Max Verstappen hailed his third Formula One world title as the finest of his career – and vowed to celebrate by downing a few sparkling waters. The 26-year-old Dutchman has emulated Sir Jackie Stewart and Ayrton Senna after being crowned a triple world champion with six grands prix still remaining – equalling Michael Schumacher’s 21-year-old record. Red Bull’s Verstappen has dominated Formula One since he beat Lewis Hamilton to clinch his maiden championship at the deeply controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021. And his coronation of this most one-sided of campaigns was confirmed on lap 11 of 19 of a frantic sprint race when Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull crashed out under the floodlights of the Lusail International Circuit. Verstappen has failed to win just three of the 16 rounds so far this season, and he became the first driver in history to win 10 consecutive races following a remarkable unbeaten streak from the opening weekend of May in Miami to the Italian Grand Prix on September 3. Verstappen’s title parade will start here at 8pm local time (6pm BST) when the lights go out on Sunday’s 57-lap Grand Prix. “This championship is the best one,” said Verstappen. “The first one was the most emotional because that is when my dreams were fulfilled. But this has been my best year in terms of performance. “I am the most proud of this one because of how consistent I have been. I will have quite a few sparkling waters tonight, but I will be here tomorrow.” Verstappen’s championship-winning campaign has been one largely led from the front but the Dutchman dropped from third to fifth at the end of the opening lap of Saturday’s sprint race. After being usurped by Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc off the line, Verstappen momentarily got out of shape at the opening right-hander, with Fernando Alonso nibbling at the back of his machine. Verstappen survived, and then slung his Red Bull underneath Lando Norris for fifth. Two safety cars followed as Liam Lawson and Logan Sargeant beached their respective cars and Verstappen – on the slower, but more durable, medium rubber – set about his comeback. First to be swatted aside was Leclerc on the main straight on lap nine, with Sainz the Dutchman’s next victim on the following lap. On lap 11, the championship was officially over. Esteban Ocon attempted to overtake Nico Hulkenberg on the inside of the second corner, and with Perez to the right of the Haas driver, Ocon lost control of his Alpine and took the Red Bull with him. It summed up the Mexican’s woefully disappointing campaign. Perez shared two wins apiece with Verstappen from the opening four fixtures but his demise has been dramatic. He is 177 points – the equivalent of more than seven victories – behind the man driving identical machinery. On lap 16, Verstappen eased past Russell with Oscar Piastri 2.6 seconds up the road. However, the impressive McLaren rookie could not be caught as he claimed his first win in F1. It did not matter for Verstappen who could celebrate becoming just the 11th driver to win the title on more than two occasions. “Max, you are a three-time world champion,” roared Red Bull’s jubilant team principal Christian Horner over the radio. “That is unbelievable. It has been an incredible year for you.” Verstappen, who starts on pole on Sunday, could claim the 49th win of his career with only Hamilton (103 victories), Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him. Verstappen turned 26 only last week, and the prospect of emulating the seven championships shared by Hamilton and Schumacher is surely possible. “I am enjoying the moment and hopefully we will keep this momentum going for a while,” said Verstappen, whose deal with Red Bull runs until 2028. “It is different to other sports where you can set out targets and if I keep in good shape then these things are possible. “But in F1 it doesn’t always work like that. It depends on the package. I have quite a few more years in me to operate at my best but we will see how long that is. It is more about how long I want to be here. “I live in the moment and I have achieved way more than I ever thought was possible.” Read More Angry Lance Stroll shoves personal trainer and storms out of interview Max Verstappen fastest in Qatar practice as he closes in on world championship Fernando Alonso lauds Max Verstappen as best F1 driver since Michael Schumacher Fernando Alonso lauds Max Verstappen as best F1 driver since Michael Schumacher F1 Qatar Grand Prix LIVE: Sprint race updates and results at Lusail Max Verstappen hails third F1 world title as his best

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Mauricio Pochettino lamented that Chelsea were “not nasty enough” in attack as Brentford won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to send his team to a third home Premier League defeat of the season. Victory for the visitors, earned with second-half goals from Ethan Pinnock and Bryan Mbeumo, maintained their 100 per cent record on this ground since being promoted to the top flight in 2021 and ended Chelsea’s run of three league games unbeaten. The hosts failed to take advantage of a first half that they largely dominated, going close through Noni Madueke who struck the crossbar on his first start of the season. Marc Cucurella should have made more of the chance when Cole Palmer found him unmarked inside the box with a finely weighted ball, the defender lacking the power and precision needed to trouble goalkeeper Mark Flekken. From there, familiar frailties crept into Chelsea’s play and it was little surprise when they fell behind on 58 minutes, Pinnock storming past the ineffectual Axel Disasi to get on the end of Mbeumo’s cross and power his header inside Robert Sanchez’s near post. The goalkeeper was left embarrassed in added time when he was caught out going up for a corner and left the goal empty for Mbeumo to tap home Brentford’s second. Chelsea’s woeful home form has seen them win only once at Stamford Bridge in the league since March, a run that now stands at 13 matches going back to March. And after failing to score here for the 10th time in all competitions in 2023, Pochettino was left to rue the ease with which the visitors coped with his side’s attacking threat. “It’s a clear analysis,” he said. “After the first half we should score and we didn’t. When you dominate and create chances, and you don’t concede chances and the opponent didn’t cross the halfway line, we should score. If you don’t score, you need to blame ourselves. We were not nasty or clinical in front of the goal. “Sometimes you need some luck to score. It would change the game in the second half. But I think we gave them belief because we didn’t score. The second half, we can’t concede the kind of goal that we conceded and that’s why we lost the game. “(We have had) bad luck. (Christopher) Nkunku proved he can score in the big leagues and was injured in the last pre-season game. This type of thing didn’t help. We need to recover (Armando) Broja. Nicolas Jackson is affected for different reasons, he’s young and needs time to adapt. That’s obvious.” The first half ended with the manager remonstrating with a supporter near the dugout who expressed dissatisfaction with Jackson’s lack of involvement. The striker had come to the touchline to receive instruction but was criticised from the stands for his performance, prompting Pochettino to come to his defence. “It was a moment where we all felt frustrated,” he said. “After 40 minutes we’d played really well and created chances, but didn’t score. In that moment the energy was down in the stadium. “(Jackson) came to me and we were talking about positions on the pitch and I gave some direction to him. One fan said ‘wake up’. I said to stop talking in this way, support the players, we need support. It was very respectful.” Brentford boss Thomas Frank reflected on a game in which his players weathered first-half pressure and grabbed their chances when they arrived. “I think our first half wasn’t that good,” he said. “Chelsea were good first half, you see their exciting potential. If I was a Chelsea fan I’d be positive about them. It’s a bad result (for them), but I’m convinced it will come. “I said at half time we need to believe, I didn’t see that enough in the first half. We didn’t give away big chances away, but we gave too much away. “The first goal always changes the dynamic of a game. The way we defended was fantastic.” Read More Matty Ashton at the double as England seal series win over Tonga Everton financial reports just another thing to deal with – Sean Dyche Steve Borthwick’s plans for England’s Six Nations campaign well under way England ‘feeling the heat’ of World Cup implosion – Marcus Trescothick Erik ten Hag admits Man Utd ‘have a way to go’ as they prepare for derby day Son Heung-min hails Guglielmo Vicario for ‘unbelievable saves’ in win at Palace

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