Charles Leclerc says Ferrari could not have hoped for a better start to the season after he led a one-two in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Leclerc claimed maximum points as the Scuderia secured their first victory since the 2019 season.

The Monegasque driver took the chequered flag ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz at the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, with Lewis Hamilton finishing third in a miserable start to the campaign for Red Bull.

Defending champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez retired late in the race in Sakhir on a dream day for Leclerc.

"[I am] so happy," he said. "The last two years have been incredibly difficult for the team. We knew it would be a big opportunity for us and the guys have done such an incredible job in building this amazing car.

"Starting in the best way possible; pole position, victory, the fastest lap, one-two with Carlos - we couldn't have hoped for any better.

"I was trying to be as clever as possible, brake early in Turn One and twice, it worked out. I took back my first position, and I am incredibly happy to make it work."

Sainz was also elated to see Ferrari back in business.

"First, congrats Charles and Ferrari," he added. "Ferrari are properly back with a one-two, where the team should be. The hard work is paying off, and we are there.

"For me, it's been a very tricky weekend - I'm not going to lie. I didn’t have the pace today, but I managed to hold it and bring the one-two for the team.

"I have some homework to do over the next few days, and I'm sure I'll come back stronger."

Lewis Hamilton made the podium at the Bahrain Grand Prix only due to a double Red Bull retirement but accepted it was the best result he could have hoped for.

As Mercedes' struggles with their new W13 car continued, Hamilton was never in contention on Sunday, running in fifth for much of the race.

But issues for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the Red Bulls allowed the seven-time champion to profit behind a Ferrari one-two in third.

Hamilton congratulated victor Charles Leclerc and the Scuderia – "they're such a historic, epic team, so it's great to see them up there," he said – but was also content with his own finish.

"It was such a difficult race," he explained. "We struggled throughout practice. This was really the best result we could have got.

"Obviously it was unfortunate for the other two drivers, but we did the best we could and we're grateful for these points."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff agreed, telling Sky Sports: "You can see how we've managed expectations.

"If we'd come in last year third and fourth, it would have been very frustrating, but this year I think we are punching above our weight class with the Red Bulls DNFing. Third and fourth is a fantastic result."

Mercedes must now turn attention to making their car competitive for the rest of the season, yet Hamilton is staying patient.

"I'm hoping [for upgrades]," Hamilton said. "I know the guys are working really hard back at the factory, but it's not going to be a quick turnaround.

"We all know as a team, we've been the best unified team for so long, we all know to keep our head down, keep working. There's a long, long way to go."

Kevin Stefanski is confident the Cleveland Browns have done their homework on Deshaun Watson after the quarterback's trade was confirmed on Sunday.

Watson agreed to waive his no-trade clause to allow the Houston Texans to deal him to the Browns.

The 26-year-old seemed to have narrowed down his options to join either the Atlanta Falcons or the New Orleans Saints, but is instead bound for Cleveland. Houston will receive a first-round pick for this year, 2023 and 2024, along with a third-round pick for 2023 and a fourth-round selection for 2024.

A bidding war for Watson materialised when he was not charged by a grand jury earlier this month, after it considered evidence of sexual assault and misconduct allegations against him.

Watson faces 22 civil lawsuits, but the grand jury did not find enough evidence for criminal proceedings. He has strenuously denied the accusations since they emerged last year, overshadowing his previous request to be traded away from the Texans.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Browns have agreed to give Watson a fully guaranteed five-year, $230million contract. That figure is $80m more than the previous record for fully guaranteed money at signing.

Browns head coach Stefanski believes Watson will be a shrewd acquisition.

Stefanski said: "Our organisation did a tremendous amount of background on DeShaun.

"We understand the concerns and questions that exist but are confident in the extensive work Andrew [Berry, executive vice-president of football operations and general manager] and his staff have done to feel confident about him joining our organisation.

"It was important for us to meet with Deshaun in person as part of our team's evaluation process, we had a candid conversation regarding his approach to coming into our organisation and community.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to coach Deshaun, he is ready to put in the hard work needed to help our team improve and make a positive impact in our community."

The 26-year-old Watson did not play a single game in 2021, having led the NFL in passing yards in 2020.

The Browns also confirmed on Sunday that Case Keenum has been traded to the Buffalo Bills for a 2022 seventh-round pick.

Watson's arrival will clear the way for the Browns to move former first-round pick Baker Mayfield, who has requested a trade.

Shaun Norris overcame fellow South African Dean Burmester to clinch the Steyn City Championship title.

Norris ultimately won his first DP World Tour (or European Tour) title by three shots, though he had to come from behind to do so.

Having seen the four-shot lead he held overnight reduced by a poor start, which included two bogeys on the front nine, Norris dropped two strokes back as Burmester rallied with two birdies and an eagle.

Yet Norris was in no mood to let the opportunity of winning the first title of the new event slip from his grasp and he birdied three of the next six holes to haul himself level at the top of the leaderboard.

That pressure told as Burmester hit a double bogey on the 17th, after Norris had birdied, and a composed par on the final hole sealed a closing round of 70 for the champion, who finished the week on 25 under par.

"I don't think words can describe how I feel right now," said Norris, who shared his victory with his family on the 18th green.

"It's been a tough journey and having my brother on the bag, my wife here, my little girl. Splendid. It's absolutely beautiful doing this in front of my home crowd and in front of my family."

Norris' nine previous professional wins had come on the Japan Tour, Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour.

Burmester was three clear of compatriot Oliver Bekker and Germany's Matti Schmid, who were tied for third on 19 under.

Eddie Jones has been assured his job as England head coach is safe for now.

A disappointing Six Nations performance does not appear to have substantially altered the Rugby Football Union's stance on the former Australia and Japan coach.

It means Jones is set to lead England on their tour when they face the Wallabies three times in July, and increases the likelihood he will remain in charge heading into a World Cup year. Jones has a contract that runs to the end of the 2023 World Cup in France, and the 62-year-old intends to step away from the job after that tournament.

England's fortunes have nosedived since winning the 2020 Six Nations, and the Triple Crown in that championship. They have finished with two wins from five Six Nations games in each of the last two campaigns, which in 2021 saw them finish fifth but this time around was good enough for third place.

That was a distant third to second-placed Ireland, however, and England could not prevent France clinching a Grand Slam when the teams met on Saturday evening in Paris.

An RFU spokesperson said: "Eddie Jones is building a new England team and against a clear strategy we are encouraged by the solid progress the team has made during this Six Nations campaign."

England were narrowly beaten by Scotland, before defeating Italy and Wales, raising hopes of a strong finish to the championship.

Yet a 32-15 Twickenham loss to lreland, after Charlie Ewels was sent off in the second minute, ended hopes of a championship challenge, and was followed by England going down 25-13 at the Stade de France.

The spokesperson added: "Eddie and his team of coaches and players will conduct a full review as is normal after each tournament.

"The RFU advisory panel which consists of board and executive members, former players and coaches along with Eddie will also undertake a de-brief to discuss the strong positive steps forward during this campaign and the areas we need to address.

"The advisory group has been in place since 2019, and it meets regularly both during and after each tournament to evaluate clear targets and progression.

"The RFU continues to fully support Eddie, the coaching team and players and we are excited about the summer tour and the progress to rebuild a winning England team."

England head coach Eddie Jones has called upon fans to maintain faith in the team's development after a disappointing Six Nations campaign ended with a 25-13 loss to France.

Saturday's defeat to the Grand Slam champions ensured England finished third in the 2022 standings, after Wales suffered a shock loss to Italy and Ireland beat Scotland in the final round of fixtures.

England have now lost three games in three separate editions of the Six Nations under the Australian, having done so just twice in 16 campaigns prior to his 2015 appointment.

But Jones has called upon supporters to maintain faith in the team, which he says is going through a "rebuilding" process ahead of next year's World Cup in France. 

"They [England fans] have got to have some faith," Jones said on Sunday. "I think I have done a reasonable job for England over the past seven years.

"We are going through a period now where we are rebuilding the team and it takes time. Look at the French team, it took them three years to win the [Six Nations] Championship [after appointing head coach Fabien Galthie in 2019].

"We have rebuilt the side from the last Six Nations [after finishing fifth in 2021]. I think the progress is very positive, [but] the results aren't the results we would like.

"We would all like to be winning tournaments and be top of the table, but we are not quite good enough to do that now.

"But within the next 12 to 14 months when we prepare for the World Cup, we will be."

Conor McGregor could make his comeback to the Octagon later this year, UFC president Dana White has said.

McGregor has not competed since his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier last July, when he broke the tibia and fibula bones in his left leg.

The 33-year-old Irish fighter has an MMA record of 22-6-0, losing three of his past four bouts in UFC including two in a row to Poirier.

White was speaking after the UFC Fight Night event at London's O2 Arena on Saturday, saying: "Conor's not cleared by the doctor yet.

"When he's cleared, some of these fights are going to happen this summer, we'll see what the landscape looks like, and we'll see where his head's at, at that time, and we'll pick a fight for him."

British heavyweight Tom Aspinall secured victory in the main event in London with a dominant showing against Alexander Volkov, while featherweight Arnold Allen knocked out Dan Hooker.

Liverpool pair and long-time friends Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett both earned wins against Luana Carolina and Rodrigo Vargas respectively.

Frank Vogel was keen to take the time to acknowledge LeBron James' achievement in passing Karl Malone despite the Los Angeles Lakers' 127-119 defeat to the Washington Wizards.

With 38 points against the Wizards, James moved ahead of Malone (36,928) onto 36,947 for his career, now trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) all-time.

For James, who has played 197 games fewer than Abdul-Jabbar, this was a 31st 30-point game of the season – behind only Joel Embiid (33).

Lakers team-mate Russell Westbrook described this latest accomplishment as "an amazing feat to witness", while Carmelo Anthony said he was "still in awe" of James.

James insisted he could not "separate" his own performance from the defeat – "all I care about is wins and losses," he explained – but that was not a stance Vogel agreed with.

"It's bittersweet, but I think it's important to separate it," the coach said.

"This is a moment of time that we can't get caught up in the pain of this loss and [must] recognise what an incredible feat this is for LeBron, doing it in the fashion that he did it.

"He just attacked the game tonight. He came in and was aggressive on both sides of the ball, the second night of a back-to-back, really playing with incredible energy after playing 45 minutes last night.

"It was just a signature performance in a game where he passes one of the greats and becomes the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the game.

"It's really impressive, and I'm super happy for him. It's awesome."

For a player so focused on results, this has been a tough season for James, with the loss leaving the Lakers just half a game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans in ninth in the West at 30-41.

This is despite James' 29.8 points per game – the third-highest mark of his career and highest since 2007-08.

"It's just an incredible game, an incredible season, and I don't know where we'd be without him," Vogel said.

Happily for the Lakers, as they look set for the play-in game, Vogel believes James is still getting better.

"This year's no different. The fact that it's later in his career and he's still doing it at this level is different," he added.

"Obviously, the way he's continuing to evolve his game with the deep shooting, with the turnaround, fadeaway jump shot that Kobe [Bryant] and Michael [Jordan] had later in his career... He's growing as a receiver. That part is special."

Daniel Ricciardo qualified in 18th on Saturday as McLaren endured a tough start to the Bahrain Grand Prix, but the Australian vowed to "get on with it".

McLaren were fighting with Ferrari at the front of the Formula One midfield in 2021, yet the first weekend of the new season suggests the Scuderia have left their rivals behind.

Ferrari had Charles Leclerc on pole and Carlos Sainz in the top three, with all teams using their engines performing well in qualifying.

By contrast, Ricciardo failed to make Q2, and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris was little better in 13th.

A challenge in Sunday's race appears highly unlikely, but McLaren will continue to work to get their young campaign back on track as soon as possible.

"The only way we're going to move forward is if we put our eyes forward and get on with it," said Ricciardo, who missed the end of pre-season due to coronavirus. "And I think that's important as well for team morale.

"If we just sit and moan and cry... Of course, in qualifying, I'm not happy with 18th, but there's no good being upset about it and not doing anything.

"It's going to require action and effort from all of us, but I think that should motivate us to do better and want to do better. 

"I know we believe that we can be obviously a lot further up the grid, so it's fuel for the fire. It might be a slow burn for now, but that's all we can do to make things better."

Norris is certainly not expecting sudden improvement on Sunday, while he added a turnaround in time for next week's Saudi Arabian GP is also asking a lot.

"There are still a lot of positives – just sadly more negatives than positives," he said. "It's just about time and working on them. I think now we understand them more than ever; it's simply about putting them into action.

"But it's not an overnight job, it's not something that we're going to turn up [on Sunday] and be amazing, or turn up to Saudi and be amazing.

"It will take time, and [the team] are going to be working hard to try to make those improvements."

Miguel Oliveira described his victory in Indonesia as an emotional rollercoaster as the Red Bull KTM rider triumphed in tricky conditions.

Oliveira finished more than two seconds clear of world champion Fabio Quartararo in a curtailed race at the Mandalika International Street Circuit, which started over an hour late due to torrential rain.

Quartararo qualified in pole position but was passed by Oliveira and Jack Miller, who held the early lead before the Portuguese made the most of superior pace.

The 27-year-old then navigated the wet track superbly to claim a fourth race win in MotoGP and back up his claims in the build-up that he can compete for the title.

"Emotionally, it was a rollercoaster," he said in parc ferme. "The start was perfect and in wet conditions, it is so difficult to find the limit.

"I followed Jack and knew I could be faster. I opened [a gap] and then it was a matter of managing it to the end.

"It hasn't been easy, the last few months haven't been easy for me. I promised my daughter I'd get a trophy in Indonesia – this one's for you.

"Let's go to Argentina, let's see what we can do, but now I'm really happy to be here."

Quartararo dropped to fifth before a supreme ride in the second half of the race saw him end a run of four consecutive non-podium finishes.

The Monster Energy Yamaha star felt the points could prove valuable come the business end of the season.

"I didn't expect it," he said. "Honestly, since the warm-up, I felt that we had something more than usual because we know that with wet conditions we always have more difficulties.

"When it's completely wet and with traction, I know my potential, but today I was better than I expected. I saw an opportunity and took it.

"These are super important points. It was my first podium with a full wet floor."

Robert Woods is set to move to the Tennessee Titans after the team agreed a trade with Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams.

According to widespread reports, wide receiver Woods will join the Titans in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2023.

The Titans were looking for a new complement for number one wide receiver A.J. Brown after releasing Julio Jones following his injury-hit season with the AFC South winners in 2021.

Woods, who spent five seasons with the Rams, also suffered injury frustration last season, tearing his ACL in November and missing the Super Bowl run.

Prior to that, though, Woods had been consistently productive for the Rams, most notably racking up 266 catches for 3,289 yards in remarkable three-year run from 2018 to 2020. 

The 29-year-old had a $3.5million roster bonus due on Sunday and the Rams recently made a big move at the receiver position.

They signed top free agent Allen Robinson to partner with All-Pro Cooper Kupp, who won the receiving triple crown as he topped the NFL for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns last year.

Odell Beckham Jr. helped to fill the void left by Woods' injury towards the end of last season and the Rams are still reportedly keen to bring him back as well.

The Rams' situation gave the Titans, who won the AFC South last season and went into the playoffs as number one seeds in the conference, a window to strike a deal for Woods.

After a stunning regular season, the Titans promptly lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, who went on to face the Rams in the Super Bowl, in the Divisional Round when the postseason began.

Tennessee have made the playoffs in three straight seasons and hope Woods can help a roster that also contains quarterback Ryan Tannehill, star wideout Brown and running back Derrick Henry to make the next step.

Miguel Oliveira won a delayed Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday as he held off a late surge from world champion Fabio Quartararo.

Quartararo had qualified in pole position but dropped to fifth in the difficult conditions as Oliveira built what proved to be an unassailable lead.

Champion Quartararo was on a run of four consecutive races without a podium finish but produced a brilliant ride in the second half of the race to take second ahead of Johann Zarco.

Jack Miller, who led in the early stages, finished fourth and Alex Rins fifth, with Enea Bastianini, winner in Qatar's season opener, down in 12th.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez was forced to miss the race after a heavy crash during the warm-up left him with concussion.

The action got underway after more than an hour's delay, during which torrential rain fell and lightning struck the edge of the track, with the race shortened to 20 laps.

Miller and Oliveira pulled away from Quartararo after adjusting more quickly to the conditions and the latter surged into the lead as his pace became too much for the Australian.

Jorge Martin crashed at Turn 1 after catching a puddle with his front wheel, highlighting just how treacherous the track remained even after the rain had ceased and the surface began to dry.

Quartararo overtook Rins with eight laps to go before passing Miller and Zarco in a gripping battle for a podium place, the French rider eventually pulling away.

There was not enough time to catch Oliveira, though, the Red Bull KTM man claiming his fourth career win in exemplary fashion.

TOP 10

1. Miguel OIiveira (Red Bull KTM)
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +2.205 seconds
3. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +3.158s
4. Jack Miller (Ducati) +5.663s
5. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) +7.044s
6. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +7.832s
7. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) +21.115s
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +32.413s
9. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +32.586s
10. Darryn Binder (RNF Racing) +32.901s

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) 30
2. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) 28
3. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 27
4. Miguel OIiveira (Red Bull KTM) 25
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 24

Teams

1. Red Bull KTM 53
2. Monster Energy Yamaha 41
3. Suzuki Ecstar 40
4. Repsol Honda 31
5. Gresini Racing 30