CK Updates
Mercedes driver scout involved in discovering Kimi Antonelli to join Red Bull
The Mercedes driver scout involved in discovering Kimi Antonelli is leaving the team to join rivals Red Bull.
Frenchman Gwen Lagrue, 50, is to take up a new role leading Red Bull’s driver development programme.
Lagrue has been recruited essentially as a replacement for Helmut Marko, who retired from his long-time role as Red Bull’s motorsport adviser at the end of last year.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, Mercedes and Lagrue himself all declined to comment when approached by BBC Sport.
It is unclear when Lagrue will be free to take up his new role.
Mercedes and Red Bull are in the process of negotiating an agreement that would see him released from his existing contract as driver development adviser to the Mercedes F1 team.
At Mercedes, his role will likely be filled by a minor reshuffle of the existing young-driver programme, arguably the most effective in F1.
Bradley Lord, who was already involved, was recently promoted to deputy team principal from his previous position as communications director and senior adviser to team principal Toto Wolff.
Mercedes have a team of up to 10 people analysing the junior categories, right down to the very junior levels of karting, to find promising new talent.
Lagrue has worked for Mercedes for a decade.
George Russell was the first signing for the team following his appointment, a few months after the Briton famously approached Wolff and gave him a PowerPoint presentation arguing his case to be part of the Mercedes junior programme.
Russell has been supported by Mercedes since then as he completed the junior categories, was seconded to Williams for an F1 debut in 2019 and then promoted to Mercedes in 2022.
Mercedes signed Antonelli when he was an 11-year-old racing in go-karts and he has been mentored by Mercedes through an accelerated programme that saw him replace Lewis Hamilton in the team when the seven-time champion joined Ferrari at the start of 2025.
Antonelli is proving his billing as a generational talent in dominating the F1 world championship in only his second season.
The 19-year-old has won five races and set six pole positions in 10 grands prix so far this season before Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix and is leading Russell by 25 points.
Among other successes at Mercedes while Lagrue has been running the young-driver programme are Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who was their junior driver and has been managed by them through his 10-year career in F1 at Manor, Force India, Renault/Alpine and now Haas, and their current F1 reserve driver, the Dane Frederik Vesti.
Lagrue also personally supported current Williams driver Alex Albon when he was dropped by Marko from Red Bull’s driver development programme in 2016.
He helped Albon with career advice and in sourcing budget to further his career until the Anglo-Thai rejoined Red Bull for his F1 debut for the second team, then called Toro Rosso, in 2019.
Former West Ham, QPR and Czech Republic goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko has died at the age of 64.
Miklosko made almost 400 appearances for the Hammers from 1990 to 1998 and was much loved by supporters, who regularly sang his name long after he left the club.
He later returned as a goalkeeping coach.
Miklosko withdrew from cancer treatment in December 2024, three years after his diagnosis.
Days later he returned to West Ham’s London Stadium for a Premier League match against Liverpool to a hero’s reception.
A West Ham statement read: “It is with deep and profound sadness that West Ham United announces the passing of legendary former goalkeeper and coach, Luděk Miklosko.
“Rest in peace Ludek, our beloved, inspirational goalkeeper and gentle giant of a man.”
More to follow.
Going into the 2026 season, few people would have backed Zverev to win two Grand Slam tournaments, with the German having already lost three major finals in a career which looked in danger of not living up to expectation.
But injuries to his biggest rivals – Alcaraz missing the French Open and Wimbledon, with Sinner ruled out of the US Open – opened the door for Zverev.
A below-par Zverev scraped through the opening rounds at Flushing Meadows in a series of early-morning finishes, but he gradually improved over a fortnight where he did not play a top-20 opponent until Shelton.
Zverev had not lost to Shelton in their five previous meetings and immediately capitalised on a nervy start by his opponent.
Shelton double-faulted on break point in the first game of the match, handing over the type of initiative that opponents often struggle to wrestle back from Zverev.
Through the strength of his first serve, and his ability to unpick Shelton’s weaker backhand in the baseline exchanges, Zverev rolled through the opening set and clinched it when Shelton hit another double fault on set point.
Zverev continued to patiently draw mistakes from Shelton in the second set, but without being gifted a break when his only opportunity arrived in the fourth game.
He instead showed why he has a strong tie-break record with another nerveless display and, unlike in the 2020 US Open final when he lost from a two-set lead, kept his composure in the pressure moments to secure a commanding victory.
Addressing his team which is led by his father Alexander senior and brother Mischa, Zverev said: “We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title and now won two in the span of three months.
“I think God has seen how hard we have worked, how hard we have suffered and how much pain we went through.
“I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”
With Haaland’s goal settling the match, United were unsurprisingly disappointed by the decision.
“I think it was offside,” said Martinez. “And what I can’t understand is the rules. I want to be calm now, I want to control myself.
“It’s so hard because you lose a derby, you lose three points at home, and every season they’re [referees] coming to our club, they explain for one hour the rules, and they look so confident with that, and then after [there are] five or six people doing these kind of mistakes in the Premier League – it’s unacceptable.
“It’s the best league in the world, you have the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and now we have to go home with this injustice.”
United boss Carrick also expressed his confusion.
“We put things in place in the game now, we have people in offices with all the screens for this decision,” he said.
“It’s more worrying about if that’s the interpretation of football now. If that’s the interpretation of not interfering in the game now, that’s really worrying for me. It’s a staggering explanation.
“The decision isn’t going to change the season, but it’s had a major impact on the game.”
Wayne Rooney, part of the BBC’s MOTD2 team, said: “Surely it’s offside. Martinez is impacted by Fernandez’s movement, and he is offside.”
Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: “I think we’ll see some sort of apology from the referee’s association, there’s no doubt Fernandez is playing that ball and is trying to put off Martinez. I think it’s one they’ll recognising they got wrong.”
Micah Richards added: “I think it’s been a bad day for referees. They got the Foden decision wrong and the Fernandez decision wrong. I think they got it so wrong but I don’t think it takes anything away from City’s performance.”
Meanwhile, City boss Maresca said: “I think it was onside clearly so it’s good.”
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