Red Bull have lost the lead of the Constructor’s Championship after picking up a fifth place finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Sergio Perez nearly picked up a first podium since April but crashed out on the second-to-last lap while team-mate Max Verstappen had an off-colour weekend, finishing fifth, though he was elevated by two positions after the collision between Perez and Carlos Sainz when they were fighting over fourth.
With McLaren seeing Oscar Piastri win the race and Lando Norris finish fourth with the fastest lap bonus point, it means that Red Bull are knocked off top spot in the Constructor’s Championship, with the Milton Keynes-based team now 20 points behind Woking.
The result means Red Bull are now in a position other than first in the Constructor’s Championship for the first time since the early stages of 2022, having won the title in 2022, lead for the entirety of 2023 and been in the lead for 2024 until now.
McLaren, for their part, are leading the Constructor’s race for the first time since 2014, ahead of next weekend’s race at Singapore and a month pause in the season.
In the Driver’s Championship, Verstappen remains in the lead, with the Dutch driver seeing his lead on Norris cut to 59 points, while he is now 78 ahead of third place Charles Leclerc.
Perez, meanwhile, dropped a place to 8th, with the Mexican level on 143 points with George Russell but behind due to Russell winning in Austria and Perez being yet to win.
Red Bull had seen something of a switch at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan, with Perez being the lead driver in qualifying at a track where he picked up his last win in F1 last April. This was the first time Verstappen had been outqualified by Perez in 2024.
Each Red Bull made a place off the line, with Perez jumping ahead of Sainz and Verstappen getting ahead of Mercedes man Russell.
Much of Perez’s race saw him chasing the front two of Piastri and Leclerc, but he was unable to close up on the McLaren and Ferrari as they spent a long phase after their pit-stop duelling over the lead. Perez was closing up, but not quite able to get past.
Verstappen, meanwhile, had more of a compromised afternoon, with the Dutch driver having issues and he was overtaken first by Russell and then by Norris, despite the McLaren having started a long way behind his championship rival following complications in qualifying. Norris had previously held Verstappen up before making his pit-stop.
In the latter stages, Leclerc saw his tyres fade and that brought Perez closer. Sainz, however, had been closing up on the pair of them, and a major scramble at the start of lap 50 saw Perez and Sainz fight hard until a collision put both cars in the wall and out of the race.
The stewards would later rule the incident to be a racing incident, meaning there will not be penalties issued for either driver involved at the next round in Singapore.
Verstappen, meanwhile, had pit to try to go for fastest lap, but before he could take his tyres for a spin, he couldn’t try to get it.
The Dutchman would also be summoned to the stewards, with Verstappen one of four drivers handed a warning by the stewards for breaking virtual safety car procedure on the cooldown lap.
Northampton Town suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers despite scoring early on.
Sam Hoskins had given the Cobblers the lead with a fourth minute penalty, but Daniel Udoh and Richard Kone scored a goal in each half to tilt the scoreboard in the away side’s favour.
It meant a second defeat at home to Wycombe in quick succession for Northampton, with the Cobblers having lost to the same opponent at the same stadium in the Carabao Cup last month.
A reshuffled Cobblers team that included a debut for deadline day loan signing Tyler Roberts started brightly, with Jon Brady’s side ahead in the opening four minutes.
Callum Morton’s pass into the box picked out Hoskins, who was brought down for a penalty by Jack Grimmer. Hoskins duly dusted himself down and beat Wycombe keeper Franco Ravizzoli from the penalty spot to give Northampton the lead.
But the Cobblers would hold their lead for less than eight minutes before the away side equalised. Space opened up for Garath McCleary, who was able to fire in an inviting cross that Udoh met and duly converted.
Morton would see an attempt blocked by Ravizzoli after initially getting around the Wycombe keeper later in the half before Cameron McGeehan had a shot blocked as the home side attempted to find a way through.
But the balance shifted after half-time, as Wycombe came close when Cameron Humphreys forced a save from Lee Burge.
Wycombe then took the lead less than ten minutes after the restart. Burge and Jon Guthrie got in one another’s way when trying to deal with a left-wing cross and the ball broke kindly for Kone to tap over the line.
Udoh and Kone would both miss the target when well placed as Wycombe tried to put the game further out of Northampton’s reach, with the Cobblers also seeing Burge unable to continue after a knock.
Substitute Tarique Fosu had a late opportunity for Northampton but couldn’t find a way through with a shot that bounced just wide, as the home side ultimately couldn’t respond and slip to defeat.
The Cobblers face a tricky test in their next outing as they visit early high-fliers Huddersfield Town.
MK Dons were beaten 3-0 by rivals AFC Wimbledon as their away day struggles continued.
The visitors had yet to win away in any competition in the burgeoning season and would have further misery at the ground they would’ve wanted to lose at the least.
A first half goal by Myles Hippolyte gave the home side the lead and after MK Dons struggled to turn possession into opportunities, a late double by substitute Callum Maycock confirmed victory for AFC Wimbledon.
Defeat prolongs a difficult start to the season for Mike Williamson’s side, who sit 20th in League Two after four defeats in their opening six outings.
MK Dons arrived on the back of victory over Walsall in their last game and named the same starting line-up from that encounter, but found themselves on the back foot early on.
The hosts had come close when Omar Gugiel was denied by Tom McGill before the goalkeeper made a flying stop to keep out Hippolyte.
But the visitor’s goalkeeper then got involved in an incident that put AFC Wimbledon in front. McGill was deemed to have picked up a backwards prod by Luke Offord as a back-pass, handing AFC Wimbledon an indirect free-kick in the MK Dons’ penalty box. Hippolyte duly lashed the kick through the wall and into the roof of the net to give the home side the lead.
MK Dons struggled to get going at first but would come close when Tommy Leigh saw a glancing header tipped wide by the home goalkeeper Owen Goodman.
But the remainder of the half saw the two sides struggle to create opportunities, with the margin remaining 1-0 at the interval.
Half-chances remained the order of the day for most of the half but the Dons had their two best chances in quick succession after 20 minutes of the half, with Aaron Nemane firing a shot just wide before Joe Tomlinson’s header from a Callum Tripp cross hit the post with Goodman stranded.
The visitors rung the changes to try to get back into things, including a debut for deadline day signing Joe White, but the nearest to a tangible opportunity was blasted over from outside the box by Tomlinson.
In the 90th minute, MK Dons’ hopes took a severe hit when the hosts moved 2-0 up. Joe Pigott’s cross was mishit by Josh Kelly but fell kindly for substitute Maycock, who tapped home to extend AFC Wimbledon’s advantage.
Ten minutes of stoppage time were signalled and Ellis Harrison saw a shot denied by Goodman before Josh Neufville rippled the side-netting.
But a third would come for the hosts in the seventh minute of added time as Maycock turned in Kelly’s cross, capping off a truly miserable afternoon for MK Dons.
Luton Town picked up their first win of the new season with a 1-0 victory over Millwall at The Den.
An early goal by Teden Mengi got Rob Edwards’ team their first triumph of the 2024/25 season, with three points enough to take them up to 19th in the nascent Championship table.
Victory is Luton’s first in all competitions since beating Bournemouth in the Premier League in early April.
Luton arrived in London on the back of one draw and three defeats before the international break, but made a bright start at The Den and were rewarded with a tenth minute opener.
Home goalkeeper Lukas Jensen had made a stop to keep out an initial shot by Alfie Doughty, but the away side maintained pressure and Liam Walsh teed up Mengi, who arced a low shot into the bottom corner.
Luton had the best chances of the remainder of the first half, with Tahith Chong seeing a shot on the turn bounce off the post before Mengi saw a strike kept out by Jensen in first half stoppage time.
Millwall’s momentum was hindered by players having to leave the field through injury, with the second half seeing a dearth of chances created.
The Hatters could’ve sealed the deal with just under 20 minutes to play as Walsh was given space in the box but saw his shot kept out by Jensen.
The host’s best chance came in the 81st minute, as a through ball released Macauley Langstaff, but his low shot was well denied by Thomas Kaminski in the Luton goal.
Luton’s goalkeeper then had to be at his acrobatic best again in the sixth minute of injury time, as Kaminski denied a header by home sub Shaun Hutchinson at a corner.
That proved to be the last act as Luton ground out the victory. The side from Bedfordshire will seek to build on this when they host Sheffield Wednesday next weekend.
Andros Townsend has left Luton Town to join Turkish side Antalyaspor, with the winger making his move to Turkey after a delayed transfer.
The 33-year-old’s move to Corendon Airlines Park was originally agreed in August, but was unable to complete the move after Antalyaspor were placed under a transfer embargo by FIFA.
With the registration embargo now lifted, however, Townsend has completed his move to Antalya.
Townsend has signed a two-year-contract to join the side who finished 10th in the Turkish Super League last season.
The winger spent one year with Luton after joining from Everton. He made 31 appearances in all competitions after joining Rob Edwards’ side, scoring once in the form of a winner against his former club Newcastle.
Townsend had initially signed an extension to his contract in January 2024, but has moved to Turkey instead. Luton have not disclosed if a transfer fee exchanged hands in the transaction.
Hatters boss Rob Edwards wished Townsend well in a goodbye statement on the Hatters’ official website.
He said, “It’s a big thank you and good luck to Andros and we wish him well.
“This move is the right fit for Andros at this stage of his career and is in the best interests of all parties.
“Andros’ professionalism since he set foot inside The Brache has been exemplary – his discipline and attention to detail is something I hope has rubbed off on our young players.
“I’d like to thank him for his hard work and commitment to the cause while he was a Luton Town player, and wish him and his family well in Turkey.”
