Archive July 21, 2025

Zak Brown, the head of McLaren Racing, claims he was “not surprised” Christian Horner’s resignation as Red Bull team boss.

Three days after Max Verstappen’s fifth place finish in the British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s driver Max Verstappen was fired as Red Bull’s team principal and CEO.

Brown told Canadian television station TSN, “I’m maybe surprised by] the timing, but not the outcome.

“There has been a lot of drama there for the past few years, and it doesn’t seem like it has stopped, or maybe is getting worse.” Therefore, I’m not surprised.

Horner has been replaced by Frenchman Laurent Mekies, who was formerly the team’s principal, with the solemnity of Red Bull.

Since their 2005 debut, Horner had led the team. 17 months after it became known that a female employee had accused him of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behavior, he abruptly left. The allegations, which Horner has always refuted, were dismissed by two separate internal Red Bull investigations.

Red Bull has gone through a difficult time since then, including a decline in their competitiveness.

In April of last year, their chief technical officer Adrian Newey resigned, at least partially as a result of the allegations against Horner. Newey, who is regarded as the best F1 designer in history, is currently employed by Aston Martin.

Long-time sports director Jonathan Wheatley also resigned in July of last year. He is currently the head of Sauber, which will eventually become Audi’s factory team.

Verstappen won his fourth consecutive world title last year, but Red Bull finished third overall in the constructors’ championship and only won three of the final thirteen races.

Verstappen leads the drivers’ championship this year with just two victories in its first 12 races, while Red Bull is fourth in the constructors’ championship, and there is much rumors that the Dutchman might leave for Mercedes at the end of the season.

Over the past few years, Brown and Horner have a contentious relationship.

He claimed that Horner and Red Bull “used to get along” and that their budget breach in 2021 “constituted cheating.”

Brown has addressed Horner less provocatively this year, but he has not concealed his disapproval of Red Bull’s rant about the McLaren car’s legality behind the scenes.

He drank from a bottle labelled “tyre water” at the Miami Grand Prix, in reference to Horner’s complaint to the FIA about how McLaren claimed to cool their tires with water. The claim had no real basis, according to Brown, who viewed it as false.

He said the bottle was “poking fun at a serious issue” and that it was “pokking fun.”

Fantasy Premier League (FPL) has returned for the 2025-26 season and includes some updated features.

As well as price alterations and plenty of new arrivals into the league, there have also been announcements of new ways to score points and extra chips to apply to your team throughout the campaign.

A big change for the new season is players are now allowed two uses of all four chips.

They are: bench boost, free hit, triple captain and wildcard. Players will now be permitted one use of each chip in the first half of the season and another in the second.

Bench boost is where the points of all four of a team’s substitutes count towards a total score in that gameweek.

Free hits allow players to temporarily change as many players as they wish in a single gameweek, but their team will be reset to how it was in the following week.

Triple captain is where a team’s captain’s score is tripled instead of doubled for a single gameweek.

A wildcard allows a player to make unlimited permanent transfers to their team in a single gameweek.

Outfield players will now earn bonus points based on the number of defensive actions they make in one match.

For defenders, clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles all count as defensive involvements.

For midfielders and forwards, clearances, blocks, interceptions, tackles and ball recoveries are classified as such.

For every 10 defensive actions, a defensive player makes in a single match, they will receive two bonus points. For midfielders and forwards, two points are awarded for every 12 actions made.

Had this been in play for the 2024-25 season, Everton’s James Tarkowski would have been the top-scoring player for defensive involvements. He would have earned 44 bonus points – four more than any other player.

There have also been changes to how bonus points are awarded.

Bonus points are given to the best three players in each match based on the Bonus Points System (BPS) that comprises of statistics from Opta.

Previously, goalkeepers would get two BPS points for each save made. For saves of shots from inside the box, that has now increased to three, with shots from outside remaining at two.

A saved penalty would have previously given a goalkeeper nine BPS points. That has been reduced to eight for the save, but is balanced out by an increase to shots from inside of the penalty area being saved.

All scored penalties are now worth 12 BPS points, regardless of a player’s position. That was previously 18 and 24 points for midfielders and forwards respectively.

Making a goalline clearance has tripled in value from three BPS points to nine.

The final change to BPS points is tackles. All successful tackles are worth two BPS points. Previously, two points were awarded the number of net tackles completed (tackles won minus tackles lost).

There have also been changed into what is now being classed as an assist in order to allow for more.

For assists that took a deflection off a defender, assists will now be awarded regardless of whether the assist reached its intended target, providing it only took one touch off a defender and was received by the goalscorer inside the penalty area.

Unforced defensive errors will also now lead to an assist being given by the player whose pass led to it, as long as the defensive error in question is not a missplaced pass.

Again, the maximum one touch from a defender rule remains in play.

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will take place during the Premier League season.

To help players navigate the prospect of losing a number of their players to the tournament, all managers will receive five free transfers for Gameweek 16, regardless of how many free transfers they had remaining in the previous week.

As is the case every year, the cost of players may change.

Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will cost £14.5m (from £12.5m last season) and £14m (from £15m) respectively this time around.

England and Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford starts the new season at a price of £5.5m (£5m last season).

Manchester City left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, who signed from Wolves last month, will be priced at £6m (£4.5m last season).

Liverpool’s club record signing and Germany international Florian Wirtz will cost £8.5m at the start of the season.

Newcastle’s Swedish striker Alexander Isak starts at £10.5m (£8.5m last season).

FPL has also announced position changes for 11 players.

Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush, Manchester United’s Matehus Cunha and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye have switched from forwards to midfielders.

West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has been switched from a midfielder to a forward, while Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly has been switched from a midfielder to a defender.

As per previous years, BBC Sport will be running its own dedicated FPL league for our readers to join and compete against each other.

You can join now using the code bbcfpl

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For the 2025-26 season, the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) features some improvements.

There have also been reports of new ways to score points and additional chips that you can use to add to your team throughout the campaign in addition to price changes and a ton of newcomers to the league.

Players are now permitted to use all four chips for two purposes, which is a significant change for the new season.

They are: wildcard, free hit, triple captain, and bench boost. Players will now be able to use each chip for one season, starting with the first half, and continuing with the second.

Bench boost refers to a team’s substitutes’ overall score in that gameweek when all four points are taken into account.

Players can change as many players as they want during a single gameweek with free hits, but their team will be reset as it was the previous week.

A team’s captain’s score is tripled rather than doubled for a single gameweek in the Triple Captain program.

In a single gameweek, a player can add an unlimited number of permanent transfers to their team.

Players in the outfield now get bonus points for each defensive move they make in a single match.

Defensive involvements include clearances, blocks, interceptions, and tackles for defenders.

Clearances, blocks, interceptions, tackles, and ball recoveries fall under the category of such for midfielders and forwards.

A defensive player will receive two bonus points for every ten defensive actions they perform in a single game. For every 12 actions taken, two points are given to midfielders and forwards.

James Tarkowski at Everton would have been the top-scoring player for defensive involvements if this had been in place for the 2024/25 season. He would have earned 44 bonus points, four more than any other player.

Additionally, the awarding of bonus points has changed.

Based on the Bonus Points System (BPS), which includes statistics from Opta, bonus points are awarded to the top three players in each match.

Goalkeepers used to receive two BPS points for each saved. The number of shots saved inside the box has now increased to three, with those saved outside at two.

A goalkeeper would have previously received nine BPS points from a saved penalty. The save has been reduced to eight, but it is counterbalanced by more shots coming from inside the penalty area being saved.

Regardless of a player’s position, all penalties that have been scored now total 12 BPS points. Prior to that, midfielders and forwards had 18 and 24 points, respectively.

The value of a goalline clearance has increased from three BPS points to nine.

The tackles are the final BPS point change. Two BPS points are awarded for every successful tackle. Prior to this, net tackles won were awarded two points (tackles won minus tackles lost).

In order to allow for more, there have also been modifications to what is now being categorized as an assist.

As long as the assist only took one touch off a defender and was received by the goalscorer inside the penalty area, no matter whether it reached its intended goal.

As long as the defensive error involved is not a missplaced pass, then an assist will now be made by the player whose pass led to it.

The defense’s one-touch rule, once more, is still in effect.

During the Premier League season, there will be the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

All managers will receive five free transfers for Gameweek 16 to help players avoid losing a significant number of players to the tournament, regardless of how many free transfers they had left over from the previous week.

The cost of players may change, as is the case every year.

Both Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah will cost £14.5 million ($11.25 million last season) and £14 million ($15 million, respectively).

Jordan Pickford, a goalkeeper for England and Everton, will begin the new season for £5.5 million (compared to £5 million last year).

Rayan Ait-Nouri, a left-back for Manchester City who left Wolves last month, will be priced at £6 million (£4.5 million last season).

Florian Wirtz, a record signing for Liverpool and a German international, will cost £8.5 million at the start of the season.

Alexander Isak, a Swedish striker for Newcastle, earns £10.5 million (£8.5 million last season).

11 players have also been made changes to their positions by FPL.

Cody Gakpo of Liverpool, Omar Marmoush of Manchester City, Matehus Cunha of Manchester United, and Iliman Ndiaye of Everton have all switched from midfielders to midfielders.

Jarrod Bowen, the West Ham captain, has been made a forward while Myles Lewis-Skelly, the underage teen, has been made a defender.

Our readers can join and compete in our own dedicated FPL league, just like it’s been done before.

You can now register using the bbcfpl code.

A service called Ask Me Anything is dedicated to responding to your inquiries.

We want to reward your time by educating you on topics you may not otherwise understand.

The team will be able to connect you with a network of contacts, including our experts and experts, to provide you with all the information you require.

We’ll respond to your inquiries right in the BBC Sport newsroom and visit some of the world’s biggest sporting events from the backstage.