Lewis Hamilton’s boss Toto Wolff has conceded Mercedes will have to scale Mount Everest to topple Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team next season. Mercedes clung on to second place in the constructors’ championship by the skin of their teeth – and a £10million cash boost – as Verstappen ended the most dominant season in Formula One history with another victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Dutchman, taking his 19th win from 22 rounds, finished 17 seconds clear of team-mate Sergio Perez. But, mercifully for Mercedes, the Mexican driver was demoted to fourth following a five-second penalty for a collision with Lando Norris. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was elevated to second with Mercedes’ George Russell third. Lewis Hamilton finished ninth in the other black-liveried machine. Had Perez outscored Russell, Mercedes and Ferrari would have been tied, with the Prancing Horse second in the team standings by virtue of Carlos Sainz’s win in Singapore. But following Perez’s sanction, Mercedes ended the campaign three points clear of Ferrari to land a £105million reward, rather than £95m. However, it marked a second straight season without a victory for Hamilton – a losing streak which now stands at 45 races – and Mercedes’ first winless campaign in a dozen years. They finished an eye-watering 413 points behind Red Bull, who have long since turned their focus to next year’s machine. Last season, Mercedes were 244 points behind the world champions. “Red Bull won by 17 seconds today, and haven’t touched the car since July or August, so you can pretty much guess where they’re going to be next year,” said a despondent Hamilton. Picking up the baton, Wolff added: “From Lewis’ perspective, he had a bad weekend. Fact. But that doesn’t do anything on him being the greatest driver in the world. “If we are able to give him a car, he will be fighting for a world championship. I have no doubt. But it is clear if you have a car like we have now, you are not at ease with it. “Red Bull started the new regulations in 2022 with a massive advantage and they have been able to maintain it. “We have a lot of respect for their achievements – from the engineering side, and the driver – and beating them under the current regulations is against the odds. Mount Everest is in front of us.” Hamilton and Mercedes will hope a brand new design will fire them back to winning ways following their no-sidepod flop abandoned on the eve of the opening race in Bahrain. Wolff continued: “We had to be honest that this car was never going to be good enough to fight for a world championship. We took the decision in April to go back to the drawing board and come up with something different for next year. “We are changing the concept. We are moving away from how we laid out the chassis, the weight distribution, the airflow, literally every component has been changed because only by doing that do we have a chance. You could get it wrong also. Everything is possible.” Mercedes have carried Hamilton to six of his record-equalling seven world championships. But the 38-year-old will head for the off-season wondering if he will ever win again, let alone mount a season-long championship challenge. With only minor tweaks to the sport’s technical rulebook before a complete overhaul in regulations in 2026, Hamilton has already expressed his fear that Verstappen will be untouchable for the next two years. Wolff added: “We have a board in our factory that shows all the world constructors’ championships since 1958. The table runs until 2050 so there are 27 open. And I would like to look back in 20 years and see many more Mercedes stars. “I hate retrospective views. But when we look back and consider the decade we had – second, first, first, first, first, first, first, first, first, third, second – and when you look at it from that perspective, you say, ‘that was OK’. “But from a micro-view there is one guy (Verstappen) that has won 19 races, and that of course, is not good enough.” Read More Lewis Hamilton cannot wait for season to end after qualifying 11th in Abu Dhabi George Russell fastest as rookies handed chance in first Abu Dhabi practice Class action lawsuit filed over farcical start to Las Vegas Grand Prix F1 Abu Dhabi GP LIVE: Race results and reaction at Yas Marina Max Verstappen sets new landmark as he ends dominant season with Abu Dhabi win When does the 2024 F1 season start?

Head Start programs serving more than 10,000 disadvantaged children would immediately lose federal funding if the government shutdown isn't averted

More than 200,000 people went to Glastonbury this year, and a significant amount of them will be suffering crushing comedowns this week (from all that alcohol they’ve been drinking, obviously). But they need not worry, because Lily Allen has given her qualified medical opinion on the matter – and it’s pretty good advice. The 'Smile' and 'LDN' singer tweeted on 26 June: “Thoughts are with those starting their post Glastonbury comedowns today, YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “It will take somewhere between a week and month depending on your age and what exactly you may have consumed, but you will get through this.” She added in another post: “Start with a good fry up, some electrolytes, berocca, plenty of water and stay away from anything like Grey's Anatomy or The Notebook.” Twitter users were quick to thank the singer. One user said: “Thank you Lily, you got me and @MarisaMuramatsu through the early hours journey home.” Another added: “I’m still recovering from 1987 tbh.” And one other said: “Needed to see this. This car journey home, emotions are all over the gaff!” This year’s Glastonbury, which finished yesterday, saw headliners Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Sir Elton John play to vast crowds. While Allen was not on the lineup, her 2022 rendition of her hit 'F*** You' will still be fresh in the minds of fans, when she joined pop star Olivia Rodrigo on stage for a surprise appearance. Meanwhile, her 2009 song, 'Everyone’s At It', took a pop at people in the media and politics who are hypocritical about alcohol and drug use in wider society. The chorus goes: “Why can't we all, all just be honest / Admit to ourselves that everyone's on it / From grown politicians to young adolescents”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Marrakech International Film Festival began on Friday, bringing American and international movie stars to the Arab world as war in the Middle East has led to the cancellation of other film festivals

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Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko will meet in a huge main event in Las Vegas this evening, as the American defends the undisputed lightweight titles against the Ukrainian. FOLLOW LIVE: Haney vs Lomachenko - latest fight updates The unbeaten Haney, 24, unified the belts against George Kambosos Jr last June, outpointing the Australian in his own backyard before doing so again in October to retain the titles. Prior to those bouts, Kambosos Jr was unbeaten and had taken three of the belts from Teofimo Lopez in 2021. In turn, Lopez had stunned Lomachenko with a decision win in 2020 to become unified champion. At 35, Lomachenko, who has held world titles in multiple weight classes, could be running out of time to recapture gold. As impressive as the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s career has been, he faces a stiff test in Haney. Here’s all you need to know as two pound-for-pound stars go head to head. When is it? The fight will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday 20 May. The main card is due to begin at 1am BST on Sunday 21 May (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET), with ring walks for the main event expected at approximately 4am BST (8pm PT, 10pm CT, 11pm ET). How can I watch it? In the UK, the event will air live on Sky Sports as well as the broadcaster’s website and Sky Go app. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the fights live on pay-per-view. Odds Haney – 2/5 Lomachenko – 21/10 Draw – 12/1 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Devin Haney (C) vs Vasiliy Lomachenko (IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO lightweight titles) Juno Nakatani vs Andrew Maloney (vacant WBO super-flyweight title) Raymond Muratalla vs Jeremia Nakathila (lightweight) Oscar Valdez vs Adam Lopez (super-featherweight) Floyd Diaz vs Luis Saavedra (super-bantamweight) Nico Ali Walsh vs Danny Rosenberger (middleweight) Abdullah Mason vs Desmond Lyons (lightweight) Amari Jones vs Pachino Hill (middleweight) Emiliano Vargas vs Rafael Jasso (lightweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More The Devin Haney trap that Vasiliy Lomachenko must avoid to extend glittering career Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron are shaming their male counterparts Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV How to watch Haney vs Lomachenko online and on TV tonight Haney vs Lomachenko LIVE: Latest boxing fight updates and results The Haney trap that Lomachenko must avoid to extend glittering career

Japan’s economy has grown at an annual pace of 1.6% in the quarter through March