A running joke, visible in front of the cameras, is playing out between Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso this season. After Verstappen only qualified ninth for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, second-placed Alonso predicted – in a routine which would be laughable if it wasn’t so accurate – that the Red Bull would slingshot past him by lap 25. In similar circumstances three races back in Saudi Arabia, wily double world champion Alonso was near-enough spot-on with the same prophecy. Except this time, it didn’t take Verstappen that long. By lap 15, Verstappen had overtaken seven sitting ducks to reach the rear of team-mate Sergio Perez. Eking out the maximum performance in his set of hard tyres, the Dutchman was in prime position to overtake Perez by the time he pitted for mediums on lap 46. Two rounds of the circuit later, Verstappen stormed clear of Perez’s valiant defence to take a statement victory. That, plus the fastest lap, handed the championship leader a perfect 26-point day. His gap to Perez is now 14 points. Aston Martin’s Alonso, in third, is 44 points behind Verstappen – the closest challenger outside the Red Bull behemoth. But it is the Constructors’ Standings which really tells the tale of this one-sided bloodbath right now. Red Bull, on 224 points out of a possible 235, are 122 points ahead of Aston Martin, a surprise success story. Mercedes and Ferrari – giants of Formula 1, the supposed title challengers – are 128 and 146 points behind Red Bull respectively. We have had just five grand prix weekends. Five. Christian Horner, gleaming under the Florida sun after a fourth Red Bull one-two in five races, simply could not help himself: “We’ve never, ever had a start like this. We’re wondering: where are the others? We’ve made a normal step over the winter. “Where did Ferrari and Mercedes go?” The gap between the RB19 and the rest is truly staggering. Excluding the Australian Grand Prix which concluded under the safety car, the amassed gap between the RB19 and the next-best car is over 1 minute and 45 seconds. 106.8 seconds, to be precise, in just four grand prix. In Miami, the gap was 26.3 seconds, still less than the 38.6 second Red Bull advantage at the season-opener in Bahrain. RED BULL’S ADVANTAGE OVER THE NEXT-BEST CAR Bahrain: 36.6 seconds Saudi Arabia: 20.7 seconds Australia: 0.1 seconds Azerbaijan: 21.2 seconds Miami: 26.3 seconds In short, Mercedes and Ferrari have never been further away from the front in the hybrid era. Last year, in what proved to be a season of double world championship glory for Red Bull, Charles Leclerc was at least winning races and challenging at the start of the campaign. By the end of 2022, Mercedes seemed to have, finally, unlocked their unique package with a one-two finish in Brazil. Yet on Sunday, Leclerc was grappling with Haas’ and Alpines in the midfield on his way to seventh. Lewis Hamilton – who only qualified 13th-fastest – had to make a late surge to leap up to P6. Perhaps the most amusing moment in the closing laps was George Russell, in a state of bewildered shock running in fourth, asking his engineer: “Who is the car ahead of Fernando on track? We’re that close to Perez?!” A simple response squashed any hope. It was simply a lapped car. “No, sorry. It’s Sargeant on track.” Ever since admitting to needing to rip up their current car philosophy in Bahrain, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has referred to the next race in Imola as a potential season benchmark, with a new upgrade highly-anticipated. Yet while Hamilton insisted he needs a “one-second upgrade”, Wolff downplayed expectations. “I don’t think we’ll get there and suddenly we’re half a second faster and in the middle of a fight,” he remarked, after a weekend in Miami when he also described the W14 car as a “nasty piece of work” and “poisonous.” Ferrari, meanwhile, do have a car capable of challenging on a Saturday, as Leclerc showed in the last race in Baku with two pole positions. Yet the contrast to raceday – a reminder to the Scuderia: when the points are won – is perplexing to all those in scarlet red. “Once again today, the significant difference between the SF-23’s performance level in qualifying and the race was clear to see,” a baffled Fred Vasseur, team principal, said. Two weeks’ time in Imola will see Ferrari’s famed legion of fans, the tifosi, turn up in their thousands. What Ferrari greets them, however, remains to be seen. Upgrades are coming for both. Mercedes – and the wider F1 fanbase, truth be told – are pinning their season hopes on this upcoming renovation. Ferrari have new parts coming too, amid a scratching of heads in Maranello. Horner did point out that Red Bull’s penalty for breaking the 2021 cost cap will affect them as the season progresses. Even more reason, he says, to get “fresh air” between Red Bull and the chasing pack right now. But he need not worry. The gap already looks near-insurmountable with 18 races to go. The title fight looks likely to be played out between his men – and even then with a now-undisputed favourite. Keep those fingers and toes crossed for Imola. Maybe the upgrades can miraculously narrow the top-tier playing field. The competitiveness of this season may just hinge on it. Read More ‘Nasty piece of work’: Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes slammed by Toto Wolff Max Verstappen claims Miami boos are due to his success: ‘They don’t like who wins’ Max Verstappen sends chilling message to rivals after Miami win: ‘I always feel unbeatable’ George Russell takes aim at ‘distracting’ razzmatazz before Miami Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton would be taking gamble by leaving Mercedes, says former rival

The Fourth of July marks Independence Day in the US. It is also a big day for hot dog lovers.

'Daisy Jones and the Six' actress Riley Keough has signed up as the new face of Chanel.

Miranda Lambert had a much lighter interaction with a concert goer recently.

Singapore’s economy fared better than initially thought in the third quarter as the government forecasts that growth may

Vikings had windows — usually only associated with medieval churches and castles — meaning Norsemen dignitaries sat in rooms lit up by apertures with glass

The World Athletics Championships has only just come to an end, but we're ready to

TL;DR: 9Now is the best free service for streaming the Cricket World Cup. Unblock and

People over 40 in England will be sent a blood test to carry out at home in a bid to reduce heart disease and obesity. Digital NHS health checks, which will also include an online health questionnaire, will be launched next spring for people aged 40 to 74. Around 15 million people will be eligible, with around one million online checks expected to be carried out over the next four years. Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Thousands of heart attacks and strokes could be prevented every year through simple health checks, which could save lives and ease pressure on the NHS. “This new digital check-up will mean people can do simple tests and get tailored advice from homes while reducing pressure on GP services.” The home blood test will check cholesterol levels with patients asked to take a blood pressure test at a pharmacy, alongside the online assessment covering details such as weight, height, diet, alcohol intake and exercise levels. Results will be made available online with help available to anyone showing early signs of issues such as diabetes or heart disease, as well as referrals to weight-loss clinics or medication. The online questionnaire will be available via phone, tablet or computer and the Government believes each check will save 20 minutes of NHS time. This could play an important role in helping people live healthier for longer and saving lives in the coming years, while reducing pressure on the NHS Professor Sir Nilesh Silemani Cardiovascular disease is the second biggest killer in England, affecting around 6.4 million people. The Government says the new digital check will help to identify 200,000 people who could benefit from the use of statins, 30,000 cases of hypertension and prevent around 400 heart attacks and strokes over the first four years. Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This initiative will help to reach more people and encourage them to get their blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked so that, where necessary, healthcare professionals can work with them to manage their condition. “This could play an important role in helping people live healthier for longer and saving lives in the coming years, while reducing pressure on the NHS.” Existing NHS health checks for people in the same age group take place face-to-face with a GP and concerns have been expressed that elderly people are not left behind if they struggle with technology. David Baines, vice chair of the Local Government Association, told The Times: “Making more digital health checks available is a useful tool to detect certain illnesses but it should be treated as an addition to, not a replacement for, a physical health check.”

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV is set for its worst month since the start of the pandemic as the backlash

Two years after being released from a Hong Kong prison, Lau Ka-tung has lost count of the times he has returned -- not as an inmate, but to offer...

The pioneering Black portrait artist Barkley L