Max Verstappen handed his rivals the slimmest of hopes that he could be beaten at Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix after he finished only 11th in practice.

The dominant Dutchman, who has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and six in succession to establish a 99-point lead in the standings, has mastered all conditions this season.

But Verstappen unusually ended the sole dry running here six tenths back from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris – fresh from his impressive second place at the British Grand Prix – 0.015 seconds adrift of the scarlet car.

Lewis Hamilton was 16th with Mercedes team-mate George Russell 20th and last on a topsy-turvy day at the Hungaroring.

Despite Verstappen being off the pace, times in practice must be treated with a degree of caution as different setup and fuel loads are trialled.

It is also worth noting that a number of the top teams will have held back fresh rubber following the reduction of tyre allocation from 13 sets to 11 here.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez took two wins from the opening four, but the Mexican has been on a torrid run since, and his bad form continued when he crashed out of first practice.

The opening one-hour running of the weekend was dry and barely a few minutes old when Perez – on his first lap – lost control of his Red Bull and ended up in the wall.

The Mexican put two wheels on the grass under braking for the fifth corner, sending him into a pirouette and into the tyre barrier.

Perez was unharmed in the accident but he sustained significant damage to the front of his machine. It also denied the rest of the field any dry running as the heavens opened with the red flags deployed to recover Perez’s wounded machine.

The 33-year-old is under increasing pressure at Red Bull following five-consecutive qualifying sessions in which he has failed to make it into Q3. On each of those occasions, Verstappen has scored pole position in the other Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri is also likely to be playing on Perez’s mind, with the Australian admitting he is daring to dream about the possibility of a return to the grid’s all-conquering team.

Perez was able to take part in the day’s concluding action but he locked up and flat-spotted his front-right tyre and could manage only 18th, 1.3 sec slower than Leclerc.

Ricciardo, back in the saddle in place of the sacked Nyck De Vries, has a dozen races to prove he still possesses the prowess which carried him to eight wins.

He finished 14th in his first outing since last year’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, seven tenths back and 10 places behind his new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Matej Mohoric won stage 19 of the Tour de France in a photo finish at the end of a furious day’s racing in the Jura.

Mohoric and Thursday’s winner Kasper Asgreen came to the line neck and neck, with Ben O’Connor third, after the trio broke away from a 37-strong breakaway when it broke into several pieces on the final climb some 30 kilometres from the end of the 173km stage from Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny.

A stage characterised by non-stop attacking was raced at an average speed of 49.1kmh over rolling terrain, the fastest stage of this year’s Tour and the fifth fastest ever, but after all that effort it came down to a bike throw on the line.

O’Connor launched his sprint first 400 metres from the finish but knew it was a doomed move against two faster men. Asgreen was the first to come around but Mohoric timed it perfectly to take victory by a tyre’s width.

The front three came in just shy of 40 seconds clear of a chasing group, with Jasper Philipsen repeating his fourth place of 24 hours earlier.

There was no change at the top of the general classification, with race leader Jonas Vingegaard finishing safely within the main peloton almost 14 minutes down, needing now only to survive Saturday’s mountain stage to Le Markstein before he can begin celebrations on the road into Paris.

For a second day running the Tour passed through territory ideal for a breakaway, but such was the fight to get into it that 60km had been covered before a nine-strong group went away.

After Nils Politt broke his chain, their advantage of a minute quickly tumbled and a counter move of 29 riders came up to join them.

Victor Campenaerts and Simon Clarke tried to go off the front but after Clarke cramped up the group exploded on the final climb still with nearly 30km to the finish.

That gave Mohoric, Asgreen and O’Connor their chance to go clear as they went over the top first, and a powerful chasing group could not close the gap on the straight descent into town.

Mohoric had to wait for confirmation of his win, but as soon as it came the emotions poured out of the Slovenian, who paid tribute to some of the unsung heroes of cycling – the mechanics and carers working behind the scenes – while also remembering his late team-mate Gino Mader.

It was a third stage win of Mohoric’s career, and also a third of this Tour for the Bahrain-Victorious team – another opportunity for them to pay tribute to Mader after his tragic death at the Tour de Suisse last month.

“It means a lot because it’s hard and cruel to be a professional cyclist, you suffer a lot in your preparations, you sacrifice your life, your family and you give everything you can to get here ready,” Mohoric said.

“After a couple of days you realise everyone is so incredibly strong, it’s so hard to follow the wheels some days…sometimes you feel like you don’t belong…

“When Kasper went I knew it was the decisive attack, he was so incredibly strong to win the stage yesterday but he has the will and determination to do it again today.

“I knew I had to do everything perfect, I tried my best for Gino and for the team and in the end you almost feel like you betray (your rivals) because you beat them to the line but it’s just the way professional sport is and everyone wants to win.

“If I want to win I have to follow the wheel of Kasper and then try to beat him in the last 50 metres. I just feel so many things right now.”

Anita Asante feels there have been “important steps” taken with regard to the diversity issue in English women’s football but has stressed it will take some time to see them bear fruit.

During England’s run to winning Euro 2022, Asante wrote in the Guardian about the lack of diversity in a squad featuring just three members from black, Asian or mixed heritage backgrounds out of 23, with the player pathway and access to football for girls in schools among the issues the former Lioness pointed to as problems.

In February, the Football Association announced a revamped women’s and girls’ pathway that it said would make the game more diverse and accessible, with up to 70 ‘Emerging Talent Centres’ being established across the country.

In March the Government announced a package to boost school sport and equal access to it, something the FA is set to help deliver, following England’s players calling for change just after the Euros.

More recently, an England squad for this summer’s World Cup has been named that has only two players from black, Asian or mixed heritage backgrounds, while a major independent review has said the FA should “urgently address the lack of diversity across the women’s game in both on and off pitch roles”, recommending it audits the existing workforce and uses the data to create a workforce strategy.

Asked for her thoughts on the current picture, Asante told the PA news agency: “I think the main thing is these issues and discussions have been taken seriously for the first time by the FA.

“They launched the emerging talent centres, they’ve got a list of different programmes, and the England girls launched the initiative with the Government.

“I think those were important steps, but this is still a very short-term window we’re looking at in terms of that progress. To see the fruits of that progress I think is going to take a lot longer.

“The review is a welcome one, because it still highlights that that is an issue. It’s about how can the recommendations be implemented for the long-term, to see the changes we want to see.”

The ex-Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa defender added: “If you look at the structures of governance in sport – are the institutions themselves reflective of diverse communities? Because I can talk about this all day long, but I don’t have the influence or the power. It’s people within.

“How important do they feel diversity is? What channels are they using to make things change?”

Asante feels a broad issue at grassroots level feeding into the current situation is that while participation interest has “gone up exponentially” since the Euros, “the infrastructure hasn’t moved on with that” with regard to staff, volunteers and facilities in place.

She has also emphasised her feeling that the FA utilising former players within the pathway, such as England greats Rachel Yankey and Mary Phillip, would be a “powerful tool”.

Asante, who won 71 England caps, has been working as a first-team coach at Bristol City Women since retiring from playing last summer.

And she said: “One of the reasons I took on this role was I felt it was important to give back in the way I could – to give players a different experience by meeting someone like me maybe from my background and journey in the game, and also to try to be a positive role model for others that might want to become coaches or just be involved in football somehow.”

An FA spokesperson said: “We are making progress in improving the diversity of our talent pathway and the wider game.

“However, these are long-term challenges, and they require all of football’s stakeholders to play their part if we are to drive lasting change.”

When her World Cup squad was announced, England boss Sarina Wiegman expressed her hope that ongoing work would lead to “more players from different backgrounds in the national team”, while stressing it “takes a little more time.”

Among the mixed results in the Football Leadership Diversity Code update for 2021-22 that it published in October, the FA reported women’s clubs reaching a 15 per cent pledge of new coaching hires coming from black, Asian or mixed heritage backgrounds.

Epsom runner-up Savethelastdance bids to go one better in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh – in which stablemate and Royal Ascot winner Warm Heart is seen as her main threat.

Savethelastdance, the choice of Ryan Moore, was an unheralded filly through the winter having only finished fifth on her sole start at two.

She reappeared in April on heavy ground at Leopardstown, where she surprised by winning at odds of 20-1 before destroying the opposition in the Cheshire Oaks at Chester by 22 lengths.

On quicker ground in the Oaks at Epsom, she was beaten into second by Soul Sister and trainer Aidan O’Brien expects the more conventional nature of the Curragh to suit her better.

“Obviously the two of them don’t work together, so it’s going to be interesting,” O’Brien said of the clash between his two smart fillies.

“There’s not much between them on the ratings, Savethelastdance is just a little higher.

“We always thought the Curragh would suit her better and the ground was quick enough in Epsom for her, so she’ll probably prefer a bit more of an ease on Saturday.

“She’s been in good form since and she’s had a nice break, too. Everything has gone well since (Epsom).”

Warm Heart stepped up from beating the reopposing Bluestocking by a head in a Newbury Listed heat to extend her superiority over Ralph Beckett’s charge in the Ribblesdale at Ascot.

“We were delighted with Warm Heart in the Ribblesdale because we weren’t exactly sure about her over a mile and a half,” said O’Brien.

“Obviously she got it well and we’ve been happy with her since.

“She definitely improved at Ascot, whether it was the distance or whatever, but she definitely did improve.”

O’Brien also runs Be Happy and Library.

Bluestocking is aiming to give Beckett a second Irish Classic in two years after Westover’s Derby success last year.

She is owned by Juddmonte, who sponsor the race, and their European bloodstock manager Barry Mahon said: “On the formbook she has to improve, but she’s a lightly-raced filly with only three runs, so we feel that there could be some progression there.

“She’s met Warm Heart twice and been beaten twice so she has a bit to find, but she’s in good form, we feel that she’s learning on the job and we’re hopeful of a good run.

“We saw how green she was at Newbury and Frankie (Dettori) felt she was green at Ascot. She got stuck on the rail and when the gap came, she didn’t really know what to do to get through it, but then picked up and finished off well.

“We hope she’ll be a bit more streetwise on Saturday, the track should suit her, it’s not a big field and a bit easier ground should suit as well. We’re hopeful rather than confident.”

Azazat represents Dermot Weld and the Aga Khan. Weld last won the race in 1996 with Dance Design.

Chris Hayes rides the Munster Oaks runner-up and said: “She is a nice filly, who has progressed with every run. She has handled slow ground and she stays quite well. She is bred to possibly get further and I’m looking forward to her.

“She is very straightforward to ride, uncomplicated.

“That form with Rosscarbery (Munster Oaks winner), to come from a maiden and take on a filly like her with that kind of experience, I thought was a good run. Rosscarbery drifted out a little bit on top of her.

“I think she has come forward for that run and hopefully she can put up a good performance.

“She has handled soft ground and circumstance has just led us to run her that way.”

Rory McIlroy believes he still has a chance of winning the 151st Open despite failing to make a serious move in his second round at Royal Liverpool.

The world number two did not build significantly on his level-par opening round as he shot a one-under 70 on Friday.

That left him nine shots off the clubhouse lead held by Brian Harman but, even though he has much ground to make up, he is not writing off his chances.

“I might be nine back, but I don’t think there’s going to be a ton of players between me and the lead going into the weekend,” said the 34-year-old, who is bidding to end a nine-year wait for a fifth major title by winning for a second time at Hoylake.

“It depends what the conditions are tomorrow and obviously depends what Brian does as well.

“Right now it’s not quite out of my hands. I think if I can get to three, four, five under par tomorrow going into Sunday, I’ll have a really good chance.”

McIlroy produced a strong finish on Thursday by saving par on the par-five fifth after hitting bunker trouble.

He looked to have carried some momentum into his second round with two early birdies but they were cancelled out by bogeys on the back nine.

Yet he got a shot back with another birdie on the 18th and, despite his frustrations, was happy enough with his performance.

McIlroy said: “It played really, really tough. Ten under par is unbelievably impressive out there.

“We’ll see what the weekend holds but I’m actually pretty happy with my two days’ work.

“I don’t think I have to do anything differently. I’m hitting the ball well from tee to green.

“I’ve missed a couple of chances on the greens and the wind got me today.”

Tyrrell Hatton became the latest victim of the difficult 18th hole at Royal Liverpool on day two of the 151st Open Championship.

Hatton was two under par for his round when he walked on to the tee of the 596-yard par five, but ended the hole two over par following a quadruple-bogey nine.

The world number 13 carved two drives out of bounds before pulling his fifth shot so far left it almost found the fairway on the first hole, which runs in the opposite direction.

From there Hatton took two more shots to find the putting surface and two-putted from 20 feet to finish two over par and 12 shots off the clubhouse target set by American Brian Harman.

Harman had earlier taken six shots fewer than Hatton to play the 18th, holing from 15 feet for an eagle in his flawless 65.

Hatton reacted to his nightmare finish by turning to look back down the fairway and using his putter to mimic shooting three times at the tee.

Two-time major winner Justin Thomas had also recorded a nine on the 18th in an opening 82, while Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho fared even worse with a 10 in his 83.

American Brian Harman set a daunting clubhouse target to leave Rory McIlroy with a mountain to climb to end his major drought in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Harman carded four birdies in a row on the front nine and holed from 15 feet for an eagle on the 18th to complete a flawless second round of 65 and post a 10-under-par halfway total of 132.

That matched the totals recorded at Hoylake by McIlroy in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 2006, although both men were 12 under on their way to lifting the Claret Jug as the course was a par-72 at the time.

Nine years on, McIlroy will head into the weekend nine shots behind Harman after a third birdie of the day on the 18th saw him add a second round of 70 to his opening 71.

Harman, who is bidding to become just the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013), said: “I’ve had a hot putter the last couple of days so (will) try to ride it through the weekend.

“I’m delighted with how I’m playing. (I’m) just really focused on getting some rest and getting after it tomorrow.

“(I’m) Just not trying to get too caught up in it. It’s just golf. I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the US Open (in 2017) I just probably thought about it too much.”

The 36-year-old’s superb round came after tournament officials took the unorthodox step of changing the way the bunkers were raked between rounds.

Masters champion Jon Rahm described the course’s 82 bunkers as “proper penalty structures” after having to play backwards out of one during his opening 74, while McIlroy needed two shots to escape sand on the 18th.

In response, the R&A instructed greenkeeping staff to build up the edges of the bunkers to allow more balls to roll back into the centre.

“Yesterday afternoon the bunkers dried out more than we have seen in recent weeks and that led to more balls running straight up against the face than we would normally expect,” the R&A said in a statement.

“We have therefore raked all of the bunkers slightly differently to take the sand up one revet on the face of the bunkers.

“We routinely rake bunkers flat at most Open venues but decided this adjustment was appropriate in light of the drier conditions which arose yesterday.

“We will continue to monitor this closely for the remainder of the Championship.”

Even those players who managed to successfully escape from the bunkers on day one had expressed their concerns, with former champion Stewart Cink speaking out following a bogey-free 68.

“Eventually it’ll catch up with you,” the 2009 winner said. “The bottoms of them are so flat that if a ball comes in with any momentum, it’s just going right up to the lip and stop.

“There’s not a little upslope that helps you at all. They are very penal.”

St Johnstone have signed former Plymouth and Swindon striker Luke Jephcott on a two-year contract.

The 23-year-old hit 33 goals in 106 league games for Argyle and spent last season on loan at Swindon, where he struck seven times.

The former Wales Under-21 international said on his new club’s official website: “I’m a player who loves to be in and around the box.

“Inside the penalty area I’ll score goals but can also drop a bit deeper to help link up play.

“I’m here to score goals and help the team as best as I can.”

Emily Dickinson bids to get back on the winning trail in the Comer Group International Curragh Cup.

With her esteemed stablemate Kyprios sidelined by injury, the daughter of Dubawi moved to Gold Cup favouritism in the spring following an impressive return in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan.

Her Royal Ascot claims were severely dented as she disappointed in the Saval Beg at Leopardstown the following month, but the four-year-old nevertheless took her chance in the Gold Cup and emerged with credit after finishing fourth.

Emily Dickinson drops back in distance and class on the Irish Oaks undercard and will be a warm order to provide trainer Aidan O’Brien with an eighth Curragh Cup success.

O’Brien said: “It looks a strong race. I think she stayed in the Gold Cup, I don’t think the trip was a problem.

“She likes an ease in the ground so she’ll appreciate that. She’s had a bit of an easy time since Ascot because we didn’t think the ground was going to be as it is, but we are letting her take her chance, obviously.

“The Irish Leger is definitely in the back of our minds for her.”

Emily Dickinson’s rivals in the €150,000 Group Two include her lightly-raced stablemate Gooloogong, the Paddy Twomey-trained Rosscarbery and Joseph O’Brien’s Duke of Edinburgh Stakes winner Okita Soushi.

Aidan O’Brien also houses the hot favourite for the Group Three Jebel Ali Racecourse And Stables Anglesey Stakes in Royal Ascot runner-up Pearls And Rubies.

A winner on her Navan introduction in June, the No Nay Never filly was subsequently beaten a head by Snellen in the Listed Chesham Stakes.

O’Brien, who won the Anglesey Stakes for a 12th time with Little Big Bear last season, added: “She was just a little bit green at Ascot, she was only after having her first run not long before it.

“She probably found everything a little bit new and she just got left out a bit on her own on the wing, but she did run well.”

Michael O’Callaghan saddles Kairyu, who impressed on her debut at Naas three and a half weeks ago, while dual winner Buyin Buyin represents trainer Willie Browne.

British raider Art Power bids for a fourth Curragh win in the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes.

Tim Easterby’s six-year-old has landed the Group Three Renaissance Stakes in both 2021 and 2022 and maintained his unbeaten course record in the Group Two Greenlands Stakes in May.

He is four from four in Ireland overall, having also won the Group Three Lacken Stakes at Naas in 2020, and returns in fine form following a fourth-placed finish in last weekend’s July Cup.

Alastair Donald, racing manager for owners King Power Racing, said: “Ideally we probably wouldn’t run him back a week later, but his record in Ireland is so good and this looks the perfect race for him.

“He hasn’t run over five furlongs for a while, but it’s a stiff finish and soft ground and it’s not like he’s short of pace. He should have a favourite’s chance.”

Art Power is one of two British-trained runners in the five-furlong Group Two along with Karl Burke’s White Lavender, who was last seen striking gold in a Group Three in France.

The two leading hopes for the home team are Johnny Murtagh’s defending champion Ladies Church and French import Go Athletico, who bids to supplement a successful Irish debut for Ado McGuinness in the Listed Midsummer Sprint Stakes at Cork last month.

“He’s in great form and the ground will help. Unfortunately Ronan Whelan is suspended, but we’ve got a good deputy in Colin Keane,” said McGuinness.

“We’re very hopeful of a huge run. I know the Tim Easterby horse is back over, but he only ran last week in a Group One and our horse is fresh and well. We’re really looking forward to running him.

“I think our horse is even better than what he’s rated, hopefully he can prove it.”

Frankie Dettori has high hopes of making a successful return from suspension aboard Lezoo in the bet365 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury.

The 52-year-old incurred a nine-day ban for careless riding aboard Saga in the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, with a subsequent appeal proving unsuccessful, as well as an eight-day suspension for a whip offence aboard Queen Anne second Inspiral.

As a result Dettori missed the ride on Coral-Eclipse runner-up Emily Upjohn and was denied the opportunity to partner the third-placed Kinross in last weekend’s July Cup, the only British Group One to elude him during a glittering riding career that is due to come to an end later this year.

Dettori, though, is keen to move on as he readies himself for what he hopes will be a busy second half of the season.

“I’m back and there is so much to look forward to,” he said.

“There’s the King George, Goodwood, Deauville and York. It’s going to be a packed summer and I’m looking forward to it.”

Like Kinross, Lezoo is trained by Ralph Beckett and carries the colours of Dettori’s long-time friend and supporter Marc Chan.

The magical Italian steered her to two of her four juvenile wins last year before William Buick took over for her Group One win in the Cheveley Park Stakes.

She has failed to trouble the judge in either the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket or the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot so far this term, but Dettori is confident about her chances in Saturday’s Group Three.

He added: “Lezoo was a Group One winner last year and she’s owned by Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen, who are two good friends of mine. It is always extra nice when you ride for your friends.

“I think we can put a line through Ascot, she just didn’t turn up. She’s a Group One winner and a good filly, so let’s hope we can get her going back to winning ways.”

The Michael Dods-trained Commanche Falls returns to Pattern level after a confidence-boosting Listed success at the Curragh three weeks ago.

The six-year-old finished third behind stablemate Azure Blue and Highfield Princess in the Duke of York Stakes on his penultimate start and was beaten just a head by Garrus in the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket earlier in the year.

“It’s obviously a tougher race than the one in Ireland, but it’s the only race there is for him really, so we’ll have to see how he gets on,” said Dods.

“He ran well at York before he won in Ireland, so hopefully he’s going there in good form.”

The Charlie Hills-trained Garrus is in opposition once more, while Adam Kirby is looking forward to riding Rohaan for trainer David Evans.

He said: “Rohaan’s last run at Ascot was much more pleasing. He is moving well and hopefully he can show his hand on Saturday.

“He finished off well, but it was a very slowly-run race. We were just pleased he came home and was only beaten a couple of lengths.

“Any rain will do him no harm, but some of his best form is in top-flight races on good to firm, so we’ll see.”

Other contenders include Mick Appleby’s King’s Stand third Annaf, who has since finished fourth in the Coral Charge at Sandown, and the Karl Burke-trained Cold Case, who bids to bounce back from a disappointing showing behind Little Big Bear in the Sandy Lane at Haydock.

Rangers manager Michael Beale has confirmed Ecuador midfielder Jose Cifuentes is bound for Ibrox but a summer deal has not been finalised.

The 24-year-old has agreed a pre-contract deal to join Rangers in January but talks are ongoing with Major League Soccer side Los Angeles over an instant transfer.

“It is getting closer,” Beale told Sky Sports News. “Logistics of that one, and work permits and everything that goes in between it, the clubs are still talking.

“He is out of contract at the end of the year and we have an agreement for that.

“We would like to bring it to a close early if we can so he can join us in this window. Those discussions are ongoing.”

Rangers are also in talks with Dutch champions Feyenoord over a potential transfer for Brazilian forward Danilo, with the Ibrox club reported to have offered £5million for the 24-year-old.

“There’s talks in the background on that one but he’s Feyenoord’s player at the moment,” Beale said.

“They are building after a really successful campaign last year so we will keep that just between the two clubs and if there’s any news on it we will update. He is obviously a good player.”

Beale, whose side host Hamburg in a friendly on Saturday, stated that his recruitment both ways was not finished.

“We spoke about wanting the squad to be tighter,” he said. “There’s a lot of competition for places. With that, one or two players naturally will want some guarantees to play regularly, so there will be some change.”