Max Verstappen called Esteban Ocon a “stupid idiot” following a scuffle between the pair at the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying race on Saturday morning (18 November). There was a lot of jostling before Turn 14 to try and make a gap, with both Ocon and Verstappen involved. Verstappen looks to dive down the inside into Turn 1, ruining both of their laps. Ocon says: “It’s a joke honestly. Verstappen diving into Turn 1 like crazy.” Verstappen says: “What a stupid idiot.” Read More Usain Bolt declares ‘the speed is great’ as he attends F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix Why Everton have been handed 10 point deduction as Premier League takes FFP stand Watch: Sparks fly as Sainz’s Ferrari hits drain cover on Las Vegas F1 circuit

The fastest man in the world has spoken out about being at one of the fastest circuits on the calendar as he attends the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Usain Bolt declared “The speed is great” as he prepared to watch the qualifying races on Saturday (18 November). Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Vegas itself is such a big entertainment city, so to actually bring the Formula One here is just brilliant. We have heard about it for a while, so for it to actually happen is beautiful.” The athlete also spoke of his admiration for Britian’s Lewis Hamilton.

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F1’s highly anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix is back on track after a disastrous opening day had to be suspended to fix a loose manhole cover, as qualifying begins. The first session of F1’s newest event had only been going for eight minutes before Carlos Sainz’s car stopped on the lengthy Vegas strip. Replays show his Ferrari car, at speeds of over 200mph, went over a loose drain cover before the Spaniard veered to the side and stopped the car due to substantial floor damage, and Ferrari were furious. FP2 was delayed for more than two hours while the circuit was made safe, before the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Sainz topped the timings, with Max Verstappen only sixth. FP3 then saw Mercedes’ George Russell top the charts ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Pastri and Williams’ Logan Sargeant, with Ferrari way down the results after choosing to preserve their soft tyres. Follow live updates from the Las Vegas Grand Prix below and check the latest F1 odds and tips here. Read More Shambles and incompetence: F1 enters new Las Vegas dawn with disaster on opening night Ferrari boss rages at F1 after ‘unacceptable’ loose drain cover wrecks Carlos Sainz’s car Toto Wolff launches furious defence of F1 after absurd start to Las Vegas GP

Everywhere I go, I am being stalked by mullets. Walk into a pub in the vicinity of Hackney, east London, and you, like me, will be haunted by the sight of them. Queue for a Fred Again concert and you’ll see an ocean of the things. Go to a rugby match at Twickenham Stadium, and there will be as many mullets as there are team shirts. Whether you know it as the mullet or the “Kentucky waterfall” or “beaver paddle”, they’ll have been in your sightline as of late. The hairstyle, which involves a shorter crop at the front, top and sides, and longer in the back, is currently being paraded by on-screen heartthrobs like Paul Mescal, Australian actor Jacob Elordi and American movie star Timothée Chalamet. In the world of sport, Spanish footballer Hector Bellerin, British rugby player Joe Marler and Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas have all rocked the hairstyle this year (and that’s not forgetting about 90 per cent of “Aussie rules” football players have mullets right now too). But its ubiquity in modern pop culture goes back a few years. Singer Lil Nas X, for example, turned up at the MTV Awards in 2021 wearing a curly, layered version of the hairstyle. Women have been wearing the coiffure even longer. Pop culture mainstays like Rihanna and Zendaya have both worn mullets on the red carpet, in 2013 and 2016, respectively. By 2021, Miley Cyrus was donning the style. That same year, Vogue hailed the mullet as the unlikely star of modern street style. The mullet has also stormed down fashion week runways, with Junya Watanabe, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen all incorporating the hairstyle into their 2022 shows. If that wasn’t enough proof of the mullet going mainstream, a failsafe method for judging something’s popularity is when that trendy thing gets banned in schools, or there’s a level of moral panic about it. That happened last month when a Sunderland schoolboy’s mullet was decided to be so “extreme” that he was put in isolation and ordered to chop it off. Meanwhile, even more Brits are trying to catch up with Australian mullet culture: a doctor from Dorset made headlines this week as he has been growing his locks in preparation for the world mullet growing championships in Australia, a contest that he said was “widely considered to be the Everest of the competitive mullet growing world”. We’ve all gone mullet mad. Though the name itself wasn’t coined until two decades ago – the Oxford English Dictionary credits the Beastie Boys’ 1994 song “Mullet Head” for the popularisation of the word – the mullet existed long before that. In his book Mullet Madness, Alan Henderson writes that prehistoric people may have figured out that having their hair cut shorter at the front and longer at the back meant they could keep their hair out of their eyes and their necks still toasty. What’s more, Ancient Greek texts referenced men with mullet-style cuts, while depictions of Greek gods that date back to the 6th century suggest that the hairstyle existed even then. In certain indigenous populations in the US, long hair symbolises power and a connection with the divine, and a version of the mullet – the front spiked and the back long – is considered a traditional style in tribes of the western United States like the Blackfoot and Crow. The version of the mullet we see in popular culture today, though, strongly harks back to David Bowie’s tangerine-orange waterfall-style mullet worn as his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. In the Seventies, it set a cultural precedent for the mullet as a fashion statement. Back then, the hairstyle was subversive. It spurred strong reactions from the more conservatively coiffed elite because it refused to conform to any one standard: the mullet is both long and short; masculine and feminine; somehow, scruffy while slick. The mullet’s return could be seen as a happy accident. In lockdown, men would scissor away at their locks, crafting eccentric hairstyles out of sheer boredom, sharing pictures of the resulting cut to their respective WhatsApp group chats. But that comedy mullet has since died out. A fashionable, en-vogue hairstyle has stuck around. In searching for the perfect modern mullet, men have downed tools and turned to the professionals for help. Ryan Lewis, owner of Club 13 barbershop in Hull, says that about one-third of his customers are opting for mullets. “Its presence within combat and contact sports alone conveys a modern masculinity that has trickled down into the mainstream,” he says, adding that the “harsher cuts” seen in rugby culture are being cancelled out by the more subtle, feathery mullets worn by Mescal et al. “The modern mullet is bringing a more natural and effortless look with a softer and less obnoxious shape.” James Doyle, the manager of Bristol barbershop Harry Blades and Angry Daves, says it’s not just people who work in non-corporate environments who are taking the plunge, either: it’s becoming workplace-appropriate. “You would think it’s only the musicians or creatives,” he says. “But I’ve got a couple of accountants that are rocking mullets. Anyone and everyone seems to be jumping on the trend.” The mullet trend allows men to be more expressive and embrace their individuality. I had a sixth form student come in the other day and ask for a mullet – young men are becoming more daring with their hair Samantha Perkins, salon owner and lecturer The style has become so sought after that hairdressing schools are changing the way they train stylists, too. Samantha Perkins is the owner of the salon Hair by Sam and lectures at the London Hairdressing Academy, and says that the academy has launched special masterclasses in the art of cutting mullets due to popular demand. “It’s very technical,” she explains. “It’s cut with scissors and razors, so without using clippers – so it’s already a level three cut without a doubt. Students really need to understand the hair type to execute the look.” Perkins adds that the supremacy of the cookie-cutter “short back and sides” haircut that has dominated men’s hairdressing trends for the past decade is on its way out. “The mullet trend allows men to be more expressive and embrace their individuality,” she says. “I had a sixth form student come in the other day and ask for a mullet – young men are becoming more daring with their hair.” Michael Kent, a stylist at Blue Tit hair salon in London, agrees that the popularity of the mullet hairstyle has opened up a new way of self-expression for men. “Men’s hair has always been so bland and [the mullet] has allowed people to really embrace their individuality. In popular culture, a lot of people are more comfortable in their sexuality and diversifying so much. We’re seeing a lot of clients coming in and asking for a cut like Timothée Chalamet’s. Before, people would ask for Ed Sheeran’s hair, so you can see how it’s changing.” The mullet is not just limited to men, either. The coif has long been donned by famous women (Scarlett Johansson, Joan Jett and Dolly Parton have all worn variations of the style over the years), and both Perkins and Kent say they have women customers asking for the same. “The mullet is a genderless cut,” says Kent. “Women and men are really embracing it – it’s an androgynous look.” And if you want to try the mullet yourself, Kent assures me it suits most people: “It’s like a wig you can put on anyone!” Read More Women’s scarves and crocheted ties - what is Robert Peston wearing now? I salute Dolly Parton’s beauty routine – no one sees me without my make-up How Naomi Campbell proved all her haters wrong – including me Women’s scarves and crocheted ties - what is Robert Peston wearing now? I salute Dolly Parton’s beauty routine – no one sees me without my make-up How Naomi Campbell proved all her haters wrong – including me

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Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali has refused to apologise for the farcical opening to this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. After months of hype leading up to the £500million race, opening practice was abandoned with just eight minutes on the clock on Thursday night. The second running was delayed by two-and-a-half hours, and then took place in front of vacant grandstands after furious fans were ejected to comply with local employment laws. Practice finished at 4am on Friday morning. But in a 650-word joint statement by Domenicali, and CEO of the Las Vegas race, Renee Wilm, the sport’s red-faced bosses stopped short of saying sorry. “We have all been to events, like concerts, games and even other Formula One races, that have been cancelled because of factors like weather or technical issues,” they said. “It happens, and we hope people will understand.” Fans who held a 200 US dollar (£160) general admission ticket for Thursday’s two practice sessions have been offered a voucher for the same amount to be redeemed on merchandise. But those in attendance on a three-day pass – the cheapest of which is 500 US dollars (£400) – will not receive any compensation. The statement continued: “We know this was disappointing. We hope our fans will understand that we had to balance many interests, including the safety and security of all participants and the fan experience over the whole race weekend. “So how will we address this tonight? “We have worked overnight to adjust our staffing plans across security, transportation and hospitality to ensure that we can function and serve fans with the best possible experience in the event of an extended race schedule. “We are excited about the racing today and thank our entire team and our fans for their support. We know this is going to be a great event. With that, let’s get back to racing.” Qualifying for Saturday’s 50-lap race will take place at midnight local time (8am GMT on Saturday). Read More Toto Wolff fuelled by ‘personal anger’ to help Lewis Hamilton win eighth title On this day in 2010: Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest ever F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton ‘counting down days’ to end of season after another poor race Max Verstappen thwarts Lando Norris’ bid for first F1 win with sprint victory On this day in 2015: Susie Wolff ends her bid to get on an F1 starting grid ‘It happens’: F1 fail to apologise or issue refunds to Las Vegas fans

Formula 1 failed to apologise or issue refunds to fans after they witnessed just eight minutes of cars on track before being told to leave on a farcical opening day in Las Vegas. As opposed to a refund, all single-day ticket holders have instead been offered a $200 voucher for the Las Vegas Grand Prix official shop. Those with full weekend, three-day tickets won’t be reimbursed in any way for Thursday night’s lost action. A lengthy statement released on Friday from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm was also notable for the lack of an apology to spectators as well. A section of the statement read: “We have all been to events, like concerts, games and even other Formula 1 races, that have been cancelled because of factors like weather or technical issues. “It happens, and we hope people will understand.” Fans in the grandstands were told to leave at 1:30am local time on Friday morning, one hour before the second practice session took place. The statement also detailed that fans were told to leave due to “concern about our public safety and security officials, transportation employees and hospitality staff.” The drama began on Thursday night when Carlos Sainz ran over a loose drain cover on the strip, forcing the first practice session to be cancelled for safety reasons. Second practice, scheduled to start at midnight, was continuously delayed before it started at 2:30am. By that point, cars were going around the new 3.8-mile track without any fans present to see it. The statement also read: “The precautionary step of removing all of the water valve covers on the entire track and filling them with sand and asphalt was undertaken. “The entire process, from determination of the issue to remediation, took approximately five hours. The decision to remediate in this way was taken out of an abundance of caution and because the safety of drivers, trackside marshals and officials and our fans is always our highest priority. “We thank the contractors who worked expeditiously to resolve the situation so quickly.” Read More What time is qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday? Former F1 champion gets married in Las Vegas Grand Prix paddock F1 enters new Las Vegas dawn with disaster on opening night Watch: Sparks fly as Sainz’s Ferrari hits drain cover on Las Vegas F1 circuit Empty grandstands at Las Vegas GP as chaotic practice session takes place at 3am Carlos Sainz handed ‘ridiculous’ penalty after drain cover crash at Las Vegas GP

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