Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes would like nothing more than to end their 12 years together on a high.
However, based on recent form, there is a very real risk that their time may finish not with a bang, but with a whimper.

If things continue like they did in Brazil last weekend, where Hamilton qualified 14th and finished 10th while team-mate George Russell started on the front row and fought for the win, then there will not be much to smile about when the curtain comes down in Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton’s own verdict after the Brazilian Grand Prix was pretty damning, as he labelled the race as “crap” on Sunday night.

He added: “Yesterday [Saturday] was terrible. Today [Sunday] was terrible. Yesterday was bad. Qualifying was bad. Sprint race was bad. The car’s just been bad all weekend.”

He further fuelled intrigue about the scale of the struggles enveloping him as he delivered a cryptic message over the radio straight after the chequered flag.

“That was a disaster of a weekend, guys,” he said on the cooldown lap. “That’s the worst the car has ever been. But thank you for contributing to try, and great job to all the guys at the pitstop.

“If this is the last time I get to perform it was a shame it wasn’t great – but grateful for you.”

Some interpreted those comments as a revelation that Brazil was going to be Hamilton’s last race, although that is certainly wide of the mark.

And, although it is not clear exactly what he was referring to, his remark about the pit crew on a day when they were not actually called into action, was more likely a reference to the fact that some personnel were having their last race appearance of 2024 in Brazil due to the shuffling around of staff to cope with the intense schedule for triple headers.

The root of the problem

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

While the current performances on the track are not great, what is perhaps the biggest issue right now is that neither Mercedes nor Hamilton had an immediate answer after Brazil for what had gone wrong, despite there being some clear symptoms.

What is at play is a repeat of what he has been battling since the summer break, when his form took a big dip from that spell in July when he took two wins from three races.

Primarily, the problem appears to be about Hamilton having a lack of confidence in the car, especially its rear end.

The current generation of ground effect machinery are pretty brutal machines – running super stiff and super close to the ground – and they are not very forgiving when driving on the edge.

Some drivers are better suited to overcome an unpredictable balance, but Hamilton is finding himself put a bit more on the back foot by it.

And typically, when a driver loses faith in the rear end, it slides more – and that then compounds tyre temperature issues.

So what starts out as a small issue can quickly manifest itself into something bigger and can make two nearly identical cars vastly different in how they develop over a race stint.

As Mercedes head of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin explained this week: “It is fair to say Lewis was struggling predominantly with a lack of rear grip.

“If we look at how he had set up his car, it is not obvious where that was coming from.

“But in the sprint race, as soon as you have got less grip and you are getting the snaps of oversteer on exit, you generate more temperature. That in itself will prolong the problem.

“As with any race, we spend a lot of time digging into the data, trying to understand it, and Lewis’ engineering crew will be working with him on this issue, trying to make sure we get to the bottom of it before Vegas.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Hamilton’s struggles in finding a set-up he feels comfortable with have also not been helped much by Mercedes’ latest upgrade that arrived at the United States Grand Prix.

While it appears to have ticked all the boxes when it comes to deliver extra performance on track, there are some questions about it also adding some behavioural instability as well – as was witnessed by Hamilton’s race exit in Austin a day after George Russell’s qualifying crash.

And a particular weakness the car has, in dealing with successive low-speed corners, is something that has not been improved with the latest changes.

Shovlin added: “We have not had such good performance in the dry, but the issues that we are struggling with with this update are the same as the ones we were struggling with before.

“Where we tend to be weak, it is in the slow speed corners, particularly the ones where you have got one corner following into another. There is a lot of turning of the car, and that is a weakness that we need to work on.”

With sector two of Interlagos being pretty much all about interconnected slow corners, it was obvious that the Brazil event was going to potentially be more difficult than normal for the team.

Working on a solution

The only positive for Hamilton right now is that at least Russell’s performances show what is possible with the car.

And some forthcoming high-speed venues, especially Qatar, could help better expose the strengths of the W15 package rather than its weaknesses.

Hamilton has admitted that things are not easy right now, but there was no other option than to dig deeper with his team to try to find a way out of it before Abu Dhabi.

“Obviously, it’s devastating to have these bad races in the second half of the season,” he said. “But all I can say is, we’re trying. 

“But it’s definitely not acceptable. It’s definitely not good enough. And we have to take accountability. I have to take accountability. But I am driving.; I am doing the best with what I’ve got. 

“The car has been the worst this weekend, and I don’t know what it is. We’re going to have to find out what it is.”

That work began for Hamilton this week with some intense work at the factory to sit down with the engineers, and spend time in the simulator yesterday, to try to get some answers as to what is happening.

Las Vegas will tell us just how much those efforts have paid off.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

EUROPA LEAGUE side FC Midtjylland suffered the “worst kick-off in history” after conceding just seven seconds into the second half against FC Steaua Bucharest.

The two clubs went head-to-head in a group stage clash on Thursday.

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FCSB midfielder Florin Tanase put the hosts ahead within the opening 20 minutes in Bucharest.

And striker Daniel Birligea sealed the win after capitalising on a terrible kick-off error from Midtjylland.

The ball was passed back to goalkeeper Elias Rafn Olafsson from the centre-circle at the restart.

However, Olafsson’s attempted clearance was blocked by Birligea who ran straight through on goal.

The striker simply tapped the ball straight into an empty net from a few yards out.

Fans were left in disbelief, with one person taking to social media to write: “This might be the WORST kick-off in history…”

Another commented: “What coach actually gives the ok to starting the game like this? Madness.”

A third said: “Back to the goalie from kick off deserves this happening.”

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While a fourth simply wrote: “What on earth.”

FCSB went on to win the match 2-0, leaving them eighth in the Europa League group stage table.

Meanwhile, Midtjylland are down in 13th.

Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo 31 as the Milwaukee Bucks ended a six-game losing streak by beating Utah Jazz 123-100 on Thursday.

There were seven assists by Lillard, while Bobby Portis scored 19 points off the bench.

Lillard and Antetokounmpo – who took 16 rebounds – combined for 22 of the Bucks’ 31 points in the third quarter.

They held a 88-77 lead at the start of the fourth and were up by at least 11 points through the whole of the quarter.

Anthony Edwards scored a game-high 33 points plus eight rebounds and six assists to help the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 135-119 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Julius Randle also added 22 points and 10 rebounds as Minnesota scored 45 points in the fourth quarter to subject the Bulls to their fourth consecutive defeat.

Elsewhere, Malaki Branham and Keldon Johnson each scored 17 points off the bench as San Antonio Spurs won 118-105 against the Portland Trailblazers.

Eight players scored in double figures for San Antonio, with Zach Collins, Stephon Castle and Julian Champagnie all collecting 14 points.

It was Portland’s third loss in four games, despite Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant both adding 21 points for the visiting team.

Chris Fallica

FOX Sports Wagering Expert

You can partake in the best of both worlds while watching Week 10 of the NFL season this weekend with our free-to-play FOX Super 6 game.

How do you play? Enter the NFL Super 6 contest by predicting the correct answers to six questions before the games start for your chance at weekly cash prizes. 

All you have to do is finish in the top six to win a prize.

It really is that simple, and again, it’s free.

And if you need a little help before heading to the app to make your picks, I’ve got you covered. 

Read below for my thoughts on NFL Week 10 on FOX and the FOX Sports app.

Let’s dive into the questions and my predictions below.

1. Which RB will have the MOST RUSHING YARDS?

J.K. Dobbins, Najee Harris, Aaron Jones, Bijan Robinson

Dobbins gets the best defense in the league (except when playing the Lions) in Tennessee— the Titans are holding opponents to 269.1 yards per game. Jones and Robinson have only eclipsed 100 yards once apiece this season. Harris has three consecutive 100-yard rushing games, and he gets a Washington defense allowing 143 rushing yards per game. There’s a high chance Pittsburgh plays keep-away from Jayden Daniels and that offense, too, running the ball early and often.

Prediction: Najee Harris

2. Order the teams by who will score the MOST POINTS (highest to lowest):

Patriots, Bears, Falcons, Saints

Is Caleb Williams good? I don’t know. I think so, but he’s been really uneven. He hasn’t thrown a TD in two games. The Patriots in Chicago should be a get-right spot for Williams and the Bears — it better be. Meanwhile, the Saints fired coach Dennis Allen, and as we know, the boost that comes with a team’s coach getting fired is real.

Prediction: Saints, Bears, Falcons, Patriots

3. Which QB will have the MOST PASSING YARDS?

Patrick Mahomes, Sam Darnold, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert

Mahomes has one 300-yard passing performance this season, and he’s passed for under 200 yards twice. He just hasn’t been dominant through the air this season. Herbert gets the Titans, and they allow the fewest passing yards in the NFL. The Vikings are at Jacksonville. Let’s go with Darnold, since Jacksonville has the second-worst passing defense in the league (264.3 pass yards per game allowed).

Prediction: Sam Darnold

4. Which TE will have the MOST RECEPTIONS?

Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Evan Engram, Cade Otton

Kelce has 24 receptions in the past two weeks, including a career-high 14 in Week 9. Who saw that coming? We have to bet on Kelce, based on the fact that he proved he can still do it, and Mahomes still trusts him to do it.

Prediction: Travis Kelce

5. Order the players by who will have the MOST RECEIVING YARDS (highest to lowest):

George Pickens, Jauan Jennings, Brian Thomas Jr., Justin Jefferson

Jennings is questionable to return from injury. Assuming he plays, we can still pass on that. Pickens will catch just about anything, as will Jefferson, but I expect a lot more passing in that Vikings-Jaguars tilt. Let’s go with the best wideout in the league.

Prediction: Justin Jefferson

6. What will be the outcome of this game?

49ers win by 6 points or more OR Buccaneers win, tie or lose by 5 points or fewer

Is Christian McCaffrey playing this week? Is he not playing this week? That’s the main focus coming into this one. If he’s there, this Niners offense will be better in some fashion, even if he’s slightly limited. But McCaffrey aside, Tampa is on short rest after an overtime loss to K.C. on Monday, and S.F. is coming off a bye.

Prediction: 49ers win by 6 points or more

Tiebreaker: What will be the final score?

Prediction: 49ers 31, Bucs 23

Chris “The Bear” Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an “occasional” wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.

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CRICKET legend Ian Botham survived a terrifying fall into a crocodile- infested river when he was dragged out by his former rival Merv Hughes.

The pair, close pals since their playing days, were on a fishing trip in Australia’s Northern Territory when Botham, 68, got his flip-flops caught in a rope and tumbled into the croc-infested Moyle River.

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The stretch of water was also teeming with voracious bull sharks, which feed on scraps of meat that hungry crocs leave behind.

Moustachioed former fast bowler Merv — Botham’s nemesis in classic 1980s Ashes encounters —helped rescue his pal, who suffered heavy bruising to his torso after hitting their vessel in the fall.

Botham, nicknamed Beefy, was pulled clear before the crocs could pounce. He later joked that he was England’s version of Aussie movie hero Crocodile Dundee.

He said: “At the end of the day Crocodile Beefy survived.

“I was out of the water quicker than I went in it. Quite a few sets of eyes were having a peep at me.

“Luckily I had no time to think about what was in the water.”

Botham was made a life peer and the UK’s trade envoy to Australia in 2020. He was taking time out with 62-year-old Hughes on a four-day fishing trip.

They were crossing a stretch of water to join the fishing expedition’s mothership when Botham fell in.

He added: “The guys were brilliant. It was just one of those accidents. It was all very quick and I’m OK now.”

All-rounder Botham won five Ashes series against Australia and was knighted in 2007. But he has become a fan favourite Down Under.

Verbal “sledging” clashes between Botham and Hughes were legendary in their heyday.

The Australian paceman recalled being smashed all over the ground by Botham during one Test — and being told that the balls whacked off his deliveries could “earn frequent flyer points”.

After Botham was finally out for 138 during another Test, Hughes recalled the Englishman had once advised him to take up tennis or golf as they were better paid sports.

But Hughes went on to become one of Australia’s greatest and best-loved players and a close pal of his former rival.

Botham has been busy in Australia at business and charity events and recently joined Hughes at a chamber of commerce speaking event.

They will commentate together during Australia’s forthcoming summer of cricket, starting with the first Test against India.

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