Lewis Hamilton said he could not wait for the season to end after he qualified only 11th for Sunday’s finale in Abu Dhabi – leaving Mercedes on the backfoot to salvage second in the Formula One world championship. As Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the final race of his all-conquering campaign – with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc runner-up and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri third – Hamilton was left staring at another abysmal performance in his underperforming machinery. Indeed, Hamilton, six tenths behind Verstappen and a third-of-a-second back from team-mate George Russell, who qualified fourth, even claimed there was something wrong with his car. His failure to progress to Q3 means the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari for second place in the constructors’ championship, worth nearly £10million, hangs in the balance. The Silver Arrows head their Italian rivals by just four points ahead of Sunday’s race in the desert. And Leclerc finished ahead of both Russell and Hamilton to hand Ferrari the initiative. “I don’t have any answers,” said Hamilton, who gloomily predicted his Q2 demise here 24 hours previously. “It is just a very unpredictable car and it has been all year. I wouldn’t say I am relieved, but I am definitely happy it is nearly over.” Hamilton’s comments were echoed by Toto Wolff. “I’m fed up with having explanations as to why it didn’t go well,” said the Mercedes team principal. “I’m happy that this was the last qualifying of the season and we will be back with a new car.” Hamilton’s poor result came after it emerged that his father – and one-time manager Anthony – had enquired about a seat for his son at Red Bull. Hamilton has recorded just one podium in his last six appearances following Mercedes’ tumble down the grid and he faces an uphill task to salvage a respectable result at the Yas Marina Circuit. “There is something not right with this car, mate,” said the 38-year-old on the radio as he shook his head. “The car is more inconsistent than ever before,” he later explained. “It is up-and-down from the moment you hit the brakes, the moment you turn, the moment you hit the apex, it is massively out of balance and hard to predict what is going to happen. “George and I set our cars up the same, but they don’t read the same so there is something not right on our side. I have been off all weekend and struggled. Eleventh…it takes some good going for me not to get into Q3.” Hamilton is third in the individual standings, 317 points Verstappen, with the Dutchman the overwhelming favourite to claim a remarkable 19th victory from the 22 rounds. Mercedes are a staggering 430 points behind the Dutchman’s Red Bull team, who have won every race bar one this year. Mercedes were handed a minor boost after Carlos Sainz was a surprise eliminated in Q1. Sainz bemoaned traffic for his lowly 16th grid slot. But Leclerc’s improvement on his final run, to finish just 0.139 seconds behind Verstappen, provides the Prancing Horse with a spring in their step. “The target is to beat Mercedes, so I hope Carlos gets a good start and joins me in the fight,” said Leclerc. “Let’s look to put both of our cars in front of Mercedes because finishing second in the constructors is all that matters to me.” Elsewhere, Lando Norris qualified a disappointing fifth after he got out of shape on his last lap. “I don’t know why it happened,” he said. “I’ve not done that all weekend so it’s frustrating. I’m just doing a s*** job on Saturday.” Asked if he was being too hard on himself, the 24-year-old replied: “Not at all. I was fighting for second and I end up fifth because of a stupid mistake. I’m too soft on myself.” Read More George Russell fastest as rookies handed chance in first Abu Dhabi practice Class action lawsuit filed over farcical start to Las Vegas Grand Prix Toto Wolff fuelled by ‘personal anger’ to help Lewis Hamilton win eighth title F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix LIVE: Qualifying updates and times at Yas Marina F1 grid: Starting positions for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix When does the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix start and how can I watch?

A 23-year-old who shot five people dead at an LGBTQ club in the US state of Colorado last year pleaded guilty on Monday and...

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Microsoft announced at Summer Game Fest on Sunday that Forza Motorsport is set to land

On a Silverstone weekend where the presence of Brad Pitt and the Apple Studios crew is the talk of the town, the as of yet untitled Formula 1 film’s executive producer – the sport’s very own A-lister – struggled at his spiritual home on Friday. Lewis Hamilton remains without a win in 19 months since Saudi Arabia in the penultimate round of the 2021 season. Last year, a thrilling British Grand Prix won by Carlos Sainz saw the eight-time winner come close, but the 38-year-old remains on an unprecedented winless streak. This weekend, despite Mercedes bringing an upgraded front-wing, the practice pace simply wasn’t there for Hamilton or his team-mate George Russell. In both sessions, both drivers finished outside the top-10. “It’s a tough car to drive,” stated a brutally honest and demoralised Hamilton. “On a single lap, I didn’t feel any improvement between tyres which shows something is wrong. So we’re missing something. It didn’t feel particularly great. “Me and George were just talking and we’re at different sides with the setup – we’ll try and do something tonight and hopefully we’ll come up with something for tomorrow.” As for the man on top, no surprises here. Max Verstappen was quickest in both practice sessions under the sprinkling Silverstone sun and will be eager to correct a British Grand Prix hoodoo: in eight races, the Dutchman is yet to stand on the top of the podium. He did, however, win the one-off 70th anniversary grand prix at Silverstone during the covid-impacted 2020 season. “Overall, it’s been a strong day again,” Verstappen said, not for the first or last time in 2023. “The car has been performing really well, pretty positive.” Instead of the regularity of Red Bull’s dominance, the main feel-good story on Friday was Williams’ surprise pace, predominantly from the rejuvenated Alex Albon. Slowly but surely creeping up the leaderboard under the leadership of former Mercedes strategist James Vowles, Williams had a day to remember while sporting a special livery to celebrate their upcoming 800th grand prix. Albon was third-fastest in both practice sessions, with American rookie team-mate Logan Sargeant joining him in the top-five in the afternoon. There is forecasted to be rain in the air in and around qualifying on Saturday, which could provide a smidgeon of unpredictability in what has been a predictable order of events in the past few months, with Red Bull’s and in particular Verstappen’s all-out domination. Instead, a record 480,00 crowd at Silverstone this weekend – up by 79,000 from 2022 – will find intrigue in the early production scenes of the highly-anticipated feature film, with Pitt the star attraction. The fictional ‘Apex’ team are filming scenes in and around the paddock and using impressively modified F2 cars on track with stunt drivers. There are even plans for scenes to be rapidly shot on the grid ahead of Sunday’s grand prix. Such is Verstappen’s supremacy, the pre-race shenanigans could represent the most entertainment on Sunday ahead of a British Grand Prix whose victor has never felt quite so inevitable. There is also, understandably, wariness of another Just Stop Oil protest this weekend, after their actions at Wimbledon this week and at various sporting events this summer, with F1 and Northamptonshire Police on high alert and making extra provisions to ensure all the action goes ahead without interruption. Read More Alex Albon provides closest threat to Red Bull in British Grand Prix practice What time is F1 qualifying tomorrow at the British Grand Prix? Formula One welcomes Brad Pitt but is wary of protesters at British Grand Prix What time is qualifying at the British Grand Prix on Saturday? Jackie Stewart suffers stroke and falls ‘unconscious’ in frightening health scare F1 British Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and lap times from Silverstone

Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We’re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we’re tracking every last dollar.

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Max Verstappen must be considered among the greatest drivers in Formula One history, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said, following the Dutchman’s landmark win at the Canadian Grand Prix. Verstappen’s emphatic lights-to-flag victory on Sunday was the 41st of his career, putting him level with triple world champion Ayrton Senna. Only Lewis Hamilton (103 victories), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) have won more races than Verstappen, who is still only 25. Verstappen, who started from pole in Montreal following a fine display in Saturday’s wet-dry-wet qualifying session, has triumphed at six of the opening eight rounds this year to open up a commanding 69-point championship lead. Fernando Alonso finished second for Aston Martin with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton third. “What we are witnessing with Max is the emergence of another mega talent,” said Horner. “You can start talking about him in the same sentence as the greats now after he matched Ayrton Senna. “I thought the podium today was very apt actually, in terms of the last couple of decades of Formula One, with Max, Fernando and Lewis up there. “Max just keeps delivering at such a high level. The race was fantastic but to take pole position in conditions that were continually changing, and his ability to adapt to whatever grip level he had, was Max at his best.” Verstappen has won four consecutive races and 15 of the last 19 in F1. Red Bull also remain unbeaten this year, and there remains a distinct possibility that the team from Milton Keynes could make history by winning every race in a single campaign. Hamilton recorded his second consecutive podium finish in his revamped Mercedes machine, but despite the Silver Arrows’ upturn in form, and with 14 rounds still remaining, the seven-time world champion believes Red Bull could complete a perfect campaign. “I know what I am faced with and there is nothing I can do about Red Bull’s amazing performance,” said Hamilton. “It is likely that they will win every race this year unless the Aston Martins and us can provide a lot more performance or if their car doesn’t finish. “It is not a frustration. We have got work to do and I am happy to be back in the mix and I am just hoping that at some stage we are level so we can get back to some of the good races we had in 2021.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Horner details what makes ‘mega talent’ Verstappen so special Max Verstappen aims to ‘keep winning’ after matching Ayrton Senna’s 41 victories Max Verstappen claims pole position during rain-hit qualifying for Canadian GP

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New Zealand’s government says that from Saturday, it will be the first nation in the world to ban the thin plastic bags that supermarket customers use to collect their fruit and vegetables

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