“He’s the gladiator fighting on the circuit” – Van Amersfoort on Verstappen

The BBC’s Formula 1 reporter Jennie Gow joins us from Abu Dhabi, ahead of the final race of the season, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fighting for the Drivers World Title. Verstappen is aiming for his first world title and we hear from his mentor when he started out in Formula 3. Frits Van Amersfoort tells us it became clear, within one hour of working with Max, that he was a special talent, says he hasn’t changed his approach since racing for him and compares Verstappen’s rivalry with Lewis Hamilton to the one Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost shared. Van Amersfoort also tells us he’s worked in motorsport for forty years and he’s never known people in the Netherlands as interested in the sport as they are now because of Verstappen’s success.Paddy Lacey joins us ahead of his fight on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s defence of her undisputed lightweight titles against Kazakh challenger Firuza Sharipova. Lacey played in the same Liverpool youth team as Wolves and England defender Conor Coady before a failed drugs test ended a promising spell in the Football League. During his ban from playing football, Lacey was arrested and subsequently jailed after being found in possession of drugs and counterfeit money at the Glastonbury Festival. He’s now playing for Chester City in England’s sixth tier and forging a career as a professional boxer.US runner Molly Seidel tells us about her route into marathon running and discusses her journey of recovery from anxiety, depression and disordered eating. Seidel won bronze at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in what was only her third ever race over the marathon distance.In Sporting Witness, we tell the story of how a group of Tibetan exiles and a Danish ex-footballer teamed up to create the Tibetan national football team twenty years ago. Michael Nybrandt and team captain Sonam Wangyal recall the obstacles they faced, which included threats from China, and discuss their first ever game against Greenland.Melinda Farrell brings us the latest news from the Ashes series between Australia and England and the BBC’s Juliette Ferrington joins us from the Etihad Stadium ahead of Manchester City’s game against Wolves in the Premier League.Photo: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen looks on at the Red Bull Racing team photo during previews ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. (Credit: Formula 1 via Getty Images)