Lando Norris’s agent held a meeting with a Red Bull chief at Silverstone over the weekend, adding to speculation that the British driver could be set to join the championship winning team in the future. A meeting between Norris’s manager Mark Berryman and Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, spotted by the Daily Telegraph at Silverstone over the weekend, has fuelled talk that the Brit may be being headhunted. The pair met a couple of hours before Sunday’s British Grand Prix. It seems unlikely that Red Bull would be pushing to split up their current driver setup, given how successful the partnership between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez has been in the last two of years, but things change quickly in Formula 1. Norris finished fourth in Austria which surprised many people before his second place at Silverstone took the Briton to another level. He raised eyebrows when passing Verstappen at the start of the race and held on to keep the championship leader at bay for five laps. Add to that the calm composure he displayed to hold off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages, despite being on a set of cold hard tyres, and Norris is proving just how good a driver he was always believed to be. Marko himself insisted after Sunday’s race that there was no chance Perez would be released before his current contract expires at the end of 2024 saying: “In the last 10 laps he was the fastest driver in the field ... His position is not in danger at all.” Yet, Perez remains under scrutiny due to a down tick in his own form. He qualified 15th at Silverstone making it the fifth race in a row he failed to reach Q3, though time is on his side. Verstappen has a runaway lead and is nailed on for a third world championship which would also help Red Bull take the constructor’s title too leaving Perez ample opportunity to rediscover his form. Read More The moment Lando Norris came of age in British Grand Prix – and it wasn’t his super start Lando Norris ‘honoured’ to join Lewis Hamilton in battle for Formula One glory Max Verstappen storms to British Grand Prix victory with two Brits on the podium

On the shores of Lake Issyk Kul in mountainous Kyrgyzstan, a group of divers show off their haul for the day -- a boat engine, car...

A restaurant in London has sparked criticism over its decision to introduce a minimum spend next month that will see solo diners charged double for their meals. In August, Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, which boasts two Michelin stars, will increase the prices of its tasting menus. Currently, a five-course tasting menu costs £125 per person, while it’s £175 for seven courses. However, from 17 August, the restaurant will increase its prices by 11 per cent, bringing five courses to £165 and seven courses to £195. This is due to an increase in supplier costs and rising staff shortages in London, due to Brexit, that has put pressure on the business. For those dining alone, though, the new minimum spend means solo visitors could be charged a minimum of £330 to visit the restaurant due to the volume of requests they receive. However, the restaurant confirmed that they keep one to two tables for solo diners for every service without the minimum spend. So solo diners who book within 24 to 48 hours of their required booking time could be able to swerve the minimum spend depending on whether those tables are available at the time. Nonetheless, the initiative sparked outrage on Twitter, with commenters quick to point out the joys of dining alone, and how solo diners are often stigmatised. “F*** the Hotel Café Royal then… Solo dining is one of life’s great pleasures,” tweeted one person. “Oh great news. Yet another penalty for being single,” another added. Hugh Smithson-Write, who works in restaurant PR, tweeted: “A classic example of making the customer the problem, rather than finding a solution. “If you get ‘many solo diner requests’ how about you reconfigure your dining room to accommodate that and maximise the revenue? This is the very opposite of hospitality!” Victoria Sheppard, chief executive at Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, told The Independent: “Since achieving our two Michelin stars the demand for solo dining has increased dramatically and whilst we make every effort to accommodate solo diners, we also have to be considerate to the running costs of our business. “That said, we are increasing our opening hours from 17 August and will be able to accommodate more solo diners (without any discretionary minimum spend). 95 per cent of our solo diners requesting tables since we implemented a discretionary minimum spend when we are at capacity for solo diners have been more that happy to proceed with their booking, enjoying wine pairings or champagne of wine alongside their meal. “Nightclubs in our local vicinity have minimum spends for tables or hotels you pay the same price whether one guest or two which is never under dispute.” Read More Michelin star chef Marcus Wareing gives controversial answer to the best pizza in London Tom Kerridge addresses backlash to his £35 fish and chips at Harrods: ‘They shout at me’ Chef defends viral chicken recipe after TikTok backlash: ‘PSA to the seasoning police’ Restaurant with ‘tips are a privilege’ policy sparks intense backlash on social media Cher is launching a gelato brand called ‘Cherlato’ Popeyes widely mocked for attempt to join ‘girl dinner’ trend

If you’re anything like us, the first coffee of the day is the only thing that can get us up on a morning – and it turns out, there’s real science behind it. Everyone knows that coffee can give us a welcome caffeine hit, but it’s now been revealed that the drink also gives us an extra ‘special boost’ too. Scientists have claimed that the act of drinking a cup of joe gives the body a lift, making us more alert, which can’t be replicated merely with caffeine. In fact, new research shows that drinking hot coffee activates additional areas of the brain. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Scientists from the University of Minho in Portugal and elsewhere looked into the effects of coffee outside of just caffeine content as part of a study – and they found that plain caffeine didn’t have the same impact. In fact, a cup of coffee also influenced working memory and goal-directed behaviour. “There is a common expectation that coffee increases alertness and psychomotor functioning. When you get to understand better the mechanisms underlying a biological phenomenon, you open pathways for exploring the factors that may modulate it and even the potential benefits of that mechanism,” study co-author Nuno Sousa explained. Experts said that drinking coffee actually increased the connectivity in the brain’s more advanced nerve network controlling vision, and other parts involved in working memory, cognitive control and goal-directed behaviour – something not found when participants only took caffeine. Researchers also said that if subjects wanted to not just feel alert but ready to go, caffeine alone might not do the job. “Acute coffee consumption decreased the functional connectivity between brain regions of the default mode network, a network that is associated with self-referential processes when participants are at rest,” study co-author Maria Picó-Pérez said. “The subjects were more ready for action and alert to external stimuli after having coffee,” she added. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Picture an It girl strolling in the South of France on a hot summer day. She probably looks effortlessly chic, wearing minimal, breezy clothing and a pair of oversized sunnies as she carries a large straw tote bag. As we take in this perfect summer outfit, it’s nice to know that both straw basket bags and oversized handbags are trending this season, meaning it’s easier than ever to find options and achieve this stylish look. And if you’re specifically looking for a statement straw bag that’s anything but ordinary, luxury accessory brand Eric Javits is elevating our warm-weather wardrobes with versatile and sophisticated summer bags.

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