ABU DHABI: From the moment that Max Verstappen joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2014, there was an inevitability that he would one day become Formula One world champion.

That it came in the shape of a sensational last lap sprint in Abu Dhabi on Sunday which toppled seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton from his throne will make it even sweeter to the 24-year-old, the first Dutchman to wear the crown.

“My goal when I was little was to be a Formula One driver,” said Verstappen after the finish in Abu Dhabi.

“You dream of podiums and victories. But when they tell you that you are world champion, it’s incredible.”

The 36-year-old Hamilton has been a sensational champion with Mercedes but Verstappen’s victory suggests the arrival of a new world order.

His pace and talent has long been evident but it is his calmness under pressure and willingness to go toe to toe with a genuine F1 great, even when things got hairy, that has marked out this season’s rise to the top.

At Silverstone, Verstappen ended up in the crash barriers; at Monza he crash-landed his Red Bull on top of the Mercedes. In Saudi Arabia, Hamilton crunched into the back of the Red Bull after Verstappen braked to let him pass.

The incidents on the track have led to a war of words off it. The Dutchman labelled the seven-time world champion a “stupid idiot” while Hamilton accused the young pretender of being “over the limit” in Jeddah.

In Abu Dhabi, Verstappen produced one of the most unlikely wins imaginable with a last lap dash that confounded the experienced Hamilton.

Not once, though, did the challenger take a step back or wilt under the pressure.

“He seems to deal with the pressure better than other people,” said two-time world champion Fernando Alonso earlier in the season.

“Everyone is different, but it seems that for him it is not a big deal.”

Verstappen is used to the spotlight, the pressure and, with already 20 years on the track, is experienced beyond his years as a racing driver.

According to his father Jos Verstappen, who raced in over a hundred Grand Prix between 1994 and 2003, Max first clambered into a go-kart when he was four and a half years old.

“He was keen, watching all my races, he knew what was going on. He was brought up with racing,” Jos told the official F1 podcast Beyond the Grid in 2019.

“I never had to tell him racing lines, he knew.”

In Abu Dhabi, the two shared what Max called a “special” moment. His dad was in no doubt about his son’s achievement.

“I am very proud of him,” said Jos. “Max was the driver this year and he deserved it.”

His father was not the only influence on his early racing career; his mother is Belgian ex-kart driver champion Sophie Kumpen. Her uncle competed in motocross and rally and her cousin Anthony Kumpen raced NASCAR in the United States.

Titles followed and the teenage Verstappen made the step up to Formula Three, winning 10 races in his debut season when he finished third in the championship which was won by Esteban Ocon, a year his senior and now with the F1 Alpine team.

Verstappen would almost certainly have gone on to win the Formula Three title but after one season he made the step up to the biggest stage.

After taking part in practice at the 2014 Japanese GP, he made his F1 debut for Toro Rosso at the Australian GP in in 2015.

Aged just 17 years and 166 days, he was the youngest ever driver in the sport – and still had not passed his regular driving test.

“For me it was never about age,” said Jos. “It was so natural what he was doing. It was impressive. Max is an exciting driver. He’s much better than me.”

That first season saw him take his first points and get involved in his first scrap. A shunt on Romain Grosjean in Monaco saw Verstappen labelled “dangerous” by Williams driver Felipe Massa but he went on to land the FIA’s Rookie of the Year title.

In May 2016, he was promoted to the Red Bull team, replacing Daniil Kvyat, and the results were impressive and immediate. In his first race in Spain, he qualified fourth and then held off Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to become the youngest ever winner, aged 18, in F1.

Vestappen notched six top-five finishes, including four podiums, in his first eight races.

After two seasons as runner-up, he had a better car which at times has enabled him to eviscerate the Mercedes.

“You just knew Max was not going to give it up,” said Red Bull princial Christian Horner on Sunday.

“He had come so far this year and then to see him close it out, become world champion – an amazing feeling.” – AFP

LIVERPOOL: Mohamed Salah scored the only goal as Liverpool spoiled Steven Gerrard’s return to Anfield as Aston Villa manager as the Reds, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United all needed penalties to win on Saturday.

City edged 10-man Wolves 1-0 thanks to Raheem Sterling’s controversial winner, Chelsea required two Jorginho spot-kicks to see off Leeds 3-2 and Cristiano Ronaldo made sure United did not slip up with a 1-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Norwich.

Gerrard was given a subdued reception at Anfield as the former Liverpool captain faced his old side for the first time in his playing or coaching career.

“I had to accept it was going to be emotional for me and my family,“ said Gerrard. “For me, it was trying to control that, trying to control the outside noise and be respectful to Aston Villa.”

Villa were largely outplayed, but stayed in the game thanks to a combination of dogged defending, good goalkeeping from Emiliano Martinez and a couple of calls in their favour from referee Stuart Attwell, who dismissed two first-half appeals for a Liverpool penalty.

However, Gerrard’s men did not escape for a third time when Tyrone Mings pulled down Salah inside the box 25 minutes from time.

Salah smashed home his 21st goal in 22 games this season to ensure Liverpool remain just one point behind City at the top of the table.

“The first 75 minutes was incredible football,“ said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. “We played in the spaces we wanted to play but we did not finish the situations which is tricky.”

‘Crazy decision’

City had fortune on their side to see off Wolves thanks to Sterling’s 100th Premier League goal.

Wolves boss Bruno Lage was furious as Raul Jimenez was dismissed for two quickfire yellow cards before half-time.

The Mexican was booked for a trip of Rodrigo and then sent off for preventing the Spaniard taking a quick free-kick.

“The first yellow card is a crazy decision for me, in my opinion. A hard decision to accept,“ said Lage.

The visitors’ anger was compounded by the origin of the winning goal as Joao Moutinho was judged to have handled Bernardo Silva’s cross despite the ball appearing to come off the Portuguese midfielder’s body onto his upper arm.

Sterling showed no mercy as he coolly slotted home from the spot to bring up his century of Premier League goals.

Jorginho saves Chelsea

Chelsea needed late drama at Stamford Bridge to prevent their title challenge stumbling for the fourth time in six games.

Leeds took the lead through a penalty of their own, converted by Raphinha.

Mason Mount levelled for the European champions and order seemed to have been restored when Jorginho slotted home the first of his two spot-kicks just before the hour mark.

However, an injury-ravaged Leeds hit back once more when teenager Joe Gelhardt came off the bench to level with his first touch seven minutes from time.

But four minutes into stoppage time a third penalty of the game was awarded for Mateusz Klich’s challenge on Antonio Rudiger.

Jorginho has missed a number of high-profile penalties for Italy of late, but is yet to miss for his club this season and converted to keep Chelsea just two points off the top.

“We needed this win desperately, for the belief, for the mood and for the atmosphere,“ said Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel.

United were also bailed out by Ronaldo’s penalty 15 minutes from time and a string of saves from David de Gea to maintain Ralf Rangnick’s 100 percent start as interim manager in the Premier League.

The Red Devils moved level on points with fourth-placed West Ham after riding their luck at Carrow Road as De Gea denied Teemu Pukki and Ozan Kabak either side of Ronaldo’s thumping finish from the spot.

Arsenal are one point behind United after shrugging off the absence of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang due to a disciplinary issue to ease past Southampton 3-0.

Aubameyang was not included in Mikel Arteta’s squad after reportedly missing training on Friday.

The Gunners comfortably bounced back to winning ways thanks to goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel. — AFP

MUNICH: Victory for champions Bayern Munich in a game against visitors Mainz 05 (Sat 10.30pm Malaysian time) would have been a foregone conclusion in any other season in the past decade but not this year.

Mainz, under Danish coach Bo Svensson, are having their best season in 11 years, having lost one of their last six Bundesliga matches.

Champions League club VfL Wolfsburg found out last week how deadly Mainz can be in attack these days, conceding two goals in the opening four minutes to lose 3-0.

Mainz are currently in seventh place on 21 points thanks to their hard-working backline – the league’s second best.

When Mainz lose possession Svensson’s players hustle their opponents and stifle any chance of a quick break, while in attack they have the most in-form German striker in 21-year-old Jonathan Burkardt, who has netted 10 times in all competitions this season, including seven goals in the Bundesliga.

Burkardt has averaged a goal every two games this season. The young forward has also had a total of 30 shots on goal, the second most in the Bundesliga, and scored against Wolfsburg.

Getting something out of their trip to Munich is not beyond Mainz’s expectations these days.

“If we continue playing this type of Mainz 05 football all the way to Christmas then we will be happy when sitting under the Christmas tree,” said Burkardt.

But they will have to hit top form and hope the hosts have a bad day.

Bayern are on a high following last week’s 3-2 league win at second-placed Borussia Dortmund that opened a four-point gap at the top.

They followed that up with a 3-0 victory over Barcelona on Wednesday to complete a perfect Champions League group stage with six wins from six games.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann has midfielder Joshua Kimmich back in training after he tested negative for Covid-19 following his infection and quarantine earlier this month.

Dortmund have their backs to the wall following last week’s loss to the champions.

They must now win Saturday’s Ruhr valley mini-derby at VfL Bochum (Sat 10.30pm) if they are to stay in touch with the leaders.

Bayer Leverkusen, a further three points back in third place, will be hoping for a Dortmund slip-up before they visit Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday (Mon 12.30am). – Reuters

MUNICH: Germany’s independent elite athletes’ organisation has urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to provide evidence of the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai (pix) and called for an independent investigation into her situation.

Peng’s whereabouts became a matter of international concern following a nearly three-week public absence after she posted a message on social media in early November alleging that China's former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli had sexually assaulted her.

Neither Zhang, who retired in 2018, nor the Chinese government have commented on Peng’s allegation and the topic has been blocked from direct discussion on China’s heavily censored internet.

In the wake of concerns over the treatment of former doubles world No. 1 Peng and the safety of other players, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) last week announced the immediate suspension of tournaments in China.

Following the WTA’s decision, the IOC said it had held a second video call with Peng, after having first talked to her on Nov 21.

Athleten Deutschland said that the IOC’s statements “provide no evidence as to whether Peng Shuai is actually safe, whether she can make free decisions and whether she can express herself free of coercion and censorship”.

It praised the WTA for standing up for Peng and said the IOC should follow this example. It must “put the protection of the survivor above political and economic considerations,” Athleten Deutschland said.

It also called for an independent investigation into the matter.

Reuters has contacted the IOC for comment.

Beijing is hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics in February. Global rights groups and others have called for a boycott of the Games over China’s human rights record.

Athleten Deutschland also called upon the IOC to make the protection of athletes its first priority and to ensure the safety of athletes at the Beijing Games.

The group also urged the IOC to commit to human rights and implement a human rights strategy, and to push China for assurances on human rights at the Winter Games. – Reuters

MILAN: AS Roma are in freefall, with the cracks continuing to widen as the same Jose Mourinho gripes remain headline news in the Italian capital.

All was going so well for Mourinho on his return to Serie A at the start of the season.

Back to coach in Italy, where he had steered Inter Milan to an unprecedented treble during his last spell in the country, Mourinho led Roma to six wins from his six opening matches in all competitions.

Italy seemed like the perfect place for Mourinho to revitalise his coaching career after he had been sacked from his previous two jobs at Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

Results, however, soon took a turn for the worse, as Mourinho’s men slid down to seventh in the Serie A standings, having won only five of their last 13 league matches.

As is often the case with Mourinho, he has looked elsewhere when searching for someone to blame for Roma's slump.

Referees have been subjected to Mourinho’s ire on several occasions this season, while after October’s humiliating 6-1 defeat by Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League, it was the players who the Portuguese targeted.

“If I could pick the same players every time I would, but it is a risk. There is a difference in quality between one group of players and the other,” Mourinho said after the game in Norway.

Following Saturday’s 3-0 loss at home to Inter Milan – a very one-sided affair from start to finish – Mourinho’s news conference after the match was spiky, even by the 58-year-old’s standards.

“Your job is a lot easier than ours, which is why we earn a lot more than you,” Mourinho snapped after refusing to answer the first question from journalists.

His television interview was no less fractious as he refused to take questions from pundits in the studio, before giving one monologue viewpoint of the game, adding in another excuse for the defeat.

“Inter are stronger than us in normal conditions,” he told DAZN. “In non-normal conditions, they are much stronger than us. Last season, they were 29 points ahead of Roma.

“Today, with injuries and suspended players, it was very, very difficult.”

With new owners in place to work with, Mourinho was always going to get time to turn things around in Rome as they look to strengthen the squad.

But the gulf between Roma and Inter, who did not have to over-exert to earn victory in the Stadio Olimpico, showed just how much work Mourinho has to do.

More performances of such below-par nature will not do much for Mourinho’s mood, with fireworks set to continue to attract plenty of attention. – Reuters