SILVERSTONE, UK: On a day when Brad Pitt joined the Formula One grid to shoot his new movie, defending champion Max Verstappen was reduced to a cameo role in his own win with F1 fans gripped by the fight for second place.
Apart from losing the lead to Lando Norris at the start — and then taking it back — Verstappen’s cruise on Sunday to yet another win — his sixth in a row — lacked the Hollywood-style drama of Norris’ battle with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton for second.
That fits a pattern this season of dominant wins for the Red Bull driver and increasingly hard-fought battles behind him as Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and now McLaren jostle to be the second-fastest team.
“It’s very confusing, to be honest, because every single race it’s someone else,” Verstappen said.
Filming for Pitt’s upcoming F1-themed movie had been taking place all weekend around the F1 sessions, using black-and-gold cars from the fictional APX team. Pitt himself and co-star Damson Idris joined the grid in racing suits before the start.
Verstappen extended his overall lead to 99 points over teammate Sergio Perez. First place in a race earns 25 points.
Starting in pole position, Verstappen was overtaken off the line by McLaren’s Norris in what he later admitted was a “terrible” start but swept back into the lead on lap five and held on until the end. Red Bull has won all 10 races this year, 11 in a row including the final race of 2022, matching the record of McLaren with 11 consecutive wins in 1988.
Norris had been expected to drop back after qualifying a surprise second on the grid, but instead remained Verstappen’s closest challenger throughout the race. After a safety-car restart, he fought wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton, who had what were in theory faster tires, but held on to second for his and McLaren’s best result since 2021. “It was an amazing fight,” Norris said.
Hamilton had started seventh and credited the crowd for powering him to a 14th career podium finish at his home race. “I didn’t do it, the crowd did,” he said. “I felt the energy, I felt the support. This is the reason we got back up there.”
McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was a career-best fourth ahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate George Russell as McLaren’s upgraded car proved far more competitive than even the team had predicted.
Perez was off the podium for the fourth time in five races, finishing sixth after starting 15th, with seventh for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and an impressive eighth for Alexander Albon of Williams.
When Kevin Magnussen broke down with flames coming from the back of his Haas on lap 33 of 52, it gave drivers including Verstappen, Norris and Hamilton the chance to pit under the safety car without losing time. Ferrari was among the losers because Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had just pitted. They finished ninth and 10th respectively.
Race organizers and police were on high alert to prevent a repeat of the protest at last year’s race when environmental activists stormed the track. That included police using a facial recognition system on the entry gates to the circuit, a relatively new and controversial technology in Britain.
Drivers had warned against a repeat of track protests, arguing it would risk their safety and that of any protesters entering a live track. Last year’s protest took place shortly after a crash had caused a red-flag stoppage, meaning cars were already going more slowly on their way to the pits.
Before the Grand Prix on Sunday, environmental group Last Generation delayed the start of a DTM sportscar race in Nuremberg, Germany, after pouring oil onto the track.
Max Verstappen takes 6th straight F1 win at British GP after epic fight for 2nd
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Max Verstappen takes 6th straight F1 win at British GP after epic fight for 2nd
- Starting in pole position, Verstappen was overtaken off the line by McLaren’s Norris
- F1 fans gripped by the fight for second place
Manchester United to leave Old Trafford for 100,000-seat stadium
- The stadium, which will be built on land surrounding Old Trafford, $2.6 billion and the project timescale is five years
- “Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium,” Ratcliffe said
LONDON: Manchester United on Tuesday announced plans to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium close to their historic Old Trafford home, which co-owner Jim Ratcliffe promised would be the “world’s greatest” football ground.
The momentous decision by the Premier League club comes after an extensive consultation process on whether to develop their creaking current ground or move.
The stadium, which will be built on land surrounding Old Trafford, will cost around £2 billion ($2.6 billion) and the project timescale is five years.
United, 20-time English league champions, are one of the world’s most iconic football clubs but have fallen behind rivals such as Manchester City and Liverpool over the past decade.
They are having a dismal season under current manager Ruben Amorim, languishing 14th in the Premier League table and knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.
Ratcliffe himself this week told the BBC some of the club’s players are “not good enough” and some are “overpaid.”
Scaled models and conceptual images for United’s new stadium were revealed on Tuesday at the London headquarters of architects Foster + Partners, appointed in September to design the stadium district.
“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the center of a regenerated Old Trafford,” Ratcliffe said in a club statement.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport.”
United said the stadium and a wider regeneration project had the potential to deliver an additional £7.3 billion per year to the UK economy, including the possible creation of 92,000 new jobs.
Old Trafford, which has been the club’s home since 1910, will be demolished once construction is completed.
A joint task force was created last year to explore options for regenerating the Old Trafford area of Greater Manchester, with the stadium development at his heart.
It was led by Sebastian Coe, chairman of the organizing committee for the 2012 London Olympics, and also included the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
British billionaire Ratcliffe, born in Greater Manchester, said in London on Tuesday that United, as the “world’s favorite football club and the biggest in my opinion,” deserved a stadium befitting its stature.
Old Trafford is England’s biggest club ground with a capacity of around 74,000 but criticism of the stadium has grown in recent years, with issues including leaks from the roof.
The proposed new stadium will rank as Europe’s second biggest, behind only Barcelona’s Camp Nou, which will accommodate 105,000 fans once an upgrade is completed.
The move to a new ground has been backed by former United boss Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles during his reign of nearly 27 years that ended in 2013.
“Old Trafford holds so many special memories for me personally, but we must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made,” he said.
United, whose struggles on the pitch are matched by problems off it, are around £1 billion in debt and have yet to say how they will pay for the new stadium.
But chief executive Omar Berrada said he was confident the club would find a way to finance the stadium as it was a “very attractive investment opportunity.”
Foster + Partners designed the new Wembley stadium and the Lusail stadium, the venue for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar.
Norman Foster, founder of Foster + Partners, said United’s new stadium would feature an umbrella design sheltering a public plaza that is “twice the size of Trafalgar Square” in London.
The design will feature three masts described as “Trident,” which the architects say will be 200 meters high and visible from 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.
The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust said it was vital that fans were consulted throughout the process.
The group said in a statement: “Will it drive up ticket prices and force out local fans? Will it harm the atmosphere, which is consistently fans’ top priority in the ground?
“Will it add to the debt burden which has held back the club for the last two decades? Will it lead to reduced investment in the playing side at a time when it is so badly needed?“
Tyson Fury and Wayne Rooney to lead England squad at Soccer Aid 2025
- UNICEF says the charity match pitting England against a World XI will take place on June 15 at United’s home stadium
- Former United players Gary Neville and Paul Scholes will also be back at Old Trafford alongside ex-England international Rooney
MANCHESTER, England: Former world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury and ex-Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney will coach an England squad made up of athletes and celebrities for Soccer Aid 2025 at Old Trafford.
UNICEF says the charity match pitting England against a World XI will take place on June 15 at United’s home stadium.
Former England Women players Jill Scott and Steph Houghton, One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, singer Tom Grennan, Olympic great Mo Farah, ex-England goalkeeper Joe Hart and former Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci are among those who have confirmed their commitment to the event created by pop star Robbie Williams in 2006.
Former United players Gary Neville and Paul Scholes will also be back at Old Trafford alongside ex-England international Rooney, who will take on a player-manager role.
UNICEF says it has raised more than £106 million ($137 million) for children worldwide since the first game. The money raised helps it deliver crucial programs providing food, health care, safe spaces and crisis support to young people in need.
“The prospect of leading my England team to victory this June fills me with just as much excitement as any heavyweight fight,” said Fury. “Everyone knows that I am a huge Manchester United fan too, so it’s even more special for me that the game is at Old Trafford this year, and I get to manage one of my heroes, Wayne Rooney.”
Meet Formula 1’s biggest rookie intake in years. Some already are targeting the podium
- Antonelli is part of F1’s biggest intake of new drivers in years as top teams put some trust in youth
- Six of the 20 drivers on the 2025 grid are starting their first full seasons in F1
Andrea Kimi Antonelli once hid in a stack of tires to get through security and into the Formula 1 paddock. Now the 18-year-old Italian is Lewis Hamilton’s successor at Mercedes.
Antonelli is among F1’s biggest intake of new drivers in years as top teams put some trust in youth. Six of the 20 drivers on the 2025 grid are starting their first full seasons in F1. Some could potentially compete for wins. Others already risk losing a hard-won F1 seat.
An unexpectedly talented Formula 2 field last season came at a time when some F1 teams were keen to move on from older drivers like Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas. Switching in 2025 gives teams a chance to let youngsters gain experience before the F1 car design rules change radically for 2026.
Here’s a look at the rookie class:
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Stepping into a seven-time champion’s shoes at Mercedes puts the spotlight on Antonelli, who is set to become the third-youngest F1 driver ever. The Italian wants to be known as just “the next Mercedes driver” because of Hamilton’s legacy. The first time Antonelli visited an F1 paddock was age eight in 2014 when his father Marco — who ran a team in a support series — hid him in a stack of tires under an umbrella to get past security and into the German Grand Prix. “That was a really cool experience,” he said last month. Antonelli had a stellar record in junior series and was sixth in F2 last year but a heavy crash in practice for Mercedes at Monza in August was a tough introduction to F1.
Liam Lawson
The Red Bull driver is the odd man out in this list because he’s taken part in 11 F1 races since 2023, though never a full season. He says he’ll feel “more like a rookie” at the start of the season on tracks he hasn’t raced before. Partnering four-time champion Max Verstappen as the replacement for Perez is a daunting task for Lawson, who knocked Verstappen out of qualifying in only his third F1 race in Singapore in 2023. The New Zealander needs to justify Red Bull’s decision to elevate him over his 2024 teammate — and former roommate — Yuki Tsunoda, who outperformed Lawson over their six races together last year.
Oliver Bearman
It’s less than a year since Bearman burst onto the scene in F1 with a combative seventh-place finish for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia while Carlos Sainz Jr. was sidelined because of surgery. He’d never previously raced in Jeddah and was racing with two days’ notice. Bearman beat experienced teammate Nico Hülkenberg in two races for Haas later that year and is now a full-time Haas driver for 2025. Bearman remains part of Ferrari’s junior program but displacing regular Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc is unlikely any time soon.
Jack Doohan
The son of legendary motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan enters 2025 with his F1 career under threat as soon as it has begun. Alpine’s decision to sign ex-Williams driver Franco Colapinto as reserve means a would-be replacement is available if Doohan doesn’t impress team management. “You’re always going to have pressure on your shoulders because you’re in such a cut-throat sport,” Doohan said. The Australian driver placed third in F2 in 2023 but didn’t race at all last year until a surprise entry for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Finishing 15th, he was far off the pace of teammate Pierre Gasly in seventh.
Isack Hadjar
Lawson’s promotion to Red Bull left an opening at its second team, now rebranded Racing Bulls, for F2 runner-up Hadjar. The French driver arrives at a team with a history of changing drivers mid-season if they don’t perform. Even eight-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo didn’t last a full year there in 2024.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Despite winning the F2 title last season, beating Hadjar, Antonelli and Bearman, Bortoleto’s arrival in F1 has been overshadowed by his former rivals. That’s partly because his new team Sauber struggled last year and is marking time before a full rebrand as the Audi works team in 2026. With a helmet design paying tribute to three-time champion Ayrton Senna, Bortoleto is F1’s first full-time Brazilian driver since 2017.
Ronaldo, Duran take Al-Nassr into last 8
- Ronaldo, who missed the first leg in Iran, kept his cool and produced a perfect Panenka penalty into the center of the goal to bag his seventh goal of the tournament so far
- Duran got his second five minutes from the end — found in space on the right side of the penalty area — he fired a low shot into the far corner in emphatic fashion
Al-Nassr booked their AFC Champions League Elite quarter-final place on Monday with a comfortable 3-0 win over Esteghlal of Iran.
After a frustrating first leg ended 0-0 in Tehran a week earlier, Jhon Duran and Cristiano Ronaldo did the damage in Riyadh to dump the visitors out of the tournament.
Duran opened the scoring after just nine minutes in spectacular fashion. The Colombian, signed from Aston Villa in January, found space on the right corner of the penalty area and produced an exquisite lob that the goalkeeper got a hand to but could not prevent crossing the line.
After Sadio Mane was fouled in the area, Ronaldo, who missed the first leg in Iran, kept his cool and produced a perfect Panenka penalty into the center of the goal to bag his seventh goal of the tournament so far.
What was already a tough task became mission impossible for the Tehran club after they were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half time. Mehran Ahmadi was shown a second yellow and as he exited the pitch, with a consoling arm of Ronaldo around his shoulders, he took the slim hopes of Esteghlal with him.
It was then a case of damage limitation and Al-Nassr remained in total control of the tie. Five minutes after the restart, Duran fired a fierce shot against the bar from just outside the area.
The Colombian got his second five minutes from the end. He was found in space on the right side of the penalty area and fired a low shot into the far corner in emphatic fashion.
It ended a perfect evening for the Yellows — seeking a first Asian championship — who are the first Saudi Arabian club to make the last eight.
Al-Ahli are expected to join them on Tuesday after winning their first leg 3-1 against Al-Rayyan of Qatar last week. Al-Hilal, however, have much more work to do after losing 1-0 at the Uzbekistan home of Pakhtakor.
Elsewhere, Al-Sadd of Qatar defeated Dubai’s Al-Wasl 3-1 to take the tie 4-2 on aggregate.
KL Rahul: India’s unsung hero and chase-finishing maestro
- Rohit was full of praise for Rahul’s composure at the sharp end of the nerve-shredding chases
DUBAI: KL Rahul was hailed Monday as India’s Champions Trophy unsung hero, having twice kept a cool head under pressure to see his team to victory in tense semifinal and finals.
Captain Rohit Sharma top-scored with 76 to lead India to a four-wicket final win over New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday, following Virat Kohli’s 84 to anchor India’s semifinal chase against Australia.
Both won Player of the Match awards for their respective knocks, but after they had departed it had been No. 6 Rahul, almost under the radar, who had kept calm to guide India across the finish line.
He was unbeaten on 34 in the final as India chased down 252, just a few days after his 42 not out took India past Australia’s 264 in the last four of the 50-over competition.
Rohit was full of praise for Rahul’s composure at the sharp end of the nerve-shredding chases.
“Look, when we discussed KL’s batting position, that is one thing we discussed quite deeply about how calm he is when he is batting,” Rohit said after guiding India to a third Champions Trophy crown.
“I’m very, very happy with how he ... batted in the pressure situation, both in the semifinals and this game.
“With KL being there, we know that he’s got that mind where he keeps himself calm and keeps the dressing room also very calm.”
While Rohit and Kohli grabbed the headlines, a softly spoken and smiling Rahul, 32, was quietly enjoying his first win in an ICC championship.
“ICC victories are not so easy to get and it’s my first one, so I’m over the moon,” Rahul said.
“It’s been a complete team effort, all 11-12 players have stood up and their chance and opportunity has come and it’s one of the biggest reasons why we have ended up winning the tournament.”
An elegant batsman, Rahul started off as an opener for India in white-ball cricket.
But a loss of form and intense media scrutiny forced him to reinvent his batting.
He dropped down to No. 6 recently as he edged out Rishabh Pant behind the stumps.
“What I have been taught by my coaches from an early age is that cricket’s a team game and whatever the team requires of you, you need to be able to do that,” said Rahul, who sports a trademark beard and a man bun on his tattooed, athletic frame.
“It requires a lot of preparation, lot of work outside the field. I just watch and learn from the batsmen I like at four, five, six.”
Rahul started his cricketing journey as a wicketkeeper-batsman but had given up the gloves in domestic cricket.
It was not until an injury to Pant against Australia in 2020 that he again stood behind the stumps.
“I kept wickets in the series, played at No. 5 and performed well,” said Rahul.
“From then on the captain and team management thought I could do that role.”
