Revenge is a dish best served cold? Based on the evidence here in Japan, Max Verstappen isn’t a believer of that mantra.

No, this was a blistering retaliation. On the searing tarmac at Suzuka, Verstappen, as he has done on 12 separate occasions already this season, scorched his opposition. Perhaps those doubters would rather ‘suck on an egg’ than dare question the Dutchman again.

Verstappen, clear-minded after his Singapore blip and a drubbing of chief engineer Gianpiero Lambiase at padel tennis, arrived in Suzuka ready to send a message.

But where he’s shown a willingness to go toe-to-toe with rivals in the past in an obstinate slugfest, this was a punishing, one-sided, beatdown. He was the first driver on the track on Friday morning and hasn’t looked back, a gruelling 12-round demolition where he’s walked away without a bruise in sight.

Although an opportunistic Lando Norris attempted to surprise his close friend at lights out when he seized a gap left open by Verstappen. The Dutchman, pre-occupied by the Briton’s McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, gave way to Norris, but snatched back the lead and Piastri was pushed down to third.

That exchange, however brief, left Norris optimistic. ‘We’re coming for Red Bull,’ he said after the chequered flag as Christian Horner and his team celebrated their sixth constructors’ championship. ‘We’re not close to Max, but we’re not miles away. We’re pushing, we’re getting there.’

An explosive start gave way to a subdued following four laps, with the safety car deployed after Valtteri Bottas damaged his Alfa Romeo. 

His day went from bad to worse when the crash-prone Logan Sargeant shunted him into the gravel. ‘What the f***!?’ was the perplexed Finn’s response. Both drivers retired from the race, two of five men to bow out prematurely.

Bottas’s former teammate Lewis Hamilton had his hands full with new Mercedes partner George Russell. Hamilton, resembling a third member of Daft Punk in his special edition chrome helmet, challenged his young teammate to a game of chicken as they soared down the home straight side-by-side. It was Russell who twitched first and relented.

The battle resumed at Spoon Curve when Russell sought to seize upon a gap offered by Hamilton. The seven-time champion forced his teammate off the track, in a carbon copy of the incident that he fell victim to in his fight with Max Verstappen in Brazil two years ago.

‘Who are we trying to fight here, each other or the others?’ Russell fumed on the radio. Toto Wolff, watching on from Monaco while recuperating from a knee surgery, was surely tearing his hair out.

Tensions were bubbling elsewhere as Norris too bellowed his frustrations down the team radio after losing his position to Piastri, who pitted for hard tyres under the virtual safety car. ‘What’s he doing?’ Norris moaned. 

‘It’s just ruining the race now.’ The Australian may be a future star of the sport but he was shown in no uncertain terms that he is still very much the No. 2 at McLaren, and duly moved aside, although a first podium here will have softened the blow.

Chaos ensued in the pitlane as disarray surrounded Verstappen’s confidence-battered Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez. The Mexican, perhaps eager to take an early flight home from Tokyo, bowed out on Lap 15 but, having knocked Kevin Magnussen off course, was slapped with a five-second penalty by the stewards.

Red Bull, keen for him not to serve it in Qatar, pushed him back onto the track 26 laps later before bringing him back in for good. ‘Retire the car’, a defeated Perez pleaded during that bizarre stint.

Part three of the Hamilton-Russell dogfight provided a thrilling conclusion. Russell, in front of Hamilton due to a one-stop strategy, stubbornly refused to give up his position. ‘That’s an order, George,’ came the response from the garage. ‘So, we’re playing the team game now?’ Russell hit back as he retreated. 

Mercedes, attempting to emulate Sainz’s DRS genius in Singapore, tried to hold the Ferrari driver back but Hamilton was unable to keep Russell within range and the Spaniard passed.

‘We wasted all that time for no reason,’ Hamilton despaired.

But out in front there was not a moment spared by Verstappen on this Sunday procession, a man in a rush to secure world title No 3 in two weeks’ time in Qatar. Perhaps as he crossed the line the words of Mark Twain ran through his mind.

‘Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.’ More likely, a Dutch-inspired egg retort.

There is no love lost between the Greens’ outspoken housing spokesman, Max Chandler-Mather, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Albanese famously referred to the 31-year-old member for the inner-Brisbane seat of Griffith and rent control campaigner as ‘a joke’.

Meanwhile, other senior members of the Labor party have described him as a ‘self-indulgent student politician’, a ‘moron’ and ‘egotistical’.

Photographs captured on the floor of the House of Representatives after a particularly heated clash in June show Mr Albanese’s disdain for his political rival.

On Monday, Mr Chandler-Mather and his party revealed they’d squeezed an extra $3billion out of the government on its historic housing reforms policy – after a lengthy standoff over one of the ALP’s signature reforms. 

‘Sit up and pay attention,’ Mr Chandler-Mather said. 

‘When we stay at the negotiating table we get outcomes… (this is) proof that Greens in balance of power can drag Labor kicking and screaming to taking meaningful action. 

‘If we praise the Labor party for offering crumbs, that’s all we’ll get.’ 

Up until 2013, Mr Chandler-Mather sang a very different tune – given he was once a Labor activist himself. 

He was a member of Labor’s left during his time at the University of Queensland. Both of his parents were also members, and reportedly encouraged him to join.

He worked for the trade union United Voice, before going on to become a union organiser for the National Tertiary Education Union after graduating. 

Mr Chandler-Mather left the party in 2013. 

In 2022, he spoke out about the decision, claiming he could not remain in a party willing to maintain offshore detention facilities in Nauru under Kevin Rudd.

‘I left the ALP in 2013 for the same reason many people stopped voting for them.  They have abandoned their principles, won’t fix the rigged system and have no vision for a better life for all Australians,’ he said in promotional material for the Greens.

With the Greens’ support, Labor finally secured the votes to pass its Housing Australia Future Fund – the landmark housing policy the ALP brought to the last election. 

The policy aims to build 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years, including 4,000 dwellings for women and children experiencing domestic violence. 

The primary concern from both Greens and independents was that the bill does not go far enough to ease pressures on the exploding housing market.

To secure the Greens support, the government has committed a further $3billion in immediate spending to boost social and public housing.

At the last election the Prime Minister’s promised to the Australian public he would assign $10billion to a fund to build 30,000 homes nationwide. 

That money would be invested and all returns – up to $500 million per year – would be spent on building the new properties. 

The new amendments have guaranteed an annual spend of $500million from 2024 regardless of investment returns.

The government will also spend $1billion immediately on public and community housing, and has committed a further $2billion to social housing.

The Greens, spurred by Mr Chandler-Mather – who himself is a renter – are still calling for a nationwide rent freeze, a measure which economists say could be problematic in the long term. 

While they’ve agreed to the policy without securing such rent control concession, Mr Chandler-Mather and Greens leader Adam Bandt say it is still on their radar.

Mr Bandt said: ‘Pressure works. Labor said there was no more money for housing this year and we pushed them to find $3b.

‘Renters are powerful and the Greens are the party of renters. We have won more money for housing for renters, and rent control is next.

‘I say this to Labor: if you continue to ignore renters, your political pain has just begun. There are several more significant bills on the immediate horizon where the Greens will use our position in balance of power to push the government to address soaring rents with a freeze and cap on rents.’ 

Mr Albanese and Labor have accused Mr Chandler-Mather of whipping up outrage over housing for his own political ambitions.

The PM said: ‘Vulnerable people should not be the collateral damage in your manufactured political conflict.’ 

On the last sitting day before the midwinter break, following a particularly tense discussion on the HAFF, Mr Albanese reportedly said ‘you’re a joke, mate’ as he left the chamber.

Earlier that month, Foreign Minister Penny Wong was prompted to withdraw comments she made in the Senate aimed at Mr Chandler-Mather.

She said: ”this man’s ego is more important than housing for women fleeing domestic violence and all the women at risk of homelessness.’

And Senator Tim Ayres also withdrew comments describing the first-term MP as ‘a self-indulgent student politician’.

Interjections made in the House of Representatives as Mr Chandler-Mather delivered a tearful, impassioned speech about renters’ rights on May 10 were reportedly so severe complaints were made.

Independent Helen Haines and the Liberal National Party’s Michelle Landry have both described the treatment of Mr Chandler-Mather as the worst they’ve ever seen in parliament.

Ms Haines was elected in 2019, and Ms Landy a decade ago in 2013.

During the speech, an unnamed Labor MP appeared to shout: ‘sit down, moron’.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley also called for more respectful debate last week, expressing concern and discomfort over the ‘bullying of a first term MP’. 

But Mr Chandler-Mather says he is unsurprised and not bothered by the frosty relationship he shares with the government. 

‘The name calling and personal insults aren’t surprising from Labor,’ he said.

‘It’s how you’d expect a party that ultimately serves the interests of property developers and banks would react to people demanding we cap rents or spend enough on public housing to house everyone.’

Mr Chandler-Mather said his party would not ‘stop fighting for renters just because the PM makes some silly insults’. 

‘That’s not pressure. Real pressure is choosing between paying the rent or feeding your kids. And that’s who the Greens are fighting for.

‘Renters make up one third of Australia, and deserve to have their interests fought for.

‘Labor is trying to wash its hands of any responsibility to represent renters or people in need of public or affordable housing.’

Mr Chandler-Mather, who is the member for the inner Brisbane seat of Griffith, has been scathing of the Labor government over its housing policies – including rental assistance – on social media, raking in millions of views.

He has used TikTok to reach a younger audience, many of whom would be directly impacted by the lack of affordable housing in Australia.

His clips break down how Labor is spending taxpayer dollars and answer questions in real time about the biggest political stories of the day.

Experts are anticipating Australia will need an additional 650,000 affordable housing options in the next five years to keep up with demand.

Sydney house prices have plunged by 14.7 per cent during the past year but they had surged by 27.7 per cent during the pandemic, a level well beyond the 3.3 per cent annual increase in wages when Reserve Bank interest rates were at a record-low of 0.1 per cent.

Australian household debt levels make up 188 per cent of income, compared with 68 per cent during the late 1980s.

The American Demographia think tank regards Sydney as the world’s second most unaffordable city, when house prices were compared with incomes, after Hong Kong.

Melbourne was the ninth least affordable market in the world, having a median house price of $897,222, based on CoreLogic data for February 2023.

Adelaide was 14th, having a median house price of $694,653, while Brisbane was 15th, with a mid-point house price of $767,781.

By Adrian Bishop For Mailonline

Updated: 10:42 EDT, 2 September 2023

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By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com

Updated: 12:14 EDT, 22 August 2023

Researchers have uncovered another side effect of pandemic lockdowns and travel bans – a surge in ‘drivers’ anxiety’.

A survey found that a quarter of people are driving less than they did during the pandemic, and the majority say it’s because they are more anxious about getting behind the wheel.

Of those who reported driving anxiety, 47 percent felt that driving less during the pandemic caused their driving abilities to deteriorate, and 58 percent were more concerned about other drivers.

The unprecedented lockdowns and working-from-home orders ushered in during Covid caused millions to switch to remote work and ditch their daily commutes to and from the office.

World champion F1 drivers Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, who admits being nervous on civilian roads, have shared their advice for conquering highway jitters with DailyMail.com.

The new survey was commissioned by the driving training company Aceable.

It found that, as of April 2022, 41 percent of people are driving the same amount that they did before March 2020, 32 percent are driving more, and 27 percent are driving less.

Of the people driving less than they did before the pandemic, 53 percent reported feeling more anxious about driving than they did before March 2020.

Additionally, road rage incidents also contributed to nervousness. 

Nearly two-thirds of drivers reported they felt more road rage than before the pandemic and 68 percent reported experiencing more road rage from other drivers. 

Joanne Mallon, author of How to Overcome Fear of Driving, offers a possible explanation: ‘The pandemic itself was a prolonged period of stress. 

‘Such major life changes can cause anxiety. It also stopped many people from driving for months. People lost the habit of maneuvering busy roads and their confidence.’ 

To combat the rise in driving anxiety, professional race car drivers offered their advice on how they relax before climbing into the driver’s seat. 

Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel said they practice breathing techniques or listen to music beforehand. 

‘If you get the breathing right, it just helps you flow through it. Everything comes more naturally and seems less stressful when you’re taking the time to give your body the oxygen it needs’, Hamilton told DailyMail.com.

In 2022, Hamilton opened up about the anxiety he faced after losing his eighth WC trophy.

Hamilton said in his Instagram story: ‘It’s been such a tough year already with everything that is happening around us. 

‘I have struggled mentally and emotionally for a long time, to keep going is a constant effort, but we have to keep fighting, we have so much to do and to achieve.’

If Hamilton’s advice isn’t for you, Verstappen recommends doing something fun, such as playing a game, before sitting in the driver’s seat to beat the rising sense of anxiety.

Performing an activity you like before driving not only helps you to stop thinking about your worries but also gives you a sense of achievement and boosts your confidence.

Lastly, Vettel advises drivers with anxiety to listen to music, saying it can make all the difference.

Listening to music you enjoy is a great way to feel less stressed, and when you listen to your favorite music in a calm place, you connect it with positive feelings. This connection can help you stay calm and relaxed when you hear those songs in more stressful times, such as when driving.

Among other advice the champions recommended were exercising, staying hydrated and practicing how to drive.

Max Verstappen left in disbelief as his F1 winner’s trophy is BROKEN again for a second race running – one week after Lando Norris’ podium gaffe

• Max Verstappen’s Belgian Grand Prix trophy was damaged during a team photo
• Blunder marks second race running that the Dutchman’s gong has been broken
• Lando Norris smashed a champagne bottle on his trophy from the Hungaroring

By Adrian Bishop For Mailonline

Updated: 07:47 EDT, 31 July 2023

Aspartame will be declared a potential cancer risk to humans, a bombshell report claimed today.

The artificial sweetener, used in a multitude of soft drinks including Diet Coke and Dr Pepper, will be listed as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ in a World Health Organisation reclassification within the next few weeks, insiders said.

But what is aspartame? What other products is it found in? And how much is safe to consume?

Here, MailOnline answers all your questions. 

What is aspartame?

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener first developed in the 1960s — completely by accident — and brought into market about 20 years later.

It is approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar. 

This means less is needed gram per gram than sugar to achieve the same sweet result, meaning products that contain it tend to be less calorific.

Unlike sugar, it does not raise blood sugar levels, making it a handy alternative for diabetics.

Chemically, aspartame is made up of three substances — aspartic acid (40 per cent), phenylalanine (50 per cent) and methanol (10 per cent).

What is it found in?

Aspartame is added to hundreds of products which market themselves as being ‘diet’ or ‘sugar-free’. 

The most famous examples are Diet Coke and Dr Pepper, as well as sugar-free gums such as Extra’s.

Other examples include low-fat or diet yogurts and jellies.

Is there aspartame in Coke Zero and Pepsi Max too?

Both products list aspartame in their ingredients list.

Other soft drink brands like Fanta Zero Orange, Lucozade and Sprite as well as some brands of squash and juice, such as Robinsons and Ribena Light, contain the artificial sweetener.

This means that it’s not just stereotypically ‘diet’ or ‘light’ soda drinks that contain the sweetener and many people could be consuming them without realising. 

What are its dangers?

Aspartame consumption has been anecdotally linked to headaches, dizziness and stomach upsets. 

However blind trials, where participants didn’t know if the product they consume has the sweetener, have failed to replicate this.

But there have been broader health concerns for years, including that it causes cancer, alters the gut biome, triggers depression, and paradoxically even contribute to obesity by increasing people’s appetites.

Yet health and food regulators have repeatedly declared them safe to use following ‘rigorous’ safety assessments.

There is one exception, however. People with phenylketonuria, a rare inherited blood condition, cannot process phenylalanine — one of the building blocks of aspartame.

If people with phenylketonuria consume phenylalanine it can build up in their blood, eventually damaging their vital organs. 

For this exact reason, aspartame must be listed as an ingredient on any product that contains it in both the US and UK, as well as other countries. 

Only about one in 10,000 people have the condition.  

What does the potential ruling mean?

The bombshell decision means the WHO’s subsidiary body, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), will officially link aspartame consumption to cancer.

However, it is expected to get a ruling of 2B, according to Reuters. 

This means it is ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’. 

It is the middle of five categories, and means ‘there is some evidence that it can cause cancer in humans’. At the same time, the link is ‘far from conclusive’.

The IARC’s same 2B cancer risk status is also given to aloe vera extract, lead, and several colouring agents. 

For comparison, red meat is considered ‘probably carcinogenic to humans,’ or 2A — one stage above aspartame’s expected bracket. 

The IARC has previously said the radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones as a 2B cancer risk and acrylamide, the brown-black substance that forms on food from frying or baking, as a 2A cancer risk. 

IARC rankings are based on the evidence base that a substance or hazard poses a carcinogenic risk to people and not the individual risk.

For example, both smoking tobacco and eating processed meat is classified as 1, meaning the evidence basis linking the substance to an increased risk of cancer is very strong.

However, it does not mean bacon is as carcinogenic as smoking. 

Will Diet Coke be slapped with cancer warnings then?

Such rules are left up to individual countries.

But no similar warnings have been placed on red or processed meats in the UK despite stronger links to cancer being found according to past IARC rulings.

Any attempt to include such a warning would likely be considered an overreaction and would face stiff opposition from the soft drinks and sweetener industries.

Those opposed to the creep of ‘nanny-statism’ would also campaign against it.

But it could, if the evidence base is strong enough, lead to a recommended intake for aspartame by health authorities, for example the NHS.

This, depending on what experts find, could lead to Brits being advised to only consume one product containing aspartame per day or week, for example.

Such warnings could be published in health information similar to the NHS’s Eat Well guide. 

How much aspartame is safe to consume?

Even if aspartame is declared ‘possibly carcinogenic’ to humans, an individual’s risk could vary immensely.

The IARC establishes its rating based on evidence linking a substance to cancer, not the actual risk itself. 

Safe consumption levels would be determined by a separate body, the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Expert Committee on Food Additives.

It would provide advice on individual consumption levels, which could then be adapted by national health bodies.

The current recommendations for safe daily aspartame consumption are 50mg per kg of body weight in the US and 40mg per kg of body weight in the UK. 

This puts the British recommendation at about 2800mg for a 70kg adult.

Considering the average can of Diet Coke contains 180mg of real aspartame the British Dietetic Association says an adult would need to consume 15 cans a day to reach the acceptable daily intake of the sweetener. 

Will manufacturers face backlash?

Any IARC ruling on aspartame’s cancer risk could prompt consumer backlash, with customers shunning products containing them over cancer fears.

Similar boycotts have occurred from other IARC rulings.

In 2015, its committee concluded that glyphosate, a herbicide, is ‘probably carcinogenic’.

The ruling is often cited as a reason the product was banned in various countries, and many more individual states, cities or local government have also enacted rules against its use. 

Such consumer backlash on aspartame could, in theory, lead to food and drink companies changing the formulation of their products.

Ava Max has revealed that she was slapped in the face by a fan while performing in Los Angeles – leaving her with a scratch on the inside of her eye.

The singer, 29, was hit in the middle of her show in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, with footage from the incident showing her quickly recovering to continue the performance.

In a clip from the incident, Ava is seen jerking backwards after a fan hits her in the face, but quickly continues with her dance routine before exiting the stage.

Taking to Twitter, Ava told her fans: ‘He slapped me so hard that he scratched the inside of my eye. He’s never coming to a show again.

‘Thank you to the fans for being spectacular tonight in LA though!!’

Ava was quickly flooded with support from her fans, with one posting: ‘So Sorry that happened Ava We love you.’

Another added: ‘You deserve so much better,’ while a third posted: ‘I’m so sorry that this happened to you, people are so disrespectful it’s horrible.’

It comes just days after fellow hitmaker Bebe Rexha was hit in her face by a phone thrown by a fan while she was performing in New York City.

Rexha, a Grammy-nominated artist, had been performing and was making her way to the front of the stage when she was smacked in the face by the device.

Authorities confirmed to DailyMail.com that Malvagna been arrested and charged with assault in connection with the incident in lower Manhattan.

Seconds after the incident Rexha, a Brooklyn native, fell to her knees with her head down as multiple crew members in the wings rushed to her aid before she was taken to hospital. 

Rexha was hospitalised and suffered ‘redness, swelling, bruising, and a laceration to her eye and substantial pain’ as result of being hit with the phone, according to police. 

The fan in question, Nicolas Malvagna, was released on his own recognisance and ordered to keep his distance from the singer ahead of a court date on July 31.

‘As a fan, Mr. Malvagna’s sole intention was to have Ms. Rexha take photos with his phone, and return it as a keepsake,’ his lawyer Todd A. Spodek told Dailymail.com. ‘It was never his intention to injure Ms. Rehxa.’ 

Malvagna faces up to a year in custody if convicted on the charges, DA press secretary Douglas Cohen said, according to NBC News.

Fans immediately alerted security to the man who allegedly threw the phone, who was then taken away by security. 

Other fans were quick to shout ‘that’s assault’ at him as he was taken away, as others started to boo and called him an ‘a**hole’.

A spokesman for the NYPD said: ‘On Sunday, June 18, 2023 at approximately 2200 hours, police were notified of an assault that occurred at the concert space of Pier 17 located at 89 South Street, within the confines of the 1st Precinct. 

‘A preliminary investigation on scene determined that a 27-year-old male intentionally threw a cell phone at a 33-year-old female performer on stage, striking her about the face. 

The statement continued: ‘The individual was taken into custody on scene and removed to the 1st Precinct for arrest processing. The aided female was removed by EMS to an area hospital in stable condition.’

Videos posted to Twitter showed the entertainer, whose full name is Bleta Rexha, being helped off the stage after the incident.

As she was being tended to by medics and being led behind the curtain at the venue, she gave the audience a wave. 

‘This is Bebe Rexha being rushed out of the concert venue here in NYC after someone threw a f***ing phone and hit her face as she was leaving the stage,’ the Twitter user captioned the clip. 

‘We were all having a hell of a good time and so was Bebe, we were all having a blast, I mean who would even do that??? We hope you’re ok @BebeRexha.’

By Samuel Draper For Mailonline

Published: 12:55 EDT, 18 June 2023 | Updated: 15:23 EDT, 18 June 2023

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By Michael Rudling For Mailonline

Published: 14:58 EDT, 17 June 2023 | Updated: 15:11 EDT, 17 June 2023

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