Sports

PARIS — Napoli and Inter Milan coaches Rafa Benitez and Walter Mazzarri fear anything but wins in the Europa League on Thursday could cost them their jobs. They face Young Boys and Saint Etienne, respectively. The pressure has been building on Benitez following a slow start in Serie A. It has alleviated somewhat after three successive home wins but another defeat to the Swiss side would see it go right back up. Napoli fans pelted the team bus with stones after a 2-0 defeat against Young Boys in Switzerland ended a perfect record in Group I. Matters are worse for Inter, and even club president Erick Thohir appears to be losing patience with Mazzarri, who has overseen two wins in their last six games. Thohir is likely to travel to France for the match and has hinted that the former Napoli coach’s future will be decided within two games. A goalless draw at San Siro left Inter comfortably atop of Group F, but calls for Mazzarri’s head grew after a dismal 2-0 defeat at bottom club Parma. “I wish with all my heart that there are no matches like the Parma one,” playmaker Hernanes said. “We don’t want to throw this season away.”

GENEVA — Real Madrid beat an under-strength Liverpool 1-0 to advance in the Champions League on Tuesday although Cristiano Ronaldo failed to equal the competition scoring record.

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was beaten by Karim Benzema in the 27th minute but repeatedly stopped Ronaldo scoring the goal he needs to match Madrid great Raul Gonzalez’s 71 career goals in Europe’s top club competition. It also ended Ronaldo’s 12-game scoring streak in all competitions.

“I don’t think he got frustrated [by not scoring],” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said about Ronaldo. “I used to be frustrated when I didn’t score, Ronaldo keeps on scoring and I think he was just happy that we won the match.”

Defending champion Madrid also earned their round-of-16 place with two rounds to spare after a fourth straight win in Group B. Basel are second after routing Ludogorets Razgrad 4-0.

Borussia Dortmund also kept their 100 per cent record to secure advancement by beating Galatasaray 4-1. The Germans seemed certain to be joined by Group D rival Arsenal when the London club was up 3-0 against Anderlecht with 30 minutes to play.

However, Arsenal again showed the fragility that has marked the later years of coach Arsene Wenger’s lengthy reign and let the visiting Belgian champion level at 3-3 in the 90th minute.

Juventus earned a thrilling 3-2 win against Olympiakos, fighting back to score twice in a minute midway through the second half, to stay in contention in Group A. Atletico Madrid won 2-0 at Malmo and still lead the group.

Group C leader Bayer Leverkusen won 2-1 at Zenit St Petersburg, and Benfica avoided potential elimination by beating Monaco 1-0.

After Ronaldo set a single-season scoring record of 17 goals in Madrid’s march to its 10th European title last May, the career mark seemed likely to fall as well for the 29-year-old Portuguese.

Especially after Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers chose a surprising starting line-up, resting Steven Gerrard, Mario Balotelli, Raheem Sterling and several others ahead of a weekend Premier League match against Chelsea.

Mignolet denied Ronaldo for the first time with a diving stop in the 6th minute and stopped two later free kicks among the Madrid star’s 10 attempts on goal, five of which were on target.

Benzema needed just one shot on target, connecting from close range with Marcelo’s cross.

Ronaldo’s great rival Lionel Messi, who has 69 career Champions League goals, takes his aim at Raul’s record when Barcelona play at Ajax on Wednesday.

Basel tripled their goal tally in this season’s competition, getting goals from 17-year-old Cameroon-born Breel Embolo, Paraguay forward Derlis Gonzalez, Albania midfielder Shkelzen Gashi and Czech Republic defender Marek Suchy against Ludogorets.

Basel have six points, three clear of Liverpool and Ludogorets.

Dortmund have won only two matches in the Bundesliga all season but made it four straight in the Champions League.

Germany midfielder Marco Reus, Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Italy forward Ciro Immobile all scored for the 2013 runner-up.

Galatasaray face further sanctions from UEFA after fans again set off firecrackers, smoke bombs and flares, briefly interrupting the match twice.

Arsenal were cruising after an hour thanks to Mikel Arteta’s penalty, a stunning volley by Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s darting run and shot.

But Anderlecht struck back when Anthony Vanden Borre scored twice, including a penalty, and Aleksandar Mitrovic headed in the equaliser in the 90th minute.

Though Arsenal trail Dortmund by five points, it remain five points clear of Anderlecht in second place.

Juventus seemed all but eliminated from contention for the round-of-16 when visiting Olympiakos took a surprise 2-1 lead in the 61st minute after withstanding waves of Italian pressure.

Then Olympiakos goalkeeper Roberto scored an own goal in the 65th minute, and a minute later France midfielder Paul Pogba restored Juve’s lead at 3-2.

“We had to win and we did. Now everything depends on us,” Pogba said.

Veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo had opened the scoring with a trademark free kick on his 100th Champions League appearance. Alberto Botia and Delvin N’Dinga scored with headers for the Greek champion.

Atletico lead with nine points after Koke and Raul Garcia scored in Sweden against luckless Malmo. Olympiakos and Juventus have six each, and the Greeks now hold the edge in a head-to-head tiebreaker if the teams finish level on points next month.

Leverkusen eased to victory in Russia through second-half goals from South Korea forward Son Heung-min. Zenit got an 89th-minute consolation from Jose Salomon Rondon.

The Germans have nine points, four clear of Monaco in a tight group. Zenit are a point further back with Benfica, who needed an 80th-minute goal from Brazilian striker Talisca to beat the French visitors.

Golden Boot 

Ronaldo says he still has many years and a lot of football to come as he picked up his third Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals in Europe’s domestic leagues last season.

Ronaldo shared the award with Luis Suarez, who also scored 31 goals.

At a lavish ceremony in Madrid, Ronaldo said he was surprised so many people got up early Wednesday for the event after Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Champions League the previous night.

Madrid president Florentino Perez highlighted the Portugal forward’s energy and ambition to win as he presented the award.

Ronaldo said although his main aim is to be a good team player, he also acknowledges a liking for individual flair.

AMMAN — Challenging matches are ahead for all teams in Week 7 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League starting Wednesday.

Wihdat are back sharing the lead after they beat former champs Shabab Urdun 1-0. They will play Baqaa, who dropped to 10th after losing 2-0 to Jazira.

Ramtha’s winning streak slowed down and they now share the lead after they were held by Manshieh 0-0. They will play Shabab Urdun aiming for a win.

Jazira are third and play Faisali, who lost their first match going down to That Ras 1-0. The latter are now fifth and next have a chance to better their standings when they play bottom-placed Ittihad Ramtha.

Ahli climbed to 7th after a 4-1 drubbing of Ittihad Ramtha. They will play Hussein Irbid who beat Sarih 2-1 to move to 8th. Manshieh will play Sarih with both teams needing a win to improve their standing.

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

Last season, Wihdat won the 62nd league title for the 13th time and beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup. Shabab Urdun beat That Ras to win the Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.

Saudi club Al Hilal have furiously demanded a formal probe into the appointment of the referees for the Asian Champions League final, which they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Australia’s Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend.

The 13-time Saudi champions were unable to erase a first leg deficit in a 0-0 draw last Saturday in Riyadh, where they had three strong appeals for penalties turned down by Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura.

“What happened in the second leg of the AFC Champions League final is a black spot in the history of Asian football,” the club said in a statement.

“[It was] a looting of the right of an entire people who has been waiting for happiness and enjoyment of fair competition, which requires dealing seriously with this matter, and punishing who caused that, whatever their positions in AFC, in order to be in good hands and fair competition.”

Nishimura was at the centre of controversy at the World Cup in Brazil earlier this year after awarding the hosts a questionable penalty in the opening game of the tournament against Croatia.

The club also criticised the performance of Iranian referee Alireza Faghani in the first leg, which Al Hilal lost 1-0 despite dominating for most of the game, and said they should have been awarded a total of six penalties over the two matches.

“It is surprising to appoint a referee for the second leg who was deported from refereeing in the last World Cup as a result of his mistakes during the tournament as well the end of his refereeing career at the end of this game,” the statement continued.

“Which proves that appointing him as a referee for the match is a big mistake that requires investigation and causes punishment.”

The statement said the club’s management put the responsibility for the “blunders” at the door of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) chief, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain.

“The AFC President should bear the responsibility and stop the blunders that were witnessed in the two matches; that appeared suspiciously and tarnished the reputation of the AFC,” the statement continued.

“[It] raised many questions about the AFC Championships and the integrity and fairness of its competitions, and the need to ensure the absence of any effect of betting offices scattered among football; by assigning the competent authority in the Asian Confederation to start investigating seriously.”

The AFC have already said they will probe the incidents at the end of last Saturday’s match, when a brawl between the two sides was triggered by Al Hilal striker Nasser Al Shamrani spitting at Wanderers defender Matthew Spiranovic.

“The AFC will review the referee’s and match commissioner’s report and will proceed with the necessary investigation into the incidents,” the AFC said in a statement. 

AMMAN  — The Kingdom’s U-23 football team regroups this weekend as it prepares to play two friendlies during the upcoming training camp.

Coach Jamal Abu Abed said team officials will meet this week, to discuss the line-up and possibly make some changes to the squad as the Jordan Football Association tries to secure several friendlies as the team prepares for the 2016 Olympic qualifiers set for March 2015.

“We are waiting for the draw which will set the course of the camps we will have,” Abu Abed told local media. 

The team is now set to play the UAE on January 27 and 30, 2015.

Jordan’s squad, which took part in the Asian Games and was eliminated in the quarters, had struggled to regroup as national team and club agendas hampered Abu Abed’s plans. 

Despite a bumpy preparation period, Jordan topped Group G after three wins: In Round 1, scored a 1-0 win over the UAE and 2-0 over India. In Round 2, they beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in extra time. In the quarters, they lost to Thailand 2-0.

In local friendlies, the team lost to Wihdat 2-0, tied Jazira 1-1 and beat Shabab Urdun 2-1. In international friendlies they beat Uzbekistan 2-1, held Iran 2-2 and 1-1, Kuwait 1-1 twice and drew 0-0 with Qatar. They finished second at the Palestine International Championship and earlier this year, the team hosted the England C
squad in a historic match, losing 1-0.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Borussia Dortmund can qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League if they beat Galatasaray in Group D on Tuesday.

Then they can focus on staving off relegation in the Bundesliga.

Arsenal, too, will be assured of advancing if they beat Anderlecht at home and Dortmund defeat — or draw — the Turkish side.

Dortmund have won all three matches so far without conceding a goal and have nine points. Arsenal lost to Dortmund but won the next two and is second with six. Anderlecht and Galatasaray have one point each.

Titleholders Real Madrid have been in imperious form in the competition and will be confident of making it four wins from four games as they take on opponents they beat away from home a fortnight ago.

Here are some things to know about Tuesday’s matches.

Dortmund’s woes

Despite their perfect record in the Champions League, Dortmund is in big trouble in the Bundesliga.

Dortmund have dropped to next-to-last after losing 2-1 at Bayern Munich on Saturday, their fifth consecutive loss. Juergen Klopp’s team has lost seven of its first 10 matches in the Bundesliga season.

The last time Dortmund lost seven of their first 10 was 30 years ago.

Dortmund are even on points with last-place Bremen, who have scored more goals. Dortmund, Champions League finalist in 2012 and winner in 1997, are 17 points behind Bundesliga leader Bayern and 13 points away from qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

One thing to remember, though: When Dortmund began the Champions League with three straight victories, they won the title, in 1997.

Dilemma in defence

Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels injured his foot in Munich and will be out for several weeks.

Hummels left the game at halftime and then watched his replacement, Neven Subotic, make two crucial mistakes than led to Bayern’s come-from-behind victory.

Hummels and Subotic formed the backbone of Dortmund’s championship sides in 2011 and 2012. But Subotic has been slow in regaining form after sitting out more than half a year with a knee injury.

Hummels came back from this year’s World Cup in Brazil with the title but also with an injury and missed the start of the season. Just as he began returning to form, he’s now out again.

Klopp could decide to play the experienced Subotic against Galatasaray or give another chance to Matthias Ginter. Ginter was in the World Cup squad and was signed away from Frieburg, but has not had a start since giving away an own-goal six weeks ago.

Good in Germany

Galatasaray’s 4-0 home defeat to Dortmund gives it little ground for optimism going to Germany but for one fact: the Istanbul side has always performed well there.

Galatasaray have won five in Germany, with five defeats and three draws. With Germany’s large Turkish immigrant population, Galatasaray have always enjoyed a lot of support there.

Galatasaray have won in four of their last six trips to Bundesliga opposition, losing only once.

Five Galatasaray players were born in Germany: Hamit Altintop, Hakan Balta, Tarik Camdal, Furkan Ozcal and Yasin Oztekin.

Dortmund have three players with Turkish roots — Nuri Sahin (injured), Ilkay Gundogan and Burak Camoglu.

Knockout stages

Arsenal can secure their place in the second round if they beat Anderlecht on Tuesday and Galatasaray do not beat Borussia Dortmund.

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez has scored four times in his last two games, spearheading a strike force boosted further by Theo Walcott returning from a torn knee ligament that has kept him out since January.

Walcott made a substitute appearance in Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday, and will want to step up his comeback on Tuesday.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will hope for a smoother game than the last one against Anderlecht, where two goals in the final two minutes of the match in Belgium secured a dramatic 2-1 victory.

Andrelecht adieu? 

If Arsenal already dashed Anderlecht’s confidence with a belated 2-1 come-from-behind win in Brussels last month, injuries and lackluster form in the Belgian league have only added to its low morale since.

The Belgian champions travel to London without two key players. Belgium international Steven Defour, Anderlecht’s midfield mainstay, injured his calf during a mediocre 1-1 home draw against Lokeren.

Even worse, creative forward Matias Suarez will be out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. It leaves Anderlecht without their star players in two lines, and their attacks have been a problem for most of the season.

In the league, Anderlecht lead by one point over AA Ghent and two over FC Brugge, with only 27 points out of a possible 42.

The Champions League has given them little pleasure, with only a draw against Galatasaray giving some relief. Anderlecht have finished bottom of the group in all seven group-stage campaigns since they reached the last 16 in 2000-01. 

Slowing down 

Zenit have won 17 of their 21 Russian league games — and 22 of their 29 matches in all competitions — since Andre Villas-Boas took over in March.

However, the pace has slowed, with two wins from the last six matches in all competitions for Zenit, who failed to score in three of those six matches, including their last two Champions League games.

BARCELONA — Barcelona started afresh this season under new coach Luis Enrique but his position is already being questioned with the team suffering back-to-back La Liga defeats and failing to play the dashing football expected of them.

Luis Enrique arrived at Barca having impressed with the quick-passing philosophy he instilled at Celta Vigo and on Saturday he was outdone by his former players as the stuttering Catalan side lost 1-0 and relinquished top spot in La Liga.

The surprise beating comes on the back of their El Clasico defeat last weekend, when they were comprehensively outplayed by an in-form Real Madrid.

Against Celta, their disjointed performance led to whistles from the Camp Nou crowd and sports director Andoni Zubizarreta was forced into backing the coach after being asked about his future on Spanish television.

“There are no doubts about Luis Enrique,” Zubizarreta told Canal Plus.

“Football is like this, you hit four posts and their keeper plays very well. Our football was lacking a bit at 1-0 but still we had clear chances that we didn’t take. In the first half, we controlled the game despite Celta pressing high up the pitch.”

Barca missed out on all the major trophies last season which triggered the end for Gerardo Martino but there has been little sign of improvement so far in terms of the style of play.

They are lacking the pressuring from the attack backwards which was one of the hallmarks of the Pep Guardiola era and in possession the link up play is less incisive.

Lost way

Ivan Rakitic was supposed to take over from Xavi as the heartbeat of the side in midfield but after some strong displays in his opening games, the Croat has now lost his way and was unable to make an impact against Celta.

Alongside him, Sergio Busquets does not appear as sharp as he was a few seasons ago even though he is only 26.

The team has been reliant on the individual skills of their forwards but against Celta they surprisingly were unable to deliver.

Luis Suarez made his home league debut and did well in patches but understandably lacks match fitness following his four-month biting ban.

“We didn’t have the necessary luck against Celta but we need to keep believing in ourselves. We want to turn this around and win titles because we are the best team in the world,” Suarez told reporters

Defensively, they are also lacking a regular centre-half pairing and against Celta, Gerard Pique was watching from the stands having been left out of the squad.

The Spain international’s form has been poor and he continues to hit the headlines for disciplinary reasons.

Javier Mascherano remains a fundamental player at the back despite being a converted central midfielder.

“We had a poor game and we were not sharp. Along with the fact we were unable to create chances we were not able to show our football and that is worrying,” Mascherano said.

“Still the season is long and you can’t be at your best all the time. We know that there are people as well who want to make out the team is worse than it actually is.”

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The youngest of the Australian A-League clubs became the first to win the Asian Champions League title, with Western Sydney Wanderers holding Saudi powerhouse Al Hilal to a 0-0 draw in the second leg of the final for a 1-0 aggregate victory.

Western Sydney spent most of the game defending as Al Hilal poured forward in waves off attack in front of a frenetic home crowd, but goalkeeper Ante Covic made a string of saves to keep the two-time champions scoreless for a second straight game.

“The game was everything you expect from a final,” Wanderers coach Tony Popovic said. “They are a very good team, they had fantastic support, but we are an excellent team and we showed over two legs how good we are.”

Western Sydney were playing in the continental competition for the first time, and were only founded in 2012. Now the Wanderers will represent Asia at the FIFA Club World Cup next month in Morocco.

“We are extremely honoured to be able to do that and we will certainly do our confederation proud,” Popovic said. “We will go there to give it our very best, we will enjoy the experience, and it is a fantastic achievement for our club in such a short space of time.”

The Saudi team was frustrated against a defence intent on not conceding, the Wanderers relying on Tomi Juric’s goal in the 1-0 home win last weekend to hold up and deliver them the title.

The hosts had late chances to level the aggregate score and force extra time, but Covic saved an effort by Yasser Al Qahtani with five minutes remaining, and then denied Nasser Al Shamrani moments later.

Al Hilal’s Romanian coach Laurentiu Reghecampf said his team played the better football and deserved a better outcome.

“We had bad luck and we had many chances. We were the best team over the two games,” he said. “If you lose one game when you play bad, you can congratulate the other team. But when you play how we played and they play how they played, we feel very bad.

“I think the fans saw what we did in this match. The players tried their best. We didn’t deserve to lose this game.”

The Wanderers campaign has attracted increasing attention this season, and has been all the more impressive given the fact that A-League teams operate under an annual salary cap of A$2.5 million ($2.2 million) that covers the entire squad except two “marquee” players who can be paid outside the cap.

“This triumph will resonate throughout the game and across our nation,” Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop said. “The impact will be felt beyond sport and will speak to Australia’s future in the ‘Asian Century’ and football’s pivotal role.”

Gallop said at the heart of the title was “one the most amazing sporting stories we’ve ever seen in Australian sport.”

“It’s a start-up [club] less than three years old that today stands proudly as the champion of Asia. That says it all,” he said.

“It is still a little surreal for me as a coach,” Popovic said. “For me, I am just proud for these players and our club. The first time in the competition, to win it, I think in the future we will really understand how special this run has been and how it was to win this title.

“We don’t have the resources or the funds that some of these other teams have, but we have something that money can’t buy, the desire to win, the resilience to play for each other and do anything they can to win, no money can buy that and that’s what these players have in abundance.”

AUSTIN, Texas — Formula One’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said he wanted to tear up all team contracts and rewrite the rules as talk of race boycotts and financial failure swept the US Grand Prix paddock on Saturday.

Inviting a select group of international reporters into his office for a 50-minute discussion about the latest of many crises to hit the sport, Ecclestone canvassed opinion while making suggestions of his own.

“We have to decide the best way to sort this whole thing out. Frankly, I know what’s wrong but don’t know how to fix it,” he said by way of opening explanation.

“[We] should tear all of the current contracts up...start again.”

Ecclestone, who turned 84 last week, said he would be prepared to give up money if the teams were willing to do so to create a more level playing field and help the struggling smaller outfits survive.

However he indicated that vested interests, and the regulations that require unanimous agreement to make any changes for 2015, had tied his hands. He recognised he might be partly to blame for that.

“I’ve never felt helpless about anything. I’m not happy and we’ll have to do something about it,” said the Briton, his usual energy sapped by a dose of flu.

“I think the situation is such that if enough people want it resolved we can resolve it. It’s a case of the people that are involved in the sport will have to want to look after the sport and be prepared to make some sacrifices.

“The problem is there is too much money probably being distributed badly — probably my fault.”

Teams in administration

Two teams have plunged into administration since last month’s Russian Grand Prix, with Marussia and Caterham now seeking buyers willing and wealthy enough to pay off their considerable debts and bankroll their survival.

Formula One is no stranger to crisis, and more than 100 teams have gone bust or departed through the ages, but the latest difficulty is proving more intractable than most.

Force India, Sauber and Lotus may also be staring into the financial abyss and speculation swirled in Austin that they could take the drastic decision of boycotting Sunday’s race to force the bigger teams into action.

They want all teams to have a basic budget to survive and compete in a billion-dollar sport where even the smallest outfits need around $80 million a year and the biggest spend more than $250 million.

Ecclestone, who represents commercial rights holders CVC, assured reporters there would be no race boycott in Austin but expressed sympathy with the teams’ plight and said he would not want to have the sport’s collapse on his conscience.

“We have to open the eyes of those people in a position to turn the lights on and off as to what they need to do because I wouldn’t want to be in a position where I was too strong and Formula One disappears and someone says it is because of you it disappeared,” he said.

“I said to people [who are] getting a chunk of money that I would like to take a percentage of their performance-related payment, put that money together to divide among three or four [teams] we know are in trouble but are not going to run away with the money and then I will put in the same amount of money.”

Ecclestone said it made no difference to him how the money was ultimately divided up but the big teams could not agree even on the principle.

“If they sat down here with me now and said they want to share out all of the money we get in a different way, I would say, ‘Good, give me the bit of paper’... It is getting the people who have invested in these engines to agree.”

Mercedes’ non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, a triple champion, joined the meeting towards the close along with Ferrari principal Marco Mattiacci and both showed little desire to budge from their positions.

“The shift has to be how to increase revenues...the goal is not how to share in a different way the cake but how to make the cake bigger,” declared Mattiacci.

Lauda said Mercedes had spent 100 million euros ($125.24 million) on developing the new hybrid V6 turbo engines introduced this season and were losing money even charging the three non-works customer teams roughly 18 million each.

Ecclestone said ultimately he might have to go above their heads at the teams’ parent companies.

“I think it’s probably what will have to happen,” he said.

“If I was them I’d come to us or the [governing] FIA and say ‘We’re a bit worried about things the way they are at the moment, what would you like us to do to help you?.’

“Because I honestly believe that [FIA president Jean] Todt would do anything that we suggested.” 

Race day

Nico Rosberg earned a chance to tighten the Formula One championship race with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton by winning pole position Saturday.

Rosberg edged Hamilton by .376 seconds at the Circuit of the Americas. Valtteri Bottas of Williams will start third.

Hamilton leads Rosberg by 17 points in the driver’s championship with three races left.

Defending race and world champion Sebastien Vettel of Red Bull will start Sunday in pit lane because of a penalty for using a sixth engine this season.

AUSTIN, Texas — Awarding double points for the final race of the Formula One season is a gimmick but one that American fans may understand more than most, according to the country’s last world champion Mario Andretti.

With an unprecedented 50 points available to the winner in Abu Dhabi on November 23, the title battle between Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg looks set to go down to the wire with possibly a shock outcome.

It could be that 2008 champion Hamilton ends the season with 11 wins (currently nine) to Rosberg’s five (four at present) but still walks away without the second crown he covets.

Andretti, the 1978 champion with Lotus, shrugged at the possibility.

“[American fans] are probably the only ones that can understand that because of NASCAR,” the 74-year-old told Reuters at the US Grand Prix, the 17th of the season’s 19 races.

“You talk about gimmicks and look at the way the NASCAR championship is going,” he smiled. “It’s almost ridiculous.”

NASCAR has changed its Chase format this year from 10 rounds to decide the title to a series of three-race groupings with four drivers eliminated from contention after each and the points reset.

The final four drivers will then fight it out for the title at Miami’s Homestead track on November 16 with the highest finisher winning.

That has left six times winner Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr already out of the reckoning while Ryan Newman could become champion without winning a race.

The champion 

“It is what it is,” said Andretti. “With the double points in Abu Dhabi, you would hope that the champion is not the one that wins because of that. Because there will always be an asterisk (alongside his name).

“But then again, he’s still the champion. Anyway you look at it, somebody is going to be happy and somebody is not going to be happy.”

“If I am second or third and I mathematically have a chance because of double points, I’m going to love it. If I’m leading going in, then I’m going to hate it.”

Hamilton leads Rosberg by just 17 points at present with mechanical failure a constant worry for the Mercedes pair who have both suffered blanks this year.

Andretti said that whatever the outcome, it had been a ‘fabulous’ championship.

“It’s going to be riveting because these two guys can fight it out in earnest, clearly and do whatever. Take each other out or whatever,” he laughed.

“They both deserve to be champions. And this is the thing to remember. Nobody needs to put their head down, they both did a fabulous job.

“It [double points] is a gimmick but it’s equal for everyone to deal with. Everyone knows it’s there.”

Andretti, who won his title with six wins in a championship tinged with tragedy after the death of his Swedish teammate Ronnie Peterson at Monza, said ultimately the novelty was probably worth trying out.

“Does it serve the series? It probably does.”