George Russell was left with an "incredible feeling" after he upset the odds to claim his first pole position for Mercedes at the Hungarian Grand Prix as Red Bull endured a dismal day.

Carlos Sainz, seeming more comfortable in the Ferrari with every race, appeared destined for pole from his flying lap at the Hungaroring.

However, Russell, having complained of a lack of grip throughout the practice sessions, came almost from nowhere to put together a remarkable final lap and take top spot with a time of one minute and 17.377 seconds.

He prevented a Ferrari one-two after the Red Bulls had been removed completely from the equation. Sergio Perez failed to make it out of Q2, alleging he was blocked by the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, and Max Verstappen then complained of a loss of power in the top-10 shoot-out. Championship leader Verstappen will start 10th, ahead of Perez in 11th.

Ferrari are still in a tremendous position to take advantage of Red Bull's woes, with Sainz set to start second ahead of Charles Leclerc in third.

"I'm over the moon. Absolutely buzzing," said Russell, whose team-mate Lewis Hamilton could only manage seventh amid an issue with his DRS. 

"The lap time kept on coming. I came across the line and saw we went P1 and that was an incredible feeling."

Asked if it means Mercedes are back, Russell replied: "I don't know to be honest, we need to look and understand where that came from, there's a few ideas we had.

"There's no points for qualifying. Generally we had good race pace, but the Ferraris looked very fast on Friday, but we are going to be absolutely going for it [tomorrow], but either way that was a pretty special day no doubt."

Leclerc and Sainz appeared relaxed despite missing out on locking out the front row.

Leclerc will have the McLaren of Lando Norris for company on the second row, with the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso behind them in fifth and sixth.

"Mostly we are focusing on ourselves," Ferrari's Leclerc said when asked about Red Bull's problems. "I've been struggling massively with the tyres. I struggled to put a lap together.

"I'm pretty sure we've got the pace in the car to come back at the front. I'm pretty sure we can come back tomorrow."

Sainz looked much more assured than his team-mate but echoed Leclerc's sentiments after losing critical time in the final part of his final flying lap.

"Definitely feeling better and better every race and every qualifying session," Sainz said. "I felt like I had the pace to do the pole position, it went away from us.

"We have the [race] pace; the start and the tyre management will play a key role. The Mercedes pace is a bit of an unknown."

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:17.377
2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.044
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.190
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.392
5. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +0.641
6. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +0.701
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.765
8. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +0.780
9. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +1.002
10. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.446

Erling Haaland was named in Manchester City's starting line-up for the Community Shield clash with rivals Liverpool, who had Darwin Nunez on the bench.

Haaland joined City from Borussia Dortmund last month in what has been a busy transfer window for the Premier League champions.

The Norway striker scored his first goal for the club in a pre-season friendly win over Bayern Munich and Pep Guardiola has selected him to start in the traditional curtain-raiser for the English season, which is being played at Leicester City's King Power Stadium this year.

Haaland will play down the middle, flanked by Jack Grealish and former Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez.

Nathan Ake - linked with a move away from City in recent weeks - partners captain Ruben Dias at the back, with Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Rodri selected in midfield. Kalvin Phillips and Julian Alvarez, City's other new signings, had to settle for a place on the bench.

Nunez has been the big-money arrival at Liverpool this transfer window, but the former Benfica star was named among Jurgen Klopp's substitutes.

With goalkeeper Alisson injured, Adrian was handed a rare start for the FA Cup winners, who have Roberto Firmino leading an attacking three that also includes Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz.

Saturday's encounter marks just the second Community Shield game between City and Liverpool, with Guardiola's side winning on penalties in 2019.

It is the first time the Community Shield has been held away from Wembley since 2012, when City beat Chelsea 3-2 at Villa Park.

Mikel Arteta believes the arrival of Gabriel Jesus at Arsenal has already turned captain Martin Odegaard into a better and more influential player.

The Gunners' preparations for the new season concluded in style on Saturday with a 6-0 thrashing of Sevilla at Emirates Stadium, with Jesus' hat-trick coming alongside a double from Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah's strike off the bench.

Jesus' quick start to life in north London has been a huge talking point since his signing from Manchester City, with the Brazilian netting seven pre-season goals.

Odegaard, meanwhile, was named as Arsenal's permanent captain ahead of the win against Sevilla, and Arteta is confident the addition of Jesus will help the former Real Madrid playmaker hit new heights.

"Gaby makes Odegaard better. We needed someone to make him look better. The connection is there," Arteta told a news conference after the win.

"Jesus plays with that intensity to win the ball and play in the opposition half. You can't do that if players don't work.

Novak Djokovic hopes he could still be allowed to play at the US Open despite refusing a coronavirus vaccination.

The 35-year-old Wimbledon champion has his route to Flushing Meadows blocked by red tape at present, with the United States refusing to allow unvaccinated foreign visitors to enter the country.

US tennis authorities have pledged to adhere to government rulings surrounding coronavirus protocols, despite including Djokovic on their entry list.

For Djokovic to be allowed into the United States, it appears he would require a change of policy from law-makers, or he would have to be considered suitable for an exemption.

Among those who would be eligible for such an exemption are "persons whose entry would be in the national interest".

Djokovic said in a statement on Saturday: "I am preparing as if I will be allowed to compete, while I await to hear if there is any room for me to travel to US. Fingers crossed!"

With 21 grand slam titles, Djokovic sits second on the men's all-time list behind Rafael Nadal, who has 22 victories at the majors.

Djokovic was not allowed to play in Australia, where issues surrounding his visa ended with him being deported from Melbourne on public health grounds due to not taking the vaccine.

The three-time US Open winner senses a pull of public support for his situation, as he insists he will not consider receiving a vaccine.

In his message on Saturday, Djokovic said: "I just wanted to take a moment and say to all of you how grateful I am to see so many messages of support and love from all around the world these days.

"I wasn't expecting it, and that's why it feels so mindblowing. Just wanted to say THANK YOU.

"It feels special that people connect with my tennis career in such a loving and supportive way and wish for me to continue to compete."

He has found backing from John McEnroe, the American tennis great, who told Tennis 365 in July: "I hope someone finds a way to sort this out. It's crazy that Novak misses the US Open at this stage."

Djokovic lost to Daniil Medvedev in last year's men's singles final in New York, when the current entry rules were not in place.

Senator Marsha Blackburn also spoke out, saying last week that it was "absurd that Novak Djokovic is not allowed to enter the USA".

Joao Felix scored a late winner and Fred was sent off as Atletico Madrid beat a Manchester United side lacking the goalscoring prowess of Cristiano Ronaldo 1-0 in Oslo.

Ronaldo has been linked with a move to Atleti after making clear his desire to leave United in this transfer window.

The La Liga club have since insisted their business is finished and Ronaldo is due to play for United in Sunday's friendly with Rayo Vallecano.

Saturday's warm-up ahead of the start of the new season next weekend was largely light on incident until the closing stages.

Anthony Martial and Anthony Elanga spurned promising opportunities for the Red Devils in the first half.

Saul Niguez failed to hit the target with a header and Harry Maguire did the same at the other end in the second half.

The game looked destined to end goalless until substitute Joao Felix drilled a low shot beyond David de Gea before Fred was dismissed in injury time for a second bookable offence.

Sebastien Haller will undergo chemotherapy treatment after his testicular tumour was revealed to be malignant.

The forward, who joined Borussia Dortmund from Ajax this close-season, was diagnosed with a tumour earlier this month after complaining of feeling unwell at BVB's training camp in Austria.

Haller last week underwent surgery in the first stage of his treatment.

Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl had confirmed Haller would be missing "for a few months" but added further treatment plans were still being discussed.

And a Dortmund statement on Saturday confirmed Haller's diagnosis and the need for chemotherapy.

The statement, which updated that Haller would be absent for "several months", said: "We ask for the understanding of the media and fans that, beyond the information mentioned, we will not disclose any medical details regarding the treatment of Sebastien Haller today or during the coming months."

Kehl added: "Sebastien will now receive the best possible treatment. The chances of recovery are very good. We wish him and his family a lot of strength and optimism and are with him with our thoughts at this difficult time."

Sebastian Vettel's hopes of a successful first race since announcing his Formula One retirement suffered a setback as he crashed in third practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion this week confirmed he will end his F1 career at the end of the season.

His move to Aston Martin in 2021 has not delivered the desired results, with Vettel claiming just one podium since his switch from Ferrari.

But Vettel was impressing amid heavy rain at the Hungaroring, only to lose control of his rear tyres and spin into barriers at turn 10.

That saw the session briefly red-flagged before it was brought to a conclusion by the Williams of Nicholas Latifi surprisingly posting the fastest time on intermediate tyres on a drying track.

It is the first time Latifi has been quickest in an F1 practice session.

His team-mate Alexander Albon was third, sandwiching the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, with the changeable conditions setting the stage for a fascinating qualifying session.

The session was largely defined by Mercedes' struggles for grip. George Russell did find enough to go fifth fastest, but Lewis Hamilton could only manage 11th.

Christian Horner expects a "lengthy process" before Porsche completes a deal to buy a 50 per cent stake in Red Bull's Formula One team.

Said to have been looking for a return to the sport since 2017, Porsche is set to purchase half of Red Bull Technology, according to a document published by Morocco's Conseil de la Concurrence.

That would allow Porsche and Red Bull to work in unison on a powertrain in time for the change in regulations in 2026.

However, the deal - once thought to be announced at this month's Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull's home race - may be drawn out by the FIA delaying confirmation of the exact specification of those regulations, according to Horner.

"There's some major caveats that we need to get past first before things can get anywhere near progression," Horner said.

"That primarily focuses on what are the final technical, sporting and financial regulations for the power unit going to be.

"Are they going to be fair and equitable for the newcomers versus the current incumbents?

"That is the first piece of the jigsaw that needs to be completed."

Removing the MGU-H component of the hybrid engine and more significant use of sustainable fuels are thought to be among the factors on which Porsche's involvement rests.

"It's something that I know the FIA are working hard on. Hopefully in coming weeks we'll get to see that," added Horner.

"At that point then, we're able then to try and have a further discussion with the guys at Porsche.

"It's going to be a reasonably lengthy process, I would assume.

"The most fundamental thing is, what are those regulations for 2026, and are they attractive enough for an entity like a Porsche or an Audi to come into Formula 1?

"We're really only at a discussion stage and there's so many caveats based on regulations.

"Red Bull has demonstrated its commitment to Formula One, its longevity in the sport.

"Anything that we look at is very much with the long-term in mind. We're not looking at a short-term solution.

"Strategically, it would have to fit obviously within the long-term plans that Red Bull have for its commitment in Formula One."

Porsche was involved in F1 as a team between 1959 and 1964, claiming one race win and five podiums. As an engine supplier, it helped McLaren to three successive drivers' championships between 1984 and 1986 as well as two constructors' titles. It supplied engines to Footwork for the first six rounds of the 1991 season but has been out of the sport since.

Martin Odegaard has been confirmed as Arsenal's captain ahead of the new Premier League season.

The Gunners were without a first-team skipper after Alexandre Lacazette, who took the armband from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last term, joined Lyon.

Odegaard was expected to be appointed in his place, with manager Mikel Arteta saying earlier this month: "The captaincy is going to be decided pretty soon."

He added: "Martin has a lot of qualities that we want as a captain."

Odegaard, who captains Norway, was announced as Arteta's skipper on Saturday ahead of Arsenal's final pre-season friendly against Sevilla in the Emirates Cup.

"We wish Martin every success as our captain," a short statement read.

Odegaard joined Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid in January 2021, before the move was made permanent in August of last year.

Since his Gunners debut, the midfielder ranks second among Arsenal players for Premier League appearances (50) and third for both starts (41) and minutes played (3,657).

He has scored eight goals and provided six assists in the league for the London club.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson has offered no guarantees over All Blacks head coach Ian Foster's long-term future, stating "he’s certainly the person to lead the team to South Africa".

Foster came under increasing pressure after Ireland secured a first Test series win over the All Blacks in New Zealand this month.

Robinson stated that 2-1 defeat was "not acceptable", but Foster has kept his job and vowed to fight on as his side prepare to start the Rugby Championship with two away fixtures against the Springboks.

Yet CEO Robinson did not provide unequivocal backing for Foster when he was interviewed by Newstalk ZB at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

He said when asked about Foster's future: "He's certainly the person to lead the team to South Africa, and we're making sure they've got everything possible in the way of resourcing and support to make sure that's successful."

Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen this week slammed NZ Rugby, claiming the relationship between All Blacks players and the board is "probably the worst it's ever been".

Hansen lashed out over the treatment of Foster and former Black Ferns coach Glenn Moore, who resigned in April, making it clear that he was not impressed with the governing bodies conducting reviews over their futures.

The outspoken Hansen also highlighted the decision to bring in investment from US private equity firm Silver Lake as he accused the governing body of not "doing their job right".

Robinson has attempted to set the record straight.

He said: "One thing that seems to be coming through in some media is constant referral to reviews... that's simply not the case.

"But something that is very regular in all our environments is there are constant conversations about how we improve, and that’s a big part of the All Blacks as well."

He added with regards to Hansen's criticism: "I know he’s incredibly protective of Ian, and he's looking out for his mate, and I think we all understand that, too. Certainly we'll have a chat when the time is right.

"Regarding the players, we're working hard and well in that space around things in general, but also with regard to a new partner coming on with Silver Lake."

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has been talked up as a potential replacement for Foster, but Robinson refused to be drawn on speculation.

He said: "I understand the sentiment of our fans. That's been coming through loud and clear. We know Razor [Robertson] has a huge amount to offer the game in New Zealand... but to comment any further wouldn't be appropriate."

Phil Mickelson says he was not distracted by being heckled before teeing off in the LIV Golf Invitational Bedminster on Friday.

Mickelson stepped back from the tee after a spectator shouted "Do it for the Saudi Royal Family" at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

The six-time major champion was one of the highest profile players to sign a hugely lucrative deal with the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf series, leading to him being suspended from the PGA Tour.

Mickelson was way down the leaderboard in a tie for 43rd after shooting a four-over 75 in the opening round of the third LIV Golf event in New Jersey, where debutant Henrik Stenson shares the lead with Patrick Reed on seven under.

The 52-year-old insisted he was not affected by the words of a vocal spectator before he took his first shot.

When asked if he was affected by being heckled, Mickelson said: "No. I had a really good day. The people here have always been great and treated me well.

"I had a really good day with the fans and with Henrik playing well, there was a lot of good things going on. I'm just a little frustrated with my game to be honest.

He added: "I'm just frustrated because I expect more of myself, so I'm gonna work until I get it fixed."

Asked again about the heckler, he replied: "I've always enjoyed playing in this area and we had a great day thereafter, I thought it was a good day all around, so I didn't really think much of it."

Stenson made a great start to his first LIV Golf event and was happy to be playing again after losing the European Ryder Cup captaincy due to his defection.

The Swede said: "It's nice to be out there playing golf, and yeah, of course it’s been a busy couple of weeks and not the most fun, but we keep our head down and focus on the golf."

The Seattle Mariners are apparently going all-in on ending the longest postseason drought of the four major North American professional sports, finalising a deal to acquire starting pitcher Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for four players. 

Castillo is widely regarded as the best starting pitcher available before Tuesday’s trading deadline, and Seattle have paid a high price to land the two-time All-Star.  

Heading to Cincinnati reportedly are minor leaguers Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo – two of the Mariners' top-three prospects – along with pitcher Levi Stoudt, the team’s fifth-ranked prospect, and pitcher Andrew Moore.  

Castillo is 4-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 14 starts this season, striking out 90 with 28 walks in 85 innings. He has spent his entire six-year career with the Reds, going 44-53 with a 3.62 ERA In 137 starts.  

The Mariners, who have not made a playoff appearance since 2001, are 54-47 this season, well behind AL West-leading Houston, but they own one of the three wild-card spots.  

Castillo will anchor a rotation that already includes reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray and 10-game winner Logan Gilbert.  

This weekend's Community Shield sees the new English domestic season begin as the last one ended, with Manchester City and Liverpool doing battle.

City pipped Liverpool to the Premier League title, but the Reds got the better of Pep Guardiola's men in their FA Cup semi-final, going on to beat Chelsea in the decider and book their place in Saturday's curtain-raiser.

These two are expected to lead the way once again in 2022-23, yet plenty has changed in their ranks since they were last in action – particularly in attack.

At the Etihad Stadium, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling have departed to be replaced by Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.

With Haaland's arrival perhaps the most notable in the Premier League during this close-season, Liverpool responded with their own big-money big man up front; Darwin Nunez was signed from Benfica to be flanked by the returning Mohamed Salah, but Sadio Mane is gone.

After several years of success at the forefront of English football, Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp appear set to reshape their teams around their latest buys.

Both managers lined up last season primarily without a traditional number nine.

Jesus may return to that role after joining Arsenal, but City's sole centre-forward often played from the right in 2021-22, taking only 16.0 per cent of his Premier League touches in the penalty area.

Haaland, by contrast, took 20.7 per cent of his Bundesliga touches in the box for Borussia Dortmund last term, which explains how a staggering 96.3 per cent of his shots were taken from inside the area – by far a higher share than that of any forward who played for City or Liverpool.

That mark comfortably tops Nunez's (74.1 per cent of shots in the box), too, but the 23-year-old also brings something new to a Reds outfit who have often deployed a false nine through the middle.

Roberto Firmino was that man for a long time and took only 9.5 per cent of his touches in the area last season. Nunez took a mammoth 24.5 per cent of his Primeira Liga touches within 18 yards of goal.

Staying in such positions so regularly helped to boost the shot conversion rates of Haaland (27.5 per cent) and Nunez (30.6 per cent), although both still impressively outperformed their expected goals (xG) totals; Haaland scored 22 from an xG of 18.5, while Nunez netted 26 from an xG of 18.4.

In fact, the numbers suggest Divock Origi was the only player across the best two squads in the Premier League who performed in a manner akin to that which might now be expected of the superstar duo.

Origi, who has left Liverpool for Milan, took 21.7 per cent of his touches in the box, and his shoot-on-sight policy saw an attempt at goal for every 6.9 touches (9.3 for Haaland, 9.8 for Nunez).

Yet this perhaps spoke as much to Origi's role as Liverpool's specialist rescue act as anything else; he made only seven appearances, all from the bench for a combined 126 minutes, yet scored three goals, converting 30.0 per cent of his shots.

Over the course of his time under Klopp, when he was occasionally asked to play wide, Origi's statistics were more in line with those of his former team-mates. Only 13.3 per cent of his touches came in the box, just 68.9 per cent of his shots were from within the same range, and those attempts arrived every 16.4 touches on average.

Maybe Klopp will also ask Nunez to push wide and stretch the play, maintaining the fluid forward line that saw winger Mane increasingly used through the centre in big games.

That should not necessarily hamper Nunez's hopes of scoring regularly; Salah could afford to marginally underperform his xG (23.8) and still strike 23 times in the league last season, playing from the right but taking 19.6 per cent of his touches in the box and needing only 12.4 on average to attempt a shot.

Prior to last season, Guardiola had at least been able to incorporate at City the sort of penalty-box striker he has signed in Haaland.

Sergio Aguero averaged a shot every 10.0 touches under Pep, with 17.8 per cent of his touches across five seasons coming inside the area.

And Haaland brings more to his game, too, if only due to his sheer size. The 1.94-metre ex-Dortmund man won 57.6 per cent of his aerial duels in 2021-22 – no City or Liverpool forward won more than half, with Nunez also lagging on 40.6 per cent.

But perhaps the former Guardiola player whose profile most resembles Haaland's is Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and his Barcelona career was not Pep's biggest success story.

Just as City will have to adapt to Haaland – perhaps by allowing him to compete aerially from a few of their trademark cutback crosses – so will he to them. The forward completed just 71.3 per cent of his passes in the league last season; that lax level of link-up is unlikely to wash in a Guardiola side, as Jesus (84.8 per cent), Sterling (85.4 per cent) and Riyad Mahrez (90.0 per cent) will attest.

Nunez completed 67.1 per cent of his league passes, which would similarly rank him last among Liverpool forwards, but he should at least be familiar with the high-pressing approach enforced by Klopp.

Liverpool led the Premier League in high turnovers (443 or 11.7 per game), average starting position (45.5m upfield) and opposition passes per defensive action (9.9 PPDA), while Benfica (9.0 high turnovers per game, 44.4m starting position and 8.7 PPDA) unsurprisingly ranked in the Primeira Liga's top three in each category.

So, there is plenty to be excited about both in Manchester and in Liverpool and yet great scope for potential teething problems.

The forthcoming title tussle could well be decided by how successfully Haaland and Nunez fit into these ruthless, relentless winning machines, and Saturday provides an early opportunity to assess that process.