Max Verstappen has cited teammate Liam Lawson’s ability to adapt, after stepping in mid-season at Red Bull, as a sign that current Formula 1 cars are “numb to your driver inputs”.

The four-time F1 champion told the BBC in an interview published Wednesday that the 2026 cars, with a crucial role for electric hybrid power, can have “unnatural” outcomes like requiring drivers to brake earlier into corners for the best exit speed.

Verstappen suggested it’s one reason Lawson has adapted quickly after replacing the injured Isack Hadjar for the last two races. He’s staying there for this week’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Yuki Tsunoda has stepped into Lawson’s old Racing Bulls seat, and both Lawson and Tsunoda have scored points in their new cars.

“No disrespect. And I hope no-one picks up on this. But look at Yuki. He jumps in the car. Never driven the car before. Immediately competitive,” Verstappen said.

“Liam jumps from the Racing Bulls to the Red Bull – immediately competitive. It’s because these cars are numb to your driver inputs. Of course, yes, you still have to do a good lap. And you still have to commit. The fastest drivers will always come out on top. But it’s really, really limited.” Verstappen has been a vocal critic of the 2026 cars all year.

At one stage, he even said he was considering leaving F1 altogether, but eventually agreed a contract extension to keep him at Red Bull through 2030.

He told the BBC he “never really spent a lot of time talking or doing different things or trying to go somewhere else,” despite speculation which had linked him to a move.

Verstappen’s agreement with Red Bull allows him to pursue his interests outside of F1 after his first 24-hour endurance sportscar race earlier this year.

He told the BBC he’d talked with two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso about potentially teaming up to tackle the Le Mans 24-hour race and that he would like to take on the top-level Hypercar class of sportscar racing.

John O’Shea and Tom Charlton will be without their initial top seed for The Metropolitan, but they are eager to give another member of their team a chance to impress for a start in that race this weekend.

The Randwick training partnership is keen for their untapped import, Starzintheireyes, to gain a start in the $300,000 Group 2 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) on home ground.

The import is yet to achieve a win in four starts in Australia, but was an unlucky second first-up when narrowly defeated by The Mona Lisa, and Charlton is optimistic about his future.

“He’s been unfortunate not to win yet in Australia,” Charlton commented.

“He’s got a load of class and it was a big performance (last start).”

“We’re pretty sweet on him and at some stage the penny will really drop.”

Starzintheireyes, a son of Starspangledbanner, arrived in Australia as a winner of two of his five starts, including the Group 3 Zetland Stakes (2011m) at Newmarket.

The five-year-old had three runs in his first Australian preparation, securing a second placing over 1800m in benchmark 78 grade at Hawkesbury, a third in a BM88 over 2000m at Randwick, and a sixth placing in a 2000m BM100 at Flemington on June 6.

He possesses the second-lowest rating of the 19 entries for the Kingston Town Stakes, which is capped at a field of 14, plus emergencies, but Charlton expects him to outperform his rating if he gets a start.

“If he ran well it could open the door of a Metrop,” he said.

“But he’ll keep improving. He might end up in a nice race.”

The only Kingston Town entry with a lower rating than Starzintheireyes is Aethelwulf – who is the favourite for the $750,000 Group 2 The Metropolitan on October 3 – with entries headed by ATC Australian Derby winner Green Spaces. O’Shea and Charlton also have Athabascan entered.

King Pedro is not nominated after an elevated temperature ended his aspirations for a start in The Metropolitan, having last won the Grafton Cup. However, Charlton remains hopeful of his return to racing at some point this spring.

“We’re assessing him at the moment and perhaps where we can get to, but the Kingston Town is just going to come a little bit too quick,” he stated.

The Kingston Town Stakes is one of four Group 2 races scheduled for this Saturday’s Randwick meeting, which will feature Autumn Glow in the $1 million Seven Stakes (1600m).

Check out the latest racing odds on these sports betting platforms.

Alexander Zverev failed to realise he had just won the US Open after becoming a two-time grand slam champion in New York.

The German would have perhaps expected a muted reaction to his winning moment as he was facing the home hope Ben Shelton in the final.

But the 29-year-old lost track of the score because when Shelton put his return long on Championship point, Zverev barely responded.

Instead, the top seed thought there was another game to come because he had already hit the balls to the other end of the court in preparing to receive.

It wasn’t until Zverev looked up to the scoreboard and the upper deck of the Arthur Ashe Stadium for him to realise he was the champion.

But there was no falling onto his back as, in one of the strangests grand slam title victories of all time, Zverev belatedly burst into a wide smile.

“I thought it was 5-1!” he later told Sky Sports. “I knew I had broke twice, he had only held once so like it’s 5-1.

“I thought, OK, I’m gonna have a relaxed service game here and then I’m gonna get tight on the next one.

“It’s actually funny. Tennis teachers always tell you just play each point, to forget about the score. From that moment I forgot about the score, it helped me.”

Zverev will pocked $5.5m in prize money by winning the US Open title while victory will also exorcise some of the demons from his previous US Open final appearance in 2020.

Six years ago, Zverev served for the Championship against Dominic Thiem, but lost from two sets up in a brutal collapse.

Perhaps not realising the score helped Zverev as he produced a masterclass in the fourth set to repel Shelton’s comeback after the young American finally arrived in the final.

The 23-year-old Shelton overcame a very nervy start and threatened a comeback when he broke his opponent for the first time late in the third set and force the fourth.

But Zverev immediately pounced to claim the opening break before serving out a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2 victory for his sixth consecutive win against the world No 9.

Zverev won his first grand slam title in June at the French Open and also reached the Wimbledon final in July in what is by far the best season of his career.

He is now just the fourth man in the Open era to win his first two grand slam titles in the same year and aiming for the year-end world No 1 is now a realistic target.

This has been Zverev’s year at the grand slams after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner dominated the men’s game and swept the biggest titles in 2024 and 2025.

He has taken advantage of spells of injury from both Alcaraz and Sinner and has not had to beat either player in 2026 to become a two-time grand slam winner.

It was not all smooth sailing for Zverev, though; far from it when he was taking on the partisan US Open crowd as well as home favourite Shelton.

Zverev faced jeers due to the slow pace of his service play and he was finally given a time violation from the chair umpire Marijana Veljovic in the fourth set.

Zverev’s incessant bouncing of the ball before his serve was a talking point before the final after his semi-final opponent complained about the time he would take during serves.

The stats showed Zverev spent around three hours of his 23-plus hours on court this fortnight bouncing the ball between serves.

Manchester United were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City at Old Trafford but Michael Carrick was furious at the decision to allow Erling Haaland’s controversial goal.

Michael Carrick was left furious at the decision to allow Manchester City’s controversial derby day winner at Old Trafford, saying he “didn’t get” the official’s reason for giving Erling Haaland’s goal.

Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position as he attempted to connect with a cross, distracting Lisandro Martinez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens. While Fernandez didn’t touch the ball, it left Lammens out of position when Haaland’s effort at the back post flew past him.

Carrick was staggered at the decision to give the goal, which had initially been ruled out for offside. Haaland was being played onside by Patrick Dorgu, but the controversy centred on Fernandez’s role and whether he was interfering with play.

“At the time I hadn’t totally seen it. But the explanation I got was he wasn’t interfering with play, so I just don’t get it. I really don’t get it,” said Carrick.

“I can’t understand how they’re trying to help referees and putting so many layers behind them with so many people, so many bodies, so many screens, and so many whatever offices they are to try and come up with the right decisions.

“If that’s how the rules are interpreted, that you’re not interfering with play because you’ve thrown yourself at the ball six yards from goal and pretty much nearly touched it, which then Licha has to react from.

“On top of that, the line was a bit dubious where they drew the line to start with. It’s worrying if that’s really how the game’s seen by those who are officiating it.”

Carrick said he hadn’t held any further discussions with referee Michael Oliver over the decision and gave short shrift to the idea of complaining to Pro Refs over why the goal was allowed.

“I don’t know how you can. I don’t know where you go. I don’t really know how you go and get another explanation on that one, I have to say,” he said.

Told Pro Refs sometimes apologise for decisions they get wrong, Carrick said: “Yeah, that’d be great, that. Yeah, I can’t wait for that one.”

A hilarious moment was caught on camera after top seed Alexander Zverev defeated Ben Shelton in the men’s singles final at the 2026 US Open. When Shelton’s return sailed beyond the baseline on match point, Zverev initially failed to realise that he had won his maiden US Open title. However, a section of the German crowd quickly alerted him, prompting the jubilant Zverev to raise his arms in celebration with a broad smile on his face.

HE DIDN’T REALIZE HE’D WON

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Alexander Zverev exorcises his 2020 demons and defeats Shelton 6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 to win his first US Open title! pic.twitter.com/f0Cnl2xvgI

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2026

Zverev won his second major championship and disappointed a crowd that was desperate to see the first Grand Slam title by an American man since 2003.

Zverev finally broke through in the majors by winning this year’s French Open and followed up by adding the title in New York that he so painfully let slip away in 2020.

The No. 1 seed in a Grand Slam for the first time, he capitalized on Shelton’s shaky start in his first major final, played a nearly flawless tiebreaker on serve and then turned back a comeback attempt in front of a crowd that feverishly cheered Shelton on – including girlfriend Trinity Rodman, who made it from her own soccer match in Washington before the finish.

“I know today 99.9% of the people wanted Ben to win, so I’m very sorry first of all,” Zverev said during the trophy presentation. “But second, it was an incredible atmosphere to play in. Even though I know that the crowd was against me, the crowd was always incredibly fair.”

Zverev also reached the final at Wimbledon, falling to Jannik Sinner, and became the No. 1 seed in New York when the top-ranked Sinner had to withdraw with a knee injury. He made the most of opportunities that came when Carlos Alcaraz had to sit out two majors and Sinner missed another, after they played in three straight Grand Slam finals in 2025.

“I think God has seen how hard we worked, how much we suffered, how much pain we went through and I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before,” Zverev said, addressing his team.

(With AP Inputs)

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Man United conceded a controversial winner against Manchester City that decided the derby at Old Trafford

Lisandro Martinez has demanded an explanation from the Premier League after Manchester City’s controversial winner against Manchester United. City went down to ten men in the first half after Phil Foden kicked out at Bruno Fernandes.

However, it was the visitors who took the lead when Josko Gvardiol’s cross was deflected into the path of Erling Haaland who scored. Initially, the flag went up to indicate that it was offside. However, VAR overruled the on-field decision as they ruled that Haaland was onside and that Enzo Fernandez did not touch the ball in the centre.

Martinez was the defender in the centre who was closest to both Fernandez and Haaland. Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, he was left fuming with the officials. The Argentina international said: “I think it was offside. What I can’t understand is the rules.

“He was there. I went to him because he was there in front of me. That is why Haaland was free at the back.

“I want to be calm now, I want to control myself. It is so hard because you lose the derby, you lose three points at home.

“Every season they come to our club, explain for one hour, one hour 30 minutes the rules and they look so confident with that. Then after that, five, six people doing this kind of mistake in the Premier League. It’s the best league in the world, you have the best teams in the world, the best players in the world.

“Now we have to go home with this injustice.” He then continued: “It was difficult because I had two players and I was 50/50 so I had to take the first man.

“As simple as that. As simple as that. Let’s see what they have to say now.”

After the decision, the Premier League Match Centre wrote on X: “VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal for offside – and determined that Haaland was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded.

“The VAR also deemed that while in an offside position, Fernandez didn’t play the ball.”

As he stepped up to the baseline, Alexander Zverev could be forgiven for letting his mind slip back to the last time he served for the US Open title.

Six years ago, the German top seed threw away a two-set lead in a devastating loss to Dominic Thiem, having served for the match in the fifth set.

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This time, instead of his own nerves, it was American Ben Shelton and the majority of the 24,000-strong crowd that stood in Zverev’s way.

But this was a different Zverev: a Grand Slam champion now, having won the French Open in June.

Such was his focus that he did not initially realise he had sealed a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-2 victory.

After firing down another unstoppable serve to win the match, Zverev returned to the baseline ready to start the next point – only to be told by his team the match was over.

As the realisation sunk, the 29-year-old broke into a broad and slightly surprised smile before raising his arms above his head.

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The scenes were in direct contrast to his defeat by Thiem in 2020, where a tearful Zverev said during the trophy presentation: “I wish one day I can bring the trophy home”.

Now, his wish has come true.

“We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title and now we’ve won two in three months,” said Zverev.

“2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”

Zverev’s parents were not there for his last final in Flushing Meadows, but his father and coach Alexander senior was on the sidelines this time.

As well as paying tribute to his father, Zverev also thanked his mother for her support following his diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child.

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“When doctors tell you that life and sports will be very limited for that child, it takes a very strong mother to say: ‘my son will be whatever he wants to be’,” Zverev said.

“My mother is the most important and strongest person I know.”

‘He was in a trance-like state’

World number two Zverev has enjoyed his best year on the Tour, reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the final at Wimbledon alongside his French Open and US Open successes.

He has been aided by injuries to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who swept the majors in the past two seasons, but a strengthened mentality and dedication to fitness has also helped.

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“There is no-one as fit as Zverev, he is right up there,” former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“You can argue about Alcaraz and Sinner, and Novak [Djokovic] and Rafa [Nadal] when they were in their prime physically, but Zverev is right up there as one of the best athletes to play the sport.”

Zverev was taken to five sets in his first two matches, with both finishing in the early hours of the New York morning.

He was two points from defeat in the first round, but rallied, played his way into form and did not drop a set from the third round until the final.

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Faced with a partisan crowd against Shelton, Zverev did not buckle. He kept his emotions deliberately in check and, even though he lost the third set, never loosened his grip on the match.

“I’m so admiring of his strength of character and the zen-like state he’s been in since the very beginning of the match,” former British number one Annabel Croft.

“The most extraordinary thing was – and I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed it – was that he didn’t realise he had won.

“It was so bizarre, but it was like he was in a trance-like state while he was playing.”

His serve – one of the best on the ATP Tour – was key against Shelton.

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He won 39 of 42 points behind his first serve in the first two sets and did not face a break point until the middle of the third.

Shelton broke at the end of the third set to extend the match but the American made little impact in return games from then on, winning only four of 20 receiving points in set four

Victory means he will now have the world number one ranking in his sights – he trails Sinner by 1,810 points with two Masters 1000 events and the season-ending ATP Tour finals to come.

But Zverev is a polarising figure in tennis.

In October 2023, he was given a penalty order and fined 450,000 euros (£392,000) for bodily harm against his ex-partner, who he shares a child with.

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Zverev denied the claims and lodged an objection against the order. A trial in May 2024 was discontinued after a week and there was a separate settlement between Zverev and his ex-girlfriend.

At the time, the court told BBC Sport: “The decision is not a verdict and it is not a decision about guilt or innocence.”

Zverev was also accused in October 2020 of physical violence and controlling behaviour by another former girlfriend. He maintained his innocence from the start and there were no legal proceedings.