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SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: Max Verstappen said Red Bull could always count on him, as the four-times Formula One champion gave new team boss Laurent Mekies a winning start in a Saturday sprint at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The race was the first since Christian Horner, who led Red Bull into Formula One in 2005, was dismissed by the team’s owners.

Verstappen seized the lead on the opening lap from second at the start and kept McLaren’s Oscar Piastri behind him to secure his and the team’s first win of any sort since Imola in May.

While worth only eight points, the victory was a significant statement after the recent restructure at the Milton Keynes factory.

“The team can always count on me. They will always get my very best, whoever is in charge. They know that. I’m never holding back or anything,” Verstappen told reporters.

“I’m always trying to give them the best possible result, and that’s also what they pay me for. For sure, it’s positive. We need, of course, positive energy, and that’s a great start for us.”

Verstappen said it was too early to talk about further changes to be made at Red Bull and Mekies needed to build relationships and see how the team operated.

“Then at one point, you come to conclusions and maybe you want to change something, and this is something that will happen over the coming weeks, months,” he said.

“So, it’s really early days, but so far, he’s very keen and very motivated, and that’s exactly what you want also. I got on very well with him. So, yeah, it’s been a very good start.”

SINGAPORE: Newcastle manager Eddie Howe insisted Saturday that Alexander Isak is still a Newcastle player despite speculation around a move to either Premier League champions Liverpool or Al-Hilal in ������Ƶ.

Isak has not traveled with Newcastle for their pre-season tour of Asia, apparently because of a minor thigh injury, but Howe said the 25-year-old Swedish striker was a key part of his plans.

“Of course, there are always going to be things going on behind the scenes,” Howe told reporters in Singapore, where Newcastle play Arsenal on Sunday.

“He is aware he’s in the news every day, which I’m sure is not easy for anyone in that situation.

“Conversations between Alex and the club or with me will stay private for obvious reasons. We do share a good relationship,” Howe added.

Isak, who scored 23 Premier League goals last season, has been “magnificent for us for as long as he has been with us,” said Howe. “And he is very comfortable in the dressing room.”

Isak did not travel with the Magpies after the thigh injury kept him out of Newcastle’s friendly defeat to Celtic last week.

“He mentioned before the Celtic game that it would be very minimal and nothing too serious,” said Howe.

“But he left training very early and didn’t feel right. So, he’s now back in Newcastle getting that injury assessed.”

Howe remained confident that Isak will be wearing black and white when the new season kicks off next month.

“I said after the game against Celtic that I was confident he would stay. I don’t see anything that is going to change that opinion of mine at the moment.

“It’s football,” he added. “And who knows what the future may bring.”

The Magpies ended their 70-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup and finished in fifth place in the Premier League last season to secure a return to the Champions League.

“I think once you’ve experienced that feeling of winning, you want it again. So, we want to do it again as soon as possible, in all the competitions we are in,” said Howe.

“We set the bar very high, and there’s a lot of ambition within the team.”