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DUBAI — Jordanian driver Ahmad Daham drifted late Friday night at the 2014 Red Bull Car Park Drift Grand Final in Dubai, and came out on top as the “King of Drift”.

"I am extremely happy that I won today for Jordan. It has been a long and difficult path," Daham said.

Drifters were required to negotiate a challenging course dotted with obstacles, and  judged according to a set of six criteria. Forty per cent of the mark was allocated to drifting skills, while proximity to the clipping point, and car look and design will each gave the driver 15 per cent of the mark. Tyre smoke, car sound, and performance in the “Box” — a tight enclosure the drifters needed to do two donuts in — each contributed 10 per cent towards the total score. Uncontrolled spinning and driving in the wrong direction got the drifters penalised, according to the Red Bull website.

Daham, driving a 3.4-litre 1000-horsepowered Nissan Silvia that was modified and prepared in Jordan by the team at NMK Dyno Centre, scored 257 points, one point ahead of Oman’s Ali Al Bloushi in his Nissan Silvia. Egypt’s Haytham Samir grabbed his spot on the podium with 236 points, after his BMW E46 lost power in the “Box”. Lebanese drifter Bassam Zahlan placed fourth overall after crashing out his BMW M3 on the final run.

“I would like to thank Red Bull for running this event and I owe a great deal to my sponsors and the team at the Dyno Centre. This is a great honour for the team and I can’t wait to take the trophy back home,” Daham said. 

“A special shout out goes to the Tensai Tuning in Abu Dhabi as they kept the car at its maximum performance level and helped with anything that we needed while we were in Dubai,” he added.

Daham wished his countryman Mohammed Al Kukhun, a member of the Hamada Drift Team, who retired in the first round due to a technical problem with his 2.5-litre 435-horsepowered BMW E46, the best of luck in the future.

“It was sad to see Mohammed had problems. He is a great driver and deserved to be in the top four, but this is sports. I am sure he will be back again because he is a champion,” Daham said. 

 “I hope that sponsors realise to what extent the Jordanian talent goes and all the talent that we have and help us grow even more in the sport. You will hopefully see both of us back at the Red Bull top four next year,” he added. 

The grand final was the culmination of a series of national qualifiers held across the region, and featured drifters from Egypt, Mauritius, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Daham and Kukhun clinched first and second places respectively in the Jordan Drifting Championship, giving them the opportunity to represent Jordan in the regional final.

Kukhun, for his part, was reserved.

“I don’t really know what to say. I gave it my best shot, but unfortunately we had a technical problem and I am sure Ahmad and I will be back next year,” Kukhun said.

“Ahmad deserved to win. He played it cool till the end and I am sure the competition will just keep getting better and better,” he added.

“I didn’t think the competition would be so tough,” said Daham.

Both drivers echoed the fact that driver and teams need sponsorship deals and hoped that somehow this win would lead to a greater understanding of the sport and would help the talent in the Kingdom grow to new heights.

“Jordan Motorsport will do everything in its power to help talented Jordanian drivers see their full potential.  Ahmad and Mohammed both gave great effort into getting here. Mohammed will be back stronger than ever, but fortunately Ahmad took this trophy home and we look forward to seeing other great drivers participate in this event next year,” Jordan Motorsport CEO and former speed test champion Othman Nassif said. 

“The competition was tremendous and we salute each and every participant in the event for their talent and the joy they have given us,” he added.

Abdo Feghali, Lebanese rally champion and the face of Red Bull Car Park Drift, presided over the design of the track for this year’s finals. Feghali, in a Ford Mustang, gave the audience a spectacular display of drifting as the judges tallied the point after the top four event.

International drifting stars Ken Gushi, Dai Yoshihara and Aleksandr Grinchuk judged the 18 regional drivers who went head to head for the coveted “King of Drift” title.

MADRID — Lionel Messi will be looking for a hat trick of hat tricks when Barcelona take on Valencia in the Spanish league on Sunday.

The Argentina forward scored three goals last weekend against Sevilla to become the Spanish League's all-time leading scorer with 253. A few days later, he scored another hat trick in a 4-0 win over APOEL to break the Champions League record with 74 goals.

Despite Messi's prolific scoring, Barcelona are still in second place in the league, two points behind Real Madrid.

Madrid visit Malaga on Saturday.

Here are some things to know about this weekend's Spanish League matches:

Scoring Suarez

Messi will make the trip to Valencia in superb form, while teammate Luis Suarez is steadily regaining his after serving a four-month ban for biting a player at the World Cup.

Suarez scored the other goal against APOEL on Tuesday, his first competitive goal for Barcelona.

"I knew sooner or later the goal would arrive," the Uruguay striker said.

Complacency warning

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has equalled predecessor Jose Mourinho's record 15-match winning streak, but there are plenty more games still to come.

"The most important thing is to not get carried away," Madrid forward Gareth Bale said. "We must take each game as it comes, and try and perform the best we can."

Injury has hampered Bale this season, giving substitute Francisco "Isco" Alarcon a chance to shine. But Ancelotti may prefer solid teamwork at sixth-place Malaga with Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack.

"He's helping me become a better player," Bale said.

Third man 

While the focus has been on Messi and Suarez, Neymar has been quietly efficient, scoring 13 goals in 15 matches in all competitions.

With the Brazilian on the field, Barcelona have won eight of 11 league games.

"Neymar and Messi obviously know each other well because they played together last season," Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. "I believe the tough moments are behind us."

Granada's goals

With a match against Sevilla coming up, Granada midfielder Francisco Medina thinks his team is ready to show that it is improving.

"We need to fine-tune our marksmanship on goal a bit more, and continue working at it, because in the end the rewards will come," Medina said.

Atletico's attack

Coming off big wins against Malaga and Olympiakos, Atletico Madrid could prove a handful for Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.

The defending league champions are in third place, four points behind the leaders and two adrift of Barcelona.

"We defend well, we know what to do, but the attack must improve because we rely heavily on that aspect," Atletico midfielder Tiago Mendes said.

With Diego Costa gone, Mario Mandzukic has been working well as a replacement.

DUBAI — Two Jordanian drivers expect to top exhilarating displays of drifting on Friday when the Red Bull Car Park Drift Grand Final finds its way to Dubai for the second year in a row.

Ahmad Daham, in a 3.4-litre 1000-horsepowered Nissan Silvia, and Mohammed Al Kukhun, in a 2.5-litre 435-horsepowered BMW E46, will be representing Jordan at this year’s final.

“The cars were tested two days prior to the event and they are running perfectly,” echoed the two Jordanian competitors.

Both cars were modified and prepared in Jordan by the team at NMK Dyno Centre.

Daham and Kukhun clinched first and second places respectively in the Jordan Drifting Championship, giving them the opportunity to represent the Kingdom in the regional final.

“Drifting, since it’s in its first year, is not the top priority of Jordan Motorsport, but I hope that somehow the sport gets the sponsorship deals it deserves and drivers and teams can then focus on driving and forget about issues like, do I have fuel, spare parts, mechanics, a place to sleep…,” Daham noted at his first final appearance.

Daham and Kukhun want to see more sponsorship deals in Jordan and hope that Jordan Motorsport gets more teams involved in the sport.

Red Bull also sponsors all 1st-placed winners from the region at the event.

“Drifting is a very expensive sport and we are lucky to have Red Bull running such a high-class event and in my case having Al Sayad Tuna, Auto Mall Jordan, Target Auto Showroom UAE as sponsors. Without them I would not be here,” Daham said.

Kukhun, a member of the Hamada Drift Team, also noted that without his golden sponsor Hamada, and Ashya Jordan, Al Awal for Cars Middle East and ART Media Middle East, he would have a very tough time being in the sport.

“You know, just working out the logistics of getting to Dubai was bad enough. We had to get an official letter from Jordan Motorsport that allowed us to truck our team and equipment here, to which I am thankful for,” Kukhun, winner of the 2012 Red Bull regional finals, said.

Eighteen regional drivers will go head-to-head with their eyes on the coveted “King of Drift” title in a high octane finale. The participants earned their spots in the Grand Final after topping their national qualifiers.

“We are both here for the exposure. Jordan needs to be represented. We have a lot of talent and driving expertise and this needs to be shown,” Daham said.

“I agree,” said Kukhun. “Hopefully our presence here will give us and the Kingdom more exposure.”

According to the Red Bull website, the drifters are required to negotiate a challenging course dotted with obstacles, and will be judged according to a set of six criteria. Forty per cent of the mark is allocated to drifting skills, while proximity to the clipping point, and car look and design will each give the driver 15 per cent of the mark. Tyre smoke, car sound, and performance in the “Box” — a tight enclosure the drifters need to do a donut in — each contributes 10 per cent towards the total score. Uncontrolled spinning and driving in the wrong direction will get the drifters penalised.

Abdo Feghali, Lebanese rally champion and the face of Red Bull Car Park Drift, presided over the design of the track for this year’s finals.

“Year on year, the Red Bull Car Park Drift event is getting tougher and the calibre of drifters is improving, making the competition fiercer. We made sure the track has a 40/60 split between closed and open areas of the Meydan Hotel parking lot. A varied set of obstacles throughout will push the drivers to the limit of their ability,” Feghali said.

This year’s competition is held in partnership with Ford Middle East, Sony Action Cam, MBC Action, the Meydan Hotel and Pirelli. It will be a main highlight of the Dubai Motor Festival 2014 which includes the Dubai Grand Parade featuring a convoy of super, luxury and classic cars led by the Dubai Police fleet of high performance cars.

MADRID — Luis Suarez's debut goal for Barcelona was inevitably overshadowed by Lionel Messi's Champions League scoring record but the Uruguayan's opener in Tuesday's 4-0 win at APOEL Nicosia is likely to be the first of many.

Suarez returned to action at the end of October after serving a four-month ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup and although it took him six matches to open his Barca account he has looked sharp and hungry.

The 27-year-old appears to have slotted seamlessly into Barca's fearsome attack, in which he plays in a central position with Messi mainly to the right but with freedom to roam and Neymar on the left.

Suarez has made four assists in four appearances in La Liga without finding the net himself and said he had been relaxed about waiting for his first goal for the club he joined from Liverpool in the close season.

"I wasn't anxious about scoring, I knew the moment would come," he told reporters after the match in Nicosia.

"Up to now, I was helping the team in the best possible way," he added. "The important thing is to get the results and that is what we are doing."

Suarez said he was under instructions from Barca's new coach Luis Enrique to fill the space on the right wing if Messi opted to come inside.

"It depends on the moment in the game. I am playing in the middle and Messi on the right but that can change," Suarez said.

"If Leo moves towards the centre, I will move over to the right. That's what the coach has told us.”

"With Messi, we understand each other very well whoever is playing down the middle."

Barca had already qualified for the Champions League last 16 along with group leaders Paris St Germain, who won 3-1 at home to Suarez's former club Ajax Amsterdam on Tuesday.

Barca need to beat the Ligue 1 side when they meet at the Nou Camp on December 10 to secure top spot.

NICOSIA — Barcelona forward Lionel Messi set a Champions League scoring record of 74 goals when he netted a hat-trick in Tuesday's 4-0 Group F win at APOEL Nicosia.

The Barca and Argentina captain surpassed the record of 71 he jointly held with former Real Madrid and Schalke 04 striker Raul when he put his side 2-0 ahead shortly before halftime.

The 27-year-old added two more goals in the second half to complete his 31st career treble, his fifth in Europe's elite club competition and the first in which he has scored all three with his less-favoured right foot.

"I am pleased to have achieved such a nice record in such a nice and important competition but the really important thing is the three points," Messi said in a television interview.

His achievement is the latest milestone in a stellar career and comes three days after he broke the six decades-old La Liga scoring record with a hat-trick in Barca's 5-1 home win over Sevilla.

Messi overhauled former Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra's tally of 251 goals, set in 1955, and has 253 in 289 league games for the Catalan club he joined as a 13-year-old.

Messi's 74 Champions League goals came in 91 appearances, while Raul needed 142 for Real and Schalke 04 for his 71.

Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended Messi's four-year run as World Player of the Year in 2013 with his second award, has scored 70 Champions League goals in 107 matches.

The Portugal captain will try to close the gap when Real play at FC Basel in Champions League Group B on Wednesday.

Barca had already qualified for the Champions League last 16 along with group leaders Paris St Germain, who won 3-1 at home to Ajax Amsterdam.

Barca need to beat the Ligue 1 side when they meet at the Nou Camp on December 10 to secure top spot.

"We will try to keep going in the same way and meet the objectives we set ourselves at the start of the season," Messi said.

"The PSG match is going to be tough. They have some very good players and they are a team who are growing and improving all the time.

"But we are playing at home so we'll try to play a great match and finish first in the group."

AMMAN — Week 9 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League starting Thursday will include some matches which are expected to shape standings at both ends.

Wihdat are still in the lead and play Jazira, who are third, while Ramtha, who edged Baqaa 4-2, trail behind Wihdat and play Faisali.

Wihdat’s 2-0 win over Faisali was the highlight of last week’s matches. While the former remained two points ahead of the pack Faisali seem to have let go of their chances for the title as they trail 10 points behind.

It was the 77th encounter between both teams. Wihdat won 28 times, Faisali 26 and they had 22 draws. One match, won by Wihdat, was later taken off the records when the league was discontinued in 1998. Wihdat have scored 75 goals and Faisali 69.

Hussein beat Ittihad Ramtha 2-0 and are now fourth. They will play That Ras, who are now in 7th  spot after losing 2-1 to Jazira.

Former champs Shabab Urdun lost to Sarih 2-0 and dropped to 8th place. They will play Ahli, who dropped to 10th after a 1-0 defeat to 9th-placed Manshieh. Baqaa, who are at a disappointing 11th, play Sarih while Manshieh play Ittihad Ramtha.

Ramtha’s Rakan Khalidi now tops the scorers list with seven goals, while Wihdat’s Mahmoud Zaatara has six.

Wihdat won the first major competition of the 2014/15 football season after they beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup.

Last season, Wihdat won the league title for the 13th time, and beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup, while Shabab Urdun beat That Ras to win the 31st Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Sebastian Vettel’s move to Ferrari seems a fitting one, bringing together motor sport’s most prestigious team and the most successful driver in the current era.

The pleasant symmetry stops there.

The harsh reality is that both Ferrari and Vettel have lost their way and need each other to find a route back to the top.

This season, Ferrari failed to win a race for the first time since 1993, while Vettel went without a win for the first time since 2007, his debut F1 season in which he raced only eight times.

Some contrast to last year, when Vettel won 13 races. This year he managed just four podiums and finished fifth, 217 points behind F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

“I know that there is a mountain of work waiting for me, and that is part of the task that I have chosen,” Vettel said. “I think if you climb a mountain together, that is a very strong bond, and then ending up successful, that is a fantastic outlook.”

Patience will clearly be required by both parties.

Since Alonso’s triumph at the Spanish GP in May, 2013, Ferrari has gone 33 races without a win — a painfully long stretch that has already led to decisive action, with Marco Mattiacci replacing long-time team principal Stefano Domenicali.

After five seasons, and three runners-up campaigns, two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso decided he’d had enough. Despite the offer of a new contract until 2019, he left Ferrari and is widely tipped to replace Jenson Button at McLaren.

“We both wanted to open new cycles,” Mattiacci said. “With Sebastian we get one of the youngest world champions ever.”

But if Ferrari’s problems keeping up with Red Bull during Vettel’s era were frustrating enough, this year Ferrari has fallen even further behind Mercedes, which easily secured a 1-2 double in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

Ferrari finished fourth in the constructors’ championship, more than 100 points behind Williams.

This gave Ferrari limited bargaining power when it came to persuading Vettel to join.

“The arguments have to be solid arguments... the project, the investment. You don’t just over-sell,” Mattiacci said. “I was really impressed with how clever he is — an extremely clever person with great passion for Ferrari.”

Still, the challenge facing Vettel is considerable.

He was comprehensively beaten by Daniel Ricciardo, his less experienced and less illustrious teammate, who won three races and took five third-place finishes in his first season with Red Bull.

Vettel has been on the front row of the grid only three times this season — with no pole positions — and qualified in the top four only once in the last seven races of the campaign. Quite some fall for a driver who clocked up 39 career GP wins and 45 pole positions, helping Red Bull to four straight doubles.

“If you take the overall situation this year, yes, it was strenuous,” Vettel said. “Facing technical problems all the way through the season didn’t make life easy.”

In a somewhat humiliating end to his Red Bull career as he finished eighth at Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, starting from last place after both Red Bulls were sent to the back of the grid because of an illegal aerodynamic influence on the front wing flaps.

At least Red Bull placed a giant sticker on the garage floor which said “Danke Seb!” (“Thanks Seb!”) in recognition of his efforts.

“We can look back with a huge amount of pride,” team principal Christian Horner said. “It’s not just the experiences you share on track, it’s outside the cockpit and as not much more than a boy when he arrived, he now leaves us a young man, as a father and he can be incredibly proud of what he’s achieved.”

LONDON — Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is feeling the pressure ahead of his side’s must-win match at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday but the Chilean says it is all self-inflicted.

The Premier League champions are bottom of Group E with just two points from four games and require victories from their remaining two matches to stand a chance of qualifying for the last 16.

After a disappointing start to their Premier League title defence and facing an early European exit, Pellegrini says he, more than anyone, understands the importance of winning the match.

“My own pressure to continue to the next round is an important pressure, more maybe than the owners,” he told reporters. “Of course, I think we must be in the next stage.”

If beating the 2013 European and current German champions Bayern wasn’t enough of a daunting task, City will be without suspended midfield pair, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, while playmaker David Silva is still sidelined through injury.

A City win on Tuesday would mean they visit AS Roma in the final group game with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.

Roma travel to CSKA Moscow on Tuesday with both teams level on four points.

Bayern are undefeated in all competitions this season, with Saturday’s 4-0 demolition of Hoffenheim further proof of their devastating power even when dealing with a string of injuries.

Captain Philipp Lahm is out for three months with a broken ankle and Bayern are still without Thiago Alcantara, Holger Badstuber, David Alaba and Javi Martinez.

But Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger celebrated his comeback from injury on Saturday by setting up Bayern’s fourth goal after coming on as a 77th minute substitute.

Bayern have already secured top spot in the group with two games to spare but promise no complacency in Manchester.

“We will not just go there and play relaxed and see what comes out,” said winger Arjen Robben.

Schalke 04 coach Roberto Di Matteo is banking on his team’s perfect home record under his stewardship to deny his former club Chelsea the group win in their Champions League game on Tuesday.

Italian Di Matteo, who led Chelsea to the 2012 Champions League title as caretaker coach, took over at Schalke in October and so far has seen them win each of their four matches at home in all competitions.

A nervous 3-2 win over VfL Wolfsburg after an explosive start that saw them lead 3-0 after only 25 minutes confirmed Schalke’s good run at home under the Italian.

“We are happy with our performance,” he said. “We scored three goals and continue to have a great run at home.”

“We have the Champions League game on Tuesday where everything is open. But we want at least a point,” said Di Matteo, who is enjoying his first job since being sacked by Chelsea in late 2012.

With Chelsea top of Group G on eight points with two games remaining, Schalke, second on five, know that a draw could be enough to secure Chelsea the group win and put a dent in Schalke’s qualification hopes.

Sporting Lisbon, who have four points, take on last-placed Maribor in the other group game.

The fitness of Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been an ongoing saga throughout their first four Group G games, with the Spaniard, suffering with hamstring and pelvic problems, used only fleetingly so far by manager Jose Mourinho.

Ominously for Schalke though, the Blues boss says Costa is now fully recovered after being given a rest from the Spain squad during the recent international window.

To prove the point, the hitman continued his prolific club form with his 11th goal in 10 league games in the 2-0 home win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

That victory strengthened Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League table, with Mourinho’s men continuing their unbeaten start to the season in all competitions.

Mourinho himself played down the clash with Di Matteo saying: “It is Chelsea against Schalke, it is not me against Di Matteo. I don’t play against him.”

Lionel Messi will chase yet another record when the Champions League returns on Tuesday from a three-week break. The Argentine is poised to take sole possession of the competition’s all-time scoring record just three days after he rewrote the Spanish league’s record books.

Messi’s brace in Barcelona’s 2-0 win at Ajax on November 5 pulled him level with Raul Gonzalez on 71 goals as the joint-top scorers for the Champions League. Messi now hopes to leave Raul behind when Barcelona visits Cypriot side APOEL in Group F on Tuesday.

Breaking major records is what Messi does for a living. He will arrive in Cyprus fresh from his historic hat-trick on Saturday in Barcelona’s 5-1 defeat of Sevilla that left him with 253 Spanish league goals — two more than Telmo Zarra’s milestone of 251 goals in La Liga which had stood untouched since 1955.

And Messi will have the added pressure of Cristiano Ronaldo on his heels. Ronaldo has scored 70 Champions League goals and Real Madrid visit Basel in Group B on Wednesday.

Madrid, the defending champion, and Barcelona have already qualified for the knockout rounds along with Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and FC Porto.

Barcelona and PSG can set up a decider to see who claims first place in Group F if Barcelona win and the French side beat visitors Ajax also on Tuesday.

While Ronaldo chases Messi, Luiz Adriano will be chasing Ronaldo.

The Shakhtar Donetsk forward has already scored nine goals through the first four matches to equal Ronaldo’s record in the group phase in a single season.

Luiz Adriano can top the Ballon d’Or winner’s mark with a goal against Athletic Bilbao in
Group H on Tuesday. He already matched Messi’s feat of scoring five goals in one match earlier this season.

ABU DHABI — Fernando Alonso has hit back at Ferrari principal Marco Mattiacci for saying that Sebastian Vettel would bring “the utmost motivation and commitment” to the Formula One team when he replaces the Spaniard next season.

“I heard the comments and I don’t think they were very good,” Alonso told reporters ahead of his last race for the Italian team at Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“If he tried to mean that I was not motivated, he arrived too late at Ferrari.

“He has a few months here and didn’t see probably all the five years that I’ve spent here and how I’ve fought every single race in the championships,” added the double world champion.

Ferrari have not won a race since Alonso’s last victory at his home Grand Prix in May last year and are facing their first blank season since 1993. They are currently fourth in the standings.

Alonso was quick also to point out that only one driver, himself, has won a race for the sport’s oldest and most successful team since 2009.

He also made clear that he had decided to leave rather than Ferrari opting to replace him with Red Bull’s four-time champion Vettel.

“Probably I was too old when he [Mattiacci] tried to renew me until the Monza race, and he kept pushing and pushing and had a lot of talks,” said the Spaniard, who is set to return to McLaren.

“Even in the last moment again we had a lot of phone calls and
e-mails that I still have in my computer. Probably at that time I was not so old, but again when I took my decision I guess he had to find another driver.”

Mattiacc1 took over as principal in April after Stefano Domenicali stood down.

Meanwhile, Formula One’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has denied saying he was not interested in the youth audience because they did not buy expensive watches or bank with the sport’s sponsors.

“I never said younger generation, I said children. The question to me was children,” the 84-year-old told Reuters at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“I don’t know how many six- or seven-year-old kids there are with a Rolex [watch], which their parents have probably bought for them. It’s not the six year olds that buy the product we advertise,” he added.

“I answered a question. The question was about children. That was it.”

An interview in Campaign Asia-Pacific magazine caused a rumpus last week when Ecclestone was quoted as saying: “I don’t know why people want to get to the so-called ‘young generation’.”

Speaking at the Yas Marina circuit after presenting the ‘Bernie Ecclestone Trophy’ to the winning British team of the Formula One in Schools competition, Ecclestone clarified his remarks.

“We want to attract a teenage audience. That’s what we want to do. So people grow up like the guy who’s 30 years old now,” he said.

Ecclestone’s comments have been a talking point in Abu Dhabi, even if team principals have refrained from open criticism.

“Educate the children and you grow them into being customers,” said Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff, whose team have won both Formula One titles this year.

“For an aspirational brand like Ferrari definitely our demographic is from the moment they can switch on TV or they can enter in a Ferrari store until when they can afford a car,” commented Ferrari principal Marco Mattiacci.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner added that his brand was “very much about youth and absolutely the team has a huge following from the youth segment, that’s male or female. It’s irrelevant of sex, or age or race.

“But what you have to remember is that when you’re 84, a 70-year-old is still pretty young.”

BARCELONA, Spain — Lionel Messi has yet another reason to be considered among the very best to have played football as he became the Spanish league’s all-time leading scorer with 253 on Saturday.

Messi notched a hat-trick to lead Barcelona’s 5-1 rout of Sevilla and surpass the previous mark of 251 goals that Athletic Bilbao’s Telmo Zarra set in 271 La Liga games from 1940-55.

Playing in his 289th league game, the 27-year-old Messi first equalled Zarra’s record in the 21st minute and then beat it in the 72nd at Camp Nou Stadium. The Argentine went on to get his treble in the 78th minute with his 253rd league goal.

In a league that has featured some of the world’s most talented attacking players through its 83 seasons, including Alfredo di Stefano, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi stands alone as its most potent scorer after bettering a milestone that had stood untouched for almost 60 years.

Messi thanked his supporters on Facebook and posted a video of his first league goal scored on May 1, 2005.

“When I scored this goal, I couldn’t imagine I could break any record, let alone this one previously held by the great Telmo Zarra” Messi wrote. “I was only able to achieve this because of the support I have had from so many people during my time here and I would like to dedicate this achievement to you all.”

Messi debuted in the league on October 16, 2004 at the age of 16. And just over 10 years later he has eclipsed Zarra.

“I never thought anyone would reach Zarra, who played in an era with more forwards than defenders,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said.

“[Messi] is beyond comparison, one of a kind, never to be seen again. We are lucky to have him here, to enjoy him and to see where he leaves this record.”

Messi’s latest scoring feat comes after he equalled Raul Gonzalez as the Champions League all-time scorer with 71 goals this month.

The record also arrives at a perfect time to thrill Messi’s fans who were worried by his recent remarks that he might be questioning his long-term commitment to the club. His father-agent has since dismissed such concerns.

“Messi! Messi! Messi!” rang out through the Camp Nou in the final minutes, and again after a post-match video in Messi’s honour.

The team lined up to form an honour guard as Messi jogged off the pitch smiling broadly.

“I’m happy for Leo,” Barcelona captain Xavi Hernandez said. “It’s an incredible record. He deserves it as a person and as a player. He showed again that he is happy here.”

Messi’s 22nd treble for Barcelona increased his club record to 365 goals in all competitions. He also holds the Spanish league’s single-season scoring record of 50 goals in 2011/12, and his 91 goals in 2012 broke Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old milestone of 85 goals in one year.

After having been denied his record-equalling goal during a rare three-game streak without scoring, Messi finally broke through with an elegant free kick after he had earned the foul.

He then tapped in a cross from Neymar to set the new mark, leading to an impromptu mid-match celebration by his teammates, who tossed him in the air.

“It was spontaneous,” Neymar said. “For me it is an honour to play beside him.”

Once back on his feet Messi added another goal with his trademark move of dribbling across the edge of the area with his left foot before firing home.

Messi may have come one win short of leading Argentina to a World Cup title this summer, but he continues to excel for the club he joined as a teenager.

Besides his record four world player of the year awards, Messi has led Barcelona to three Champions League titles and six Spanish league titles among many other trophies.

Messi can focus on breaking Raul’s mark in Europe, with Ronaldo on his heels. His first chance will be at Cypriot club APOEL on Tuesday. Ronaldo is right behind with 70 goals.

The rival forwards will also likely vie for the Ballon d’Or award which they have divvied up for the past six seasons. Ronaldo won it last season.

Messi, however, has always insisted that his main goal is winning team titles. Last season Barcelona failed to win a major title for the first time since 2006/07. Saturday’s win kept it in second place behind Madrid.