Brighton took control of their Europa League destiny with a commanding 2-0 win against Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena to complete back-to-back victories over the Dutch giants. A goal in each half from Ansu Fati and Simon Adingra meant Roberto De Zerbi’s side moved into the qualification spots in Group B for the first time on their debut European campaign, with a performance that matched the ease with which they dispatched the four-time European champions at home two weeks earlier. Since then, Ajax had appointed a new manager in John van’t Schip, but despite an uptick in domestic form it never looked like they had the firepower to unduly trouble Brighton, who could have won by a greater margin had Joao Pedro, Adingra and Fati not wasted good chances. Despite their struggles this season, Ajax made the brighter start. After 13 minutes, Kristian Hlynsson found himself with space to drift into with the ball and shot from 25 yards, though it was a comfortable save from Bart Verbruggen. The opening goal for Brighton was against the run of play, and came from an Ajax error. Silvano Vos was under little pressure in midfield but carelessly gave the ball to Adingra, who moved it calmly into the path of Fati to roll it beyond Diant Ramaj in the home side’s goal. De Zerbi’s side kept their hosts largely at arm’s length for the remainder of the first period, coming to life in added time before the break when Fati looked to return Adingra’s favour in assisting his goal. The pair linked up well down the right of Ajax’s box, but after a clever pass by the goalscorer Adingra’s shot to Ramaj’s near post was deflected behind off the legs of the goalkeeper. Ajax had won twice in the Eredivisie since being beaten at the Amex Stadium two weeks previously, dragging themselves off the bottom of the league and into midtable. Yet despite reaching half-time here having enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, they had rarely troubled Verbruggen as they sought a result to finally kick start their European campaign. Pedro, the competition’s joint-top scorer at the start of play, danced through Ajax’s defence early in the second half a lashed an effort into the side netting. The Brazilian received a first senior national team call-up on Monday and was inches from marking it with a fifth Europa League goal of the campaign. Instead it was Adingra who would double Brighton’s lead minutes later, timing his run perfectly to get on the end of Fati’s pass and unleashing an unstoppable, rising drive into Ramaj’s top corner. Fati had the chance to get his second and Brighton’s third when Ramaj presented the ball to Karou Mitoma, Ajax saved from further embarrassment only by a poor touch from Fati as the pass was played in to him. They came within inches of a lifeline 15 minutes from time. Brian Brobbey struck first time with his left foot as the ball arrived into the box, and his shot beat Verbruggen before hitting the post, rolling along the goal-line and striking the opposite upright. It was to be as close as Ajax would come, as Brighton earned a first away win in Europe to cement their position in the group ahead of their final two games. Read More England’s Ben Stokes has ‘no idea’ if Pakistan clash will be his last ODI Rasmus Hojlund says ‘a matter of time’ until Erik ten Hag improves Man United Gareth Southgate ‘not interested in just racking up games’ as England manager Ali Price joins Edinburgh on loan from Glasgow after input from Scotland How Manchester United managers have fared since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement England head to Indonesia inspired by Under-17 World Cup winner Phil Foden

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The 2023 Formula 1 season is heading into its final stretch of races and Red Bull have dominated throughout much like they did in the back end of 2022. This year sees 23 races held in a record-breaking calendar, as Max Verstappen is on the verge of three in a row following back-to-back World Championship triumphs. Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team have found further improvements so far this year following a disappointing 2022 season. Meanwhile Ferrari are struggling to match their strong start to 2022. There are new faces on the grid too - such as Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant - and all 20 drivers will be itching to get back on track after a three-month break with the official pre-season test in Bahrain before the first race of the season a week later. This year’s biggest shake-up so far came mid-season when AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries was dropped almost immediately after Silverstone as he failed to impress the higher-ups at Red Bull. He has been replaced by returning favourite Daniel Ricciardo. Here is everything you need to know. What is the 2023 F1 calendar? ROUND 1 —BAHRAIN Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir - 3-5 March ROUND 2 - SAUDI ARABIA Jeddah Corniche Circuit - 17-19 March ROUND 3 - AUSTRALIA Albert Park, Melbourne - 31 March-2 April ROUND 4 - AZERBAIJAN (sprint weekend) Baku City Circuit - 28-30 April ROUND 5 - MIAMI Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium - 5-7 May ROUND 6 - EMILIA ROMAGNA CANCELLED Imola Circuit - 19-21 May ROUND 7 - MONACO Circuit de Monaco - 26-28 May ROUND 8 - SPAIN Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 2-4 June ROUND 9 - CANADA Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 16-18 June ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA (sprint weekend) Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July ROUND 11 - GREAT BRITAIN Silverstone Circuit - 7-9 July ROUND 12 - HUNGARY Hungaroring, Budapest - 21-23 July ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July ROUND 14 - NETHERLANDS Circuit Zandvoort - 25-27 August ROUND 15 - ITALY Monza Circuit - 1-3 September ROUND 16 - SINGAPORE Marina Bay Street Circuit - 15-17 September ROUND 17 - JAPAN Suzuka International Racing Course - 22-24 September ROUND 18 - QATAR (sprint weekend) Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend) Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October ROUND 20 - MEXICO Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 27-29 October ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend) Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS Las Vegas Street Circuit - 16-18 November ROUND 23 - ABU DHABI Yas Marina Circuit - 24-26 November When and where does the 2023 F1 season start? The first race of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, takes place from Friday 3 March - Sunday 5 March at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. Qualifying on Saturday 4 March starts at 3pm (GMT) with the race on Sunday also at 3pm (GMT). When is pre-season testing? Pre-season testing takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit the week before the first race, from Thursday 23 February - Saturday 25 February. Running will take place between 7am and 4:30pm (GMT) on each of the three days. There will be an hour’s break midway through each session for lunch. Each driver will have one-and-a-half days worth of time in the car. How can I watch it online and on TV? The Bahrain Grand Prix, as well as pre-season testing, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. Sky Sports subscribers can watch pre-season testing on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. What has been said? Max Verstappen has challenged Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to raise their game and provide him with the championship battle that Formula One needs. Verstappen ran away with last season’s title, winning 15 of the 22 races, to secure his second championship with four rounds to spare. In contrast, Hamilton, in his under-performing Mercedes, endured the worst year of his career as he failed to win a race and finished 214 points adrift. But when addressing the prospect of renewing his rivalry with Hamilton at Red Bull’s season launch in New York, Verstappen, 25, said: “In the interest of the sport you always want the teams to be super-close. “I do think it was close last year, but as a team we executed a lot of things better than the others and that was why the points gap was so big. I never felt, apart from two or three races, that we absolutely dominated. But for the general interest of Formula One, everyone wants a title battle with multiple teams involved.” What are the driver line-ups for 2023? RED BULL Max Verstappen Sergio Perez FERRARI Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz MERCEDES Lewis Hamilton George Russell ALPINE Esteban Ocon Pierre Gasly McLAREN Lando Norris Oscar Piastri ALFA ROMEO Valtteri Bottas Zhou Guanyu ASTON MARTIN Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll HAAS Kevin Magnussen Nico Hulkenberg ALPHATAURI Yuki Tsunoda Daniel Ricciardo/Liam Lawson WILLIAMS Alex Albon Logan Sargeant *italics represents new addition to the grid/change of team Read More The rise of Oscar Piastri: A genuine rival for Lando Norris at last Daniel Ricciardo ruled out of Qatar Grand Prix Andretti F1 team entry bid accepted by FIA Poignant Netflix film captures the many facets of legendary Schumacher What happened to Michael Schumacher and what’s latest health update? 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A government official from China’s Tibetan region has rejected allegations of forced assimilation and curbs on religious freedom, while stressing that Tibetan Buddhism should adapt to the Chinese context