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F1 returns to Abu Dhabi this weekend for the usual season-finale at the Yas Marina Circuit. Max Verstappen won the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix last week for his 18th victory of a record-breaking season. The Dutchman has now won six races in a row since Carlos Sainz’s victory in Singapore in September. Charles Leclerc finished second in Vegas after a terrific last-lap overtake on Sergio Perez, who despite dropping down to third place still sealed second in the world championship for Red Bull’s first-ever one-two finish in a Formula 1 season. Lewis Hamilton is still chasing his first win in nearly two years as Mercedes look to stave off Ferrari in the battle for second place in the constructors’ championship. Toto Wolff’s team are four points clear ahead of the final grand prix of the season. Follow live updates from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with The Independent Read More Lewis Hamilton takes aim at Christian Horner: ‘He’s stirring things!’ Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to miss first practice in Abu Dhabi Mick Schumacher returns to racing with Alpine in 2024

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It’s now been one year since moms and dads dropped their children off at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde for the very last time. It’s been one year since 21 of those young students and their heroic teachers were shot dead in their classrooms. And it’s also been one year since Texas Governor Greg Abbott began ignoring the desperate pleas for action from the victims’ families. On 24 May 2022, 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School armed with a legally purchased AR-15 and murdered 19 students aged between nine and 11 years old and two teachers. The massacre horrified the nation, marking one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history. Since then, the families have been begging Texas officials to take action and tighten the state’s gun laws – gun laws that are among the weakest in the nation. But, for the last 12 months, it has all fallen on deaf ears. Despite their desperate pleas, Mr Abbott refused to call a legislative session to even discuss the possibility of introducing gun safety measures all the while he continues to enjoy his longstanding, cosy relationship with the National Rifle Association (NRA). Mr Abbott’s action – or inaction – over the mass shooting fell under scrutiny almost immediately after the 24 May tragedy. When news of the shooting reached him in Abilene, where he was holding a press conference about wildfires, instead of rushing to Uvalde, he continued with his plans to attend a fundraiser to drum up donations for his re-election campaign. Initially, Mr Abbott claimed that he only stopped by the campaign fundraiser in Huntsville to “let people know that I could not stay, that I needed to go”. But this version of events fell apart two months later when campaign finance reports and flight-tracking records, obtained byThe Dallas Morning News, revealed that he actually stayed almost three hours at the event. While devastated parents were receiving the worst possible news, Mr Abbott was raising up to $50,000 in campaign funds. Call logs, released by state Senator Roland Gutierrez, showed that Mr Abbott only accepted three calls from Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw on 24 May, with the two men speaking for less than 30 minutes about one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history on the day of the massacre. In the weeks after the shooting, Mr Abbott also came under fire when he was a no-show at the funerals for each of the 21 victims. When scheduling records exposed his absence, Mr Abbott’s office responded by saying he had sent flowers and condolences to the families and had visited every family who had requested a meeting. Then there was his change in messaging about what happened that day. One day after the massacre, Mr Abbott gave his first public address in which he heaped praise on the “amazing courage” of law enforcement officers on the scene. He told the community that had just lost 21 members that “it could have been worse”. “It could have been worse. The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do,” he said. This turned out to be false. In the days and weeks after the shooting, it emerged that almost 400 officers waited a staggering 77 minutes before breaching the classroom as the gunman continued his murderous rampage and wounded victims bled to death. The police response has now been branded an “abject failure,” one in which officers on the scene prioritised their own safety over saving the lives of the victims. Mr Abbott later fumed that he had been “misled” by unidentified “public officials” before making his speech. Three days on from the shooting, the governor spoke out again – this time giving two vastly different speeches with two dramatically conflicting messages on the topic of gun safety. That Friday, Mr Abbott had been due to speak on stage at the NRA convention in Houston. In light of the shooting, he pulled out of the event – but not before sending a pre-recorded video message to be played on stage. In that speech, he undermined the importance of gun safety laws, claiming they have no impact on reducing gun violence. “There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning and using of firearms, laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people in peaceful communities,” he said. “In Uvalde, the gunman committed a felony under Texas law before he even pulled the trigger. It’s a felony to possess a firearm on school premises. But that did not stop him.” The message – a show of defiance that he had no plans to tighten the state’s already weak gun laws – aired at the same time as he was telling the grieving Uvalde community that he “absolutely” expected new laws to be passed in response to the tragedy. “With regard to a special (legislative) session, let me just say this: all options are on the table,” he said. “Do we expect laws to come out of this devastating crime? The answer is absolutely yes. And there will be laws in multiple different subject areas. There will be committees formed, there will be meetings held, there will be proposals that will be derived, many of which will lead to laws that will be passed in the state of Texas.” Over the next year, Mr Abbott ignored ongoing requests from Uvalde officials to call a special legislative session to at least discuss the possibility of gun reform in the state. State Representative Tracy King and Mr Gutierrez – the two Texas lawmakers who represent Uvalde – urged the governor to call the session. State Democrats said they would support proposals including raising the minimum age to buy semi-automatic assault rifles from 18 to 21, creating red flag laws, introducing a 72-hour “cooling off” period for gun purchases and regulating private gun sales. Grieving family members begged for change, calling — at the very least — for a raise in minimum age to purchase assault weapons. Time after time, their pleas were ignored. Instead of acknowledging that the state’s weak gun laws may have played any part in the massacre (the 18-year-old gunman legally bought two AR-15s just days after his birthday), Mr Abbott pointed the finger at mental illness and school safety and insisted that raising the minimum age to buy would be “unconstitutional”. He claimed he took several other actions to “support the Uvalde community and make schools safer” including providing 30 law enforcement officers to the school district campuses for the new school year, $105.5m in funding for school safety and mental health services – as well as roping in Chuck Norris to front a programme to report suspicious behaviour at schools. None of the actions involved restricting access to firearms. Even during his race to hold onto his gubernatorial seat in the midterms, Mr Abbott refused to move the needle on the gun control debate. Family members who lost loved ones in the Uvalde massacre threw their support behind his Democratic rival Beto O’Rourke – including featuring in a gutwrenching ad campaign. Behind Mr Abbott, of course, was the NRA. Data compiled by Giffords showed that Mr Abbott received $20,700 in career gun lobby contributions – one of the highest of all candidates in gubernatorial races. His close relationship with the NRA was perhaps most evident when in June 2021 – less than one year before Uvalde – he signed a bill into law allowing Texans without a licence to open carry handguns. Standing at his shoulder at the bill signing were NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and NRA president Carolyn Meadows. In November, less than six months after the state endured the worst school shooting in its history, Texans chose to re-elect Mr Abbott as governor for a third term. In the weeks and months leading up to the one-year anniversary of the Uvalde mass shooting, Texas has been rocked by several more mass shootings. On 28 April, five people – including a nine-year-old boy – were shot dead in a horror attack at a home in Cleveland. Days later, on 6 May, eight people were killed and seven injured when a neo-Nazi gunman went on a shooting rampage at an outlet mall in Allen. And again, nothing changed. Then on the one-year anniversary of the state’s worst mass shooting in history, Mr Abbott did announce some action: A moment of silence. Flags lowered to half staff in Texas. But still no attempt to tackle the state’s problem with gun violence. Read More Uvalde father warns lawmakers not to pay tribute to his son today New video from Uvalde massacre shows police officers vomiting and sobbing after discovering victims Uvalde victim's mother perseveres through teaching, connecting with daughter's memory

Aston Villa have completed the signing of Barcelona centre-back Clement Lenglet on loan until the end of the 2023/24 season.

Paris Saint-Germain had long expected Kylian Mbappe’s letter, such was his overt dissatisfaction with how everything was going, but that was emphatically not the case with the rest of Europe. Monday’s news that the French star would not be signing his one-year contract extension caused “a scramble” around the continent’s top clubs. “Nobody was prepared for this,” one well-placed figure says. It instantly saw a number of sporting departments do a lot of investigation on Tuesday, to see if any deal might be possible. That’s the power of Mbappe, who has probably succeeded Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in becoming one player who clubs will drop everything for. It also speaks to that power that the player’s camp didn’t even feel the need to reach out to potential suitors beforehand. There were no backdoor soundings here. The door was instead blown off, with Mbappe himself then casually insisting he would still see out next season with PSG. That is dependent on a range of circumstances. Mbappe’s decision came down to some simple factors, though. While the primary issue was the club’s failure to progress at Champions League level, he is also conscious of how globally sidelined he is for most of the club season. Mbappe only really plays in about eight high-profile matches a year outside of tournaments, if even that. It is why so much is built up to those Champions League last-16 games. An irony is that this is a world PSG have also created. Their 2011 takeover fostered an almost one-team league in France, that just doesn’t command attractive broadcasting offers outside the country or Qatari station BeIn Sport. Mbappe destroying Ajaccio and Guingamp may make for a nice highlight reel on social media, but the interest for most fans doesn’t last beyond the time it takes to scroll up the feed. It’s all the more incongruous a situation given that Mbappe is the first player to truly realise the power that the Messi-Ronaldo era afforded the most famous players, especially those of his class. He gets it even more than they do. As such, he needs a move for the benefit of his life ambitions, not just his football ambitions. One increasing complication is that Mbappe faces a very modern dilemma. Just like Messi in 2021, his sheer value has actually limited his options. There are only a handful of clubs who could afford him in the current market. They are Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid. New Financial Fair Play constraints meanwhile limit that further. When one “big-six” executive was asked on Tuesday whether his club would be interested in pursuing a move, they just laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.” City have a long-standing interest in Mbappe from 2017, but they – again – have the issue that came up with Messi in 2020 and 2021. It would take a complete rearrangement of their squad in order to accommodate him. This is really a profound illustration of FFP’s positives, even as there is so much debate about the regulations. They are visibly preventing the same small group of clubs hoarding even more players. Many might consider that a bit of a joke given Chelsea’s movements over the last year, but they almost need to sell an entire starting XI before they can even think of Mbappe. United offer a more interesting option, especially as they are actively looking for a No 9 – especially a fast one – and could come up with the budget. The issue is that it would prevent strengthening elsewhere, which raises another great variable in all of this. There remains the uncertainty of the sale of the club, as Qatar seek to buy United through Sheikh Jassim. PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi’s involvement in discussions is now well known. Mbappe going to a Qatari-owned United could offer a clean solution for a lot of involved parties here, if not necessarily for the wider game. It would also display a further issue with state involvement in the sport, way beyond FFP. There are still a number of circumstances that need to change for that prospect to become a serious one, though. All of which again leaves Madrid as the most serious option. That has long felt like his career destiny, and the Spanish club have taken longer-term steps that make it even more likely. Madrid have spent the last few years reshaping their budget for more vintage Bernabeu outlay, and this had already been anticipated as the first summer window since 2019 where they go big. Even they didn’t expect this Mbappe news, though. It has caused a rethink in their transfer plans, with that already from another rethink after the surprising departure of Karim Benzema for Saudi Arabia. The idea in the last two weeks had been that Madrid would bring in Jude Bellingham and a two-year option like Harry Kane – with that move more advanced than many had anticipated. Tuesday instead brought intensive talks about what to do next. Mbappe is there to be signed. Florentino Perez may have had a bit of a huff when the player rejected them for PSG last summer, with some Bernabeu executives even making empty claims about the French star never being allowed to play for Madrid in the future, but Monday night ensured all of that was forgotten in a flash. The main problem may be political rather than financial. Such is the current relationship between Madrid and PSG that Perez does not want to give the Qatari-owned project any money in terms of a fee, and PSG do not want to sell to Madrid. The French champions are “livid” at the entire situation, particularly with Mbappe himself. They had long realised the need to restructure the club – especially in the wake of the Champions League defeat to City in 2020-21 – and the idea had been to do exactly as their French star wanted. They were actually going to go for a Madrid-style realigning, seeking to go for younger talent in a high-pressing style, with the Parisian Mbappe the centre of this. He has now disrupted all of that, while disrupting the entire transfer market. Read More Kylian Mbappe breaks silence after speculation over PSG exit What next for Kylian Mbappe? Real Madrid, Man Utd and other options for PSG forward How Jude Bellingham can become the anti-Haaland for Real Madrid Football rumours: Man United, Real Madrid and Chelsea fight for Kylian Mbappe Kylian Mbappe breaks silence after speculation over PSG exit Real Madrid or Man Utd? What next for Kylian Mbappe