Mercedes should not be considered challengers for the Bahrain Grand Prix, so says Charles Leclerc, though reigning world champion Max Verstappen remains wary of their threat.
Ferrari driver Leclerc and Red Bull's Verstappen secured pole and second on the grid respectively for Sunday's Formula One curtain-raiser.
Indeed, Ferrari and Red Bull took all four top spots in Sahkir, where Lewis Hamilton ultimately qualified fifth on Saturday, with his new team-mate George Russell down in ninth.
Mercedes have looked off the pace over practice and Leclerc, who claimed his 10th career pole at the circuit where he clinched his first in 2019, predicted the Silver Arrows will struggle to close the gap.
"I personally, still had the doubt after FP3," Leclerc stated of Mercedes' performance. "It was quite obvious that they were not at ease.
"Considering what happens in the years before, they were hiding their gains quite a lot, This year? Well, actually, they weren't hiding their gains. They were struggling more than other years.
"I still expected them maybe to be fighting for [pole position] with us. Then for the race tomorrow. Considering their pace of today, I don't think so but let's wait and see."
England captain Courtney Lawes was left with contrasting emotions as his side succumbed to a 25-13 loss to France, who secured a long-awaited Six Nations title and Grand Slam on Saturday.
Marcus Smith's eight points from the boot and a second-half try from Freddie Steward kept England in contention, but Antoine Dupont slipped over on the hour to claim victory at the Parc des Princes.
That condemned Eddie Jones' side to three losses in the tournament for a third time under the Australian, having done so just twice in 16 editions before his appointment.
As France lifted their first Six Nations title since 2010 and sixth overall, Lawes could only hail the efforts of his team despite acknowledging the frustrations of losing out again.
"We're pretty disappointed to be honest," Lawes told ITV after the game. "We certainly had them in fitness – we felt like they were getting tired and we just failed to capitalise.
"It's on us and we've got a lot to learn from obviously. But I'm proud of the boys' effort still.
"It's hard to say straight after the game but we'll go back and iron out any kinks. It is what it is and we'd have obviously have loved to go out and get the win.
"I really thought we were going to do it at a few stages in the game but we didn't capitalise well enough.
"We really believed we could spoil the party – and I know we were capable of it because we've got the team for it. We just need to be more clinical, execute better and we can't let them off the hook that many times.
"They got so many turnovers at the breakdown and we didn't deliver there."
England ended up settling for third-place in the 2022 edition, having lost to Scotland, Ireland and France and defeating Italy and Wales.
Meanwhile, France will be eyeing World Cup glory on home turf next year after managing their fourth Grand Slam, with only Wales recording as many in the championship.
Milan head coach Stefano Pioli insisted "four teams can still win the Scudetto" after his side moved back to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 victory over Cagliari, which was marred by abuse directed at Mike Maignan.
The Rossoneri dominated for large parts on Saturday, but a lack of clinical finishing left them frustrated until just before the hour.
Ismael Bennacer stepped up with an exquisite volley into the bottom-left corner to edge Milan past Walter Mazzarri's side, who spurned two great opportunities through Joao Pedro and Keita Balde in response.
Victory meant Milan restored their three-point lead over Napoli, who defeated Udinese 2-1 earlier on Saturday, and they are six ahead of defending champions Inter, who have played a game fewer, after they were held by Fiorentina.
Juventus could cut the gap on the leaders to seven when they host Salernitana on Sunday, and Pioli believes the Scudetto race is far from over with eight games remaining for his side.
"Every game is an important crossroads now. I liked the team, even when we didn't score in the first half, as we played with quality and intensity," Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.
"Cagliari caused us problems, but that's inevitable when you have two teams with such strong motivation."
Milan's triumph was their third straight win by a 1-0 scoreline and, while delighted with the result, Pioli would look to see his team be more ruthless in front of goal.
"We would like to score more and went close again several times today, but the important thing is to win," he added.
"We're doing great things, but we also know there are four sides that could still win the Scudetto. There's no point looking too far ahead, there's a long way to go and we need to concentrate only on our own path."
Milan's win was tainted, however. There was a commotion between the players after the final whistle, and Pioli confirmed that goalkeeper Mike Maignan had made claims he was racially abused by some Cagliari fans.
"Mike told me there was racist abuse from behind the goal," Pioli responded when asked about the scenes at full-time.
"It's always sad when these things happen, nobody deserves that."
Julian Nagelsmann believes Bayern Munich's 4-0 victory over Union Berlin flattered the Bundesliga leaders, claiming his side deserved to win, but not by such a large margin.
After first-half goals from Kingsley Coman and Tanguy Nianzou put Bayern in a commanding position at the Allianz Arena, Robert Lewandowski scored either side of half-time to extend their lead at the summit to seven points.
Lewandowski has now hit 30 Bundesliga goals in five separate seasons, a record which can only be matched by the legendary Gerd Muller in the competition's history.
Meanwhile, Bayern have not failed to score in any of their last 74 Bundesliga matches, but Nagelsmann said his team's performance did not warrant such a handsome margin of victory.
"I'm satisfied with the result," Nagelsmann told reporters. "You have to take it the way it is. We allowed two big chances in the first half. Manuel [Neuer] held up great.
"That's what happens when you defend so high, [but] our defenders did great, Nianzou has scored a goal.
"In the crucial moments we had the luck that we didn't have against [Bayer] Leverkusen and Hoffenheim.
"The fourth goal decided the game. The success was deserved, but not of that magnitude."
Union Berlin striker Taiwo Awoniyi caused problems for the hosts, while Neuer was forced into one fine save by defender Robin Knoche, but Bayern's attack racked up 16 attempts at goal and created 2.54 expected goals (xG) in a rampant display.
Neuer, meanwhile, set a new record for the most Bundesliga wins recorded by a single player, overtaking fellow Bayern goalkeeping great Oliver Kahn with his 311st victory in the competition.
Neuer also required just 460 Bundesliga appearances to reach that tally, some way short of the 557 games needed by Kahn to set the previous record of 310.
"It's a fabulous record, even compared to the games played, that's extraordinary. But I think he's far from finished with this number. I hope so!"
Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park was over the moon after his side's dominant 26-5 win against Scotland in the Six Nations.
The victory earned Ireland the Triple Crown after they previously defeated both England and Wales. It is the first time Ireland have beaten the other three home nations since 2018.
In a decisive showing, Ireland opened the contest with two converted tries in the first 28 minutes, opening up a 14-5 lead at half-time before adding two more tries in the run home.
Ireland's victory also put them in with a chance of winning the Championship, though they were relying on England to defeat France in Saturday's final game – a result that did not materialise as Les Bleus completed the Grand Slam with a 25-13 victory in Paris.
Gibson-Park was thrilled with the result in front of Ireland's adoring fans in Dublin.
"It's unbelievable, what a feeling to be back at home and back in front of our home fans and families," he said after helping Ireland claim their biggest Six Nations win over Scotland since 2015.
"What a moment to savour, back in front of our home fans and our families. We're chuffed man. We'll have a good night."
Jamaica international Leon Bailey made another appearance from the bench in Aston Villa's 1-0 loss to Arsenal on Saturday, amidst recent reports the forward has been unhappy with the substitute role.
Since returning from a long layoff due to injury last month, the player has been sparingly used by Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard. In total the player has appeared from the bench in five of seven games, failing to feature at all in the other two.
In total Bailey has played 91 minutes, his longest spell of 21 minutes came against Arsenal on Saturday, which was equalled his time against West Ham last week. It’s a situation his agent and stepfather Craig Butler insists has left the player feeling unhappy.
“He doesn’t like the bench, never will like the bench because he’s the type of guy that always wants to play. He’s been on the bench a couple of times and it really got him riled,” Butler was quoted as saying recently.
Bailey is expected to return to international duty for Jamaica next week, having missed the previous round with a troublesome thigh injury. Jamaica, who are already eliminated from the competition, will face El Salvador and Canada.
Koke's fine second-half strike earned Atletico Madrid a 1-0 derby victory over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, though Diego Simeone's team finished with 10 men.
Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix missed the best openings of a cagey first half, before visiting captain Koke finished neatly into the bottom-right corner in the 49th minute.
Jan Oblak made a fine left-handed save to preserve the lead, and Atleti held on despite Angel Correa's late red card, earning a fifth successive league win and boosting their hopes of a top-four finish.
Griezmann's early volley forced Stole Dimitrievski into a reaction stop at his near post, before Joao Felix poked agonisingly wide after meeting Rodrigo de Paul's free-kick at the back post.
Joao Felix then sent a disappointing header over the bar from a right-wing corner on 34 minutes, but the fleet-of-foot Portugal international was Atleti's brightest attacker in a competitive first half.
Stefan Savic headed over from another set-piece at the end of a first half in which chances came at a premium, with both sides each registering just one shot on target each before the break.
Atleti went up a gear at the start of the second half, however, with Koke exchanging a neat give-and-go with Joao Felix before bending the ball into the bottom-right corner.
Mario Suarez drew a stunning save from Oblak on the hour and substitute Correa put his team in a difficult spot when he saw red on 85 minutes for shoving Alejandro Catena, but the visitors clung on.
Antoine Dupont guided France to a long-awaited Six Nations title as they saw off England to clinch the Grand Slam with a 25-13 win at the Stade de France.
Les Bleus captain Dupont led the way in Saint-Denis with a superb second-half try to help Fabien Galthie's side end a 12-year wait for their 18th championship and sixth of the Six Nations era.
Victory over England put France ahead of Ireland in the final standings after consecutive runner-up finishes in 2020 and 2021 saw them miss out on the top prize.
A year out from a home Rugby World Cup, France look the team to beat in Europe, while questions will be asked of England ahead to those finals.
Ismael Bennacer delivered the decisive second-half strike as Milan restored their three-point lead at the Serie A summit with a 1-0 victory at Cagliari on Saturday.
Napoli edged past Udinese to move level on points with Stefano Pioli's side earlier in the day, although fellow title contenders Inter were held to a 1-1 draw with Fiorentina.
Milan responded to those results with a vital victory despite an unconvincing performance at the Unipol Domus, with Bennacer's sumptuous volley from outside the area just before the hour mark proving the difference.
A third consecutive 1-0 win keeps the Rossoneri ahead of Napoli and widens the gap to Inter to six points, albeit the defending champions have a game in hand.
Olivier Giroud miscued a presentable chance on the volley in the opening stages following a headed pass by Junior Messias, while Franck Kessie struck the post with a low drive.
Milan continued to control first-half proceedings, but Alberto Grassi provided a scare when he drilled narrowly wide.
Although the sides headed in goalless at the interval, Pioli's visitors persisted following the restart, with Theo Hernandez's ambitious long-range effort forcing an acrobatic Alessio Cragno stop.
Milan's reward for their efforts arrived shortly after when Giroud teed up Bennacer to expertly volley into the bottom-left corner, as the Rossoneri scored in a 15th consecutive away league game – equalling the club-record top-flight run they achieved in the 1967-68 season.
Joao Pedro wastefully sliced over in response, but Cragno kept his side in the game with a smart save from Giroud that could have proved crucial had Matteo Lovato not headed wide before Keita Balde struck the crossbar – misses that instead secured a big win for Milan in the Scudetto chase.
Matthew Stafford has signed a four-year, $160million extension with the Los Angeles Rams as the Super Bowl champions aim to bolster their squad for a title defence.
Stafford, who played just three playoff games in 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, ended his first year in LA by leading the Rams to a 23-20 Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Representing a significant upgrade on predecessor Jared Goff – who headed to Detroit as part of a trade that also saw the Lions receive two first-round picks – Stafford threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns in the 2021 regular season.
The team improved from ranking 13th in passing offense in 2020 (250.9 yards per game) to fifth in 2021 (273.1 yards).
The one-time first overall draft pick added 1,188 yards and nine touchdown passes in the Rams' successful playoff run, including three scores in the defeat of the Bengals.
Stafford's existing contract had been set to expire following the 2022 season, but the new deal added to the end of that is set to keep the quarterback in LA through 2026.
The extension guarantees Stafford $135m, according to reports, and was crucially secured before his $10m roster bonus was due on Sunday.
This should allow cap space for the Rams to further improve their roster in free agency, with another title tilt on the cards as both coach Sean McVay and superstar defender Aaron Donald appear set to return despite claims to the contrary.
The Rams have already signed Allen Robinson and Stafford will again be able to look to Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp in a fearsome offense.
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled out of the Milwaukee Bucks' road matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Bucks are calling it "right knee soreness" for the two-time MVP and one-time Defensive Player of the Year.
It will be the 12th time Antetokounmpo has missed a game due to injury this season, with the 27-year-old previously playing 59 of a possible 70 before today.
Antetokounmpo is currently third-favourite in both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year odds, averaging a career-high 29.8 points per game, along with 11.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
Devynne Charlton became the first Bahamian woman to medal in the 60m Hurdles at the World Indoor Championships when she won silver in Belgrade on Saturday.
Charlton ran a Bahamian national indoor record 7.81 to take silver behind France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela who ran 7.78 for gold. The USA’s Gabby Cunningham was third in 7.87. Jamaica’s Britany Anderson narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in 7.96.
In the Men’s 60m final, Olympic 100m champion, Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy continued his steady rise to the top of men's sprinting by running a European indoor record 6.41 to win gold ahead of former champion Christian Coleman who ran the same time. Marvin Bracy ran 6.44 for third.
Thomas Tuchel hailed the Chelsea players' response to the current takeover speculation after his side secured their FA Cup semi-final spot with a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough.
Boro knocked out Premier League sides Manchester United and Tottenham to reach the last eight, but Chelsea dominated throughout at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.
Romelu Lukaku poked home after 15 minutes and Hakim Ziyech doubled the visitors' lead shortly after as the Blues progressed from quarter-finals for the 16th time in their previous 20 last-eight ties.
It was Chelsea's fifth straight win across all competitions since owner Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom government and the European Union (EU) in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, announced his intentions to sell the club on March 2.
Chelsea also coasted to victory with no away fans in attendance due to the sanctions imposed on Abramovich, and Tuchel was delighted.
"We were very focused and very serious from the beginning," Tuchel told BBC Sport.
"We showed quality in decisive moments and scored two early goals which gave us a comfortable lead, but the effort was huge to not allow big chances. I'm very happy, it was a very deserved win.
"I'm impressed with the players' focus. We accepted the [ownership] situation because we didn't cause it. It isn't in our hands, but it was important we showed the right spirit and took responsibility.
"This is very, very good. If you have the talent, it is a responsibility to show it."
Mason Mount, whose two assists took him to 50 direct goal involvements for Chelsea across all competitions, also echoed Tuchel's comments.
"Middlesbrough have been on an unbelievable run, you've seen the teams they've beat recently in the cup, so it was never going to be a comfortable night," he said.
"We didn't have many fans here tonight but I felt that we let our football do the talking. We played some good stuff, and that was the main goal for us tonight.
"We really have that winning mentality within the group. Any competition, any game, we want to win, and we want to keep that going. It's been a tough couple of weeks but for us, as a team, we're just focused and ready to play.
"We're so hungry for a domestic title, we just need to keep going. It's not been the best of runs for us at Wembley but we want to right that wrong.
"We've already had one final at Wembley this season and lost it so we're hungry to win [the semi-final]."
Bahamian superstar, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, added to her massive trophy case by winning gold in the Women’s 400m at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade on Saturday.
Adding to a bronze medal in the 400m from the 2014 World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Miller-Uibo got a good lead on the field at the start and used her strength to carry her home in a time of 50.31. Dutch 400m Hurdles Olympic bronze medallist Femke Bol was second in 50.57, while Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann-McPherson was third in a national indoor record 50.79.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards ensured the Caribbean swept the 400m events with a brilliant championship record 45.00 to win gold ahead of the USA’s Trevor Bassitt (45.05) and Sweden’s Carl Bengstrom (45.33).
The 2017 World Championships 200m bronze medallist now has two World Indoor Championships medals after his bronze from the 4x400m in the 2012 edition in Istanbul.
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