Controversial, historic: 5 things we learned from Max Verstappen’s stunning Formula One championship win at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his first Formula One title after winning the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a last lap overtake of rival Lewis Hamilton. (AFP)
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Updated 14 December 2021
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Controversial, historic: 5 things we learned from Max Verstappen’s stunning Formula One championship win at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

  • Few can deny the Dutchman is a worthy champion, but F1 must find right balance between sport and entertainment

A wild Formula One season came to a controversial close in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, and the world is still digesting everything that happened — both on the track and in race control at the Yas Marina Circuit.

As the dust from the drama settles, we take a look at some of the things we learned from the big finale in the UAE capital.

Controversy reigns, but tough to say Max did not deserve title

In a long and taxing season that spanned 22 Grand Prix weekends between March and December, Max Verstappen won 10 races, finished second in another eight and held off an impressive late-season comeback from seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton to clinch a maiden world title.

Hamilton topped the podium eight times this campaign, and arrived in Abu Dhabi having won the three previous races in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Together, Verstappen and Hamilton provided one of the most gripping championship fights in the history of the sport, and entering the final weekend on equal points was a drama no screenwriter could have scripted.

As two-time world champion Fernando Alonso said on Sunday: “I think more than any other year, if you can split the trophy in two, this was the year to do it because both of them were outstanding.”

Ultimately, a safety car introduced late in the game and some debatable decision-making from Race Director Michael Masi helped Verstappen secure the title. Mercedes were left fuming as they saw their two protests dismissed in the wake of all the action.

“We’re going to need a miracle in these last 10 laps to turn it around. He needs some luck from the racing gods,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had said during the race, almost manifesting some divine intervention.

The miracle happened and the 24-year-old Verstappen has become the fourth-youngest champion in F1 history.

At the start of the weekend, Alonso had given Verstappen a slight edge over Hamilton, saying that “Max is driving, in my opinion, one step ahead of all of us.”

McLaren’s Lando Norris echoed Alonso’s sentiments, adding: “I think the Mercedes has been the better car throughout the majority, and Max has been more unlucky and has made fewer mistakes as a driver. So I still have to congratulate him. He’s fought hard and he’s fought Lewis, who is a lot more experienced, won many world championships and so on.”

Many may disagree with Masi’s directives during the closing stages of the race, but it is impossible not to deem Verstappen a worthy champion.

Tough break for Hamilton, who remains gracious in defeat

It is difficult to predict how Hamilton will rebound from this. The Brit has stated more than once how tough this season has been, and to have the title snatched from his fingers on the very last lap of the final race of the year due to external factors — Nicholas Latifi’s crash, a safety car and Masi’s decisions — will definitely hurt.

Hamilton left the track on Sunday night without talking to the press and undoubtedly feels hard done by the race director’s calls.

“This is getting manipulated, man,” he said over the team radio as Verstappen passed him in a final one-lap shootout.

Despite it all, Hamilton was gracious on the podium and congratulated his rival on a job well done.

“Lewis has been a great sportsman in general,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “He came up to me, congratulated me and it must have been very tough in that last lap. It also shows the respect we have for each other.”

Hamilton’s last words in his track interview with Jenson Button hinted at some question marks over his future.

“If I’m honest, we are still in the pandemic and I just really wish (people) to stay safe and have a good Christmas with their families, and we will see about next year,” he said signing off.

F1 needs to strike balance between sport and entertainment

As an entertainment product, Formula One captivated its audience as the Max vs. Lewis battle intensified over the course of the season.

Even their fellow drivers found themselves going back to their hotel rooms at the end of a Grand Prix weekend and pulling up the race highlights to see what happened between the championship contenders. It all came to a climax in Abu Dhabi and the drama held up until the very last second.  

“Just when you think the season could not get any more dramatic, it does. I don’t even know if this is good because I think people’s TVs are just going to explode. I don’t think it can handle that much drama, I don’t think the watts on a TV can handle it,” McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo told reporters in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night.

BBC News presenter Ros Atkins summarized it best.

“Certainly there’s plenty of comfort for Formula One as it navigates this controversy; this was high-octane drama which demanded the world’s attention in a way many sports could only dream of,” he said.

Indeed, having an entire sporting audience that invested in a single race is quite an achievement. But as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz mentioned in Abu Dhabi ahead of the action, F1 — and the drivers — has a duty to prove to its followers that it is not just a show, but also a sport.

There appears to be inconsistency in the decision-making from the stewards and many are wondering if some of the calls are being made simply for the sake of producing must-see television.

At what point does it become too much, though? There is a reason “Drive to Survive” is a show on Netflix and Formula One is a sport aired live on television screens worldwide. There is, and has to be, a distinction.

If the rules are not consistently applied, and not generally understood and agreed on by all stakeholders involved, the whole thing risks becoming a gimmick.

Judgment calls exist in any sport, but fans must trust that these decisions are being made for the right reasons.  

It is great to see Formula One thrive in the fast-paced world of electronic sports and bite-sized digital content in which we live. But the sport must find a balance between entertainment and competition.

Checo the ultimate teammate

“Checo is a legend,” yelled Verstappen over the team radio during the race. “Absolute animal,” came the response from the Red Bull team engineer.

Both were apt descriptions for Sergio “Checo” Perez, who helped his teammate Verstappen in both qualifying (his tow was flawless) and the race (he held up Hamilton to narrow Verstappen’s gap to his rival), and then fulfilled his press duties while wearing a T-shirt celebrating the Dutchman’s championship triumph.

In Formula One, we are constantly reminded that teammates are each others’ biggest competitors, since they are the only two on the grid that have the same car, and can be measured against one another.

That dynamic can often lead to bitter rivalries within a team and environments turning toxic. That clearly is not the case with Red Bull Racing.

When asked if Verstappen’s win meant that much to him that he was wearing the shirt to honor it, Perez replied: “Honestly it does, because Max has been a great teammate since day one to me and the team. The team has been fantastic to me and I was in the position to support my teammate. I’m extremely happy for everyone.”

Perez added: “The legend is him now, he’s a world champion.”

Verstappen paid tribute to his teammate in a track interview and champion’s press conference.

“I also want to say a big thank you to Checo, I mean he was driving his heart out as well today. It was great teamwork and he is an amazing teammate,” he said.

“I think without Checo I wouldn’t be sitting here right now,” Verstappen later added.

“Checo is just an amazing human being, not only just to work within F1 but just a super-nice person, real family man as well. I have had a lot of good times with him, and you could see he really means it and he means well and it’s very rare to have a teammate like that.”

Sainz, Tsunoda end year on a high

Alonso laughed when asked to say a few words about Sainz’s incredible P3 finish on Sunday, which saw him secure fifth place in the championship in his first season with Ferrari.

“Yes, but no one will remember,” joked Alonso, knowing all the attention was on Verstappen and Hamilton, and the controversial end to the race.

Sainz has a lot to be proud of, though, and will certainly remember how his 2021 campaign ended with his fourth podium of the season and the highest championship finish of his Formula One career.

“It’s truly a great way to end a very positive first year in Ferrari for me,” said Sainz.

“A very challenging year, but in the end, it turned out to be a very strong one. A year that I’m quite proud of and, yeah, to finish it with a podium that probably no one will remember — I’ll add it to the collection — because of whatever was happening in front. I enjoyed it a lot and put together everything that I have learned through this first year to put probably my strongest race in Ferrari together.”

AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda concluded his rookie year with a season-best fourth-place showing in Abu Dhabi — another result that may have been overlooked in all the mayhem.

Asked if he considered himself the rookie of the year, the 21-year-old Japanese joked and said: “Maybe yes, after today.”


Sabalenka downs Swiatek as Gauff ends Boisson’s French Open run

Updated 06 June 2025
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Sabalenka downs Swiatek as Gauff ends Boisson’s French Open run

  • The Belarusian snapped Swiatek’s French Open winning streak at 26 matches with a 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-0 success to reach her first final in the clay-court Grand Slam
  • Gauff and Sabalenka are level at 5-5 in their head-to-head record and have won one each of their two meetings at major tournaments

PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka ended Iga Swiatek’s French Open reign with a devastating third-set performance on Thursday to tee up a Roland Garros final against Coco Gauff after the American knocked out French hero Lois Boisson.
The Belarusian snapped Swiatek’s French Open winning streak at 26 matches with a 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-0 success to reach her first final in the clay-court Grand Slam.
“Iga is the toughest opponent, especially on the clay and at Roland Garros,” said Sabalenka after becoming the first player to defeat Swiatek in a deciding set at the French Open.
“I’m proud that I was able to get this win.”
World number two Gauff ended the dream run of 361st-ranked wildcard Boisson with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the second semifinal on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Gauff and Sabalenka are level at 5-5 in their head-to-head record and have won one each of their two meetings at major tournaments.
Sabalenka edged a topsy-turvy first set that featured eight breaks of serve in a tie-break, before Swiatek hit back to level the match.
The finale turned out to be a complete anti-climax, as Swiatek made 12 unforced errors in the third set and won only six points.
“I’m glad that I found my serve. It was a bit easier with the serve,” added the 27-year-old Sabalenka. “What can I say, 6-0 — it couldn’t be much more perfect than that!“
Sabalenka is targeting a fourth Grand Slam title and first not on hard courts, after winning last year’s US Open and the Australian Open back-to-back in 2023 and 2024.
Swiatek has still not reached a WTA final since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen 12 months ago.
She showed signs of a revival on the Paris clay where she has dominated since winning as a teenager in 2020, but her game deserted her in the deciding set as she slipped to only the third French Open defeat of her career.
“I love playing here, so for sure I’m happy that I was fortunate enough to play so many great tournaments here,” Swiatek said.
Sabalenka has now won their last two meetings, and five of 13 in total.
This was the first time the pair, the dominant players in women’s tennis of the past few years, have gone head-to-head at a Grand Slam tournament since Swiatek’s win in the 2022 US Open semifinals en route to the title.
Sabalenka will be the favorite to lift the trophy when she takes on Gauff, to whom she lost in the 2023 US Open final.
Swiatek, who was bidding to become the first woman to win four successive French Opens in over a century, will drop to seventh in the world rankings next week.
Boisson had got the better of third seed Jessica Pegula and world number six Mirra Andreeva in the previous two rounds but the test provided by Gauff proved to be a step too far.
The home crowd were silenced by a ruthless opening set from the second seed.
Boisson briefly raised the French fans from their slumber by breaking back in the second set, only to immediately surrender it straight back.
Gauff clinically finished the job after just 69 minutes on court to book her spot in a second French Open final.
“When you guys were chanting her name, I was thinking my name,” Gauff told the crowd in her on-court interview.
“Obviously there’s still a lot of work to do, but for now I’ll enjoy this one and then prepare for the final tomorrow.”
The 21-year-old suffered an emotional defeat by Swiatek in the 2022 final, but will believe she can finally win the tournament in which she has made at least the quarter-finals in five straight editions.
Boisson had been hoping to become only the second Frenchwoman to win the title in the Open era after Mary Pierce, but went out in a blaze of 33 unforced errors.
“Of course I’m really disappointed today, because obviously I wanted to go further than this semifinal, but I’m just going to take the time to digest this,” said the 22-year-old.
She will climb into the world’s top 70 next week and has added 690,000 euros ($789,536) to her previous career prize money of $148,009.


Yamal, Williams dazzle as Spain beat France in nine-goal thriller

Updated 06 June 2025
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Yamal, Williams dazzle as Spain beat France in nine-goal thriller

  • Yamal bagged a brace while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons

STUTTGART, Germany: Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart on Thursday, to set up a Nations League final with Portugal.
Yamal bagged a brace while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons.
Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the scoresheet for the Euro 2024 champions.
Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal.
France’s three late goals — a Rayan Cherki screamer, a Spain own goal and a stoppage time strike from Randal Kolo Muani — were not enough.
Spain held on to book an all-Iberian Nations League final against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal on Sunday in Munich, while France will face hosts Germany in Stuttgart for the bronze medal, earlier in the day.
Returning to Germany where they won the European Championship in dominant fashion a year ago, Spain seem a more complete team, despite their late fadeout.
France were more dangerous in the opening stages, with Didier Deschamps electing to channel his attack through Ousmane Dembele rather than Mbappe.
Dembele, fresh from Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph, created an early chance for Mbappe, but the Real Madrid superstar wasted it, electing to pass rather than shoot when one-on-one with the ‘keeper.
Minutes later, Spain escaped again as Theo Hernandez’s long-range effort shaved the top of the crossbar.
Spain made France pay soon after, when Williams and Oyarzabal, La Roja’s two goalscorers in the Euro 2024 final, linked up with 22 minutes played.
After a tear down the right, Yamal threaded it to Oyarzabal, who held off three defenders with his back to goal before finding Williams, who rifled his shot into the top of the net.
Spain grabbed full hold of the match just three minutes later when Oyarzabal dinked the French defense, allowing Merino to collect and hammer past an off-balance Maignan.
France had the better chances later in the half, with Dembele finding space in the box three times only to blast straight at a grateful Unai Simon.
Just before half-time, the narrowest of offsides robbed Spain of what would have been an incredible third.
In a clearly rehearsed free-kick play, Yamal found Martin Zubimendi behind the lines, who cut it back for Huijsen.
The second-half played out line the first, with France missing two big chances before Spain again scored a quick-fire double.
With 54 minutes played, Yamal won and converted a penalty, taking the ball from Williams before calmly slotting home.
France were reeling but Spain’s starlets had no sympathy, Williams setting up Pedri for a fourth just one minute later.
Mbappe won and converted a penalty with 59 minutes played but Yamal stepped up again to snuff out French hopes of an unlikely comeback, scoring Spain’s fifth with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Spain made four changes a their thoughts turned to Sunday, allowing France to score two late consolation goals.
Substitute Cherki scored a long-range effort and then forced Spain into conceding an own goal through Daniel Vivian.
Kolo Muani’s goal came in the fourth minute of stoppage time to cut the deficit to one, but France had left their comeback too late, as Spain held on.


Jordan qualify for World Cup for first time

Updated 05 June 2025
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Jordan qualify for World Cup for first time

  • Ali Olwan scored a hat-trick in Jordan's 3-0 win over Oman earlier on Thursday

AMMAN: Jordan have qualified for the World Cup for the first time at the 11th attempt after South Korea's 2-0 win over Iraq confirmed the west Asian nation's progress to the finals.

Ali Olwan scored a hat-trick in Jordan's 3-0 win over Oman earlier on Thursday before South Korea's win in Basra confirmed the country's progress to the 2026 finals in North America.

The Jordanians can no longer be overtaken in second place in Group B by third-placed Iraq.


Green Falcons beat Bahrain to set up FIFA World Cup qualifier showdown with Australia

Updated 05 June 2025
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Green Falcons beat Bahrain to set up FIFA World Cup qualifier showdown with Australia

  • Herve Renard's men had to win to push the race for second to Tuesday

RIFFA: Saudi Arabia defeated Bahrain 2-0 in Riffa on Thursday to tee up a showdown with Australia for the second automatic spot in AFC FIFA World Cup qualifying Group C.

With Australia snatching a last-minute victory against already qualified Japan earlier, Herve Renard's men had to win to push the race for second to Tuesday.

The Saudis got off to the perfect start, when on 16 minutes rising star Musab Al Juwayr met captain Salem Al-Dawsari's pinpoint cross to the back post to volley home.

The visitors then survived a few nervy moments in the second half before Abdulrahman Al Obud made safe the result 12 minutes from time with a goal on the counter.

The win keeps Saudi third, three points behind Australia, although with a far inferior goal difference.

Only a huge victory for the Gulf side in Jeddah would see them leapfrog the Socceroos.


Uzbekistan earn first World Cup qualification, Australia, Jordan close in

Updated 05 June 2025
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Uzbekistan earn first World Cup qualification, Australia, Jordan close in

  • Goals from Musab Al-Juwayr and Abdulrahman Al-Obud earned Saudi Arabia a victory that puts Australia’s celebrations on hold
  • Jordan also moved to the cusp of qualification as Ali Olwan’s hat-trick delivered a 3-0 win over Oman

HONG KONG: Uzbekistan qualified for the World Cup for the first time on Thursday as a 0-0 draw with the UAE confirmed the nation’s progress to next year’s finals as Australia and Jordan moved to the verge of booking berths in North America.

Aziz Behich’s 90th minute strike earned the Socceroos a 1-0 win over already-qualified Japan in Perth in Group C to keep Tony Popovic’s side three points clear of Saudi Arabia, who won 2-0 against Bahrain in Riffa.

Goals from Musab Al-Juwayr and Abdulrahman Al-Obud earned Saudi Arabia a victory that puts Australia’s celebrations on hold until the two nations meet in Jeddah on Tuesday.

But Australia’s vastly superior goal difference means they can lose that meeting with the Saudis by up to four goals and still advance to a sixth consecutive World Cup finals as second-placed finishers behind the Japanese.

Jordan also moved to the cusp of qualification as Ali Olwan’s hat-trick delivered a 3-0 win over Oman in Muscat to leave Jamal Sellami’s side waiting for the result from South Korea’s clash with Iraq in Basra later on Thursday in Group B.

Uzbekistan goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov made a string of second-half saves in Abu Dhabi to frustrate the UAE and earn his nation their first World Cup qualification since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Abbosbek Fayzullaev had hit the crossbar with a 54th minute header for the visitors but it was Yusupov who frustrated the Cosmin Olaroiu-coached Emiratis, who needed to win to maintain their hopes of automatic qualification.

The draw means the UAE will now progress to the fourth round of qualifying as the point earned guarantees a third- or fourth-placed finish in Group A.

Indonesia guaranteed their involvement in the World Cup preliminaries would continue into the fourth round as a 1-0 win over China also ended the qualification hopes of Branko Ivankovic’s side.

Ole Romeny’s 45th minute penalty separated the sides in Jakarta to ensure Indonesia would finish in either third or fourth place in Group C, thereby progressing to the next phase, which will be played in October.