Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is reportedly on the brink of being sacked. The 51-year-old has been under pressure following a difficult start to the 2025 season, with the team only recording one win in five Grand Prix races so far.

That came from Max Verstappen in Japan. However, the Dutchman has already lost one team-mate this year, with Horner opting to demote Liam Lawson only two races into the campaign. He was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, and the team are already 141 points behind pace-setters McLaren in the constructors’ standings.

According to oe24, Horner is in-line to be released following this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Red Bull are said to have already lined up two possible replacements in a bid to salvage their slump

Former Alpine boss Oliver Oakes is reportedly in the frame. The 37-year-old resigned from his position as team principal after only nine months in charge, having overseen just one podium finish in his tenure.

Franz Tost is also said to be in contention having previously served as team principal at Scuderia AlphaTauri (now Racing Bulls). He left the team in 2023 amid reports over clashes with Horner and disagreements over the structure of the Red Bull development programme.

Horner has been in position sicne 2005. During his tenure, Red Bull have won six constructors’ championships and eight drivers’ titles, with Verstappen having topped the standings for the last four years.

However, the ex-Formula 2 driver came under intense scrutiny last year after being accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female employee at Red Bull. He was cleared following an internal investigation, despite calls to resign from the likes of Verstappen’s father, Jos.

He’s also been at odds with team advisor Helmut Marko. The Austrian is said to have grown frustrated at Horner’s behaviour and management style, with the pair regularly contradicting each other in public during the last 12 months.

Alexander Zverev has admitted that he is not sure if Novak Djokovic is prepared to work hard enough to return to his brilliant best. The veteran Serb has failed to win a single tournament since prevailing at the Olympics last year. He came agonisingly close at the Miami Open two months ago but suffered a shock defeat to Jakub Mensik in the final.

Since then, Djokovic has slipped to early exits in each of his last two tournaments. At the Monte-Carlo Masters, he was beaten in straight sets by Alejandro Tabilo before losing in a similar fashion to Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Open. His poor recent form has cast doubt over whether he will ever be able to restore former glories.

Zverev, who is one of Djokovic’s closest friends on tour, was quizzed on the 37-year-old’s current plight after his victory over Vilius Gaubas at the Italian Open. Djokovic is not playing in Rome, having withdrawn from the tournament before the first round.

“It’s only here that he pulled out, right? He played all the other tournaments,” said Zverev. “Maybe he didn’t play up to his standard or his liking, but who does sometimes.

“If you’re not winning the tournament, if you’re a top guy and you’re not winning the tournament, you always go home a little bit p***** and a little bit upset. I still believe once he finds his game, he’s still one of the most dangerous players in the world.

“There’s no question about his ability at all. It’s more whether he still wants to. It’s more whether he still wants to put in the work. That’s a question to him. I can’t answer that.”

Zverev is not the only tennis figure to have questioned Djokovic’s work ethic over the last few months. Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams for over a decade, recently issued a stinging review of his abject displays in Monte-Carlo and Madrid.

“It’s like that for a guy like him, if he doesn’t have the motivation, then he shouldn’t even be playing, because it seemed like he wasn’t even trying to win,” said Mouratoglou.

“I’m not saying he’s not capable of playing better, he certainly is, but I feel like he’s physically not ready. Tennis-wise, physically, for such tournaments, especially because there is no motive.

“The question arises, why did he play them then? I don’t understand that. Motivation is a big thing for him. Everything revolves around that and I’ve been saying that for a while.”

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has issued a statement explaining why he confronted Nuno Espirito Santo after the final whistle against Leicester City. The bizarre exchange came after Forest were forced to share the spoils, conceding a late equaliser to their rivals. While it came as a bitter blow, a point was enough to ensure the Reds will be playing European football next season.

After the final whistle at the City Ground, Nuno was given a furious dressing-down by Marinakis in full view of the TV cameras. Marinakis stormed onto the pitch before appearing to berate his manager while throwing his arms around in frustration. He eventually walked away from the scene, leaving Nuno with a puzzled and slightly frustrated look on his face.

Marinakis has since issued a statement explaining his side of the story. He said the club’s medical team were the source of his fury due to their handling of the late injury suffered by Taiwo Awoniyi, which left Forest a player short in the closing minutes.

“Today is a day for celebration because after 30 years Nottingham Forest is now guaranteed to be competing on the European stage once again, a promise I made to our supporters when we achieved promotion,” wrote Marinakis.

“With two more games to go in the Premier League, we must keep believing and keep dreaming, right to the final kick in the final game.

“We are extremely proud and close to Nuno and the team, and we must all celebrate the historic achievements of this season.

“Everybody, coaching staff, players, supporters and including myself, were all frustrated around the injury of Taiwo and the medical staff’s misjudgement on Taiwo’s ability to continue the game.

“This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club. Let’s all be grateful, passionate and keep on dreaming.”

Forest can still qualify for next season’s Champions League despite missing a huge chance to put themselves in the driving seat against Leicester. If they had taken all three points, they would have been sat in fifth place, a point ahead of Chelsea.

Instead, they find themselves in seventh and needing to make up lost ground to earn a top-five finish in the Premier League.

Nuno also commented on his exchange with Marinakis in his post-match interview, saying: “It was due to the situation and the confusion over the substitution of [Awoniyi]. We made a [different] sub and after that we played with one man less.

“That frustrates everyone. When a player is down, you get information that he is okay to continue, then we make a sub and it turns out he can’t continue. We are all frustrated with that.

“Football is emotions. It’s difficult to control, especially when we had so much expectation and the fans were incredible.”