Sergio Perez secured a fourth Formula One triumph and second of the season as he dominated at the Singapore Grand Prix, ending Max Verstappen's five-race winning streak.
Verstappen headed into Sunday's race with a 116-point lead at the top of the championship, aiming for a sixth straight win and 12th victory of 2022 as he edges towards the title.
Yet it was Red Bull team-mate Perez who added to his Monaco Grand Prix crown earlier in the year by winning at a soaked Marina Bay Street Circuit, where safety cars were a regular feature.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished in second and third respectively, with Verstappen's championship lead over the Monegasque driver dropping to 104 points after the Dutchman came in seventh.
After an hour-long delay, Perez raced out the blocks to take the lead from Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton recovered after being forced off the track in a battle with Sainz.
A plethora of safety cars followed as Zhou Guanyu, Nicholas Latifi, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon all retired inside the first 28 laps.
Perez continued to clock the fastest laps at the front before Hamilton – frustrated by Sainz in third – slammed into the barriers, with Lando Norris overtaking his fellow Briton.
Yuki Tsunoda's crash saw another safety car deployed before Verstappen swerved off the track to drop down to 12th, though he recovered to overtake Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas.
Perez's domination under the lights continued despite the push of Leclerc as the Red Bull driver claimed victory at the first F1 race in Singapore in three years.
'I TOLD YOU' – HAMILTON BEMOANS MERCEDES TYRE DECISION
Hamilton started the race in third but fell down a place after a first-corner battle with Sainz saw the seven-time world champion edged off the track.
"I told you about these tyres, in future you need to listen to me. No grip," Hamilton declared on the team radio soon after, lamenting Mercedes' late decision to operate on intermediate tyres.
It was not the first time Hamilton – who ended in ninth – has exchanged such words with his team, adding to a frustrating season that could end without a single victory for the first time in his career.
ALONSO DENIED HISTORY
Alpine's Alonso was aiming to surpass Kimi Raikkonen for the most Grand Prix finishes in history as the Spaniard looked to complete his 351st race.
But after stating "engine, engine" on the team radio, Alonso was forced to withdraw before the halfway point in Singapore, leaving him waiting to overtake Raikkonen.
Ten Hag pays tribute Ferguson for defining Man Utd ethos after HOF induction
Erik ten Hag hailed Alex Ferguson as the defining personality in Manchester United's recent history following his induction into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
The league confirmed on Wednesday that Ferguson and his former rival Arsene Wenger are the first two inductees of 2023.
During a remarkable 27-year managerial stint at Old Trafford, Ferguson took standards to an altogether different level and he arguably remains the benchmark.
He took charge in 1986, six years before the foundation of the Premier League, and went on to win the competition 13 times – that is nine more than any other coach or manager.
United are waiting for their first Premier League title since Ferguson's retirement in 2013, and Ferguson's legacy still lauds over every manager who arrives at the club.
Ten Hag is the latest to try his luck and recognises the influence held by Ferguson, which is acting as a guide for the Dutchman as he looks to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.
"You feel it every day because he left a legacy and Manchester United is Alex Ferguson," Ten Hag told the Premier League.
"He set the highest standards, the highest values, and brought the winning attitude. He built that in the club… and that is the standard that you must face if you want to play for Manchester United or work for Manchester United.
"First of all, he knew when to rebuild and reconstruct a new team because he did it over two decades and every time he was successful. He did it with a balance of homegrown players and bringing big stars in.
"He got the best out of it, like working with Eric Cantona, working with [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, [Robin] van Persie, Wayne Rooney.
"That is huge if you are able to handle those personalities, but also to let them play as a team. That was always one of his most important qualities – that the team is always above any individual. It's difficult to construct one winning team. He did it so many times!”
Ten Hag was spotted having dinner with Ferguson in February before United played host to Barcelona in the Europa League.
At the time he spoke of how "committed" Ferguson still was to the club with his desire to help those who came after him.
Now, he is hoping to make such meetings more of a regular occurrence, such is Ferguson's wealth of experience.
"His experience is huge, so with all the knowledge he can help you with, he can," Ten Hag added.
"I'm really pleased that he wants to share his knowledge with me. It's great to talk and learn from him, and I hope we can do it more often."
Rybakina wins 12th straight to reach Miami Open semi-finals, Pegula beats Potapova
Elena Rybakina is now two wins away from completing the rare 'Sunshine Double' after defeating Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-0 to reach the Miami Open semi-finals on Tuesday.
Only four women have ever claimed the Sunshine Double – which requires winning both the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open. Steffi Graf did it in both 1994 and 1996, Kim Clijsters did it in 2005, Victoria Azarenka accomplished the feat in 2016 and current world number one Iga Swiatek did it just 12 months ago.
Rybakina knocked off Swiatek and world number two Aryna Sabalenka in consecutive matches en route to the Indian Wells title, and she has now extended her winning streak to 12 with Tuesday's victory. Against Trevisan, Rybakina served another 10 aces compared to zero from the Italian.
In her fourth-round match the Kazakhstan representative became the first WTA player this season to post three consecutive matches with at least 10 aces, and with another she became the first woman since Serena Williams at the 2020 US Open to do so in four consecutive matches at the same tournament.
She needed just 27 minutes to race through the second set, and in the process she booked a semi-final against third seed Jessica Pegula.
America's top hope, Pegula had to come from behind against Russia's Anastasia Potapova in the 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2) result, saving two match points in the deciding set to force the pivotal tiebreaker.
The match was delayed for hours due to persistent rain, and the contest lasted two hours and 38 minutes, meaning they did not finish up on court until nearly 1:30am local time.
While consistently making it deep into major tournaments, Pegula only has two WTA singles titles to her name, and only once since the end of 2019.
With one more win she can book her spot in the final, and a chance to claim her second WTA 1000 crown after breaking through at the 2022 Guadalajara Open.
Messi hopes the 'craziness never ends' after 100th international goal and wild celebrations
Lionel Messi hopes the "craziness never ends" after scoring his 100th goal and ninth hat-trick for his country amid Argentina's homecoming World Cup celebrations on Tuesday.
La Albiceleste routed Curacao 7-0 in Santiago del Estero, with Messi's 20th-minute opener bringing up his 100th international goal, joining only Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and Ali Daei (109) in achieving that feat.
Messi became the first world champion to score 100 international goals, and he showed no signs of stopping there with further first-half strikes for a treble, taking him to 102.
The milestone came as Argentina rounded out their first two games back in their homeland since December's World Cup triumph with wild celebrations, initially in Buenos Aires for Thursday's 2-0 win over Panama.
The players emulated their celebrations from Qatar after the Curacao game, hoisting the World Cup trophy again after it came down from the stadium roof and doing a lap of honour to greet the supporters.
Messi was also presented with a plaque by Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia to acknowledge his 100th goal.
"What a nice way to close these dates, impressive today all the people in Santiago del Estero," Messi wrote on Instagram.
"I wish we can continue to share together many moments like these and that this craziness never ends!!!"
Messi's achievement comes after netting 21 goals in his 14 games for Argentina, along with seven assists. That has taken him to 156 goal contributions, which is the most in international football.
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni added: "As for Lionel Messi, what I want is for him to be on the pitch and be happy."
He added: "These days were different to the previous friendlies because the players were allowed to be with their people.
"We felt that they had that desire to go out to contact the outside, although that meant that it was difficult to prepare these two games. But in the end we got them through by playing with intensity."
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