Lewis Hamilton is confident Mercedes are "closing the gap" on their rivals following another impressive drive from the Briton at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, starting seventh, benefited from a strong strategy by his team to work his way through the order, overtaking Ferrari's Carlos Sainz for third and then leapfrogging his team-mate George Russell.
The result secured back-to-back podium finishes for Hamilton who, surprisingly, has achieved more top-three finishes this season than title hopeful Charles Leclerc, who has seen his bid to take Max Verstappen's crown crumble.
Ferrari's main challenge in the final nine races of the season after the upcoming break may now come from Mercedes, who sit just 30 points behind in the constructors' championship, and Hamilton believes there is a solid platform to build on.
"I was definitely struggling at the beginning of the race and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to catch the guys up but bit by bit, I was more comfortable with the balance and had a really good start as well," he said on the grid.
"I really want to acknowledge my team who have pushed and never given up in this tough year so far.
"To be on the podium, for both cars to be on the podium twice, it is pretty special for us and really unlucky for George today.
"The other guys still have a bit of an edge but we are clearly closing the gap and this is just an amazing way to go into the break knowing that we have this performance.
"Hopefully we can bring some more into the second part of the season and start fighting with the guys up front."
Russell started the race in pole position after his surprising Q3 session on Saturday but was unable to stay ahead and admitted he thought the race was there to win in the early stages.
"When it started spitting and we were on the soft tyres at the start I thought we were on," he said.
"Towards the end on the mediums with the slightly heavier rain I really struggled."
Having secured back-to-back third-place finishes, Russell also praised the improvements shown by his team after what was a poor start to the 2022 season.
"Amazing job by the team. Pole position yesterday and a double podium - we're definitely making progress, so really proud of the work we've done," he added.
Andy Murray set his sights on a deep run at the Citi Open to bolster his fundraising for war-hit Ukrainian children, as Hollywood actor Ben Stiller sent a message of support.
Three-time grand slam winner Murray has a 19-11 win-loss record in 2022 and wants to improve that substantially before the year is out.
In March, the Scot pledged to donate the rest of his season's winnings to UNICEF's Ukraine mission, as the country endures a heavy toll of death and destruction during Russia's invasion.
A disappointing second-round loss to John Isner at Wimbledon was followed by a quarter-final exit to Alexander Bublik at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, with those results not meeting Murray's expectations.
He is being driven by his own hunger for better results, but also an eagerness to put together a big pot of money for UNICEF's appeal.
Citi Open chairman Mark Ein announced his foundation would match Murray's winnings this week and commit that sum to the effort in Ukraine.
"You can't just forget about this," Murray said of the war. "It's still going on. People are still getting killed, children are still having to flee their homes, and are in really, really tragic situations.
"I think it's important that the media continues to shine a light on it, keep talking about it. Hopefully what the tournament is doing here can help a little bit with that.
"I just want to try and win as many matches as possible and raise as much money as I can. It will be a significant amount hopefully by the end of the year. Hopefully it makes a difference."
Stiller is a big tennis fan and has often been seen in front-row seats at the sport's top events.
He tweeted: "So much respect for @andy_murray shining a light on the millions of people - and children - still affected by this senseless war in #Ukraine."
The Reality Bites, Zoolander and There's Something About Mary actor has been a long-time Murray fan, meeting him at the 2013 US Open, a year after the British star took the Flushing Meadows title.
Murray, 35, begins his challenge at the Citi Open, staged in Washington, DC, against Sweden's Mikael Ymer on Monday.
He hailed Ein's Ukraine pledge as "brilliant", adding: "I think it really helps. It shows when the players and the tournaments work together, that really good things can happen." week.”
Max Verstappen extended his championship lead even further with a stellar drive in Hungary to claim victory having started 10th on the grid.
The Red Bull capitalised on more woes for Ferrari to leave Verstappen heading into the break with an 80-point lead, while Mercedes enjoyed a second race in a row with both drivers finishing on the podium.
Ferrari, having started second and third on the grid, had a race to forget with both drivers finishing outside of the podium spots - with Carlos Sainz in fourth and Charles Leclerc coming home sixth.
At the start, pole-sitter George Russell was immediately put under pressure by the Ferraris behind him but maintained his advantage following the first corner, then opening a two-second window following an early virtual safety car after contact between Alex Albon and Lance Stroll.
With soft tyres losing speed, Russell pitted from the lead at the end of lap 16 and Sainz, on the medium, made an overcut attempt one lap later but remained behind the Mercedes.
Verstappen benefited during the first round of pit stops to continue his charge up the grid, taking fourth on lap 21, while Leclerc came out ahead of team-mate Sainz after his stop.
Still in the lead at the start of lap 28, Russell's performance meant Mercedes had led more laps in the race than they had in the entirety of the season prior to this weekend and Russell, though defending aggressively, was overtaken at turn one by Leclerc on lap 31.
Verstappen blinked first in the second round of pit stops and completed an undercut on Russell, then overtaking Leclerc twice, either side of a spin, with Ferrari unable to find the pace on the hard compound as another strategy decision cost the Monegasque, who inevitably had to take a third stop to swap to the softs.
Hamilton's strategy worked much better and saw him stand as the biggest threat to Verstappen's lead heading into the latter stages, overtaking Sainz at the start of lap 63 and then taking team-mate Russell on lap 65.
Late rain threatened to cause drama on the final lap but Verstappen was able to cruise home for a 28th career win - equalling Nigel Mansell's record of the most F1 wins for a single team.
Ferrari, meanwhile, will now be looking over their shoulder after the break with their advantage over Mercedes in the constructors' championship now standing at just 30 points.
Ferrari's frustrating calls
Plenty of scrutiny has been directed towards Ferrari for questionable calls made during the 2022 Formula One season and the Hungarian Grand Prix added further fuel to that particular fire.
Having seen Alpine's own woes on the hard compound, which saw both Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso tumble down the field, Ferrari bemusingly still opted to put Leclerc on that tyre.
The poor performance of the compound was shown when Verstappen, who had overtaken Leclerc, spun to lose the position but was still able to chase down his title rival and reclaim the position without too much of a challenge.
Russell's run ends
Heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix, Mercedes duo Russell and Hamilton were the only two drivers on the grid to have improved or maintained their starting position in every race this season.
Hamilton, starting seventh and finishing second, was able to maintain that sequence but Russell, on pole position, secured a third-place finish and saw his run of improvement come to an end.
However, that finish sealed back-to-back podium finishes for Russell at Mercedes, while it also marked the second race in a row with both Silver Arrows drivers on the rostrum.
IN THE POINTS
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +7.834
3. George Russell (Mercedes) +12.337
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +14.579
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +15.688
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +16.047
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) +78.300
8. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) + One lap
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) + One lap
10. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) + One lap
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 258
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 178
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 173
4. George Russell (Mercedes) 158
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 156
Constructors
1. Red Bull 431
2. Ferrari 334
3. Mercedes 304
4. Alpine 99
5. McLaren 95
Anastasia Potapova proved no match for home favourite Marie Bouzkova in the final of the Prague Open, as the Czech triumphed in straight sets.
Making her fourth appearance in a WTA Tour-level final, Bouzkova ended her wait for a maiden title with a convincing 6-0 6-3 success on Sunday.
Bouzkova, ranked 66th in the world heading into her home tournament, wrapped up the first set in under 30 minutes.
Potapova hit back with two breaks in the second, but an overhit forehand down the line from the Russian handed Bouzkova the trophy in her second final of 2022.
"I just want to thank everyone, it's just a dream for me to win my first title here at home, I couldn't be happier," said Bouzkova, the fifth Czech to win on home soil since the event debuted on the WTA Tour in 2015, after Karolina Pliskova, Lucie Safarova, Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova.
"I felt your support, even those who aren't here, it's a dream come true, playing in front of a home crowd. My first winner's speech, I'm sorry it's not the best!"
Bouzkova, 24, has now won both of her matches against Potapova, after defeating the 21-year-old in qualifying for the Miami Open earlier this year.
Jake Paul has called off his fight against Hasim Rahman Jr. due to a weight dispute less than a week before the bout at New York's Madison Square Garden.
The pair were set to clash in the ring on August 6 as part of a card that also featured Amanda Serrano, but Paul has now cancelled the bout after Rahman failed to meet the agreed weight of 200 pounds.
Paul's Most Valuable Promotions released a statement claiming Rahman had agreed to fight at 200lb, only for his team to later look to increase the weight limit to 215lb.
"Hasim Rahman Jr. has pulled out of the fight. This is not a joke, I am devastated, I can not f****** believe this. We just found out this news," Paul posted on Twitter.
"This is just another case of a professional boxer, like Tommy Fury, being scared to fight me.
"It's clear as day that these guys have been so unprofessional to work with, looking for any excuse to suck more money out of this event, to coerce us into doing things.
"From the jump, I knew from the bottom of my heart that this guy didn't want to get into the ring with me. It's clear as day."
Rahman initially stepped up to face Paul as a replacement for Tommy Fury, who pulled out of a scheduled fight against Paul last year due to injury and then could not travel to the United States due to a visa issue.
While Rahman confirmed he was not able to meet the agreed weight, he disputed Paul's claims about money and said he would have fought for $5,000.
"I signed a contract to make 200 pounds within the three and a half weeks I had to do it, but I couldn't do it. My body simply would not let me do it, would not let me get down to 200 pounds," he said in a video message.
"But when in boxing do you see them cancelling fights a whole week in advance? I didn't even get my last week to get down as low as I could.
"I told this man: 'If there’s penalties involved, keep the purse. I'll fight you for the $5,000 minimum.'
"That's how much it means to me and that’s how much faith I have in knocking him out."
Paul would have received a WBC ranking for the first time had he defeated Rahman.
Former Formula One race director Michael Masi has revealed he received death threats following the conclusion of last season, declaring he was "the most hated man in the world".
The Australian came under intense scrutiny for his handling of the controversial final race of the 2021 F1 season in Abu Dhabi, which subsequently saw Red Bull's Max Verstappen beat Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton to the world title.
Masi did not follow the F1's procedure behind the safety car for the late restart, only allowing the lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to pass rather than them all, which left Hamilton defenceless as Verstappen swiftly overtook him to clinch his first world title.
An investigation found Masi had failed to follow the rules and he was removed from his role in February, before leaving the FIA entirely earlier this month.
Criticisms directed towards Masi were not just professional, however, who has spoken about the abuse he sustained in the aftermath of last season's finale.
"There were some dark days. And absolutely, I felt like I was the most hated man in the world," he told Australia's News Corp.
"I got death threats. People saying, they were going to come after me and my family.
"They were shocking. Racist, abusive, vile, they called me every name under the sun.
"And they kept on coming. Not just on my Facebook but also on my LinkedIn, which is supposed to be a professional platform for business. It was the same type of abuse.
"I didn't want to talk to anyone. Not even family and friends. I only talked to my close family but very briefly.
"It did have a physical impact, but it was more mental. I just wanted to be in a bubble. I had no desire to talk to them. I just wanted to be alone, which was very challenging. The whole experience has made me a much stronger person."
Ahead of the 2022 season, F1 made several changes to race procedures, with two race directors now sharing responsibility over the course of the season.
Julio Rodriguez left the Seattle Mariners' win over the Houston Astros in the ninth inning, prompting fears he may have suffered a broken hand.
All-Star Rodriguez is the AL Rookie of the Year favourite after an outstanding first year in the major leagues.
The 21-year-old outfielder has helped boost the Mariners into a wild card spot as they bid to end their 21-year playoff drought.
Seattle improved to 55-47 on Saturday with a 5-4 victory at the AL West-leading Astros, who had won the teams' previous five meetings.
But Rodriguez was out of the game by that point, with Abraham Toro – in as a pinch-hitter as his replacement – delivering the decisive two-run single.
Rodriguez had been hit on the back of the hand batting at the top of the eighth; he struck out and completed the inning in the field before being lifted.
"He did not feel comfortable with a bat in his hand," Mariners manager Scott Servais explained. "So, we'll pray that it is not broke."
This was the Mariners' ninth win this year after trailing in the ninth inning or later.
In the modern era, no MLB team have more such victories before August, with the Mariners' nine tied with the 1921 St. Louis Browns, the 1970 Kansas City Royals, the 1991 Chicago White Sox and the 2003 Cincinnati Reds.
Although Rodriguez's absence was a blow, it was perhaps no surprise Toro was the hero this time.
The former Astro has 52 RBIs as a Mariner, with 20 of those coming against the team he left partway through last season.
"He has been a thorn in our side since we traded him over there," said Astros manager Dusty Baker. "It was a big hit that he got tonight."
Amanda Nunes completely dominated in her bantamweight championship rematch against Julianna Pena at UFC 277 on Saturday, reclaiming the title she lost back in December.
Nunes, 34, was considered arguably the most dominant woman in the history of mixed martial arts heading into that December showdown, which resulted in a shock upset loss – her first defeat since 2015.
The Brazilian appeared slow and off her game that night, but any hopes from Pena's camp that it would be a similar showing the second time around were dispelled early.
Nunes dominated from the first bell to the last, with three clean knockdowns in the second round alone as it appeared a knockout finish was inevitable.
To Pena's credit, the champion did not have an ounce of quit in her, somehow surviving the entire 25 minutes to lose in emphatic fashion on the judges' scorecards 50-45, 50-44 and 50-43.
Earlier in the night in the co-main event, Mexico's Brandon Moreno won the interim flyweight title with a third-round body-shot knockout against New Zealand's Kai Kara-France in the Fight of the Night.
The first two rounds were closely contested, with Kara-France favouring a leg-kick heavy attack while Moreno was landing the cleaner shots to the head.
All three judges disagreed on how to score the first two rounds, with one judge having it Moreno 2-0, another with Kara-France 2-0 and the third had things tied at 1-1.
But the judges were not needed after Moreno connected with a body kick in the third, digging his toes into the stomach of Kara-France, dropping him before finishing the fight with ground-and-pound.
With the win, Moreno has earned another shot at Deiveson Figueiredo. The pair have fought three times for the title to this point, with a draw in the first contest, followed by a Moreno win, before Figueiredo won the third bout.
'Moreno v Figuiredo IV' promises to be one of the most anticipated fights of the year, with two of their previous three contests winning Fight of the Night on their respective cards.
Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player to ever hit 200 career home runs as he connected on his 42nd of the season in the New York Yankees' 8-2 home victory against the Kansas City Royals.
Judge's moment came in the second inning, but it was not his side's first home run of the night after D.J. LeMahieu blasted a 410-footer to center-field as the Yankees' first batter of the game.
After All-Star catcher Jose Trevino got on base, Judge took one opposite-field to put the Yankees 4-0 up. He reached his 200th home run in his 671st career game – 13 games slower than former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard.
That was not all Judge would do in this contest, getting on base four times as he finished with a pair of hits and a pair of walks. He now has 10 more home runs than second-placed Kyle Schwarber (32).
On the mound, Nestor Cortes put in a strong showing to be credited with the win, giving up two runs in five innings, striking out five.
After a clean Aroldis Chapman inning in relief, Clarke Schmidt then came in for a three-inning save, striking out five batters and throwing 52 pitches.
Twins stars go deep against Padres
Both Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa hit home runs in the Minnesota Twins' 7-4 win on the road against the San Diego Padres.
Stars on both sides were swinging a heavy bat, with Padres MVP candidate Manny Machado opening the scoring with his own solo shot in the third inning.
But the Twins had all the answers, as Buxton destroyed a baseball 434 feet over the left-field wall an inning later, before Correa kick-started his side's five-run eighth frame with his own two-run homer.
Shohei puts on a show
The Los Angeles Angels rallied back late to defeat the Texas Rangers 9-7, headlined by reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani's 22nd home run of the season.
The superstar designated hitter – who has also pitched the sixth most strikeouts in all of baseball this season (146 in 17 starts) – connected on a 424-foot, three-run home run to center-field in the third inning to give the Angels a 3-2 lead. Only 15 players have hit more home runs this campaign.
Texas fought back in the middle innings through home runs to Marcus Semien and Meibrys Viloria, but the Angels scored five in the eighth inning to steal the result.
Alex de Minaur booked his place in the Atlanta Open final with a come-from-behind 5-7 6-2 6-2 win against Ilya Ivashka on Saturday.
It was a tight first set, which was interrupted at 5-5 by a three-hour rain delay. Upon returning, Ivashka broke instantly and served out the set – but it would be his last break of serve.
De Minaur had to save two break points to hold in the opening game of the second set, but from that point on he took over, collecting two breaks in the frame.
The Australian, who is the tournament's third seed and ranked 30th in the world, controlled the decider, winning 69 per cent of his points on serve compared to 50 per cent for Ivashka as he figured out the Belarusian's serve, allowing no aces down the stretch.
He will meet Jenson Brooksby in the final after the American put on an impressive showing against compatriot Frances Tiafoe, winning 6-1 6-4.
Brooksby has been in great touch this tournament, running over Mackenzie McDonald in the quarter-final in what was meant to be a competitive matchup, and then upsetting second seed John Isner in the semi-final, breaking his incredibly tough serve three times.
Against Tiafoe, the story was about how dominant Brooksby was early on when he got the chance to see a second serve, winning 87 per cent (11-of-14) of the points off Tiafoe's second serve in the opening set.
Tiafoe never really got a chance to fight back in the second frame, getting broken in the opening game, and from there Brooksby closed the door, not allowing a single break point opportunity.
Ash Barty took to social media on Saturday with a post confirming her marriage to her long-time partner in a discreet ceremony as she continues to thrive in her life after tennis.
Her husband, Garry Kissick, is an Australian professional golfer, and the pair met at the Brookwater Golf Club back in 2016. Showing more strings to her bow, the multi-sport star who has also played professional cricket won the Brookwater Golf Club's championship in 2020.
Barty, 26, retired from the sport earlier this year at the peak of her powers, as a dominant world number one and reigning Australian Open champion.
In an interview with friend and former Australian tennis player Casey Dellacqua, she said the decision was due to being burnt out.
"I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top of the level any more," she said. "I am spent."
Barty's most recent high-profile public appearance was during The Open, where she competed in the celebrity four-ball competition in a team that featured Kevin Pietersen.
Tony Finau posted the equal-best score from the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Saturday, with his seven-under 65 pulling him even with Taylor Pendrith after entering the day one stroke off the pace.
Finau and Pendrith were co-leaders after the first round, and after building a multi-stroke buffer from the rest of the field after 36 holes, they added to it again to finish at 21 under – four strokes clear of Cameron Young in third-place.
Each player showed a different skill set, with Pendrith displaying a strong feel in his ability to finish holes – posting the seventh-best strokes gained figure from Data Golf on approach shots (2,07 strokes gained) and the 11th-best with the putter (1.98).
Finau, on the other hand, shined with his driver, finishing second in strokes gained off the tee (1.98) and third in tee-to-green (3.97) while being just average around the greens.
After winning this past weekend's 3M Championship, Finau now has a chance to win back-to-back PGA Tour events for the first time in his career, while Pendrith is hunting his first PGA Tour victory.
Young was one of five players to match Finau's 65, and he sits alone in third at 17 under, with Germany's Stephan Jaeger in fourth at 16 under, and Patrick Cantlay rounds out the top-five as the only player at 15 under.
Scott Stallings is alone at 14 under, with South Korea's Kim Si-woo and Canada's Adam Svensson in the groups at 13 under and 12 under respectively to complete the top-10.
Reigning champion of this event Cam Davis also shot 65 to fly up the leaderboard, tied for 16th at 10 under after finishing his second round right on the cut-line of three under.
It was the opposite story for compatriot Adam Scott, who entered the day in a strong position at nine under and proceeded to shoot a 78, finishing as by far the worst putter on Saturday, losing 5.62 strokes on the greens.
Phase 1 and The Caribbean Basketball Academy booked their spots in Saturday’s final as the Jamaica Basketball Showcase continued at the University of Technology on Friday.
In game one on Friday’s penultimate day, CBA beat the Central Warriors 39-36 with CBA’s Lushane Wilson being named player of the game.
Phase 1 beat Lignum Vitae 49-43 in game two. Romar Parkes of Lignum Vitae was named player of the match despite his team losing.
Game three saw Blue Mahoe scoring a 44-40 victory over Hummingbirds. Blue Mahoe’s Alex Levy was player of the match.
Lignum Vitae rebounded from their earlier loss to beat Central Warriors 47-44. Parkes was player of the match, this time in a winning effort.
Game five saw Phase 1 beat Hummingbirds 49-41 thanks to a player of the match performance from Nicolai Brown.
Game six was the highest scoring on the day with CBA outscoring Blue Mahoe 80-75 with CBA’s Matthew McGowan and Blue Mahoe’s Alex Levy sharing player of the game honours.
Phase 1 and CBA booked their spots in the final thanks to preliminary round records of 4-0 and 3-1, respectively.
Henrik Stenson carded a two-under-par 69 to retain his lead after the second round of LIV Golf Bedminster, his first event on the controversial tour.
The Swede – stripped of Europe's Ryder Cup captaincy over his defection from the DP World Tour – showed steely focus on the fairways on Saturday at Trump National Golf Club.
The 2016 Open Championship winner moved clear of first-round co-leader Patrick Reed to top the standings outright at nine under, rallying after a double bogey on his third hole.
Stenson said: "I was hanging in there. I didn't feel I had my best stuff today, certainly a lot less than we played with yesterday."
Former Masters winner Reed slipped to a tie for third with a two-over 73, but he nevertheless retained a share of the lead in the team standings. Reed's 4 Aces GC team-mate Dustin Johnson moved second in the individual standings with a 69 to sit three shots off the lead at six under.
The 4 Aces advantage was cemented by a super round from Talor Gooch, who carded a best-of-the-day 64 to join Reed on five under through 36 holes, with Carlos Ortiz on the same mark.
It proved a miserable day at the office for Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau as they posted 73 and 74 respectively, with DeChambeau carding six bogeys in his round. He sits tied for 28th, with Mickelson in a share of 40th place on six over – a full 15 shots behind Stenson.
Carlos Alcaraz's defence of his Croatian Open title will go down to the wire, with the Spaniard set to face Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final.
Alcaraz, the number one seed, defeated Giulio Zeppieri over three sets in Saturday's semi-final – securing his 42nd win of the year. That is the joint-most victories in 2022 on the men's tour alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas, and extends his record in Umag to 8-0.
The 7-5 4-6 6-3 win sees Alcaraz reach an ATP Tour-leading sixth final in 2022 and will lift him to fourth in the world rankings ahead of Tsitsipas – a career high for the 19-year-old.
"It's amazing to be in a final here again. I enjoy playing here in Umag and I'm really happy with the win today," Alcaraz said in an on-court interview.
Alcaraz will bring up his first century of ATP matches when he tackles Italian Sinner.
"It would be amazing in my 100th match to get the win, and of course it is amazing to be number four on Monday," Alcaraz said. "It's something great for me, but right now I am just focused on the final."
Sinner, who beat Alcaraz at Wimbledon to set up a quarter-final against Novak Djokovic, saw off compatriot Franco Agamenone 6-1 6-3 in Saturday's other semi-final.
The 20-year-old Sinner is looking for his first title of 2022, having won at Antwerp, Sofia, Washington and Melbourne last year. He has reached the quarter-finals in two of the three grand slams played so far this year.
Carlos Sainz is relishing the prospect of battling against front-row rival George Russell in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Mercedes driver Russell stunned Ferrari's drivers with a stellar lap in the closing stages of qualifying to snatch the first pole position of his career, with Sainz lining up second on the grid and team-mate Charles Leclerc in third.
It sets up an interesting race in Hungary, the last before F1's summer break, with McLaren's Lando Norris in fourth while the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez begin in 10th and 11th respectively.
While Mercedes have an advantage at the start, their car continues to be a largely unknown quantity and Ferrari will fancy their chances of securing a win – with Sainz confirming the team will be pushing for that goal.
"I'm not very happy with the final result as I feel I could have done a better lap on the final attempt," he said after qualifying.
"However, I prefer to focus on the positives: we are in a good position for tomorrow, I've been comfortable in the car all weekend, and we keep making steps in the right direction.
"I'm confident we can carry the good pace of Friday into the race, so we'll definitely go for it.
"Congrats to George on his first pole. He did a very good lap today and I look forward to the battle tomorrow."
Leclerc is equally confident Ferrari can respond after a frustrating qualifying session, as he too looks to challenge team-mate Sainz and Russell for the win – which would provide a boost after last weekend's crash in France.
"The pace is there and we know we have some work to do," Leclerc said. "I'm confident we can come back stronger tomorrow."
Max Verstappen felt he had the pace to at least qualify in the top three for the Hungarian Grand Prix and said an engine problem with his Red Bull was not serious.
Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez failed to make it out of Q2, qualifying 11th, and the championship leader will start 10th after a power unit issue on his out lap ahead of a second flying effort ended hopes of pole.
The Dutchman had looked ominously fast in Q2, having been behind the Ferraris in both of Friday's practice sessions.
However, he now has a recovery mission if he is to avoid nearest challenger Charles Leclerc eating heavily into his 63-point lead at the top of the drivers' championship at a Hungaroring circuit where it is notoriously difficult to overtake.
Leclerc will start third behind team-mate Carlos Sainz, who had appeared destined for pole until Mercedes' George Russell snatched it with a remarkable lap.
But Verstappen, having turned the air blue as he lost power, was composed when asked about his car's issues and the task ahead of him on Sunday.
He told Sky Sports: "I don't think it's a big issue but something we couldn't solve on track. It's very unfortunate.
"The turnaround from yesterday was amazing. There was a lot of analysing going to understand what was not really working that well yesterday.
"In a way, that's positive about today, we understood what went wrong and the car was so much better today in terms of handling on a track that doesn't really suit us.
"So that's a big positive for the rest of the year anyway that we can, even on a track where we're not that strong, be competitive, but of course I would have liked to start in the top three, and I definitely think we had the pace for it because even in Q2 we looked very strong.
"So yeah, good turnaround but unfortunately the little glitch we had makes us start 10th."
Asked about his prospects for the race and the choice between a one or two-stop strategy, Verstappen added: "It can be a tough one if you're stuck, I hope of course not too long. We have to just stay calm and wait for our moments to go forward.
"It [the strategy] depends also a bit on what is happening in front of you, behind you as well, so we just need to be on it and be flexible."
Caroline Garcia eased into the Poland Open final by dominating against Jasmine Paolini a day on from a superb win over Iga Swiatek.
Garcia defeated Swiatek in three sets on Friday, ending the world number one's 18-match winning streak on clay.
Paolini should have provided a far more straightforward task, and so it proved, as Garcia raced through 6-1 6-2 to make the title match.
The fifth seed will now face first-time WTA Tour finalist Ana Bogdan – a 7-5 7-5 victor against Kateryna Baindl – in that Warsaw decider.
Garcia will hope for better conditions for the showpiece, with rain having added another factor on Saturday, when the in-form French star was still recovering from stopping Swiatek.
"It's been a challenging week, especially today, with the big win yesterday, only a couple of hours to recover and be ready," Garcia explained.
"Conditions were very difficult, a lot of rain. I'm just very happy with the way I played, and I stayed very focused on the present, and it paid off."
At the Prague Open, Anastasia Potapova will face Marie Bouzkova in the final, the seventh seed playing the eighth seed.
Potapova had it largely her own way against Wang Qiang, who succumbed to a second-set bagel in going down 6-3 6-0, while Bouzkova also won in two but needed a tie-break in the opener against Linda Noskova, progressing 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.
Potapova faces a busy Sunday, as she had already advanced to the doubles final alongside partner Yana Sizikova.
Sebastian Vettel's retirement announcement ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix has been the biggest talking point on the grid, with the German's departure set to leave a significant void for Aston Martin to fill.
The four-time world champion played an integral part in Red Bull's rise to become an F1 powerhouse, winning back-to-back championships between 2010 and 2013.
Vettel's championships make him an F1 great, with only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton (both seven) and Juan Manuel Fangio (five) winning more world titles.
In terms of race wins, Vettel is again near the summit with 53 victories, only behind Hamilton (103) and Schumacher (91), while he is one of only five drivers to secure at least 100 podium finishes – alongside Hamilton, Schumacher, Alain Prost and Kimi Raikkonen.
Those regular appearances in the front three have also given him an honour that only Hamilton can equal, with the pair being the only drivers in F1 history to have secured over 3,000 career points – with Vettel having 3,076 ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Singapore has been Vettel's favoured venue, with five victories and 195 points, and the Far East has been where Vettel has excelled in qualifying – securing pole position on eight occasions in both Singapore and Japan.
Throughout the course of his career, Vettel has raced for five different teams – starting with Sauber, where he scored points in his only outing for the team and then signed for Toro Rosso – securing his first pole and victory in August 2007 in Italy.
After 25 races with the Italian team, Vettel moved to Red Bull, for whom he appeared in 113 races, with only Mark Webber (129) and Max Verstappen (130 so far) featuring more for the Austrian outfit.
Vettel also boasts the most wins (38), the most pole positions (44) and the most fastest laps (24) for Red Bull.
In 2011, Vettel was on pole position for 15 of 19 races, an F1 record, and he won 13 races in 2013 – a joint-record alongside Schumacher.
Vettel's era of dominance came to an end at the start of F1's hybrid era, finishing fifth in the standings in 2014 with just four podiums from 19 races, and he subsequently joined Ferrari for the 2015 season.
The German continued to struggle, with just three wins and one pole position in his first year with the Italian side – although those wins were the most registered in a single season for Ferrari since Fernando Alonso in 2012 (also three).
Overall, Vettel raced 118 times for Ferrari and amassed 14 race wins, 55 podiums, 12 pole positions and 1,400 points.
Should all go to plan, Vettel's final fling in his F1 career will come in Abu Dhabi, the season finale and his 300th career race.
So far for Aston Martin, he has a single podium, in Azerbaijan in 2021, and has earned 58 points from 32 races.
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