Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Fernando Alonso has five podiums in six races in a remarkable season for Aston Martin, yet still feels he's no closer to catching Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The two-time Formula One champions now head to a race with special significance for both of them.
Next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix is where Verstappen won his first race as an 18-year-old in his Red Bull debut in 2016.
It's also where Alonso last won a race in 2013, so it would be the perfect place for the 41-year-old Spaniard to end his winless run.
"Yeah, but I will not put any pressure on my team or myself," Alonso said after finishing second behind Verstappen at Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix. “I will not get into Barcelona thinking that I will win, and (then) disappoint anyone. We have to have (our) feet on the ground.”
Verstappen's win seven years ago in Spain was a performance of stunning audacity. It showcased a raw ability that has since carried him to two world championships, the second secured with a record-breaking 15 F1 wins last year.
Yet the 2016 win in Spain also came in exceptional circumstances, after both Mercedes crashed into each other and out of the race amid a feuding rivalry between then-teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Alonso believes only a similar mishap can stop Red Bull's unrelenting run this season stretching to seven straight wins. Verstappen has won four races while teammate Sergio Perez has the other two victories, although Perez scored no points in Monaco after starting last following a mistake in qualifying.
“We will need weekends where Red Bull has some issues like Sergio had here with zero points. And if Max has one or two of those, we will be a little bit closer in the championship," Alonso said. "But on pure pace, I think we don’t have the chance yet.”
Even though Alonso almost took the pole in Monaco, with Verstappen edging him by just .084 seconds, that didn't raise his hopes.
"(Saturday) was very close in qualifying, but in the race we saw Red Bull again very dominant," Alonso said. “So we have to accept that next weekend will be maybe (like) any other race this year, where Red Bull is untouchable.”
The mutual respect between Alonso and Verstappen is considerable, with the normally reserved Verstappen even joking he might try to help Alonso win a race.
“I’ll think about it. I’d like to see Fernando win,” Verstappen said Saturday. “I love watching his style.”
Perhaps because it reminds him of his own: single-minded, dynamic, lightning-quick, nerveless in difficult conditions.
By winning in Monaco, Verstappen broke Red Bull's record for most wins with his 39th — one more than Sebastian Vettel managed on his way to four straight F1 titles from 2010-13.
Verstappen is only two behind the late Ayrton Senna's total of 41 wins and is well placed to equal Senna's three world titles. Verstappen leads Perez this season by 39 points and Alonso by 51.
Alonso finished as the F1 runner-up in 2010 to Vettel by four points and by three points to Vettel in 2012. But Verstappen seems on another level even to Vettel.
“Now there is Red Bull and Max dominating every race and even with great results, you’re just stepping behind them, every race,” Alonso said. “But we will not give up.”
Alonso motivates himself by looking at the podium after each Red Bull win.
"I will always take a picture (of first place) at the end, after the champagne," he said. “I will love to receive the trophy from there.”
Verstappen was asked at which track he could next be vulnerable.
“It’s difficult to say," he replied ominously.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
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Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.