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BRUSSELS: Laurent Mekies didn’t get long to settle in as Red Bull team principal on his first Formula 1 race weekend leading his new team.
There was just one practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday before Red Bull and Mekies get straight into competitive action with qualifying for Saturday’s sprint race.
The hectic schedule is an extra challenge as Mekies takes over from Christian Horner, who had led the team since it entered F1 20 years ago until he was abruptly fired just over two weeks ago.
Max Verstappen had some aerodynamic updates and was competitive for Red Bull in the sole practice session, going second fastest at .404 of a second behind standings leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren. The second McLaren of Lando Norris was third fastest, .1 further back.
Red Bull uncertainty
Red Bull’s parent company still hasn’t explained exactly what led to Horner’s exit, and Verstappen’s future remains uncertain. The Dutch driver said Thursday that Horner was like a “second family” but that his removal wouldn’t affect his plans.
Verstappen said he still hoped to remain with Red Bull for the rest of his career but noted that “life is unpredictable.”
In an extra twist, Mercedes driver George Russell indicated to broadcaster Sky Sports on Thursday that he believed Verstappen and Mercedes remained in talks.
Besides the small question of Verstappen’s future, Mekies will need to draw on his extensive experience in F1 to cope with a daunting to-do list.
He needs to deal with a decline in the team’s results over the last year, prepare for big rule changes for 2026, and work out why Yuki Tsunoda — 18th in Friday practice — is the latest in a series of Verstappen’s teammates to struggle with the car.
Piastri’s frustration
All the focus has been on Red Bull, but there’s still a thrilling — and controversial — title race at McLaren.
Norris’ emotional win in the rain at the British Grand Prix cut Piastri’s standings lead to just eight points, while Piastri fumed at what he saw as an unfair penalty.
Belgium is the first test of the Australian’s vow to harness the “frustration” he felt in Britain to win more races. And just like at Silverstone, rain could play a big part this weekend. It could affect both Saturday’s sprint and the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Crunch time for Hamilton
With half of the season gone and no Grand Prix podium finish yet, Lewis Hamilton has declared it’s “crunch time” for him at Ferrari.
Hamilton, whose biggest success this season was a sprint race win in China in March, was seventh in Friday practice.
The seven-time champion revealed Thursday he’s been setting up a series of meetings not just with top team personnel, but with Ferrari’s corporate leadership, to seek “structural adjustments” and make sure his voice is part of Ferrari’s development plans for 2026.

BENGALURU: Liverpool’s big-money investment on transfers is the result of long-term planning, club CEO Billy Hogan said, adding that winning a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title convinced the club it was time to act like a modern powerhouse.

Liverpool’s latest acquisition, French striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth £79 million ($106.84 million), including add-ons, has taken the club’s transfer expenditure this window to nearly £300 million.

Outgoings, six players including Trent Alexander-Arnold, have so far generated around £64 million.

The outlay marks a sharp departure from Liverpool’s traditionally measured approach in the market. However, Hogan insists the club has not deviated from the club’s policy of financial sustainability.

“It doesn’t just happen; it’s been years in the making,” Hogan told The Athletic in an interview.

“One of the things we’re constantly focused on is that ‘virtuous circle’. Trying to run the club in the right way to ensure that we can generate as much revenue as we possibly can. That obviously helps in terms of being able to put more back into the team.

“The difficulty is if you just look at one individual summer. That probably skews the data. There were a lot of comments made last summer that we didn’t spend enough...”

Hogan explained the approach reflects the ambitions of American-led Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who are seeking to build on last season’s Premier League title under manager Arne Slot.

“We also recognize, having won the English league title for the 20th time, that this is one of the biggest clubs in the world. We want to make sure that we are behaving like one,” he added.

“Having massive global stars come and play at Anfield, filling out stadiums in Hong Kong and Japan, those are things we expect and want to do.”

Liverpool face AC Milan in Kowloon, Hong Kong on Saturday, before taking on Yokohama FM in the J League World Challenge in Yokohama on Wednesday. They begin their Premier League title defense at home against Bournemouth on Aug. 15.