Carlos Sainz secured the first win of his Formula One career in a dramatic British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Zhou Guanyu was involved in a huge crash.

The 10th race of the 2022 F1 season saw another significant swing in the title race, with Max Verstappen's lead over Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez taking a dent after the defending champion sustained floor damage.

Sainz's victory – in his 150th grand prix start – was not as comfortable as he would have liked, with the opportunity seemingly having passed as Ferrari ordered him to relinquish his position to team-mate Charles Leclerc as he lacked pace but then benefited from a late safety car, retaking the lead after changing to soft tyres.

A terrifying crash on the opening lap involving five cars left George Russell, Alex Albon and Zhou out of the race and a red flag waving, with the latter left upside down and stuck inside his Alfa Romeo for a lengthy period before being taken away on a stretcher, though thankfully the message from the team was that he was okay.

Under the red flag restart, the initial grid order was reinstated and Verstappen, who had overtaken Sainz, was unable to repeat his feat, while Perez had contact with Leclerc that resulted in the Mexican driver tumbling down the order after an early pit stop.

An error from Sainz on lap 10 saw the Spaniard run wide and onto the grass, with Verstappen taking the opportunity to seize the lead, but his advantage lasted just two laps as he ran over a piece of debris and suffered floor damage, resulting in a significant loss of pace even after a pit stop.

Sainz pitted at the end of lap 20, with Leclerc following suit six laps later to leave Hamilton in the lead, but a slow pit on lap 34 left him adrift of the two Ferraris, putting Leclerc in the lead after Ferrari swapped positions prior to Hamilton's stop.

Esteban Ocon's breakdown on the old pit straight on lap 39 resulted in a safety car, with Leclerc, who did not pit for soft tyres, overtaken by Sainz – leaving Leclerc, Hamilton and Perez fighting for a podium finish and exchanging positions multiple times.

Perez's promising push

Perez's early pit stop looked to have ended his hopes of a podium finish, but he was a major beneficiary of the safety car as it allowed him to take his required pit stop without losing time, sitting fourth for the restart.

A thrilling battle with Hamilton and Leclerc saw him go wheel-to-wheel with both drivers before taking them both, securing a second-place finish that moved him 34 behind Verstappen in the championship standings. 

Russell's record ends

Russell headed into his home Grand Prix with the tag of Mr Consistent, standing as the only driver in 2022 to finish all nine rounds in the top five, but that run came to an end at Silverstone following the collision that resulted in a red flag.

The early end to his race also means he finished behind Hamilton for the second race in a row – the first time since his move to Mercedes that he has been outperformed by his team-mate in back-to-back race weekends.

IN THE POINTS

1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +3.779
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +6.225
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +8.546
5. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +9.571
6. Lando Norris (McLaren) +11.943
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +18.777
8. Mick Schumacher (Haas) +18.995
9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +22.356
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +24.590

Drivers

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 181
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 147
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 138
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 127
5. George Russell (Mercedes) 111

Constructors

1. Red Bull 328
2. Ferrari 265
3. Mercedes 204
4. McLaren 73
5. Alpine 67

Zhou Guanyu has provided a positive update after his huge crash at the British Grand Prix, saying that the vehicle's halo saved his life.

A red flag was waved during the opening lap of Sunday's race at Silverstone, after Mercedes' George Russell was clipped by Pierre Gasly.

Zhou was subsequently caught by Russell, with his Alfa Romeo flipped over and sent hurtling onto the run-off area, and remained upside down until it collided heavily with the barrier.

The car flipped as it hit the barrier and was ultimately wedged below the fence in front of the grandstand.

Zhou received immediate medical attention, but Alfa Romeo confirmed the Chinese driver - debuting this season in Formula One - was conscious.

As Carlos Sainz went on to win his first race for Ferrari, Zhou gave an update on his official Twitter account, thanking fans for their well wishes and crediting the halo, a titanium ring secured above the cockpit, with saving him.

The 23-year-old tweeted: "I'm ok, all clear. Halo saved me today. Thanks everyone for your kind messages!"

It was the second time at Silverstone on Sunday that the halo came to the rescue of a driver, with Formula Two driver Roy Nissany benefiting from the safety device on his car when Dennis Hauger's vehicle landed on top of his Williams.

Heather Watson praised Jule Niemeier's "flawless" performance after seeing her best Wimbledon run ended by the German in a straight-sets last-16 reverse.

Watson was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Niemeier on the 100th anniversary of Centre Court's opening, as the home favourite fell short of a first career grand slam quarter-final appearance.

Niemeier's win set up a last-eight clash with compatriot Tatjana Maria, as two German female players reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in the same year for just the fifth time since 1987.

In her post-match news conference, Watson lauded her opponent's display and said she will eventually look back on her run to the fourth round with pride. 

"Immediately after walking off the court, I was obviously extremely disappointed. I've taken every match here as a big opportunity and managed to take advantage of it until today," she said.

"But credit to my opponent. I felt like she played really well, especially in that first set. Very flawless tennis. 

"She served big, which was a big difference today, I felt like I was always reacting to her ball. I was not on the front foot like I was in my other matches.

"It's so soon after the match, I'm still deflated and disappointed, I saw today as a big opportunity and thought I would come through it.

"I've always felt good enough, I've won four WTA titles – that's not easy. I know when I light it up I can beat anyone on my day, and tennis is so up and down. 

"I'll look back and be proud of myself for this week, but right now I'm disappointed."

Niemeier became the fourth-youngest German woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in the Open Era, with only Bettina Bunge, Steffi Graf and Sabine Lisicki doing so at a younger age.

The 22-year-old recognised the significance of winning on the day of Centre Court's centenary celebrations, after the likes of Roger Federer and Billie Jean King spoke during a parade of former champions, and even apologised to fans for eliminating a home hopeful.

"I didn't want to watch the show before the match because I was pretty nervous and I saw all the players, so I didn't want to see it. But of course, it's a special place, it's one of the biggest courts on Tour," she said.

"The court is so beautiful, and I feel honoured I had the chance to play on Centre Court.

"I just want to say sorry that I had to kick out a British player today!"

Nick Kyrgios has dragged tennis into the gutter with his Wimbledon antics, according to Pat Cash.

According to Kyrgios' compatriot Cash, the Australian has taken the sport "to the lowest level" with his on-court behaviour in the first week of the tournament.

The 27-year-old beat fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-3 7-6 (9-7) in an enthralling round-three tie on Saturday.

Tsitsipas accused his opponent of "constant bullying" after the ill-tempered clash, which was followed by a riposte as Kyrgios said the beaten Greek was "soft" and denied being a bully.

Kyrgios frustrated Tsitsipas by calling for him to be defaulted after the world number five narrowly missed a spectator when firing a ball into the crowd at the end of the second set.

The umpire was then labelled a "disgrace" during an extraordinary Kyrgios outburst, and his behaviour seemed to get under the skin of Tsitsipas, who was deducted a point for sending another ball towards the spectators before appearing to hit a couple of shots directly at his opponent's body.

Kyrgios has been a repeated critic of umpires and line judges, often appearing to show contempt to authority figures, and Cash – Wimbledon champion in 1987 – has had enough, calling out his countryman's conduct.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Cash said: "It was absolute mayhem. He's brought tennis to the lowest level I can see, as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behaviour to umpires, to linesmen.

"He was lucky to even get through the first set, he should have been defaulted in about the first set. Something's got to be done about it. It's an absolute circus.

"Is it entertaining? Yeah, possibly. But it's gone to its absolute limit now."

Asked how he considered Kyrgios to be cheating, Cash said: "The gamesmanship, the stuff that he was doing. The abuse that he was giving Tsitsipas.

"Tsitsipas would make a line call and he'd go up there and he'd start complaining, he was in his face. That's a part of gamesmanship. That's the sort of stuff that he does and I think there's a limit."

Cash's criticism comes ahead of Kyrgios facing American Brandon Nakashima on Monday. That match has been given the prize billing of first up on Centre Court, despite neither man being seeded.

The tennis authorities may not approve of some of the behaviour, but they know there is a huge public fascination with the highly talented Kyrgios, which is why that match has such a prestigious slot. He is 40th in the ATP rankings, and 20-year-old Nakashima is 56th on the list.

Kyrgios is just one win away from matching his best run at Wimbledon, having reached the quarter-finals in 2014 with a win over Rafael Nadal before being beaten by Milos Raonic.

Yet Cash indicated the loudmouthed showman should face sanctions for his actions.

"I have no problem with a bit of gamesmanship, but when it gets to that level I think it's out of control, and it was," Cash said.

"The umpire had lost control, the ball kids were running across the court as Kyrgios was serving. He didn't slow down for any of that stuff.

"Tsitsipas got sucked right in, so it was entertaining, and it was fascinating, but for me it's gone too far now."

Dylan Groenewegen snatched victory from Wout van Aert on the finish line to bring a dramatic end to the Tour de France's three-stage stint in Denmark.

The caravan packs up and heads to France ahead of stage four on Tuesday, and much of Sunday's 182-kilometre race from Vejle to Sonderborg was calm and controlled.

Yet a crash with just under 10km to go that almost caught two-time champion Tadej Pogacar sparked a frantic conclusion.

Fabio Jakobsen, the sprint favourite who triumphed on Saturday, had another fantastic lead-out from Michael Morkov, yet the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider got caught in the pack.

Lotto Soudal's sprint hope Caleb Ewan was likewise frustrated as Peter Sagan took his line, and it looked as though he would compete with Van Aert, donning the yellow jersey after successive second-place finishes.

However, Groenewegen caught the pair cold, with a last-gasp lunge just nudging his front wheel across the line ahead of Van Aert, while Sagan was beaten to third by Jasper Philipsen.

Groenewegen has now won five stages at Le Tour, yet this one is perhaps the most meaningful, with the Dutchman having been banned for nine months in 2020 for causing a crash that left Jakobsen in a medically induced coma.

"I want to say thank you to my team and my family and friends for getting me back to the Tour in good shape. It's beautiful," said Groenewegen, who suffered a broken collar bone and needed facial reconstruction as a result of that collision at the 2020 Tour de Pologne, for which he subsequently apologised.

"Not physically a struggle, but mentally it was a hard time of course. This for my wife and my son, it means a lot to me."

Van Aert fails to find the funny side as Pogacar gets lucky

Having been pipped to the post by Jakobsen on Saturday, Team Jumbo-Visma rider Van Aert was frustrated by an even finer margin this time around, though can be consoled by the fact he retained the yellow jersey and has a 17-point lead in the points classification.

"It's not funny anymore," Van Aert quipped. "To finish second three days in a row!"

Pogacar will be looking to get the famous jersey off Van Aert later in the race as he hunts for his third straight Tour de France triumph, though the Slovenian was fortunate that he escaped the late crash. His back wheel was clipped, but he just managed to keep his balance.

STAGE RESULT 

1. Dylan Groenewegen (Team BikeExchange–Jayco) 4:11:33
2. Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) same time
3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) same time
4. Peter Sagan (Team TotalEnergies) same time
5. Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) 9:01:17
2. Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) +0:07
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +0:14

Points Classification

1. Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) 107
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 90
3. Dylan Groenewegen (Team BikeExchange–Jayco) 60

King of the Mountains

1. Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education–EasyPost) 6

The next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations will take place in January and February 2024, rather than between June and July 2023, according to CAF president Patrice Motsepe.

Africa's premier international tournament was due to be held in Ivory Coast during the European off-season next year, but the threat of heavy flooding in the country at that time of year means it will again take place midway through the club campaign.  

Speaking in the Moroccan capital Rabat, where a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee was taking place, Motsepe said: "We cannot take the risk.

"January is not the ideal time because of the European clubs, but it is the only choice we have."

In 2017 CAF announced its intention to play the tournament at the end of the European club season.

However, this year's edition, won by Senegal in February, was twice rescheduled after being slated to start in both June 2021 and June 2022, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse weather conditions in Cameroon.

The move is unlikely to be popular with several big-name club coaches, with Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp one high-profile critic of the decision to play the most recent tournament at the height of the European season.

CAF Secretary-General Veron Mosengo-Omba, however, insisted the contrasting weather conditions across the continent meant a permanent switch to a January-February tournament was not on the cards.

CAF also announced the creation of an African Super League on Sunday, with the first edition of the 24-team tournament, which will run alongside the African Champions League, slated to begin in August 2023. 

Surprise Wimbledon quarter-finalist Tatjana Maria joined an illustrious list of greats after defeating Jelena Ostapenko on Sunday.

Maria, a mother of two, returned from maternity leave under a year ago and came back from a set down to triumph 5-7 7-5 7-5 against the 2017 French Open champion. 

That sent the 34-year-old into the first grand slam quarter-final of her career.

With that achievement, the German matched a feat only six women had previously managed, as she became the seventh woman in the Open Era to reach the last eight of a major after turning 34.

World number 103 Maria, who salvaged two match points in the second set, joins the great Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade, Chris Evert, nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Venus Williams on that distinguished list.

Ostapenko was in a foul mood after seeing the match slip from her grasp, and received a frosty reception as she made her way off court.

It could take nothing away from a special day for Maria, who said in her on-court interview: "Oh my God, it makes me so proud to be a mum.

"That's the best thing in the world, I love to be a mum, I love my two kids. To be able to do this together, we practiced this morning with my daughter.

"Everybody has been so nice, supporting us and believing in me and our family, it makes it really special."

Next up for Maria is compatriot Jule Niemeier, who defeated Britain's Heather Watson in straight sets.

George Russell has explained Mercedes' protest after they were unable to restart the British Grand Prix following a red flag after a "unique scenario" on the opening lap.

The British driver collided with Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu in a huge collision heading into the first corner, which left Zhou's car skidding off upside down into the barrier.

Zhou was retrieved from the vehicle and eventually stretchered away. It was later confirmed that the Chinese driver was conscious, with the incident leading to a delay of almost an hour as the barrier was repaired after the crash.

Zhou, Williams' Alex Albon and Russell were all unable to take to the grid however, though Mercedes tried to protest with the FIA by arguing that Russell had only exited his car in order to check on Zhou.

"I jumped out of the car to see if he was okay, I saw it was red flagged. When I came back to the car, I couldn't get it started, so I ran down to the team to check, I told the marshals to leave it but when I got back the car was on the back of the flatbed," he explained to Sky Sports F1.

"Apparently when you get assistance, you can't restart. The car just had the puncture and there was no doubt that we had the pace to come back to P6 today. 

"We were trying but the FIA were pretty adamant, it's one of those unique scenarios I guess. I can't really think about it too much at the moment."

Russell's collision with Zhou came after a bold decision from Mercedes to start on the hard-compound tyre, which he conceded was ultimately not the right call.

"Ultimately, we took a risk starting on the hard because I made a mistake in qualifying, we started out of position and we thought the risk gave us the best opportunity later in the race but there was no grip on the hardest compound, it's cold out there, I got swamped by all the cars," he said.

Alfa Romeo have confirmed Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu is "conscious" and receiving medical checks following a horror crash in the opening lap of the British Grand Prix.

The red flag incident occurred after Mercedes driver George Russell was tapped by Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly, then colliding with Zhou and resulting in the Alfa Romeo being flipped.

Zhou's car remained flipped as the Alfa Romeo travelled across the run-off area and over the Armco barrier, then colliding with the fence in front of the grandstand.

Concern rose as there was no word from the team on the driver's condition, with a delay while he waited to be removed from the car, but thankfully it was later confirmed that he was ok.

Posting on Twitter, Alfa Romeo wrote: "Following a crash at the start of the British Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu is conscious and now at the circuit's medical centre to undergo evaluation."

The incident also left Russell and Williams' Alex Albon retired from the race, though the former tried to argue with the FIA to be allowed to restart as he stopped to check on Zhou after the crash.

Zhou is in his first year in Formula 1 and has picked up five points for Alfa Romeo this season.

Martina Navratilova said she was "gutted" to miss Wimbledon's Centre Court centenary celebration after testing positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.

The nine-time champion was absent from a parade of champions, and in a series of posts on social media she explained why she had to sit it out.

Past winners were introduced to the main show court's middle Sunday crowd, with the one-time champions going first, all the way through to eight-time Wimbledon king Roger Federer.

Navratilova would have come out last of all, as the most successful singles player in Wimbledon history, but she was unable to take part. Including doubles, Navratilova won 20 slam titles at Wimbledon.

"Unfortunately I will miss it as I just tested positive this morning," she wrote on Twitter shortly before the ceremony. "Am so bummed!!!! I am gutted I can't be there."

Confirming she had the coronavirus, Navratilova wrote: "Yup, got it here for sure… oh well. So wanted to be on that court with so many champions of our sport."

Asked how she was feeling, the 65-year-old Czech-born American added: "Not too bad so far- wouldn't want to play tennis but ok… fingers crossed."

A host of greats of the game delighted the crowd, with stars of the women's tour including Navratilova's former great rivals Chris Evert and Billie Jean King, along with Margaret Court and Venus Williams, while Federer was joined by a field of fellow men's superstars that included Rod Laver, Novak Djokovic, Stefan Edberg, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

Three-time former champion Boris Becker was another notable absentee, after the German was jailed in April for offences relating to his 2017 bankruptcy. Seven-time winner Serena Williams also missed the event, after her first-round defeat.

Navratilova has been working at Wimbledon during the championships, notably appearing as a member of the BBC broadcast team.

Roger Federer hopes he can grace Centre Court at Wimbledon one last time as he bids to return from the knee injury he suffered last year.

The 20-time grand slam champion has not played since undergoing knee surgery after a straight-sets defeat to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals at SW19 last July, having also missed much of the 2020 season with a similar injury.

But Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon champion, has repeatedly ruled out retiring and said last month he intends to make an ATP tour comeback in 2023.

Speaking alongside a swathe of former Wimbledon champions at a ceremony marking 100 years since the opening of Centre Court, the 40-year-old said he hopes to extend his long association with the tournament when he returns.

"I've been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court, it feels awkward to be here today in a different type of role, but it's great to be here with all the other champions," he said.

"This court has given me my biggest wins, my biggest losses, one of my highlights of course was in 2001, walking out here with Pete Sampras [for a memorable fourth-round match], who inspired a lot of us to play, to try to be successful and represent the sport well, I hope I did that.

"I hope I can come back like you said, one more time."

Federer's injury woes have reduced him to featuring at just three of the last 10 grand slams, and he revealed his recovery had taken longer than he anticipated. 

"Of course, I've missed being here, I would have loved to be here," he added.

"I knew walking out here last year [after his exit] it was going to be a tough year ahead. 

"Maybe I didn't think it was going to take me this long to come back, but the knee has been rough on me.

"But I've been happy, it's been a good year, regardless of tennis."

Gian Piero Gasperini has revealed he was ready to leave Atalanta at the end of last season, but decided to remain in Bergamo due to his respect for the club's owners and love for the fans.

Gasperini took charge of Atalanta in 2016, with the club having posted five consecutive bottom-half Serie A finishes.

The former Inter boss immediately oversaw a dramatic transformation in the club's fortunes, implementing a relentless attacking style while securing fourth place in his first season at the helm, before leading them to three consecutive third-place finishes between 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Atalanta scored a staggering 188 league goals across the latter two of those campaigns, also reaching the Champions League knockout stages in both seasons.

But their momentum stalled last season as they finished eighth in Serie A, leading to speculation 64-year-old Gasperini could depart.

Gasperini said he was unsure of his future in May, but has now confirmed his desire to remain in Bergamo and build a new "young and strong" team.

"With [Atalanta president Antonio] Percassi there is a relationship of esteem and gratitude. I told him, 'maybe I'm the one who has to go away', but he absolutely didn't want it," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Now the momentum to start again is with us. If I am still here, it is because of the strong bond with the city. 

"I perceived the demand of the people strongly and this conditioned me, because I was really ready to leave, if the club had wanted me to. 

"Atalanta will be young and strong. I stayed for the people. There is a desire for revenge. 

"We are not big, we are working to become big. In the meantime, we will fight, we will have fun."

Gasperini's men were hampered by the unavailability of strike duo Duvan Zapata and Josip Ilicic for long periods last season, as the two forwards hit just 13 league goals between them and managed only 1,732 and 836 minutes of Serie A football respectively. 

And he believes the club's failure to invest heavily in the transfer market after benefiting from Champions League revenue exacerbated their issues. 

"New energies would have helped us," he added.  "We have had some important sales, substantial revenues from the Champions League, but we have remained very static, especially up front. 

"In the last two years, with the resources available, it was the right time to introduce a new champion like [now-Sevilla attacker Alejandro] Gomez and Ilicic. Other profiles have arrived.

"What I asked for was not done and we found ourselves on the edge."

Gasperini's seventh Serie A season with Atalanta will begin with a trip to Sampdoria on August 13, before they host champions Milan eight days later.