Red Bull missed out on victory in the Austrian Grand Prix after a race-changing collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
The Dutchman had been on course to win the race only for delays at his second pit-stop to bring Norris back into play. After a frenzied multi-lap battle, contact between the Red Bull and the McLaren damaged both cars and took both out of contention for the win.
Verstappen would duly cross the line 5th, with Norris failing to finish altogether. Meanwhile, the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez would finish 7th after failing to clear the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg.
Despite failing to win, Verstappen extended his lead in the Driver’s Championship thanks to both Norris and Charles Leclerc failing to score points. The reigning champion currently holds an 81 point lead on Norris, who in turn is 6 clear of Leclerc.
Perez, meanwhile, is in 5th in the championship. He is 17 points behind Carlos Sainz and 6 clear of Oscar Piastri.
In the Constructors Championship, Red Bull retain their advantage with the Milton Keynes-based team now 64 points ahead of second place Ferrari and 87 ahead of McLaren.
The trajectory of the race changed for Verstappen after a slow pit stop with 20 laps to go. Having lead from the start, the Dutchman came in still leading the race despite admitting he was uncomfortable on the hard tyres.
But delays on changing one of his rear tyres kept Verstappen in the pits for longer than Norris, who had pit on the same lap. A lock-up on his outlap then also helped slash the gap, which went from being 7 seconds to just over 2, and with the McLaren on fresh tyres gaining on a Red Bull using pre-used tyres.
Norris duly began launching multiple attacks on Verstappen, but seemed to have hit a drag on momentum when he overshot the track in a move on lap 59, which would later earn him a 5 second time penalty.
Norris then also forced Verstappen off, adding to the drama, until eventually, on lap 64, the two made contact at turn 3 as Norris tried to dive down the inside and Verstappen changed line under braking.
The two stricken cars limped back to the pits, even briefly racing each other despite being on 3 wheels. Verstappen would rejoin the race while Norris was forced to park up and retire the McLaren car.
Verstappen would be deemed at fault and handed a 10 second time penalty, though this would have no bearing on his final position of 5th due to being over 10 seconds ahead of the cars behind.
The damage would however deny Verstappen a chance to win for a 6th time at the Red Bull Ring, as Mercedes instead profited to see George Russell swipe the Austrian Grand Prix victory.
Meanwhile, Perez had made a quick start to bypass Charles Leclerc and Piastri, although he required robust defending to hold off the McLaren. Piastri would however jump back past him a few laps after the start.
Perez’s hopes would however be hit by damage from contact with Piastri on lap one, which limited his pace, and his hopes were further hurt when he picked up a 5 second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his first pit stop.
The Mexican would ultimately spend the final stint of the race frustrated behind the Haas of Hulkenberg. Perez made multiple attempts to get past his former team-mate, but was never able to stick the landing, including a failed attempt on the final lap.
Red Bull will seek to bounce back next week, when the grid moves to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.
Red Bull saw Max Verstappen win the sprint event ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
The championship leader resisted a dual attack by McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to do so, before being able to elude the two McLarens and getting away to take the race win.
The result means Verstappen has now won 10 sprint races since they were introduced to F1 in 2021, more than any other driver.
Meanwhile, team-mate Sergio Perez picked up a point after taking the final points-paying position in 8th on the track.
The result was a good start to the weekend for the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull Racing team, as they compete in the home country of the greater Red Bull parent company, who own the Red Bull Ring track.
In the championship, Verstappen extended his lead on second place Norris, who finished third. The Dutchman leads the McLaren by 71 points.
Meanwhile, Perez remains 5th in the driver’s championship standings, with the Mexican now 8 points behind Carlos Sainz and 18 points ahead of Piastri.
Verstappen had started from pole in the sprint ahead of the two McLarens, but wasn’t quite able to shake Norris and Piastri in the opening phase of the event.
A big moment came on lap 5. After Norris had spent the early laps chasing Verstappen, Norris made a lunge into turn 3 and made it stick, getting past the Red Bull.
But at the end of the straight into the next corner, Verstappen was able to pry an opening and swoop back past Norris, bringing Piastri with him.
With the two McLarens squabbling, it allowed Verstappen to just eke out a gap before tyre management concerns by the two McLarens allowed Verstappen to pull further clear.
It meant that the Dutchman was able to take the win by just over 4 seconds.
Meanwhile, Perez lost a position from seventh on the starting grid to Charles Leclerc, and although he had enough of a gap on Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll to consolidate a grip on the final points place, he was unable to get past anyone ahead.
The full Austrian Grand Prix takes place tomorrow (30/06) afternoon. Following the qualifying session, Verstappen will start that race from pole ahead of Norris once more, while Perez will begin the full grand prix from 8th in the pack.
MK Dons have confirmed the signing of Joe Pritchard, who will join the club from Accrington Stanley.
The 27-year-old midfielder will move to Stadium MK upon the expiry of his contract with Stanley, and he has signed a contract of undisclosed length with the Dons.
He is the second player to move from Accrington Stanley to MK Dons in the summer 2024 transfer window, with Tommy Leigh confirmed as having already made the move earlier this month.
Pritchard is the Dons’ sixth new signing ahead of the upcoming season, following the arrivals of Conor Lemonhaigh-Evans, Luke Offord, Laurence Maguire, Leigh and Sam Sherring.
The midfielder was a graduate of Spurs’ academy but left before he could make a first team appearance for the North Londoners. After a brief spell at Bolton, Pritchard had his breakthrough in a five year spell with Stanley, where he has scored 22 goals in 135 appearances for the Lancashire club.
Stanley told the official MK Dons website that he was keen to add to the club’s project.
He said, “I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m electric, I’m agile, I like to create chances, get forward, and just have an influence on the team.
“It’s an amazing place with great facilities. I’ve had the tour, and seen the analysis theatre! It’s really exciting.”
Mike Williamson said he was pleased to announce Pritchard as one of the Dons’ new recruits.
He said, “Joe is a fantastic addition to MK Dons. He’s composed on the ball but also capable of producing that little bit of magic as a creative player that sparks an attack. I think our supporters will really enjoy watching him play.”
Police are appealing for information following a robbery in the Conniburrow area of Milton Keynes.
The incident occurred between 4pm and 4.50pm on Tuesday 18 June at Bryony Place.
Two males approached the 18 year old victim and asked him to empty his pockets. One of the offenders then pulled out a weapon and demanded the victim to hand over his designer bag. As a result, the victim handed over their bag to the offenders who then ran off.
Along with the designer bag, the victim’s iPhone and bracelet were also stolen.
The two offenders are described by Thames Valley Police as white males, both aged around 16, and wearing balaclavas. One offender was also described as wearing a grey tracksuit.
Police Staff Investigator Jayde Smith lead by appeal. Investigator Smith said, “We are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this incident, or anyone with information about what happened, to please come forward.
“We are also asking anyone who may have dash-cam or CCTV footage that could assist our enquiry to please come forward.
“You can provide information by calling 101 or through our online pages and quoting reference 43240296488.
“Or if you do not wish to speak to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers who will take your information 100% anonymously. You can call them on 0800 555 111.”
Northampton Town will face Bristol Rovers on the opening day, Wycombe Wanderers in the Carabao Cup and Leicester City’s under-21s in the EFL Trophy in a week of fixture announcements.
In the week where details of the 2024/25 season were confirmed, the Cobblers will start the season proper on August 10th away at Bristol Rovers. This is a game that will start at 5:30pm, with all League One opening day fixtures getting a 5:30pm kick-off time and being televised by Sky Sports as part of their new TV rights deal.
Rovers finished 15th in League One last season, one place and three points behind Northampton in the table, with each side winning the respective home encounter.
Northampton will follow that with a cup tie against fellow League One opposition. As per today’s (27/06) Carabao Cup draw, the Cobblers will host Wycombe Wanderers, with the Chairboys making the trip to Sixfields in the week beginning August 12th 2024. This tie will be played on a date to be confirmed.
Wycombe finished 10th in the league table last season, recording home and away wins over Jon Brady’s side.
After that, Northampton’s first home league game of the season will be against Exeter City, and they will follow that by visiting Barnsley, which will see Northampton face the two sides that made up their final opponents of last season.
A home game against Burton Albion concludes Northampton’s August fixture programme.
At Christmas, Northampton’s Boxing Day match will see them face an away match against Reading, with the Cobblers hosting Charlton Athletic in their last game before Christmas.
Northampton’s final fixture of 2024 will see them face an away game against Shrewsbury Town, before they start 2025 with a New Year’s Day home match against Stevenage.
Charlton and Shrewsbury will also feature as opposition for the Cobblers at Easter, with Northampton travelling to The Valley on Good Friday before welcoming Shrewsbury to their place on Easter Monday.
The final match of the 2024/25 season will see Northampton host Wigan Athletic on Saturday 3rd May, with their final away date of the season being away at Crawley on 26th April.
Northampton’s latest Nene Valley derby clashes with Peterborough United will see them welcome Posh to Sixfields on 7th December, with the return fixture at Peterborough scheduled for early April.
All fixture dates are provisional. With Sky Sports pledging to broadcast every EFL team at least 20 times in the upcoming season as per the terms of their new TV rights deal, it means that fixture rescheduling is to be anticipated, with the first batch confirming picks to the end of September to be announced in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, Northampton’s EFL Trophy draw will see the Cobblers face matches against Leicester City’s under 21s team, Burton Albion and Notts County.
The Cobblers had already been drawn with Burton and Notts County in a pre-draw earlier this week, with Leicester’s academy side added during a live draw earlier today.
Precise fixture dates and times will be announced in due course.
