Weekly news roundup & weekend watches 02/05

Thursday 2 May 2024 by Jonathan Victoria  News

Adrian Newey set to leave Red Bull

Red Bull Racing’s Adrian Newey is confirmed to be leaving the team following a week of rumours that his departure would be coming.

The 65-year-old has been with the team since 2006, currently residing as their chief technical officer, mainly in charge of the car's design. He is widely regarded as the greatest engineer and F1 car designer of all time, having helped create 14 championship-winning cars.

It is unclear as to what Newey’s next steps are. Multiple teams have opened communications with him, including Aston Martin and Audi, who will be joining the grid in 2026. 

However, most bets seem to be on him joining Lewis Hamilton in moving over to Ferrari, with Maranello team boss Fred Vasseur reportedly meeting with Newey in London on Tuesday.

Newey will continue to work with Red Bull until early 2025; however, he will not be working on the team's current F1 car for the remainder of the season, instead only working on Red Bull’s first hypercar, the RB17.

First trailer for ‘The Lion King’ prequel

The first trailer for The Lion King prequel movie, Mufasa: The Lion King, has been released along with its release date of 20th December 2024.

The film is set to tell the story of Mufasa being told by Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala.

Just like with the live-action movie from 2019, the cast for Mufasa is weighted, with Beyonce returning to her role as Nala along with her daughter Blue Ivy Carter playing Kiara.

James Earl-Jones will unfortunately not be lending his voice to Mufasa this time, with Aaron Pierre taking up the mantle for the younger version.

Other big names such as Mads Mikkelsen, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen and Thandiwe Newton all have parts in the film.

Alcaraz follows Nadal’s lead in Madrid Open exit

Spaniard’s Carlos Alacaraz and Rafael Nadal both suffered early exits at the Madrid Open this week.

The current world-ranked number three Alcaraz lost to Andrey Rublev in three sets during the quarter-finals despite winning the first.

As for Nadal, he lost in straight sets to Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round of the competition on Tuesday.

Nadal has been on the journey to recovery since coming back from major injuries, and while he came into the competition pessimistic about his fitness level, he has left with a smile having said “I leave here with very positive energy”.

It was an emotional affair after his loss as this was to be his final time playing in Madrid on the ATP Tour, as following this season, Nadal will be retiring after 23 years and 22 Grand Slam titles.

Live-action He-Man reboot given release date

He-Man shall be returning to screens in a live-action reboot of Masters of the Universe - although it won’t be until 5th June 2026.

A reboot of the timeless classic has been on the cards for a long time now, and finally Amazon MGM Studios has given it a home and picked up the script and scraps that were dropped from Netflix after they rejected the film.

Budget concerns were said to be Netflix’s reason for dropping it, but thankfully Amazon have taken up the project now.

Should plans finally go through this time, it would be the first live-action adaptation of He-Man since 1987s Masters of the Universe starring Dolph Lundgren, which also happens to be the only live-action adaptation to date.

Weekend watches: What’s on this weekend?

The Premier League run-in is getting hotter, while the heat also ramps up in Madrid for the ATP and WTA Tours, plus the sixth round of the F1 World Championship.

F1 Miami Grand Prix

Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th | Race - 9pm | Sky Sports F1

The Formula 1 grid is back to the streets outside the Hard Rock Stadium for the latest edition of the Miami Grand Prix.

Following the first sprint weekend of the year in China, Miami shall also feature the alternate weekend format.

Thankfully, after three early races for us here in the UK, lights out for the Grand Prix on Sunday will be on at a better time of 9pm. Here’s how the rest of the weekend looks:

Friday

5.30pm – Practice One

9pm – Sprint Qualifying

Saturday

5pm – Sprint Race

9pm – Race Qualifying

Sunday

9pm – Race

You can catch all the action from this weekend, as with every race weekend, exclusively on Sky Sports and their dedicated F1 channel, Sky Sports F1.

Premier League - Liverpool vs Tottenham

Sunday 5th | 4:30pm | Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League

The season is winding down, and with Matchday 36 upon us and three teams still vying for the title, every match matters.

For Liverpool, two disappointing results on the trot now leaves them five points behind leaders Arsenal. They face a tough opposition in Tottenham this Sunday, who themselves have something to play for as they aim for a top-four finish this year.

Be sure to tune in on Sunday at 4:30pm exclusively on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.

Madrid Open Finals

Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th | TBC | Sky Sports Tennis

The Madrid Open Men’s and Women’s singles finals will take place this weekend, with the women’s on Saturday and the Men’s on Sunday.

The matchups are yet to be made, and you can watch the semi-final action for both today and tomorrow ahead of the finals, all exclusively on Sky Sports Tennis.