Tournament debutant Collin Morikawa surged into the lead at The Open with a second-round 64 to move to nine under on Friday.

The 2020 US PGA Championship winner's stunning card showed just one bogey as the American ended his round three clear of overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen.

Morikawa made seven birdies as he took advantage of fine conditions at Royal St George's, but he squandered the chance to get to 10 under with a putt on 18 that skirted the cup.

Daniel van Tonder moved level with South African compatriot Oosthuizen following a 66, while Tony Finau signed for the same score to get to four under.

Rory McIlroy, who matched Finau's 70 on Thursday, remained at even par through 11, while 2018 Champion Golfer of the Year Francesco Molinari is unlikely to make the weekend after a 74 left him two over.

Oosthuizen goes out at 14:59 local time alongside reigning champion Shane Lowry and pre-tournament favourite Jon Rahm, both of whom will be looking to improve on rounds of 71.

Lewis Hamilton is optimistic the upgrades Mercedes are bringing to the British Grand Prix will help his team cut the gap to Red Bull.

Three straight Formula One wins have helped Max Verstappen open up a 32-point lead over Hamilton in the drivers' championship, while Red Bull are 44 clear in the constructors' standings.

Having finished fourth in Austria, Hamilton is bidding to avoid finishing two consecutive races outside the podium for the first time since 2017.

Toto Wolff's outfit are winless in their past five GPs, their worst run in the hybrid era (since 2014) and as many races without finishing first as in their previous 17.

But the seven-time world champion now has hope for his home event.

"There's a lot of changes on the car," Hamilton told reporters.

"It is not a massive update in terms of the gap that we have seen in the races, but it definitely helps us in terms of closing that gap quickly,

"Massively looking forward to it. A lot of work has gone on over the past couple of weeks. 

"So, I'm hoping that coming back to a circuit that suits us a little bit better and hopefully bodes well for a closer battle at least with the Red Bulls."

The home support he will receive and the new race weekend format – with points available in a Saturday sprint race that will also determine the grid for Sunday – means Hamilton is hopeful he can reduce Verstappen's lead.

There will be two practice sessions – with only one on Friday before qualifying for the sprint race will also take place – rather than the usual three.

That means it could be harder to judge the gaps between cars in the pecking order prior to the competitive action.

"Another element is this sprint race that we have: this new format," said Hamilton. "Of course, it's easy for any of us to get it wrong but there's opportunities there, which is exciting.

"There's always talk of the energy and the buzz that the fans bring, and without doubt when it's your home grand prix and the British crowd, you come with more.

"So, I'm hoping that all of those [elements] together close that nice gap those guys [Red Bull] have grown out in terms of performance, and enables us to take it to them this weekend.

"With all those elements I hope and pray, yes, that [cutting Verstappen's lead] is the case."

Hamilton is enthused by the return of a sell-out crowd to Silverstone.

He added: "Ever since the first time I came and raced here in 2006, but particularly in Formula 1 – 2007 – the roar of the crowd here is unlike anywhere else.

"Considering we‘ve had a drought in terms of fans not being at the races in the past year, the energy has definitely been very much missed."

Red Bull are also expecting a closer battle than has been seen in the previous races.

Verstappen said: "We are very focused. They are bringing upgrades, so naturally I think if they work, they [will be] closer. 

"Of course, we've been happy with the last few races, but we always look at things we could do better and that's what we'll try and do this weekend again."

The Atlanta Braves have moved to replace the injured Ronald Acuna Jr after announcing they have acquired outfielder Joc Pederson in an exchange with the Chicago Cubs.

Pederson, 29, batted .230 (59-for-256) with 11 home runs in 73 games for the Cubs in the 2021 MLB season and is exchanged for first baseman Bryce Ball.

The acquisition of Pederson, who has competed in two Home Run Derbies, comes after Acuna tore his ACL attempting a catch last week, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.

Pederson was part of the Los Angeles Dodgers side who won the World Series last year, where he batted .382 (13-for-34) with two home runs.

Acuna tops the 2021 MLB charts for the Braves at .283, with 24 home runs, along with 72 runs.

The Braves are currently third in the National League East with a 44-45 record.

Conor McGregor has claimed he already had "multiple stress fractures" to his shinbone before stepping into the octagon to fight Dustin Poirier on Saturday.

The 33-year-old broke his leg in the first round of the UFC 264 event in Las Vegas after stumbling backwards and trapping his foot beneath himself.

The fight was subsequently stopped by medics and Poirier claimed the victory by TKO – his second win against McGregor in their trilogy of fights.

McGregor has since undergone surgery to repair a break to the lower tibia in his left shin, which could potentially keep the Irishman out of action for the next year.

But in a six-minute video posted on Instagram on Thursday in which he rides around on a motorised scooter, McGregor insisted he had informed UFC chiefs of his injury problems prior to the bout.

"I was injured going into the fight," he said. "People were asking me when was the leg break – at what point did the leg break? Ask Dana White. Ask the UFC. Ask Dr Davidson, the head doctor of the UFC. They knew.

"My leg – I had stress fractures in my leg going into that cage. There was debate about pulling the thing out because I was sparring without shin pads, and I was kicking.

"I kicked the knee a few times, so I had multiple stress fractures in the shin bone above the ankle, and then I had trouble with the ankle anyway throughout the years of fighting all the time."

Former two-weight world champion McGregor also revealed how he now has a titanium rod inserted in his "unbreakable" leg, which he joked makes him feel like fictional cyborg The Terminator.

"I used to just train on my back, and that's how I developed those ground-and-pound shots from the back. That's why Dustin backed away when he was on top of me and I was landing the upkicks and the elbows," he said.

"It's a horrible place to be in when you're against someone like me. You can't land.

"You take so much effort to try and land shots from your top position, and while you're trying to do that and losing your energy, you're getting lumped out by downward elbows and vicious upkicks. 

"It was a skill I developed because I had the damaged leg, and I had to adjust my training.

"What I needed was a titanium shinbone and now I've got a titanium rod from the knee to the ankle. The doctor says it's unbreakable. Once I keep building back, playing with the balance, then build the strength, I have an unbreakable titanium leg. 

"I'm like Arnie [Arnold Schwarzenegger] in Terminator 2! I've got all the tools to do this and I'm going to do it – what a story it's going to be."

Casper Ruud fed off the growing expectation that surrounds him as he took a convincing first step in the Nordea Open.

The 22-year-old Norwegian has rocketed from outside the top 50 to 16th currently in the world rankings in just 18 months, and he is the top seed this week in Sweden.

Such a status is all rather novel for Ruud, but he breezed to a 6-0 6-2 win over 18-year-old Danish wildcard Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune on Thursday.

That carried him through to a quarter-final meeting with Swiss player Henri Laaksonen.

Ruud is back on clay this week, having enjoyed great success on the surface already this season, reaching semi-finals of the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Monte Carlo, while also winning a title in Geneva.

A first-round exit on the Wimbledon grass followed those positive results, so another event on clay comes as a boost.

"It is a surface I have had the most success of my career, it is great to be back here in Bastad," Ruud said after crushing Rune's hopes.

"There is a bit of extra pressure [being the top seed]. In a match like this against a fellow Scandinavian younger player, it is even more."

He added, quoted by the ATP website: "I think I was very professional in my mindset today. I played a match without any errors really from the first to the last point.

"It is a nice feeling being the top seed but also pressure. I felt great crowd support, it is nice to feel that energy."

Qualifier Laaksonen beat Elias Ymer 6-2 7-5, while third seed Fabio Fognini was bounced out of the tournament, losing 6-3 1-6 6-4 to Spain's world number 97 Roberto Carballes Baena, who will tackle Slovakian Gombos in the last-eight stage on Friday.

At the Hamburg European Open, Pablo Carreno Busta justified his standing as second seed with a 7-5 6-3 win over fellow Spaniard Carlos Taberner to reach the quarter-finals.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed this week at the tournament in Germany and won through to the last eight on Wednesday.

Others to move through the rounds in Hamburg on Thursday included Dusan Lajovic and Federico Delbonis, the latter advancing with a handy 6-3 7-6 (7-4) win over fourth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Jordan Spieth has brought his confidence and his golf ball back under control and the one-time American 'golden child' made the game look easy again on day one of The Open.

Now 27, and only this year truly emerging from a major early-career slump, Spieth is looking the part again and ripe to challenge at Royal St George's.

An opening 65 put Spieth just one behind Louis Oostuizen, a fellow former Open champion, and six ahead of playing partner Bryson DeChambeau.

Spieth was down at 92nd in the world rankings early this year but has shot up to 23rd on the back of form that suggests a fourth major of his career could be just days away.

Asked whether his self-belief and his faith in his golf had wobbled in the four years since his 2017 Open triumph at Royal Birkdale, Spieth did not hesitate to give a frank answer.

"Absolutely," he said. "It's funny you mention that, though, because I look back and I had a chance to win at least one of the majors each year when I felt like I had no idea where the ball was going, which, I guess, could be bad and good.

"But sure. Golf is a game played between the ears, right? When it's not going great, you can certainly lose quite a bit of confidence in it.

"That was the first time I've had to really try to build confidence back up, and it takes time. It's a combination of obviously getting things figured out mechanically but also then putting it to the test and mentally stepping up with enough oomph to go ahead and pull off some shots.

"That's how you build the confidence: using that improvement physically on the course under pressure. By no means do I feel like I'm where I want to be mechanically yet, but this year has been a really, really good progression for me, and all I'm trying to do is just get a little bit better each day."

From being a 23-year-old with three majors and comparisons to the game's greats – plus a nickname that he abhored – Spieth did not win again after Birkdale until taking the Texas Open title in April of this year.

He had charged through to the end of 2017 after that Open win, not getting in the mix at the US PGA Championship but still enjoying a couple of second places and picking up 3.5 points as the United States lifted the Presidents Cup.

Relative failure in 2018 meant two third-place finishes and $2,793,536 in prize-money, then only one third place and $2,124,192 came his way the following year.

in the heavily disrupted 2020 campaign, Spieth collected $1,138,146 and failed to finish in the top three once, but his game has majestically come together in the 2021 season, with Spieth already $5,016,964 to the good. As well as his title in Texas, Spieth has snagged three more top-three finishes and four further top-10s.

After four missed cuts in his opening seven events of the season, Spieth has made the weekend at every event since, only finishing outside the top 20 twice in that spell. He tied for third at The Masters in April.

The total haul of eight top-10 finishes for Spieth on the PGA Tour this season is one more than the number he managed in 2017 before arriving in England for The Open.

These are achievements that persuade Spieth something special might be just around the corner – more so than the delicious fact he is playing the opening two rounds with Branden Grace, who also partnered the previous two Open champions on the Thursday and Friday of the 2018 and 2019 championships.

"The path that I'm on and where I've been before in the game, I feel really good about my chances going forward, as good as they have been historically," Spieth said.

"As far as surprised or not, I guess I feel like I've been trending the right way and certainly had a chance this year already at Augusta.

"I made some mistakes in the first round and second round that I shouldn't have made [without which] I very well could have won that golf tournament this year."

And when Spieth says, "I like where I'm at", he could be answering about the setting of this week's tournament, with its thick rough and sloping greens, as well as his form.

"There's been times recently where I've said, 'Man, I just really don't like this place'," he said.

"I came in here and I've been in a really good mood about it. My first walk around it I played 12 holes, played a loop on Sunday, and it was the opposite wind and I still thought, 'Man, this could be a really fun kind of cool, tricky track'."

When Spieth reached the turn in three-under 32 on Thursday, he recalls his thought being, "Hey, we're in the thick of things".

Asked how success at a major might feel now, compared to how it last felt in 2017, Spieth was smart enough not to speculate, though he hopes to soon know the answer.

"I'm not sure," he said. "I would hope to answer that question for you in a few days."

As if to welcome the return of this glorious tournament after two years in the dark, the sun shone brightly on the opening round of the 149th Open Championship.

Royal St George's was initially basked in a warm glow as a crowd of more than 30,000 were treated to a spectacular day of golf at the famous links in Sandwich.

Louis Oosthuizen closed the round top of the leaderboard, but it was the course itself that took centre stage.

And Stats Perform's man on the ground was out and about, taking notes of all the happenings on the other side of the ropes.

SEAVIEW AND FREEVIEW!

There is a large grass mound at the far end of the course that affords a stunning vantage point across the whole links.

A sizeable crowd gathered there from early in the morning, taking in the view from high above the sixth green, with the North Sea glistening in the sunshine away to the east.

But there is another option, with Princes Drive running alongside the course but outside of its perimeter and allowing an unobstructed view of the fifth green, while the sea is a stone's throw away, with plenty of projectiles available on Sandwich Bay's pebble beach.

DINO-SOARING TEMPERATURES

Fancy dress is a common sight at golf tournaments but you should choose your outfit wisely.

The weather forecast in Kent is promising to serve up the best of British summertime over the four days of competition and it made one man's decision to don a dinosaur onesie appear quite ill-judged.

He was to be found roaming the fairway's edge around the seventh hole, and would no doubt soon have been in search of water. Or maybe he was just waiting for Roary McIlroy...

FAN-TASTIC

It was a joy to see so many fans in attendance in Sandwich, with several players commenting on how much it improved the experience for them.

After a prolonged spell of being deprived of such things, Jordan Spieth was among those to welcome the return of crowds to enhance the spectacle.

He said: "I feel like the fans here are very knowledgeable about the sport, and they're also having a great time.

"It's just like at Augusta, it's just a beautiful setting a lot of times, shaping a lot of the holes with people."

Louis Oosthuizen holds the first-round lead at The Open but has Jordan Spieth snapping at his heels in a battle between two former champions.

South African Oosthuizen, who claimed the Claret Jug in 2010, shot a blemish-free 64 to sit one stroke ahead of 2017 winner Spieth, who has Brian Harman for company on five under.

Oosthuizen outshone his playing partners in a headline-grabbing trio featuring reigning champion Shane Lowry and pre-tournament favourite Jon Rahm.

A host of players are within three shots of the summit at Royal St George's, including major winners Justin Rose and Danny Willett, along with 2009 champion Stewart Cink.

Lowry's hopes of becoming the first player to successfully defend the title at the Sandwich links since Harry Vardon in 1899 suffered a setback following an opening 71, with U.S. Open champion Rahm matching that effort.

While Oosthuizen holds a narrow advantage, it is three-time major winner Spieth who has the omens on his side, having been drawn in the same group as Branden Grace.

Oosthuizen's compatriot has featured alongside the eventual winner in the opening two rounds of each of the last two editions of golf's oldest major.

World number one Dustin Johnson is poised to make a move after a two-under-par 68, with Sergio Garcia signing for the same score.

Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut on home soil at Royal Portrush two years ago, closed with a birdie to card an even-par 70.

SHOT OF DAY

It was not the most technically brilliant strike of the ball, but the nerves involved in Richard Bland's opening tee shot made it a triumph of coolness under pressure.

The Englishman won his first European Tour title at the 478th attempt at the British Masters in May and had the honour in Kent on Thursday.

He managed to keep the ball on the fairway with a drive that was slightly left, but safe nonetheless.

CHIPPING IN

Louis Oosthuizen: "[That was] probably in my mind the perfect round I could have played. I didn't make many mistakes. When I had good opportunities for birdie, I made the putts."

Richard Bland: "It was very special, very nerve-racking. The nerves definitely cranked up a little bit and I was glad to hit one in the fairway." 

Shane Lowry: "It's so good to have the crowds here and it's so good to be playing in the Open Championship like we know. The big grandstands and the big crowds and getting clapped on the grandstands and on the tees, that's pretty cool."

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME...

- Louis Oosthuizen's 64 is his lowest score at a major.

- Rory McIlroy started an Open with a birdie for the first time, with this the Northern Irishman's 12th entry into the tournament.

- The 15th hole proved the toughest to tame on Thursday, the par four playing at an average of 4.37.

It wouldn't be an NFL offseason without some contract controversies.

Though the two most recent collective bargaining agreements have made it more difficult for players to hold out, several teams are still approaching the start of training camp needing to resolve issues surrounding players unhappy with the terms of their current deal.

Aaron Rodgers' continued self-enforced exile has cast a shadow over the offseason, but his staring contest with the Green Bay Packers is not tied to his level of remuneration.

For four big-name defenders who skipped mandatory minicamp – though Jamal Adams was permitted to do so due to personal reasons – it is indeed about the money.

New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore said recently to ESPN: "I just want what I'm worth, however that plays out. Every player should be paid what they're worth. That's just how it is."

But what is the worth of Gilmore and the three other high-profile defensive players? And should the teams in question make the effort to sign them to more lucrative deals?

Stats Perform looked at the advanced metrics surrounding each player to assess the best course of action for their respective franchises.

Stephon Gilmore, CB, New England Patriots

Gilmore's demand to be paid what he is worth may strike some as bemusing from a player who carries the highest salary cap hit among cornerbacks ($16.27million) and missed five games in a down year.

However, his wish is more likely related to his base salary rather than his overall cap number. Gilmore is due $7m in base salary in 2021, half of what Byron Jones of the Miami Dolphins, whose $14m base salary is the most among corners, is scheduled to receive next season.

Though 2020 was a disappointing year for Gilmore and the entire Patriots defense, he has a strong case for narrowing that gap to Jones.

While he only managed one interception and three pass breakups, Gilmore still had the edge over Jones in several metrics.

His adjusted open percentage, which measures how frequently an opponent got open against a defender's coverage, adjusted for position, was 24.18 compared to 26.16 for Jones.

Though both spent time playing as inside corners, both Gilmore and Jones are primarily outside defenders and there was a contrast between the two when they lined up at that spot in 2020. Gilmore allowed a burn – when a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted regardless of whether the pass is catchable – on 50 per cent of his targets, compared to 60.4 for Jones.

Gilmore was also superior in terms of burn yards per target (10.08 to Jones' 14.08), while his burn yards per snap average of 1.36 was 12th among corners with at least 200 pass coverage snaps on the outside. Jones struggled by comparison, allowing 1.92 burn yards per snap.

The Patriots used a lot of their salary cap space on a free-agency splurge they hope will get them back in contention. However, given Gilmore's past level of performance – since signing with New England in 2017, he has racked up 52 pass breakups, tied for sixth-most in the NFL, and 11 interceptions – they might well be wise to find a way to negotiate a contract with an increased base salary for a player whose unadjusted open percentage of 46.6 was fourth among outside corners in his last full season in 2019.

Xavien Howard, CB, Miami Dolphins

Like Gilmore, Howard may also be comparing his contract to that of Dolphins team-mate Jones, whom Miami made the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL with a five-year $82.5m deal in March 2020.

Howard still has four years left on a deal paying him over $15m a year, but the All-Pro will have his eyes on a contract closer to Jones' average annual value of $16.5m.

Such compensation would unquestionably be deserved given Howard led the league in interceptions for the second time in three seasons in 2020 by picking off 10 passes.

His adjusted open percentage of 25.19 was almost a full percentage point better than that of Jones, and he had a significant edge in burn yards per target, though Howard was not exactly impressive in that category, giving up an average of 11.12 while playing on the outside.

Yet that number is likely more reflective of how often the Dolphins left Howard in single coverage. Indeed, Howard's average depth of target of 14.5 yards speaks to the frequency with which he was given the task of staying in tight coverage with a receiver downfield.

The Dolphins aren't flush with cap room – Miami sit just over $5.5m under the 2021 cap – but, in a year where the team will be expected to make a year-three leap under head coach Brian Flores, identifying a method by which to keep Howard happy is the smart move.

With a league-leading 18 interceptions in the past three seasons, Howard is a playmaker the Dolphins need on the field and motivated if they are to challenge in the AFC.

Jamal Adams, S, Seattle Seahawks

Having long since angled for a lucrative extension even before his blockbuster trade to the Seahawks last offseason, Adams is finally in line for his payday at some point this year.

Still playing on his rookie contract and due to earn close to $10m in 2021, Adams will have designs on becoming one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL.

Justin Simmons of the Denver Broncos is the safety with the top contract, his average annual salary coming in at over $15m, but a better comparison for Adams may be division rival Budda Baker of the Arizona Cardinals ($14.75m).

Baker and Adams each spend a significant amount of time in the box and down near the line of scrimmage and the latter's reprsentatives will base much of their argument in negotiations around him leading the Seahawks in sacks with 9.5 last year.

Yet they may struggle to make a compelling case when the discussion turns to his skills in pass coverage.

Adams finished the 2020 season with an adjusted open percentage of 24.94, comfortably below that of Baker, who set the fourth-best mark among all NFL defenders with 16.38 per cent.

Such a disparity would on the surface appear to make it tough to justify Seattle giving Adams a deal akin to that of Baker.

Yet after surrendering two first-round picks to prise Adams from the Jets, the Seahawks have locked themselves into a situation where they have no choice but to pay him. Though he has proven himself a playmaker near the line of scrimmage, his performance in coverage should lead Seattle to try to ink Adams to a deal with eye-catching headline numbers but a team-friendly structure.

Chandler Jones, EDGE, Arizona Cardinals

Due to earn $15.5m in base salary and carry a $20.8m cap hit in the final year of his contract in 2021, Jones' desire to receive the compensation he believes he is due before his deal expires is likely motivated by the Cardinals' decision to sign J.J. Watt to a two-year, $28m deal this offseason.

Watt remains an ominous presence on the defensive line, but – now 32, with a checkered injury history, and having posted nine sacks in 24 games over the past two seasons – his signing is a gamble by the Cardinals, and Jones may be wondering why they did not instead invest in keeping him around.

Jones has been the picture of consistency for the Cardinals, posting double-digit sacks in each of his first four seasons with Arizona before a torn bicep cut his 2020 campaign short after five ineffective games.

The Cardinals' reticence to pay the 31-year-old now is understandable given that recent injury, but Jones will feel he has already proven himself dependable heading into 2021 and is more deserving of a new deal than several of his fellow edge rushers who have already received paydays this offseason.

In his last full season in 2019, only one edge rusher, Cameron Jordan (70), had more pressures where he beat a pass protector than the 69 Jones produced.

Watt had 51 such pressures in 2020, Shaquil Barrett received a $17m-a-year contract from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after producing 53, while Leonard Floyd was paid $16m a year by the Los Angeles Rams after beating a man on 39 pressures.

Those deals complicate matters for the Cardinals, who might have to choose between paying a player they may not trust to stay healthy and potentially shipping out the most productive pass rusher in their recent history.

The obvious solution is a new deal laden with playing-time incentives that reward Jones for staying healthy. If that cannot be done, then the Cardinals could possibly soften the blow of losing him by getting a clutch of 2022 draft picks to help them restock their defense in return via trade.

French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova continued her impressive form as she advanced to the Prague Open quarter-finals following a straight-sets victory over Ysaline Bonaventure.

The second seed has now won 17 of her last 18 matches, having also triumphed in Strasbourg prior to her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros last month.

The Czech is also yet to drop a set in her home event after a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 success over world number 127 Bonaventure.

Krejcikova set up a clash with doubles partner Katerina Siniakova in the quarter-finals.

After her showdown with Tereza Smitkova was suspended during their final set on Wednesday, the fifth seed wasted no time in wrapping up a 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win.

Lando Norris admitted he is "not in perfect condition" ahead of the British Grand Prix, after he had his watch taken from his wrist in an incident after the Euro 2020 final.

Norris, who is fourth in the Formula One drivers' championship, was targeted as he walked back to his car following Italy's penalty shoot-out win over England at Wembley on Sunday.

McLaren announced on Monday their star driver was left "understandably shaken" following an incident which has been reported to the police.

However, the 21-year-old was cleared to race in his home grand prix this weekend.

Norris acknowledged, though, that the preparation has been far from ideal.

"I'm fine... but I've been better, I can say that. I'm not in perfect condition, I'm not going to lie," he told Sky Sports.

"Some work to do, mentally. Of course I talk about that a lot and mental health, and mental strength is very important. I've not been sleeping that great, and so on.

"Not ideal and I'm feeling a bit sore. But I'm not the guy in the worst position after Wembley.

"I'll work on it, I'll make sure I'm in the best shape possible and I feel like can still go out and focus on what I need to do and that's the main thing.

"I guess it's just unlucky. I don't really want to go into too much detail, but I'm thankful that I'm here.

"It's not the nicest experience for anyone to go through and it's not only me that it's happened to, it's happened to other people. It's something I don't wish upon anyone and, of course, if anyone else goes through it, I can sympathise with them and I know what they feel like."

Norris earned his third podium finish of the season last time out in Austria, and has collected points at 14 successive races. It is the best run of his F1 career.

McLaren were dealt a blow ahead of the return to Silverstone, with chief executive Zak Brown forced to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19.