Verstappen Wins Monaco GP to Extend F1 Championship Lead; Alonso 2nd Ahead of Ocon

Winner Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (C) holds up his trophy, flanked by second-placed Aston Martin's Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (L), third-placed Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon (R), Prince Albert II of Monaco (2nd R) and Princess Charlene of Monaco (2nd L) on the podium after the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco street circuit in Monaco, on May 28, 2023. (AFP)
Winner Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (C) holds up his trophy, flanked by second-placed Aston Martin's Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (L), third-placed Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon (R), Prince Albert II of Monaco (2nd R) and Princess Charlene of Monaco (2nd L) on the podium after the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco street circuit in Monaco, on May 28, 2023. (AFP)
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Verstappen Wins Monaco GP to Extend F1 Championship Lead; Alonso 2nd Ahead of Ocon

Winner Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (C) holds up his trophy, flanked by second-placed Aston Martin's Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (L), third-placed Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon (R), Prince Albert II of Monaco (2nd R) and Princess Charlene of Monaco (2nd L) on the podium after the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco street circuit in Monaco, on May 28, 2023. (AFP)
Winner Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (C) holds up his trophy, flanked by second-placed Aston Martin's Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (L), third-placed Alpine's French driver Esteban Ocon (R), Prince Albert II of Monaco (2nd R) and Princess Charlene of Monaco (2nd L) on the podium after the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco street circuit in Monaco, on May 28, 2023. (AFP)

Formula One champion Max Verstappen's lights-to-flag victory win at the Monaco Grand gave the Red Bull driver his fourth victory of the season and extended his championship lead on Sunday.

Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso was a season's best second for Aston Martin as he collected a fifth podium in six races, while Frenchman Esteban Ocon secured third place and a rare podium for Alpine.

For most of the race, Verstappen coasted on a dry and narrow track where overtaking is the hardest in F1.

But an incident-free race in Monaco is rare and heavy rain played havoc with about 20 of the 78 laps left. Some drivers had pitted for the wrong medium tires shortly before the downpour and slid around.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. glided sideways into the barriers and was lucky not to damage his Ferrari. Kevin Magnussen lost control of his Haas and Lance Stroll retired after damaging his Aston Martin.

Red Bull had wisely put Verstappen on the versatile and more suited to the wet conditions intermediates on Lap 56 and they carried him to his second win in Monaco. The first was in 2021.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Mercedes and picked up a point for fastest lap. His teammate George Russell was fifth, having earlier almost slammed into Sergio Perez's Red Bull as visibility worsened. A serious crash was somehow avoided in a hectic few minutes before the rain eased off.

On Saturday, Verstappen just edged out Alonso to deny the 41-year Spaniard his first pole for 11 years.

Perez, who won the race last year, started from last after a clumsy crash in qualifying and finished 16th.

Verstappen’s 39 F1 wins have all been with Red Bull since his first on debut for the team at the Spanish GP in 2016 when he became the youngest F1 winner at 18 years old.

He set a team record for wins as he passed former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel’s previous tally of 38 victories for the team when he won four straight titles from 2010-13.



Tearful Norris Takes F1 Title as Verstappen Wins Abu Dhabi Race

 McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain reacts after becoming a world champion after the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP)
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain reacts after becoming a world champion after the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP)
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Tearful Norris Takes F1 Title as Verstappen Wins Abu Dhabi Race

 McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain reacts after becoming a world champion after the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP)
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain reacts after becoming a world champion after the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP)

McLaren's Lando Norris sobbed tears of joy and relief as he won the Formula One championship for the first time and ended Max Verstappen's four-year reign with a nervy third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.

Red Bull's Verstappen, who ended the campaign with more wins (eight) than any driver, triumphed in the season-ender with McLaren's Oscar Piastri second and 12.5 seconds behind at the chequered flag.

Norris, Britain's 11th Formula One world champion, took his points tally to 423 with Verstappen on 421 and Piastri third with 410.

McLaren, who secured the constructors' championship in October for the second year in a row, won both titles in the same season for the first time since 1998.

"I've not cried in a while. I didn't think I would cry but I did," said an emotional Norris in a post-race interview, after also shedding tears inside his helmet.

"It feels amazing. I now know what Max feels like a little bit.

"I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two biggest competitors the whole season. It's been a pleasure to race against both of them. It's been an honor, I've learned a lot from both," he added.

Norris's mother Cisca gave Piastri a consoling hug while both Verstappen and the Australian congratulated the new champion in a show of sportsmanship.

The victory denied Verstappen the achievement of five titles in a row, something only Ferrari great Michael Schumacher has managed so far.

Charles Leclerc finished fourth in Sunday's race for Ferrari with George Russell fifth for Mercedes and Fernando Alonso sixth for Aston Martin.

Esteban Ocon was seventh for Haas, ahead of Ferrari's seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton -- who failed to stand on the podium all year in a career low for the 40-year-old who joined the Italian team this year from Mercedes.

Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg was ninth in the German's 250th race and Lance Stroll 10th for Aston Martin.


Chelsea’s Maresca Says Delap Shoulder Injury Looks Bad

Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Chelsea - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - December 3, 2025 Chelsea's Liam Delap on the pitch before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Chelsea - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - December 3, 2025 Chelsea's Liam Delap on the pitch before the match. (Reuters)
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Chelsea’s Maresca Says Delap Shoulder Injury Looks Bad

Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Chelsea - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - December 3, 2025 Chelsea's Liam Delap on the pitch before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Leeds United v Chelsea - Elland Road, Leeds, Britain - December 3, 2025 Chelsea's Liam Delap on the pitch before the match. (Reuters)

Chelsea forward Liam Delap may face another spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury after being forced off in the first half of Saturday’s 0-0 Premier League draw at Bournemouth, manager Enzo Maresca said.

Delap, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Ipswich Town in June, had also picked up a hamstring injury early on in the season and returned to the side only last month.

"He has been unlucky. We are also a bit unlucky because we need that kind of a No. 9," Maresca told reporters after the match.

"Unfortunately, he has already been out for two months and he has to be out again. We don't know for how long, but it looks quite bad, his shoulder."

Chelsea, who played to their first goalless draw since a home clash with Crystal Palace in August, were left in fourth place in the league table with 25 points from their 15 games.

"I think it was a game where we lacked and we missed a little bit of quality in the last third," Maresca said.

"For me, there were many mistakes. We missed some passes in the last third, some moments that we could shoot and didn’t."

Chelsea will next face Atalanta in a Champions League clash on Tuesday before hosting Everton on Saturday.


Gyokeres Urges Arsenal to Bounce Back After Villa End Unbeaten Run

Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Arsenal - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - December 6, 2025 Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres in action with Aston Villa's Ian Maatsen. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Arsenal - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - December 6, 2025 Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres in action with Aston Villa's Ian Maatsen. (Reuters)
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Gyokeres Urges Arsenal to Bounce Back After Villa End Unbeaten Run

Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Arsenal - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - December 6, 2025 Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres in action with Aston Villa's Ian Maatsen. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Arsenal - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - December 6, 2025 Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres in action with Aston Villa's Ian Maatsen. (Reuters)

Arsenal forward Viktor Gyokeres said the Premier League leaders must quickly move on from Saturday’s disappointing 1-2 defeat at Aston Villa after a 95th-minute winner from Emiliano Buendia ended their 18-match unbeaten run.

The win, the ninth for Villa in their last 10 games, allowed them to close the gap on top of the table, putting pressure on Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.

“It's football. If you score in the last few seconds or minutes, that is an unbelievable feeling, so it goes both ways,” Gyokeres said, according to Arsenal's website.

"Today, unfortunately, it was the other way. It's tough, but you learn from it.

“You can always find some positives, but it's still a very difficult way to lose a football game."

While Arsenal still maintain their pole position after Saturday's games, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are now just two behind after their 3-0 win over Sunderland and Villa trail the leaders by three points.

“We are of course disappointed with the result," the Swedish striker said.

“It's not a great feeling right now, but it's only December and there are a lot of games to play.

“If we focus on what we can control and do in our favor and focus on the next game, we'll be better."

Arsenal will next face Club Brugge in a Champions League game on Wednesday, before hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers next Sunday.