25/07/2025

SPORTS FRIDAY | JULY 25, 2025

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M AX VERSTAPPEN and Red Bull seek a successful reset of their season as they launch a new era at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, their first without Christian Horner in charge. As Formula One resumes after a mini break, McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris intensify their duel to succeed the Dutchman as world champion. While Norris seeks his third consecutive win in a bid to reduce teammate Piastri’s eight-point lead it will be Red Bull under the greatest scrutiny as they embark on a new adventure under Frenchman Laurent Mekies. Never before has a Red Bull team raced without the 51-year-old Briton Horner, who was dismissed unexpectedly two weeks ago following 20 years of success, including guiding Verstappen to four consecutive world titles from 2021-2024. His successor Mekies, promoted from junior team Racing Bulls, faces a daunting challenge – not only in keeping the team’s focus and performance at the majestic high speed circuit in the Ardennes, but in bringing stability to Red Bull after a stormy period. Verstappen, born in Belgium, has been Wolff backs Russell, Antonelli GEORGE RUSSELL and Kimi Antonelli are Mercedes’ first choice for next season, team boss Toto Wolff said in comments appearing to rule out an immediate move for Red Bull’s four-time Formula One champion Max Verstappen. Verstappen is third overall at the midpoint of the 24-round campaign, 69 points behind McLaren’s overall leader Oscar Piastri and 61 adrift of the Australian’s British teammate Lando Norris. The Dutch driver’s dream of a fifth successive title is disappearing and, with a new engine era starting in 2026 and the Mercedes power unit expected to be the pick of the field, there has been talk of Verstappen switching. That speculation was put in even sharper focus after Red Bull sacked long-serving team boss Christian Horner this month, with Laurent Mekies in charge at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. Russell’s contract expires at the end of the season, although he is also managed by Mercedes, while 18-year-old rookie Antonelli only joined this year and is a big talent for the future. “The direction of travel is that we want to continue with George and Kimi. That is the first priority,“ Wolff told Austria’s ORF television yesterday. “You can’t look past someone like Max and the plans he has for the future. We did that, but I don’t think there will be any big surprises.” ORF said that while Verstappen had performance clauses, he would have needed to be outside the top three after Silverstone to trigger his contract release. Social media lit up this month after Wolff and Verstappen were reported to be on vacation at the same time and in the same area of Sardinia, but the Mercedes boss dismissed any significance in that. “If you go on holiday close to each other, it doesn’t mean that you are also going to work together in Formula One,“ he said. “We have always got along well. We also happen to vacation in similar areas.” – Reuters

Reset at Spa Verstappen, Red Bull embark on new era under Mekies

track favour his car, but he remains a distant third in a title race led by the McLaren men whose intra-team scrap may be their undoing. After his outburst at receiving a 10-second penalty at Silverstone, Piastri is expected to be in feisty mood going into the Belgian and Hungarian double-header that precedes the August “summer holiday” and another close contest is in prospect. Like Piastri, Mercedes’ George Russell will revel in a chance to show his speed in the often changeable conditions, having been stripped of victory last year because his car was underweight. That handed seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton his 105th and last triumph – and he remains in search of his first podium with Ferrari who arrive in Belgium with intent and a major upgrade package. – AFP

circuit where you have to do everything right to get a good lap. “I enjoy the high-speed corners such as Eau Rouge, the layout which is different to other circuits, and elevation changes that make the track more of a challenge to drive.” After a desultory outing at Silverstone, where he finished fifth after starting from pole position, Verstappen will enjoy returning to one of his “home” events, hoping Mekies can rekindle the team’s spark to bring him a fourth career win at Spa. Mekies said he would spend his first weeks in the job “meeting the guys and girls who do the magic behind the scenes... to try to understand this beautiful magic machine”. His first test will be tomorrow’s sprint race. A win for Verstappen would not be a huge surprise as the characteristics of the Ardennes

linked with a move to Mercedes for 2026 and, while Horner has remained silent since his bombshell exit, the champion has welcomed the arrival of Mekies, who has an engineering background and avoids confrontation and discord. His appointment brings an end to 18 months of rumour and intrigue during which Horner was investigated for alleged inappropriate conduct, the team lost the constructors’ title to McLaren and saw key staff members leave. “I was back at the factory last week to spend some time in the simulator with the team,” said Verstappen in a team release that made no mention of Horner’s departure. “I’m looking forward to working closely with Laurent. “Spa is a classic and always my favourite track on the calendar – a very old school

Trek team’s Jonathan Milan wearing the best sprinter’s green jersey cycles to the finish line to win the 17th stage of the 112th edition of the Tour de France. – AFPPIC

Milan wins crash-marred sprint as Alpine end game looms

ITALY’S escaped

rider now has 312 points, and is in a p o w e r f u l position to win the battle for the green jersey in Paris as Pogacar is second at 240 with only two possible sprints left at 50pts each. As the remaining 164 riders embarked from the sleepy Provence village of Bollene, the collective will of the peloton made for a slow approach of the Alps. Billed as a sprinters stage on an unusually mild (22C) day the riders were also spared the 50kph winds that had been forecast. But the rain deprived the stage of a full bunch sprint due to the horrid fall. Attention now turns to three massive climbs culminating with the ascent to the 2304m altitude Col de la Loze on stage 18 will sort the wheat from the chaff. Team UAE rider Pogacar seemed unperturbed. “We can’t get arrogant, we need to keep it simple and stay quiet,” said the 26-year-old. “I’m really looking forward to it. I have been beaten there before but I have good legs and maybe I’ll get my revenge,” he said. – AFP

Jonathan

Milan

a spectacular pile up of flying bikes and bodies to win stage 17 of the Tour de France in lashing rain

yestersday, extending his lead in the sprint points race. Overall leader Tadej Pogacar and his closest rival Jonas Vingegaard (4min 15sec behind) finished safely despite a mass fall 800m from the finish line at Valence at the foot of the Alps. On the rain-slick roads at Valence once one rider had fallen his interminable slide across the tarmac sent riders flying like skittles leaving only 10 to contest the sprint. “It was chaotic but incredible. I was expecting a bit of rain. We placed as best as we could and the guys put me in the best spot just before the fall,” said Milan. This was a second stage win for Milan, who won Italy’s first stage since 2019 on stage eight. The 24-year-old Lidl Trek

Fritz, Medvedev advance at DC Open

the heat and everything. “Happy with the way I played better and better during the match and looking forward.” Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev meanwhile tumbled out to Learner Tien of the United States, losing 7-5, 6-2. In the women’s draw, second seed Emma Navarro bowed out to Greece’s Maria Sakkari, losing 7-5, 7-6 (7-1). Third seed Elena Rybakina booked her place in the quarterfinals meanwhile with a comfortable 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Canada’s Victoria Mboko. In the women’s doubles meanwhile, the 45 year-old Venus Williams and partner Hailey Baptiste pushed second-seeded duo Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai all the way before losing 6-4, 3-6, 10-6. – AFP

TOP SEED Taylor Fritz romped into the last 16 at the ATP/WTA DC Open yesterday as Russian eighth seed Daniil Medvedev overcame an early scare to advance to the third round. World No. 4 Fritz, playing his first match since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals at Wimbledon earlier this month, cruised past Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2 in 59 minutes. The American dominated Vukic with a powerful service game while producing a slew of superb backhands in a stream of 28 winners to ease into a last 16 clash against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi. “I felt like I played pretty well all around, but

the shot that stood out was the backhand line,” Fritz told The Tennis Channel after his win. “I don’t usually like that shot but it just felt like every single one I tried today was going in.” Earlier, Russia’s Medvedev was made to grind through a roller-coaster tussle with big-serving US player Reilly Opelka before coming through 3 6, 7-5, 6-1. After battling to square the match in the second set, Medvedev took advantage of Opelka’s shaky serve in the decider to move on. “I didn’t return well until 6-5 in the second but I always tried to look for solutions,” Medvedev said. “Maybe he got a bit tired with

Fritz. – AFPPIC