Max Verstappen eased to yet another victory at the Red Bull Ring in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, completing a triumphant triple-header in front of home support.
The Red Bull superstar and Formula One season leader won for the third week running to stretch his drivers' championship advantage to 32 points over Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen had become the first F1 driver to win three times at this circuit in the previous week's Styrian Grand Prix and led from start to finish again after claiming pole.
Hamilton's hopes of reeling in Verstappen – dismissed as "out of the question" after qualifying – were hindered by another fine drive from Lando Norris, with the Mercedes great starting where he finished in fourth.
Valtteri Bottas was the big mover, up from fifth to second, benefiting from keeping clear of controversy as numerous drivers – notably including Norris and Sergio Perez – tangled in costly fashion.
Verstappen displayed his superior straight-line speed from the outset to disappear into the distance, only to find his early progress checked by Esteban Ocon's crash that prompted a safety car.
The Dutchman – backed by swathes of orange-clad supporters – pulled clear again from the restart but team-mate Perez had more difficulty as he doggedly pursued Norris.
Norris' determination forced Perez off the track in an incident that was subsequently investigated.
Even Red Bull team principal Christian Horner dismissed the clash as "one of those things", but a five-second penalty for Norris was confirmed just as Hamilton passed him, having been held up for 20 laps – already around 10 seconds shy of Verstappen.
Perez's attempts to recover from his early setback saw the Mexican twice earn five-second penalties of his own for nudging Charles Leclerc out of his path.
However, Norris regained his composure in far more impressive fashion, serving his penalty and falling behind Bottas but then attacking Hamilton, getting ahead of the seven-time champion amid Mercedes tyre trouble for a third podium of the year.
MAX MAKING MOST OF HOME COMFORTS
Verstappen now has four wins, six podiums and 139 points at the Red Bull Ring, his best returns at any circuit.
Saturday's pole had seen him make Spielberg – Red Bull's home grand prix – the first track at which he has qualified first twice, following on from last week's effort.
Five victories and four poles have made this is his best season to date, but Verstappen has bigger fish to fry with the title in his sights.
UNLUCKY LANDO STILL THE BREAKOUT STAR
It was hard not to feel for Norris, who so bravely battled against Hamilton and then learned of his penalty for essentially holding his line.
Informed of the punishment, he first replied: "What for?"
Norris added: "What did the guy expect running around the outside?"
Regardless, he had built enough of a buffer to only fall to fourth and recovered to make the podium, meaning the McLaren man has now collected points in 14 consecutive races – his longest streak and the best ongoing run in the series.
Fernando Alonso, in the first 14 races of 2007, was the last McLaren driver to enjoy such a stretch of points returns.
IN THE POINTS
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +17.973s
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +20.019s
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +46.452s
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +57.144s
6. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +57.915s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +60.395s
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +61.195s
9. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +61.844s
10. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1 lap
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 182
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 150
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 104
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 101
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 92
Constructors
1. Red Bull – 286
2. Mercedes – 242
3. McLaren – 141
4. Ferrari – 122
5. AlphaTauri – 48
Wimbledon will open up to full-capacity crowds on Centre Court and Court One from Tuesday, after being given the go-ahead by the UK government.
The tournament operated at 50 per cent capacity on its main show courts during the first week of the championships, with it being designated a pandemic era pilot event.
Now Wimbledon is poised to welcome a full house on its two biggest stadiums from the start of the quarter-finals. The women's last-eight matches are due to take place on Tuesday.
It had previously been stated that Centre Court would function at full capacity on finals weekend, July 10-11, but the plan has been brought forward.
It means there will be full outdoor stadiums at a major sporting event in the UK for the first time since COVID-19 triggered a lockdown in March 2020.
The World Snooker Championship, an indoor event, welcomed a capacity crowd for its two-day final in May at the Crucible theatre in Sheffield.
In a statement, Wimbledon hosts the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said: "Following the successful staging of the first week of the championships, as agreed with the government's events research programme and in consultation with our local authority in Merton, the AELTC is pleased to confirm that Centre and Number One Court will feature 100 per cent capacity crowds for the quarter-finals, with Centre Court also at 100 per cent for the semi-finals and finals.
"This marks the first full outdoor stadiums at a sporting event in the UK since the pandemic began. The capacity of Centre Court is 14,979, and the capacity of Number One Court is 12,345. Capacity across the rest of the grounds will be reduced according to the number of courts in play.
"Ticket-holders will continue to be required to show proof of their COVID status on arrival, and are asked to observe the guidance around wearing face coverings on the move and supporting any additional mitigation measures in place."
Primoz Roglic has elected to abandon the Tour de France after a brutal first week.
The 2020 runner up – a pre-race favourite to take the famous yellow jersey – endured an opening eight stages marred by crashes and injuries.
He fell twice during the first three stages, badly bruising and grazing almost the entirety of his left side during an incident on stage three.
In a gruelling first Alpine stage on Saturday, Jumbo-Visma rider Roglic crossed in 175th, third to last, having dropped 35 minutes on the leaders, and on Sunday he decided to call time on his campaign.
"We took the decision altogether with the team. It doesn't make sense to continue the way it was going at the end," Roglic said in a statement from his team.
"Now we'll definitely try to recover and focus on the new goals."
Roglic came across the finish line on Saturday alongside 2018 winner Geraint Thomas, who has also seen his general classification hopes dashed after finishing 33 minutes off the pace.
Tadej Pogacar is now the clear favourite for the yellow jersey, following a remarkable ride from the 22-year-old defending champion on Saturday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was as active as he could be during the Milwaukee Bucks' decisive Game 6 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Missing a second consecutive game after hyperextending his left knee, the Greek star paced the sidelines throughout the game, exhorting his team-mates on while wearing a mask on his face and a sleeve on his knee.
Now that the Bucks have advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974, the key question will be whether Antetokounmpo will be in the lineup for Tuesday's series opener at the Phoenix Suns.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer had no interest in exploring that topic following the win, saying only that it would be an ongoing conversation with the team's medical staff over the next few days.
"You have to listen to the player and then you have to listen to the sports performance group, and at some point [general manager] Jon Horst and myself are part of the conversations, but it's just a day-to-day thing," Budenholzer told reporters.
"We'll update it when appropriate. The conversations between he and myself and he and the sports performance group, it's kind of private and we'll see where he is each day."
Despite the ongoing questions about Antetokounmpo's availability in the Finals, Budenholzer took time to appreciate his star's enthusiasm even when he is unable to take the court.
"He's coming off the bench, he's halfway on the court, talking to Bobby [Portis], talking to Brook [Lopez], talking to different players; to see that kind of leadership, that kind of connection, that kind of commitment from a player you know would be dying to be out there and playing," Budenholzer said.
"I just loved his energy on the bench. I loved his just togetherness that he brings to our group.
"And there's a bittersweetness to him not being able to play these last two games, but I think he understands that there's a way we want to play basketball and there's a kind of team and organisation that we want to be able to play and just play ball, and he's a big part of that.
"But if he were to miss a game or if he's on the bench for whatever reason, we need to be able to play and we need to have guys that have confidence and we need to be able to get stops and do all the things that go into winning.
"While he's incredibly important to us, I think he appreciates what his teammates can do. And we certainly do as an organisation appreciate what he did, and then what everybody else was able to do tonight and the other night without him."
Saturday night, it was Khris Middleton's 32 points and Jrue Holiday's 27 that ensured Antetokounmpo would at least have a chance to return.
Even if Antetokounmpo is not ready to open the series against the Suns, his team-mates appreciated the effort he gave on the sidelines tin Game 6.
"This is probably the most I've seen Giannis talk, like the whole game," Holiday said. "I know usually when he's on the court and he's running, racing through five people and blocking shots, you're tired. He's tired and he's playing.
"But man, he's motivating everybody, he's motivating me, telling me to push the pace, telling me to keep being aggressive and telling me to lock people up.
"I feel what he brought to the game today and how he led us - again, he is pretty quiet, but how talkative he's been has been awesome for us and very, very encouraging."
The Oakland Athletics scored three runs in the bottom of the 12th inning to beat the Red Sox 7-6, snapping Boston's eight-game winning streak.
Tony Kemp's sacrifice fly provided the winning margin after a Seth Brown single and Jed Lowrie double negated the two runs the Red Sox had scored to take the lead in the third extra frame.
Brown finished a home run shy of the cycle, driving in a run with all three of his hits.
Kike Hernandez hit his 10th home run of the season and drove home two runs for Boston.
Walker, Mets roll past Yankees
Taijuan Walker did not allow a hit until Aaron Judge's home run with one out in the sixth inning as the New York Mets opened their rain-delayed Subway Series against the Yankees with an 8-3 win.
Austin Slater's two-run homer in the eighth inning gave the San Francisco Giants a 6-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks to maintain a half-game edge in the National League (NL) West.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen turned in five scoreless innings as the defending World Series champions weathered a rain delay to defeat the Washington Nationals 5-3 for their eighth win in a row.
Joey Votto and Tyler Naquin homered as the Cincinnati Reds sent the Chicago Cubs to an eighth straight defeat with a 3-2 triumph that moved the Reds up into second place in the division for the first time since April 22.
The division-leading Milwaukee Brewers won their 11th in a row with an 11-2 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates as Omar Narvaez had five hits and Avisail Garcia drove in five runs.
Rays, Indians drop fifth in a row
The Tampa Bay Rays lost a chance to recover some ground on the Red Sox when they surrendered five runs in the sixth inning of a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays for their fifth consecutive defeat.
The Cleveland Indians also have lost five in a row and are on the verge of a four-game sweep by the Houston Astros after a 3-2 defeat Saturday.
No-look Story
Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story did not need to see Harrison Bader to get him out, completing a pick-off of the St Louis Cardinals outfielder with a no-look tag.
Saturday's results
Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 San Diego Padres
New York Mets 8-3 New York Yankees
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 Washington Nationals
Milwaukee Brewers 11-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 Tampa Bay Rays
Detroit Tigers 11-5 Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds 3-2 Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros 3-2 Cleveland Indians
Miami Marlins 3-2 Atlanta Braves
Kansas City Royals 6-3 Minnesota Twins
Colorado Rockies 3-2 St Louis Cardinals
Oakland Athletics 7-6 Boston Red Sox
Los Angeles Angels 4-1 Baltimore Orioles
San Francisco Giants 6-5 Arizona Diamondbacks
Texas Rangers 7-3 Seattle Mariners
Mets at Yankees
New York will have plenty of baseball to watch on Independence Day as the Yankees host the Mets in a doubleheader highlighted by a Gerrit Cole-Marcus Stroman pitching matchup in the first game.
Veteran jockey Shane Ellis stylishly completed his 21st Classic triumph as the unfancied colt Calculus swept to a commanding upset win in Saturday’s Jamaica St Leger in his first run for trainer Gary Subratie.
The 4-5 favourite Miniature Man was a disappointing sixth as Calculus rebounded from a seventh-place finish in the early June 2000 Guineas to land the Betmakers JA$4.5 Million (US$30,126) St Leger by 6-3/4 lengths. He scored at 7-1 odds and handed Trinidadian owner Chevan Maharaj his second St Leger win at Caymanas Park in three years.
As Ellis surged to his fifth St Leger success and trainer Subratie his second in a row, the 3-2 second favourite Further and Beyond was second and the Fillies Guineas winner She’s a Wonder (9-2) third a further length and a quarter behind.
“Number five is very very sweet,” said Ellis after triumphantly reuniting with Maharaj, whose colt Supreme Soul had given the ex-champion jockey his first Triple Crown victory in 2019.
It was Ellis’s first race aboard Calculus as the colt, bred by Sensational Slam out of the Bernardini mare Trinket, recorded his third win from eight lifetime starts.
Out of the starting gates, the 2000 Guineas champion Miniature Man cruised out of the three-box to lead and went to the mile pole in front, chased by the 93-1 outsider Simba the Lion and last year’s champion two-year-old Further and Beyond.
Ellis made a sharp move forward leaving the six-furlong marker and in a flash had surged from seventh to fourth on the heels of the front running trio.
Calculus and Further and Beyond quickened away from a fading Miniature Man for a duel leaving the half-mile while She’s a Wonder accelerated into a challenging third position coming off the final bend.
Ellis was off the rail as he engaged reigning co-champion jockey Dane Nelson aboard Further and Beyond on his outside while She’s a Wonder darted to the rail for her homestretch challenge.
The battle was brief as Calculus responded to a few left-handed cracks of the whip and pulled clear for the big win that Ellis thinks makes him favourite for the August 6 Jamaica Derby.
“He’ll be the one to beat for sure,” said Ellis, who already has five Derby wins.
Calculus clocked two minutes 08 and 4/5ths of a second for the 10-furlong trip.
“It feels very good, I love my fans because they know when it comes to big races, Shane Ellis is the man,” added the 47-year-old who also won St Leger races aboard Typewriter (2012), Relampago (2014), Marquesas (2018) and Supreme Soul two years ago.
Subratie, who won last year’s St Leger with 31-1 outsider Nipster, only took charge of Calculus – coming from the Anthony Nunes stables -- in recent weeks. The colt arrived at his stables on June 7 when Maharaj purchased him from another T&T owner Shivam Maharaj.
In spite of Calculus’s failure to win from three starts since his Sir Howard Stakes Guineas prep victory in mid-March, Subratie said he anticipated a strong St Leger effort.
“I expected him to run very well because he has beaten those horses, some of them before. He had some issues, it took a couple of weeks to kind of figure it out,” Subratie said, adding that Calculus will be the horse to beat in the Derby. “Most definitely he just showed it.”
Daniil Medvedev vowed not to let his fifth-set lead slip after a stunning Wimbledon comeback against Marin Cilic – even though he admitted he was "basically destroyed" in the first two sets on Saturday.
Cilic, the runner-up at the 2017 championships, was two sets to the good in the third-round match on Court 1 against the second seed.
Yet Medvedev, who won his first Tour title on grass in Mallorca this year, responded in style to win a grand-slam match after losing the opening two sets for the first time.
The Russian triumphed 6-7 (3-7) 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-2 to stretch his grass-court winning streak to seven matches and reach Wimbledon's second week for the first time in his career.
Medvedev took David Goffin to five sets at this tournament two years ago only to suffer defeat, and he was worried such a scenario could repeat itself when his 5-0 lead in the decider quickly became 5-2.
"It was an unbelievable match," he said on court. "I think tennis fans always enjoy watching players come back from two-sets-to-love down and for it to be five sets. I certainly do so when I watch tennis on the TV.
"It's my first comeback [from two sets down], and actually what's amazing is against David Goffin at Wimbledon in 2019, I was two-sets-to-love down and I had a break in the fifth set, but I lost. So when I left the court after the fourth set today, I told myself, 'It's not going to be another one of those'.
"So I'm really happy. When I was 5-0, 40-0 up at the end and Marin came back to 2-5, I thought to myself, 'Again!' Marin is an amazing player and for the first two sets he basically destroyed me."
Medvedev joined compatriots Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov in the second week, making this the first year in which three Russian men have reached this stage at Wimbledon in the Open Era.
Medvedev will face 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz next and could meet Roger Federer in the quarter-finals.
Warren Gatland could not find too much to complain about after the British and Irish Lions made a brilliant start to their tour of South Africa, but says his team will not be 100 per cent satisfied.
Gatland's team beat the Lions 56-14 on Saturday, with winger Josh Adams running in four of their eight tries.
Their points tally was the most in a match since they beat a combined New South Wales–Queensland Country 64-0 in 2013 – it was also their largest margin of victory since that match.
They are now unbeaten in their last five games (W3 D2), their best run since winning six in a row across the 2009 and 2013 tours.
Though content with how the tourists started their trip – in a match which was played behind closed doors – Gatland insists he has instilled a mentality of never being satisfied.
"You cannot complain. We've been getting better and better as a squad the more time we spend together," the former Wales coach said.
"We've put down a bit of a marker but as a group we won't be 100 per cent satisfied, there are still lots of improvements but we feel we can get there and makes lots of improvements too.
"The bench brought some energy but we had to adjust the way we wanted to play because they didn't pressure us as much with the blitz that we had expected, so we changed the way we played and that was a pretty good reaction.
"I was just really pleased with the energy out there, the guys working hard when they made a few breaks. We made a few mistakes and they were hard to get the ball off, but it was a really positive start."
Welshman Adams was the star of the show, as he became the first player to score four tries for the British and Irish Lions since Shane Williams went over five times against Manawatu in 2005.
Adams, who made five clean breaks in this game – the first player to do so since Williams managed six against South Africa in 2009 – has now scored a try in each of his last five games for Wales and the Lions combined.
"I thought the guy on the left wing did okay today," quipped Gatland.
Lewis Hamilton believes even a "step up" on Sunday would see him merely competing for second after ruling out victory at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Seven-time Formula One champion Hamilton qualified in fourth behind Sergio Perez, surprise 2021 star Lando Norris and championship leader Max Verstappen, who has pole.
Verstappen, who is 18 points clear, won at the Red Bull Ring last week and is the only F1 driver with three victories at his team's home circuit.
Fourth place (Verstappen in 2018) is the furthest back a race winner has triumphed from since Spielberg returned to the calendar in 2014, but Hamilton does not believe such a recovery is possible.
On the weekend he committed to Mercedes until 2023, the Briton believes he is set to tie his longest winless run over a single season (five races – also twice in 2016).
"I don't," Hamilton replied when asked if he thought he could steal a strategic win. "We definitely can't take it to the Red Bulls, obviously. They're just too fast.
"But maybe we can step up, I guess my race now is with the two guys ahead of me – trying to get past them."
He added: "On pure pace, [winning] is definitely out of the question.
"Those guys have got two cars to get through in front, and they've got three-tenths on us. I think they've improved their car again for this weekend.
"So, I would say that's an easy cruise win for Max. I think for us it's to try to see if we can get ahead of Perez and try to limit the damage this weekend."
Hamilton at least fared better than two of his former title rivals, with Sebastian Vettel handed a grid penalty for impeding Fernando Alonso in Q2.
Vettel will start from 11th, having qualified in eighth, while Alonso is back in 14th.
"I guess the weekend is over now for us, but nothing we can do," Alonso said.
Ahead of Vettel's expected punishment, which was later confirmed, the Spaniard added: "It will change something for them, but for us it will change everything on the weekend.
"I don't think that Seb could do much more because, inside the car, we are just relying on our engineers, so I guess it was more the team than Seb himself."
Roger Federer is loving being in contention at Wimbledon, pointing out that doing it shortly before his 40th birthday makes the experience even more special.
The eight-time champion, who turns 40 next month, won an entertaining third-round encounter against home hope Cameron Norrie on Saturday.
Federer triumphed 6-4 6-4 5-7 6-4 in two hours and 35 minutes, needing some impressive play to see off a battling Norrie.
The Swiss star, seeded sixth, ended up with 48 winners as he reached the second week at All England Club for a remarkable 18th time.
Federer will play Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round and he sees every step as a bonus at this stage, having recovered from two knee surgeries.
"I'm very, very pleased and super relieved," Federer said after his victory.
"It is a nice stat to hear. I've loved every minute and I hope there's a little bit more tennis left in me.
"It is an absolute pleasure still playing right now at this age. And this is special as it's my last slam before I hit the big 40, so it feels really good.
"It’s all a bonus, and we will see how far I can go here."
Federer had seven aces and zero double faults, while converting four of his 11 break points.
Seven double faults proved costly for Norrie, who was only able to force four break opportunities but did convert two of them.
Federer had kind words for Norrie, who has made the third round at all three grand slams so far this year, only to be unfortunate with his draws.
Norrie had to play Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open and French Open and now another grand slam legend in Federer.
"That was a tough battle with Cam," added Federer. "He deserved that third set. He played excellent.
"But I felt I was able to keep a high level of play and can be very happy with how I played.
"He got the good break at the end of the third that cost me the set but overall I can be very happy."
Three debutants marked their British and Irish Lions bows with tries and Josh Adams added four in a dominant 56-14 win over the Lions in Johannesburg.
In their first tour match since landing in South Africa, Warren Gatland's men were comfortable from the outset thanks to the first contributions from Louis Rees-Zammit and Hamish Watson on Saturday.
Ali Price crossed for a third try before the break – the sixth first-half effort across two matches, already as many as the British and Irish Lions had in the entirety of the 2017 tour to New Zealand.
The scoring was not slowed by the interval, as a quartet of Adams finishes continued his own impressive form ahead of the South Africa Tests and Gareth Davies also got a breakthrough try from the bench.
Chris Harris, another of the four new faces in the XV, was heavily involved in a rapid start from the touring side.
His chip found Rees-Zammit, who was too quick and strong for his opponents and able to race through, and one try quickly became two as Watson barged under the posts.
The pace of the game slowed a little thereafter, but the hosts were caught dozing as Price dashed in following a long line-out throw.
A powerful run from Vincent Tshituka got the Lions on the scoresheet and they remained just about in touch at the break as a Wyn Jones try was chalked off due to foul play from Courtney Lawes.
It was only a temporary setback as Adams was through almost straight from the restart, although Francke Horn soon found space to feed Rabz Maxwane for a Lions riposte.
Finn Russell's pinpoint kick found a leaping Adams for another try and the British and Irish Lions picked off their tiring opponents.
Davies added his name to the scoresheet soon after his introduction and then Adams was twice left all alone on the left wing, completing his hat-trick and then getting a fourth.
Starting in style... again
The British and Irish Lions have now won their first game after arriving in South Africa on seven consecutive tours. The prior six victories came by an average margin of 23 points.
This triumph came as little surprise then, with the travelling side having lost only one of their past 57 tour games in South Africa – excluding Springboks Tests.
Louis looks the part
Rees-Zammit is still only 20 but has seamlessly adapted to each step in his career so far, becoming Wales' youngest try scorer in eight years against Georgia last November.
His British and Irish Lions bow was typically assured, helped by the early link-up with Gloucester team-mate Harris.
Roger Federer fought off spirited home hope Cameron Norrie to set up a fourth-round meeting with Lorenzo Sonego at Wimbledon.
The 39-year-old, an eight-time champion at the All England Club, overcame a third-set wobble to secure a 6-4 6-4 5-7 6-4 triumph amid the familiar surroundings of Centre Court on Saturday.
British number two Norrie, enjoying a career-best run at the grass-court grand slam, tallied four double faults in a first set decided by one break of serve in favour of the Swiss maestro.
Federer's supremacy was first challenged when he faced two break points in his opening service game of the second set, but he clicked into gear to snuff out the threat with four points on the spin.
Finding the fluency that is such a hallmark of his game, Federer looked at ease on a court where success has come so readily to him, the crowd favourite executing his game plan to leave Norrie chasing shadows at the other end.
The third set was a more keenly contested affair as Norrie threw caution to the wind, unleashing some lethal forehand strikes to finally put Federer under some strain, with the seasoned champion broken at the vital moment.
An exchange of breaks early in the fourth suggested a degree of parity in the contest, but Federer accelerated to the finish line to end British interest in the men's draw at this year's tournament.
Data Slam: Double trouble for Norrie
Federer does not need any favours from his opponents but Norrie was all too forthcoming with them on his own serve, despite an otherwise excellent display.
Norrie, ranked 34 in the world, racked up seven double faults and you can scarcely afford to be so charitable against such formidable opposition.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Federer – 48/33
Norrie – 34/32
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Federer –7/0
Norrie – 12/7
BREAK POINTS WON
Federer – 4/11
Norrie – 2/4
Lando Norris described his "epic" second place in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix as one of the best laps he has driven in Formula One.
McLaren are back on the front row for the first time since 2012 after Norris incredibly finished just 0.048 seconds behind Max Verstappen, marginally missing out on a historic pole.
Verstappen became the first F1 driver to win three times at the Red Bull Ring as he beat Lewis Hamilton to victory last time out.
Having also won in France, the Dutchman looks well placed to make it a treble.
He was boosted as his team-mate Sergio Perez qualified third, meaning the two Mercedes of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were left in fourth and fifth respectively.
George Russell – reportedly in the running to drive for the German team next year – took a brilliant ninth for Williams on a day of surprises.
Verstappen – unhappy with his team for the position he was put out in the running order in Q3 – could not improve in his second run, giving surprise challenger Norris the chance to come agonisingly close to pole.
But Verstappen has shown impressive form this weekend and it continued with another strong result, even if Norris was understandably attracting the attention after Saturday's session.
"I feel epic!" Norris said to Sky Sports. "It's one of the best laps I've done – I'm really happy with P2, my best qualifying in Formula One.
"One of my best laps in Formula One. It's a good feeling, so I'm looking forward to Sunday.
"It feels pretty cool. After the last race I wanted to take one more step [after qualifying fourth] – but we went two more!
"It's nice to be in a good position for Sunday. I don't know how far I was off pole, bit gutted I didn't get pole – Sunday will be tough but we did the best job we could."
After a third straight pole and his fourth overall in 2021, Verstappen warned victory would not come easily as he looks to extend his 18-point lead in the drivers' standings.
"I think Q3 was pretty bad. Of course I'm happy to be first but not the way we got it," he said.
"Pole again is good. Hopefully we can finish it off on Sunday – it is never straightforward though.
"Softer compounds compared to last week, so it will be tough to manage those in the race but aside from that, we'll just try to focus on our own race and of course, we'll try to win it."
Both Ferraris and Fernando Alonso – who was angry at being held up by Sebastian Vettel in an incident that could result in a grid penalty – all missed out on progression from Q2.
It meant Yuki Tsunoda and Vettel were able to claim seventh and eighth, with Lance Stroll taking the last spot in the top 10 behind the impressive Russell.
Perez claimed third for Red Bull having initially looked poised to start further down the order after his first Q3 run.
"It's been a hard weekend up to now," the Mexican explained. "We have been chasing the balance and just exploring the car.
"It didn't come easy. It was very hard work – harder than you think.
"In the end we got a good lap and we have a good position. I believe we have got a better race car than qualifying."
Six consecutive top-five finishes have put Perez third in the championship prior to the ninth race of the campaign, with Norris fourth in the standings ahead of Bottas and Charles Leclerc.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:03.720
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.048s
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.270s
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.294s
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.329s
6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0.387s
7. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +0.553s
8. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +0.850s
9. George Russell (Williams) +0.871s
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.898s
Tadej Pogacar grabbed the yellow jersey with a remarkable ride on stage eight of the Tour de France as pretenders to his crown floundered.
On the 150-kilometre stage from Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand, won by Belgian Dylan Teuns, last year's champion Pogacar finished fourth and roared into first place in the general classification.
The 22-year-old Slovenian had trailed Mathieu van der Poel by three minutes and 43 seconds at the start of stage eight, but he now leads by 1min 48secs from Wout van Aert.
Van der Poel fell out of contention, trailing home 44th, 21:47 behind Teuns, to slide from first to 23rd overall, as the GC standings were given a vigorous shake-up.
The race turned as Van der Poel began to fall off the pace of a chasing group in the closing 35km and Van Aert initially followed, but Pogacar only grew in strength from that point.
Canadian Michael Woods had built a big lead as he reached the summit of the Col de Romme, over a minute clear of a chasing pack of four riders and three minutes and 40 seconds ahead of Pogacar.
Pogacar drew within 30 seconds of the lead with 15km remaining, passing Ion Izaguirre Insausti to leave Woods and Teuns as the only riders ahead of him, and soon only Teuns was denying him first place.
Teuns proved too strong, and Woods and Izaguirre Insausti edged ahead of Pogacar in the closing metres, but the defending champion had inflicted a brutal blow on a host of major rivals.
Pogacar said on Eurosport: "I just decided before the last three climbs and I said to my team-mates, 'Let's try to break the race', and we did it. Once I saw everyone was suffering... I just took off and tried to pace myself to the finish line and I'm pretty happy."
Pogacar was surprised there was little response from those with yellow jersey aspirations, who he claimed had tried and failed to break his challenge on the seventh stage, adding: "I thought they would show more today, but in the end I guess they were affected from yesterday and from today's cold and rain."
Teuns knew where Pogacar was in the closing kilometres and said his stage victory was a tribute to his late grandfather, touching his chest by his heart and point skywards.
He said: "We had the funeral just a few days before I had to go to the Tour so it was emotional for me, this last 10k."
Any hopes that Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Primoz Roglic had of GC success were wiped out as all three finished over 30 minutes off the pace.
STAGE RESULT
1. Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) 3:54:41
2. Ion Izaguirre Insausti (Astana-Premier Tech) +0:44
3. Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) +0:47
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +0:49
5. Wouter Poels (Bahrain Victorious) +2:33
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 29:38:25
2. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) +01:48
3. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premier Tech) +4:38
Points Classification
1. Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 168
2. Michael Matthews (Team Bikeexchange) 113
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 103
King of the Mountains
1. Wouter Poels (Bahrain Victorious) 23
2. Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation) 16
3. Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) 12
What's next?
The 144.9-kilometre ride from Cluses to Tignes will be another stiff test for the riders, with a mountain finish ahead of Monday's first rest day. Five major climbs await, including the 'hors categorie' ascent of the Col du Pre at around halfway.
Wimbledon crowd favourite Nick Kyrgios retired hurt in his third-round match against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Saturday, hailing his opponent as a "hell of a player".
Kyrgios made headlines in the week with complaints over the condition of the grass courts at the All England Club, though the divisive Australian had looked sharp in wins over Ugo Humbert and Gianluca Mager.
He carried that form into his second career meeting with Canada's Auger-Aliassime, but as he charged to a 6-2 lead in the first set, Kyrgios sustained an apparent abdominal injury.
The 26-year-old received treatment on court, yet was clearly in distress as he attempted to continue, with Auger-Aliassime capitalising to take the second set 6-1 in just 22 minutes.
It signalled the end of the road for Kyrgios, who handed the win to the world number 19.
Despite his withdrawal, Kyrgios remained in good spirits.
Explaining his decision, Kyrgios said: "I haven't played this level of tennis in a long time, and obviously playing someone as good as Felix, my main weapon – my serve – to be firing on all cylinders and I just felt my abs, definitely did something in the first set.
"That's the way it goes. He's a hell of a player, he's going to do special things in this sport. Playing out here, having this support, has made me have a second wind. I reckon I'm going to come back and play for a bit longer.
"I did all I could to get here. I beat a heck of a player in the first round, played a great second round and just to get out here again, two sets, tried to play as long as I could, sorry I couldn't give you more today. But you'll see a lot of [Auger-Aliassime] in the future, and he's better looking too!"
For his part, Auger-Aliassime was equally as frustrated not to be able to see out what promised to be an entertaining match up.
"First of all, sorry for Nick, he was playing so good in the first set. It's really unfortunate in front of a packed crowd," he said.
"I think there were big expectations for this match, we were hoping to put on a good show, entertain the crowd, so it's unfortunate he had to retire. I hope it’s nothing too serious and he’ll be back on the US swing."
Lewis Hamilton has ended speculation over his Formula One future after signing a new two-year contract with Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion, bidding for a record eighth crown in 2021, is now tied to the German team through the 2023 season, covering the first two campaigns of new regulations which come into force next year.
The 36-year-old has won six of his previous seven drivers' titles with Mercedes, who he joined from McLaren in 2012.
Hamilton only signed a one-year deal for 2021 in February and both he and team boss Toto Wolff had stressed agreeing an earlier deal this time around was a priority.
The Briton is embroiled in a thrilling title scrap with Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who has opened up an 18-point lead in the championship going into the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend.
It is still unclear who Hamilton's team-mate will be for 2022 and beyond.
Valtteri Bottas is languishing fifth in the championship, while George Russell – now with Williams – impressed when he stood in during Hamilton's coronavirus absence at last season's Sakhir Grand Prix.
Russell reacted to the news by calling it "great for Mercedes and F1".
After his new deal was confirmed, Stats Perform looked at the data to summarise Hamilton's incredible F1 impact.
LEVEL WITH SCHUMACHER
Michael Schumacher won his seventh and final championship in 2004, a streak of five in a row at Ferrari that saw him surpass Juan Manuel Fangio's previous overall record of five career titles.
All but one of Hamilton's triumphs have come with Mercedes, following a dramatic initial 2008 success at McLaren.
That means he has now gone past Schumacher as the driver to have won the most F1 titles with the same team. The German's back-to-back 1994 and 1995 successes came at Benetton.
The only championship not claimed by Hamilton during his current run, 2016, was picked up by his then Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton has won four in a row, meaning matching another Schumacher best for successive crowns while also claiming the outright record of eight are his targets this season.
WINNING RECORD
In 2020 Hamilton equalled his best single-season return of 11 wins, which he also recorded in each of 2014, 2018 and 2019.
Hamilton is an all-time F1 leader in terms of career race wins (98), poles (100), podiums (171) and points (3,916), having overtaken Schumacher to take top spot in all but the latter category.
Of those race victories, 77 have come with Mercedes, the most any driver has achieved with a single team.
He has led the most races (168) and laps (5,221) in F1 history, while he had finished a record 48 consecutive grands prix in the points until COVID-19 forced him to miss the penultimate race of 2020.
However, as he signs his deal at a time when rival Verstappen is thriving, the Briton is only one GP away from equalling his worst run (five races) without winning in a single season since 2014.
He also had two five-race runs without a win in 2016, the year Rosberg triumphed and the only campaign Hamilton did not win the title in the hybrid era.
Interestingly, Hamilton did set a record in that season as runner-up. He won 10 races and racked up 380 points, both the most ever by a driver who did not go on to win the world title.
DOMINANCE SPANNING DECADES
When he won his first championship in 2008, Hamilton was F1's youngest world title winner at 23 years, nine months and 26 days old. Sebastian Vettel later surpassed that feat in 2010 at 23, four months and 11 days.
Title number seven arrived with Hamilton 35, 10 months and eight days old.
The 12 seasons between his first and most recent titles is the longest span in F1 history, with Schumacher (1994-2004) and Niki Lauda (1975-1984) next on the list.
Lauda edged out Alain Prost in 1984 by half a point in the last of his wins, the only margin narrower than the single point Hamilton beat Felipe Massa by in 2008.
He does not deal in such slender differences nowadays. The 124-point advantage he had over Valtteri Bottas last year stands as Hamilton's biggest personal margin over the driver in second place.
Vettel still holds the most processional title win, going back to 2013 when his Red Bull was 155 points better off than runner-up Fernando Alonso's Ferrari.
FAVOURITE RACES
Hamilton has won eight times at the Hungarian Grand Prix, sharing the record for most wins at a single circuit with Schumacher, who triumphed eight times in France.
With seven wins at the British Grand Prix, Hamilton holds the F1 record for most wins at a home race.
Hamilton has also triumphed seven times in Canada, with six wins apiece in China and the United States, which are both among his favourite tracks.
His career victories have come at an astonishing 29 different circuits and 28 different grands prix, highlighting his longevity, and a win in Austria on Sunday would kickstart his pursuit of further records.
New Zealand ran in 16 tries in a 102-0 demolition of Tonga.
Will Jordan helped himself to a five-try haul, while scrum-half Brad Weber ran in a hat-trick as the All Blacks reached a century of points for the sixth time in their history.
They are the only country to have achieved the feat more than once and it was the second time Tonga have found themselves on the receiving end.
Damian McKenzie got the scoring underway with a second-minute try and the full-back went on to claim three assists as nine All Blacks crossed overall.
Dalton Papalii's first-half double, along with Jordan and Weber getting into their work meant it was 43-0 at half-time and worse was to follow for the visitors, who were without the bulk of their northern hemisphere players due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and named 13 debutants.
Luke Jacobson, Richie Mo'unga, Rieko Ioane and Patrick Tuipulotu all got in on the act in the second half, marking an emphatic start to their 2021 schedule having won only half of their six 2020 outings.
Mo'unga landed seven conversions before making way for Beauden Barrett, back from his sabbatical in Japan.
Barrett added the extra for a fourth and final time after the hooter when George Bridge compounded Tonga's misery by bringing up three figures – his try a reward for a tireless performance where the wing made seven clean breaks.
The Tampa Bay Lightning moved to the brink of a second successive Stanley Cup triumph after a fast start helped them overcome the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3.
Jan Rutta and Victor Hedman both scored to give the Lightning an early 2-0 lead, in the process making it the first game in finals history where a team has got multiple goals from defensemen within the opening five minutes.
The Canadiens managed to halve the deficit but conceded twice more at the start of the second period, leaving them with a task they were unable to scale.
Tyler Johnson grabbed a brace as Tampa Bay ran out 6-3 winners, a result that leaves them on the cusp of glory in the best-of-seven series. However, Hedman insists there is still work to do, with Game 4 in Montreal on Monday.
"We're not there yet," Hedman, who also registered an assist, said. "We put ourselves in a good position obviously, but the fourth one is the hardest one to get.
"We're going to do whatever it takes to win the next game. We've got more work to do, and we're not satisfied until we're done."
Montreal managed more shots on goal (35-30), though the disparity was not quite the same as in Game 2. The Canadiens had 43 attempts in the previous encounter compared to Tampa Bay's total of 23, yet still lost 3-1.
Phillip Danault, Nick Suzuki and Corey Perry were on target for Montreal in a losing cause on Friday, though they left themselves with too much to do after a disastrous start to proceedings.
"We put ourselves in a hole early, and it's tough to dig yourself out of a hole against a team like that, that plays pretty stingy," Canadiens captain Shea Weber said.
However, there is still hope for the Canadiens, who were down 3-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs before rallying to keep their season alive.
Dominique Ducharme is in interim charge after Claude Julien was fired during the regular season, though the former had been absent for the first two games of the finals while self-isolating following a positive COVID-19 test result.
"We didn't quit the whole year, no matter what was being said," center Danault said. "When it was 3-1 Toronto we didn't quit. And I can guarantee that nobody on the team is going to quit now."
Lewis Hamilton has signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes, running until the end of the 2023 Formula One season.
The 36-year-old is chasing a record-breaking eighth world championship this season, having won six of his previous seven with Mercedes, who he joined from McLaren in 2012.
Hamilton confirmed "positive" discussions last month and can now focus fully on attempting to overhaul Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who has opened up an 18-point lead in the drivers' standings after eight rounds of the 2021 season.
"It is hard to believe it’s been nearly nine years working with this incredible team and I'm excited we're going to continue our partnership for two more years," Hamilton said.
"We've accomplished so much together but we still have a lot to achieve, both on and off the track."
This latest prompt renewal is in stark contrast to Hamilton's contract situation for the current campaign.
The compressed 2020 schedule and then Hamilton and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff both testing positive for COVID-19 contributed to the world champion ending the year out of contract. He did not pen his most recent one-year deal until February.
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