Grand Prix Auto Racing: Dutch Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to F1 title on last lap

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won a dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to clinch the F1 world title in a remarkable conclusion to the season.

Hamilton had seemed on course for victory and an eighth world title in total, but a late safety car allowed Verstappen to pit for fresh tires as he snatched the lead from the Mercedes man on the last lap.

Read more: Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to F1 title on last lap — RT Sport News

The Netherlands: Dutch racedriver Max Verstappen wins intense French Grand Prix battle with Lewis Hamilton - by Andrew Benson

Max Verstappen fought back to pass Lewis Hamilton and take a brilliant win in the French Grand Prix to extend his championship lead.

Verstappen's Red Bull team gambled on an extra pit stop, sacrificing the lead to come back at Hamilton on fresher tyres to pass the Mercedes with two laps to go.

And Mercedes were ruing a strategic blunder in which they left Hamilton out one lap too long and lost the lead.

After a thrilling see-saw battle between the two title contenders and their teams, Verstappen moves into a 12-point championship lead after seven races following Red Bull's third victory in a row.

Read more at: Max Verstappen wins intense French Grand Prix battle with Lewis Hamilton - BBC Sport

Motor Sports: Verstappen wins Sportsman of the Year award in the Netherlands

Max Verstappen youngest ever Formula 1 Grand Prix winner

Max Verstappen has been named Sportsman of the Year in his home country during an award ceremony on Wednesday evening.

The Red Bull Racing driver became the youngest ever Formula 1 Grand Prix winner and the first Dutch GP winner in F1 history when he defeated the Ferraris in Barcelona this year. The victory came after the season’s dominant cars, the two Mercedes-Benz W07s, collided with each other on the opening lap.

Verstappen was not present to collect the award – it was collected on his behalf by former Dutch Grand Prix driver and sportscar star Jan Lammers. But Verstappen told the audience via a video message that he was ‘very honored’ to receive it.

“It’s been a superb season for me with many highlights,” he said. “Something I will always remember, of course, is the victory. That was a very emotional moment.

“It’s something you work very hard for from a very young age. I think everybody in the audience will understand this.”

The 19-year-old went on to finish fifth in the championship, despite spending the first four races of the year at Scuderia Toro Rosso, with whom he made his F1 debut in 2015.

Verstappen also mentioned Johan Cruyff, the Dutch football legend who passed away in March this year, and who had paid Verstappen a visit during pre-season testing at Barcelona, just weeks before his passing.

“I am very glad to have met him,” said Verstappen. “Of course this was something very, very emotional after the victory.”

Referring to Cruyff’s iconic #14, which Dutch team Ajax retired in his honor back in 2007, Verstappen said: “I’ve read his book and it mentioned that he was fascinated by numbers. My victory was one hour, 41 minutes and forty seconds, so two times fourteen [1:41.40]. I think this makes it extra special.”

Read more: Verstappen wins Sportsman of the Year award in the Netherlands

Car Racing - Formula One - Schumacher out of coma, leaves French hospital, spokeswoman says - by Geir Moulson

Formula One great Michael Schumacher is no longer in a coma and has left a French hospital where he had been receiving treatment since a skiing accident in December, his manager said Monday.

Schumacher left the hospital in Grenoble “to continue his long phase of rehabilitation,” manager Sabine Kehm said in a statement. She gave no further details on Schumacher’s condition, and her office refused to elaborate on the statement.

Schumacher is now at the Lausanne University Hospital in neighbouring Switzerland, hospital spokesman Darcy Christen said, without elaborating.

Schumacher, his wife and their two children live in Switzerland. His accident happened on a family vacation as Schumacher was skiing with his 14-year-old son.

Schumacher’s family “would like to explicitly thank all his treating doctors, nurses and therapists in Grenoble as well as the first aiders at the place of the accident, who did an excellent job in those first months,” Kehm’s statement said.

“The family also wishes to thank all the people who have sent Michael all the many good wishes. ... We are sure it helped him,” it added. “For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye,” it added.

Read more: Schumacher out of coma, leaves French hospital, spokeswoman says - The Globe and Mail