Category Sports News

Max Verstappen says he is “very relaxed” about his future despite Red Bull’s difficult start to the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Following his sixth place at the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko told Sky Germany he has “great concern” about Verstappen potentially leaving the team.

The Dutchman, who is aiming to win a record-equalling fifth consecutive drivers’ title this year, is third in the championship, eight points behind leader Lando Norris of McLaren.

Round five takes place in Saudi Arabia this weekend, with Sunday’s race starting at 18:00 BST.

“A lot of people are talking about it except me,” said Verstappen on Thursday.

“Like I said before, I just want to focus on my car, work with the people in the team – that’s the only thing I’m thinking about in Formula 1 at the moment.

Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until 2028. But Marko told BBC Sport this month that it contains a performance clause that could allow him to depart the team.

The 27-year-old has been linked with moves to Mercedes and Aston Martin for 2026 when new regulations are being introduced. He held talks with Mercedes last year but their team boss Toto Wolff said at the season-opener in Australia last month that a pitch to sign Verstappen for next season is “not on any radar”.

Asked in the drivers’ news conference whether he would like Verstappen as a team-mate at Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso said: “Yes, but that’s unlikely to happen, very unlikely.”

Verstappen moved to within one point of Norris in the standings with a brilliant win at the Japanese Grand Prix from pole position two weeks ago.

His weekend in Sakhir was a stark contrast to the highs of Suzuka as he qualified in seventh and finished the race three places lower than Briton Norris, who ended his day on the podium in third.

Verstappen continued: “I just go race by race. I think [Saudi Arabia] will be better than Bahrain. The rest is out of my hands.

“At the moment, we are not the quickest so it is tough to fight for a championship, but it is a long road. Last year here it all looked great and we know how the season ended up.”

Red Bull were untouchable in Jeddah last year with Verstappen first and then team-mate Sergio Perez second. But while the Dutchman went on to seal his fourth title in a row, Red Bull lost out to McLaren in the constructors’ championship, eventually dropping behind Ferrari and finishing third.

“I enjoyed last year and the year before when we were dominant,” said Verstappen.

“Now it is enjoyable in a way of the challenges that are out there and trying to improve the situation I would say.

In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva went out of the Stuttgart Open as she lost in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16.

Sixth seed Andreeva, who has already won two titles this season, lost 6-3 6-2 against unseeded Alexandrova in just over an hour.

Andreeva, 17, became the youngest champion at a WTA 1000 event in February by winning the Dubai Tennis Championships, before triumphing at Indian Wells in March.

But she was unable to wrestle control of the match from Alexandrova, 30, who claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season.

Alexandrova will play American third seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals after she thrashed Poland’s Magdalena Frech 6-1 6-1.

Italian fifth seed Jasmine Paolini beat unseeded German Jule Niemeier 6-1 7-5 to reach the last eight for the second successive year.

She will play the winner of Thursday’s match between American fourth seed Coco Gauff and Germany’s Ella Seidel.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will play Belgian Elise Mertens in the quarter-finals after Anastasia Potapova withdrew before their last-16 match with an injury.

England have asked Essex to rest seamer Sam Cook this weekend, putting him in line for an England Test call-up.

Cook, 27, has been one of the standout performers in county cricket in recent seasons and will sit out the County Championship match against Worcestershire, which starts on Friday, to manage his workload.

England play Zimbabwe in the first Test of the summer from 22 May and have injury concerns around a number of fast bowlers.

Mark Wood and Olly Stone are long-term absentees with knee injuries while Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes are yet to play this season because of toe and ankle issues respectively.

There have long been calls for Cook, an accurate right-arm bowler, to be given a Test debut after his prolific county form.

He has taken 318 wickets at an average of 19.77 in first-class cricket.

England managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key and selector Luke Wright have both publicly praised Cook in recent weeks.

Last year, Key said Cook would have been the replacement had Woakes been injured at the end the summer, filling the role as another skilful fast-medium bowler with England keen to have variety in their pace attack.

Gus Atkinson, England’s leading wicket-taker in 2024, will play his first match of the season for Surrey this week.

Josh Tongue, who can bowl at a higher pace and played his last Test during the 2023 Ashes, will also feature for Nottinghamshire, having taken seven wickets in their season opener against Durham as he continues his return after a series of injuries.

There is hope Jofra Archer will return to red-ball cricket this summer but he is currently at the Indian Premier League. England do not plan to recall players from that competition early and the group stage ends four days before the Zimbabwe Test.

Due to the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) taking control of the organization and placing it under administration, Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt hopes his side won’t lose players.

Following the takeover, the WRU resisted being given all contracts at Cardiff.

Players may choose to move on, however, in some circumstances where their agreements are voided to be void as a result of the region’s collapse into administration.

On Monday, Cardiff players were required to sign contracts to ensure that their contracts were changed in accordance with current employment laws.

The first reason is that I believe the players here are content. I’ve made Cardiff a friendly place to play rugby in.

“I want players who have a history and a connection to the club and the city.”

“Hopefully everyone has a bond, so that keeps them anyway.

Josh Adams, the Wales wing, signed a new two-year deal this week, indicating his intentions.

Sherratt said, “To keep someone with 60 caps and the distinction of being a British and Irish Lion was a club statement.”

It reaffirms our commitment to this country after the past ten days.

Adams claims that despite his disapproval, Cardiff’s plight continued to persuade him to stay.

According to Adams, “my contract was signed before everything (administration and the WRU takeover)” was done.

There was nothing to worry about on my end when I signed and transferred the contract.

Adams claims the squad was surprised by the severity of the news about Cardiff’s financial situation.

The group handled it well, Adams said, “but it was shock news when I first heard.”

“The players were very quickly from beginning to end, from receiving the news to being taken over.”

I have to express how well the WRU and Cardiff boards handled that and dissipated any doubts or doubts in players’ minds.

“They have to have a backlash for their diligence and putting players and staff first,” he said.

Along with club captain Liam Belcher and representatives from the Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA), Corey Domachowski and Callum Sheedy, Adams was one of four senior players who assisted in relaying messages to other players.

“We have cracked on with things, and it hasn’t changed anything in our day-to-day things,” Adams said.

Teams could see it as something that can energize the group, the team said.

After Warren Gatland resigned during the Six Nations, Sherratt has endured an eventful couple of months.

Sherratt remarked, “It’s just nice to be coaching.”

You simply interpret it as experience. I enjoy the Wales experience and the coaching here.

“You get through it, I didn’t love the last ten days, and you can work hard on the pitch, not in the meeting room.

I’d like to not repeat the ten days, but I’m hoping we can now focus on rugby.

Both teams are vying for top eight play-off spots in the United Rugby Championship (URC) when Cardiff face Ospreys on Saturday at Judgement Day at the Principality Stadium.

Sherratt remarked that it was trying to pass the players last week.

We made an effort to provide clarity to the participants during the meeting about the WRU takeover. We discussed what kind of ending we had five minutes later.

“We have one of our closest rivals in the best rugby stadium in the world.”

You’ve seen over the past two seasons when the club needed their supporters, they have come out en masse when Munster is at home on a Friday night.

Mark Jones, the head coach for Ospreys, claims that his side backs their Cardiff rivals.

We feel for those who have been impacted, according to Jones.

“It’s not the management group’s fault,” the statement read.

They have simply been carrying out their duties. These things are above that level, and sadly, players are the ones who are currently experiencing the effects.

It has a variety of effects on different people. When they come together, rally, and support one another, it might have a positive impact on them.

However, it might also cause people to focus on themselves and be more concerned with the larger picture.

Jones speaks from personal experience, having gone through the same procedure at Worcester’s backroom staff.

Worcester recently announced that they would return next season, despite the English club’s collapse in 2022.

Because I’ve endured it at Worcester, I’m certain that it will have an impact on them (Cardiff) in some way.

“The Worcester players were awesome at putting it to a stand.” Some of us were unpaid, others were uncontracted, and we were still getting paid.

“You had staff doing it exactly, not just players,” the statement read.

Chelsea’s final Premier League home game of the season against Manchester United has been moved to ensure there is no clash with the Women’s FA Cup final between the two teams on Sunday, 18 May.

Instead, the Premier League game will be played on Friday, 16 May, with a 20:00 BST kick-off. It will be screened on Sky Sports.

The entire round of matches was scheduled for 18 May as the Premier League had already pledged it would not hold any games on men’s FA Cup final day on 17 May.

However, Chelsea’s meeting with United in the women’s equivalent the following day also created an issue.

Both clubs were keen for fans to be able to watch that Wembley showpiece as well as the men’s game and requested a change of date, which the Premier League agreed to.

The only other game in that match round not being played on the Sunday is Brighton’s home game with champions-elect Liverpool, which will now be played on Monday, 19 May (20:00 BST).

While the Chelsea-United game does go into an existing TV slot, it is a sign of the importance of the Women’s FA Cup final as a showpiece event that the Premier League agreed to the request.

With Rory McIlroy’s Masters success – and career Grand Slam – expected to inspire a surge in participation, golf bosses are warning humble hackers to avoid cheating on their handicaps.

Millions of recreational players in Great Britain and Ireland are being sent information on how to stick to the rules of the controversial World Handicapping System (WHS) which was introduced in 2020.

Administrators admit the system is open to abuse and some players artificially manipulate handicaps to improve their chances of winning amateur competitions.

“Through our research it’s clear that in Great Britain and Ireland there are some specific concerns around the system,” Grant Moir, the R&A’s executive director of governance told BBC Sport.

“And particularly there is a perception that there are a small minority of players that are manipulating the system.

“We recognise that even if it is only a small number doing this then it can impact on competition golf and it negatively impacts on golfers’ opinions of WHS.

WHS was brought in to help make golf more inclusive. Players do not have to be a club member to acquire a handicap which can then be used at any course in the world.

In line with scores submitted, golfers are given a ‘handicap index’ which will provide the appropriate number of shots for the difficulty of the course they are playing. This should enable players of all abilities to play against each other.

Under the new system, scores from ‘general play’, rather than solely from rounds in formal competitions, can be submitted. The arrangement depends on the honesty of golfers to enter scores that reflect their true ability.

“The rules of golf and handicapping rely on the integrity of players,” Moir added. “And we all need to be prepared to challenge any behaviour that lacks that integrity.

“We want golfers to take the same view on the rules of handicapping as they would on the rules of golf.

“We know that it is very, very rare for people to seek to play other than in accordance with the rules of golf and we need people to view the rules of handicapping in exactly the same way.”

Golfers and club committees are receiving reminders on how the system should be implemented.

“We’ve got a social media and e-newsletter campaign,” Moir said. “We at the R&A are collaborating with England Golf, Golf Ireland, Scottish Golf and Wales Golf to address some of these concerns.

“The principle purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness among golfers, but also with handicapping committees as to what their own responsibilities are within the rules.”

Officials insist the new system works well and point to growing participation numbers, which are expected to be further boosted by McIlroy’s dramatic and inspirational play-off win in Augusta.

Last year, 14 million handicap cards were submitted in Great Britain and Ireland – up 1.4 million on 2023 – while nine million of those came from competition play.