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Like Michael Schumacher: Why George Russell is so patient

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George Russell feels ready for the world championship title – He cites Michael Schumacher as a role model for his patience – Controversial statements about Max Verstappen

George Russell sees himself as a Formula 1 driver who has what it takes to win the title. After a solid 2025 season with Mercedes, the Briton is looking to the future with confidence, having already successfully held his own against Lewis Hamilton in their three years together.

With roughly equal points but a higher number of wins, Russell has now definitively established himself as the team’s undisputed lead driver alongside rookie Kimi Antonelli.

In 2025, Russell was the only driver other than the three title contenders to win a Grand Prix. His consistent performance was instrumental in Mercedes clinching second place in the Constructors’ World Championship. In 24 races, he achieved 18 top-five finishes and only missed out on the points once, when he finished eleventh in Monaco. In addition, the Briton can boast a remarkable streak of 45 races without an accident-related retirement. When asked if this was his best season in the premier class, Russell replied: “It was definitely my most solid in terms of performance—the most consistent, the fewest mistakes. So yes, overall, it was.”

Verstappen as the “gold standard”

“I definitely know I can do it—I can keep up with the guys at the top,” said the Mercedes driver combatively. He has one rival in particular in his sights: “Max [Verstappen] is obviously the gold standard at the moment.”

“He’s the one I want to go head-to-head with. He’s the only driver in the field I’d want to be teammates with to see how competitive I am.”

So far, however, Russell has not really been able to threaten Verstappen, as the Dutchman has usually had the superior car at his disposal. Although the Silver Arrow was more often on par with Verstappen in 2025 than in previous years, it was mostly not enough to pose a serious challenge.

Schumacher as a role model for patience

Russell, who is preparing for his eighth Formula 1 season and his fifth with Mercedes, draws inspiration from Michael Schumacher. Schumacher managed to build a successful team at Ferrari and won the title in his fifth season at Maranello. This marked the beginning of a series of five world championships that followed the setbacks of 1996 to 1999.

“I always remember Schumacher at Ferrari, that it took five years with the team before the first championship came,” adds Russell. “People only remember the glory years, but the majority forget those four years without a title.”

This perspective also helps him put his own results into perspective. “And whether I finish second in the championship or 20th, it’s honestly almost the same thing. You don’t win, and that was also a learning process for me, coming from Williams, where I was at the back every weekend.”

“That was so frustrating, but now I’m in this position and still not fighting for the championship. It’s not really that different, if that makes sense,“ Russell explains his philosophy. ”Either you’re fighting for the championship or you’re not, and if you’re not, no one ever wants to fight for second place.“

His conclusion is therefore: ”I’m ready for it, but I know my time will come—I have to be patient.”

Verstappen raves about Antonelli’s development: “That’s really impressive.”

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli impressed with strong performances at the end of the season and received high praise from none other than Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen has expressly praised Formula 1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli after his strong performances in the second half of the season. One race in particular stuck in his mind: the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

There, the Mercedes rookie caused a stir when he made a strong comeback from 17th on the grid to finish fourth. Although he initially dropped back to fifth place due to a five-second penalty for a false start, he moved back up to third after the McLaren drivers were disqualified. After the race, there was a brief exchange with winner Max Verstappen, who gave Antonelli a thumbs up after Antonelli told him about his finishing position.

Verstappen impressed, but not surprised

When asked about this moment, the Red Bull driver admitted in retrospect: “I was obviously focused on my own race, and it was really just between me, Lando [Norris], and George [Russell] for the win, so I didn’t really pay much attention to what was happening behind me.”

But his respect was all the greater when he heard about Antonelli’s performance: “When he told me that, I just thought, ‘Wow, that’s really strong.’ And then I also saw how he managed to keep the tires alive. He had an incredible stint, even compared to George in the same car.”

Verstappen particularly emphasizes that Antonelli achieved these results on tracks that were new to him: “He really performed very well, and that on tracks he didn’t know before. In my opinion, that’s even more impressive.”

However, the fact that Antonelli can reach this level comes as no surprise to the four-time world champion: “Personally, I wasn’t too surprised that he managed it. You just have to let it happen, not overdo it or force it too much. Maybe that’s exactly what happened earlier in the season.”

A look back at the Antonelli duel in Brazil

Antonelli’s first year in Formula 1 was anything but straightforward. The Italian got off to a strong start in the 2025 season, scoring points in five of the first six races and adding a sprint pole in Miami. This was followed by a difficult phase.

In seven races, he only managed one more top result: third place in Canada. His enormous potential flashed through time and again, but unnecessary mistakes set the Italian back, including a crash in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix. However, Antonelli stabilized significantly towards the end of the season, with two podium finishes in the last three races. And so Verstappen’s conclusion is thoroughly positive: “I’m happy for him. It’s great to see, and I hope it continues.”

There are certainly parallels between Verstappen and Antonelli. Both entered Formula 1 as teenagers and impressed early on with their sheer speed, which was initially accompanied by mistakes. This explains why Verstappen repeatedly supported Antonelli in difficult moments.

On the track, the two fought an intense battle in Brazil. Verstappen put Antonelli under pressure in the final stages, but the Italian defended himself successfully. “Of course, I tried everything to get past him, to put him under pressure, but I would say I was one lap short,” said Verstappen.

But that’s exactly what he takes as an opportunity to once again emphasize the strength of his young opponent: “That’s racing. You can’t say you needed an extra lap. But that was another very strong performance from him.”

Sabalenka stands no chance against Kyrgios

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Nick Kyrgios wins the battle of the sexes in Dubai against Aryna Sabalenka in two sets.

Tennis eccentric Nick Kyrgios clearly won an exhibition match against Aryna Sabalenka with the historically charged title “Battle of the Sexes.” The former Wimbledon finalist, who has recently been more of an influencer than a tennis pro due to health setbacks, defeated the number one women’s tennis player in Dubai 6-3, 6-3.

Belarusian Sabalenka (27), one of the most powerful players in the world, had no real chance against the world number 671 in just over an hour. Kyrgios played the balls rather loosely into his opponent’s nine percent smaller court at times, occasionally fooling around or praising Sabalenka for her strong serves.

The second serve was prohibited in this gender comparison, as this adjustment was also intended to give the anatomically disadvantaged woman a better chance. Ultimately, Sabalenka managed a few good winning shots and breaks, but she never came close to victory.

Sabalenka: “I gave him a tough fight.”

“I gave him a tough fight. You could see that he was getting tired. Next time, I’ll know his tactics, strengths, and weaknesses,” explained four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka after the match. Kyrgios, once ranked 13th in the world, spoke of a “really tough match. I’m not surprised. She broke my serve several times. I’d like to play her again. It was a spectacle, a big step forward for tennis.”

The matchup was not least due to the fact that the two opponents are represented by the same management agency – which is another reason why the serious background of the first editions was missing. “It’s not the same,” the great Billie Jean King, now 82, recently told the BBC: “For us, it was about social change, culturally speaking, where we stood in 1973. Not so with this match.”

She knew at the time that she “had to beat” the then 55-year-old chauvinist Riggs – after he had demolished her great rival Margaret Court in the first “Battle of the Sexes” months earlier and mocked women’s tennis.

On Sunday, the show took center stage. The protagonists entered the 17,000-capacity arena in Dubai like boxers to loud music, with Sabalenka wearing a glittering silver coat to the sounds of “Eye of the Tiger.” Internet personalities and soccer legends such as Ronaldo and Kaka sat in the front row. During a timeout, Sabalenka danced the Macarena.

Will WWE’s year start with a bang?

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Living wrestling legend Chris Jericho could return to WWE from rival AEW sooner than expected.

For months, the wrestling world has been speculating about a possible comeback by living legend Chris Jericho to WWE—could it happen sooner than many think?

Several usually well-informed reporters are reporting that “Y2J” could be back at his old stomping ground very soon after six years with rival AEW—even before the Royal Rumble.

WWE: Chris Jericho back for the first RAW of 2026?

As reported by journalist Alex McCarthy of Wrestling Intel, Jericho’s AEW contract expires at midnight between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day 2026. Accordingly, WWE is considering bringing Jericho back for the first episode of the TV show Monday Night RAW in the new year – that is, on the night of January 5 to 6. In line with this, Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated also reports that, according to his sources, Jericho is likely to “appear on WWE TV very soon.”

Jericho himself once again remained tight-lipped during a recent YouTube appearance – which he has to do in view of his ongoing AEW contract: “You never know, you never know,” he explained ambiguously in response to a viewer’s question.

Last hurrah at his old stomping ground?

Jericho was active with WWE for almost two decades between 1999 and 2017 before surprising the wrestling world in 2018 by letting his contract there expire, competing in several major matches with NJPW in Japan, and then joining the newly founded AEW promotion in early 2019.

“Y2J,” who turns 55 in November, played a key role at AEW and cemented his own legacy with his late reinvention. Known for his creative energy, Jericho was also heavily involved behind the scenes and was said to have a large power base.

In the recent past, Jericho’s star had faded somewhat: fans increasingly criticized his ring performances as he grew older, and rumors of alleged misconduct behind the scenes also weighed on his reputation – resulting in unusually negative reactions to him, even when he was still a fan favorite. Jericho, also known as the singer of the rock band Fozzy, was ironically one of those who had come into conflict with CM Punk, who has since returned to WWE.

At AEW, Jericho was most recently the leader of The Learning Tree group with Big Bill (formerly Big Cass at WWE) and Bryan Keith, but since April he had not been seen on TV following a staged feud with his two allies. In August, he began to fuel speculation about a move to WWE with subtle signals.

The most famous wrestling reporter, Dave Meltzer, recently reported in his Wrestling Observer about WWE’s plans to write a big retirement story for Jericho in the event of a comeback.

Joker Watkins turns the game around: Aston Villa wins at Chelsea

Thanks to substitute Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa turned the top match at Chelsea FC around after a weak first half and remains close on the heels of ManCity and leaders Arsenal. It is the Villans’ eleventh (!) competitive win in a row.

Villa had won ten competitive games in a row before Christmas (seven of them in the league). Coach Unai Emery made two changes after the 2-1 win over Manchester United, bringing in former Bundesliga pros Malen and Buendia for Onana and Watkins (both on the bench) in the starting lineup.

Enzo Maresca also made two changes: Compared to the 2-2 draw at Newcastle, Fernandez and Badiashile replaced Gusto and Fofana on the bench.

Set piece leads to long-awaited opening goal

The hosts dominated the opening minutes, with Palmer having the first big chance (3′). Villa could hardly get out of their own half and had little more than a quarter of possession. After a brief, somewhat quieter phase of play, the lead was in the air in the 18th minute: Garnacho passed to Fernandez, who curled the ball just wide of the right post.

The passive Villans continued to struggle to get out of their own half, and Chelsea were unable to capitalize on their clear superiority despite some good chances. Martinez was on hand to deny Joao Pedro at the near post (25′), and a few minutes later James fired the ball just wide of the left post after a header from Pedro Neto (34′).

So it took a set piece to give Chelsea the deserved lead. James lifted the ball sharply in front of goal, and Joao Pedro deflected the cross slightly with his right calf (37′). Shortly afterwards, Palmer failed to beat Martinez from distance (42′), and the Blues went into the break with a narrow but thoroughly deserved 1-0 lead and 10-0 shots on goal.

Villa turns it around after triple substitution

After the break, Emery made no changes despite his team’s poor performance, and the picture remained unchanged at first. Maatsen was lucky that referee Attwell did not award a penalty after his clear handball (47′). A 2-0 lead was in the air at this point, but first McGinn saved from Garnacho, who was ready to shoot (53′), before Martinez was alert against James (55′).

However, Emery’s triple substitution after almost an hour turned the tide. Out of nowhere, Kamara almost equalized, but two minutes later, substitute Watkins scored with a bit of luck (63′).

The momentum was clearly with the visitors after that, and Chelsea had Sanchez to thank for not suddenly finding themselves behind. The goalkeeper was first on hand against Maatsen (67′) and then against Watkins (70′). Rogers also missed the chance to make it 2-1 (74′).

Watkins scores twice

Shortly afterwards, the Villans turned the game around – thanks to Watkins, of course. The Englishman rose higher than Gusto to meet Tielemans’ corner and headed home to make it 2-1 (84′). The Blues had defended the corner poorly. In the closing stages, the hosts threw everything forward, but it remained the Villans’ eleventh competitive win in a row, keeping them hot on the heels of Man City and leaders Arsenal. Chelsea, on the other hand, slipped out of the Champions League places as a result of the defeat.
Both teams have one more game to play this year. The Blues play Bournemouth on Tuesday (8:30 p.m.). Aston Villa are away to another top London team on the same day (9:15 p.m.), this time Arsenal.

Hat trick by Schade secures Brentford victory over Bournemouth

Thanks to a hat trick by Kevin Schade, Brentford FC won 4-1 against Bournemouth. Even a backheel goal by Antoine Semenyo couldn’t turn the game around.

After three league games without a win and a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the League Cup, Brentford celebrated another victory last Saturday with a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton. As against the Wolves, former Bochum player Janelt and former Freiburg player Schade started for the Bees against Bournemouth after the short Christmas break.

Curious own goal by Petrovic

The speedy winger was immediately in the spotlight: sent through on goal by Igor Thiago from his own half, Schade beat his remaining opponent Diakité and scored his fourth goal of the season past keeper Petrovic to give his side a 1-0 lead (7′).

Bournemouth’s uncertainty from their recent run of eight consecutive league games without a win was palpable. The Cherries were completely out of sorts and launched one attack after another. Three minutes after Schade’s goal, Igor Thiago missed an almost identical opportunity (11th minute), and shortly afterwards Schade had a double chance to score twice – first Cook blocked, then his follow-up shot lacked power (17th minute).

Brentford left too much out on the pitch during this phase, and the visitors were able to stabilize themselves again. The game flattened out, with neither side creating any chances in front of goal. The home side’s second goal was more of a fluke: Diakité tried to clear a double-deflected shot from Igor Thiago off the line, but ended up hitting keeper Petrovic and sending the ball into the net (39′).

Semenyo makes it exciting again

The home side also got off to a better start after the break, with Schade striking again: the five-time German international initiated a counterattack himself and finished with a spectacular outside-of-the-foot shot to make it 3-0 (51′).

But after a triple substitution at half-time, the Cherries also improved their game. Substitutes Brooks and Evanilson forced Kelleher into his first saves (54th, 67th), before former Leipzig player Kluivert headed a corner onto the post and the rebound wide of the goal (67th). Semenyo finally rewarded Bournemouth, pushing a deflected shot from Jimenez over the line with his heel (75′).

Miss of the year by Lewis-Potter?

Suddenly, the game was tense again. After a mistake by Kelleher, Kluivert aimed at the empty goal, but Kayode cleared off the line (78′). At the other end, Schade rounded goalkeeper Petrovic in front of the penalty area, but Scott stopped his shot in front of the empty goal (79′). Lewis-Potter then provided a moment worthy of the year in review: after a brilliant save by Petrovic, who palmed a deflected Janelt shot onto the post, the 24-year-old headed wide of an empty goal from four meters out (86′).

The final word in the game, as in 2025 – Brentford will not face Tottenham again until New Year’s Day (9 p.m.) – Schade then scored again. The speedy winger headed a Damsgaard cross over the line (90+6) to complete his hat trick. Thanks to their commanding victory over Bournemouth, the Bees can now set their sights on European places again in the new year.

The save of the season? Arteta even raves about his “angle”

Arsenal FC still leads the Premier League ahead of the top match against the team of the moment. This was mainly thanks to a memorable flying save on Saturday.

It was the 77th minute in a packed Emirates Stadium. Brighton were putting the favorites under pressure when substitute Yankuba Minteh got a shot away from the right side of the box. Coach Fabian Hürzeler may have already seen the attacker’s curling shot in the back of the net, but Arsenal keeper David Raya pulled off a special save with his fingertips to prevent the goal.

Arsenal held on to their narrow 2-1 home win and successfully repelled Manchester City’s next attack. “It was sensational,” coach Mikel Arteta said of Raya’s feat afterwards on Sky Sports, raving: “I had a great angle on the scene. That’s what we need from our players. We need this kind of performance at key moments.“

To finally become champions again in the end. Then people might also talk about Raya’s save, which TV expert Alan Shearer praised as ”one of the best you’ll see this season.”

Arsenal would have been very annoyed to drop points, though. After all, the Gunners had dominated large parts of the game and recorded a total of 15 shots on goal. Brighton’s first shot on Raya’s goal came after the break.

In “survival mode” for six months

Arteta was therefore frustrated with the narrow lead, which “should have been much bigger.” “That was much more difficult for Arsenal than it should have been,” Shearer agreed. A double substitution at half-time by Hürzeler, which Arteta had praised in advance, changed the dynamics of the game.

But Arsenal managed to overcome this challenge as well. For six months now, the Londoners have been in “survival mode” due to ongoing injury concerns, but this has only served to “weld them together” even more, as Arteta emphasized. Arteta is dismissing Manchester City’s ongoing pressure: “We can only control what we do. We are doing a lot of good things, which I think we also need to improve on.“ Preferably by Tuesday, when Aston Villa, the team of the moment, comes to the Emirates. Birmingham’s eleven consecutive competitive wins make Arsenal’s five look almost ”meager.”

 

 

No victory like any other: What reminds Guardiola of Bayern and Barcelona

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Manchester City is keeping the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal. On Saturday, they even won a game that, according to Pep Guardiola, the Skyblues would definitely have lost last season.

Manchester City racked up eight competitive wins in a row with a hard-fought away victory at Nottingham Forest. The dominant force in recent league history has now picked up 24 out of a possible 27 Premier League points.

It was anything but a classic City victory—and yet Pep Guardiola seemed somehow more satisfied than usual. “It’s more important how you suffer, how you defend, accept that you’re not playing well and can be better,” the Catalan enthused after the hard-fought victory. “We would definitely have lost a game like this last season.”

At the same point last season, City were already 14 points behind leaders Liverpool with six defeats. A year later, they have 13 wins, just one draw and four defeats – and are only two points behind leaders Arsenal, who can feel Guardiola’s team breathing down their necks.

Hart: “A performance that wins championships”

His team had “wanted to achieve such a dirty victory for a long time.” At City Ground, the time had finally come. “It’s only three points, but especially given the quality of the opponent, they are three important points,” emphasized Guardiola, who praised his counterpart Sean Dyche for doing a great job. “And a few months ago, this team was still fighting for the Champions League.”

Former City keeper Joe Hart was also impressed, telling TNT Sports: “Look at how they celebrated – they know they’ve had a tough afternoon. It was a tough battle, but also a performance that wins championships. When your back is against the wall, you find a way.“

Guardiola was reminded of his previous coaching positions in Nottingham. ”When we won many titles at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, there were many games like this,” said the 54-year-old: “The body language, the connection between us and the fans—they love the goalkeepers and the strikers because they feel that the team wants to succeed, that they want to fight for each other. The fans accept poor performances, but if you don’t give your heart and soul and commitment to the people who love the club more than we do ourselves…”

Tijjani Reijnders, who once again shone as a goalscorer, had “felt” the expected difficulty of the task. At the same time, he sent a message to leaders Arsenal with the telling words: “It’s a very important win—because we’re on the hunt.”

Technical chaos in Mannheim: Heidelberg vs. Bonn started 45 minutes late

Chaos in Mannheim. The game between MLP Academics Heidelberg and Telekom Baskets Bonn could only start 45 minutes late due to technical problems.

It keeps happening in the big arenas. After problems with the shot clock during the game between Telekom Baskets Bonn and FC Bayern Munich, the same thing happened again in Mannheim, where the Academics played this time.

However, the problems were greater this time, as not only the shot clock but also the game clock was not working. Even mobile shot clocks at the edge of the court did not provide a solution. So a small scoreboard with a clock and foul display was placed on the scorer’s table. There was no shot clock, so instead it was announced manually. By the second quarter, a working shot clock was finally in place on the court.

It took 45 minutes before the game could begin. At tip-off, Bonn formally protested the game’s score, as the host had failed to guarantee the proper conduct of the game within 30 minutes. This was also confirmed by Bonn’s sporting director Savo Milovic during the half-time break at Dyn. However, Bonn will not be able to maintain this, as they easily won the game 100-67. In the event of a defeat, Bonn would probably have a good chance of winning the game on the green table.

Haas driver Oliver Bearman explains: This mental trick changed everything

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Oliver Bearman beat Esteban Ocon – The Haas driver explains why he was suddenly so strong after the summer break and what he changed mentally

Oliver Bearman attributes his significant improvement in performance during the 2025 Formula 1 season to a change in his approach to race weekends. The Haas rookie finished his debut season in 13th place overall, two places ahead of his teammate, Grand Prix winner Esteban Ocon.

The main factor in this development was the better results the Brit achieved after the summer break. Starting with the Dutch Grand Prix, he finished in the points six times. A highlight was his fourth place at the Mexican Grand Prix, where he was even fighting for a podium spot for a long time.

This positive development stands in stark contrast to the first half of the season, in which Bearman failed to score points in nine consecutive races. Although an underbody upgrade in Austin helped improve the situation, Bearman believes the reasons for the turnaround run deeper.

“Since the summer break, I’ve tried to give my weekends a little more structure and adjust my approach,” explains the 20-year-old. “I often invested too much time.”

“This is also related to the fact that the car has become faster. Before the summer break, when we knew it would be a struggle to even get out of Q1, I thought about it all the time: How can I improve my driving? How can I optimize the setup to find that half-tenth?”

Focus on mental preparation

“I spent absolutely no time thinking about where I was mentally before getting into the car or setting goals for each session,” Bearman analyzes. “Now I just make sure that I stop working on the setup, driving style, and all those things half an hour before the session so I can focus fully on my mental side. That has proven to be quite useful.”

However, these learning processes are simply part of the development of a Formula 1 rookie. To make progress, a driver has to go through such difficult periods. “In the first half of the season, I finished eleventh four or five times in a row, so it’s not like I did a terrible job,” says Bearman when asked how the season would have gone if he had taken the new approach from the start.

“There was definitely a lack of consistency, but the only way to know what to do is to make those mistakes. It’s easy to say I could go back and apply that process earlier, but I’m saying that now as a second-year driver,” he adds, referring to his three Grand Prix starts in 2024.

“That’s the real difference. There are many changes I would have made, many things I would have done differently. But how can you do that without knowing what works and what doesn’t?”

Mistakes as part of the learning process

For Bearman, one thing is clear: “The first half of the season is purely for exploration, and it has to be that way because you have to find out what works for you. Formula 1 is a completely different sport from anything I’ve done in my life so far.”

“Of course, I would have changed things, but it’s not that easy to know that in advance. You have to make mistakes to learn from them, and that was basically the story of this season.”

Thanks to this progress, he takes a very positive view of the year and sees himself well equipped for a long career in Formula 1.

Bearman looks back with satisfaction

“I’m happy with it,” sums up the Brit. “That’s not to say I’m a perfect and finished driver, because I still have a lot to learn, and I’m aware of that.”

“But I think that awareness is also very important. I feel like I’m in a good place right now. The structure I’ve brought to my weekends has really worked.“

”I feel like I’ve found some momentum and rhythm,” said the 20-year-old. “I think rhythm is a very powerful thing in this sport. It’s not just one thing that has changed. It’s also a result of the experience I’ve gained in the sport. Being in race 21—or whatever race we’re in now, I’ve lost count—is also a big factor.”