A FERRARI double rained on the parade of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ charge to the title.

It truly was the Wild West on track from start to finish as Norris and Verstappen produced an almighty scrap as they battled nose to tail for third-place from 12-laps to go.

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The top two positions had already been snatched from their clutches as birthday boy Charles Leclerc capitalised on a poor start from pole-sitter Norris to cross the line in first.

Carlos Sainz took second-place eight seconds behind his teammate but no one will care.

All eyes had been on Norris and Verstappen’s all out war with the Dutchman producing a defensive masterclass until five-laps-to-go.

Norris overtook the Red Bull on lap 51 but went off the track and was slapped with a five-second penalty meaning he had to settle for fourth behind third-place Verstappen.

The Texas rodeo continued as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was forced to RETIRE just three laps in after spinning off at Turn 19 and beaching himself on the gravel.

Norris knew it was pretty much do or die in Texas, given Verstappen soared to victory in Saturday’s sprint-race and stretching his lead to 54 points in the driver’s championship.

Verstappen’s world championship lead is now up to 57 points, having  built it by five points across the weekend, while Norris’ hopes of chasing down the Dutchman have been massively dented with five rounds remaining.

The McLaren driver, whose starts have been his Achilles’ heel, got off well but left too much space for Verstappen to bulldoze inside.

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It is the fifth race this season that he has started on pole but not been in the lead after the opening lap, having done the same at the Spanish, Hungarian, Dutch and Italian Grands Prix.

The Red Bull ran Norris wide on the way out of the first corner, and Leclerc swept through to take the lead from fourth.

The other Ferrari, of Sainz, also nipped past Norris, leaving the McLaren in fourth.

McLaren reported the incident as they felt Verstappen pushed him wide, but really Norris was not aggressive enough and only had himself to blame.

Norris said on his team radio: “He clearly pushed me off. He had no intent to make the corner.

“Even he went off the track. I had to avoid crashing into him or him into me.”

There was a safety car on lap 3 as disaster struck forHamilton who was forced to retire as he spun off and beached himself on the gravel on Turn 19.

It was the exact same spot his teammate Russell spun out in qualifying and there wasn’t much the seven-time world champion could do about it.

It prompted the first Safety Car since the Canadian Grand Prix in June and at the restart Leclerc struggled to create a gap to Verstappen but managed to make it through the first corner in the lead.

On lap 17 Toto Wolff came on the radio to slam the “total joke” five-second penalty for an overtake on for allegedly forcing Valtteri Bottas off the track in an overtake earlier on.

Half way through and Leclerc was a whopping ten seconds ahead of Verstappen, but the Ferrari driver did not want to be left out as bait for too long before pitting.

He said on his team radio: “Don’t leave me out for too long. I do not want to be under pressure.”

By lap 36, Norris and Verstappen were tussling for third place as the McLaren was closing in on his rival.

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Verstappen was fuming and said on his team radio: “These tyres just aren’t good. I can’t brake, I can’t attack anything.”

Second-placed Sainz was relentless and by lap 43 hit back with another fastest lap, cranking up the pressure on his teammate out front.

Norris continued to snap at Verstappen’s heels and closed the gap to just 0.6 seconds with 12 laps to go.

The Dutchman knew he had a race on his hands and kept the McLaren at bay with text-book defense until lap 52.

Norris got the move down at Turn 12 but it appeared to be off the track and Verstappen fumed on his team radio: “He overtook me outside of the track.”

Hamilton said after the race: “I have never spun especially on the second lap, it’s devastating to not be in the race because I love this race.

“It’s obviously a similar situation to George yesterday, the car is very sensitive, it started bouncing, I wasn’t even pushing. I lost a load of the rear and it came round.”

On hoping for another win in the Mercedes with five races to go, he added: “Of course, that’s what we’re working towards.

“That is painful, it’s never happened to me before but this weekend the confidence had gone already from the first spin we had.

“We need to go back to the drawing board and figure out what has been wrong with the car this weekend because it’s not been normal. We will work on it and try and come back stronger.”

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LAS VEGAS – At 40, Darren Elkins is still racking up wins in the premiere MMA promotion on the planet. Elkins has not only impressed fans with his longevity, but he’s also impressed himself.

“When I was the young me, the young, beginning UFC Darren, I’d always make fun of the old guys,” Elkins said at a post-fight news conference. “‘Oh this old guy still messing with them,’ and calling them old guys. I never thought I’d be 40 and still doing this, but man, am I glad I am.”

Elkins (29-11 MMA, 19-10 UFC) completed his 29th UFC performance this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 245. He defeated veteran Daniel Pineda (28-17 MMA, 5-8 UFC) in a hard-fought unanimous decision win that won him a Fight of the Night bonus.

This was also his first fight in 2024. With almost two decades of professional fighting, the once very active UFC featherweight is content with this current pace at this stage in his career.

“I don’t like to go any more than two (fights),” Elkins said. “I had one last year and one this year. Last year I got hurt, this year I got hurt, I mean, which is fine. Both times I came back when ,my body was recovered, so one of two fights (a year). I shoot for two, but if I don’t get two, one is OK, too in my life. Now, I don’t have to be the guy that’s fighting every weekend anymore.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

The race was bookended by two incidents between the title rivals, right at the start and in the closing stages.

At the first corner, Norris, who started from pole, appeared to have covered the inside line, but Verstappen went for it anyway and the two drivers both ran off the track on the exit.

Norris complained that Verstappen had forced him off and should give the place back, but the stewards did not investigate the incident.

Their battle allowed Leclerc to slip by into the lead and once there he was in total control of the race.

He quickly extended his advantage and it soon became clear that the Ferrari driver would dominate unless something went wrong.

Leclerc was 10 seconds in the lead by the time Verstappen in second place made his first pit stop on lap 25. Ferrari pulled him in a lap later and he controlled the race to the end.

Sainz ran third in the first stint, after briefly challenging Verstappen on the first lap, and Ferrari chose to use the ‘undercut’ on Red Bull.

Sainz pitted on lap 21 so by the time Verstappen stopped, the new tyres on the Ferrari had gained the Spaniard enough time that the Red Bull came out behind.

Verstappen was unable to do anything about Sainz, and had to turn his sights to Norris.

He and team-mate Oscar Piastri had a quiet first stint, running in fourth and fifth places, lacking the pace of the Ferraris and Red Bull in front of them.

But McLaren ran their drivers long to give them a tyre advantage in the second stint.

Norris stopped six laps after Verstappen and was 6.6 seconds behind when he returned to the track.

He was on the Red Bull’s tail just over 10 laps later and the two set about an engrossing battle over the next 10 laps.

Norris tracked Verstappen closely and a number of times the two ran side by side through some of the corners of the complex after Turn 12, the tight corner at the end of the long back straight.

But Verstappen positioned his car with expertise to prevent Norris ever being able to make a move at the hairpin at Turn 15.

On lap 52, Norris was closer than ever coming on to the back straight and he went for the outside as Verstappen defended the inside line.

Both cars ran off the track, Norris considerably, and the McLaren emerged ahead.

Verstappen immediately complained that Norris had overtaken by going off the track and should give the place back.

But Norris decided to press on, arguing to his team that he had been ahead at the apex.

But the stewards disagreed, and Norris was given a five-second penalty just before the end of the race. Although he had pulled away, he had not quite done enough to negate the penalty.

Sounding down, Norris told BBC Sport after the race: “That’s life. I didn’t do a good enough job.”

Asked whether he should have given the place back, he said: “Maybe that was my one and only chance.”

Piastri took fifth, while George Russell saved Mercedes’ blushes after a difficult weekend by recovering to sixth place after starting from the pit lane because of a crash in qualifying.

Team-mate Lewis Hamilton crashed on the second lap. “I have never spun especially on the second lap,” he said. “It’s devastating to not be in the race because I love this race.”

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Paul Hughes was rightfully in a joyous mood after pulling off an underdog win over A.J. McKee at PFL: Battle of the Giants, and has his eyes set on a title shot.

“We all know who’s next! Usman Nurmagomedov is next!” Hughes yelled into the microphone as he arrived at a post-fight news conference. “We all know that, right? Let’s go. Let’s do this.”

For “Big News” Hughes (13-1), defeating McKee was his biggest career win thus far. Although, he admits things were not ideal coming into this fight, which may have prevented an early finish, as he predicted.

“If I had a little more pop in that last round, I’m not going to lie, I was gassed after the first,” Hughes told reporters. “I did not have the best training camp, and I felt that in my body after the first round. I didn’t quite have that pop. I knew exactly what I needed to do to get him out of there. I just – a little bit extra lactic that I wouldn’t have had, and I should have got him out of there.”

Hughes landed some big shots during the fight, including a couple of big knees to McKee’s face. It was a shot Hughes knew would be there. So much so that he pre-recorded a YouTube video that he planned to drop had he finished the fight with the strike, but he said he’ll have to keep that one in the drafts.

The fight was one of Hughes’ best performances to date, and even though he had to sweat out a split decision read, he was fully confident he did enough to win.

Now, it’s about chasing gold, which the Irishman believes should be his next fight. The undefeated Nurmagomedov (18-0) currently holds the Bellator lightweight title.

With the Nurmagomedov’s history with his fellow countryman Conor McGregor, Hughes would love to have “The Notorious” be in his corner for that fight, to bring a counter energy of sorts because Khabib Nurmagomedov will be in Usman’s corner.

“Conor, I want you in my corner for that fight, 100 percent,” Hughes said. “How cool would that be? I mean, we might need some extra security that night, but I’m down for it. I think it would be fun.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

Henry Hassid was crowned world champion in the Coppa Shell category thanks to a superb race in comeback style. Starting from P8 on the grid, the Frenchman stamped his authority on the competition right from the start, quite literally flying on the damp track of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola.

The Kessel Racing driver took just one lap to pass from eighth place to first as he looked to be perfectly at home in the mixed conditions, while another of the leading protagonists, his teammate and polesitter Ernst Kirchmayr quickly lost several positions, dropping to sixth position.

In the early stages, the battle for second place was between Rey Acosta (The Collection) and Yasutaka Shirasaki (Rosso Scuderia), with the Japanese driver passing his American rival on lap 3 to move into second place.

Acosta was unable to reply and came under pressure from Andrea Ritzi, fourth and eager to take a prestigious podium. On lap 6 the driver of the CDP – D&C Racing team made a decisive attack to move into a provisional third place.

The next piece of on-track action came when John Dhillon, while he was battling for seventh position, lost control on the straight between Acque Minerali and Variante Alta, ending up by violently crashing into the wall. The front left wheel of the British driver’s 296 was detached and a fire broke out in the engine, all of which meant that the Race Direction sent the Safety Car out onto the track.

The race resumed with four minutes to go, and Hassid immediately tried to break away from Shirasaki, Ritzi and Kirchmayr, who had climbed to fourth place after overtaking a struggling Acosta.

On lap 12, Ritzi managed to overtake Shirasaki, but just before the braking point of the Variante del Tamburello, Kirchmayr and Shirasaki flanked each other and made contact, with the latter ending up against the wall. This time the Race Direction brought the red flags out, and that was followed by the chequered flag as there was no further action on track.

The final standings, therefore, saw Hassid as the Coppa Shell World Finals champion ahead of Ritzi and Kirchmayr.

There was also a good scrap in the 488 class. Qwin Wietlisbach, who started from pole, held onto first place but halfway through the race he ended up in the sights of Fabrizio Fontana (Formula Racing). The Italian, shaving off tenth after tenth, eventually caught up with the category leader.

When the race resumed after the first intervention of the Safety Car, Wietlisbach managed to hold off the attacks launched by Fontana and was crowned champion. Third place went to Maurizio Pitorri, several seconds adrift of the first two.