Red Bull were forced to settle for shares of the points rather than victory or podiums in the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The result saw the team pick up a double points finish in the sprint event, with Max Verstappen crossing the line 4th and teammate Yuki Tsunoda classified 5th in the race at the Lusail International Circuit.
Verstappen finished one place behind championship leader Lando Norris, with the result being that he is now 25 points behind Norris in the championship and if he finishes behind Norris in the full distance Qatar Grand Prix tomorrow (30/11), he will officially be out of contention to win the Driver’s Championship.
Tsunoda picked up points, albeit after two position changes after both he and Andrea Kimi Antonelli handed post-race 5 second time penalties. He is now up to 32 points for the season.
The points total sees Red Bull move up to 400 points in the Constructor’s Championship for the 2025 season, with the Milton Keynes-based team now 41 points behind second place Mercedes and 22 clear of fourth place Ferrari going into the final two races of the season.
The race had something of an anomaly to the starting grid as Tsunoda had outqualified Verstappen in the sprint shootout on Friday, for the first time since his promotion to the Red Bull team early on this season.
On the opening lap, Verstappen was able to climb two places in the field, getting ahead of both the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and then also Tsunoda. For his part, Tsunoda had initially got ahead of Alonso off the line, before his teammate was able to make the move to swap the two Red Bull cars around.
In the early stages, Verstappen had been sniffing around making a move on Norris, who had begun the race from third place. But a move couldn’t be made and the McLaren soon opened up a gap.
With very little action taking place in the race, it meant that the two Red Bull cars remained fourth and fifth to the end of the race.
The sole threat to a change came when Tsunoda was handed a five second time penalty for exceeding track limits too many times. This initially dropped him behind the Mercedes of Antonelli, who had finished within five seconds.
As the cars were returning to the pits after the sprint finished, however, Antonelli was handed his own five second time penalty, which dropped the Italian back down to sixth and allowing Tsunoda to retain his fifth place finish.
The full distance Qatar Grand Prix takes place tomorrow, with qualifying for it taking place after the end of the sprint race. Verstappen will start that from third on the grid, behind the only two other drivers who can win the championship in the form of Oscar Piastri and Norris. Meanwhile, Tsunoda was knocked out in the first part of qualifying and will start the race from 16th position.
MK Dons continued bright form in League Two as they managed a 2-1 home win over Fleetwood Town.
A first half goal by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and second half strike from Aaron Nemane did the business for Paul Warne’s side.
While Ched Evans scored a goal back for the visitors, it was the Dons who took the points, with the home side now on a run of just one defeat in their previous nine League Two outings.
The points were enough to temporarily lift MK Dons to top spot in the League Two table, though they would slip to third after Walsall and Swindon won matches played after the Dons’ early kick-off finished.
On a cold winter’s day in Milton Keynes, the Dons arrived seeking a fourth straight home win in league outings. Making their way to Stadium MK were Fleetwood, who arrived in bright form themselves after a run of 1 defeat in their prior 6 outings, which was enough to see them enter the conversation in the hunt for a play-off place.
After an initial slow start, MK Dons began to see more of the ball going forward, with Joe Tomlinson seeing a strike deflected wide in the early phase of the contest.
Tomlinson, Alex Gilbey and Kane Thompson-Sommers would all see strikes blocked as the Dons made attempts to seek an early way through.
A counter nearly opened the door for the Dons, with a through-pass from a Fleetwood corner releasing Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, but under pressure from Kayden Hughes, he could only strike straight at away keeper Jay Lynch.
Fleetwood’s Liam McCann had a strike held by Craig MacGillivray, while the Dons still maintained a threat as Callum Paterson hit a strike into the side-netting.
In the final ten minutes of the first half, the Dons would take the lead after winning a penalty. Lynch’s challenge on Joe Tomlinson was penalised, and from the spot, Mendez-Laing thrashed the ball into the back of the net. The strike meant back-to-back penalty goals for the winger, who’d scored from the spot against Salford two weeks ago in his previous appearance.
The Dons began the second half in search of more goals, but couldn’t quite make that breakthrough, with Paterson narrowly unable to connect with Nemane’s cross in one near-miss.
MacGillivray made a straight-forward save to keep out Mark Helm, with the same man later seeing a strike blocked as Fleetwood pushed in search of an equaliser.
Matty Virtue would also see a strike kept out by a straightforward MacGillivray intervention as the visitors tried to find a way back, but with 22 minutes to play, MK Dons would grab a second.
Mendez-Laing’s cross was a dangerous one that Paterson launched himself at, with the former Sheffield Wednesday man getting a possible touch as the header clipped the post. But the loose ball fell kindly for Nemane, who duly lashed a strike into the roof of the net.
Just when it seemed like the path was opening up for the Dons to take a comfortable win, however, Fleetwood would grab a goal back, with Evans’ first touch after coming on as a substitute seeing him receive fellow sub Ryan Graydon’s pass and firing a strike into the bottom corner.
In the immediate aftermath, MK Dons went on the attack. Paterson had a header deflected wide at a corner, Lynch denied Gilbey’s strike from a tight angle and Joe Tomlinson fired wide after Gilbey’s miskick from sub Aaron Collins’ cross.
Despite there being 7 minutes of added time, MK Dons proved capable of keeping Fleetwood’s attack from troubling MacGillivray, with the hosts even seeing one more chance come and go as Lynch denied Collins.
But while they weren’t able to extend their advantage, MK Dons got the victory that lifts them back into the automatic promotion places ahead of the league’s pause next weekend for the FA Cup.
MK Dons: MacGillivray – Offord, Ekpiteta, Sanders – Nemane (Jones 70), Kelly, Thompson-Sommers (Collar 85), Gilbey, Tomlinson (Mellish 82) – Mendez-Laing (Collins 70), Paterson
Subs not used: Trueman, Maguire, Tripp
Goal: Mendez-Laing (pen 37), Nemane (68)
Booked: Ekpiteta, Mendez-Laing
Fleetwood: Lynch – Hughes, Holgate, Mullarkey – Ennis (Medley 60) , Virtue (Bonds 70), Neal, Helm, McCann – Davies (Evans 70), Coughlan (Graydon 60)
Subs not used: Harrington, Potter, Morrison
Goal: Evans (72)
Milton Keynes City Council have announced a £20,000 investment to support the creation of a new cultural and creative space in Wolverton’s Old Market Hall.
After previous private sector redevelopment plans failed to materialise, the city council previously stepped in to purchase the former Agora site and is now driving the multi-million pound scheme.
This redevelopment project is looking to bring more than 100 new homes, nine commercial units, a community space and a sustainable mobility hub to the centre of the town, reinstating Wolverton’s historic Victorian street pattern and creating a greener, more dynamic environment.
As part of the wider Future Wolverton regeneration programme, the Old Market Hall in Glyn Square will be transformed into a lively creative and cultural hub. Plans include exhibition areas, artist studios, flexible workspaces, rehearsal and performance spaces and a welcoming bar café open to the public.
MK City Council’s plans would see Market Hall Wolverton become a community owned arts and cultural centre for the whole of Milton Keynes, offering access to performance, cinema, exhibitions and creative studios.
Around 20 light filled studios will provide space for artists to work and share their skills through workshops, while a versatile performance space will host theatre and live events. Exhibition areas will showcase diverse art forms and run regular workshops, creating a vibrant hub that connects local people with artists and creators. The venue will also provide employment pathways for young people needing extra support, offering real work experience and skills development in a supportive environment.
This investment comes from Section 106 contributions, funds provided by developers through planning agreements to support local infrastructure and community projects.
Cabinet Member for Planning and Placemaking, Cllr Shanika Mahendran, said, “This is an exciting step forward for Wolverton, by investing in the Old Market Hall, we’re not only preserving a piece of our history but creating a space that will inspire creativity, bring people together and boost the local economy. It’s a fantastic example of how regeneration can benefit the whole community.”
Marie Osborne, CEO of Future Wolverton, added, “We are thrilled that the City Council has agreed to support our project in bringing a much needed cultural facility to Wolverton. The project has attracted many artists and volunteers from the community already, who are helping to convert this space from its current unused empty shell. There is a long way to go of course, but this is great news for us and the future of Wolverton.”
Work is already underway and residents will be invited to enjoy creative events and activities ahead of the completion of the ground floor fit out, scheduled for the end of March 2026.
The introduction of passenger services on the East West Rail project linking Oxford with Milton Keynes have been delayed.
Chiltern Railways, who had been confirmed as the planned operator of passenger services on the line, have announced plans to start running services in 2025 will now not happen. The operator has not confirmed when they intend for services to start running.
Reports last week suggested a key factor was a disagreement between Chiltern and the unions over whether trains on the line should be driver-only operations, although the company themselves did not cite this as a factor behind the announcement of a delay.
In a statement, Chiltern said that delays in preparing trains, issues in completing a brand new station in the Buckinghamshire town in Winslow and confirming operating patterns were the reasons to blame.
They said, “Since being announced as operator of the first stage of East West Rail between Oxford and Milton Keynes in March, we have been working at pace to get everything ready for services to begin on the new line.
“Significant progress has been made, including the hiring and training of 44 train drivers, the creation of a new colleague facility at Bletchley, and the fit out of a new modern station with step-free access at Winslow.
“However, there is work still to finish to prepare the trains, on Winslow station and on the operating arrangements for the new route. We are continuing to work with our partners on these to progress them as soon as possible.
“This means that we will not be able to start passenger services before the end of the year. We understand this will be disappointing to people looking forward to using the new route.
“We continue to work closely with Government, trade unions and industry partners, and will provide further updates when we are able to.”
Tracks were fully laid on the route over a period of several years, being finished in 2024 with Chiltern running a test service over the line in October 2024.
Freight trains have begun regularly running over the route since the summer, with the spur completed seeing tracks laid between Bicester and Bletchley to re-open a line that was closed to passenger trains during the Beeching cuts in the 1960s.
The ultimate ambition of the East West Rail project is to reinstate through trains from Oxford to Cambridge, with consultations currently taking place for where to put the line and how many stations are to be built beyond the end of the existing Marston Vale line at Bedford. Plans are currently intended for the full Oxford to Cambridge route to be open during the 2030s.
Reports last week suggested that rail worker unions ASLEF and RMT had objected to plans to run trains on the new Oxford-MK section as driver only operations.
Luton Town bounced back from a heavy defeat at the weekend with a 2-1 win at home to Huddersfield Town.
After losing their previous match 5-0 at Barnsley, goals from Jake Richards and Jerry Yates saw the Hatters pull off victory, with the three points helping Luton climb above their opponents in the League One table.
Leo Casledine had scored an equaliser for the Terriers, but Yates’ winner was enough for Luton to take the points. The result was Luton’s first home win in a League One game under the charge of recently appointed boss Jack Wilshere, and it was enough to elevate the Hatters up to 7th in the table, with the side a point off the play-offs.
Seeking a reaction after their weekend misfire in South Yorkshire, Luton began brightly. Yates was denied by a fine stop from away keeper Owen Goodman, before Kal Naismith had a shot blocked and Cohen Bramall had an effort deflected wide.
An opening goal would duly come the Hatters’ way after 33 minutes. A clearance fell the way of Richards, who drilled in a crisp strike via a deflection that beat Goodman and opened the scoring for the home side.
Huddersfield’s Ben Wiles would come close for an equaliser just before half-time, with his strike being blocked by home defender Nigel Lonwijk. Huddersfield claimed his block came from a hand, but the referee declined to give a penalty.
The visitors would duly equalise just over 20 minutes into the second-half. Casledine placed a fine free-kick into the back of the net from 20-25 yards.
But seven minutes after being pegged back, Luton would duly make it 2-1. Goodman saved Lamine Fanne’s original strike, but the ball fell back for Fanne to cycle the ball back for Yates to bundle the ball over the line and put Luton in front.
Luton were duly able to keep Huddersfield at arms’ length for the remainder of the contest, as the hosts picked up the three points.
The Hatters are in action again at Kenilworth Road once more on Saturday, when they welcome a Bolton side currently sat one place above them in the table to Bedfordshire.
