Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes have delivered a car capable of putting him in the fight at the front – despite qualifying only ninth for Saturday’s opening round of the season in Bahrain.

Max Verstappen saw off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by two tenths to capture pole position, with Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell next up, a third of a second back.

Hamilton raised hope that he might take the challenge to Verstappen when he finished fastest in practice here on Thursday.

However, the 39-year-old, entering his final campaign for the Silver Arrows before he joins Ferrari, finished half-a-second adrift.

But an optimistic Hamilton said: “It is amazing to see how close everyone is, and George’s position is testament to how amazing a job all those working at the factory have done to give us a car to fight.

“The car is really fantastic, and a big improvement from previous years.

“It is stable and more fun to drive. For George to be three tenths off Max is incredible and it shows what is possible.

“We just have to add performance, but if that is our platform, we can definitely chase for the rest of the season.

“For the first qualifying session to be as poor as that when you put in so much preparation is disappointing, but that is racing.”

Verstappen is expected to romp to his fourth consecutive world championship in his all-conquering Red Bull machine.

But the Dutch driver was made to work for the 33rd pole of his career under the thousands of bulbs that light up the Sakhir Circuit.

Verstappen headed into his final run with less than a tenth in his pocket over Leclerc before extending his margin to the Ferrari driver.

Despite taking top spot, Verstappen apologised for what he perceived to be a scruffy lap.

“Don’t be sorry, Max,” said a weary-sounding Christian Horner – whose Formula One future is again in the spotlight after hundreds of WhatsApp messages appearing to be written by him to a female colleague were leaked. “You finished two tenths clear of Charles and three tenths ahead of George.”

Verstappen added: “It was a lot of fun. I am very happy to be on pole, and it was a little bit unexpected. The car came to us and I felt happier than I did in practice.

“The race is going to be close, too, but we will see tomorrow. I am confident we can have a strong race.”

While Verstappen qualified first, Sergio Perez was fifth in the other Red Bull, one place ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

British driver Lando Norris will line up in seventh for McLaren, with Williams’ Alex Albon 13th.

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly will prop up the grid following a miserable qualifying session for the Alpine team.

Red Bull’s superstar driver Max Verstappen stopped short of providing his full support for embattled team principal Christian Horner.

Verstappen temporarily took the spotlight off Horner – whose Formula One future is again in the spotlight after hundreds of WhatsApp messages appearing to be written by him to a female colleague were leaked – when the Dutchman secured pole position for Saturday’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

But moments after capturing top spot, Verstappen was quizzed on how the latest allegations surrounding Red Bull had affected his preparations, and if Horner remains the right person to lead the crisis-hit team.

“From my side, and, from the mechanics and engineers, we’re fully focused on the car, and fully focused on the weekend which is how it should be and that is what we continue to do,” said Verstappen.

Appearing to swerve the question about Horner, he added: “It’s not our business to get involved in that. We are paid to do our job, that is what we are out there doing, and that is what we love doing and that is what I focus on.”

Verstappen was asked again if he still had faith in Horner.

“When I look at how Christian operates within the team he has been an incredible boss so from the performance kind of things you can’t question that,” he added.

“I speak to Christian a lot and he is fully committed to the team.

“He is here for the performance, and of course he is a little bit distracted, but we just focus on performance and that is how we all work together.”

On Wednesday, Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH. He has always denied the claims.

But just 24 hours later, a number of messages and images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media.

Domenicali and Ben Sulayem spoke on Friday to discuss the next steps.

Horner’s wife, Geri Halliwell, flew to Bahrain and could be with her husband at Saturday’s race. Chalerm Yoovidhya, who owns 51 per cent of the Red Bull group, might also be in attendance.

Neither F1’s American owners, Liberty Media, nor its regulator, the FIA, have seen Red Bull GmbH’s report into Horner, which is thought to stretch to 150 pages and was said to be “confidential”.

The FIA considered the legalities of asking Red Bull to hand over its report, and examining if Horner might have breached two clauses of its International Sporting Code.

Article 12.2.1.c of the code states that a competitor will have committed an offence if there was “any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any Competition or to the interests of motor sport generally”.

Article 12.2.1.f highlights “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA”.

Meanwhile, article 12.2.1.g states that “any failure to cooperate in an investigation” would breach the code.

However, the likelihood of any action receded as another extraordinary day – which included speculation that another damning email leak would arrive but never did – wore on.

Horner spoke only once about the latest allegations as he made his way from Red Bull’s hospitality suite to the team’s garage earlier on Friday.

“I am not going to comment on anonymous speculation from unknown sources,” he said. When asked what comes next, Horner replied: “We go racing.

The prospect of further rain has prompted officials at Newbury to announce a precautionary inspection ahead of Saturday’s BetVictor Greatwood Gold Cup meeting.

While Friday’s six-race card at the Berkshire track took place in its entirety, conditions worsened throughout the day and a further seven to 12 millimetres of rain is forecast from early Saturday morning into the afternoon.

A precautionary check will be held at 8am to ensure the racing surface remains safe enough for day two of the meeting to go ahead.

Saturday’s Navan card, due to feature the Grade Three Flyingbolt Novice Chase and the Grade Two BoyleSports Webster Cup, is also under threat, with an inspection called for 7.30am, while Sunday’s meeting at Leopardstown is subject to an 8am inspection on Saturday.

Lorcan Wyer, IHRB clerk of the course at Leopardstown said: “Following a further 13mm of precipitation which has fallen as snow since 8am this (Friday) morning, Leopardstown is currently unfit for racing as the track is covered in snow.

“Temperatures are currently rising and the snow is already starting to thaw and is turning to rain with bright spells and temperatures of seven degrees forecast for Saturday.

“With the current situation we feel it is prudent to call an 8am inspection to determine the prospects for the fixture scheduled to take place on Sunday.”

I’d Like To Know overcame a few hairy leaps late in the day to run out a comfortable winner of the Howden Supporting West Berkshire Mencap Handicap Chase at Newbury.

Beaten just a short head into second place by Gary Moore’s Issar d’Airy on his first visit to the Berkshire circuit in January, Chris Gordon’s charge was an 11-10 favourite to go one better in deteriorating conditions.

Sent straight to the lead by Rex Dingle, I’d Like To Know had most of his rivals in serious trouble at the top of the home straight, but his supporters will have had their hearts in their mouths when he stood a long way off the fourth fence from home.

However, he made it to the other side in one piece and while he was far from fluent at the remaining obstacles, the seven-year-old ultimately had plenty in hand as he passed the post five and a half lengths ahead of the runner-up Real Stone.

Gordon said: “He won nicely considering the other horse (Real Stone) came to him three-quarters of the way down the back and took him on. The two of them injected a huge amount of pace into it and they were half going like it was summer ground down to the cross fence.

“They just got racing far too early and I think it just shows you our boy is a gutsy fella to come back and stay on like he did.

“He got very tired on the way back, but it was only his second time over fences, he’s a big horse and fingers crossed he can keep on improving.”

Toss Of A Coin can be expected to go on to bigger and better things after completing a double on the card for champion trainer Paul Nicholls.

A winner between the flags in Ireland last spring, the six-year-old landed cramped odds on his first start for his new connections at Exeter in December and was a 10-11 shot to follow up under a penalty in the Download The BetVictor App “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle.

His task was far from straightforward, with Gary Moore’s Ballybentragh also bringing a high level of form to the table after making a successful start to his career under rules at Sandown.

It turned into a straight shootout between the pair from halfway up the home straight and having been sent to the lead from flag-fall, Toss Of A Coin found plenty once challenged to prevail by a length and a half in the hands of title-chasing jockey Harry Cobden.

Nicholls had earlier struck gold with 7-1 shot Kruger Park, who readily extended clear of his rivals in the Howden Supporting West Berkshire Mencap Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle under Freddie Gingell.

“He’s an improving horse who has been very mentally backward and slow. He ran off the course one day at Taunton last year and it just took him a few runs to learn,” Nicholls told Sky Sports Racing.

“He was unlucky not to win at Fontwell the last time, he was a little bit green, but today he was much more professional and Freddie gave him a great ride. I’m delighted with him.”

The father-and-son team of Dominic and Ben Ffrench Davis combined to land the Get Best Odds Guaranteed At BetVictor Juvenile Hurdle as Ithaca’s Arrow upset favourite Le Fauve.

The latter was a 5-6 chance off the back of finishing fifth behind Triumph Hurdle favourite Sir Gino at Cheltenham on his most recent outing, but 7-2 chance Ithaca’s Arrow travelled strongly throughout and pulled clear on the run-in to score by four and a half lengths.

“It’s been a frustrating couple of runs with this lad, we got beaten a short head at Sandown first time out and we really fancied him at Kempton (next time) and the run was too bad to be true. We got him scoped afterwards and he was actually as sick as a dog,” said the winning rider.

“We got him back for Ludlow and he actually went for his girths turning in and got beaten a short head by a horse going for the Fred Winter (Boodles at Cheltenham, Royal Way), so he deserved to win today.”

Following a string of placed efforts, the Venetia Williams-trained Martator (5-2) finally came good over fences in the Focus Novices’ Handicap Chase.

Jockey Charlie Deutsch said: “He takes a bit of knowing and it’s took me a while to find the winning line on him. He’s quite keen, but the more you pull the faster he goes almost, so I was having to use the other horses to slow him up.

“I’ve hit the front soon enough actually, the way he’s travelled past them and then he’s got a little bit lonely in front, but I’m really pleased.”

Williams and Deutsch doubled up in the Play The BetVictor Predictor Handicap Hurdle as 13-2 shot Tanganyika led his rivals a merry dance in the rain-softened ground.

Max Verstappen temporarily took the spotlight off team boss Christian Horner by putting his Red Bull on pole position for the opening round of the new Formula One season in Bahrain.

The build-up to the first race of the campaign has totally been overshadowed by allegations whirling around Horner.

The 50-year-old was exonerated by Red Bull Racing parent’s company, Red Bull GmbH, following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” against a female colleague on Wednesday – before hundreds of WhatsApp messages appearing to be written by him were leaked to the F1 world a day later.

However, Horner, who has always denied any wrongdoing and remains in his role, was on the world champions’ pit wall here in Bahrain to see Verstappen claim his first pole of a season in which he is expected to romp to his fourth consecutive world championship in his all-conquering Red Bull machine.

But the triple world champion was made to work for the 33rd pole of his career under the thousands of bulbs that light up the Sakhir Circuit with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc second, two tenths back.

George Russell finished third for Mercedes, one place ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Lewis Hamilton will line up in ninth on the grid.

Nicky Henderson expects a second blood test on Monday to be the “acid test” in Constitution Hill’s race against time to be fit for the Cheltenham Festival.

The unbeaten and defending Champion Hurdle hero worked poorly at Kempton Park on Tuesday, putting his participation at the showpiece meeting in major doubt.

A scope showed mucus in his lungs and despite slightly more positive news in the following days, results of a blood test on Thursday proved to be another blow.

In a statement issued on X on Friday, Henderson revealed the results of a second scope were more encouraging, but admits his stable star is still “unwell” with his intended return to action in the Cotswolds a little over a week away.

Henderson said: “On what was about as foul and filthy morning as you can imagine at Seven Barrows, Constitution Hill had a light exercise and was rescoped afterwards as planned. This showed the Neutrophil percentage, indicative of infection, was back to normal parameters with no mucus evident.

“This is obviously positive news but we cannot hide behind yesterday’s blood test which basically reveals that, in simple terms, our horse is ‘unwell’.

“He will have a quiet weekend and we propose, as originally planned, to take a further blood test on Monday which I believe will be the acid test. Therefore I think we might leave it until then to keep everybody updated on the situation.”

World number five Andrey Rublev was sensationally defaulted after being accused of swearing at a line judge in the deciding set of his semi-final at the Dubai Open.

The combustible Russian was trailing 6-5 in the third against Alexander Bublik when he appeared to say something to the line judge.

ATP supervisor Roland Herfel came down to the court accompanied by a Russian speaker, who claimed Rublev had sworn in his native language.

Rublev protested, insisting he was speaking in English, while Bublik also backed his opponent.

“I didn’t say ‘f******’. I swear to God. This is huge. I swear to God,” said Rublev.

The offence would usually merit a warning in the first instance, but the 26-year-old was defaulted by umpire Miriam Bley amid jeers from the crowd in Dubai.

It was a controversial end to a tight match, with Kazakhstan’s Bublik progressing to the final 6-7 (4) 7-6 (5) 6-5.

JPR Williams’ life as a rugby “revolutionary” and family man was remembered at a memorial service for the former Wales and British Lions full-back.

Williams died in January at the age of 74 and former team-mates from Welsh rugby’s golden 1970s era were among those who gathered at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff to celebrate his life on St David’s Day.

The tough-as-teak Williams gained a worldwide reputation for his fearless defensive play, rock-solid safety under a high ball and attacking prowess.

Williams won seven Five Nations titles, six Triple Crowns and three Grand Slams as Wales dominated the 1970s and starred on two victorious Lions tours, to New Zealand in 1971 – the only time they have won there – and in South Africa, three years later.

“On the field he was a revolutionary,” said John Taylor, a former London Welsh and Wales team-mate and Williams’ best man when he married wife Priscilla.

“JPR ripped up the rule book from the start. Wales went from 1934 to 1967 without a try from a full-back until Keith Jarrett scored there and he was really a centre.

“JPR scored six, five against England. He was the scourge of the men in white and the most competitive animal I’ve ever met.

“Nobody created the extra man better than he did.”

Williams’ love of music, he was a boy soprano – with his young voice played over a loud speaker in the Cathedral – before developing in to a rich baritone, was reflected during the service.

There were five hymns and a piece of reflection from the Bridgend Tabernacle Choir, of which Williams was a member and where he played the organ.

Williams, an orthopaedic surgeon who had studied at St Mary’s Hospital in London, also played the piano and the violin and the service concluded with a stirring rendition of the Welsh National Anthem, ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’.

Williams’ four children – Lauren, Annelise, Francine and Peter – read during a service where their father’s sporting prowess was recalled.

From 55 Wales caps – a world record upon his retirement in 1981 – to Lions tours; from winning a British junior competition at the All England Club, Wimbledon by beating former Great Britain Davis Cup captain David Lloyd to representing Wales’ senior squash team.

With his flowing long hair, sideburns and socks rolled down, Williams was an instantly-recognisable figure on the rugby field and was still playing for village team Tondu well into his 50s.

“I spent so much of my career on the field with JPR,” said Wales and Lions colleague Sir Gareth Edwards.

“He was a tremendous innovator and changed the full-back position virtually overnight.

“He would carry the ball back like a guided missile and had so many ways to beat the challenge of a defender.

“Whenever there were fisticuffs, he would run up and say ‘wait for me’. Phil (Bennett) and I would be running the other way.

“He was fearless, resilient and competitive – the ultimate warrior.”

Welsh Rugby Union president Terry Cobner described his former team-mate as “an icon and role model”, saying he had inspired a generation of youngsters “not only in Wales but throughout the world”.

Former Wales and Lions centre John Devereux recalled the impact Williams had on his local team Bridgend, both as a player and club president in later life.

Paying tribute at the service, journalist Peter Jackson said: “JPR – ‘the three most famous initials in the history of sport – initials that will forever evoke memories of glory days.”

Paul Robson is keen for Cannock Park to make the most of home advantage in the bet365 Premier Novices’ Hurdle at Kelso on Saturday.

The six-year-old has enjoyed a fine season so far, winning a Bangor bumper and a maiden hurdle at Cheltenham before finishing a fine third behind Jango Baie as a 40-1 shot for the inaugural running of the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day.

With Nicky Henderson’s Jango Baie again in opposition, Robson is fully aware his stable star his work cut out to turn tables, but is delighted the rematch is taking place on his local track.

“Cannock Park is in great fettle and seems very well in himself,” he said.

“There’s no pressure as he’s been beaten by Jango Baie in the past and the betting suggests he’ll get beaten again. We’re going there very hopeful, but without any pressure.

“He (Jango Baie) is still going to have to come and get us as it is probably the first time we’re going to have our ground. If you go down through the horse’s pedigree he wants top of the ground, we’re going to get it on Saturday and Craig Nichol (jockey) knows Kelso like the back of his hand.

“Jango Baie has got to come six hours up the road and we’ve got 20 minutes to go down the road, so I’m absolutely thrilled we’ve got a race of this magnitude at Kelso.

“Whether six hours travelling will equate to the 12 lengths he beat us at Aintree, probably not, but he did get beat the last day so it’s not as if he’s super human. We’ll have a crack at him anyway.”

Jango Baie was impressive at Aintree, but was no match for Ben Pauling’s Handstands in the Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle at Huntingdon last month.

Pauling is represented this weekend by Personal Ambition, who has his sights raised after notching a second win from three starts over hurdles at Doncaster early in the new year.

Pauling said: “He’s in great order and this has been the aim for a long time. The ground will be fine and two-mile-two is ideal, so I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on.

“He won first time over hurdles at Warwick as he liked, beating Jingko Blue of Nicky’s, who I think is a decent horse and has since won a handicap at Sandown very nicely.

“We then went to Sandown for a Grade Two novice where he got stuck in the mud and nothing really went his way, then he went up to Doncaster and did it as he liked, so I think he’s fairly unexposed.

“He’s in very good form and seems to be going the right way, so hopefully he can put up a good show.”

Stuart Crawford’s Brucio is an interesting contender from Ireland, having followed up a low-key win at Catterick with a wide-margin handicap victory at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown.

Crawford said: “She seems in good form at home, hopefully she’s in as good a form as what she was going to Leopardstown.

“We were torn between going for the Morebattle and going for the novice race on Saturday and if the handicapper is right, she probably is better off in the novice. She’s carrying less weight and she’s higher rated than most of her rivals in it.

“Things have just fallen right for her and hopefully she can put in another big run this weekend.”

Marco Ghiani has been given a 34-day suspension following a referral from the Whip Review Committee.

Ghiani, who was crowned Britain’s champion apprentice in 2021, is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines having been found in breach of the whip rules for the fifth time in the last six months.

Nine days of his ban have been deferred for six months and he has also been instructed to complete a two-day training course.

Ghiani has enjoyed plenty of big-race success during his relatively short career so far, scoring aboard Saeed bin Suroor’s Real World in the Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot and in Group-race company in 2021.

Having subsequently served a six-month suspension after testing positive for cocaine, the Sardinian native enjoyed two Group Three wins on foreign soil last year, with Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Mill Stream in France and in the Italian St Leger aboard the Mick Appleby-trained Roberto Escobarr.

Apprentice rider Tommie Jakes has also been suspended for 24 days, with eight days deferred for six months. He too will have to complete a two-day training course before his return to the saddle.

Christian Horner vowed to go racing after breaking his silence amid the latest allegations whirling around the Red Bull team principal.

Horner’s Formula One future is again in the spotlight after hundreds of WhatsApp messages appearing to be written by him to a female colleague were leaked.

On Wednesday, Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH. He has always denied the claims.

But just 24 hours later, a number of messages and images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media – on the eve of this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Domenicali and Ben Sulayem will meet on Friday to discuss the next steps.

Horner was quizzed about the latest allegations as he made his way from Red Bull’s hospitality suite to the team’s garage for third practice ahead of qualifying.

“I am not going to comment on anonymous speculation from unknown sources,” he said. When asked what comes next, Horner replied: “We go racing.”

It is understood that neither F1’s American owners, Liberty Media, nor its regulator, the FIA, has seen Red Bull GmbH’s report into Horner, which is thought to stretch to 150 pages and was said to be “confidential”.

It is believed that the FIA is considering the legalities of asking Red Bull to hand over its report, and examining if Horner might have breached two clauses of its International Sporting Code.

Article 12.2.1.c states that a competitor will have committed an offence if there was “any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any Competition or to the interests of motor sport generally”.

Article 12.2.1.f highlights “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA”.

Meanwhile, article 12.2.1.g states that “any failure to cooperate in an investigation” would breach the code.

Horner continues to operate in his role as team principal and CEO, although it is understood there is considerable unease among the team’s plethora of sponsors and partners.

Horner said in a statement on Thursday: “I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate I have always denied the allegations.

“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way.

“It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded dismissing the complaint made.

“I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”

Under Control can put herself in line for a £100,000 bonus when she heads to Kelso for the bet365 Morebattle Hurdle.

Nicky Henderson’s five-year-old signed off last season by downing stablemate – and subsequent Greatwood and Betfair Hurdle winner – Iberico Lord at Sandown and although misfiring when favourite for the Gerry Feilden in November, she bounced back to form when second to Ashroe Diamond in a Doncaster Grade Two in January.

She holds a plethora of entries for the Cheltenham Festival and has the chance to scoop the sponsor’s six-figure incentive on offer if following up victory in the Scottish Borders at Prestbury Park later this month.

That was something achieved by The Shunter in the very first year this race was run as a handicap and although set to carry a hefty weight burden, Under Control rates as one of the classiest operators in the field.

“She ran a blinder at Doncaster and was beaten by a good mare there,” said owner JP McManus’ racing manager, Frank Berry.

“Nicky has been very happy with her and although she has a lot of weight to carry, we are hoping for a good run. She did well to get back to Doncaster and run well and everything has gone well since.”

On the bonus, he added: “We’ll work it (Cheltenham) out after Saturday, once we’ve seen how she goes. If she doesn’t run well on Saturday, she will have no business going anywhere else.”

Benson provided Sandy Thomson with a popular local victory in this contest 12 months ago and, having advertised his well-being since the turn of the year, is another aiming not just for back-to-back Morebattle triumphs, but to tee-up a second shot at the Cheltenham bonus.

“His last two runs have been really good and two miles at Musselburgh last time would be sharp enough for him,” said Thomson.

“Obviously, he has a lot of weight to carry, but he seems well and he carried that weight at Musselburgh on New Year’s Day, so we will go and give it a shot.

“He was very new to us last season and we know a lot more about him now – and hopefully we have trained him accordingly. Whether we get the same result (as last year), who knows? But we’re very happy with where we have him.”

Plenty of this year’s Morebattle contenders arrive looking to extend a winning run – including the hat-trick-seeking pair of Kerry Lee’s Black Hawk Eagle and Donald McCain’s Geromino.

However, they still have some way to go to match James Moffatt’s Bingoo, who arrives at Kelso unbeaten in three and rapidly climbing the ranks.

“He’s in good order with himself,” said Moffatt. “We’re dropping back in trip a bit, but hopefully there is a very strong gallop up in front, which we should get – I think there’s three or four front-runners in it.

“We’re just going to take our chance and it’s well worth a punt at that sort of prize-money.”

Another in good order is Dr Richard Newland and Jamie Insole’s Rewired, who has followed up some encouraging performances last term by winning both outings this season.

Newland believes now is the time to give his charge a shot at a valuable prize and said: “He’s done really well and certainly seems in a very good place.

“He came out of his race at Taunton well and is in good form and we’re very happy with him.

“He possibly doesn’t want too much rain, but I just thought he deserved a chance at a slightly better race, really. The owners are excited and we are excited to have a go at it.

“I think if you had asked me if we would be going for this off this mark, I wouldn’t have been as confident, but he’s become a very sharp, quick hurdler and that is helping him. Let’s hope there is more to come.”

Skycutter got off the mark for new trainer Dan Skelton at Carlisle last month and will bid to go two places better than the stable’s L’Eau Du Sud did 12 months ago, while Brian Ellison won this with Cormier two years ago and will saddle Scottish Champion Hurdle fifth Salsada, who returns from 315 days off.

Fernando Alonso's legacy in Formula One will be defined by questions about what might have been, according to former Force India driver Paul di Resta.

However, Di Resta hopes Alonso will not call time on his glittering career for some time yet, as the 42-year-old begins his second season with Aston Martin. 

Alonso impressed en route to a fourth-placed finish in the drivers' championship last year, securing eight podium finishes in his first campaign with the team.

The two-time world champion's future has been a subject of speculation throughout the offseason, with the Spaniard touted as a candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes when he joins Ferrari in 2025. 

Ahead of Saturday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Alonso said he is yet to decide whether he will race at all next year, and Di Resta would be disappointed if F1 lost one of its biggest characters.

Di Resta also believes Alonso will look back upon his short-lived move to McLaren in 2007 – and his subsequent switch back to Renault – with a few regrets. 

"I've got a huge amount of respect for him. I wish he hadn't taken that [break] when he disappeared out of Formula One for a couple of years," Di Resta told Stats Perform.

"I think the biggest thing with Fernando is what could have been, with the championships he probably should have won and the ones he came close to. 

"Some of the choices he made, moving to teams… I'm sure he's not scared to talk about that. I think he's just a born racer, absolutely committed to it. 

"His spatial awareness, in race starts or on the first lap, wheel to wheel, there's probably not many people like it. 

"I will miss watching him. I hope he's around for a long time and I think he's showing that age is not a thing, he can still grab great results. 

"I think he's happier than he's ever been, less emotional, he sees the journey for what it is, he probably sees the end is closer in that sense and he's milking everything he can from it.

"I just love to see [Max] Verstappen, [Charles] Leclerc, Alonso, Hamilton in different teams going against each other, and I think people definitely respect what he's done, and he draws a lot of attention, and attention is a great thing for the sport."

While reigning world champion Verstappen is expected to dominate again in 2024, Alonso is among a group of drivers looking to take race wins off Red Bull. 

McLaren's Lando Norris is another with lofty ambitions for the new season, and Di Resta thinks the 24-year-old has a big future ahead of him.

"I'd be surprised if he doesn't win a world championship, given his ability," he said. "I think the key for him will be reading where the best place to be for the future is, whether McLaren are back to being a consistent team to deliver a world championship. 

"I think Lando definitely is up to that. Oscar [Piastri], he did a very good job for a rookie last year. He was a bit short of Lando in the races if you're being honest. 

"In qualifying, he definitely had the measure and had the speed, so I'm expecting him to push Lando even more and I'm expecting him to be even closer to Lando. 

"They've got great foundations and great team spirit to move forward. They will get into battles and you can see there's some frustration in their races with strategy and how it's going to play out, but Lando is very comfortable and I think he's probably in the top three picks within the grid."