Verstappen takes 2nd straight drivers’ title
Max Verstappen is now a two-time Formula One world champion, both titles awarded under bizarre and unprecedented circumstances long after he crossed the finish line.
The Red Bull driver won the rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday and didn’t learn he was champion until F1’s governing body penalized Charles Leclerc after the race.
“The championship obviously did not come the way this time around,” Verstappen initially said after climbing from his car following his 12th victory of the season. The Dutchman even apologized to the crowd on the track’s public address system.
Seconds later, Verstappen was told he was a two-time world champion and crew members and friends suffocated him with hugs.
“Once I crossed the line I thought: ‘It was an amazing race, good points again. But I’m not world champion yet.’”
Lopez-Chacarra wins LIV Golf-Bangkok by three strokes
Former top amateur Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra shot a final-round 69 and won the LIV Golf Invitational-Bangkok by three strokes over Patrick Reed on Sunday.
Lopez-Chacarra had a three-round, 19-under total of 197 after the storm-delayed finish on the newly opened Stonehill Golf Club course north of Bangkok.
Reed shot a closing 67 while Paul Casey (65),*
Richard Bland (68) and Sihwan Kim (68) were tied for third, four shots behind Lopez-Chacarra.
Ex-Oklahoma State player Lopez-Chacarra, who turned professional to play on the LIV series, led after the second round and was among three who led after the first.
The two-time first-team All-American was No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before he signed a three-year contract with the Saudi-backed LIV tour.
Lopez-Chacarra opened with a birdie but had back-to-back bogeys on his fourth and fifth holes to pull the field back to him. But those were his only bogeys of the tournament.
The tour heads to Saudi Arabia for next week’s
LIV Golf Invitational-Jeddah.
Djokovic wins Astana final for his 90th title
Novak Djokovic needed only 75 minutes to win his 90th tour title, overcoming third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Astana Open on Sunday.
Djokovic dominated his Greek opponent from the start, winning the first game in little more than a minute. The Serb did not face a break point in the match and hit 15 winners with only seven unforced errors.
It was the Wimbledon champion’s fourth title of the year, including Rome and Tel Aviv.
The fourth-seeded Tsitsipas, 24, who was chasing his third title of 2022 after Monte Carlo and Mallorca, saved three of five break points. He won only 42% of his second serve points in contrast to Djokovic’s 80%.