Max Verstappen’s rocky relationship with “Drive to Survive” is well-documented. The three-time world champion offers very little when he’s mic’d up in front of the cameras, and even boycotted the series altogether for a time. So it might be surprising to learn that Verstappen has been getting candid on camera for years — just not for Netflix. Nick Hoedeman, who’s directed nearly a dozen documentaries about Verstappen since 2017, explained why he’s been able to paint such an intimate portrait of the Red Bull driver when other documentarians have failed.  

“We never stage anything,” Hoedeman told Motorsport. “It’s all authentic. If I don’t capture it, he’s never going to do it again. What you see is what you get.” The Dutch filmmaker, who admitted he wasn’t a fan of Formula 1 before he was tapped to work with a then-teenaged Verstappen, said it took years to build trust with him and his tight-knit inner circle. 

“It wasn’t the first day, it wasn’t even the first year, it took time for him to trust me,” Hoedeman explained. “And I think it’s a big plus that I wasn’t a fan because I really couldn’t do the job I did for the last few years if I was,” he went on. “Now Max knows that we’re not manipulating the story … and he knows that when I’m around, I’ll be there for him.” 

Max Verstappen in his early years

Photo by: ViaPlay

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The first season of “Drive to Survive” depicts an intensely-focused Verstappen in contrast with his laid-back, joke-telling Aussie teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Though their on-track rivalry was real, the two were, and remain, friends off-track. In contrast, Hoedeman said that his films only “broadcast what really happens.” 

“We’re not going to create stories,” he said. “We have a relationship that is based on trust and when I’m around he can speak freely. I’m never travelling with a big group with Max. It’s only me, or I have one DOP (director of photography) with me, so it always stays quite personal and private.” 

The collection of 11 documentaries, now available to stream in the US and the UK on ViaPlay, give fans a peek behind the scenes of his life, both at the track and at home. The 2023 release, “Anatomy of a Champion,” offers a particularly revealing portrait of a fractured family unit that eventually found its way back together, and explores the complexities of a childhood moulded by ambition. That three-part series features rare comments from Verstappen about the impact of his parents’ divorce when he was nine and his father Jos’ controversial parenting methods. He even addresses the family patriarch’s run-ins with the law and brief jail stint, along with an infamous incident where Jos left a young Max at a gas station alone, which has become baked into modern F1 folklore. 

“He’s quite open-minded [but we had to] find a way to talk about it, and find that right moment,” Hoedeman said. One such moment captured in the film was an impromptu family lunch with Max, his sister Victoria, and both parents. The touching scene, which happened naturally rather than being staged by the crew, became one of the film’s centerpieces.

“The most surprising thing about Max is that he’s just just a normal boy,” Hoedeman noted. “Everybody thinks he has the most extravagant life but he just likes being at home with his family and friends. Of course, he’s in a private jet travelling the world, but deep down inside, he’s still that five year old boy who just loves to be in a racing car.”

ALEJANDRO GARNACHO was involved in an altercation with a fan before Manchester United’s Europa League clash with PAOK.

The 20-year-old was named in the starting XI for the clash by interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, marking the third game in a row he has started under the Dutchman.

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However, while greeting fans outside of Old Trafford before the game, the Argentine was involved in a disagreement with one fan.

Garnacho generated criticism for his performance in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

And one fan saw fit to voice that opinion as Garnacho interacted with fans.

The fan could be heard saying: “Garnacho, you’ve got to pass better today, yeah please?

“Pass better today, score a goal, and work on your first touch as well.”

After signing his autograph for another fan, he was then seen turning to the fan and saying: “Why are you not playing?”

He then walked away and towards the entrance of the ground.

Reacting to the clip on social media, fans did not agree with the decision to voice their opinion there and then.

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One fan said: “That’s rude from the fan.”

A second said: “This is so disrespectful to Garnacho.”

A third added: “Idc (I don’t care) if you like someone or not sometimes you gotta show some respect, embarrassing.”

Another said: “Nah this is too far.”

Garnacho has six goals and four assists in all competitions from 16 games this season, making him the team’s top scorer.

He is one of six outfield United players to have played more than 1,000 minutes so far this season.

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and former champ Stipe Miocic are little more than a week away from squaring off, which means their training camps are starting to wind down.

Jones puts his title on the line against Miocic in the UFC 309 main event on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York (ESPN+ pay-per-view). The matchup is being hyped as an important legacy fight for both men, with Jones, who spent the vast majority of his career ruling the light heavyweight division, widely considered the greatest fighter of all time and Miocic, who holds the UFC record for consecutive heavyweight title defenses (3), widely regarded as the promotion’s greatest heavyweight of all time.

The pause, however, is that neither Jones nor Miocic has been very active in recent years.

Starting with 37-year-old Jones, he had just one fight in the past four-and-a-half years, and that was 20 months ago when he submitted Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut for vacant title at UFC 285. Jones also is coming off a torn pectoral tendon one year ago and has had multiple surgeries since then.

For Miocic, the layoff has been even longer. Now 42, Miocic hasn’t competed since being knocked out in a rematch with Francis Ngannou to lose the title on March 27, 2021 at UFC 260.

Suffice to say, it’ll be interesting to see how Jones and Miocic look when they step inside the octagon for a scheduled five-round fight. In the buildup to UFC 309, both men have offered glimpses into the late stages of their training on social media.

You can watch their videos below:     

Nov. 5: Jones cracks mitts, shows off spinning back kick

Nov. 6: Jones hits bag, works ropes, does cardio in snow

Nov. 6: Miocic works intense gym cardio

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

We have seen some amazing Premier League comebacks down the years but few can match the way Chris claimed victory in last week’s predictions.

He was trailing his guest, The Piano winner Brad Kella, by 80-20 after eight of the 10 games in week 10, and was also 50 points behind you lot, before giving himself hope with an exact score in Manchester United’s draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

After 90 minutes of Monday’s final game, Kella’s prediction of a 1-0 Brentford win looked set to give him overall victory, before Fulham’s 92nd minute equaliser saw the BBC Sport readers, who had gone for a 1-1 draw, move in front as things stood.

Chris would have finished third with either of those results but instead snatched a remarkable last-gasp win, thanks to Harry Wilson’s 97th-minute winner for the Cottagers, which gave him another exact score and 40 more points.

That meant he ended up with four correct results, including those two exact scores, and a total of 100 points.

Kella got five correct results, but with only one exact score, leaving him on 80 points, and you lot got four correct results with one exact score, to end up on 70 points.

“I have sent a box of wine around to Harry Wilson’s house to say thanks,” Chris said. “Or at least I would do if I knew where he lived.”

With more than 30 players now on full-time deals, Wales ran in tries for fun with convincing wins over Ireland, Scotland and Italy.

They rose to an all-time high world ranking of sixth and secured their place in the top tier of a new global tournament, WXV1.

But on their return to New Zealand, Wales were given a sobering reminder of the gap that exists between them and the top nations, with defeats to Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Still they insisted they wanted to play the best to be the best.

Then came the dismal 2024 Six Nations, with Wales managing just one win against Italy and earning the dreaded wooden spoon.

They qualified for WXV2 via a play-off with Spain and beat Australia for the first time in their history in a friendly at Rodney Parade as part of their preparations.

But that feat could not be repeated when it mattered in South Africa. Wales were woeful as they were outclassed by the Wallaroos and Italy, before salvaging a win against Japan.

Dana White might just be practicing the art of positive affirmation because he’s certain no matter who walks out with the heavyweight title at UFC 309, the winner will move on to face interim champion Tom Aspinall next.

The showdown between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic has been anticipated for over a year after they were booked to meet in November 2023 until a torn pectoral muscle suffered by Jones delayed the fight. In Jones’ absence, Aspinall become interim champion but White and the UFC were adamant about Jones still facing Miocic in a battle between two all-time greats.

There has been plenty of talk of Jones, Miocic or both of them possibly retiring after their fight concludes on Nov. 16, but White continues to believe that the winner won’t walk away without giving Aspinall his chance to unify the titles.

“I truly believe that whoever wins this fight, just competitively the way that these guys are wired and the reason that they’re both massive legends in the sport, they’re not going to just ride off into the sunset without settling the dispute with Tom Aspinall,” White told TNT Sports.

Aspinall has repeatedly called out Jones, who claimed a vacant heavyweight title with a quick submission of Ciryl Gane back in March 2023. In response, Jones largely scoffed at Aspinall’s demands while staying steadfast that he’s always wanted to face Miocic, who holds the record for most successful title defenses (4) at heavyweight in UFC history.

While Miocic won’t make any commitment about his future until after he fights at UFC 309, Jones has publicly hinted at his own retirement numerous times. Despite that, White believes that Jones and Miocic respect the sport enough to give Aspinall his opportunity to become an undisputed champion before hanging up the gloves.

“When you think about Jon Jones becoming the youngest champion in [UFC] history and all the things that Stipe accomplished, they were given opportunities when they were young,” White said. “I think that they will reciprocate.”

Aspinall plans on sitting cageside for the event and he’s also weighing in as the backup, although it remains to be seen if Jones or Miocic would actually agree to face him on short notice if disaster struck during fight week.

For his part, White knows that either fighter eventually taking on Aspinall would do huge business for the UFC and he’s not giving up hope on making it happen.

“People will lose their f*cking minds if either one of those fights happen,” White said. “Stipe or Jon Jones [against Tom Aspinall].”