The epic three-way F1 title tussle at the Mexico Grand Prix … in 1964

In an extract from his new book, our Formula One correspondent tells how a race featuring Graham Hill, John Surtees and Jim Clark chimes with this year’s title fight

Formula One entered the 1964 season finale at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City with a first for the championship: three drivers representing three teams were still in the fight for the title and what a lineup they presented. Graham Hill for BRM, John Surtees for Ferrari and Jim Clark at Lotus were all in contention in one of the great deciders that, by its close, established a motor racing milestone that decades later remains unmatched.

The season had opened by defining what was expected to become the championship battle. Clark, the defending champion, and Lotus looking defiant if not quite as dominant as in 1963, fighting off the BRM of Hill and the Brabham of Dan Gurney. Clark had won three of the opening five races, while Hill and Gurney had won in Monaco and France. Surtees, however, had struggled as Ferrari had focused on its battle with Ford at Le Mans.

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Marc Guiu faces Sunderland reunion, Manchester United seek a minor three-peat and Mohamed Salah has to step up

Leeds host West Ham in a Friday night match that, even at this early stage of the season, looks very much like a quintessential relegation six-pointer. Elland Road is a wonderfully atmospheric ground but given the local traffic congestion, getting there, particularly on a Friday evening, is invariably tortuous. The prospect of exacerbating that gridlock dictates that the club’s plans to expand Elland Road to 53,000 appear in potential jeopardy. Leeds city council will make a final, delayed, decision on the project on 27 November but, with 65% of the team’s fans driving to matches, there is concern about the inevitable extra traffic chaos. The club hope to reduce the percentage of match-bound car travel to 51%, but to do that public transport needs to improve; Leeds is the biggest city in western Europe without a metro system. Cycling? Anyone familiar with the area’s topography knows it is not a realistic option for the vast majority of fans. Louise Taylor

Leeds v West Ham, Friday 8pm BST

Chelsea v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm BST

Newcastle v Fulham, Saturday 3pm BST

Manchester United v Brighton, Saturday 5.30pm BST

Brentford v Liverpool, Saturday 8pm BST

Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest, Sunday 2pm GMT

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Oscar Piastri admits Max Verstappen’s re-emergence in F1 title race is ‘bit of a surprise’

  • Piastri: ‘He’s come to the fight quicker than I expected’

  • Verstappen feels ‘positive pressure’ in chasing leaders

Oscar Piastri has admitted that the late charge into a tense, three-way Formula One title fight by the defending champion, Max Verstappen, has taken him by surprise, a position echoed by the Dutchman.

The Australian also confirmed that he and his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, go into this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix with a “clean slate”, free to race one another as the pair battle with Verstappen.

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Lionel Messi Signs New Deal with Inter Miami! Is He Now MLS’s Villain? + MLS Playoffs Preview with Kevin Egan

Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros bring on MLS 360 host Kevin Egan to discuss Lionel Messi’s new deal with Inter Miami and what it means for the future of Major League Soccer. They also preview the MLS Playoffs and share their predictions. Later, the guys react to another Champions League matchday and a hilarious moment from NBC’s Premier League coverage.

Danny Röhl off to losing start at Rangers as Brann expose deep flaws

Danny Röhl discovered Rangers’ problems run deeper than their former manager Russell Martin as they were blitzed 3-0 by Brann in Bergen. The 36-year-old German head coach was installed as Martin’s successor on Monday with Rangers sitting sixth in the Premiership and having lost their opening two games in the Europa League to Genk and Sturm Graz.

However, a new era at Rangers continued along familiar lines against a side third in the Norwegian top flight. Emil Kornvig scored five minutes before the break to give Freyr Alexandersson’s side a deserved interval lead, Jacob Sørensen added a second with Noah Holm firing in a third on a night when once again the beleaguered Light Blues performed to an embarrassingly low standard.

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Go Ahead Eagles hold on to stun Aston Villa after Buendía’s spot-kick miss

Aston Villa suffered a Europa League humbling as they were beaten by the Dutch minnows Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer. Unai Emery’s side looked on course to extend their winning streak to six matches in all competitions when they went ahead in the fourth minute through Evann Guessand. They missed a host of chances to finish the game, though, and came unstuck as goals from Mathis Suray and Mats Deijl either side of half-time gave Go Ahead Eagles a famous victory in one of the biggest games in their history.

This was an unexpected blip in Villa’s quest to finish in the top eight of the league phase as Emery plots a fifth Europa League title, and after Emiliano Buendía missed a penalty late on to get his side back on level terms the head coach lamented that his side must be more clinical from the spot. It was also a disappointing night for Jadon Sancho, who failed to make a telling impact on the second start since his loan move from Manchester United and was withdrawn in the second half.

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Lionel Messi, Inter Miami Sign 3-Year Contract Extension

Lionel Messi has signed a contract extension with Inter Miami, the MLS club announced Thursday. It is a three-year agreement through the 2028 season. No financial details were released. Messi, who turned 38 in June, originally joined Inter Miami in 2023 under a two-and-a-half-year contract worth $150 million, or $60 million per year, including a …

Pledged to the Pac-12: What Texas State Promised Its New League

Give the Bobcats this much: They are a confident breed. In its successful bid to the Pac-12 Conference, Texas State University told the league that it projected its athletics budget would grow by 33%, from $58 million to $77 million by the fiscal year 2030, while pledging not to be a “free-rider.” “We intend to …

Lionel Messi signs Inter Miami contract extension to 2028

  • Messi won MLS MVP in 2024, is favored to repeat

  • Deal will keep him in Miami for new stadium opening

Lionel Messi has signed a multi-year contract extension with Inter Miami, sealing a deal that will keep him in South Florida until the end of the 2028 season and is expected to be the last contract of his professional career.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in Miami’s announcement on Thursday, but Messi has been MLS’s highest-paid player by a distance since joining Inter Miami in the summer of 2023. His first deal paid him over $20m per year in guaranteed compensation – more the total payroll of about two-thirds of the 30-team league in 2025. His deal also includes equity in the club upon his retirement as a player.

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