Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who left Renault during the 2017 season, has joined the BBC team to offer insight and analysis from the point of view of the competitors.

Max Verstappen is showing exactly why he’s tipped as a future champion at the moment.

His drive in Brazil was stunning yet again, and it comes off the back of his drives to second from 18th on the grid in the US Grand Prix, and of course his dominant win in Mexico.

The Dutchman has always been quick, but now he is cutting out his mistakes and racing with much better judgement than earlier in the year.

He would have had two wins on the bounce had it not been for one of the most brainless acts of driving I’ve seen in a long time in Formula 1, from Force India’s Esteban Ocon.

Ocon is super-talented, and it’s a real shame he’s not going to be on the grid in 2019, but his collision with Verstappen put a real taint on his driving skill.

He’s had his fair share of incidents, mainly with his team-mate, and that’s been a focal point of his career – and one of the reported reasons Mercedes were reluctant to promote him to their team for next year was because they were worried about team harmony.

His move on Verstappen on Sunday was just plain wrong.

Ocon unlapping himself was pointless

Drivers are allowed to unlap themselves in F1, but they have to do it cleanly.

The sporting regulations dictate total respect for the race leaders’ battles – the rule that they can only see three blue flags before letting a leader by is a good example.

It should have been obvious to Ocon that he should not compromise the leaders’ pace when at the back of the field by scrapping as he took advantage of a brief new-tyre performance peak.

For that reason, the FIA was right to give Ocon a 10-second stop-go penalty – he didn’t just compromise the lead battle margin; he lost Verstappen a win by hitting him!

Hamilton was the man to profit from the clash to pick up yet another win, and, as you would expect, he was quick to defend Ocon after the race.

Ocon is a Mercedes young driver, has worked closely with Hamilton and probably will again next year.

Hamilton argued to Verstappen that “you had more to lose than him”, and yes, of course, in hindsight Verstappen may have thought he should have let Ocon go through, or at least left the door open to him at Turn Two.

But Verstappen was also right when he said: “You can’t crash into the leader.” And I’m sure Hamilton would have felt very differently if it was him having to defend and then getting turned around by a back marker.

Any pass would have been short-lived

It’s not like Verstappen was going slowly and significantly holding Ocon up. He was lapping pretty much as quickly as anybody else on track.

OK, Ocon was briefly quicker. Midfielders can do that on fresh tyres. But after one or two quick laps, they have to get into their own race-management mode, saving a bit of tyres, fuel, energy on the battery, and their pace drops back to a more normal midfield level.

Had Ocon passed Verstappen, he would have had to let him by again a lap or two later. That would have cost Verstappen time at a point in the race when Hamilton was just a couple of seconds back from him.

When you have someone as successful as Hamilton fighting you for the win, you don’t need to be messing around with a backmarker. It gives Hamilton a sniff of victory he shouldn’t have.

As for Ocon, he was down in 14th place. His chances of even a single point were looking very slim. He was 10 seconds down on his team-mate Sergio Perez before they pitted, with two cars in between. Perez went on to claim that final point. It’s hard to envisage Ocon would have beaten him.

Not only that, but if Ocon was thinking of trying to catch Carlos Sainz’s Renault in 13th a tiny bit quicker, tucking in behind the race leader was a more effective way to do it than battling with him before having to mess about letting him by again a couple of laps later.

Move showed no respect

Would Ocon have pulled the same move on Hamilton? No chance.

Would he have pulled the same move on Vettel? I doubt it.

This was a move of frustration from a man who was big rivals with Verstappen in the 2014 Formula 3 season. He beat Verstappen to the title, yet it is Verstappen who is having all the success in F1 right now, and Ocon who is almost certainly out of a seat at the end of the year.

The frustration must have built up and there was zero respect shown for his rival.

He wouldn’t have pulled the move on Hamilton because of Mercedes politics. He absolutely knew it would compromise the race leader’s race. If it was Hamilton, he would have just kept his head down behind him.

With Vettel, I think there would have been a level of respect for a four-time world champion, and one of the senior drivers.

With Verstappen, none of that applied. No respect. Just foolhardy driving.

Verstappen deserved to win the grand prix. It was a thriller of a race and it is rare to see someone lead (or win) the race from fifth on the grid, having genuinely overtaken all of his rivals on the track.

Strategy helped in his pass of Hamilton for the lead because he pitted later, but he passed the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas fair and square into Turn One, and he overtook both Ferraris without the help from DRS overtaking aid as well, which is great to see (Vettel also had DRS on Bottas when Verstappen passed him so the advantage was negated).

Punishing Verstappen is silly

Verstappen’s reaction after the race was understandable. He was rightly livid. He saw Ocon before heading to the podium and pushed him three times.

Verstappen picked up a two-day public service penalty from the FIA, which is silly.

People want to see drivers’ emotions. This is the stuff of legend. Nelson Piquet karate-kicked and punched Eliseo Salazar in Germany in 1982 for a similar incident. Ayrton Senna came swinging at Eddie Irvine in Japan in 1993, when Irvine had unlapped himself on the Brazilian and given a cocky response when Senna went to talk to him about it.

Verstappen didn’t physically harm Ocon. Sure, he pushed him a bit, but Ocon is a grown man. In a world where everyone claims the drivers’ emotions and passions are being contained, Verstappen let it out and got punished for it.

If there was any legitimate threat to Ocon’s wellbeing, then of course it would be unacceptable. But what Verstappen did was only the same as you usually get in football or rugby matches and is rarely punished. I can barely remember an incident when someone even got a yellow for a push.

Yet in F1, after one of the most controversial moments in recent times, it is deemed totally unacceptable.

I’ve been in Verstappen’s shoes. I was taken out by a back marker in my GP2 days in my home race at Silverstone.

It wasn’t F1 and I wasn’t leading the race, but the frustration is through the roof when something like that happens. I also confronted the aggressor after the race and let him know my thoughts in no uncertain terms.

Unlike Max I didn’t push him, but I did nonetheless pick up a hefty fine.

Vettel’s qualifying anger was understandable

There was another, unrelated, incident of passion in Brazil. Vettel picked up a reprimand and €25,000 (£21,770) fine for driving off the weighing scales after being angered by being held back in second qualifying on Saturday with rain approaching.

To the outside world, this seems impetuous and, sure enough, everyone was quick to criticise Vettel for his outburst and actions. But the keyboard warriors sat in front of their TVs have no clue what it is like driving, under the helmet, in the heat of battle with millions at stake, and millions watching, quick to judge.

I could completely see where Vettel was coming from and his former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo agreed. Time was critical with rain approaching, and he should never have been called to the weigh bridge, as he had not set a lap time.

When everyone around was dawdling, paying no attention to the time pressures at play, that would be immensely frustrating. Vettel’s qualifying nearly turned to disaster through no fault of his own. I’ve been there before and it’s an agonising wait.

This is F1. This is sport. Passions run high. Let’s not tame everything even further than it already is. As Vettel’s former team-mate Mark Webber said, we want to see gladiators, not choir boys.

Image: crayola

Over the past few years, Crayola has been pairing traditional creative experiences with digital apps.

Now, the handicraft company is launching a new initiative that brings a bit of the real creative world into the digital one, melding the look and feel of traditional crayons with modern applications. 

Create and Play is a subscription app for iOS and Android that provides five distinct experiences. Art Station, Pet Park, Color Lab, Colorful Classroom, and Arcade pull from Crayola’s 133-year history. 

The price seems right, for use at $5.99 a month or $39.99 annually. Plus, through Dec. 15, you can get it for just $3.99 a month. 

I’ve been testing Create and Play for about a week, and it’s both creative and entertaining. Bits of a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) curriculum are sprinkled throughout the app’s colorful playground. The Art Station experience gives you access to a blank canvas or several coloring pages. You can also snap a photo to make a custom template.

Image: Screenshot jake krol/mashable

Even better, Crayola has a digital version of the 120-count crayon box. It includes every possible crayon color you could want or need in addition to colored pencils, markers, watercolors, and special tools. There’s even one that can drop sparkling glitter or a graphical pattern — you can spread animated fire, if you’d like. There are plenty of opportunities for creativity here. 

On coloring pages, you can’t color outside of the lines, which is an odd design decision. This feature is meant to make it easier to color more precisely on differently-sized devices, but it can be a bit fiddly. Hopefully, this can be customized in future updates. 

When it comes to your finished colored pages, the app will autosave all drawings, adhering to the mantra that all creations are worth valuing as they are. The files live in the gallery and can be exported to post or save elsewhere. 

Like many other kid-focused apps, the experience is somewhat gamified. You’ll collect XP toward unlocking chests by using the different modes. You’ll find coloring pages, accessories for in-game figures, and eggs hidden inside, which allow you to hatch an animal in an area known as Pet Park. 

The egg hatching process begins when you start coloring the shell. When it hatches, surprise! Any decorations you’ve drawn will then appear on your hatched animal — a nice payoff once the hatching process is complete. You can then pick a habitat for your newly hatched creature, like a pirate ship or a jungle. Younger users may enjoy the ability to dress the pet, as well as its accompanying mini games.

Color Lab, Colorful Classroom, and Arcade all deliver expected kids’ app experiences with a Crayola twist. In the lab, you’ll get to see a cartoon version of the Crayola factory where you can make a crayon from scratch. Colorful Classroom and Arcade modes feature lighter experiences based around matching colors and using stencils.

I’ve enjoyed the Create and Play experience, and it’s a seamless one that runs well on iOS and Android alike. The child in me really likes the art station and having a digital box of Crayola crayons. Bundling all these modes into one app should guarantee one thing at least: kids are unlikely to get bored.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has overturned President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve parliament and ordered a halt to preparations for snap elections.

The decision on Tuesday was the latest in a protracted political crisis that was triggered by Sirisena’s surprise move on October 26 to fire Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replace him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, a controversial former president.

The court ruling came a day after political parties petitioned the court against the president’s decision last week to dissolve parliament and call for a snap vote on January 5.

The three-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice Nalin Perera read out the landmark decision to a packed court in the capital, Colombo.

More to follow…

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Ben Stokes will bat at three and Ben Foakes will keep wicket for England in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele starting on Wednesday.

All-rounder Stokes, who usually bats in the middle order, replaces Moeen Ali, who is expected to bat at six.

Foakes made 107 and claimed three dismissals on debut as England won the first Test in Galle by 211 runs.

Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who has recovered from an ankle injury, has been overlooked.

Foakes was a late addition to the touring squad after regular keeper Bairstow twisted an ankle playing football in training in October.

England’s win in Galle last week was their first away from home in two years. They have not won an away series since 2015-16.

England team for second Test: Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, James Anderson.

‘Why not try something different?’

England have struggled to fill the number three position since Jonathan Trott’s retirement from international cricket in 2015.

James Vince, Moeen Ali, Tom Westley, Gary Ballance and Root have occupied that spot in the past 18 months, with Moeen scoring a combined three runs in two innings batting at three in Galle.

Speaking before the team was named, Root told BBC Sport: “We’ve done things a certain way for a long period of time in this part of the world and it’s not worked.

“Why not try something different and be open to new ideas? To experiment a little and be brave with that?

“It is nice to have a bit of continuity and routine with the way things go but sometimes cricket isn’t always like that.”

Stokes made seven and 62 at number five in Galle. He has twice batted at four for England – most recently in November 2016 in India – but never at three.

Analysis

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew

An unchanged team was always likely following England’s victory in Galle. But Moeen’s performance at number three, coupled with the amount he is expected to bowl here, has prompted this change.

At first glance, the attacking Stokes might not appear a natural three. But his defence is solid as a rock and he demonstrated in Galle that he defends spinners well.

Whether this turns out to be the long-term solution that England seek remains to be seen but here, with so many bowling options needed, it makes sense.

Bairstow will be disappointed, not least because the footballing injury has now cost him his place, but he will return – although possibly not behind the stumps, where Foakes is considered the first choice.

Dananjaya in ‘good mentality’

Sri Lanka off-spinner Akila Dananjaya will play in the second Test, despite being reported for a suspect bowling action.

The 25-year-old must be tested within 14 days of being reported and is allowed to continue bowling until the results are known.

Stand-in captain Suranga Lakmal said: “He’s in a good mentality, so he will still play the next match and correct his mistake.

“Getting reported is just another thing. Forget that and bowl well in this game.”

The hosts are without captain Dinesh Chandimal, who was ruled out of the remaining two Tests with a groin injury.

Listen, we all did weird stuff when we were little. Like throwing wet paper towels at our annoying younger siblings, and smearing your mum’s lipstick all over your face. 

But, Eddie Redmayne confessed to BBC Radio 1’s Greg James that he used to eat Starburst with the wrappers on. And, he also used to eat apples whole — pips and core included. The monster! 

“I think it’s good for you that kind of fibrous nourishment,” said Redmayne, attempting to justify his peculiar eating habits. 

“I was too lazy as a kid to eat sweets without consuming their papers as well,” he added. 

Not sure we’ll ever look at him in the same way, tbh. 

Amazon is ready to announce the split of its new headquarters between New York City and Crystal City in Virginia, Reuters news agency reported, ending a year-long bidding completion where more than 200 cities stepped up to woo the online retail giant.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that the company would be making the official announcement of the split “as early as Tuesday” and that a third city would also be included to receive “substantial investment”.

Amazon has not responded for comment yet.

Amazon.com Inc last September first shared its plan to hire up to 500,000 employees and spend $5bn on a second headquarters location, dubbed as “HQ2”, which would be “full equal to its current campus in Seattle”.

Provinces and states across the US promised tax breaks, benefits and even namesakes in their bidding proposals to the company.

According to reports, Tucson sent Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos a giant cactus, while Stonecrest in Georgia, offered to rename some of its land to “the city of Amazon”.

The interested parties also provided city planning, infrastructure and labour information in an effort to increase their appeal and strengthen their position.

Amazon announced the official 20 finalists, over 12 months after the bidding war began and that list included Denver, Chicago, Dallas and Philadelphia.

In a turn of events last week, news agencies reported that Amazon decided to divide “HQ2” between two cities instead of one, naming New York and the Crystal City area of Arlington, North Virginia as the two choices. 

But the plan is already causing outrage with some.

New York Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a series of tweets late Monday said that Queens residents’ response to the move was to express “outrage”. 

“Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here,” she wrote.

“Displacement is not community development. Investing in luxury condos is not the same thing as investing in people and families.”

Benefits and fears

The world’s biggest online retailer, which became the US’ second trillion dollar company in September, explained that they used a public process to choose their second headquarters because they wanted “to find a city that is excited to work with them”. 

Amazon estimates that its current investments in the Seattle campus have benefited the city’s economy with an additional $38bn from 2010 to 2016 but its was not an always smooth ride.

An affordable housing crisis in Seattle, home to the more than 45,000-person campus, prompted the city council to adopt a head tax on businesses in May, which Amazon helped overturn in a subsequent city council vote. 

Therefore, splitting the much-needed expansion in two locations could give Amazon a bigger “recruitment pool”, strengthen its presence around New York and Washington and potentially give it a “recruiting edge” over Silicon Valley tech firms. 

The move could also help lessen the congestion and similar housing crisis to the one in Seattle in the new cities, issues that would be likely to emerge with the creation of one bigger office.

However, critics say that the split could also mean smaller economic benefits for the host cities, especially when they are much smaller in comparison to other contenders.  

A Brookings Institution report said that the selected neighbourhoods offer lower rents and more attractive zoning than the nearby central business districts. 

The two selected areas already have relatively low unemployment rates, and Fitch Ratings noted that even a full HQ2 would represent about 1.5 percent of the Washington area and only 0.5 percent of the New York area’s labour force.

Critics have also asked the “contender” cities and states to show more transparency in the bidding process, warning that the benefits of hosting a massive Amazon office may not balance out the tax-payer funded incentives and other expenses. 

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Tottenham right-back Kieran Trippier has withdrawn with a groin injury from the England squad for the upcoming matches against the United States and Croatia.

Trippier sustained the injury in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

He reported to international duty at St. George’s Park on Monday but has been sent back to his club.

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck is the only other player to withdraw from Gareth Southgate’s 28-man squad.

Welbeck has had a second operation on the broken ankle he sustained during Thursday’s Europa League draw with Sporting Lisbon.

England play the United States in the Wayne Rooney Foundation international on Thursday before hosting Croatia in the Nations League on 18 November.

The excitement of finding out I was pregnant is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

My husband and I were overjoyed, on vacation, blissful and so, so excited to start a family. We had this little, personal secret. This tiny human just starting to grow in my body, and not even I could really feel it.

And then the Googling began. 

“My doctor won’t see me until I’m eight weeks along. Is that normal?” 

“When does the chance of miscarriage decrease?”

“What is a chemical pregnancy?”

Hundreds and thousands of the same questions from soon-to-be parents appeared before my eyes with each new search.

At first, that kind of immediate gratification brought me some sort of peace. I felt less alone when I saw all of those people experiencing the same extraordinary and scary things. 

But as with most moments on the internet, it was fleeting.

I quickly became consumed by the message boards, random articles, and the extreme amount of information out there about pregnancy. It was … a lot. 

All those beautiful feelings of excitement gave way to anxiety after the searching began.

At the beginning of pregnancy, it’s hard to get any clear answers from anyone. Many obstetricians in the U.S. won’t schedule a patient until they’re at least eight weeks along, so those first months of pregnancy can be nerve wrecking. Hence why so many of us probably turn to Google.

But Google comes with its own anxieties. 

While there’s a huge amount of information out there about pregnancy and fetal development, it’s very difficult to parse out what’s real and what’s fake.

I had to use every trick in my book as a science editor to try to figure out what internet-based advice I needed and what I could do away with. 

It wasn’t easy.

Finding actual studies with large sample sizes related to specific pregnancy questions is far more difficult than it should be. 

Websites seeking quick search-based pageviews also love to publish stories that prey on the fears of pregnant people. Short stories that don’t use expert voices but answer heavily-searched questions do a disservice to their readers, particularly when they’re pregnant women who are anxious already.

The truth is, the thing that really helped me get over those early, anxiety-ridden days was time and our baby himself.

I couldn’t help but think that if I — a person effectively trained in how to weed out scientific fact from fiction on the internet — had a hard time dealing with the overwhelming amount of pregnancy information out there, it might be nearly impossible for a person with less experience using that type of discernment to figure out what to pay attention to. 

It took me weeks of obsessive Googling — plus a few doctor’s appointments — to actually accept that my pregnancy would progress in the way that it would. No amount of new information delivered to me through my phone could change that. 

The truth is, the thing that really helped me get over those early, anxiety-ridden days was time and our baby himself.

I’m a bit over seven months along now, but I remember the moment I managed to let go of all those questions and just let pregnancy be the mundane miracle it is. 

I was about 17 weeks pregnant, lounging on my couch when my cat Fenby jumped on me and plopped down on my lap and stomach. Almost immediately after Fenby got comfy, I felt two tiny pops that felt like popcorn bursting in my abdomen. 

Somehow, even though I’d never felt it before, I knew that it was the baby, kicking away, already probably annoyed that my cat was muscling him out. 

And just like that, most of the worry and fear I felt around the unknown disappeared. This little person moved around in my body — the body that was feeding and housing him — and I knew we were in it together. Suddenly, it wasn’t all about me and my worries: It was about him. And that made all the difference. 

Aside from checking in on my weekly pregnancy apps and making it to my appointments, I try not to worry myself about those unknown questions anymore. 

That said, as labor nears, Google has returned to my life and pregnancy in a big way. But at least now my kicking, wiggly baby is always there to remind me exactly what matters — and what’s at stake — far away from the internet.

Former England and Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has retired at the age of 37.

Cole, who came through West Ham’s youth system before spells at Liverpool, Lille, Aston Villa and Coventry City, has played for United Soccer League side Tampa Bay Rowdies since 2016.

He scored 10 goals in 56 games for England between 2001 and 2010.

“It has been a dream come true. All of it,” said Cole. “I hope the next two decades are as special as my last 20 years as a professional have been.”

Cole made his West Ham debut aged 17 and became captain four years later.

In 2003, he joined Chelsea, with whom he won three Premier League titles and two FA Cups and reached the 2007-08 Champions League final.

He spent seven seasons at Stamford Bridge, playing more than 280 games in all competitions.

“Winning trophies at Chelsea was particularly special for me,” said Cole. “Those memories will live with me forever.”

‘Being a professional footballer is an honour’ – career in stats

Cole also won the League Cup and Community Shield with Chelsea.

He played at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups, making his final England appearance at the latter tournament in South Africa.

“There are key moments in every professional’s career. One of mine came when I was a young West Ham player,” Cole said.

“A senior pro, who was nearing his own retirement, said to me, ‘Enjoy every game, young man. It goes by in the blink of an eye and you’ll miss it badly after it’s gone.’

“He was right. Those words resonate even more now than they did back then. I tried to play and live by his advice every single day because being a professional footballer is an absolute honour.”

Memorable moments

Described as “the next Gazza” because of his style similar to former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne, Cole was known for his flair on the pitch.

He was also devoted to football, even asking then West Ham manager Harry Redknapp if he could avoid doing media interviews in order to focus on his football.

But it was at Chelsea – under the guidance of boss Jose Mourinho – where Cole enjoyed most success.

One of his most memorable moments came in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Manchester United to win the 2005-06 Premier League title. Collecting the ball with his back to goal 25 yards out, he beat three defenders before shooting past the goalkeeper.

That summer also brought Cole perhaps the goal of his career in an England shirt, a dipping volley against Sweden at the World Cup in Germany.

“As a fan, I loved watching wholehearted, skilful players and this is what inspired me,” Cole said.

“I remembered what was special for me when I was sitting in the stands watching games and I tried to replicate this. I hope I was able to do this for some of the fans and people who have watched my games over the years.”

Career in pictures

PEXELS

FOR THE WIFE WHO NEEDS PAMPERING