Lewis Hamilton’s Formula One future could be resolved as early as before this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Hamilton has six months to run on his £40million-a-season deal with Mercedes, but team principal Toto Wolff said his superstar driver is on the brink of agreeing new terms.

“It is going to happen soon, and we are talking more days than weeks,” Wolff told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street programme in New York when asked about Hamilton’s contract negotiations.

“We are trying hard [to get it done before the Canadian Grand Prix]. I will see him today and maybe we will talk about it.

“We have such a good relationship that we dread the moment that we need to talk about money.”

Hamilton, 38, met with Wolff the day after the last round in Spain in the hope of rubber-stamping a fresh contract with the Silver Arrows.

It is anticipated that the British driver’s extension will be a multi-year deal, extending his stay in F1 beyond his 40th birthday.

“Lewis is the most important personality in the sport,” added Wolff.

“He is so multi-faceted, not only with the racing, but also off track, so we need to keep him in the sport for as long as possible.

“From a team’s perspective, Lewis and Mercedes have gone back a long time. He has never raced for any other brand than Mercedes.

“We both joined the team in 2013 together, and from a professional relationship, we now have a friendship. It has been a wonderful time.”

Hamilton, who has not won a race since his contentious championship defeat to Max Verstappen at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, is already 83 points off the title pace this year.

But Mercedes’ recent upturn in form has provided Hamilton, who finished runner-up to Red Bull’s Verstappen at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, with renewed hope that his dream of a record eighth world title is not over.

However, Wolff warned: “The result in Spain was a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts at Brackley and Brixworth to bring our update package to the track.

“We were pleased with how it performed, and it will provide a new baseline for us to build from.

“But we must also manage our expectations. It was a circuit that suited our car, and we should expect our direct competitors to be stronger in the next races.

“The gap to Red Bull is large and it will take lots of hard work to close that down. Nevertheless, we’re up for the challenge.”

England captain Ben Stokes says he will not make allowances for Australia and change his style for the Ashes as that would render all the progress of the last year “completely pointless”.

The so-called ‘Bazball’ revolution has seen the Test side flourish under the leadership of the all-rounder in partnership with coach and former New Zealand international Brendon McCullum, with the team having claimed 11 wins in 13 matches.

Edgbaston hosts the opening Ashes Test on Friday and Stokes said despite the history between the two sides, the quality of the opposition and what was at stake, he would not deviate from their attacking game-plan against the newly crowned World Test Championship winners.

“Nothing is going to change because we’ve had unbelievable success with it,” Stokes, who said his priority was to make everything “fun”, told BBC Test Match Special.

“If we were to change anything from the last 12 months because we find ourselves in an Ashes series then anything from the last 12 months will have been completely pointless.”

“Even before getting together as a Test team for the first time with me as captain, there was one simple thing I said I had to be doing and that was being completely true to myself.

“I had to stay true to how I’ve gone about things as a player, and do them as a captain. I had 85 or 86 games before I got made captain, and the guys that I’ve played with knew me as a person and a player.

“So if I became captain and started doing things completely differently to what they knew me for, it would raise a few eyebrows.”

What the papers say

Arsenal are closing in on signing West Ham captain Declan Rice and are expected to pay more than £100m for the 24-year-old England midfielder, the Guardian reports. The move will make Rice the most expensive player in the Gunners’ history.

The same paper says Pep Guardiola is firmly minded to leave Manchester City in two years when his contract expires. The 52-year-old manager will reportedly end his tenure in summer 2025 after nine years at the helm of the treble winners.

Elsewhere, the Evening Standard says Chelsea are planning to step up their pursuit of Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana after his impressive display in the Champions League Final. The Italian club is understood to want at least £50million for the 27-year-old Cameroon international.

And Newcastle are preparing to make a bid for Wolfsburg midfielder Felix Nmecha as they look to start their summer recruitment. Telegraph Sport says the Magpies have been tracking the 22-year-old Germany international for several months.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Mason Mount: Sky Sports reports Manchester United are continuing talks with Chelsea about the 24-year-old but there is still a gap in valuation between the two clubs for him.

Harry Kane: Sky Sports also says the Red Devils are unlikely to make a move for the 29-year-old Tottenham striker as Spurs do not want to sell the England captain.

The Denver Nuggets have won their first NBA championship with a 94-89 victory over the Miami Heat in game five of the NBA finals.

In a back-and-forth affair, the Nuggets were able to hold off a late rally from Miami and claim the Larry O’Brien trophy in front of their home fans.

Nikola Jokic again led the way for Denver with 28 points, while Jimmy Butler finished with 21 after a late flurry brought the Heat agonisingly close to forcing a game six back in Miami.

Some early struggles from deep gave the Heat a seven-point lead at half-time, but Denver clamped down defensively in the second half and held Miami to just 38 points over the final two quarters.

Eight-straight points and a pair of clutch free throws from Butler put the Heat back in front by one with less than two minutes remaining, but the visitors were ultimately unable to claw their way back again after Denver’s Bruce Brown grabbed an offensive rebound and tip-in.

Kylian Mbappe has told Paris St Germain he will not take up a one-year contract extension, according to reports, so could be sold this summer or will be able to leave as a free agent at the end of next season.

The 24-year-old, signed from Monaco for £160million in 2018 which was a world-record fee for a teenager, continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid.

According to reports, France World Cup winner Mbappe left the PSG hierarchy stunned by the decision which was presented in a formal letter and follows on from Lionel Messi announcing his departure to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.

PSG now appear set to have to weigh up whether to sell Mbappe – who scored a hat-trick in France’s defeat by Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final – or see him leave the club for nothing at the end of his current deal in June 2024.

Reports in France had suggested PSG were hopeful over an extension to Mbappe’s contract.

However, Real Madrid could now step up their interest as they look to bolster the forward line after veteran Karim Benzema’s move to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.

Matt Fitzpatrick admits he is as confused as anyone about the direction golf is heading in but insists it will not affect his thinking when he begins the defence of his US Open title on Thursday.

The dust is still settling a week on from the shock announcement of the commercial merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF (Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund), which has been the backer of the breakaway LIV Golf.

On the face of it golf’s bitter civil war appears to be over but under the surface there are many so-far unanswered questions and residual feelings of resentment by a large section of the two main tours’ membership at how they have been treated in the whole saga.

But although several days have passed since PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan went on live network television in the United States with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan to announce the surprise deal there are very few details about how things will work, and that has led to dissent among the rank and file.

“I guess the whole thing is confusing. It was confusing last year,” said the Sheffield golfer, who swerved a question about whether those players who remained loyal to the established tours should be suitably compensated for missing out on LIV’s millions.

“I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on. Are we signing with the PIF? Are we not signing with the PIF? I have no idea.

“Even though I guess it is confusing, it’s pretty clear that nobody knows what’s going on apart from about four people in the world.”

That will not cloud his thought process when it comes to mounting a defence of his breakthrough major title from Brookline 12 months ago.

A post shared by Matt Fitzpatrick (@mattfitz94)

“You’re thinking, ‘It’s a par four, where do I need to hit it? Where is the wind?’ That’s all you’re thinking about.”

Fitzpatrick will have plenty of things to think about at the Los Angeles Country Club, which he last saw in February on a reconnaissance mission.

That differs from Brookline, a course on which nine years earlier he had won the US Amateur.

“I seem to remember just last year just thinking about the tournament, just the US Open,” he said.

“It was obviously different because I had a tie to the golf course and the history there, so probably was easier for me to mentally focus on that and be in a better place than obviously all this confusion that’s going on this week.

“I guess in this day and age you’d like to think there might be some artificial intelligence you could use to kind of plot your way around. That’s probably something I’ll have to look into.”

Fitzpatrick admits finally getting a win over the line in a major has done wonders for his self-belief, even if a back problem has restricted him this season.

A year ago he rose to the occasion coming down the stretch, memorably hit a brilliant approach from a fairway bunker to 20 feet to save par and secure a one-shot victory over Will Zalatoris, who missed a birdie putt to force a play-off.

“It’s obviously been a huge boost. Winning last year gave me the boost that when I played my best or when I play well I can compete with anyone and I can win a major,” added the 28-year-old, who revealed he took the US Open trophy on holiday with him to Italy last summer, stopping off at Capri, Amalfi and Positano.

“I think that was the biggest thing for me to take away, (now) turning up to events knowing that (if) my game feels in good shape I’ve got a chance to win this week.

“Maybe previously I’ve almost felt like I played well and not necessarily competed in majors, whereas now I feel like it’s kind of the opposite.

“As long as my game is there or thereabouts, I feel like I can perform.”

The Toronto Raptors' Fred VanVleet is declining his $22.8million player option for 2023-24, and will become an unrestricted free agent in July.

The news was first reported Monday by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who also noted it's possible VanVleet returns to the Raptors under a new deal.

As one of the top point guards entering free agency, however, VanVleet will likely receive some enticing offers this summer.

Undrafted out of Wichita State, VanVleet has played his entire seven-year career with the Raptors and was instrumental to their 2019 title.

A first-year All-Star in 2021-22 when he averaged a career-high 20.3 points per game and 6.7 assists per games, VanVleet averaged 19.3 points, a career-best 7.2 assists and 1.78 steals to rank third in the NBA last season.

With averages of 17.5 points, 6.3 assists and 1.75 steals over the last four seasons, he is one of three NBA players (along with Dejounte Murray and Jrue Holiday) to average at least 17 points, 6 assists and 1.5 steals over that span.

Over the last three seasons, his average of 37.1 minutes per game trails only Toronto teammate Pascal Siakam.

Sleep-deprived Manchester City winger Jack Grealish admits he has had “the best day and night” as the club celebrated their treble-winning season following the capture of the Champions League title.

Even a typical Manchester downpour and passing lightning storm could not dampen spirits as Pep Guardiola and his squad paraded their newly-acquired European Cup alongside the Premier League trophy and FA Cup.

City returned from Istanbul on Sunday afternoon and it has been one long party – with celebrations set to continue for a while longer as Grealish was overheard to ask striker Erling Haaland: ‘Are we having it?’ while on their one-mile tour around the city centre.

Haaland’s response was to empty a bottle of champagne over the £100million signing, who later told a large crowd assembled in St Peter’s Square: “For the past 24 hours I’ve had the best day and night. To be fair I don’t think I’ve had any sleep.”

The players had arrived for their parade via Metrolink tram from the Etihad Stadium but the weather delayed proceedings somewhat.

Supporters had expected to be let into the fanzone in front of the stage at 5pm but due to the threat of lighting storms that was pushed back by 90 minutes.

Rain started falling shortly after 6pm and, as a result, the start of the proceedings was delayed by 40 minutes but it did not deter the fans who came out in their droves to cheer on City’s squad and manager Guardiola, all wearing matching ‘Treble winners’ T-shirts.

Halfway around those now-drenched T-shirts started to be dispensed with as City’s 52-goal striker Haaland threw his into the crowd and, with the rest of the squad, arrived on stage 45 minutes later than expected still topless.

“We had to be the best parade with this rain, otherwise it is not Manchester,” Guardiola said to the delight of the waiting crowd.

“We don’t want sunshine, we want rain, so it was perfect. They (fans) are used to the rain.”

The Calgary Flames hired Ryan Huska to be their next head coach on Monday, opting to stay in-house after missing the playoffs this season.

Huska has coached in the Flames organization since taking over as head coach of Calgary’s American Hockey League affiliate in 2014-15.

He joined the Flames as an assistant coach in 2018.

"Following a detailed search process, today we are proud to introduce Ryan Huska as head coach of the Calgary Flames," said Craig Conroy, who was named Flames general manager last month.

"While continuity and familiarity are a benefit, we have witnessed first-hand Ryan's work ethic; he is a clear communicator who builds trust with his players; and he's a critical thinker with a plan.

"Ryan provides 11 seasons of bench experience as a head coach from the WHL and the AHL and over 20 years coaching in total, including knowledge gained as an assistant coach in Calgary for the past five seasons.

“Ryan has earned this opportunity and we are confident he is the right coach for our team."

Huska went 303-164-37 in seven seasons as a head coach in the Western Hockey League and

135-118-27 in four years in the AHL.

He never had a losing record in any of those 11 seasons and reached the playoffs eight times.

"I'm honoured to have earned the trust of Flames ownership, of Craig and the entire management group to coach this team," Huska said.

"My position coming into this is a little different than most as I know our players very well. We have good people in our dressing room, excellent hockey players who want to win.

“My job is to inspire them every single day to help get our team to the next level."

Huska takes over for Darryl Sutter, who led Calgary to a 38-27-17 record last season.

The Flames went 50-21-11 in in 2021-22 to finish with 111 points – the second-most in franchise history - before being eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference semifinals.

Rain and the threat of lightning storms could not dampen Manchester City’s open-top bus parade to celebrate their treble success on Monday evening.

Thousands of fans had lined the streets to cheer on Pep Guardiola’s squad who secured the Champions League trophy with victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday night to add to the Premier League title and FA Cup.

Access to the stage show site on St Peter’s Square was initially delayed due to reports of adverse weather conditions and lightning storms in the area, with the club later confirming the start of the trophy parade from Beetham Tower on Deansgate was put back until 7pm.

The team took the tram to St Peter’s Square, where four buses set off down Deansgate and onto Cross Street, before heading via King Street, Brown Street and then Booth Street with the parade scheduled to finish at Nicholas Street.

Defender Nathan Ake held aloft the Premier League trophy to the delight of the City fans who had braved the rain, many following down on foot towards the stage celebrations once the route was clear.

Midfielder Phil Foden waved the Champions League trophy, while Guardiola smoked a cigar as he took in the scenes.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from June 12.

Aymeric Laporte slept well.

King Kevin.

Anything metal to check in?

City’s celebrations continued at an open-top bus parade through Manchester’s city centre.

Declan Rice arrived at England camp.

Usain Bolt secured another Soccer Aid win.

Birthday wishes.

Keeping cool in the pool.

George Russell celebrated with Jack Grealish.

Esteban Ocon met history-maker Novak Djokovic.

One of the most exciting wins…

Ben Stokes was ready for the Ashes.

Pat Cummins revelled in Australia’s success.

Things did not go to plan at Kent.

Nick Taylor won the Canadian Open on home soil in spectacular fashion.

Ian Poulter put in the hard yards.