The race itself was a mixture of the fun and the downright confusing, which was perhaps to be expected as the sport gets to grips with the biggest regulation overhaul in a generation.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, starting fourth, got off to a flyer thanks to his car’s smaller turbo and passed Russell in short order, with Lewis Hamilton almost doing likewise.

The opening laps were frantic. The lead changed hands six times in nine laps as the cars experienced the ‘yo-yo’ effect which had been predicted, with drivers depleting their batteries overtaking each other, then allowing their rivals to re-overtake them. 

By lap 25, five cars were already out of the race, there had been two virtual safety car (VSC) periods and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was already 11 laps down on the leaders as Aston Martin treated the grand prix as an in-race test.

Overall, F1 announced afterwards, there were 120 overtakes in the race, up from 45 last year.

A Ferrari strategy blunder – failing to bring either driver into the pits after the first VSC came out – effectively decided the race, allowing Russell and Antonelli to reclaim the lead once Ferrari did finally come in. 

Russell eventually took the chequered flag 2.9 seconds clear of his team-mate, with Leclerc holding off the fast-closing Hamilton for third. Hamilton, who was chasing his first podium for Ferrari, was just 0.6sec behind his team mate at the finish, which was encouraging for him.

She has spoken about her struggle with her mental health as a teenager and credited her love of music and theatre for helping with her recovery.

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Irish actress Jessie Buckley has spoken about her struggle with her mental health as a teenager, and has credited her love of music and theatre for helping with her recovery.

Buckley, 36, from Killarney, Co Kerry, has been a juggernaut through awards season, receiving a string of awards for her performance as William Shakespeare’s wife Agnes Hathaway, historically known as Anne, in the adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel.

Buckley described acting as “essential” and said it is “like water to me”, adding that her passion for her craft helped her to overcome an eating disorder and depression during her school years.

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Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs with Lauren Laverne, Buckley said: “I didn’t know how to be alive the way I wanted to be, and it was difficult.

“But I do not for a second regret it, and I think I’ve been able to transform it and recognise our vulnerabilities as humans in the world.

“You can’t walk through life not being affected, but you can transform that into something that allows you to be more human and alive in the way that you want to be.”

She continued: “When I moved to London, I still wasn’t out of the woods.

“I think there were moments where I was like, ‘if I don’t get better here, this music, this being part of theatre – I’m not going to be able to do this any more, and I probably won’t survive’.

“And that was the thing that turned it in my head, I was like, ‘I don’t want to sacrifice that, this is bigger than that’, and won.”

The actress, who has been nominated for an Oscar, remembered the first time she performed on stage and said: “It was like drinking water, you know? I just think, the more I did it, the more I realised this is essential to me.”

Buckley also recounted her time on BBC talent show I’d Do Anything, which was about the search for an actress to play Nancy in a West End production of Oliver!, and which catapulted her to fame.

In an interview with British Vogue in January, she spoke about being criticised for her appearance during her time on the show.

Speaking to Laverne, Buckley said: “I don’t like that part of it.

“I think that was a young woman who’s trying to discover her body and herself, like we all do. And I wish that hadn’t happened.

“I think I was putting a brave face on, because really what I wanted to do was sing and I wanted to act, and I wanted to be part of this industry, and all of a sudden you had to be a certain kind of person.

“And I just wasn’t, I never will be. That’s just not me.”

Buckley added: “I’m so proud of that girl. I think she did great and I don’t regret any of it.”

She also spoke about her “extraordinary” mother, and said: “My parents are no longer together, and she lives in Dublin, and she’s writing her own story right now at 60 years of age, and I’m so proud of her.”

She sounded emotional as she gave her first song choice, which was a rendition of her mother, Marina, singing O Holy Night in church.

Listen to the full Desert Island Disc episode on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4 from Sunday at 10am.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our What’s On newsletter.

A renewed deep-sea search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been unsuccessful.

The Boeing 777 disappeared from radar shortly after departing Kuala Lumpur International Airport en route to Beijing – 12 years ago today.

In a statement, Malaysia’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau said 28 days of searching, covering more than 2,900 square miles (7,500 sq km), had yielded no new findings.

A company called Ocean Infinity had been given permission to scour the Indian Ocean on a “no find, no fee” basis.

The agreement meant it would only be paid $70m (£52m) if the wreckage was located.

Malaysian officials say they “remain committed to keeping the families informed and will continue to provide updates as appropriate”.

Voice370 – a group representing the families of those who were on board the flight – have urged the government to extend its contract with Ocean Infinity.

The search, which happened in two phases, were periodically disrupted by poor weather and conditions at sea. It concluded on 23 January.

However, campaigners fear a third phase won’t begin before June, when the current contract ends, because the winter months are approaching in the southern hemisphere.

Voice370 said: “A simple addendum extending the contract period without altering the core terms of the agreement would allow the search to continue without delay.”

The group added that other exploration firms should be given the opportunity to search on this “no find, no fee” basis.

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2024: MH370 search back on

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MH370 was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members when it vanished, becoming one of the world’s most enduring aviation mysteries.

In 2018, a report by Malaysian investigators drew no conclusion about what happened, but did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft was deliberately taken off course.

The events began today and will run until Saturday, March 14.

International Women’s Day is on Sunday, March 8, and this year’s global theme is “Give to Gain”.

One of the upcoming events is a conference at Le Chaudron, Bolton town centre.

Taking place on International Women’s Day itself, the conference will run from 2pm to 8pm.

It has been described on social media as a celebration of women’s empowerment, with a special focus on supporting African artisans.

Attendees will be able to shop directly from artisan stalls, mingling with the conference’s educational and inspirational talks.

The attendance list features the mayor, councillors, and a roster of notable guest speakers, including Ms Olaide Awogbile, Nkoyo Shadracks, Joanne Chipo Angel Mclean, Noelene Gillat, Carine Embala, and First Lady Primrose.

Bolton Council and Bolton Library and Museum Services have put together a week-long programme of free events to celebrate this special day from March 10 to March 14.

The programme will include special guided tours and book decoration sessions.

The tours, named ‘The Brilliant Women of Bolton’, are an exploration of the achievements of the town’s remarkable women.

These free guided tours, starting from Bolton Town Hall’s ‘Women of Bolton’ corridor, will take place on Tuesday (March 10) and Thursday (March 12) at 10.30am and 3.30pm.

The tours will conclude at the museum where related collections and expert-led stories of the women will be shown.

Limited capacity applies to these tours.

On Monday, March 9, Bolton Central Library will host ‘Bedazzled Books and Brilliant Women’.

This book-themed event from 5.15pm to 6.15pm gives attendees a chance to decorate books by female authors and share reading tips.

Anyone aged 14 and above is welcome, and all craft materials are provided.

The Women in Bolton’s Archives Tours will take place on Saturday (March 14) at Bolton Central Library.

Bolton’s Town Archivist will lead behind-the-scenes tours of the town archives at 11am and 2pm, exploring the history of women who shaped Bolton.

Tickets are limited due to space constraints.

For a grand conclusion to the fortnight-long celebration, a film screening by Bolton UNISON will be held at the Bolton HUB, Bold Street (BL1 1LS), on Saturday, March 14, as a nod to International Women’s Day 2026.

Netflix’s latest original film has been praised by fans as one of the best films of 2026 and ‘highly entertaining’ on its way to top the streamer’s charts.

War Machine, starring Reacher actor Alan Ritchson, soared straight into the number one position in the UK just one day after its pretty quiet release on the platform.

It beat the likes of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s action caper The Fall Guy, popular animated movie The Boss Baby, grisly horror Abigail and true crime documentary Murder on the Doorstep.

War Machine, directed and co-written by The Hitman’s Bodyguard filmmaker Patrick Hughes, follows the final recruits of a gruelling special ops boot camp who encounter a deadly force from beyond this world.

The movie also stars Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney and Mission: Impossible’s Esai Morales.

Ritchson plays Staff Sergeant 81, a highly capable Afghanistan veteran with PTSD who struggles to bond with his fellow candidates and refuses a team leader position on the course despite his experience.

During the final exercise, the team is startled by an unknown blast in the sky, which knocks out communications, before they find what looks to be a classified aircraft in the creek.

But after detonating it with explosives, it transforms into a walking machine and starts killing the team, with Ritchson’s character heard saying in the trailer: ‘Whatever that thing is it’s hunting us – and it won’t stop.’

War Machine has made a solid debut with fans and critics alike, managing a 70% rating so far from professional reviewers on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes and 75% from audiences.

‘Legitimately entertaining, it’s not an Oscar contender but a great popcorn movie. Basically Reacher fights space robot, but well shot and a good time,’ summarised Brett W.

Other fans were more effusive, with Melissa W writing, ‘I loved it. Had to pause it for a minute to get myself together’, while others singled it out as the best action movie of 2026 so far and several shared their hopes for a sequel.

‘Kept me on edge the whole movie, waiting for the 2nd,’ said Dominic M, and Edith N added: ‘Not the biggest fan of war movies but this kept me watching and wanting more action and hits of wit. I hope there is sequel because I felt hanging and hoping for more [sic.].’

But some audience members were less entertained, dissmissing it as ‘brainless eye candy and immediately forgettable’ and suggesting there was ‘a good movie in here trying to get out’.

Critics praised it as ‘gloriously fun’ while reviewer Nagier Chambers quipped: ‘It does not reinvent the wheel, but it straps alien artillery onto it and drives it hard enough to make for an entertaining, if familiar, ride.’

‘War Machine is big, loud, occasionally ridiculous, and fully aware of it. It’s a high-volume time killer that doesn’t apologise for its influences – it practically flexes them,’ observed AU Review’s piece as JoBlo’s Movie Network’s critic called it ‘a fun and action-packed throwback that’s one of the better action movies in recent memory’.

‘The pleasures of Netflix’s sci-fi action movie War Machine are simple, straightforward, and gut-level. There’s a strong thread of competence porn here, and it covers both what’s happening on screen, and what’s clearly going on behind it,’ argued Polygon’s review.

But others were less generous, as critic Eddie Harrison described it as ‘a Predator rip-off without a fresh idea in its thick head’.

Ritchson is known for the impressive fight and action sequences he pulls off in Prime Video’s global smash-hit series Reacher, where he fully inhabits the role of author Lee Child’s looming 6’5 drifter veteran Jack Reacher, previously played by Tom Cruise in two movie adaptations from the novels.

But the 43-year-old actor has said that War Machine represented his biggest challenge yet.

‘It was hard. I’m not going to lie, this was the most I’ve ever been pushed physically, and it was the most I’ve ever doubted my own ability to finish,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter.

He and director Hughes have teamed up for a second time already, on an untitled movie based on Vietnam veteran Navy SEAL Mike Thornton’s service, which earned him the Congressional Medal of Honour, the highest US military decoration – and it sounds like the ante has already been upped.

Ritchson revealed: ‘We’re working on another movie now, and it was the first time I ever had to ask for oxygen on set. The first day of filming, I was like, [gasping] “A medic! I’m going to die.”’

War Machine is streaming exclusively now on Netflix.

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A travel content creator believes this enchanting village is worthy of your holiday bucket list, with pastel buildings, sub-tropical gardens and stunning architecture that will transport you to the Mediterranean

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Next time you’re planning a UK break, you might want to take note of a travel content creator who insists she’s discovered a picture-perfect spot that will make you “feel like you’re in Italy”.

After visiting the location, Amy Hulley described the captivating British village as thoroughly deserving of a place on your holiday “bucket list” as she posted an update to Instagram for her followers. “For a moment I genuinely forgot I was in the UK,” she confessed in a video. Visitors can purchase an entrance ticket to explore the village for the day, or book accommodation in one of its charming hotels and cottages.

The destination? Portmeirion in Gwynedd, North Wales on the border of Snowdonia National Park.

Amy added: “Pastel buildings. Arches and domes. Palm trees overlooking the water. It felt Mediterranean, almost cinematic.”

She also disclosed her visit happened to coincide with a steampunk festival, with period dress and live entertainment only contributing further to the “fun atmosphere”.

Discussing the village’s exotic gardens and remarkable architecture, Amy continued: “Sir Clough Williams-Ellis began creating it in 1925 to prove that colourful, theatrical design could sit beautifully within nature rather than damage it. Every building was carefully positioned to frame the estuary and protect the woodland around it.”

Writing in response, one past tourist praised: “A wonderful place to visit, a little expensive but worth it!”

A second person admitted: “Wow I can’t believe this is in the UK, Amy. Stunning Italian vibes.” A third enthused: “Can’t wait to visit here! So picturesque.”

While a fourth Instagram user gushed: “This is beautiful, it’s definitely on my bucket list now.”

Meanwhile, Portmeirion’s official tourism website proudly states: “Experience the magic of staying in Portmeirion. See the dawn break over the mountains of Meirionnydd; watch the tide fill the Dwyryd estuary from shore to shore.

“Stay in one of two luxury 4-star hotels or in a suite in the middle of the village. Portmeirion also offers self-catering accommodation on the picturesque North Wales coast. Situated on the southern flank of its own private peninsula, Portmeirion is a place apart.”

The village also features multiple cafes alongside an Italian-style gelateria serving genuine home-made gelato. “There are three shops in the village The Prisoner Shop with souvenirs of the famous series filmed here in 1966-67, the Rob Piercy Gallery and The Ship Shop with gifts, toys, housewares and Portmeirion Pottery best-ware, Portmeirion Pottery seconds as well as preserves, wines, and confectioneries,” the website continues.

It also served as the filming location for the 1960s cult classic series, The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. “It was probably one of the most influential pieces of television of the 1960’s not only in the UK and USA, but also in France, Australia, and many other countries,” according to the site.

The website elaborates: “The series is rich in imagery and visual impact. The surreal architecture of the village with its Mediterranean atmosphere coupled with the high-tech interiors, tannoys, surveillance cameras and piped music create a bizarre combination.”

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The Byford Dolphin diving bell accident killed five men instantly through explosive decompression in the North Sea – a catastrophic incident caused by human error on the oil rig

In a harrowing account, a catastrophic blunder beneath the waves resulted in what has been described as some of the ‘most gruesome deaths’ ever recorded, killing five of the six men present.

The horrific tragedy occurred on a semi-submersible oil drilling platform where the divers had been deployed to undertake a deep-sea operation. Whilst the rig looked ordinary enough, it became the location of multiple fatal incidents involving its crew throughout its years of service.

One particularly dreadful mishap occurred on the platform in 1983.

The devastating disaster of 1983

The Byford Dolphin, a semi-submersible oil drilling platform, worked throughout the British, Norwegian, and Danish zones of the North Sea, performing seasonal drilling operations for different firms, reports the Express.

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In November 1983, a crew consisting of two British and two Norwegian divers – Roy P Lucas, 38, Edwin Arthur Coward, 35, Truls Hellevik, 34, and Bjørn Giaever Bergersen, 29 – alongside dive tenders William Crammond, 32, and Martin Saunders, 30, were positioned on the platform to complete a deep-sea diving operation.

When the tragedy struck, all six men were carrying out their responsibilities underwater, performing standard maintenance work on the rig at a remarkable depth of 295 feet.

To safely execute their assignments, the team were accommodated in specialist compression chambers for their scheduled 28-day deployment to avoid dangerous nitrogen accumulation in their blood.

Within these compartments, the divers inhaled a precisely calibrated mixture of gases, usually oxygen and helium, modified based on how deep they descended.

The crew employed a practice called ‘saturation diving’, allowing them to remain for extended durations at considerable depths beneath the waves.

This approach was used to help the team sidestep decompression sickness, widely referred to as ‘the bends’, upon their return to the surface.

The workers travelled via a specialist transport unit, a diving bell, to move securely between their accommodation and their submerged workstation.

On 5 November 1983, divers Hellevik and Bergersen were completing a 12-hour stint, assisted by dive tenders Saunders and Crammond. They were heading back to their rest area via the diving bell.

For the diving bell to function safely, it was vital that the team verified the transport unit was secured and properly reattached before returning to their heavily pressurised rest chambers.

This protocol was essential to avoid sudden decompression within the body, which could prove fatal.

Upon entry, the divers needed to shut the hatch and regulate the pressure within their rest chamber to form a hermetic seal.

This step would subsequently isolate the chamber and link it to the dive bell, which would slowly depressurise for the divers’ protection.

However, on that fateful day, the pressure within inner crew chambers 1 and 2 – typically maintained at nine atmospheres – dropped catastrophically to just one atmosphere in mere milliseconds.

The disaster unfolded when an external diver committed a critical error, releasing the diving bell’s latch prematurely whilst full depressurisation remained incomplete.

This blunder meant the clamp securing the chambers opened before Hellevik had properly sealed the chamber door. Consequently, the sleeping chamber’s pressure shifted instantaneously from conditions equivalent to 295 feet beneath the waves to ordinary surface air pressure, according to the Mirror.

Coward and Lucas were understood to be recuperating in chamber 2, experiencing nine atmospheres of pressure when catastrophe struck. The violent, explosive expulsion of air from the chamber propelled the diving bell with tremendous force, smashing into Crammond and ending his life immediately.

Three divers positioned inside the sleeping chambers are thought to have died instantly as nitrogen within their bloodstreams transformed into bubbles, essentially causing them to boil internally and obliterating their bodies into innumerable pieces.

Hellevik, positioned closest to the partially secured chamber door, was forcibly drawn through a narrow 60cm opening, causing his internal organs to be expelled from his body.

The post-mortem examination recorded: “The scalp with long, blond hair was present, but the top of the skull and the brain were missing. The soft tissues of the face were found, however, completely separated from the bones.”

His abdominal and thoracic organs had been expelled.

Hellevik’s body was reportedly sent for autopsy in four separate bags collected from various locations around the rig. Each part of his body inside the bags of bone and tissue reportedly displayed some sign of injury.

Saunders, the sole survivor of the catastrophic incident, suffered devastating injuries including collapsed lungs, spinal fractures and a broken neck.

The tragedy was also attributed to engineering deficiencies. The Byford Dolphin oil rig was operating with an obsolete diving system dating back to 1975, which lacked fail-safe hatches, outboard pressure gauges or an interlocking mechanism.

This vital safety feature would have stopped the divers’ sleeping chambers from opening whilst the system remained pressurised. Notwithstanding these deficiencies, the Byford Dolphin oil rig remained operational with modifications and underwent ownership changes until its eventual decommissioning in 2019.

It was subsequently sold for scrapping in the 2020s.

A cancer dietitian has urged everyone to cut two things from their diet in order to reduce their risk of the disease – as she said all other food and drink is perfectly fine to eat

Navigating healthy eating advice can be a minefield. Depending on what your goals are with following a diet, you can receive conflicting information over what is right for your body, but the most important thing to remember is that a balanced diet is the key.

If your goal when cutting out junk food is to ditch things that might increase your risk of cancer, however, then there are only two items you need to stop consuming. According to a cancer dietitian on social media, there is one type of food and one type of drink that have been proven to increase your risk of cancer, so if you cut those out, you can continue to enjoy the rest of your favourite food without worry.

Nichole Andrews, a registered oncology dietitian, claimed in a TikTok video that in order to slash your risk of cancer by as much as 38%, you need to stop consuming two things: alcohol and processed meat.

She said: “There are only two foods that increase cancer risk. Only two. Which is actually good news [because it means] you can literally have all other foods and beverages. Those two are alcohol and processed meats.”

The dietitian added that it angers her when people in the comments of her videos say they will continue to enjoy foods like pepperoni pizza, wine, and beer because “you only live once” and don’t want to limit their intake of food and drink they enjoy, just because it can increase their cancer risk.

She said those who have had cancer know how important it is to take care of their bodies and make sure they minimise any risk of the disease coming back again.

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She continued: “You have never had cancer, because when you truly do consume processed meats or alcohol, you are increasing your risk. Someone who has had cancer or has said the words ‘gone through treatment’ is absolutely ready to do whatever they can to reduce their risk of recurrence.

“If you really want to keep drinking alcohol and have processed meats that increase your risk, that’s for you. But this [attitude of] ‘YOLO, I’m eating pizza and wine’? Get out of here.”

Nichole claimed that alcohol can increase your risk of cancer by up to 20%, while processed meats, which include deli meats like salami, pepperoni, and even sliced ham, can increase your risk by up to 18%.

Does processed meat cause cancer?

According to Cancer Research UK, processed meat increases the risk of bowel cancer. They claim that research shows that even eating a small amount of processed meat can increase your risk, and while you’re not guaranteed to get cancer if you eat this type of food, the less you eat of it, the lower your risk.

Processed meats that carry a cancer risk include:

• Ham
• Bacon
• Corned beef
• Some sausages, like chorizo and hot dogs
• Deli meats, like salami and pepperoni

There is also a link between red meat, which includes beef, pork, lamb, and goat, and bowel cancer. However, this type of meat is classed as a probable cause of cancer, as there is less evidence than there is for processed meat.

Does alcohol cause cancer?

Alcohol can cause seven different types of cancer, according to Cancer Research UK. The charity states that while some alcoholic drinks are often thought to be “better” for you than others, all types of alcohol increase the risk of cancer as it’s the alcohol itself that causes the damage, even in small amounts.

Alcohol can damage our cells and stop cells from repairing the damage, as well as affect chemical signals which can make cells divide more often. It also makes it easier for cells in our mouth and throat to absorb harmful chemicals, all of which can increase our risk of cancer.

Types of cancer that can be caused by drinking alcohol include: breast cancer, bowel cancer, mouth cancer, liver cancer, and some types of throat cancer that affect your oesophagus, larynx, and pharynx.

For more advice and support for all types of cancer, visit the Cancer Research UK website.

Last month, Christopher Sharp lived with CarsGuides’ 2026 car of the year to find out what it was like to live with and got a major surprise

If you’re looking to buy a family sized SUV there are plenty of options out there. From the Land Rover Defender and KIA EV9 to the Mercedes G-Wagen and Volkswagen Tayronn, there are a bevvy of options for families to choose from if they want a high riding vehicle with space for them, their loved ones, and some stuff.

So how does CarsGuide’s 2026 car of the year, the Hyundai Santa Fe, fair? Full disclosure, I’ve never been the biggest fan of SUVs and have felt recently that most people would be better off buying a large estate because of the handling and fuel economy advantages. So would the Santa Fe change my mind?

The Santa Fe we had on test was the Hybrid Ultimate, 1.6T 239PS Hybrid 6AT, Automatic, 4WD. What it is in simpler terms is a large £55,895 petrol hybrid SUV with seven seats, a large boot, and some tasty optional extras.

Specifications

From a dimensional perspective the car is 4.8m long, 2.2m wide, 1.72m high. It has five doors. The boot space with the seats up is around 620litres, but with them folded flat is anywhere between 985 to 1,949litres.

Up Front

Get yourself into the driver’s seat and this is where things change a little. The car can remember what position you like to have the seat in; you can even save your position. What this means when you open the car door, the seat and steering wheel move apart. Once you’re on the seat they move into your preferred position. Sounds weird, but a good feature if you’re switching drivers.

The infotainment is a mix of haptic touch pads, screens, and dials. You spend most of your time using the touch screen to make various changes to the car. In terms of ease of use it’s decent, although adjusting the heated seats and aircon on the move is a bit of a faff with the touch pads.

The Santa Fe can come with a massive sunroof and also has a cavernous storage compartment between the driver and the passenger. However, the bottom of the middle compartment has some non-smooth material on it so best avoid putting any unwrapped sweets or chewing gum down there.

Overall, the interior is habitable and comfortable and I had no awkward bodily feelings after a long round trip to Caffeine and Machine. The journey was also a decent opportunity to have a comprehensive look inside and find out where the charging ports are. There are six, four plugged and two wireless.

In the middle and rear

The middle row of seats heated like the front, and also come with blinds to go over the side windows. Meanwhile, the rear seats, which can be folded up via toggles, have phone chargers and cup holders. However, it was pointed out to us by one owner that if you don’t use the third row very often, having aircon that the second row passengers can’t access is a bit unnecessary.

The rear seats can be pulled up using toggles on top and behind them, so they can be raised whether coming through the front or rear of the car. Before this can be done you move the second row first by pulling a lever under the second row of seats or by pushing a button on top of them. To get them back in place you reverse the process.

Aesthetics and Driving

Whilst the Hyundai may look long, big, and heavy, it doesn’t drive like that. It feels through the controls more like a small estate or a hatchback. Driving across London it was very easy to forget how big a car I was in.

Whilst you’re far from the front and rear of the car, the steering gives you very good feedback.

Meanwhile, the hybrid system is engaged in a constant dancing act between moving the car along and charging the battery. It can run on electric only mode for a while, but doesn’t stay on electric only mode for very long. There is a sport driving mode, but you’re better off leaving it in eco. However, there are terrain modes, useful for when winter comes back around.

Overall the car feels very genuine and likeable, and I think this comes from it not feeling very sporty.. Aesthetically, it replicates the cool boxy style better than Land Rover’s Defender whilst being very comfortable. On the road the cornering is very flat with a little low speed understeer.

This SUV set B roads on fire, but then again it’s family focussed so you’re not after lap times. Furthermore, the dreaded lane assist isn’t that intrusive and easy to turn off.

Conclusion

The Santa Fe isn’t perfect. The amenities of the third row of seats should be moved to the second row and the haptic touch pads should be replaced with buttons instead.

What’s more, the four cylinder engine sounds quite stretched when it’s charging the battery. There were several occasions when I was at town speeds with the battery at 50 percent, but the engine was still charging it and I thought ‘Why isn’t it waiting until the battery is at 20 percent to start charging?’.

In the grand scheme of things these are only very little problems to consider; and it has changed my mind that SUVs aren’t all leaning too much towards the S side of the acronym. If you’re looking for a capable family SUV that isn’t German or British, give this a look.

Christopher’s verdict: 7/5/10

Arthritis UK has warned the Work and Pensions Committee that people with arthritis risk missing out on benefits like PIP and Universal Credit as the state pension age increases

Experts have raised concerns about changes to the state pension qualifying rules. MPs discussed the risk of people “underclaiming” and not receiving the full range of DWP benefits they are entitled to.

From April 2026, the age at which you can begin claiming your state pension will rise from the current 66, gradually increasing to 67 by April 2028. Policy experts fear the extended wait could have a significant impact on some individuals, particularly those who have medical conditions.

The Work and Pensions Committee recently discussed the increase in the state pension age. Joe Levenson, assistant director of UK Advocacy and Health Intelligence at charity Arthritis UK, told the MPs: “Everyday, 1,200 people are diagnosed with arthritis, and we know that a significant number of them are unable to work at some stage because of arthritis.

“Around half the people tell us that they struggle to work. Arthritis has an impact on their ability to be employed. That is the context for our worries about the transition to a higher state pension age.”

He said the organisation had conducted a large survey of people with arthritis, which had some concerning findings, reports the Mirror.

Mr Levenson said: “It showed that once people were over the state pension age, they were far less likely to report struggling to get by financially, and almost twice as likely to struggle to get by financially as the cohort immediately before state pension age. I think that speaks volumes.

“It shows we are failing people, and we are worried that people who live with arthritis and many other long-term health conditions are collateral damage in the changes that we have seen, including a rise in state pension age without mitigation.”

He had some suggestions for what extra support should be offered to help people approaching retirement age.

Mr Levenson stated: “Given we know that people approaching state pension age can be at greater risk of poverty, we need to focus on income. Part of that is making sure that people are aware of existing benefits that they can claim.

“We know that there is still underclaiming. We know that that is because of a lack of awareness, but the complications in the system can also be bewildering even to the most well-informed.”

What other benefits can people with arthritis claim?

One form of assistance for individuals of working age living with arthritis is PIP (Personal Independence Payment). This can be claimed to help cover the additional costs associated with living with a long-term health condition, if it impacts either your mobility or your daily living needs.

Through this scheme, you can receive up to £749.80 every four-week pay period. If you’re on a low income, you might also be eligible for Universal Credit.

For those aged 25 and over, this provides £400.14 a month for single claimants or £628.10 for couples, at the standard rate.

Additional amounts may be available depending on your circumstances. Upon reaching state pension age, you may be eligible to apply for Pension Credit, which supplements your income to £227.10 per week for single claimants and up to £346.60 if you have a partner.

Further amounts are available on top of this, such as £82.90 per week if you have a severe disability.

If you have a health condition that affects you to the extent you need someone else to care for you, you may also qualify for Attendance Allowance, which pays £73.90 or £110.40 per week.