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• More history beckons for Verstappen but fourth F1 title not fully convincing

  Despite a mid-season wobble allowing McLaren's Lando Norris to make things interesting, Max Verstappen is Formula One's drivers' champion again.

  The Red Bull driver may have only placed fifth at Saturday's Las Vegas Grand Prix, but finishing one place ahead of Norris was enough to wrap up the title with two races to spare. 

  Only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, with seven apiece, plus Juan Manuel Fangio (five) have now bettered Verstappen's four world crowns in F1 history.

  Speaking after Saturday's celebrations, Verstappen said the difficulties affecting Red Bull in 2024 – from Adrian Newey's exit to reports of tensions between team officials and his father Jos – necessitated laser-sharp levels of focus.

  "The beginning was a bit messy but I think I'm quite calm in those situations," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.

  "I think it's very difficult to disturb me with anything. I'm very focused on the racing side of things.

  "I know that when I sit in the car, I forget about everything, even positive or negative stuff. I focus on what's ahead of me and that's performance, and I drive the car as fast as I can."

  After Verstappen further cemented his place in F1 history, we run through the best Opta facts to emerge from his latest title triumph.

  An unconvincing triumph?

  Verstappen sent records tumbling with his third title triumph in 2023, winning a remarkable 19 of 22 races to smash his own record for the most victories in a single season (15 in 2022).

  This term, he has had to do things a different way. With just two races remaining in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Verstappen has eight victories to his name. Should he fail to win another race, he will be the F1 champion with the fewest victories in a season since 2012, when Sebastian Vettel only needed five race victories to triumph.

  The tight nature of the field – alongside the struggles of Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez – means there is a real chance of Red Bull finishing outside the top two in the constructors' championship standings.

  They currently have 555 points, with leaders McLaren amassing 608 and Ferrari boasting 584 in second.  

  Should Red Bull finish third, Verstappen will be the first F1 drivers' champion to not represent one of the top two teams since 1983, when Nelson Piquet triumphed despite Brabham finishing third, behind Ferrari and Renault.

  While some may argue Verstappen has benefited from not having one consistent title rival, he also deserves credit for shaking off his team's troubles to come out on top.

  The key moments

  Several key moments helped Verstappen maintain his stranglehold on the drivers' title.

  Seven wins in the first 10 races saw him fly out of the traps, including back-to-back victories in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in the opening two weeks. At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, he became just the seventh driver to surpass 100 podium finishes in F1 history. 

  He now has 111, fewer only than Hamilton (201), Schumacher (155) and Vettel (122).

  However, Verstappen failed to win from pole at Red Bull's home grand prix in Austria in June, and that race kickstarted a run of 10 without victory for the Dutchman. 

  His next win arrived in Sao Paulo in early November, and it was certainly worth the wait.

  He raced from 17th to take the spoils in a chaotic race, becoming the first driver in F1 history to win from 10 different positions on the grid. It was only the sixth time a driver has climbed at least 16 places to win a race, and the first such occasion since Kimi Raikkonen in Japan in 2005 (also 16).

  And where better to seal the title than under the bright lights of Las Vegas? 

  The F1 drivers' champion has now been crowned in the United States on nine occasions. Only Japan (13) and Italy (11) have played host to more coronations. 

  Of those nine occasions, three have taken place in the city of Las Vegas: two at the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in 1981 (Piquet) and 1982 (Keke Rosberg), and Verstappen's triumph this year.

  More history in the making?

  Verstappen's four titles have all come in succession, making him just the fifth driver to achieve that feat and the fourth to do so since the turn of the century. 

  In 2025, Verstappen will aim to become just the second driver to reign supreme for five years.

  Schumacher won five titles in a row between 2000 and 2004 while Vettel (2010-2013) and Hamilton (2017-2020) have achieved four-peats more recently. Fangio previously won four straight crowns from 1954 to 1957.

  While Hamilton's move to Ferrari and the continued development of McLaren duo Norris and Oscar Piastri should keep things competitive, few would bet against Verstappen's reign continuing. 

• Premier League MD12: Lucky winners and unlucky losers

  Pep Guardiola may have signed a new contract at Manchester City, but there was no turnaround in fortunes for the Premier League champions.

  City were humbled 4-0 by Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, losing a fifth straight game in all competitions.

  Liverpool capitalised on that result, coming from behind to beat lowly Southampton 3-2 on Sunday and moving eight points clear at the top in the process.

  Ruben Amorim made his bow as Manchester United boss in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road, while Chelsea and Arsenal are hot on Man City's heels.

  We also saw a managerial departure, with Leicester City parting ways with Steve Cooper after four league matches without a win.

  But, who were the unlucky losers, and lucky winners, from the weekend's Premier League fixtures?

  Unlucky losers: Fulham

  Man City were not the only team to ship four goals on Saturday, with Fulham also having that unwanted badge of honour following their 4-1 home loss to Wolves.

  But while Wolves were excellent on the counter and clinical when their chances came, it is fair to say Fulham were unfortunate to concede four times, given they only gave up 1.3 expected goals against (xGA).

  Indeed, Fulham and Wolves both had 10 shots, while both teams also had 23 touches in the opponents' box.

  It was a bad day at the office for Marco Silva, but he can at least take solace that the numbers suggest they were somewhat unfortunate.

  Unlucky losers: Bournemouth

  Bournemouth were beaten 2-1 by Brighton on Saturday, as the Seagulls held off their south coast rivals despite Carlos Baleba's red card.

  David Brooks pulled one back for Bournemouth late on, as Andoni Iraola's team fell short of their 1.6 xG.

  Brighton, on the other hand, accumulated just 0.9 xG, the third-lowest total of any of the 18 games to have been played across Saturday and Sunday.

  Bournemouth had 19 shots but only got five of them on target. Brighton, on the other hand, sent four of their six attempts on target.

  Lucky winners: Tottenham

  Time for some controversy...

  Spurs were brilliant against City, with James Maddison marking his 28th birthday with a first-half double before Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson got in on the act after the break.

  Yet, the metrics suggest Tottenham were fortunate to keep a clean sheet, with City - who had 23 attempts - accumulating 2.1 xG.

  That is not to say Spurs were not impressive going the other way. They finished with 2.5 xG from just nine shots, showing they created high-calibre chances.

  But should it really have been 4-0? The numbers suggest not, but then again, stats must always be used within context and should not be all we go off.

• Jaiswal, Kohli tons put India on the verge of win against Australia

  Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli bagged magnificent centuries to put India in a commanding position on day three of their first Test match against Australia in Perth. 

  India declared in a dominant position of 487-6 after Jaiswal (161) built on their 172-0 at stumps on day two and former captain Kohli (100 not out) added quick runs with his first century in 16 months coming up during the final hour. 

  The tourists then wreaked havoc with the ball in five overs before stumps as captain Jasprit Bumrah dismissed debutant Nathan McSweeney (zero) and Marnus Labuschagne (three) before nightwatchman Cummins (two) fell to Mohammed Siraj with the score at 12, as the hosts trail by 521 runs with seven wickets in hand. 

  Earlier in the Test, India had scored 150 batting first before bundling out Australia for 104 in the first innings. 

  Jaiswal resumed his innings at 90 on the third day and brought up his century in the first hour before KL Rahul departed for 77 after an opening-wicket partnership of 201. 

  The centurion fell as India's third wicket at 313-3 as Australia picked up three wickets in the space of eight runs, but Kohli reached his ton with help from Washington Sundar (29) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (38 not out) as India asserted their dominance.