Red Bull took victory in the sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen held off the McLarens to take the win.

Verstappen took his first win in an F1 race session since winning the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola in May.

The race saw Verstappen pass pole-sitter Oscar Piastri on lap one, before the Belgian-born Dutch national held off Piastri and the second McLaren of Lando Norris to take the win.

Much of the race saw Piastri sit within Verstappen’s gearbox and apply pressure throughout, but it was not enough for the Australian to take the lead of the sprint, allowing Verstappen to win.

The result was Verstappen’s first win in a sprint race in 2025, with Red Bull also taking the victory in their first race after sacking team boss Christian Horner following the last F1 race at Silverstone three weeks ago. It also saw Verstappen pick up 8 points for himself and his team.

Team-mate Yuki Tsunoda finished the sprint in 11th position, having been unable to pass Liam Lawson ahead but able to hold off the Mercedes of George Russell behind.

Red Bull now go again for the full Belgian Grand Prix later today (27/07). After Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session, Verstappen will start from 4th, while Tsunoda begins in 7th – his best starting position since moving to the Red Bull senior team earlier this season.

Northampton Town have signed defender Michael Forbes, who joins the Cobblers on loan from West Ham.

Forbes has joined Northampton on a season long-loan, with the deal seeing him become the Cobblers’ 12th new signing ahead of the upcoming season.

The defender has been capped by Northern Ireland at levels up to and including the senior national team level, earning his first cap for the team in 2023.

At club level, Forbes has represented West Ham in EFL Trophy games and made senior first team squads with the Hammers, while he also spent time out on loan last season with Bristol Rovers and Colchester United, although an injury impeded his ability to play for the latter.

Northampton manager Kevin Nolan is a former member of coaching staff at West Ham, and he told the official Northampton website that he was aware of Forbes’ talents and was pleased to bring him to Sixfields.

He said, “Michael is a player I have known for a long time. He was a youth team player at West Ham when I was there. I know what he is capable of and the levels he is capable of reaching.

“He had some really bad luck last season but he is back now and we feel we can provide the platform for Michael to develop and kick on. We believe we can help him reach the levels we know he is capable of and that includes playing international football again.

“We would like to thank West Ham United for trusting us with Michael. We are building a really good relationship and hopefully all parties can benefit from Michael’s time with us.

“We said earlier in the week we were looking to strengthen in all areas and Michael’s signing is part of that process.”

Red Bull had to settle for points rather than a podium in the Belgian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen finishing fourth and Yuki Tsunoda coming outside the top ten.

Verstappen spent much of the race at Spa in a tight fight with Charles Leclerc for the final place on the podium alongside the two McLarens, but Leclerc ultimately had enough pace in his Ferrari to swipe third.

Tsunoda meanwhile saw his race come undone in the transition from wet to dry tyres, with the Japanese driver swapping one lap after most of the field, which saw him tumble down the order. A late issue then saw him lose positions, finishing in 13th.

With the Belgian-born Dutch national Verstappen having won the sprint race on Saturday, it means that the Dutchman picked up 20 points for his work.

The points keeps him in position in third in the Driver’s Championship as best of the rest behind the two McLarens. He is now 28 points clear of fourth place George Russell, although he is now 65 behind second placed Lando Norris and 81 behind championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Meanwhile, the Belgian Grand Prix was Tsunoda’s 6th race in a row without points, with the Japanese driver 17th in the standings having failed to score points since the round at Imola in May.

In the Constructor’s Championship, Red Bull remain sat 4th in the standings. They are 28 behind 3rd place Mercedes, 56 behind second place Ferrari and 324 behind McLaren. Looking behind, they are 122 points clear of 5th place Williams.

The race weekend had been a big one for Red Bull with it being their first following the ousting of long-term Team Principal Christian Horner, who left a few days after the British Grand Prix earlier this month and with it ended a 20 year run as team boss. New principal Laurent Mekies was overseeing his first race weekend in charge, with victory in the sprint having taken some joy out of it for the Milton Keynes-based team.

Proceedings in the Belgian Grand Prix began late, with rain both before the race’s scheduled start time and during what would’ve been the race time seeing delays of over 1 hour and 20 minutes before the race eventually began, and with it began as a rolling start rather than the usual standing start.

When things eventually got going, nearly all of Verstappen’s day was spent behind Leclerc. The Red Bull driver did get a brief opportunity when the duo were held up by Esteban Ocon’s Haas, who had opted to run longer on wet tyres, which also brought Russell and Alex Albon into proceedings.

As things filtered out, Leclerc and Verstappen got away from Russell and Albon, but Leclerc was able to keep enough of a gap in his Ferrari to keep the Red Bull at bay, and with it deny Verstappen a chance at a podium in the country of his birth.

Tsunoda’s race came undone after a mistimed pit strategy call. The Japanese driver had qualified 7th for his best start since being promoted to Red Bull in March, and was initially running in the top 10 when the time came to move from wet to dry tyres.

However, Red Bull’s call for Tsunoda to come in on the same lap as Verstappen came after Tsunoda had already passed the pit entry, leaving him to do an extra lap on tyres that were no longer suitable.

Tsunoda spent a lot of the race close to the Alpine driven by his friend and former teammate Pierre Gasly, but he was unable to pass the Frenchman before he himself was overtaken in the final laps by Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber, slumping to 13th by the end of the race.

F1 will return next weekend for their final race before the upcoming summer break, with the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest concluding the first part of the season before the sport takes a month off.

The Stables in Milton Keynes has paid tribute to Dame Cleo Laine after the jazz singer and venue co-founder’s passing.

Laine passed away yesterday (24/07) at the age of 97.

A statement from her children Jacqui and Alec paid tribute to their late mother and confirmed the news.

The statement said, “It is with deepest sadness that we announce the passing of our dearly beloved mother, Cleo, who died peacefully yesterday afternoon. We will all miss her terribly. The family wish to be given space to grieve and ask for privacy at this very difficult time.”

Laine was a highly regarded jazz singer whose career saw her win a Grammy Award in 1986, perform in venues all over the world, sing with stars such as Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles, and record numerous albums in a six-decade long career. She was also a frequent collaborator with her composer husband John Dankworth, who she married in 1958.

In 1969. Laine and Dankworth founded the charity Wavendon Allmusic Plan, converting an old stable block in the grounds of their home in Wavendon into a centre for music and music education.

The Stables is now a major arts venue in Milton Keynes, presenting around 400 music, comedy and spoken word gigs a year, along with hosting around 200 education events per year.

Laine and Dankworth continued to work together until Dankworth’s death in 2010. Laine would later perform in a show at the Stables on the day of his death, informing the crowd just before the final song of the news.

David Meadowcroft, Chairman of the Stables’ Charity, said, “Dame Cleo was a remarkable performer who was loved by audiences around the world and her commitment to ensuring young people had access to great music and music education will continue through the work of The Stables.”

Monica Ferguson, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of The Stables, added, “Dame Cleo was admired greatly by fans, other musicians and by The Stables staff and volunteers. She will be greatly missed but her unique talent will always be remembered.”