Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will renew their thrilling Formula One world title battle at the Turkish Grand Prix this week.
The Mercedes driver leads his Red Bull rival by two points, the smallest margin between the top two after 15 races since 2006, when Fernando Alonso had the same narrow lead in his famous scrap with Michael Schumacher.
This week will mark five years since Nico Rosberg claimed his last pole position and race victory.
He is the last person other than Hamilton to win the drivers' championship, but the Briton knows he still has much more work to do if he is to stop Verstappen from ending that run with seven races to go.
The latest instalment of the rivalry will take place at Istanbul Park in an event which returned to the F1 calendar after a nine-year absence last year.
Verstappen is looking to win his eighth race of 2021. Apart from when Hamilton lost out to Rosberg in 2016, every other driver who has won that amount of races has gone on to be crowned champion.
LAST TIME OUT
It was an incredible race in Russia, with Hamilton ultimately claiming his 100th Formula One victory, having failed in his previous four attempts to reach the milestone.
Lando Norris had secured pole position and was eyeing a maiden victory, but he spun off the track with three laps to go after opting not to pit for new tyres as rain started to cause chaos in Sochi.
That allowed Hamilton to capitalise and McLaren were left heartbroken as Norris limped to a seventh-placed finish after coming so close to following up team-mate Daniel Ricciardo's win in Italy with one of his own.
The drama in front meant Verstappen made up important ground to finish second, an unlikely bonus after he started from the back of the grid when Red Bull had a new engine installed.
Carlos Sainz claimed the final spot on the podium, with Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Alonso rounding out the top six.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN TURKEY
Turkey is one of just four out of 34 F1 venues where Hamilton is yet to claim a pole position, but he has won here twice, including a famous win in the wet last year that clinched his seventh championship.
His chances of repeating the feat this week may depend on whether he opts to receive a grid penalty for taking a new power unit, which Toto Wolff has suggested could be a possibility.
Should Hamilton triumph, he will equal Felipe Massa's F1 record of three victories in Turkey.
But there are other teams getting involved at the front which could provide an added complication to the championship contenders.
McLaren won in Monza and almost repeated the feat in Russia, with they and Ferrari – who have recently introduced an upgraded power unit with a new hybrid system - picking up some impressive results.
Having served his penalty and impressively limited the damage last time out, though, it is Verstappen who goes into the race weekend as narrow favourite for victory.
TOP FIVE OPTA FACTS
Grid position key - Seven out of eight winners in Turkey have come from the first row of the grid, with the only exception last year when Hamilton won from sixth place. Only in Germany three years ago has the Brit recorded a F1 victory from a worse starting position (14th).
Fine track for Ferrari – The Italian team have won most races in Turkey (three), achieved eight podiums, set three fastest laps and taken three pole positions.
Red Bull run – With eight wins this year, the team are one victory away from equalling their third-best season (nine in 2010). They have only surpassed that in 2011 (12) and 2013 (13), while they have already matched their best total of pole positions (eight).
McLaren impress – Having set two straight fastest laps (Ricciardo in Italy and Norris in Russia), the team could set three in a row for the first time since 2011 when Hamilton and Jenson Button were their drivers.
Hamilton could level up – If the seven-time world champion wins without being on pole, he will equal up his record of wins to pole at 101 for each category – this would be the first time they have been the same since 2007, when he went 2-2 at the United States Grand Prix.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 246.5
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 244.5
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 151
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 139
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 120
Constructors
1. Mercedes 397.5
2. Red Bull 364.5
3. McLaren 234
4. Ferrari 216.5
5. Alpine 103
Texans sign Schultz and Singletary
The Houston Texans are still over a month away from picking their quarterback of the future, but they are continuing to build around him.
On Monday, the Texans added a starting tight end to their roster, signing Dalton Schultz to a one-year deal worth up to $9million, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Schultz did not have the market he might have anticipated after his contract with the Dallas Cowboys expired, but he will have the chance to cash in next offseason if he can thrive in Houston playing with the quarterback whom the Texans will almost certainly select with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Last season, Schultz finished with 577 receiving yards and five touchdowns, having racked up 808 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021.
His 13 receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons rank fifth among tight ends.
Houston also added to their backfield, signing former Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary.
Singletary is unlikely to be the starter following the emergence of Dameon Pierce, who had 939 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground as a rookie.
Also arriving on a one-year deal, according to multiple reports, Singletary gives the Texans versatile depth at running back.
He has produced over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of the last two seasons. In 2022, he finished with 819 yards rushing and five touchdowns, as well as 280 yards receiving and a further touchdown through the air.
Singletary has 2,197 scrimmage yards since 2021, putting him 20th among running backs across that span.
NBA Game of the Week: Slumping Nets try to win rebound challenge against Cavs
The Brooklyn Nets will attempt to arrest their slide in the Eastern Conference when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
Brooklyn and the Cavs square off twice in New York this week, the second meeting coming on Thursday.
And the Nets head into the first game of the doubleheader on the back of a three-game losing streak.
The Nets, sixth in the East, are now 39-32, just two games in the loss column ahead of the Miami Heat at 39-34.
As such, they are at risk of slipping into the play-in tournament places, and the Nets understand they must get better at rebounding if they are to return to winning ways.
The Nets are last in total rebounds in home games and were outrebounded 40-33 by the Denver Nuggets in Sunday's loss to the Western Conference leaders.
Cleveland represent formidable opposition, with the Cavs sitting at 45-28, fourth in the East. They have won seven of their last 10 games.
But this is a matchup in which the Nets may actually have an edge on the boards to help them end their losing run.
PIVOTAL PLAYERS
Brooklyn Nets – Mikal Bridges
Bridges has quickly become the Nets' talisman having been acquired in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, and he has been one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA in March.
He is averaging 27.1 points per game this month, putting him 10th in league. No other Brooklyn player is averaging 20.
Cleveland Cavaliers – Jarrett Allen
The player who will bear much of the responsibility for ensuring the Nets continue to struggle on the boards is a former Brooklyn player.
Cavs center Allen has thrived on the glass this season, averaging 9.8 rebounds per game, the 11th-most in the NBA.
KEY BATTLE – Can Nets win the rebound challenge?
After their struggles on the boards against the Nuggets, head coach Jacque Vaughn was asked about how the Nets need to go about improving their rebounding.
"We have to accept it, it's truth, it's staring us in the face," he said. "The scouting report says try to go to offensive rebound versus the Nets, and we have to understand that and really do a diligent job of trying to do it together. We can't do it with two people or three people.
"We're trying to be systematic in how we embrace this problem, but I just want our guys to embrace it and realise that it is really a big difference from us being a pretty good defensive team, and that challenge we have to take on, and we have to win it. We have to win that challenge."
Winning that challenge may be easier against the Cavs who, despite Allen's prowess on the glass, are 25th in the NBA in rebounds per game with 41.4, just 1.2 more than the Nets.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Nets were victorious over the Cavs in their previous meeting in Cleveland on December 26 and have won five of the last six games between the teams.
Panthers sign veteran WR Thielen to three-year deal
The Carolina Panthers have signed Adam Thielen to a three-year deal as they look to prepare a strong offense for their expected number one pick quarterback.
Thielen spent 10 years with his hometown team, the Minnesota Vikings, before being released in early March.
The 32-year-old was voted to two Pro Bowls in his time with Minnesota and was an All-Pro Second Team selection in 2017.
Starting all 17 games last season, Thielen finished with 70 catches for 716 yards and six touchdowns, though he was not used as often towards the end of the campaign, making just seven catches in the Vikings' final four games.
He had previously expressed a desire to play his entire career with the Vikings, but their offense has shifted towards younger players like T.J. Hockenson and K.J. Osborn to support All-Pro Justin Jefferson.
Overall, Thielen recorded 534 catches for 6,682 yards and 55 touchdowns in 135 appearances for Minnesota.
The Panthers will get the number one pick in the NFL Draft after trading wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears, with Thielen providing plenty of experience in his place, which should aid whichever young starting quarterback they presumably acquire in late April.
It continues a busy time for Carolina, who have also recently added running back Miles Sanders, tight end Hayden Hurst and backup quarterback Andy Dalton.
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