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Max Verstappen led Red Bull’s George Russell during the first practice at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Russell was 0. 065 seconds quicker than the Dutchman when he claimed on Thursday that Mercedes were talking to Verstappen about potential future driving for them in the following year.

Oscar Piastri, a 19-year-old Irishman, came third fastest in the other McLaren, trailing only Alex Dunne, a 19-year-old Irishman.

Dunne, who is currently winning the Formula 2 championship this year, is a McLaren young driver, who is competing for Lando Norris for the first time.

Although his lap was set slightly later in the session than the Australian’s, when the track would have been in better shape, he was only 0. 06 seconds off Piastri’s pace, both of whom were running on the soft tyres.

The Red Bull Ring has been upgraded by McLaren and Red Bull both.

McLaren has updated its front suspension shaping to work with a brand-new front wing that was first tested at the most recent Canadian race.

Red Bull now has a new edge. Ferrari, who finished ninth overall, has their first major renovation since Bahrain in April, a completely new floor.

Sweden winger Benjamin Nygren has signed for an undisclosed fee with Celtic from Nordsjaelland, according to manager Brendan Rodgers, who added that “he’s a player that our supporters will enjoy watching.”

The 23-year-old has made 107 appearances for the Danish side and has had stints with IFK Gothenburg, Genk, and Heerenveen. He has signed a five-year deal.

In his first four senior international appearances, which all took place in 2025, Nygren has scored twice.

He has already gained a lot of club experience, and his impressive performances from last season also earned him his first Sweden caps.

After moving to the United States, Nygren declared to Celtic TV, “I feel amazing.”

He said, “I’m a very competitive person, and I enjoy Celtic immensely.” “I adore the winning mentality and the huge club,” he said.

I want to be with like-minded individuals who enjoy winning as well.

The Swede responded, “I’m a player who wants to create a lot of chances and go towards goal,” when asked what fans could expect from him.

I can run a lot and serve as a liaison between the defense and the offence. I play the game with an offensive mind, but I also put in a lot of effort and give it my all.

Even now that I’m 23 years old, I have played over 200 games, which is “my breakthrough when I was very young.” I want to bring a lot of experience with me.

After just three and a half seasons with Nordsjaelland, Nygren helped them finish fifth in the Danish Superleague last season, ranking fourth overall in the league’s scoring department.

He stated on the website that “I came to FC Nordsjlland as a young boy and that he is leaving the organization now.” I had a wonderful time during this time.

“It’s important for me to play regularly and face significant challenges in both the Conference League and the Superliga.” In a lot of the spring games, I was pleased to wear the captain’s armband.

Nygren is moving on “by mutual agreement,” according to football director Alexander Riget.

Benjamin Nygren is a great example of what a football team can accomplish, he said.

After Thomas Frank’s departure from Tottenham, the former Republic of Ireland international was promoted to head coach at Brentford, making an unexpected turn for the former Republic of Ireland international.

Andrews is the 98th permanent (non-caretaker or interim) managerial appointment by a Premier League club since June 2015, but only the sixth to be a first-time manager.

Only Parker and Arteta’s tenure as permanent managers in that position, which included Mike Phelan (Hull, 2016), Craig Shakespeare (Leicester, 2017), Scott Parker (Fulham, 2019), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal, 2019), and Gary O’Neil (Bournemouth, 2022), endured more than seven months.

Matthew Upson, who played with Andrews at Brighton in 2013-14 and when the Irishman began his coaching career at MK Dons in 2015, tells BBC Sport, “An appointment like this is a rare and a risk.”

“But it’s exciting – it’s got everyone talking about it. Keith’s career is moving forward in a significant way, but I know him well and understand why this opportunity exists.

Andrews, who was born in Dublin, left Wolverhampton Wanderers at the age of 20 and moved on to his first senior managerial position.

Will he be a success like Frank, who got Brentford promoted and established them in the Premier League during his seven years in charge?

Andrews ‘ playing career included Premier League appearances for Wolves, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion, while he represented his country 35 times and featured at Euro 2012 when Giovanni Trapattoni was in charge of the Republic of Ireland.

He also had a chance to play for League Two at MK Dons, one of the 12 clubs he has represented throughout his 15-year career, which included 412 appearances in all competitions.

McDonnell, who has closely followed Andrews’ professional career as a player and coach, says, “He has always been someone who is aware of the world around him.”

“He was close to the owner at MK Dons, Pete Winkelman, and his standing there in his mid-20s was such that he helped recommend Paul Ince as manager in 2007.

At Wolves, they had previously played together. After that, Keith was taken with him to Blackburn.

“Keith has good interpersonal skills. He was always interested in the future and what was happening. He was speaking to and networking.

” He recognised it was a short playing career and maybe he realised that to stay in the game you had to have your eyes open to what was going on around you. “

After working for a clothing company, Andrews, who was 31 at the time, assisted in the squad’s selection of suits for the tournament.

According to McDonnell, “He had an entrepreneurial side.”

Andrews made his international debut in 2008 at the relatively late age of 28 soon after joining Blackburn, then a Premier League club, from League One MK Dons for around £1m.

He played for Ireland in 2009, but Thierry Henry’s skillful handling of the ball cruelly prevented them from winning the World Cup against France.

Although Ireland finished bottom of their group, which included Spain, Italy, and Croatia, Keith was probably one of the few to receive any credit, adds McDonnell.

Andrews announced his retirement from playing in August 2015, aged 34, to become first-team coach to Karl Robinson at MK Dons.

He said at the time, “I absolutely adore my new role, and this is the ideal setting for me to learn.”

I’m just football-obsessed. I never switch off for a second – even when I’m watching a game at home on the sofa, I’m analysing it.

Andrews worked as assistant to Stephen Kenny for both the under-21 and senior Republic of Ireland national teams until Kenny’s departure in November 2023.

Prior to joining Roberto Martinez and Anthony Barry as Thomas Tuchel’s assistant in Belgium, Anthony Barry was also on the coaching staff at the time Andrews was involved.

Under the direction of Chris Wilder, Andrews left Sheffield United in December 2023 and became Brentford’s set-piece coach.

Though Andrews has been part of Brentford’s backroom team since last summer, it has been known that he has had ambitions to begin his managerial career for some time – hence his decision to apply for the MK Dons job.

However, it continues to appoint people from within after Frank was promoted from his assistant position in 2018 to Dean Smith’s. Frank had managed Brondby and Denmark youth teams before joining Brentford.

Former England defender Upson says Brentford’s risk is present, but it’s also refreshing.

It demonstrates that they have faith in their organization, just as they did when Frank was appointed.

On his time working with Andrews at Brighton and MK Dons, Upson says: “He’s a very personable guy, and is excellent working with the players – he has got really good people skills, and his communication was really good.

He also had good coaching skills because of how well he spoke on the pitch.

When I was covering a Brentford game for 5 Live a few weeks ago, I had a good conversation with Keith, who was very supportive of the club and his work with Frank, and described how he was really putting his teeth into his position.

” He doesn’t have the experience of being a manager but he has the personality and the belief to do it and that must have come across, not just in an interview but from his work at the club in the past few months. “

Since taking over as set-piece coach at the Gtech Community Stadium on July 1, 2024, Andrews has undoubtedly had an impact.

In 24-25 sets-pieces, Brentford scored 14 of its 66 Premier League goals. Only Arsenal (17), Crystal Palace (17), Nottingham Forest (17), Aston Villa (16), Brighton (15) and Everton (15) scored more.

In addition, Brentford came in second place with six goals conceded from set pieces, behind Manchester City, who had a whopping six.

The Bees gained a reputation last season for using a quick start right away, with Andrews’ methods alleged to be a contributing factor.

In three successive league matches between 14-28 September – Manchester City (away), Tottenham (away) and West Ham (home) – they scored after 22 seconds, 23 seconds and 38 seconds.

Nathan Collins scored after 76 seconds in Brentford’s next game, a 5-3 home win over Wolves on October 5.

What I learned from our interaction was that he kept things fairly straightforward in terms of how he perceived the game as a player, “adds Upson.” He would do the simple things really well and he would like to play forwards quickly.

Andrews has been a pundit on radio and television in both the Republic of Ireland and England.

After losing to Wales in 2018, he told the Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill to “stop moaning,” adding: “They don’t have a clue what they are doing.

What will success look like for Brentford under their new manager? Andrews can expect to face the same scrutiny as he will as a Premier League manager.

Since winning promotion to the Premier League in 2021, the Bees have finished 13th, 9th, 16th and 10th.

There will probably be a point where the team will experience a wobble, a dip, or a decline in results, according to Upson.

What transpires will be interesting, and it really depends on what Keith’s expectations are.

” Even Thomas Frank has had wobbles in the past, when the team went through really bad spells. Bryan Mbeumo is also projected to leave, which is a surprise.

“I can see why he has this chance, but having played with Keith and seen him as a coach in his early days, I can see why he has this chance,” he said.

” As well having good opinions, he is an impressive communicator in how he gets his ideas across. That is a very important trait for him as a manager because getting the players to agree with you is key.

Following Thomas Frank’s departure from Tottenham, Brentford have signed Keith Andrews as their new head coach for the club on a three-year deal.

Andrews, 44, previously worked for Frank as the Bees’ set-piece coach.

Andrews’ appointment marks the Irishman’s first managerial move, having previously worked for Sheffield United, MK Dons, and the Republic of Ireland.

Owner Matthew Benham’s choice to appoint Andrews may be seen as a gamble, but it does provide some continuity in keeping with what has already happened.

Dean Smith left for Aston Villa in 2018 after managing Brondby for nearly three years as well as Denmark’s youth teams, and Frank was promoted from his assistant position to take charge.

In a time of turmoil at Gtech Community Stadium, Andrews assumes the leadership.

Caoimhin Kelleher, the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, has left Liverpool in place of Dutch stopper Mark Flekken, who has relocated to Bayer Leverkusen.

England’s new era under head coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt started with a ruthless clean sweep against the West Indies, but their first real challenge begins on Saturday, with the first of five T20s against India taking place at Trent Bridge.

They are followed by three one-day internationals, which will be hugely important in preparation for the World Cup which is being hosted by India in the autumn.

Such is the anticipation for the series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) commissioned ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ director Gurinder Chadha to direct a promotional trailer for the ongoing men’s, women’s and mixed disability series in which India face England in all three.

India are ranked third in the world in both white-ball formats with England in second, and the introduction of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) has significantly improved their strength in depth and experience of playing in front of packed crowds under pressure.

Sciver-Brunt and India batter Smriti Mandhana are two of the game’s biggest icons – at the first auction for the WPL in 2023, the England all-rounder sold for about £320,000 and the elegant India left-hander was the most expensive pick at £340,000.

Mandhana is the world’s top-ranked batter in ODIs with Sciver-Brunt in third, while they are fourth and ninth in T20s respectively.

Their individual successes could go a long way in defining the series. England win 79% of their ODIs if Sciver-Brunt passes 50, and that figure rises to 82% in T20s.

India rely a little more on Mandhana in the longer format with a win percentage of 76% if she scores a half-century, compared to 60% in T20s.

In general, India are likely to present a bigger challenge to England with the bat as their bowling looks depleted without the experience and prolific swing of the injured Renuka Singh Thakur.

In their warm-ups, they have conceded 353-5 to England’s Select XI in a 50-over match and 194-8 in the T20, eventually losing both.

Mandhana, named Wisden’s leading women’s cricketer in the world for 2024, has an excellent record against England, averaging 51.68 in ODIs and a fraction over 38 in T20s, but there are areas of weakness for the bowlers to target.

In T20s, England’s seamers should target Mandhana on the stumps early in her innings with movement into the left-hander – she averages 23 against in-swing compared to 40 against balls that swing away from her.

The return of Ecclestone, the world’s number one bowler in ODIs and ranked fourth in T20s, has dominated the build-up to the series as she returns to the England fold for the first time since the Ashes.

The left-arm spinner made headlines for her off-field behaviour in Australia when she refused a TV interview with former team-mate turned pundit Alex Hartley, who had criticised the team’s fitness after the T20 World Cup.

She was then left out of Edwards’ first squads for the West Indies series, having missed the start of Lancashire’s season with a knee injury. England insisted her absence was due to a lack of game time and to recover from the niggle, though Ecclestone played for her county on the same day the squad was announced.

It was confirmed at the beginning of this month that Ecclestone would take a break from county cricket to “prioritise her wellbeing” and to manage a quad problem, before Edwards named her in the squad to face India.

“This is the best preparation for Sophie, to be ready for India,” Edwards said after the final ODI against West Indies, when asked about her previous statements that she wanted to pick players based on form in domestic cricket.

“She has been playing, she has performed really well, including winning the T20 Cup with Lancashire, so I’m happy with how she is tracking.”

Despite a difficult period for England, Ecclestone’s numbers have never dropped – in 2024 she took 24 wickets in T20s, averaging 14.87 with an economy rate of just 5.59, and 13 scalps in ODIs at a remarkable average of 7.23.

One of England’s most significant weaknesses over the past couple of years has been their ability against spin, and an apparent lack of strategy against it.

Though West Indies’ bowling line-up was unthreatening and England’s batters dominated throughout, there were some suggestions this is still a concern and will be tested both in this upcoming series, and more significantly in the World Cup where conditions will suit the spinners.

In the T20s, West Indies opened with Zaida James’ spin and she removed Danni Wyatt-Hodge twice with the first ball of the match, while Hayley Matthews took 3-32 in the third T20 and 2-49 in the first ODI.

Though England drew the 2023 Ashes at home, 23 wickets fell to off-spinner Ash Gardner and a surprise T20 series defeat by Sri Lanka followed as the tourists wisely packed their side with slow bowlers.

Leg-spinner Alana King then matched Gardner’s tally at the start of this year as England lost 40 wickets to spin in the series at an average of just 12.3.

India’s last tour of England in 2022 saw the visitors claim a 3-0 clean sweep in the ODIs, with Sciver-Brunt and then-captain Heather Knight’s absences sorely felt, but it was the final act of the series at Lord’s which saw it end in controversy.

In a thrilling finale, England needed 17 runs to win while India required just one wicket when spinner Deepti Sharma ran out Dean on 47 at the non-striker’s end – often referred to as a ‘Mankad’.

Dean was in tears, stand-in captain Amy Jones said she was “not a fan” while India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur backed her bowler.

Dean jokingly re-enacted the dismissal in a game for Southern Vipers the following day and the pair have since played together for London Spirit, winning The Hundred last year.

But at Lord’s on 19 July, their reunion will inevitably take the spotlight.

“It’s in the laws, it happens, so unless the laws change and become a little bit more obvious in terms of what counts and what doesn’t, then it’s going to keep happening,” said England batter Tammy Beaumont.

“We have to get on board with that unfortunately. I’m sure externally there will be plenty of replays but we’ll be keeping our bats behind the line for sure.

When Jake Paul and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. meet on Saturday in California, Julio Chavez Sr. predicts that his son will leave him “like a chicken without a head.”

In a 10-round cruiserweight fight at the Honda Center will Paul, 28, take on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39.

Chavez Jr., the son of a legendary Mexican fighter, won eight of his last 13 fights, earning him a middleweight title, but he has endured a turbulent past.

A “title run” will be started by Paul and Chavez Jr., but Sr ridiculed the American at a Thursday press conference.

In reference to Paul’s drab fight against 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November, he said, “Jake Paul just fought against Mike Tyson, who didn’t even throw one punch.”

“This is not Mike Tyson,” he said. You’re going to get your femur shot by [Jake].

You’re going to be running like a chicken without a head, Julio says, “and he’s going to go in throwing some serious punches.”

Losing to UFC legend and 46-year-old Anderson Silva in 2021 was one of Chavez Jr’s last three fights, with the latter having taken place against former UFC fighters.

Chavez Jr.’s 62-fight career has been plagued by weight issues and addiction issues, and he has only won three fights since 2021.

Chavez Jr. disagreed, though Paul called himself a “great boxer.”

No, I don’t believe he’s any good. He said, “I believe he tries, he trains hard, but he’s not a good fighter.” Without a doubt, he isn’t a good boxer.