Richie Ramsay secured his first DP World Tour/European Tour success in seven years as a late surge saw him win the English Open at the Hillside Golf Club.
Ramsay's playing partner Julien Guerrier had appeared the likely winner for much of Sunday, finding himself two shots to the good thanks to three birdies as he began the back nine.
But the Frenchman's six pars and three bogeys thereafter left him at even par for the day, and Ramsay – who ended the weekend at 14 under – took full advantage.
Birdies on 14, 15 and 17 gave Ramsay a one-shot lead on the final hole, and he held his nerve with an immense par putt to seal his first Tour success since March 2015, when he won the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco.
It was a moment of redemption for the Scot, who saw his chance for British Masters success at The Belfry in May vanish when he closed out with a double bogey.
Given that disappointment and the fact he had not won a tournament in seven years, Ramsay was understandably emotional at the conclusion.
"The biggest thing for me was I made a promise to my daughter, and I don't break promises to her. I said I would get her a trophy and this one's for her," Ramsay said.
"It just feels unbelievable. The belief. I've had some bad times over the last couple of years, but I kept believing, I knew my game was good.
"I know about what happened at The Belfry, but it's links golf and I feel like I've always got an advantage when I play links golf.
"Obviously I got a bit emotional there at the end, but I haven't won since my daughter was born and that's six years.
"That one's for Olivia [his daughter]. Hopefully she's watching. Angela's [Ramsay's wife] been brilliant. She's never given up on me, sent me a message this morning telling me that she was really proud of me in whatever I accomplish.
"It's just hours and hours of practice and it comes down to one shot and I managed to do it under the gun. It doesn't matter what happens now, I'll remember that for the rest of my life."
Guerrier's sloppy finish ultimately saw him finish in a five-way tie for third on 12 under for the tournament – that group included Marcus Kinhult, whose five-under 67 was the best round of the day.
Paul Waring was the other player to capitalise on Guerrier's difficult back nine, as the local favourite's 70 ensured he ended the competition outright second on 13 under.
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin declared the French Grand Prix as the team's "best race of the year" after a first double podium of 2022.
Lewis Hamilton immediately overtook Red Bull's Sergio Perez at the start of the race and rose to second following the retirement of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc – securing his fourth consecutive podium and marking his 300th career race in style.
Meanwhile, George Russell enjoyed a thrilling battle with Perez in the closing stages and leapt ahead after a late virtual safety car, though he felt he should have been handed the position earlier in the race after a collision with the Mexican.
Mercedes' performances on race day has consistently been better than free practice and qualifying, with Hamilton and Russell the only drivers on the grid to have improved on their start position in every race they have completed in 2022.
At the Circuit Paul Ricard, that trend continued as the team bounced back after a disappointing qualifying session where they were well off the pace of their rivals, but Shovlin believes the performance in Sunday's race was testament to how far they have come.
"That was our best race of the year and really pleasing to see both drivers racing at the front," he said.
"We know that we've got a long road ahead of us but compared to where we were a couple of months ago in Monaco and Baku, it's really satisfying to see the team and drivers having a bit of fun again.
"The weekend hasn't been easy, our qualifying positions weren't far off expectation, but the gaps to Charles and Max were eye-opening.
"We'd hoped that the car would be kind on the tyres today, the conditions were very tough given the circuit and the temperature but degradation was good and whilst we are lacking a bit of pace, we at least seemed a bit stronger towards the end of the stints."
The teams are straight back into it as the Hungarian Grand Prix takes place next week, with Shovlin suggesting Mercedes will push for further improvement ahead of the summer break.
"We've only got a couple of days to try and regroup and prepare for Budapest," he added. "Hard work has got us to a level where we can fight for a place on the podium but we want to be fighting for the top step.
"We've got one race to go before the summer break so we will be pushing hard to try and finish the first half of the season on a high note."
Jonas Vingegaard says life could not be any better after securing his first Tour de France title in Paris on Sunday.
The Jumbo-Visma rider crossed the line on stage 21 in unison with his team-mates at the end of a largely processional finale in the French capital.
Vingegaard had a lead of more than three-and-a-half minutes on back-to-back champion Tadej Pogacar heading into the 116-kilometre stretch, and his triumph was never in doubt.
He is the second Dane to win Le Tour, after Bjarne Riis in 1996, while it is the first time in 30 years the winner of the race has been a native of the country where the race started.
Saluting his victory on the Champs-Elysees, an emotional Vingegaard said: "It's just incredible. I have finally won the Tour. Nothing can go wrong anymore.
"I'm sat with my daughter. It is just incredible. It is the biggest cycling race of the year, the biggest one you can win, and now I have done it. Nobody can take this away from me."
Vingegaard finished in the chasing bunch on the final stage, which was won by Jasper Philipsen, to retain the yellow jersey that he had been in possession of since stage 11.
Pogacar's hopes of a third title in a row were effectively ended on Thursday when Vingegaard increased his GC lead after the final mountain stage in the Pyrenees.
"I always had the feeling that at least I could fight for the win," Vingegaard added. "But I think in the end, when I really started believing was after the stage.
"I always believed in the victory, but I was thinking something really has to go wrong after Hautacam."
Asked how he plans to celebrate, Vingegaard said: "Tuesday, I go to Holland, Wednesday in Copenhagen, Thursday in the town I live in, and Friday, I'll be on the couch for a week!
"Of course, I'm super happy about my victory now. Of course, now I want to celebrate, relax, but then I also want more, yes."
Vingegaard was also crowned King of the Mountains, while team-mate Wout van Aert came out on top in the Points Classification.
Jumbo-Visma are the first team to win the yellow, polka dot and green jerseys at the same edition of the race since Faema managed the feat in 1969, thanks to Eddy Merckx.
Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl believes the investment and improvement in the English game in recent years means her nation's good record against their Women's European Championship semi-final opponents will mean very little.
The Swedes needed a late Linda Sembrant goal against Belgium in their quarter-final to advance to play tournament hosts England, who edged past Spain 2-1 in the last eight thanks to an extra-time thunderbolt from Georgia Stanway.
The two teams will face off on Tuesday at Bramall Lane, Sheffield for a place in the final.
England have won just three of their 26 meetings with Sweden in all competitions (D8 L15), while they have only lost more often against Germany (21) than they have against the Swedes.
However, when asked if this impressive record gives them an advantage during the team's media day on Sunday, former Chelsea stopper Lindahl said: "No, because we all know the development that's been in the English league, and the investment that's gone into English football in the last seven years.
"I know it first hand because I came to Chelsea in 2015 and I've seen the game take off in England. Obviously that will have an effect on the national team, because the league has grown and people have to grow with it. So you can't really rely on history.
"But what I do take with me is that we know these are players we've beaten. We've managed to beat them before and we can do it again."
The 39-year-old has made eight saves across her team's four games so far, conceding just two goals, and is looking forward to returning to Sheffield, where Sweden played their first two games against the Netherlands and Switzerland.
"I had imagined coming into this tournament that we would face England at some point. I wasn't aware of when we were able to see each other," she said. "I thought it was going to be at Wembley, but now it's in Sheffield, and I think that's a good thing for us because we played a few games there. It's kind of like our home pitch, and so I look forward to it."
Lindahl is well aware of the dangers England pose, with tournament top scorer Beth Mead in the form of her life, scoring five goals in the Euros and having had a hand in 31 goals in all competitions under Sarina Wiegman so far (19 goals, 12 assists) in 18 games.
"I think we've all seen how much success they've had with their wingers, especially Beth Mead," Lindahl added.
"They have quality players in every position and two of them in every position. So I think we're gonna face a collective, well-organised team under the leadership of their new coach. So it's going to be a tough one."
Houston Texans' rookie wide receiver John Metchie III announced on Sunday that he was recently diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia and is currently receiving medical care.
In a statement on the Texans’ Twitter account, Metchie said acute promyelocytic leukemia is "the most curable form of leukaemia" and that he's "in good spirits."
"Recently I was diagnosed with APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia), the most curable form of Luekemia," he said in a statement.
"I am currently receiving great medical care, am in good spirits and I expect to make a recovery at a later point in time.
"As a result of this diagnosis, I will likely not be playing football this season. My main focus will be on my health and recovery."
The Texans selected Metchie in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft (44th overall pick) out of Alabama after he had 96 catches for 1,142 yards and eight touchdown receptions as a junior last season before tearing his left ACL during the SEC championship game.
Metchie, who had 55 receptions for 916 yards and six TDs for the Crimson Tide in 2020, added he "cannot wait to come back stronger than ever."
Jonas Vingegaard sealed a maiden Tour de France title in Paris after finishing safely in the chasing bunch on the final stage, which was won by Jasper Philipsen.
Team Jumbo-Visma rider Vingegaard led back-to-back champion Tadej Pogacar by more than three and a half minutes heading into the largely processional finale on Sunday.
The Dane saw out the job in a stress-free manner – even enjoying some champagne during the 116-kilometre stretch – to end Pogacar's spell of General Classification dominance.
A few packs of riders tried to break free of the bunch on the Champs-Elysees, setting up a frantic late sprint that saw Belgium's Philipsen earn his second stage win of this year's race.
Vingegaard crossed over moments later, in unison with his Jumbo-Visma team after retaining the yellow jersey, which he had been in possession of since stage 11.
He was also crowned King of the Mountains, while team-mate Wout van Aert joined the celebrations in his green jersey after another solid outing.
Jumbo-Visma are the first team to win the yellow, polka dot and green jerseys at the same edition of the race since Faema managed the feat in 1969, thanks to Eddy Merckx.
Pogacar never came within two minutes and 18 seconds of Vingegaard in the GC, once the Danish rider had the lead.
The Slovenian therefore had to settle for the consolation prize of the white jersey for a third year running, with that award given to the best-placed rider under the age of 26.
Jonas Vingegaard went into the final weekend of the Tour de France with his yellow jersey all but assured.
It is the mountain stages that so typically settle the general classification in Grand Tours, and this edition of Le Tour proved no different.
A dominant ride on stage 18 saw Vingegaard, with admirable support from Sepp Kuss and Wout van Aert, drop two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar on the final ascent in the Pyrenees.
Vingegaard powered away on that last climb, leaving Pogacar in his wake, and well over three minutes behind overall in the hunt for the yellow jersey, as the Dane collected just a second Grand Tour stage win of his career, the first having come on July 13 to put him in command of the race.
That left Vingegaard merely needing to safely negotiate the final three stages – two sprint finishes and a time trial – and he did just that, parading into Paris on Sunday with his grip on the yellow jersey firmly intact. Now he is the champion, a remarkable feat considering where he has come from.
Pogacar's Slovenian compatriot Primoz Roglic has previously been Jumbo-Visma's main hope, but an exceptional team ride has also represented a passing of the baton to Vingegaard, the 25-year-old who four years ago was working at a fish factory to supplement his income. Vingegaard was recruited by the team based on a remarkable time up a daunting climb in Spain, which was subsequently posted to the popular training application Strava.
Jumbo-Visma have turned in a team performance for the ages. Their plan, and subsequent execution, has been near-perfect. Even the loss of Roglic, whose attention will now turn to winning yet another Vuelta a Espana title, could not derail this powerhouse unit heading into the final week.
Vingegaard's first win, on stage 11 up the Col du Granon, came as a result of Jumbo-Visma attacking early, luring Pogacar into responding, and draining the Slovenian's energy as the 23-year-old was proven to be a mere mortal after all.
Even when stacked up against the days of when Team Sky (now INEOS Grenadiers) dominated Le Tour, Jumbo-Visma's performance this time around has been something special. As a result, they are the first team to win the yellow, polka dot (Vingegaard) and green (Van Aert) jerseys at the same edition of the race since Faema managed the feat in 1969, thanks to the great Eddy Merckx.
Vingegaard is the second Dane to win the Tour de France after Bjarne Riis in 1996, and it is the first time since 1992 that the winner of the race has been a native of the country where it started, with the first three stages of this Tour having taken place across Denmark.
Not since 2006 (Michael Rasmussen) has a Dane won the polka jot jersey, though it is the third successive edition of Le Tour that the GC leader has also claimed the King of the Mountains classification, with Pogacar having done so in 2020 and 2021. Before 2020, it had happened only three times across the previous 50 races – Merckx in 1970, Carlos Sastre in 2008 and Chris Froome in 2015.
Van Aert, meanwhile, is another star. The 27-year-old finished in second place in the opening three stages before finally claiming victory at the fourth time of asking, and his decisive attack on Hautacam gave Vingegaard the platform he needed to end Pogacar's hopes.
A sprinter by trade but a brilliant climber to boot, Van Aert never looked likely to relinquish the green jersey, easily fending off Jasper Philipsen and Pogacar for that prize. He is the first Belgian rider to win the points classification of the Tour de France since Tom Boonen in 2007.
As for Pogacar, three in a row proved one triumph too many, but when you contrast the talents of UAE Team Emirates with Jumbo-Visma, his achievements so far must be considered even more remarkable.
The white jersey, which Pogacar won in each of the last two years for the best young rider, was retained. He has been leading the youth classification over each of the last 51 racedays in the Tour de France (from stage 13 in 2020 to stage 21 in 2022), which is the longest run of consecutive racedays in the first place of a specific classification.
Pogacar will surely be back out to regain his crown in 2023 and along with Vingegaard could dominate for years to come, though do not count out Tom Pidcock from one day contesting for a jersey.
On his Grand Tour debut, the 22-year-old Briton has mightily impressed. His triumph on the famous Alpe d'Huez will go down in the record books. He not only broke the 100km/h mark on a descent, but became the youngest stage winner on the mountain in Le Tour history, breaking a 38-year record held by Lucho Herrera.
Pidcock, who won gold on the mountain bike at the Tokyo Olympics, is the 15th British rider to win a Tour de France stage, but just the second to do so on the Alpe d'Huez after Geraint Thomas, who at 36 has battled to a brilliant third-place finish overall.
It might well be the 2018 champion's swan song at Le Tour, while another veteran campaigner, Nairo Quintana, came in sixth in the general classification. That is Quintana's first top-10 Grand Tour finish since the 2019 Vuelta a Espana, and his best performance in this race since 2016.
The St Louis Cardinals will not have All-Stars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado available to play in Toronto this week as they have not received the COVID-19 vaccination.
Canada requires all travellers to the country to be fully vaccinated, so Goldschmidt and Arenado will miss the Cardinals' two games against the Blue Jays on Tuesday and Wednesday, as confirmed by president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to reporters on Sunday.
St Louis entered Sunday's MLB action trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 1.5 games for first place in the NL Central, and with a one-game lead on the Philadelphia Phillies for the third and final wild-card berth in the NL.
Goldschmidt and Arenado have played a major part in that success.
Goldschmidt is batting .333 with 22 home runs and 74 RBIs in 92 games, while Arenado is hitting .299 with 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 90 contests.
They were both selected to their seventh All-Star Game this season. Goldschmidt homered in the NL's 3-2 loss to the AL last Tuesday, but Arenado sat the game out due to tightness in his lower back.
Lorenzo Musetti won the first ATP Tour title of his career as he defeated fellow up-and-comer Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday's Hamburg European Open final.
Top seed Alcaraz ensured he would become the youngest player in the top five of the ATP rankings since Rafael Nadal in 2005 with his semi-final victory over Alex Molcan.
But the 19-year-old paid the price for an error-strewn display on Sunday, as Musetti, 20, took the crown 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-4.
Alcaraz was guilty of a slow start on the clay, with four wild unforced errors helping Musetti go a break up after the very first game. Although the Spaniard instantly hit back, his opponent gobbled up his next break point to take a 4-3 lead en route to winning the set.
Musetti then took charge early on in the second to go 2-0 ahead, but Alcaraz showed admirable resolve to see off a couple of match points and level the set at 5-5, before remarkably tying the contest in a tie-break that saw three more championship points squandered.
The deciding set was evenly contested almost throughout, until Musetti broke serve to make it 6-4 and take the match on his sixth championship point as Alcaraz hit a backhand long.
On a momentous day for the Italian, his jubilation was plain to see as he spoke afterwards.
"I have no words because it was a rollercoaster until the end," Musetti said on court. "I had so many match points. Carlos was so good on the match points, [I had] so many chances.
"But I think the key of the match was to keep calm and [have] all the patience [with] myself because it was really not easy.
"Carlos was putting so much effort in the match points when he was down, so it was not easy to find the energy to come back.
"But I cannot describe what I am feeling right now. I think I am still dreaming."
On the subject of the five match points he surrendered, Musetti added: "Of course I was really upset, but I tried to not show my opponent my reaction.
"I tried to forgive [myself for] all the match points and all the points [when] I couldn't do it. I think that was the most [important] thing, even for me, because I didn't expect the win after all this rollercoaster, so I'm super happy to be here and to be the champion."
Musetti and Alcaraz could end up meeting again in the coming week in Umag, where the latter is the defending champion and top seed.
Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Rodger Saffold hurt his ribs in a recent car accident and has been placed on the non-football injury list, coach Sean McDermott announced.
The 34-year-old Saffold joined Buffalo on a one-year contract in March after he was released by the Tennessee Titans following a 2021 season in which he earned his first Pro Bowl selection. The move saved Tennessee over $10million in salary cap space.
Saffold's setback was revealed as the Bills opened their training camp on Sunday.
McDermott said: "Rodger Saffold will start on the NFI list. Rodger injured some ribs in a car accident recently, so he'll start on NFI."
Saffold was the first pick in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He spent his first nine seasons with the Rams before signing a four-year, $44million deal with the Titans in 2019.
Saffold’s 160 games since 2010 are tied for the fourth-most among active offensive linemen in the NFL over that span.
McDermott said he expected Saffold to "be back in due time".
Jamaica's golfing community has been thrown into mourning once more with news of the passing of stalwart and many-time national amateur representative Biah Maragh. Maragh represented Jamaica at the national senior level between 1975 and 1990 before retiring from competitive golf in 1991.
The stalwart of Jamaican golf passed on June 22 at the age of 73 and was buried on Saturday, July 23 following a service of thanksgiving at the Sandy Bay Seventh Day Adventist Church in Hanover.
"The Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) is saddened to learn of the passing of Biah Maragh," said Jamaica Golf Association President Jodi Munn-Barrow.
"Biah was a national representative for many years. He was the top amateur also for quite some time and performed well in our regional tournaments. It is sad to know that we have lost another stalwart in the game so shortly after the passing of Turo Ziadie. I extend sincere condolences to his family. I will miss him too. A lot of these players were those that I looked up to when I was a junior and who helped me in my junior career so Biah's passing on a personal note is also quite difficult for me."
Maragh was honoured at the 53rd staging of the Jamaica Open Golf Championship at the Tryall Golf Club in Hanover, where he worked for 35 years at the time he was honoured in 2020. He also competed in the Jamaica Open a number of times.
Maragh worked at the Half Moon Golf Course from 1965-1968 and eventually moved to Kingston in 1974 to become the superintendent at the Constant Spring Golf Club. Over the years, he thrived due mainly to the support of his friend David Mais and successive administrations of the Jamaica Golf Association.
His contemporaries were Lee Edler, Seymour Rose, Garfield Sobers, Lindy Delapenha and Stafford DeMercardo.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has clarified Charles Leclerc's concerns about the throttle following his crash from the lead at the French Grand Prix.
Leclerc was ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen when he lost the rear tyre and collided with the wall, suffering a third retirement of the season while in a leading position.
The Monegasque driver took responsibility for the incident with his post-race comments but had raised queries on the reason for the crash with remarks over the team radio, where he complained about the throttle.
Ferrari have suffered with throttle problems already this season and Leclerc's comments raised concerns they had emerged again in Sunday's race, but Binotto explained the reason for the comments from his driver.
"It was a mistake, it happens, as we have made reliability issues. I said to Charles, we make life a bit more difficult, but he's feeling better and we will enjoy more in the future," he told Sky Sports.
"It was a genuine driver error. The throttle, it was when he was in the barrier and tried to put it into reverse.
"Without going into details, he felt that the torque of the engine was not responding to the throttle, but it was nothing to do with the mistake.
"There is always something to improve. Step by step, I think we are progressing and becoming better. Today, we've proved that we have a fast car and a very competitive one.
"We're looking now to Hungary. We can do a one-two there, why not? So we simply focus on the next result."
Ferrari also faced scrutiny behind the decision to call Carlos Sainz in for a second pit stop, with the initial radio call coming as he overtook Sergio Perez for third place, but Binotto remained adamant it was the correct call.
"We don't feel it was the right choice, we're pretty sure it was the right choice. At the time, he was short on life with wear on the tyres so it would have been really risky to go to the end," he explained.
"We don't think he would have had the pace to fight second because he had the five-second penalty. By stopping, he did the fastest lap which was certainly a point, so I think it was the safest and the right decision to take.
"I don't think it cost us a pace. If he had stayed out, I don't think he would have opened the gap to the guy behind, so we don't think he would have had sufficient time."
Lewis Hamilton dubbed a second-place finish at the French Grand Prix as a "great result" while revealing he encountered issues with his drinks bottle during the 300th Formula One race of his career.
The seven-time champion leapfrogged Red Bull's Sergio Perez at the start to take third place, then rising to second after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed out while in the lead.
It caps off another weekend of resurgence for Hamilton, who has encountered numerous problems across the 2022 season, with the podium representing his fourth in a row.
"What a great result, considering we've been so far off these guys all weekend," he said on the grid after the race.
"Reliability is one thing that my team has been amazing at, so a huge congratulations to the team back at the factory and the team here, without them we couldn't get this podium, and George [Russell] did an amazing job today as well."
Hamilton may not have had problems with the car, but he did reveal a different sort of issue during one of the hottest races of the season as his drinks bottle was broken.
"I didn't see my weight just now but I imagine [I lost] about three kilos. It's enough, I'm looking forward to downing the rest of this drink!"
Hamilton's stellar drive came on the back of what has been a disappointing build-up for Mercedes, with a new package introduced for the French Grand Prix that did not result in what the team would have expected.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff highlighted that Hamilton has remained positive throughout the variety of challenges presented this season, including the issues in France prior to Sunday's race.
"Sometimes we've been talking about what would happen if we were not winning again, how we could recover, and we had some really difficult times at the beginning of the year," he told Sky Sports.
"In a way, we've all set into the situation that we've been handed and he is absolutely on it, he keeps pushing the team, not just driving the car, he has a positive mindset.
"Even if the day is really grim, like yesterday and we are tenths off, he never stops pushing."
Brooke Henderson found a strong finish to win the Evian Championship, sealing the second major title of her career with a birdie on the final green.
The Canadian overnight leader put an error-strewn start to Sunday's final round behind her to pick up shots at the 14th, 15th and 18th, delivering a level-par 71 for a 17-under-par aggregate of 267 for 72 holes.
The first of Henderson's big-stage triumphs came when she was just 18 years old at the 2016 Women's PGA Championship, and six years later she has another of golf's great prizes to her name.
American Sophia Schubert went into the outright lead at 16 under when she made birdie at the 15th hole. Henderson at that point was only beginning to repair the damage that had seen her reach the 14th tee on three-over par for her round, with a double-bogey six at the sixth giving hope to her rivals.
The late flurry of birdies from Henderson salvaged the situation, though, as Schubert was unable to pick up any further shots, finishing alone in second after a 68, one shot behind the champion.
Henderson said: "To make the birdie on 18, that makes it really nice. I was definitely not at my best today, but I just tried to stay patient and remind myself I was still in it. I'm super excited to have my second major championship win."
Third place was shared by five players – Spain's Carlota Ciganda, Kim Hyo-joo of South Korea, England's Charley Hull, New Zealand's Lydia Ko and Japan's Mao Saigo – as they finished on 15-under par for the week.
Staying cool and overcoming the challenge of tyre wear in the searing heat of the French Grand Prix were the keys for Max Verstappen as he took advantage of Charles Leclerc's crash to prevail.
The defending Formula One world champion extended his lead at the top of the standings to 63 points with victory in France for the second year in a row, capitalising after Leclerc spun into the barriers while leading in the opening quarter of the race.
That allowed Verstappen to take the lead under the safety car, and he remained there throughout even though the high temperatures put the tyres under pressure and another pit stop was not possible due to the long length of the pit lane at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
"I think we had really good pace at the start, I was putting pressure on Charles but following around here with this heat, the tyres were overheating a lot, I could never really go for a move," he said on the grid after the race.
"We just tried to stay calm, tried to stay close, we pitted a bit earlier. From there onwards, you never know how the race is going to go.
"The car was quick today and it was unlucky for Charles, I hope he's ok. From there onwards, I just did my race and looked after my tyres.
"With the pit lane being so long, you couldn't do another stop but the tyres were wearing a lot. It was all about looking after the tyres until the end."
Asked whether the win felt different as Leclerc wasn't there to battle with on the track, Verstappen added: "I was just trying to get the most points possible.
"Of course, sometimes you see moves are on and then you need to back out, wait maybe for the end of the race.
"That is what we did, there are plenty more races to come where we have to score points and, in that aspect, I think today was a great day."
Hungary is up next before F1's summer break, with the Hungaroring a track many consider to be favourable to Ferrari and Verstappen admitted improvements need to be made.
Verstappen said: "We still have a lot of work to do, over a single lap especially, so we will just keep working."
Forecasting which players will break out in a given NFL season is a difficult exercise.
New stars can come from anywhere. Highly drafted rookies can swiftly justify their selection, while others who have endured a less linear path to the highest level often emerge from the wilderness to become well-known names.
But, for those players who have already had the benefit of experience in the league, Stats Perform can look at the data to judge who is in a spot to potentially make the jump to stardom.
Such ascents are regularly a product of situation. Here we look at three offensive players and three defenders who find themselves in spots conducive to a possible breakout year in 2022.
Jalen Hurts - Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts making the leap in his third season in the league is largely contingent on how his skill set is utilised by the Eagles.
Playing behind an excellent offensive line that ranked fifth in pass-block win rate last season and with a host of playmakers now including A.J. Brown, Hurts looks set up for success in 2022.
But for that success to be realised, the Eagles must tailor their offense to what he does well. In 2021, where Hurts clearly excelled was in the play-action game. Hurts produced a well-thrown ball on 80.4 per cent of play-action pass attempts, averaging 16.78 air yards on those throws.
Though they averaged 9.2 yards per play when they ran play-action, the Eagles did so on only 13.07% of their passing plays. By contrast, they ran straight dropback pass plays on 39.21% of snaps but averaged just 7.35 yards per play. Philadelphia went to the quick game on 21.57% of snaps with an average of 5.31 yards per play.
Having acquired Brown, who thrived playing in a heavy play-action offense with the Tennessee Titans, the Eagles must lean more into the play-action looks to give Hurts the best chance of improving on a quietly efficient 2022.
It would not be a seismic shift in their offensive approach, but with the talent level on their roster, it is one that could propel the Eagles to a deep playoff run and allow Hurts to end questions about his legitimacy as the long-term starter.
Brandon Aiyuk - San Francisco 49ers
Drafted from the star-studded receiver class of 2020, Aiyuk has not produced at the same level of Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Tee Higgins.
That is partly a product of the many mouths there are to feed in the San Francisco offense and partly a result of him falling out of favour with head coach Kyle Shanahan early last season.
However, Aiyuk worked his way back to being a focal point of the Niners offense down the stretch in 2021, producing a string of key plays during their surge into the postseason.
Aiyuk produced a big play on 40.8% of his 98 targets last season – fourth among wide receivers with at least 50 targets in 2021. Delivering a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted, on 65.3% of his targets, his 16 receptions of 20 yards or more were tied for 12th in the NFL.
His numbers in that regard appear likely to improve as the 49ers transition from Jimmy Garoppolo to Trey Lance at quarterback. Only one quarterback with a minimum of 50 attempts last season – Drew Lock (10.20) – averaged more air yards per attempt than Lance (10.10). Garoppolo’s 7.38 per attempt was below the league average of 7.99.
Aiyuk is an excellent route runner who brings yards-after-the-catch upside and has already shown signs of building a rapport with Lance, catching four passes for 94 yards in the 2021 third overall pick’s second start against the Houston Texans.
If that rapport is furthered with a quarterback who should greatly improve the downfield threat posed by the San Francisco passing attack, 2022 could be the season in which Aiyuk establishes himself as another gem from a receiver class that has already emphatically lived up to its billing.
David Njoku - Cleveland Browns
The Browns have been waiting for an Njoku breakout since drafting him in the first round in 2017, and they are seemingly banking on it coming in the near future.
Cleveland signed Njoku to a four-year, $56.75 million extension this offseason having initially placed the franchise tag on the former Miami Hurricanes tight end. Those moves were made despite Njoku having a career-high in receiving yards of 639, which was in 2018.
Njoku has struggled with injuries – never starting more than 14 games in a season – but there’s evidence to suggest this will be the year he puts it all together. Last season, Njoku had a mediocre burn rate of 57.7%, but Rob Gronkowski (12.87) and Dallas Goedert (12.39) were the only tight ends with at least 25 targets to average more burn yards per target.
He was tied for 10th in burn yards per route (2.3) and 14th in big play rate (29.9%) and, assuming he stays healthy, will likely be the number two target behind Amari Cooper for the Browns in 2022.
The Browns' offense has recently been built around the running ability of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, but Deshaun Watson (if and when he is allowed to play) offers the passing game a significantly higher ceiling.
With the Browns’ wide receiver options beyond Cooper lacking in experience, Njoku stands to benefit greatly from that additional upside through an increased target share and the efficiency numbers from 2021 paint the picture of a player who will take advantage of his extra opportunities.
Christian Barmore - New England Patriots
New England suffered a self-inflicted talent drain in the secondary, but the impact of the loss of J.C. Jackson and Co. may be minimised if the Patriots can get more from the defensive front.
The Patriots were seventh in pass-rush win rate last year, so it is fair to question how much more of a jump they can make in that regard. But Barmore is the one who may fuel such a leap.
New England's second-round pick from 2021 had just 1.5 sacks last season. However, he ranked eighth among defensive tackles with at least 100 one-on-one pass rush matchups with a stunt-adjusted win rate of 38.34%.
He achieved a top-10 finish in that metric despite being double-team blocked 127 times. Only seven defenders were double teamed more often.
Converting those pass-rush wins into sacks will be the aim in 2022 and, if he continues to dominate his matchups in his second year and the Patriots get the consistency from edge rushers Matthew Judon and Josh Uche to reduce the number of double teams, Barmore's production should see a significant improvement.
Pete Werner - New Orleans Saints
Off-ball linebackers might not move the needle like they once did, but Werner is set to step into a starting role alongside Demario Davis on a Saints defense that is still expected to be among the best in the NFL.
Werner allowed a burn on 13 of his 27 targets in coverage, and his ratio of 48.1% was above the league average for linebackers with at least 25 targets (50.8).
His burn yards per target allowed average of 8.08 yards was 18th for the players at his position to meet that threshold. Werner allowed a big play on 17.4% of his targets, also putting him comfortably on the right side of the ledger for that metric (the average was 19.8%).
On top of that, his run disruption rate of 12.1% was eighth for all linebackers with a minimum of 50 run defense snaps.
In a hugely encouraging rookie year, Werner proved he is ready to step up to the starting role.
Playing on a defense stacked with talent on the front and in the secondary, he is in a situation to make a massive impact for a unit that may have to carry the load if the Saints are to return to the playoffs in 2022.
Rashad Fenton - Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs suffered an underrated loss in free agency as cornerback Charvarius Ward departed for San Francisco. Ward allowed a burn on just 39.8% of targets in 2021 – the fourth-best rate among corners with at least 50 targets.
His departure will likely see Fenton and L'Jarius Sneed start at corner this season, though the Chiefs did add Trent McDuffie to their secondary in the draft.
The numbers indicate Fenton will rise to the challenge. He was second in burn yards per target (7.71) and third in burn yards per snap (1.22) allowed last year (min. 50 targets).
He gave up a big play on just 15.2% of targets – the third-best ratio in the league for the position. Fenton's consistency in producing tight coverage should fuel optimism he can ensure Ward's exit is not one that will cause the secondary to struggle.
Fenton has only two interceptions and 18 pass breakups to his name in three seasons. Another year of stingy coverage combined with more on-ball production for a Chiefs team likely to go deep into January again would raise the profile of an under-the-radar but very talented corner.
Max Verstappen extended his advantage at the top of the championship to 63 points with victory at the French Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc crashed while leading.
Leclerc's latest retirement may prove to be the final dent in his 2022 title ambitions, with Verstappen looking to be heading into clean air as he bids to win back-to-back F1 championships.
The Dutchman finished over 10 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton in what turned into a routine win, while George Russell took third to secure Mercedes' first double-podium of the season.
A strong start from Hamilton saw him leapfrog Sergio Perez on the opening lap and put Verstappen under pressure, though the reigning champion defended well to remain ahead of his pursuer.
The Red Bull's advantage in straight-line speed saw Verstappen stick right on the gearbox of Leclerc in the opening 10 laps, but he was unable to make a move, with the aggressive approach potentially harming the longevity of his tyres and altering the team's plans.
Verstappen was the first of the leading pack to pit at the end of lap 16, taking hard tyres, with Leclerc staying out and appearing to be on a one-stop strategy, but there was misery for the title hopeful just two laps later.
For the third time this season, Leclerc retired while leading a grand prix, smashing into the tyre wall. A safety car was deployed as Verstappen took the lead – with Ferrari's woes increasing as Carlos Sainz was issued a five-second penalty for an unsafe release after he pitted under the safety car.
Ferrari's instability continued to be evident towards the end of lap 41 when Sainz made an overtaking move on Perez to claim third place while his team called for him to pit, which then came at the end of the following lap – serving his penalty and coming out ninth.
Russell, having collided with Perez, was unhappy he was not given the third-place position back after the stewards decided no investigation was necessary, but the Mercedes man took advantage of a slow reaction from Perez after a virtual safety car restart to snatch the final podium spot.
Au revoir Paul Ricard
Though yet to be confirmed, it is widely expected that the French Grand Prix will be removed from the calendar next year, with the 2022 race bringing the end of Formula One's contract with the Circuit Paul Ricard.
F1 owners Liberty Media have made a clear push to grow the motorsport in the United States, with the introduction of Miami and Las Vegas, while there is a continued desire to add more modern street circuits to the schedule.
That has seen the likes of the Circuit Paul Ricard, Monza, Spa and even Monaco shrouded in speculation, though there may still be an avenue for each to feature moving forward with a rotation of venues.
Perfect plan falls apart
Ahead of this weekend, Leclerc was adamant he was still in the title battle, but he admitted the team would need a 'perfect' finish to the season – which came apart at the first hurdle with another retirement.
Now well adrift of Verstappen in the championship, Leclerc's title ambitions look to be dead in the water with 10 races remaining this season, and he took full responsibility for the incident in what was far from the weekend that Ferrari wanted.
IN THE POINTS
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +10.587
3. George Russell (Mercedes) +16.495
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +17.310
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +28.872
6. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +42.879
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) +52.026
8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +56.959
9. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +60.372
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +62.549
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 233
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 170
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 163
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 144
5. George Russell (Mercedes) 143
Constructors
1. Red Bull 396
2. Ferrari 314
3. Mercedes 270
4. Alpine 93
5. McLaren 89
Charles Leclerc accepted all the blame for an "unacceptable" crash at the French Grand Prix as Ferrari suffered the misery of seeing the race leader blow a chance of victory.
The 24-year-old from Monaco sent his car into a wall of tyres of Turn 11 at Circuit Paul Ricard on lap 18, having started on pole position.
He had been chasing a fourth win of the season and was set to narrow the gap to championship leader Max Verstappen.
Yet Verstappen took advantage of Leclerc's blunder to win the race and tighten his grip on first place in the drivers' standings.
A regretful Leclerc said: "I think I'm performing at the highest level of my career, but if I keep doing those mistakes then it's pointless to perform at a very high level.
"I'm losing too many points: seven in Imola, 25 here, because honestly we were probably the strongest car on track today.
"If we lost the championship by 32 points at the end of the season I will know where they are coming from, and it's unacceptable."
He said he would go away and look again at what went wrong, but Leclerc had little doubt it was all on him.
"I'll try to understand if there's nothing I don't know yet, but to me, it's a mistake," he said.
"It's just trying to push too much, and then I lost the rear. It's been a very difficult weekend for me, I struggled a lot with the balance of the car.
"When it's warm like this, it's very difficult to be consistent, and I've been [finding it] very difficult to put laps together, and I did a mistake at the wrong moment."
Ian Foster is confident he has full backing from the New Zealand squad, despite two of his assistant coaches losing their jobs after a poor run of form.
All Blacks management announced on Sunday that John Plumtree and Brad Mooar have left their roles on the back of a first home series defeat to Ireland last weekend.
Jason Ryan will join from Crusaders as Plumtree's successor as forwards coach ahead of the Rugby Championship, which begins in two weeks' time.
Former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt has also now started his role as an independent selector and will work closely with Foster, who looks set to retain his job heading into the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Amid growing calls for Scott Robertson to take over as New Zealand head coach, Foster is focusing on the task at hand.
"I believe I've got the group and now I've got to deliver the plan," he told Sky Sport. "Part of the changes I've made is about making sure I'm not taking for granted their belief in the direction that I'm heading.
"But I'm also listening to them and making the changes that we all feel we need for this team."
Regarding whether he has the absolute backing of the players, Foster said: "That's one of the questions I got them to talk about.
"I'm not in the room. It was just them and with all the noise around, there's been a lot of people putting me under pressure for a long, long time, so in many ways this isn't new.
"They also did a similar process with New Zealand Rugby as is normal after a series. I think we got a clear mandate that there's a strong belief in the direction we're going.
"But there's a feeling we need to get a new voice in there and make some changes to get the gains we really want to get."
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