
It was obvious in his first full F1 season when he drove for Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso, that he was an emerging talent, and at the beginning of 2016 he was performing beyond the capability of the car.
Daniil Kvyat was struggling, and there was a lot of interest in Max. We made the decision to move him to Red Bull at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Mercedes did their thing when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed into each other on the first lap and Max, who started fourth which was already stunning, made the one-stop strategy work to win in his first Grand Prix with the team. He became the sport’s youngest ever winner, aged 18. It was a fairytale. Max had arrived.
He won races in 2017 and 2018, and in 2019 he became the team leader following Daniel Ricciardo’s departure to Renault. He grew up, and it was a transformative year for him.
In 2021 we had a car and an engine that could take the fight to Mercedes, and that season will go down as one of the most competitive sporting duels the sport has ever had.
From the first race in Bahrain through to Abu Dhabi, Max and Lewis were like two heavyweights going up against each other. Max was a dog with a bone. He wouldn’t let it go. And you couldn’t script that they would head to the final race tied on points.
Max was very cool. He put the car on pole, and we took our opportunity under the final safety car. Max had one lap to get the job done. I don’t think Lewis expected Max to attack in the corner that he did, and people overlook that he still had to beat Lewis. He still had to win the race. It wasn’t about two unlapped backmarkers. It was about Max reacting to the circumstances and getting the job done. And under the most intense pressure he did just that. He sent it down the inside and the whole place went bananas.
To see him and his father, Jos, celebrate was a very special moment because it was the culmination of all the effort that his father had put into him at a very young age. Max achieved his goal, and anything after that was the icing on the cake, because for him, it was all about becoming a world champion.
Max has still got all the tenacity he had when he got in the car as a 17-year-old, but he now marries that with experience. Outside of the car, he is a normal guy, too. He has his feet on the ground and he hasn’t had his head turned by fame and fortune. He still loves racing, and he has got good, grounded principals.
He is competitive and wears his heart on his sleeve. He is very honest. He will give you everything, but he expects everything in return.
He can go on to achieve so much more. We are riding a wave at the moment, and we want to continue riding that wave for as long as we can.
Will Max be in Formula One for a long, long time? I don’t think so. He has ambitions beyond F1 and beyond racing. And at 26, 36 seems a long way away.
We have a long-term agreement with him until 2028, and he has always said he will be happy to start and end his career here, but motivation will be a crucial factor.
Sione Tuipulotu was despondent as he faced up to the realisation that he and his Scotland team-mates are flying home after suffering pool-stage elimination from the World Cup.
The Scots arrived in France at the start of September with high expectations after climbing to fifth in the world on the back of a string of impressive results and performances.
However, they were ultimately unable to overcome the challenge of being grouped alongside defending champions South Africa and the world’s top-ranked side, Ireland, in a top-heavy Pool B.
After bouncing back from their 18-3 defeat to the Boks with heavy wins over Tonga and Romania, the Scots’ bid to reach the quarter-final was killed off by a 36-14 blitzing from the rampant Irish in Paris on Saturday night.
“I’m very disappointed,” said centre Tuipulotu. “We’re out of the tournament now and it feels like all our hard work and stuff like that has come to an end.
“I know there’s more rugby to be played after this World Cup but you’re in a World Cup to win it and now we’re out of it. I’m really gutted. We had a big travelling support, so apologies to them.
“We wanted to do better in the tournament but we ran into two pretty good teams in our pool and ultimately just got beaten by better teams.”
As he tried to process the disappointment of his first World Cup coming to an end, Tuipuloto, 26, admitted it was difficult to think about the future.
“I’m very upset and I don’t really know how to deal with it,” he said. “We’ve got a good team with good blokes in our changing room. But it’s just frustrating to be saying the same type of messages after tournaments like these.
“I suppose there’s another tournament and another tournament after that and maybe the right thing to say now is ‘we’ll be better in the next tournament’ but right now I’m just feeling gutted.”
Rory Darge admitted Ireland – who scored after 63 seconds and were 26-0 up at half-time – showed Scotland why they are the top-ranked side on the planet at Stade de France.
The Irish stopped the Scots getting any reward for the sustained pressure they exerted in the first quarter of the match and then took most of the chances that came their way at the other end.
“They are the number one team in the world and they showed it,” said flanker Darge. “We could have been better in a lot of things, taken our chances when we had a lot of ball in their 22 at the start of the game.
“Once they get in behind with some of those carries, they are very, very good. They withheld a lot of what we threw at them in that first 20.
“Obviously the scoreline is what it is and that’s off the back of them being brutally clinical and we weren’t.”
Johanna Konta became the first British woman to break into the world’s top 10 in 32 years after beating Madison Keys on this day in 2016 to reach the final of the China Open.
Konta, then 25, beat American world number nine Madison Keys 7-6 (1) 4-6 6-4 in the last four and was the first British player since Jo Durie in 1984 to enter the WTA’s top 10.
Despite losing to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in the final in Beijing, Konta ended the year as number 10 in the rankings.
Konta’s rapid rise coincided with her decision to team up with coach Esteban Carril in northern Spain 17 months earlier, when she was ranked 146th in the world.
She had reached the fourth round of the US Open to end 2015 inside the top 50 and earlier in 2016 reached the Australian Open semi-finals and won her first WTA title at Stanford.
Konta’s victory over Keys at the China Open was her seventh over a top-10 player in 2016.
She won her second WTA title in Sydney in early 2017, reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and triumphed at the Miami Open by beating former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
That success saw Konta rise to world number seven and she climbed to a career-high position of fourth in 2017 after becoming the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon singles semi-finals since Virginia Wade in 1978.
Konta lost to Venus Williams in the last four and after injury setbacks and loss of form in 2018, reached the French Open semi-finals and the US Open quarter-finals in 2019.
After further struggles with form and fitness – she was dogged by a right knee injury – Konta announced her retirement in December 2021.
Gabriel Moreno highlighted a six-run first against Clayton Kershaw with a three-run homer and the Arizona Diamondbacks rolled to a stunning 11-2 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NL Division Series.
Tommy Pham had four hits with a homer and Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas also went deep for Arizona, which is 3-0 in these playoffs – all on the road.
Arizona wasted no time jumping on Kershaw, who gave up a leadoff double to Ketel Marte and an RBI single to Carroll before Christian Walker’s double made it 2-0.
Moreno followed with a blast over the wall in left field to extend the lead to 5-0 and after a groundout and Thomas’ walk, Evan Longoria doubled home another run.
Kershaw – a three-time Cy Young Award winner - was relieved by Emmet Sheehan after he was tagged for six runs and six hits while recording just one out.
He had never made a start where he pitched less than one inning.
Carroll led off the second with a home run and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added an RBI double before Longoria’s sacrifice fly upped the advantage to 9-0.
Merrill Kelly didn’t need all the offensive support, as he allowed three hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings for his first win against the Dodgers.
He entered 0-11 with a 5.49 ERA in 16 starts against them.
Thomas homered in the seventh and Pham’s blast in the eighth made it 11-0.
Will Smith had a two-run triple in the eighth to get Los Angeles on the board.
Harper homers, Phillies shut out Braves
Bryce Harper’s home run backed a stellar pitching performance, and the Philadelphia Phillies stifled the MLB-best Atlanta Braves 3-0 in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday night.
Wild-card series hero Bryson Stott broke a scoreless tie with a run-scoring single off Spencer Strider in the fourth.
Harper took Strider deep in the sixth to make it 2-0 and the Phillies tacked on another run in the eighth when catcher’s interference was called against Sean Murphy.
After the call was reviewed and upheld, there was a brief delay when a handful of fans threw rubbish on the field.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead over the Braves in the NLDS for the second consecutive season after they upset Atlanta 3-1 on an improbable run to the 2022 World Series.
Ranger Suarez limited the 104-win Braves to one hit in 3 2/3 innings and Jeff Hoffman escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth.
Seranthony Dominguez struck out the side in the fifth and Jose Alvarado, rookie Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm and Craig Kimbrel shut down Atlanta the rest of the way.
Strider, the majors’ only 20-game winner this season, allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Alvarez hits 2 home runs as Astros beat Twins
Yordan Alvarez homered twice, and Justin Verlander pitched six scoreless innings to lead the defending World Series champion Houston Astros to a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins in an AL Division Series opener.
Jose Altuve led off the bottom of the first with a home run and Alvarez finished with three RBIs to help Houston win its 10th straight in Game 1 of a Division Series.
The 40-year-old Verlander allowed four hits with three walks and six strikeouts for his 17th career playoff win, most among active pitchers.
Minnesota rallied against Hector Neris in the seventh, with Jorge Polanco providing the big hit with a three-run homer. Two pitches later, Royce Lewis belted his third home run in three playoff games to get the Twins within 5-4.
Alvarez connected off Caleb Thielbar in the bottom half to extend Houston’s lead.
The Houston slugger took starter Bailey Ober deep in the third for a two-run shot for a 3-0 advantage.
Rangers’ bullpen holds off Orioles
Five Texas relievers kept the Baltimore Orioles in check and the Rangers held on for a 3-2 victory in their AL Division Series opener.
Third baseman Josh Jung homered and came up with a key defensive play as the Rangers improved to 3-0 in these playoffs – all on the road.
After Dane Dunning gave up Anthony Santander’s solo home run in the sixth to cut Texas’ lead to 3-2, Will Smith, Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and Jose Leclerc combined for the final 10 outs.
Chapman walked the first two batters in the eighth before Jung ranged to his left and snagged Santander’s bouncer on a short hop to start a 5-4-3 double play.
Chapman then struck out Ryan Mountcastle with a runner on third to end the inning.
Richard Azan’s Perfect Brew produced one of his most polished performances in recent times to topple rivals in a three-year-old and upward Open Allowance contest for the I’m satisfied Trophy over six furlongs (1,200m) at Caymanas Park on Saturday.
With Jason DaCosta’s ante-post favorite Is That A Fact scratched from the event, Azan’s four-year-old bay gelding, partnered with Tevin Foster, proved too good in the $1.4 million feature, registering an eighth career win, and third of the season.
Though well backed at odds of 5-2, Perfect Brew was expected to have a difficult task of getting back to his more fleet-footed competitors Rojorn Di Pilot (Omar Walker), Lure of Lucy (Jerome Innis), Jordon Reign’s (Dane Dawkins) and I’ve Got Magic (Bebeto Harvey) in the dash.
The predictions seemed likely to play out when Perfect Brew, drawn post position four, broke behind rivals and was quickly switched to the inside rails by Foster.
This, as Rojorn Di Pilot assumed pole ahead of Lure of Lucy (Jerome Innis), I’ve Got Magic (Bebeto Harvey), and God of Love (Anthony Allen), before Jordon Reign's swept by all to dictate terms in the early exchanges.
As the frontrunners continued to jostle for the headlines to try and steal a march on the field, Perfect Brew and Foster soon got into stride and moved within striking distance by the time they flashed past the half-mile mark.
Though still under a fairly tight hold by Foster, Perfect Brew was full of running which he unleashed in the stretch run. While Jordon Reign's and I've Got Magic engaged in a bumping duel on the inside rail, Foster took the Bern Identity-Moonlight Brew progeny three wide.
And with quick change of his hold, followed by a show of the left-hand whip, the in-form jockey and Perfect Brew briskly swept by their rivals and powered away at the furlong pole to complete a four-and-a-half length victory.
They stopped the clock in 1:12.1, behind splits of 23.0 and 46.1 seconds.
I’ve Got Magic, Jordon Reign’s and Rojorn Di Pilot, completed the frame.
Meanwhile, DaCosta, along with jockeys Phillip Parchment and Dane Dawkins secured two winners each on the 10-race card.
Dawkins won the seventh and 10th events for the Princess Popstar and Reggae Roots Rocking Trophies, aboard DaCosta’s Digital One, and Errol Burke’s Nakamura.
DaCosta’s other winner was Parchment-partnered Phenomenal One in the eighth, ran for the Reggae Legend Trophy. Parchment earlier won the sixth event aboard Andrew McDonald’s War Horse, copping the Reggae Skanking Trophy.
Racing continues on Sunday.
Leigh Wood toasted the “best win” of his career after retaining his WBA featherweight title by battling back from a sustained beating to stop British rival Josh Warrington.
At a frenzied Sheffield Arena, Warrington was well on the way to becoming a three-time champion at the weight as his relentless bursts of aggression and occasional roughhouse tactics left Wood reeling.
But Wood kept his composure in a cauldron-like atmosphere and seized his moment in emphatic fashion as he followed up a stiff right hook with pinpoint combination punching that put Warrington on his back.
Warrington rose gamely but unsteadily returned to his corner and as he did not turn round, referee Michael Alexander waved off the contest at the end of the seventh round to the Leeds fighter’s chagrin.
“It wasn’t my best performance,” Wood said. “I did feel a bit groggy making the weight but no excuses.
“That’s my best win, Josh is a two-time world champion, he has massive scalps on his record and I’m the only Brit to be beat him.
“He’s a great fighter – definitely my best scalp. If we do it again then we do it again and if not, we’ll have a new challenge. We’ll see.”
Less than two years on from stopping Michael Conlan in the last round when trailing on the cards in a high-profile bout, Wood insisted he can never be discounted after racking up a 28th win from 31 fights.
“I don’t know what it is about me – I haven’t got any quit in me,” he said. “It’s never say die.
“It’s the same as my career – I didn’t make the best start, I turned it around and got there, it was the same as the Conlan fight.
“Write me off all you want, I’m just going to be there to the end and if I can do anything to win, I’ll do it.”
A fight at the City Ground, home of his beloved Nottingham Forest, could be next for Wood, who could move up to super-featherweight after admitting boiling down to 126lb was becoming increasingly tough.
While three years younger than his conqueror, Warrington’s future is less certain after slumping to his third defeat in 35 bouts, including back-to-back losses in world title fights in just under a year.
He immediately protested Alexander’s decision to call a halt to proceedings after belatedly turning round before slumping his head on the referee’s shoulder as he accepted there was no way back.
Warrington said afterwards: “I just feel a bit hard done by, it was the end of round, get to my feet, look at my dad with a smile on my face, turn round at (the count of) eight and it’s being waved off.”
This fight took place on neutral territory – halfway between Wood’s home city of Nottingham and Warrington’s Leeds – but any return bout will be on the champion’s patch.
With Wood insistent a fight at the City Ground is next, promoter Eddie Hearn suggested a rematch against Warrington is a highly tempting option.
“It’s going to take a big fight for Leigh Wood at the City Ground,” Hearn said. “I want to see the fight back.
“If Josh would have turned round, they would have 100 per cent let the fight carry on. If the ref did call it off at eight, it was too early because he should have given him the opportunity to turn around.
“The ref said to me ‘he wouldn’t turn round and if he doesn’t turn round I can’t let him continue’.
“When you look at frontrunners for sizes of fights at the City Ground, I think the rematch is probably the biggest one.”
Andy Farrell insists a World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand is “as tough as it gets” after “little old Ireland” topped Pool B thanks to a six-try demolition of Scotland.
The rampant Six Nations champions emphatically underlined their status as Test rugby’s top-ranked side by banishing any lingering doubts of an early exit with a crushing 36-14 success which eliminated the Scots.
Ireland will return to Paris next Saturday for a showdown with the All Blacks seeking to make history by progressing beyond the last eight of the tournament for the first time.
Head coach Farrell led his side to a landmark series success in New Zealand last summer and is braced for another major test following statement Stade de France victories over reigning champions South Africa and Scotland.
“New Zealand are a fantastic side, and for little old Ireland to be talked about in the same bracket as the All Blacks shows how far we’ve come as a rugby-playing nation,” he said.
“The respect we’ve got for New Zealand is through the roof.
“The form they’ve got at this moment in time is top drawer and I’m sure that they will be relishing this fixture to try and put a few things right. It’s tough, it’s as tough as it gets.
“Two weeks ago (against South Africa), it was a tough game and this one was knock-out type rugby so it gets a whole lot tougher next week against the All Blacks and hopefully they will need to be at their best to beat us as well.”
James Lowe’s early try settled any Irish nerves in Saint-Denis before Hugo Keenan crossed either side of a score from the recalled Iain Henderson to quickly take the game away from shell-shocked Scotland.
Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose added to the opposition’s embarrassment, prior to consolation tries from Scottish pair Ewan Ashman and Ali Price.
Farrell must wait to discover the true cost of a feisty affair in the French capital, with wings Mack Hansen and Lowe and replacement lock James Ryan each sustaining injuries.
“Obviously, we’ll see how they pull up in the morning but Mack went off with a HIA (head injury assessment) and when he came back on he felt his calf straight away, so we got him off,” said Farrell.
“James Ryan has a bit of a knock on his wrist that we have to assess more, so we’ll see how he is now.
“James Lowe got a bang in the eye, his eye shut and he couldn’t really see much. His vision was coming back towards the end of the game, which is good.
“Then, a few more bangs and bruises that we’ll need to assess tomorrow.”
Ireland once again performed a celebratory lap of honour in front of tens of thousands of jubilant Irish supporters.
Farrell savoured another special occasion, while wishing he could simultaneously enjoy the “bonkers” scenes back home.
“My wife and me two girls were there, that’s why I was singing to them,” he said.
“I think it’s amazing, the songs at the end of the game, I love all that.
“We got a bit of stick, didn’t we, for walking around against South Africa, but we walk round and thank the fans after every game.
“It’s the least we can do when they turn up in their thousands like they’ve done.
“We play for them, we talk about it every week. I talked about it before the game today in the dressing room, it means more than what people think, 100 per cent.
“I know that France is buzzing with Irish people, but I believe it’s bonkers back home. We’re torn a bit, enjoying it with the fans back home or stay here? We’ll stay here for now!”
Gregor Townsend admitted Ireland were simply too good for his Scotland team to handle as their World Cup dream ended with a chastening 36-14 defeat by the world’s top-ranked side in Paris on Saturday night.
After losing their opening match to South Africa, the Scots had to win with a bonus point or by denying the Irish a losing bonus in order to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Their hopes were dented by the concession of a try after just over a minute and the game was effectively over by half-time as the Irish ran in another three scores before the break to lead 26-0.
Scotland rallied slightly to win the second half 14-10, but there was a sense of dejection at full-time as they departed the tournament at the first hurdle at a time when they are ranked fifth in the world.
“It’s a very disappointing result, we have gone out of the World Cup against the highest-ranked side in the world, and they were well ahead at half-time,” rued head coach Townsend.
“We played the number two side in the world in the opening game and it was a close game.
“In isolation, this is a really disappointing defeat against a very good side and one we believed we had the ability to beat.
“They were the better team tonight, they were excellent and it’s probably the best I have seen them play.
“It’s probably where we and they are in terms of the rankings and why now they are the favourites for the World Cup.”
Townsend did not feel James Lowe’s early try set the tone as Scotland went on to enjoy a spell of pressure thereafter, albeit without reward, before Ireland turned the screw in the lead-up to half-time.
“The early try wasn’t a factor as we managed in that first 20 minutes to put some good rugby together, but we didn’t put any points on the board,” said Townsend.
“The tries before half-time we could have defended better, but I have to give credit to Ireland as they executed very well and the game went away from us.
“In the second half, I was really proud of the effort and the intent to not allow the score to become a bigger one. We came back and showed who we were in attack.
“The game had gotten away from us, so we focused on winning back respect. To get two tries against such a top team, we’ll take a little bit out of that.
“We’re very disappointed with the result and the first-half performance, but credit to Ireland, who were very, very good.”
While the fact they were placed in a group alongside the world’s top-ranked side and the defending world champions counts as some mitigation for Scotland’s early exit, Townsend acknowledged his team were not at their best over the course of the tournament.
“We certainly have to do better, and the responsibility is mine,” he said. “We believed we could get out of this pool, and we still believed that after losing to South Africa with the response the players showed in training and the games they played (against Tonga and Romania), gave us an opportunity tonight, which we didn’t take.
“Ireland are a better team than us on tonight’s performance, and they’ve won 17 games in a row so they’ve clearly been the better team over the last couple of years. Now, if we can get on the journey they have been on the last few years then great – but it is easy saying that, it is another thing doing it.
“You become a better team through defeats as well as victories, and we’ve got to make sure that this defeat makes us a better team for the Six Nations coming up and the next World Cup, although at this point the Six Nations is much more relevant.”
Leigh Wood retained his world featherweight title after weathering a ferocious onslaught from Josh Warrington to stop his British rival in a pulsating showdown at the Utilita Arena Sheffield.
In the first defence of his second reign as WBA champion, Wood absorbed some punishing blows over several rounds and remained upright despite being clearly troubled by Warrington’s relentless flurries.
Wood, though, kept his composure amid a cacophony of noise and unloaded with precise combination punching, finishing with a right to the temple and then a left when Warrington was on the way down.
Warrington, seeking to become a three-time champion at 126lbs, rose gamely but was on wobbly legs, prompting referee Michael Alexander to wave off the contest right at the end of the seventh round.
Warrington protested the decision before slumping his head on the referee’s shoulder in grim defeat as Wood celebrated his latest comeback victory to improve his record to 28 wins and three defeats.
A fight at the City Ground, home of his beloved Nottingham Forest, could be next for Wood, who could move up to super-featherweight after admitting boiling down to 126lbs was becoming increasingly tough.
While three years younger than his conqueror, Warrington’s future is less certain after slumping to his third defeat in 35 bouts, including back-to-back losses world title fights in just under a year.
Rampant Ireland set up tantalising quarter-final rematch against New Zealand by condemning ragged rivals Scotland to another early World Cup exit with a crushing 36-14 bonus-point success in Paris.
Gregor Townsend’s men required a heroic win by eight points or more at Stade de France to snatch progression at the expense of their opponents.
But Test rugby’s top-ranked nation emphatically underlined their status with a thrilling display of attacking verve to avoid major drama in a feisty encounter.
James Lowe’s early try settled any nerves before Hugo Keenan crossed either side of a score from the recalled Iain Henderson to quickly take the game away from the shell-shocked Scots before the break.
Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose added to the embarrassment before Scottish pair Ewan Ashman and Ali Price claimed quickfire consolations.
Ireland will take on the All Blacks in the last eight, seeking to avenge the 46-14 thrashing suffered at the same stage of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Head coach Andy Farrell perhaps has cause for concern ahead of that showdown due apparent injuries suffered by wings Mack Hansen and Lowe.
Scotland, meanwhile, face an early flight home for the second successive tournament, with South Africa going through as Pool B runners-up to take on hosts France.
Premature departures for Blair Kinghorn, Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham due to fitness issues contributed to their woes, while Ollie Smith was shown a yellow card for causing a mass brawl.
The Scots came into the competition with one of their most talented teams in years but, following a chastening evening in the French capital, were left to rue being placed in the most difficult group alongside the reigning champions and the world’s number one team.
Permutations, premature elimination and the slim possibility of the Springboks crashing out dominated the build-up to a titanic qualification shoot-out in Saint-Denis.
A deafening roar greeted the teams and the decibels were raised further among the dominant Irish support with just over a minute on the clock when Hansen sent Lowe over in the left corner after Ringrose dummied his way beyond Grant Gilchrist.
Scotland roared back and showed a statement of intent by kicking a series of penalties to the corner, forcing Ireland to ferociously repel prolonged pressure.
But their cause was not helped by losing full-back Kinghorn, whose 50th cap lasted just nine minutes, and captain Ritchie, while Ireland wing Hansen also went off.
Ireland’s defiant defending was matched equally by awesome attacking enterprise and they stretched the scoreboard significantly with two quickfire tries.
Delightful slick interplay from right to left unlocked the Scottish backline, culminating in Ringrose teeing up the onrushing Keenan in the 27th minute, before Henderson marked his first start of the tournament by bulldozing over minutes later.
Far from thinking about the knock-out stages, Scotland trudged down the tunnel at the break fearing humiliation.
Ireland’s well-oiled machine led 26-0 ahead at that stage with a bonus point in the bag after Johnny Sexton set up Keenan’s second and then sent over his third successful conversion.
Scotland desperately needed to show some fight and did so as tempers boiled over early in the second period during a melee sparked by Smith’s off-the-ball trip on Sexton.
Players from both sides piled in, with Pierre Schoeman and Sheehan ploughing over an advertising board, before instigator Smith was sin-binned.
Sheehan was on the floor again minutes later, this time diving over to claim Ireland’s fifth try before Farrell wisely withdrew talisman Sexton, in addition to five of his forwards.
Jack Crowley’s fine cross-field kick sent over Ringrose before Scottish resistance finally materialised in the shape of a pair of well-taken scores, each converted by the largely subdued Finn Russell.
Replacement hooker Ashman made an immediate impact by galloping over on the right to ensure his side were not whitewashed, before scrum-half Price finished a fine team move.
Yet their endeavours mattered little as Ireland comfortably marched on thanks to a 17th successive win and a ninth in a row against the eliminated Scots.
Max Verstappen hailed his third Formula One world title as the finest of his career – and vowed to celebrate by downing a few sparkling waters.
The 26-year-old Dutchman has emulated Sir Jackie Stewart and Ayrton Senna after being crowned a triple world champion with six grands prix still remaining – equalling Michael Schumacher’s 21-year-old record.
Red Bull’s Verstappen has dominated Formula One since he beat Lewis Hamilton to clinch his maiden championship at the deeply controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021.
And his coronation of this most one-sided of campaigns was confirmed on lap 11 of 19 of a frantic sprint race when Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull crashed out under the floodlights of the Lusail International Circuit.
Verstappen has failed to win just three of the 16 rounds so far this season, and he became the first driver in history to win 10 consecutive races following a remarkable unbeaten streak from the opening weekend of May in Miami to the Italian Grand Prix on September 3.
Verstappen’s title parade will start here at 8pm local time (6pm BST) when the lights go out on Sunday’s 57-lap Grand Prix.
“This championship is the best one,” said Verstappen. “The first one was the most emotional because that is when my dreams were fulfilled. But this has been my best year in terms of performance.
“I am the most proud of this one because of how consistent I have been. I will have quite a few sparkling waters tonight, but I will be here tomorrow.”
Verstappen’s championship-winning campaign has been one largely led from the front but the Dutchman dropped from third to fifth at the end of the opening lap of Saturday’s sprint race.
After being usurped by Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc off the line, Verstappen momentarily got out of shape at the opening right-hander, with Fernando Alonso nibbling at the back of his machine.
Verstappen survived, and then slung his Red Bull underneath Lando Norris for fifth. Two safety cars followed as Liam Lawson and Logan Sargeant beached their respective cars and Verstappen – on the slower, but more durable, medium rubber – set about his comeback.
First to be swatted aside was Leclerc on the main straight on lap nine, with Sainz the Dutchman’s next victim on the following lap.
On lap 11, the championship was officially over. Esteban Ocon attempted to overtake Nico Hulkenberg on the inside of the second corner, and with Perez to the right of the Haas driver, Ocon lost control of his Alpine and took the Red Bull with him. It summed up the Mexican’s woefully disappointing campaign.
Perez shared two wins apiece with Verstappen from the opening four fixtures but his demise has been dramatic. He is 177 points – the equivalent of more than seven victories – behind the man driving identical machinery.
On lap 16, Verstappen eased past Russell with Oscar Piastri 2.6 seconds up the road. However, the impressive McLaren rookie could not be caught as he claimed his first win in F1. It did not matter for Verstappen who could celebrate becoming just the 11th driver to win the title on more than two occasions.
“Max, you are a three-time world champion,” roared Red Bull’s jubilant team principal Christian Horner over the radio. “That is unbelievable. It has been an incredible year for you.”
Verstappen, who starts on pole on Sunday, could claim the 49th win of his career with only Hamilton (103 victories), Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him.
Verstappen turned 26 only last week, and the prospect of emulating the seven championships shared by Hamilton and Schumacher is surely possible.
“I am enjoying the moment and hopefully we will keep this momentum going for a while,” said Verstappen, whose deal with Red Bull runs until 2028.
“It is different to other sports where you can set out targets and if I keep in good shape then these things are possible.
“But in F1 it doesn’t always work like that. It depends on the package. I have quite a few more years in me to operate at my best but we will see how long that is. It is more about how long I want to be here.
“I live in the moment and I have achieved way more than I ever thought was possible.”
Owen Farrell admitted his relief that his shot clock blunder did not cost England victory as they scraped past Samoa in their final World Cup group game.
England needed a late Danny Care try to defeat magnificent Islander opposition in an error-ridden 18-17 victory in Lille that will have sent the spirits of likely quarter-final opponents Fiji soaring.
A crucial moment came in the 64th minute when Farrell was lining up a routine penalty with the team 17-11 behind only for the time to run out on the shot clock – the first time it has happened in this tournament.
“I didn’t see the clock. I wasn’t aware. It was above where I was picking my target. I got lost a little bit in the kick,” Farrell said.
“It wasn’t good enough and I’m glad for the team’s sake that it didn’t cost us. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”
England had already qualified for the quarter-finals as Pool D winners but this night in Lille was a backwards step that evoked memories of August’s dismal warm-up campaign.
Head coach Steve Borthwick accepted it was a poor performance but valued the hard-fought run out before the knockout phase begins.
“Immense credit to Samoa, I thought they played brilliantly,” said Borthwick, who revealed that Manu Tuilagi suffered an injury that forced him off.
“Samoa spoke about it being their World Cup final and that’s exactly how they played. They tested us and forced us into a lot of errors,” Borthwick said.
“It was a scrappy performance for a long period by us in a real tough Test. As we look towards next week, I wanted a tough Test – and that’s exactly what we got.
“There was a lot that was not at the required standard – lots of errors, mistakes, scrappiness and for a period there were too many penalties. And then the players got hold of it on the pitch and found a way to get the result.
“A lot has been said before about this England team when it is in tough circumstances.
“Now the team was in tough circumstances against Samoa. We didn’t want to be there, we didn’t want to play the way that got us in those tough circumstances but this team found a way out of it.”
Samoa head coach Seilala Mapusua feels less-established teams such as his Islanders are battling against “unconscious bias” from officials when they face the heavyweights.
“I asked the question if the referees have an unconscious bias when a tier-one team plays a tier-two team. I believe there is and I believe there has been in the past,” Mapusua said.
“I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, it’s what I’ve seen in our game for the last however many years, since I was playing.
“My heart breaks for these boys. I thought they deserved a lot more than they got from that game.
“I felt we did enough to earn a victory. Such is the cruel nature of sport, it wasn’t to be. In terms of the effort it’s a pretty tough one to take.”
Former All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts have agreed to a three-year, $42million contract extension, multiple media outlets reported Saturday. The deal reportedly includes $26.5million in guarantees.
The extension ends a lengthy and sometimes bitter contract dispute between Taylor and the team that drafted him in 2020.
Taylor, 24, was activated from the physically unable to perform list earlier this week and will have a chance to make his season debut Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
While recovering from ankle surgery, Taylor missed offseason activities and training camp before being placed on the PUP list.
In his first public comments since June, Taylor told reporters Thursday that he was eager to return to the field.
“If somebody wasn’t committed, they wouldn’t be here. Right now, I’m here and my No. 1 goal is really to attack this first practice," Taylor said. "It’s been over 290 days, I believe. When you’re not doing what you love, you’re going to notice it, so my main goal has been to attack this first day.”
Taylor and Colts owner Jim Irsay engaged in a war of words through the media this summer, with Taylor bemoaning the compensation offered to running backs.
Taylor requested a trade, and the Colts eventually gave him permission to seek a trade partner after Irsay had initially said that Taylor would not be traded.
In the end, Indianapolis (2-2) keeps 2021’s leading rusher and a potent offensive weapon to pair with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Taylor ran for 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2021, earning AP All-Pro honours. He had 861 yards and four touchdowns in an injury-shortened season last year.
In 43 career games, Taylor has 4,643 yards from scrimmage and 36 total touchdowns.
Star Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has ended speculation over his future by signing a new three-year deal, according to the NFL.
It has been reported the 24-year-old has agreed a 42 million US dollars deal (£34.3m), of which 26.5m dollars (£21.7m) is guaranteed.
It makes him one of the highest paid running-backs in the league.
Taylor, who could make his first appearance of the season on Sunday after an injury-hit start to the campaign, had been linked with a trade away from the AFC South side during the off-season.
He was drafted by the Colts in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft and set the franchise record for most rushing yards in a season with 1,811 in 2021.
Max Verstappen clinched the Formula One world drivers’ title after finishing second in the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the Dutchman’s season and overall record in numbers.
3 – Verstappen has wrapped up his third world title.
11 – he is the 11th driver to win the title three times or more, and only the fifth to do so in successive years.
10 – along the way Verstappen produced a record-breaking run of 10 consecutive race wins, from the Miami Grand Prix in May to September’s Italian GP.
13 – his overall win tally this season, from 16 races. He has finished second twice, and fifth in Singapore.
407 – Verstappen’s points tally.
184 – lead over second-placed Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
10 – pole positions.
7 – fastest laps.
2 – sprint race wins.
48 – Verstappen’s career win total ranks fifth in F1 history. He has the chance to climb to fourth or even third by the end of the season, with Alain Prost winning 51 races and Sebastian Vettel 53.
6 – clinching the title in the Qatar sprint race means Verstappen did so with six grands prix remaining, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record from 2002.
Max Verstappen has been crowned champion of the world after he finished second to Oscar Piastri in Saturday’s chaotic sprint round in Qatar.
The 26-year-old Dutchman has emulated Sir Jackie Stewart and Ayrton Senna by wrapping up his third title with six grands prix still remaining – equalling Michael Schumacher’s 21-year-old record.
Red Bull’s Verstappen has dominated Formula One since he beat seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to clinch his maiden title at the deeply controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021.
And the 26-year-old’s runner-up finish, coupled with Sergio Perez’s failure to finish in the top three – he crashed out with eight laps remaining – was enough to seal the deal under the floodlights of the Lusail International Circuit.
Verstappen’s championship parade will start at Sunday’s 57-lap Grand Prix in Qatar.
Lando Norris finished third for McLaren, one place ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton fifth.
Verstappen’s championship-winning campaign has been one largely led from the front but the Dutchman dropped from third to fifth at the end of the opening lap.
As Russell blasted from fourth to second, a slow-starting Verstappen fell down the order, with Ferrari pair Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc leapfrogging the Red Bull man.
Verstappen momentarily got out of shape at the opening right-hander, with Fernando Alonso nibbling at the back of his machine.
The Dutchman survived and then slung his Red Bull underneath Lando Norris, who had started second, to take fifth.
Moments later, Liam Lawson beached his AlphaTauri and out came the safety car. Meanwhile, Perez, who had to finish in the top three to prevent Verstappen from taking the title, had dropped from eighth to 11th.
Perez threatened to fight Verstappen for the championship by winning two of the opening four rounds of the season. However, the Mexican’s challenge has faded desperately – he has not won since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30.
In came the safety car at the end of the second lap, and Russell, on the speedier, but less durable soft tyres, made his move on the medium-shod pole-sitter Piastri to assume the lead.
Then, the error-prone Logan Sargeant put his Williams in the gravel. The safety car was deployed again as the American’s stricken machine was cleared from danger.
The safety car pulled in at the end of lap five and Russell raced away from Piastri as Verstappen – on the slower, but more durable, medium rubber – set about his comeback.
First to be swatted aside was Ferrari’s Leclerc on the main straight on lap nine, with Sainz the Dutchman’s next victim on the following lap.
The race was starting to come back to those on the medium tyres, and Piastri roared past Russell to reclaim the lead at the start of lap 11.
And then the championship was officially over when Perez’s race ended in the gravel at Turn 2. Esteban Ocon attempted to overtake Nico Hulkenberg on the inside of the second corner, and with Perez to the right of the Haas driver, Ocon lost control of his Alpine and took Perez with him. It summed up Perez’s woefully disappointing campaign.
The safety car was deployed for a third time before a five-lap blast to the flag.
On lap 16, Verstappen eased past Russell with Piastri 2.6 sec up the road. However, the McLaren man could not be caught.
But Verstappen, who needed to finish only sixth to be sure of the title, need not worry as he celebrated becoming just the 11th driver to win the world championship on more than two occasions.
Max Verstappen has clinched his third world championship.
The most one-sided Formula One campaign of recent memory was dominated by the Dutch driver.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at six races which fired Verstappen on the road to glory.
BahrainVerstappen opened his championship defence with an ominous performance under the floodlights in Sakhir.
He finished 11.9 seconds clear of team-mate Sergio Perez and nearly 40 sec ahead of third-placed Fernando Alonso.
George Russell, 55 sec back in his under-performing Mercedes, summed up the mood in the paddock when he chillingly predicted Verstappen’s Red Bull team would win all 22 races this year.
CanadaVerstappen’s sixth victory from the season’s opening eight fixtures saw him match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories.
A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Even an early collision with a bird could not stop the flying Dutchman as he drew level with Senna to leave only Lewis Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books.
“To tie with Ayrton is incredible and I am proud of that but I hope it doesn’t stop here,” he said. “I hope we keep on winning more races.”
BelgiumVerstappen’s invincible streak continued in the final round before the summer break at Spa-Francorchamps.
The triple world champion started sixth following an engine penalty but he took the lead on lap 17 of 44 before crossing the line 22.3 sec clear of his forlorn Red Bull team-mate Perez.
Hamilton, who finished fourth, 49 sec back, described his rival’s dominance as like “he is having a smoke and a pancake”.
NetherlandsRed Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed “untouchable” Verstappen as the best driver in the world after he overcame a chaotic rain-hit race to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row.
Despite two separate downpours wreaking havoc at the beginning – which left him in 13th place – and conclusion of the 72-lap race in Zandvoort, Verstappen delivered in front of 105,000 expectant fans. At one stage, Verstappen was lapping his home track four seconds faster than Perez and two seconds quicker than anybody else.
“Max is in a period of his career where he is just simply untouchable,” said Horner. “I don’t think there is any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he is doing in that car.”
ItalyVerstappen drove his way into the history books by taking his 10th-consecutive victory. He sat behind Carlos Sainz for 14 of the 51 laps at Monza’s Temple of Speed before fighting his way past the Ferrari pole-sitter at the second chicane.
From there, the commanding Dutchman never looked back to better the mark he shared with Vettel and become the first driver in F1 to reach double figures for straight victories.
However, there were sour grapes over at Mercedes with team principal Toto Wolff calling Verstappen’s remarkable streak “completely irrelevant” and “for Wikipedia”
JapanVerstappen’s historic winning run, and Red Bull’s unbeaten season, came to an end in Singapore. But at the next round in Japan, he hit back in emphatic style.
He topped every practice session in Suzuka, secured pole, and then won at a canter as Red Bull became the first team ever to win the constructors’ championship with six races to spare.
England were forced to dig deep in an 18-17 victory over Samoa that will have left probable World Cup quarter-final opponents Fiji licking their lips.
A dominant final quarter saw Samoa’s 17-8 lead eventually overhauled when Danny Care crossed with seven minutes left for a try that was converted by Owen Farrell.
It was a night of personal triumph for Farrell, who eclipsed Jonny Wilkinson’s total of 1,179 to become the nation’s highest points scorer, but a poor team performance will have taken the shine off that achievement.
Samoa finally discovered their mojo in the climax to a disappointing group campaign and they fell metres short with one last do-or-die assault that if successful would have produced a first-ever victory in the fixture.
A lingering sense of injustice hung over an early decision – made once the conversion had been taken – to chalk off Duncan Paia’aua’s try for a hard-to-detect knock-on that would have propelled the underdogs 19-8 ahead.
Until this night in Lille, England had not conceded a try for 160 minutes but they were breached twice by Samoa wing Nigel Ah-Wong – and it could have been more.
Their only consistent weapon was the driving line-out and Fiji will have watched the events at Stade Pierre-Mauroy with interest, seeing how rattled Steve Borthwick’s side became when faced with an incisive, off-loading attack.
England’s pack made an early impact but it was the sharp handling of Farrell and Joe Marchant that led to their first try in the 10th minute as Manu Tuilagi motored forwards before sending Ollie Chessum over in the left corner.
Tuilagi tore through the midfield once again as Samoa continued to be picked apart at will with George Ford and Farrell dovetailing well and their next drive ended with a penalty from their captain that saw Wilkinson’s record finally broken.
Play became ragged and England suffered as a result, their sloppy handling allowing Samoa to attack and the Islanders showed skill to thread the ball to wing Ah-Wong for a classy try.
Blue shirts poured through gaps in the favourites’ porous defence and they were unpicked again when Lima Sopoaga hoisted a crossfield kick for Ah-Wong to produce an inch-perfect finish.
Nothing seemed to be going right for England as they infringed at a line-out but they enjoyed a stroke of luck when Paia’aua’s score off Alex Mitchell’s poor clearance kick was disallowed.
A sloppy Farrell pass intended for Tuilagi invited more pressure and after going through several phases in which the tryline was tested Samoa ended the spell with a Sopoaga penalty.
England were losing every moment and they chose to play their trump card by bringing on Marcus Smith at Ford’s expense with Farrell moving to fly-half.
They appeared to have scored when their pack dragged Samoa into the trenches but Chessum’s try was ruled out and then Marchant was denied because of a forward pass.
Farrell landed one penalty but the shot clock expired on a second attempt and England were thrown a lifeline when Tumua Manu was shown a yellow card for tackling Farrell in the air.
Pinned back by scrum after scrum, Samoa eventually cracked when replacement scrum-half Care raced through a large gap and once Farrell converted England were back in front.
A last-gasp attack by Samoa almost swept them over but excellent scramble defence kept them out and the dream of an upset was extinguished.
Wales were left to count the cost of their Rugby World Cup victory over Georgia after number eight Taulupe Faletau suffered a broken arm and two other players were also injured.
Faletau, who has won more than 100 caps, will take no further part in the tournament as Wales build towards a quarter-final against probably Argentina or Japan in Marseille next weekend.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland said no decision had yet been made on a replacement for Faletau, although flanker Aaron Wainwright is an option to move across the back-row.
Fly-half Gareth Anscombe, meanwhile, withdrew 45 minutes before kick-off in Nantes following a groin problem suffered during the warm-up.
And full-back Liam Williams was on crutches after Gatland said he took a blow to his knee, but Wales are hopeful he will be fit for the quarter-final, with Wales ending their Pool C campaign as group winners with four successive victories following a 43-19 triumph.
“Toby (Faletau) has broken his arm so he will be out,” Gatland said.
“We are just going to assess Gareth over the next 72 hours. He has pulled his groin very high up.
“Talking to the medics, he has got a bit of power still in his leg which is a positive. It means he has not pulled it off the bone.
“We will probably know in the next 48-72 hours what we need to do with him. Whether we’ve got (time) for him to recover or replace him directly.
“We have got to look at a replacement for Faletau, whether that is directly as a loose-forward replacement or whether we look at another position.
“We’ve got a few sore players, particularly in the backs, after today’s game.
“If you do see Liam Williams on crutches, it is not that he has done anything significantly bad.
“He got a whack on the knee, and the medics, from a comfort perspective, have put him on crutches to save him walking around a bit.
“He has got a knock and probably won’t take a huge part in training in the early part of next week, but hopefully he will be fit for the quarter-final.”
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