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• Max Verstappen says Lewis Hamilton title fight ‘would be great for the sport’

  Max Verstappen said he would welcome the challenge of an “amazing” championship rematch with Lewis Hamilton.

  Verstappen raced to a crushing victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday following yet another one-sided display in his dominant Red Bull machine.

  Hamilton finished runner-up to Verstappen with George Russell third in the other Mercedes.

  Verstappen has won five of the opening seven rounds to establish a commanding 53-point title lead over team-mate Sergio Perez.

  But Mercedes’ upturn in form at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya has provided Hamilton with renewed hope that his dream of a record eighth world title is not over.

  Hamilton, who has not won a race since his contentious championship defeat to Verstappen at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, said in Barcelona that he would continue in Formula One for as long as possible in order to fight Verstappen for the title again.

  Verstappen is on course to race to a hat-trick of titles this season, but when asked how excited he would be about the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Hamilton next year, Verstappen replied: “It would be great for the sport.

  “If there are more teams fighting upfront, and that is what they want to achieve, then honestly that would be amazing.

  “Hopefully throughout the year it will get closer, and maybe next year there will be more teams up there.”

  Hamilton has only six months to run on his Mercedes contract and the British driver, 38, met with team principal Toto Wolff on Monday in the hope of rubber-stamping a new deal.

  The meeting is understood to be one of a series of discussions between Hamilton and Wolff, and not thought to be a definitive moment in negotiations.

  It is anticipated that Hamilton’s extension will be a multi-year deal, extending Hamilton’s stay in F1 beyond his 40th birthday.

  “I am focused on making sure we have the car next year to challenge Red Bull from day one,” said Hamilton, who is already 83 points behind Verstappen in the standings.

  “I am working as hard as I can with this team and I see so much strength with the team. They are still so hungry.

  “These guys will take two seconds to enjoy themselves on Sunday and then they will be back in the books trying to figure out how we can win the next race and that is what I love about them.”

• Milan 3-1 Hellas Verona: Leao double condemns visitors to Serie A relegation play-off

  Milan signed off the Serie A season with a 3-1 victory as Rafael Leao's double condemned Hellas Verona to a relegation play-off with Spezia.

  The Rossoneri wrapped up a frustrating campaign on a winning note at San Siro, with a late Leao brace enough to seal three points.

  Milan had already secured Champions League football for another term but struggled at times against the visitors, who cancelled out Olivier Giroud's first-half penalty through Marco Faraoni's 72nd-minute strike.

  Yet Leao struck in the 85th minute and again seven minutes later, leaving Verona to face a relegation decider with Spezia, who succumbed to a late 2-1 loss at Roma.

   

• Udinese 0-1 Juventus: Chiesa strikes but Bianconeri miss out on top-six Serie A finish

  Juventus missed the chance to finish sixth in Serie A despite Federico Chiesa's strike sealing a 1-0 victory over Udinese at Dacia Arena.

  After Paulo Dybala's late penalty helped Roma to a 2-1 victory over Spezia, Massimiliano Allegri's side were unable to leapfrog the Giallorossi and were forced to settle for a seventh-place finish in the league.

  Chiesa's second-half strike was the difference for Juve, who were deducted 10 points for violating financial rules earlier in a rollercoaster campaign, but they suffered their lowest finish in Serie A for 12 years.

  Meanwhile, Udinese finished 12th in Serie A following their 10th defeat in 12 meetings with the Old Lady. 

  Udinese had lost their last three but went close after just four minutes when Beto somehow headed Florian Thauvin's cross over from inside the six-yard box.

  Federico Chiesa’s deflected effort hit the side-netting before Juve saw a headed opportunity go begging as Leonardo Bonucci nodded against the crossbar from seven yards out following Arkadiusz Milik's flick-on.

  Chiesa continued to cause Udinese problems down the left flank, yet the sides headed into half-time goalless after a profligate showing from both teams.

  Juve squandered a great chance to break the deadlock just after the hour mark, Adrien Rabiot firing wide despite being found by Milik in acres of space inside the box.

  But the visitors eventually opened the scoring in the 68th minute, Chiesa receiving the ball from Manuel Locatelli before bending a brilliant shot into the bottom-right corner.

  Locatelli and Angel Di Maria went close to extending the advantage and though the single goal was enough, former Juve forward Dybala was to snatch sixth place for Roma from under his old club's nose.