Credits: IMAGO / Beautiful Sports

There have been plenty of stories that detail the childhood racing genius of Max Verstappen. He even beat his father Jos Verstappen in an F1 simulator match-off while he was just six years old. While it is common knowledge that Verstappen’s father played a vital role in shaping the racing driver in him, few know that he wasn’t able to afford it all. Recently, F1 Maximaal quoted the words of the Royal National Motorsport Federation (KNAF) CEO, who revealed that his academy funded the training of the now three-time world champion.

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“It is a misconception to think that Jos paid for it all himself. That was not possible, it really involved enormous amounts of money, and we as the KNAF were able to help a lot with that in the last two years prior to his F1 debut.” – said the KNAF CEO, Maarten Van Wesenbeeck.

Wesenbeeck added the academy did not claim to have taught Verstappen everything he knows. However, he claimed that the KNAF was certainly able to help the Dutchman.

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Verstappen was always talented, but he needed a professional setup to help perfect his skills. While his father provided him with valuable insights into the sport, the academy helped provide the right atmosphere and as it turns out, the finances to go along.

The KNAF is the primary organization in the Netherlands responsible for regulating all motorsports disciplines. It even looks after the youth development program. Presently, it even has an academy that offers workshops and training that teaches upcoming drivers a lot, looking at their holistic development as a racer.

Van Wesenbeeck recalls the days of Max Verstappen at KNAF

Recalling the days he spent with Max Verstappen at KNAF, Wesenbeeck claimed the Red Bull driver always knew what he wanted. Wesenbeeck ended up learning some things from Verstappen as well. He understood what it takes to become the top athlete in a top sport.

Furthermore, Verstappen also helped him understand that one should never compromise on one’s goal. The relationship between Jos Verstappen and his son was always tough. But the young one never let it come in the way of his goals.

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Having competed in F1 himself, Jos Verstappen knew what it took to succeed in the sport. He saw what his son was capable of and did everything in his power to help him achieve the same. The former Benetton driver even resorted to rather ‘harsh’ options to ensure his son practiced with utmost dedication and discipline.

Verstappen Sr. often bashed his son but defended himself by saying he did whatever he needed to ensure success would follow his son. Eventually, Max Verstappen reached the ultimate level of success much to the delight of his father and his academy.

Credits: IMAGO Marco Canoniero

Max Verstappen has established unprecedented levels of dominance with his consistency over the last few years. The Dutchman has won 21 out of the last 25 races since the beginning of the 2023 season. The only two other drivers to win a race during this time include his own Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez (two) and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (two). Although Verstappen’s domination should benefit F1 as a whole, that is barely the case. Independent photographer Peter van Egmond has now expressed his frustration with who has been benefitting from the 26-year-old‘s domination.

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The photographer believes that although he was one of the first to cover Verstappen, he is barely able to sell any images of the Red Bull driver despite the three-time champion arguably being the most famous in the sport currently. Instead, Van Egmond believes that it is the big photo agencies who are benefitting.

He pointed out that since these agencies have contacts with most of the media, it’s their images that get sold. In his monologue with the Dutch Magazine Formule1.nl, he noted,

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“What’s strange now is that despite Max’s great success, I sell fewer images of him than of Jos. And that’s because the big photo agencies photograph him more and most media have contracts with those agencies. And that is sometimes quite frustrating. To be honest, I think it is very wrong that I actually benefit the least from the success“.

Since Max Verstappen is one of the most famous drivers in F1 today, one would expect that his domination would benefit more people than before as the benefits would trickle down. However, that does not seem to be the case, as pointed out by Van Egmond.

Photographers not only play an important role in covering what happens on the track but also off it. Since they are the ones who usually spot uncanny meetings between different members of the paddock, their images play a crucial role in leading to further speculations and rumors about potential driver moves, for example.

Will Max Verstappen leave Red Bull after Jos Verstappen’s chat with Toto Wolff?

Since the beginning of last month, several reports have emerged that there is a possibility about Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull for Mercedes. These rumors first emerged after his father, Jos Verstappen, was spotted speaking privately with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

Soon after he spoke with Jos, Wolff also teased that Mercedes could make a move for Max. When asked about the changes of signing the 26-year-old, the Austrian told the media, “Everything is possible“.

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Soon after Wolff gave his interview, the rumors of Max potentially leaving Red Bull for Mercedes intensified all the more when reports claimed that Helmut Marko could leave the Austrian outfit because of his alleged involvement in compromising Christian Horner. Since Max has a close bond with Marko, he threatened Red Bull that he too may consider leaving if the 80-year-old left the side.

However, the rumors of Max Verstappen potentially leaving Red Bull have died down now after the 26-year-old’s recent interview. The Dutchman made it clear to the media that he will only drive a car other than Red Bull when he retires from F1.

Credits: IMAGO / PanoramiC

They started as teammates, raced for a year, shared some brilliant memories, and now, they have a tough time catching up. Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant go way back. Before they were stars in F1, the two were teammates dreaming of making it big. As F1 ventured into Australia, Piastri’s homeland, Sargeant shed limelight on his bromance with the McLaren driver, and went down the memory lane.

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“I think if anything we probably talk less,” said Sargeant to The Roar. “You get to the F1 paddock and you’re so busy. You don’t really have much time to talk to people. We’re here from morning to night working within the team trying to extract every hundredth and that doesn’t leave much time for friends.”

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Piastri and Sargeant raced together in F3 for Prema back in 2020 alongside Frederik Vesti. Fast forward to 2024, and they’re both in F1, but not in touch personally. Sargeant tries his best. He takes time out of their busy schedule to have occasional conversations with the McLaren driver. Unfortunately, things won’t be like they were four years ago.

“We still do every once in a while,” said Sargeant talking about how often he speaks to Piastri. “We played paddle in Bahrain and you know, here and there of course. We see each other at the airport, stuff like that. But realistically it’s not really possible in a race weekend.”

The pair, popularly known as ‘Loscar’ are racing on two different sides of the grid. While Piastri is trying to be as competitive as possible, get himself a podium and if possible a race win, Sargeant is dealing with something completely different. The American driver is finding it hard to finish in the points and at the same time, survive in F1.

Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant fighting different battles

Oscar Piastri had one of the most memorable debut seasons in Formula 1 last year. The Australian driver finished in P9 with 97 points, including two podiums and a sprint race win under his belt.

From the very get-go, he gave his teammate Lando Norris, a much more experienced F1 driver, a run for his money. With the wealth of talent he possesses, many tip Piastri to become a race winner in the near future. Even a World Champion.

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On the other hand, Logan Sargeant is finding it difficult to even compete for points. He is struggling to find his feet in the sport and driving for a team that is considerably weaker, isn’t helping his cause.

Sargeant’s teammate Alex Albon has completely outperformed him, which makes him the second priority in his own outfit. Most recently, he had to give his car up to Albon in Melbourne for the race, even though it was the latter who crashed his one beyond repair.

IMAGO / Motorsport Images

Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion might have his name mentioned among the all-time greats in F1, but there’s an area in which he lacks against the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, according to Peter Windsor. The renowned F1 expert feels that Alonso‘s drawback lies not in terms of racing, but on pure one lap pace.

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“[Fernando] Alonso makes more mistakes in qualifying laps than say Lewis or Max or Carlos or Charles as well probably.” said Windsor in his recent YouTube video.

“I don’t think he is a great qualifier as he is a racing driver. That’s what I really mean. He’s obviously, by most standards, he’s an outstanding qualifier. But he’s actually not as good at qualifying as he’s a racing driver.” 

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Per Windsor, Verstappen and Hamilton get the credit of being the best qualifiers on the grid. Over the years, both drivers have driven some incredible qualifying laps, leaving the F1 community astounded. In Verstappen’s case, his staggering pole lap in Monaco 2023, where he found eight tenths of a second on the final lap, is probably the reason why Alonso remains winless at Aston Martin.

Interestingly, Windsor also put Sainz and Leclerc ahead of the Oviedo-born driver. While Sainz hasn’t had many pole positions to his name, Leclerc is regarded as one of modern F1’s best qualifiers.

These comparisons prompted the 71-year-old to highlight Alonso’s weakness. To conclude, Windsor also mentioned how Alonso jeopardized his Q3 in Melbourne due to one snappy moment, two weeks ago. Regardless of his qualifying performances, Windsor agrees that Alonso is one of the best when it comes to racing.

What’s next for Fernando Alonso?

If Alonso makes mistakes in qualifying, he needs a fast car to make up for them in the race. At the moment, his team Aston Martin cannot help him in that front. The Silverstone-based outfit had a frontrunning car in 2023, but that momentum couldn’t be carried onto this campaign.

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Currently, Aston Martin is the fifth fastest team on the grid, going by the results so far. Alonso, who is desperate to get his 33rd race win, would have expected to achieve the same, given his 8 podium finishes last year. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the Spaniard will be able to achieve that.

Since time is running out, there are chances of him jumping ship in search of performance. If Aston Martin fails to show enough potential, Alonso could opt to part ways. In that case, Alonso’s probable destination could be Mercedes, who will also be looking for a Hamilton replacement.

Credits: Imago

At 39 years of age, Lewis Hamilton is the second oldest driver on the grid. Despite his age, experts and pundits still rank him as one of the top drivers and expect him to fight for his 8th championship, given he has a good car. However, former general manager of Ferrari, Peter Windsor, believes Hamilton is now past his peak.

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On his YouTube channel, Windsor posted a video, where he said,

“Is Hamilton past his peak? Yeah, probably. He’s not getting any younger. He’s already won seven world championships. He’s gone through the agony of everything that happened in Abu Dhabi ’21.”

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Windsor explained that after the antics of the Abu Dhabi incident, Mercedes brought in a teammate for Hamilton whom he didn’t want. After that, they came up with a car that was nowhere close to being able to fight for race wins. Hamilton has not won a race since 2022 and looks unlikely to win one this season. Hence, given all the “road dust,” Windsor believes Hamilton is long past his peak in F1.

But that does not mean Windsor thinks Hamilton isn’t capable of winning anymore. Moving to Ferrari next year, Hamilton hopes to return to winning ways. Should the Ferrari car and its setup work for Hamilton, Windsor is certain that the British driver will be able to notch up a few more wins for himself.

Furthermore, the upcoming partnership between Hamilton and Ferrari has been hailed as the biggest move in F1 history. The most successful driver in F1 history, joins hands with the most successful team. What’s more, glory has eluded both parties for longer than they would have liked. Perhaps a union might be key to both achieving what they want.

Carlos Sainz may complicate things for Lewis Hamilton

Heading to Ferrari, the expectations from Hamilton are clear as day. The Maranello-based outfit wants to see glory return to their camp. With Hamilton standing as one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, the hope will be for him to use it to good effect and win a championship with Ferrari. Although, given Carlos Sainz‘s recent results, the number of doubters behind the Hamilton-Ferrari partnership have increased.

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Only one man has beaten Red Bull in 2023 and 2024 (to date), and that is Sainz. Each time the Red Bull car was off its pace, Sainz was there to rub salt in their wounds. Having started the 2024 season on a strong foot, Sainz has Ferrari fans dreaming, and should he be able to keep his form up, Hamilton’s move to Ferrari will come under further doubt.

However, chances are that with Sainz’s rising stock, another top team, perhaps Red Bull, will sign him up. Currently, out of a seat for the 2025 season, Sainz could receive an offer from Red Bull that might be too tempting to let go. However, until something comes along, the best Sainz can do is continue to fight at the front of the field and add to the pressure on Hamilton for when he replaces him.

Credits: IMAGO / Motorsport Images

The 2024 season has been off to a blistering start, thanks to a Carlos Sainz win in Australia. Returning from an appendectomy, the Spanish driver put in a great drive to secure the top spot on the podium, in the same race where the dominant Max Verstappen retired due to brake issues. Sergio Perez was the only Red Bull driver out on the track, and he failed to register a podium finish amid a Ferrari 1-2. Referring to the same as Red Bull’s Achilles’ Heel, former Ferrari driver Rene Arnoux claimed Ferrari might have a shot at the constructors’ championship in 2024.

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Arnoux, as reported by F1 Maximaal, took a dig at Verstappen’s teammate Perez’s level. He said,

“I hope they can fight for the constructors’ title, also because Perez does not operate at a very high level. In fact, I think that if Ferrari doesn’t have any major problems this season, they almost have a better chance than Red Bull.” 

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Perez had a strong start to the season, finishing in 2nd in the first two races. However, when all hopes of Red Bull lay on him, the Mexican driver could not break into the top three. He finished P5, a long way behind race winner Sainz. Hence, Arnoux sees it as a huge problem for the Milton Keynes-based team.

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On the other hand, Ferrari has been improving consistently, closing the gap to Red Bull by a small margin every race. While Arnoux doubts Ferrari has reached Red Bull’s level, he is confident that they are closing in on the reigning two time champions. Overall, though, the Ferrari drivers seem confident of making a move given the chance, especially because of Perez’s shaky weekend in Melbourne.

Ferrari ready to take the fight to Red Bull

Sainz won the Australian GP with an incredible drive, much to the delight of the Tifosi. However, his win could have been helped by the fact that Verstappen had to retire due to reliability issues. Despite the same, Fred Vasseur wants his side to carry their form and pile the pressure on Red Bull. Should they be able to do so, Vasseur believes Red Bull will continue to make mistakes and lose out on vital points.

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There have also been reports of engineers back at their Maranello factory currently working on an upgrade for the SF-24. Should everything work out the way Ferrari wants, their first major upgrade package will arrive at the Emilia Romagna GP. Even Carlos Sainz is hopeful of closing in on the gap to Red Bull, if their upgrades come in perfectly.

As things currently stand, Red Bull holds a slight advantage over Ferrari in the rankings. With two wins and four podiums, the Austrian team has 97 points and is in P1 in the constructors’ championship. Meanwhile, with one win and four podiums, Ferrari is just three points behind Red Bull in the rankings.

David and Victoria Beckham have traveled with their kids to Indonesia to soak up the sun and spend some quality time together as a family of 6

The Beckhams are having a ball in Bali!

For their third family vacation of the summer, David and Victoria Beckham have traveled with all four of their kids to Indonesia, where they’ve been soaking up the sun, hitting the beach, and spending some quality time together as a family of 6.

In one photo from the trip, Victoria Beckham captured a sweet photograph of her eldest son Brooklyn carrying Cruz, 13, on his shoulders — while her husband of 19 years shouldered both Harper, 7, and Romeo, 15.

“Love my babies 💕kisses from us all x VB,” she captioned the gravity-defying shot.

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She also shared a sweet video of Brooklyn, 19, holding his little sister’s hand while the pair skipped down an empty path together.

Alongside the video she wrote, “Harper loves her big brother so much 💕 kisses @brooklynbeckham X VB.”

 Victoria Beckham Teases Her ‘Uber Driver’ (AKA Her Shirtless Son Brooklyn) in New Photo

While David, 43, also shared some adorable candid photos of the pair’s children, Brooklyn, 19, went on to poke fun at his excessive sunscreen use.

“Not enough sunscreen on,” he wrote alongside a video in which he kept applying more sunscreen to his face, even though it was already visibly covered with the protective lotion.

While staying on the island of Sumba, at the exclusive Nihi Sumba resort, the family of six also spent a day with the Sumba Foundation, a non-profit organization that brings healthcare, clean water, employment and education to local inhabitants of the island.

During their trip, the family played games — including soccer — with a group of local children, while also helping them practice their English.

“Special day with the inspiring students in Sumba, “Victoria wrote alongside a series of photos documenting the day.. “We loved hanging out helping to teach English and play games!@nihisumba @sumbafoundation X.”

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Shortly after opening the resort — which was named as one of the best hotels in the world in 2016 by Travel + Leisure readers — hotelier Claude Graves set up the corresponding nonprofit organization. Nihi Sumba is responsible for much of the island’s preservation and donates the majority of its profits to the Sumba Foundation, which has established medical clinics and a malaria-training center that has helped reduce infection rates by 85%.

The luxury resort was also the location of Brody Jenner‘s recent marriage to Kaitlynn Carter.

A Difficult childhood, fatherless homes, gang warfare, and constant problems with the law were common events for these two fighters. One of them chose boxing, chose development as an athlete; and the second went down the crooked road of crime. We are talking about boxers Mike Tyson and Reggie Gross…

 

Francis Ngannou Has an Unexpected Reaction After Mike Tyson Calls Jon Jones the MMA GOAT to His Face

Francis Ngannou is gearing up for his first-ever professional boxing match against Tyson Fury next month. Moreover, he is training with boxing icon Mike Tyson for that fight. Recently, both Ngannou and Tyson paired up for an interview where the latter claimed that Jon Jones was his favorite MMA fighter. ‘The Predator’ had an interesting reaction to that claim.

Ngannou has been training hard under Mike Tyson for his fight in Saudi Arabia in October. The duo recently convened to engage in a discourse regarding some of the most exceptional athletes and performers in history in a video posted by ‘Complex’. Let us now examine the proceedings of the aforementioned interview.

 

Mike Tyson calls Jon Jones his MMA “GOAT”

As both ‘Iron’ and ‘The Predator’ were having a conversation, the question popped up about the best fighter in MMA for each individual. Firstly, Tyson stated Francis Ngannou is his favorite fighter since they’re training together. The boxing icon said, “God! You [Ngannou].” But then he mentioned about the reigning heavyweight champion and the Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov. “There’s so many of them. I like Jon Jones, I like Khabib [Nurmagomedov],” said Mike Tyson.

But he maintained his ground on claiming that Jon Jon Jones is the best. This pick stems from the fact that ‘Bones’ had some misfortunes outside the Octagon – from his legal battles to failed drug tests. Despite that, Jones was still able to become a champion in the UFC. Tyson added, “I have to go with Jon Jones because of all of his adversity, and all he went through and he still managed to become champion. ” Meanwhile, Ngannou shared a rather usual response to Tyson’s pick.

 

Francis Ngannou sides with Tyson

MMA fans are clamoring to witness Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones fight each other inside a cage. It is a fight that they have wanted for a long time. Moreover, some fans thought that there might be some bad blood between the two heavyweights. However, that is not the case. There is nothing but respect between Ngannou and Jones.

 

 

As such, when it came to Francis Ngannou to talk about his pick for the best MMA fighter, he echoed the same sentiment as Mike Tyson. “As long as I want to fight Jon Jones, I still think he’ll be my GOAT MMA fighter because he’s just so good,” said the Cameroonian-French fighter. Given his prowess and achievements, Ngannou had to pick Jon Jones as the GOAT of MMA.

Mike Tyson is a true legend of the heavyweight division. He entered the ring to literally kill his opponents with his insane rage and power…

 

 

Dana White explains passing on Hulu deal out of respect for Mike Tyson: ‘I killed the deal’

Dana White confirms he turned down a deal with Hulu out of respect for Mike Tyson.

Over the weekend, Tyson lambasted the streaming giant Hulu for their upcoming miniseries about his life, thanking White for his ongoing friendship in the process. Speaking with reporters after The Contender Series on Tuesday evening, White addressed Tyson’s recent declaration, confirming the story to be true and explaining why he did so.

“We were about to do a deal, or on the verge of a deal with Hulu, to promote this Mike Tyson unauthorized biography or whatever it is,” White said. “Craig Borsari, my head of production, came to me and said, ‘Hey, I’m hearing that Tyson isn’t happy about this thing’. So, I called Mike and I said, ‘We’re in a deal with these guys. We have a verbal to do this deal with them and he said, ‘Dana, they’re f****** me,’ and that’s all I had to hear. I said, ‘I’m out, then. I’ll squash this deal.’ So, I killed the deal and told them it was over, that I killed it, and we won’t be promoting that show for Hulu.”

Tyson is irate with Hulu over the “Mike” miniseries, claiming that he had no hand in it nor is he being paid for the representation of his life story. In a series of social media posts, Tyson attacked the streaming giant for “their slave master take over story” about his life and their business practices, which according to Tyson, include lying to his friends about his involvement in the show.

“Hulu tried to desperately pay my brother [Dana White] millions without offering me a dollar to promote their slave master take over story about my life. He turned it down because he honors friendship and treating people with dignity. I’ll never forget what he did for me just like I’ll never forget what Hulu stole from me.”

“Don’t let Hulu fool you. I don’t support their story about my life. It’s not 1822. It’s 2022. They stole my life story and didn’t pay me. To Hulu executives I’m just a n***** they can sell on the auction block.”

 

 

“Mike” is the latest creation from screenwriter Steven Rogers, who is best known for writing and producing “I, Tonya,” a 2017 biographical comedy of Tonya Harding, a film which received criticism for disregarding facts in pursuit of a better story. In that instance though, Harding gave the movie her blessing, whereas Hulu acknowledges “Mike” as “an unauthorized and no-holds-barred look at the life of Mike Tyson.”

Fellow model Helena Christensen also came out to support Beckham at the fashion event

Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham. PHOTO: MATTEO PRANDONI/BFA.COM/SHUTTERSTOCK

Victoria Beckham got an assist from her friend Katie Holmes while celebrating the launch of her new watch collection with Breitling on Friday.

“Such an amazing evening celebrating the new Victoria Beckham x @Breitling collection in NYC!!” the former Spice Girl, 49, captioned a post on Instagram which featured a carousel of photos of her posing in front of a neon sign announcing her collaboration with the Swiss watch company.

Victoria posed alone in one photo and with Holmes, 45, in another. Both women wore black outfits, with Victoria telling her fans that her suit was from her eponymous clothing brand.

“I’m wearing my signature #VBSS24 tailored suit (coming soon!) and B Frame Belt! Kisses,” she wrote.

Holmes wore a back top with a cutout at the midriff, and paired it with a black blazer, a white skirt and black heels.

Katie Holmes, Victoria Beckham and Breitling CEO Georges Kern.MATTEO PRANDONI/BFA.COM/SHUTTERSTOCK

Victoria Beckham Says Recent Beckham Docuseries Felt ‘Quite Liberating’

Victoria also tagged Holmes and the other friends she posed with, including model and designer Helena Christensen, model Annemary Aderibigbe and model-turned-entrepreneur Isabela Grutman.

Christensen, 55, wore a long off-white dress with black heels. Aderibigbe chose a simple black sleeveless dress with a plunging neckline, and Grutman wore a red floor-length turtleneck dress.

Victoria’s husband, David Beckham, expressed his support for his wife’s latest venture in the comments of the post. “Looking lovely as ever ❤️ @victoriabeckham,” he wrote.

The couple has been quite busy with solo projects and collaborations lately. As they teased on Instagram Tuesday, they’re gearing up for the premiere of their Super Bowl commercial with Uber Eats, which will also feature Jennifer Aniston.

Helena Christensen and Victoria Beckham.MATTEO PRANDONI/BFA.COM/SHUTTERSTOCK

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David and Victoria announced the project with a video spoof of a viral moment from their Netflix docuseries Beckham. During a sit-down interview in the series, Victoria says she grew up “very working class,” prompting David to peek his head around a corner to implore his wife to “be honest” about her upbringing. After a bit of teasing from her husband, Victoria admits that her father drove a Rolls-Royce.