Connections are considering adding Passenger into the Betfred Derby following his fine effort in the Dante last week – but will leave a final decision as late as possible.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the son of Ulysses burst on to the scene with a taking victory in the Wood Ditton on debut and having seen his hopes of running in the Dee Stakes at Chester washed away by the deluge that plagued the Roodee fixture, the progressive colt was added into the Dante line-up at a cost of £14,000.

Sent off the 9-2 favourite for the York Group Two, Passenger ran a race full of promise and was somewhat unfortunate not to finish any better than third, with jockey Richard Kingscote blaming himself after suffering plenty of traffic issues up the Knavesmire straight.

It will now cost a further £85,000 to supplement Passenger for Epsom, with the Niarchos family-owned three-year-old a best price of 13-2 to give Stoute back-to-back Derby victories.

“I would say it is being considered seriously, we don’t have to make a decision until the weekend because the supplementary stage is on Monday,” said Alan Cooper, racing manager for the owners, when asked about Passenger being supplemented.

“It’s less than a week since he ran so Sir Michael quite naturally would like to wait until he has to make his recommendations.

“He only ran last Thursday and today is Wednesday. We don’t have to make a decision until Monday, so we will make one in due course. But the horse is very well. 

“He’s been a very progressive horse all spring which is very encouraging. He’s going to have plenty of big-race entries and Sir Michael will decide what we are going to do.”

Alberto Dainese bounced back from stomach problems to win stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia in a photo finish as Geraint Thomas finished safely to retain the leader’s pink jersey.

Dainese, who has spent several days suffering with illness, edged out the fast approaching Jonathan Milan by a tyre’s width in Caorle with Michael Matthews a couple of inches further back.

Mark Cavendish, still seeking a first win of the season a couple of days after announcing it would be his last as a professional, had been near the front of the bunch on the approach to town.

But the Manxman lost position on one of two tight left-handers inside the last two kilometres and could not contest the sprint, showing his frustration as he rolled over the line. There should be one more opportunity for a sprint on Sunday’s final stage in Rome.

Thomas was guided into the finish by Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Ben Swift, staying safe to retain his 18-second advantage over Joao Almeida in the general classification, with Primoz Roglic sat third, 29 seconds down.

That means the Welshman will spend his 37th birthday in pink when the race returns to the mountains on Thursday going into the decisive weekend.

“It was an alright day, a little bit of rain but nothing compared to what we’ve had so far,” Thomas said.

“It was a bit of a crazy bunch finish, we’re happy to get that done. We knew the sprint teams would race a decent pace and we were able to save as much as possible for the next three days.

“It will be nice (tomorrow), hopefully it will be a good day. There’s lots of work to do before (Sunday), we’ll take tomorrow first.”

Before the mountains to come, this was a rare opportunity for the sprinters, and their determination to take it was clear as a four-man breakaway that included Charlie Quarterman was offered little margin and little hope, never building much more than a 90-second advantage.

The last of those escapees, Senne Leysen, was caught with five kilometres left of the 197km from Pergine Valsugana, almost all of which was either flat or downhill.

When the sprint began, Matthews struck out first but Dainese, racing close to home in the north east of Italy, used his slipstream to come around to the right.

More of a surprise was the storming finish of Milan, who appeared out of position on the final bend but this Giro’s in-form sprinter had the pace to get within a few millimetres of victory.

“This is insane,” said the 25-year-old Dainese. “The first sprints didn’t go as we planned, we did a good job but we never had a good result to show it…

“In the last metres I was really digging deep. I saw Jonny coming, I couldn’t really throw my bike because I was on the limit but it was nice to get my wheel a few centimetres in front to get the win.

“Especially after the last five days, I was quite sick with stomach issues and also my breathing was not good and today was the first day I was feeling good. I’m super happy, I can’t thank my team enough for keeping me in the race and keeping me motivated.”

Roger Varian has decided to give Charyn another shot at Classic glory in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas on Saturday.

A Group Two-winning two-year-old last season, the grey son of Dark Angel made a promising return when second to subsequent French 2000 Guineas runner-up Isaac Shelby in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury.

Charyn was unable to make an impact when eighth in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and Varian did have the option of dropping him back in trip for this weekend’s Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock.

However, he feels it is worth rolling dice once more over a mile at the Curragh.

“We were bit torn between the Sandy Lane and the Irish Guineas, but we’ve decided to go to Ireland,” said the Newmarket handler.

“We just think with the Newmarket race being on soft ground, the high numbers not really getting into it and things being a bit rough early, we didn’t really learn about the mile, not conclusively anyway.

“There’s only Classic options for so long in a horse’s life so we’re going to have another go.

“He’s a very talented horse and his run in the Greenham reads very well with the winner almost winning the French Guineas. I think if we can just draw a line through his run at Newmarket we’d be confident of a bold showing in Ireland.

“He might be a horse to come back in trip later in the year, but we feel he deserves another crack at a mile. When he ran at Newbury in that heavy ground he was strong at the line there over seven furlongs and Newmarket was just too inconclusive.”

Varian was speaking after seeing Al Husn provide him with a third victory in the last six runnings of the Tennent’s Lager British Stallion Studs EBF Rothesay Stakes at Ayr on Wednesday.

The Dubawi filly won each of her three starts in 2022 and found only the exciting Via Sistina too strong on her reappearance in the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket.

On the strength of that form she was a 5-6 favourite for her Listed assignment in Scotland and travelled powerfully throughout under Jim Crowley on her way to a cosy half-length triumph over Johnny Murtagh’s Irish raider Angels Wrath.

Varian said: “She’s a lovely filly, very likeable. She’d been very progressive last year and I was delighted she stayed in training.

“She ran well at Newmarket in the soft ground on Guineas Sunday and I thought she won a bit cosily today. She’s got a lovely attitude and I thought she was just doing enough, Jim gave her a nice sympathetic ride and she should come on from that again.

“We’ll get her home and chat with the team and see. I should think something like the Hopping Stakes at Newcastle might suit.”

Australia coach Andrew McDonald has thrown his support behind opener David Warner, tipping him for a “significant” role in this summer’s Ashes.

Warner, 36, has just one Test century in the past three-and-a-half years – a cathartic 200 against South Africa during the 2022 Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

Three cheap dismissals and a fractured elbow during the subsequent tour of India invited speculation that his 103-cap career could be coming to a close, with the likes of Usman Khawaja, Marcus Harris and Travis Head all options at the top of the order.

But he was named in Australia’s squad for next month’s World Test Championship final against India, as well as the first two Tests against England, and appears to have McDonald’s faith.

“We’re optimistic with what Dave’s got left,” McDonald told SEN Radio.

“We’ve picked him in the squad and we feel that he’s going to play a really significant part in the Ashes and the World Test Championship final.

“That’s why he’s on the plane. We think he’s got some good games left in him. He’s clearly in our plans.

“He knows exactly where he sits with us and internally we’re really settled around what we need to do and how we’re going to go about it.”

England bowler Stuart Broad said this week he was excited to renew his rivalry with the left-hander, having dismissed him seven times in 10 innings during a 2019 Ashes series that saw Warner average just 9.5.

McDonald prefers to focus on better days and is confident Warner can acquit himself well.

“In 2015, I think it was eight half-centuries and he averaged mid-40s. So, he’s had success there. It’s not as though he hasn’t had success in those conditions,” said McDonald.

“We’re backing him to draw on everything that he’s got. Leading into the Boxing Day Test the doomsday people were out there as well.”

Chelsea must move beyond football’s tendency to be reactionary if the club hope to create a long-term vision for their future, according to Frank Lampard.

Co-owner Todd Boehly has sacked two managers this season in what has been the team’s poorest campaign of the Premier League era, with a record low number of points won and a first bottom-half finish since 1996 now certain.

They are one of 11 top-flight clubs to have changed manager at least once this season, with themselves, Leeds and relegated Southampton having dispensed with two, as the average tenure for a Premier League coach has shrunk to just over 18 months.

Chelsea’s previously indifferent form has plummeted since Graham Potter was removed on April 2, with one win in 10 games in all competitions. The team has failed to score in six of those matches following Potter’s sacking.

Lampard takes his team to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday looking for only his second win in his 10th game since taking charge, having lost seven of the previous nine.

With Mauricio Pochettino expected to be confirmed imminently as the manager for next season, the outgoing interim coach suggested a resistance to modern trends must prevail if Chelsea are to challenge once more.

“That stat (11 clubs having sacked their manager) says it, I presume it’s a record,” said Lampard. “There are understandable factors, the Premier League brand and what it means to teams to stay in there.

“The first person that receives the blame is the coach, if you understand that going into the job that’s probably a good thing.

“Or course there’s lots of other factors. You wonder how successful always it is to changes those things. It’s clear it’s become that kind of a job and a situation and there are many teams that are fighting with expectations that might not be exactly stable.

“We’re in a very reactionary world anyway. In years gone by the reaction to one, two, three defeats might have been different. Now we have this explosion very quickly and you just have to understand it when you’re doing this job.”

The job of finding Potter’s permanent replacement has been carried out by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, who themselves arrived at the club only during the last year.

Previously Boehly held the role of temporary sporting director and was hands-on in player recruitment and in the doomed appointment of former Brighton boss Potter.

Lampard said he had enjoyed working with Winstanley and Stewart and that the pair have created a working environment around the club to help his successor succeed.

The new manager’s first job will be trimming a bloated first-team squad before setting about making up a gap to the top four that could hit 30 points this campaign.

“The dialogue has been really good from the moment this opportunity came up for me,” Lampard said. “I’ve been able to get on well with them on a personal and professional level and it’s nice to have that close communication.

“Working in this job you understand when you don’t have communication on the footballing side, you miss it. With both of them, Paul and Lawrence, I’ve had that in their own ways and that’s been a good thing and I appreciate that.

“Their big job is to bring Chelsea back to where we want to get it to. The responsibility isn’t all theirs but they play an important role in it. I’ve been impressed by how our interactions have been and I wish them well going forward.

“There’s a real alignment of thinking through (successful clubs). Where we are at the minute, that would be the work process of trying to see where are we aligned and where do we want to get to and what does it look like? There’s a lot of work in that and in Paul and Laurence we have good people to do that.

“It’s hard in the modern world because everything’s very reactionary. If you want to go in a certain direction and you don’t get any joy for a while, people react to that. For Chelsea it has to be a longer picture than that to get us a bit more of a process. People have to stick with that along the way.”

Ian Williams’ Enemy returns to Sandown for another crack at the Racehorse Lotto Henry II Stakes on Thursday.

The six-year-old spent his winter in the Middle East and returned significantly richer having won the Dubai Racing Club Classic at Meydan before a second-placed finish in the highly valuable Red Sea Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia.

He then came home eighth in the Dubai Gold Cup back at Meydan in late March, after which he began his domestic campaign in the Group Three Ormonde Stakes at Chester’s May meeting.

Enemy was fifth behind by William Haggas’ Hamish in the Roodee feature, though Williams feels he fared well considering the testing conditions and will be more at home on better ground in Esher, where Frankie Dettori takes the ride.

“The ground probably got a little bit too soft for him at Chester last time, but he acquitted himself well and remains in good form,” the trainer said.

“Conditions should be more to suit on Thursday.”

Enemy was fifth in the Group Three race last season as Quickthorn prevailed for Hughie Morrison, but the run was luckless and Williams feels the gelding was not shown to best effect.

He said: “I don’t know that it’s not a deeper race but the way that race was won last year, he got a long way out and had a lot of ground to make up, so I think you can put a line through that.”

Elsewhere is Andrew Balding’s Nate The Great, second last season and fifth behind Silver Sonic and Enemy in the Red Sea at Riyadh.

Haggas’ Roberto Escobarr joins the line-up, as do Harry and Roger Charlton’s Sleeping Lion and Hiroo Shimizu’s French-trained Princess Anne.

Desert Crown is all set for his highly-anticipated comeback in the Racehorse Lotto Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on Thursday evening.

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Derby hero has been seen just three times in his career, but has made a huge impression regardless.

He won a maiden on debut and then took last year’s Dante at York en route to a memorable victory in the premier Classic itself.

Injury curtailed his season after his two-and-a-half-length victory in the blue riband, however, and Sandown’s Group Three event is his first run since that memorable day last June.

Despite an absence of 355 days, Bruce Raymond, racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail, is expecting the Nathaniel colt’s unbeaten status to be maintained.

He said: “I’m more than hopeful. It would be a huge upset were he to be beaten.

“Of course, they can all be beaten, but I don’t expect him to be.

“Michael is definitely 100 per cent happy with him, he’s fine, he’s working good and while there’s enough improvement to come, he’s fit enough to do himself justice.

“He was so impressive in the Derby. The race was over two out.”

Stoute, too, expressed his satisfaction at how his star has done in the build-up to his return.

He said: “Desert Crown has progressed well over the last few weeks, and it will be good to get him back to work.”

The same owner and trainer will also be represented by Solid Stone, a Group winner in his own right who will set the pace for his stablemate.

“We’ve got a pacemaker in Solid Stone to make sure it’s not a crawl,” said Raymond.

“He leads him in all his work and he didn’t run at Chester recently just so he could run in this.”

Also on the comeback trail is Owen Burrows’ Hukum, an impressive winner of the Coronation Cup at Epsom last season before injury struck.

His career looked to be in jeopardy but he has been rehabilitated and returned to training, with the Sandown contest coming nearly a year since his last run.

But Burrows is mindful of the conditions in Esher and if the ground is too quick, Hukum will not be risked ahead of his Royal Ascot target, the Hardwicke Stakes.

“We’ve been really pleased with him, obviously it’s a very tough race!” said Burrows.

“Timing-wise it really works out, it slots in well with the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot as a prep run.

“Fingers crossed he can show his old enthusiasm, run a nice race and get his season on track.

“Myself and Richard Hills (of owners Shadwell) are going to walk the track beforehand, I’ve been liaising with Andrew Cooper, the clerk, and he normally does a great job.

“I just don’t want to run him for the first time in the year on fast ground and it’s an evening meeting, so there’s plenty of time throughout the day for it to dry out.

“We’ll just be taking a look to make sure we’re happy.”

Adding further spice is David Simcock’s Cash, who was just a short head behind Westover in the Classic Trial over course and distance last year, while Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Claymore is a Royal Ascot winner and Keith Dalgleish’s Chichester was last seen finishing second at the All-Weather Championships at Newcastle on Good Friday.

Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs has been crowned the leading jumps horse of the 2022-23 National Hunt season in the Anglo-Irish Jumps Classifications.

The Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old won the John Durkan at Punchestown, the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown and the headline event in the Cotswolds to crown a tremendous campaign, with his rating of 179 leaving him 4lb clear of his nearest rivals at the top of the standings.

His stablemate Energumene and Nicky Henderson’s Constitution Hill share the runner-up spot on a mark of 175, with the latter becoming the highest-rated British-trained hurdler since the Classifications were first published in 1999-2000.

The latter is unsurprisingly out on his own in the hurdling division, with State Man, who chased him home in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, best of the rest on 165.

The unbeaten Constitution Hill successfully stepped up to two and a half miles to add the Aintree Hurdle to his collection and is rated just 1lb behind three-time Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq (176). Whether he remains over hurdles or pursues a career over fences later this year remains to be seen.

Energumene earned his mark of 176 after a dominant 10-length success when defending his Queen Mother Champion Chase crown at Cheltenham in March, while the leading British horse over fences was Henderson’s Shishkin (173) thanks to a 16-length win in February’s Ascot Chase.

El Fabiolo (Mullins) tops the novice chase ranks on a perch of 170, while his owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede are also responsible for the highest-rated novice hurdler in Impaire Et Passe (160).

Martin Greenwood, the British Horseracing Authority’s steeplechase handicap team leader, said: “Ireland is responsible for two of the top three chase horses in the 2022-23 Anglo-Irish Classifications. Galopin des Champs and Energumene head the staying and short distance divisions respectively after dominant displays at the Cheltenham Festival.

“The GB team bagged the middle-distance division with Shishkin who was upped in trip and secured big-race success at Ascot and Aintree. The home contingent can also look to the likes of Bravemansgame (172), L’Homme Presse (170) and Ahoy Senor (169) as part of a decent season in the staying ranks, while Edwardstone (169) and Greaneteen (168) feature high up in the two-mile arena.”

Andrew Mealor, BHA hurdle handicap team leader, said: “Constitution Hill topped the hurdle rankings for the second season running as he added another four Grade One races to his burgeoning CV.

“His top performance of 175 came when beating State Man by nine lengths in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, a rating which puts him behind only triple Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq and Faugheen, both 176, among the top two-milers since Classifications were first published.”

Andrew Shaw, senior National Hunt handicapper for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, said: “Galopin Des Champs followed up his two Grade One victories at Punchestown and Leopardstown with the best performance by a staying chaser this season in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. Although beaten for the first time over fences by Fastorslow at Punchestown the following month, at only seven years of age he has the potential to go on and win at least one more Gold Cup.

“Energumene consolidated his position as the leading two-mile chaser with an emphatic 10-length victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.

“However, his chances of becoming the first horse since Badsworth Boy to win the race on three consecutive occasions will be seriously tested by stable companion El Fabiolo, the highest rated novice chaser in training and who joins Altior as the only two-mile novice to have achieved a figure of 170 since the Classifications began.”

Not many €20,000 purchases head to the Betfred Derby with leading claims – but that is certainly the case for Charlie Johnston’s Dubai Mile.

A Group One winner as a juvenile over 10 furlongs in France, he dropped back down in trip to finish a very respectable fifth in the 2000 Guineas behind Chaldean.

It is often said the best trial for the Derby is the Guineas, and in a year when the ante-post favourite, Auguste Rodin, finished 12th of 14 at Newmarket, Johnston has every right to be feeling bullish about the claims of his Roaring Lion colt on Saturday week.

Dubai Mile has struck up a good relationship with jockey Danny Muscutt – who celebrated his first Group One win when landing the Criterium de Saint-Cloud with him – and his availability on June 3 was the final piece of the preparation jigsaw once Canberra Legend’s Derby dreams ended at York.

“We did flirt with the idea of taking him to Epsom on Monday (for the gallops morning), but one of the determining factors for that was if Danny wasn’t going to be able to ride him, as going into the Dante there was a bit of a discussion,” said Johnston.

“If he wasn’t available it would have been a good opportunity to let a new jockey have a sit on the horse and get a feel for him, but given I was never going to push Danny into a decision he didn’t need to make until after the event, that has fallen by the wayside.

“Danny gets a tune out of him. It’s a twist of fate or whatever that this horse broke his maiden on a Sunday at Windsor. At the time I was just looking at jockeys available who had good stats at Windsor and that is how he ended up on the horse. We’re always keen to keep winning combinations together if we can.

“One of the most important factors we always feel is confidence and without a doubt he will have more confidence in this horse than anyone else we could get to ride him. Danny is doing a good job of putting himself on the map, but this horse is accelerating the process by giving him his first Group One winner and being a horse that has taken him into Classics.”

Being able to stay 10 furlongs as a juvenile is usually a prerequisite to staying a mile and a half, if not further, at three, and it was for that reason Johnston needed to be persuaded by his record-breaking father Mark to run back over a mile in the Guineas.

“You shouldn’t get too ahead of yourself in thinking you will stay the trip when he’s untested, but we’ve always been very confident it would improve him if anything,” said Johnston, who this year holds the training licence solely in his name.

“After the event I can say I was never really that keen on going for the Guineas and had some strong debates with dad about it. I’d thought all winter he’d go Dante-Derby, the traditional trial and what we’d done with Gear Up who won the same Saint-Cloud race.

“But his gallop at Newmarket tilted us into thinking he wouldn’t be disgraced in the Guineas and if he could run into third it would be a game changer for him as a stallion.”

There have been well-publicised reports that animal rights protesters will be trying to disrupt Derby day, but Johnston, while worried for the potential bad publicity for the sport, feels he has a colt that will not be perturbed by a delay should it come to it, as it did with the Grand National.

Johnston said: “He’s a very relaxed colt, but it will be interesting to see what the day brings. It’s a concern for Epsom and for horse racing, but it’s not a specific concern for this horse as he’s been to lots of tracks and different countries and takes everything in his stride. Any delay for all horses isn’t ideal, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world for him.

“To be going to Epsom with a chance in the Derby is why you get hooked on racing at a young age. We just want to win – at every level. But winning at the highest level has the biggest repercussions for Johnston Racing going forward. We want this to be the norm, competing with the big boys week in and week out.

“There’s always a bit made of the north versus south thing, but we’re as big as anyone – dad’s record is there for all to see. I’m aware the north hasn’t won the Derby since Dante, and that wasn’t even at Epsom, so it would be great for the north and Middleham but that is not my concern – I’m here to win it for Johnston Racing and Ahmad Al Shaikh.”

The Lawn Tennis Association’s fine for banning Russian and Belarusian players from last year’s grass-court season contributed to operating losses of £9.5million in 2022.

The governing body did not allow Russians or Belarusians to play at Wimbledon or any of the warm-up tournaments in Nottingham, Birmingham, Eastbourne or at Queen’s following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

It was subsequently hit with a £1.4m fine by the ATP and WTA and a warning that it could be stripped of hosting future events.

The staging of the Billie Jean King Cup finals and the Davis Cup finals group stage was also a big factor in the losses, alongside societal issues such as inflation.

Despite those losses, the LTA has continued to invest in grassroots tennis, which led to a 43 per cent rise in participants, with over 5.2million adults playing.

That is the highest number since the LTA began the survey, with 2022 seeing participation growing in all areas of the country and in all demographics.

LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said: “2022 was a year of real achievement for British tennis at both the grassroots and top professional level. We made strong progress against our plans for delivering on our five-year strategy to open tennis up and achieved a number of our objectives a year early.

“There were challenges throughout the year, but we have tried to ensure the sport is thriving at all levels, continued to raise the visibility of the sport and have given our British players the best possible support.

“Although the financial picture was challenging this year, taken as a whole, the past four years have resulted in a loss of £6.4m despite the pandemic, volatility in world markets and unforeseen factors such as the fines from the ATP and WTA – whilst during this time we delivered significant growth for the sport.

“We are continuing to invest across the length and breadth of the sport this year and, as well as many other initiatives, will be renovating thousands of public park courts across the country in partnership with the LTA Tennis Foundation and UK Government.”

Eddie Jones feels no bitterness over the way his England reign ended as he prepares to make his first appearance at Twickenham since being sacked by the Rugby Football Union.

Jones takes charge of the Barbarians against a World XV on Sunday in a brief interruption to his new duties as Australia head coach.

He departed in December as England’s most successful boss with a win rate of 73 per cent, but the decline in results over the last two years compelled the RFU to act and Steve Borthwick was appointed in his place.

England were booed off the field by disgruntled fans in the climax to a dismal autumn, but Jones is still looking forward to his Twickenham return.

When asked if he had any regrets over his exit, Jones replied: “No, none at all.

“I had a great seven years here, I loved it. I bet I’m the last foreign coach who coaches for seven years here. First and last.

“Loved my time here and I’m looking forward to Sunday. The sun is shining. It will be unbelievable.”

Jones is unconcerned by the prospect of being greeted with boos in the final match of the 2022-23 season.

“I never worry about things I can control. I don’t control that, so it’s no use even thinking about it,” he said.

Bernie Ecclestone has said he would be surprised if Ferrari pulled off the biggest transfer in recent Formula One memory by signing Lewis Hamilton – and believes it is Mercedes or bust for the British driver.

Hamilton’s future in the sport remains under scrutiny with six months to run on his current £40million-a-year deal at Mercedes.

Both Hamilton, 38, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff have said they expect a new deal will be agreed.

The Daily Mail this week reported that Ferrari are preparing a blockbuster bid for Hamilton – which could involve a swap deal with Charles Leclerc – while La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed Hamilton has already received an offer from the Italian team.

Speaking to the PA news agency, F1’s former supremo Ecclestone, who remains well connected in the sport, said: “I would be surprised that Ferrari would want to get rid of Leclerc to sign Lewis because they are very much in love with Leclerc.

“Lewis has said that when he does decide to stop he would still want to be connected with Mercedes so it would surprise me if he wanted to leave.

“And if I was Lewis and I saw that Leclerc is happy to leave Ferrari, I would think there has to be a problem there.

“I also don’t know why Lewis would think he would be better off at Ferrari than where he is at the moment. He knows everything well and truly at Mercedes. They know him, and they have a lot of respect for him so he couldn’t be better looked after anywhere.

“Ferrari is not a retirement home either. They want to win the world championship more than anyone. So personally, I think he will stay as Mercedes, or he will retire.”

Hamilton is gearing up for this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix and is set to address his future in the Principality on Thursday.

The seven-time world champion qualified 13th at the last race in Miami before driving well to finish sixth, but he is already 63 points behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the championship standings.

“I don’t know what has happened to Mercedes and how they have suddenly got in the state that they find themselves in the moment,” added Ecclestone, 92.

“I can understand Lewis being frustrated because he has been there for all that time and done well for Mercedes and for himself. But his contract is a lot of money to walk away from and that is a big problem.

“The only place Lewis can go to to win that eighth world championship is Red Bull, but for sure there is no room there. It is impossible. There is no chance.”

Hamilton’s Mercedes team will bring a major upgrade to the sixth round of the season in Monaco, but Wolff has already warned his superstar driver that his new machinery will not haul him into championship contention.

“It won’t be a silver bullet because from my experience, they do not exist in our sport,” Wolff said.

“We hope that it gives the drivers a more stable and predictable platform. Then we can build on that in the weeks and months ahead.

“F1 is tough competition and a meritocracy. We are not where we want to be but there’s no sense of entitlement. It’s just about hard work to get us to the front.”

Valencia head coach Ruben Baraja has said his club will fight back against “smears” after they were handed a five-game partial stadium closure and hefty fine following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.

Speaking at a press conference, Baraja stressed he was “absolutely against racism”, but echoed Valencia’s earlier claim that the sanction was “unfair and disproportionate”, and added: “I am not going to allow the Valencia CF fans and Mestalla to be smeared with labels that do not represent us.

“Just as a player rightly fights back against insults and I support that with all my might, we as a club and a fanbase rebel against those who, during the days since the game, have accused us of being what we are not.”

Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.

In response, Valencia have been ordered to shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches and have also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) by the Spanish football federation (RFEF).

Reacting to that sanction, Valencia said in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday evening: “Valencia CF wishes to show its total disagreement and indignation at the unfair and disproportionate penalty imposed by the competition committee on the club with the closure of the stand for five games.

“Valencia CF wants to publicly denounce that in this resolution of the RFEF competition committee they show evidence that contradicts what the national police and LaLiga say.

“In addition, this sanction is based on evidence that the club has not been able to see and without giving us a hearing.

“Valencia CF has condemned, condemns and will condemn in the most energetic way any act of racism or violence. These behaviours have no place in football or in society and we will continue to act in the most forceful way to eradicate this scourge.

“For this reason, Valencia CF is collaborating from the first minute with the police and all relevant authorities to clarify the events that occurred last Sunday.

“In addition, it has applied the maximum possible sanction with the expulsion for life from our stadium to the fans that the police have identified for their racist behaviour.

“For this reason we consider that penalising and depriving all the fans who were not involved in these unfortunate incidents from seeing their team is a totally disproportionate, unfair and unprecedented measure against which we will fight.

“The fight against racism requires the real commitment of all the parties involved without using it as a pretext to incur serious injustices.

“Valencia CF will appeal to the last instance the closure of the stand, a sanction that it considers totally unfair and one more offence in the latest disciplinary decisions that have been taken against the club. Valencia CF asks for the utmost respect and rigour for our institution and fans.”

In announcing the punishment against Valencia, the RFEF said in a statement: “The competition committee has sanctioned Valencia CF with the partial closure of the Mestalla stadium for five matches, more specifically the Mario Kempes south stand, following the events that occurred during the league match between the local team and Real Madrid CF.

“It is considered proven that, as reflected by the referee in his minutes, there were racist shouts at Vinicius, a Real Madrid CF player, during the aforementioned match, altering the normal course of the match and considering the infractions very serious.”

LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain in the wake of Sunday’s match.

Before Tuesday night’s games between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind banners which read ‘Racism, out of football’.

LaLiga shared a pre-match clip from the Celta-Girona game on its official Twitter account with the hashtag #JUNTOSContraElRacismo (#TOGETHERagainstRacism).

The footage also showed a supporter holding up a placard with ‘No Al Racismo’ (No to Racism) written on it.

There were similar sentiments at the Valladolid-Barcelona game as fans showed their support for Brazil international Vinicius.

Barcelona forward Raphinha removed his shirt when substituted to show a message which read: “As long as the colour of the skin is more important than the brightness of the eyes, there will be war.”

Vinicius was not included in Real’s 23-man squad for Wednesday night’s LaLiga match against Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu.

The forward’s red card against Valencia had been rescinded by the RFEF but the 22-year-old did not train on Tuesday, with Real coach Carlo Ancelotti saying the winger had some discomfort in his knee.