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.
Lewis Hamilton has signed a new two-year contract with Mercedes, running until the end of the 2023 Formula One season.
Another day but the same story for record-setting Shohei Ohtani, who fuelled the Los Angeles Angels' 8-7 walk-off win over the Baltimore Orioles in MLB on Friday.
Ohtani hit two homers and scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Angels overcame the Orioles at Angel Stadium.
The two-way Angels star took his tally to an MLB-best 30 homers in 2021 thanks to home runs in the third and fourth innings.
According to Stats Perform, Ohtani became the first player in American League (AL) history to reach 30 home runs and 10 stolen bases in his team's first 81 games of the season. The only National League (NL) players to achieve the feat are Sammy Sosa (1998) and Albert Pujols (2009).
Ohtani also earned the franchise record for the most homers before the All-Star break, surpassing Mike Trout's 2018 record of 28.
Dodgers extend streak, Manoah masters Rays
World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers won their seventh consecutive game by downing the Washington Nationals 10-5.
Alek Manoah set a Toronto Blue Jays record in their 11-1 demolition of the Tampa Bay Rays. The rookie pitcher made history with seven consecutive strikeouts in a game, according to Stats Perform. Manoah – back from a five-game ban – struck out a career-high 10 batters over seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball. George Springer, Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all homered for the Blue Jays.
Willy Adames homered as the Milwaukee Brewers emerged 7-2 victors against the Pittsburgh Pirates for their 10th successive win.
Lopez ejected in Marlins loss
Miami Marlins right hander Pablo Lopez was ejected after his first pitch hit All-Star Ronald Acuna Jr. in a 1-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves. In a long-running history, Marlins manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. were also ejected.
The slumping Chicago Cubs tasted a seventh straight defeat after losing 2-1 at the Cincinnati Reds.
Phillips makes his first appearance on the mound
In a lopsided defeat, the Rays did manage to provide a highlight after outfielder Brett Phillips pitched. With Tampa Bay trailing by nine runs ahead of the bottom of the eighth inning, Phillips was sent to the mound for the first time in his professional career. In an inning, the 27-year-old allowed two hits, a run and two walks.
Friday's results
Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers 10-5 Washington Nationals
Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 Pittsburgh Pirates
Toronto Blue Jays 11-1 Tampa Bay Rays
Chicago White Sox 8-2 Detroit Tigers
Cincinnati Reds 2-1 Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros 6-3 Cleveland Indians
Atlanta Braves 1-0 Miami Marlins
Kansas City Royals 7-4 Minnesota Twins
St Louis Cardinals 9-3 Colorado Rockies
Boston Red Sox 3-2 Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels 8-7 Baltimore Orioles
San Francisco Giants 11-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners 5-4 Texas Rangers
New York Mets-New York Yankees (postponed)
Mets at Yankees
After the opening was rained out, the Subway Series will get underway between the Mets (41-36) and Yankees (41-39) on Saturday. Taijuan Walker is the starter for the Mets, while the Yankees send Jordan Montgomery to the mound.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is doubtful as the Milwaukee Bucks try to clinch an NBA Finals berth, while Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young is questionable for Saturday's clash.
The Bucks moved 3-2 clear in the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Hawks 123-112 in Game 5 on Thursday, with Antetokounmpo and Young both watching from the sidelines.
Bucks superstar Antetokounmpo is likely to miss Game 6 after sitting out the previous contest due to a hyperextended left knee suffered in the Game 4 loss away to the Hawks.
Two-time MVP Antetokounmpo landed awkwardly on his left leg with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter in Atlanta, where he jumped up to contest an alley-oop from Lou Williams to Clint Capela, but his knee buckled before he hobbled to the locker room.
Young has missed back-to-back games with a bone bruise in his right foot following a freak injury in Game 3, which saw the Hawks guard step on the referee's foot at State Farm Arena.
Antetokounmpo has been averaging a career-high 29.2 points in the playoffs, along with 13.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists.
The 'Greek Freak' had averaged 28.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and a career best-tying 5.9 assists per game in the regular season.
Young has been averaging 29.8 points, 9.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds in his first playoff campaign, having averaged 25.3 points, a career-high 9.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds in the regular season.
Milwaukee are eyeing their first championship since 1971, while they last reached the NBA Finals in 1973-74.
Champions in 1958, the Hawks have not featured in the Finals since their triumphant season 63 years ago when they were still based in St Louis.
Andy Murray raised doubts over his future after losing in the third round at Wimbledon, leaving the grand slam with one question: "Is it worth it?".
Murray's Wimbledon journey came to an end on Friday following the former world number one's 6-4 6-2 6-2 loss to 10th seed Denis Shapovalov on Centre Court.
Making his first appearance in the main draw since he was the defending champion at Wimbledon in 2017, Murray's career has been devastated by injuries.
Murray underwent hip resurfacing in 2019 but the three-time grand slam champion has continued to be plagued by fitness problems.
After suffering his earliest Wimbledon exit since 2005, Murray was in a downbeat mood as he was left to ponder his next move.
"It was great playing in front of the crowds again," the 34-year-old said. "I got amazing support here. I'm very thankful for that. Something I have missed. It kind of reminds you why you do all of the work and everything.
"But then, on the flip side of that, the positive part is getting through the matches and feeling OK physically and not getting injured.
"That's good but then there is a part of me that feels a bit like I have put in so much work the last three months and ultimately didn't play how I would want and expect, and it’s like, is it worth it?
"Is all of that training and everything that you're doing in the gym, unless you're able to practise and improve your game and get matches and get a run of tournaments, is it worth all of the work that you're doing?
"There is part of me that feels like, yes, it is, because I had great memories and stuff from this event and playing in some brilliant atmospheres. But I finished the match tonight and I'm saying to my team, 'I'm just not happy with how I played'.
"So, unless me and my team can find a way of keeping me on the court for a consistent period of time and allow me to practise the way that I need to to compete with these guys, that's when the discussions about what I do next will come in.
"Because I have genuinely put a lot into this to get to this point, but I'm not being able to practise and prepare how I need to to perform how I would like at these events.
"I’m not expecting and saying I would beat Denis Shapovalov. He's a brilliant player. But I feel like I can do a lot better than what I did this evening."
Chris Harris says the British and Irish Lions are "looking sharp" as they head into the first match of their South Africa tour.
The tourists face South Africa's own Lions, the Johannesburg-based team, on Saturday at Ellis Park.
Warren Gatland's team have a proud record to uphold, with the British and Irish Lions having won their first game after arriving in South Africa on each of their last six tours there.
Those victories have come by an average margin of 23 points –with their last such defeat a 9-6 setback in 1955 against Western Transvaal.
Scotland back Harris is set to make his debut for the visitors tomorrow as a much-changed team attempt to build on last weekend's win over Japan at Murrayfield.
The British and Irish Lions have never played the Lions previously but have taken on the affiliated Golden Lions, Johannesburg’s provincial side, and won each of their last four such games, most recently dishing out a 74-10 thrashing in 2009.
Only once have the travelling Lions won more heavily in South Africa, when dishing out a 97-0 thrashing to South Western Districts in 1974.
"It's an absolute honour to be puling on the jersey for the first time," Harris said on Friday. "I'm absolutely buzzing.
"It's pretty surreal to go from playing at university and working my way up through Newcastle and then representing Scotland, and this is just amazing to be able to pull on that jersey.
"I'm looking forward to it and it's a challenge I'm willing to relish. We got off to a really good start against Japan, but we're here to hit the ground running here in South Africa with another win.
"It's a new team, new combinations, but we've had a good week or two training together and we're looking sharp."
Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg will captain Gatland's team and was described as "a brilliant leader" by Harris.
"But he's also got plenty of brilliant leaders alongside him to help him along the way," said Harris, who will partner England skipper Owen Farrell in the midfield. "I think it will be a good game for him to start his captaincy as a Lions player."
Alun Wyn Jones was due to captain the Lions but was unable to make the tour after dislocating his shoulder against Japan.
His fellow Welshman and near-namesake Wyn Jones believes the British and Irish Lions being largely isolated in a team hotel while in South Africa need not be a hindrance.
"You've got to make it to your advantage," Jones said. "We're a close team now and I think the bubble's brought us closer. We spend a lot of time together and that can only be an advantage. We're having a good time together despite not being able to leave the hotel."
RUSSELL OUT TO MAKE AN IMPACT
The battle for the starting Test fly-half role is on, with Finn Russell the latest to get the chance to persuade Gatland he should play from the off in the first Test on July 24 in Cape Town.
Dan Biggar seized his chance last time out, being named man of the match against Japan, and Farrell is a contender for the role too, but Russell is certainly in with a strong shout, and these tour matches are opportunities to deliver persuasive performances.
It should help Russell to have Scotland team-mate Ali Price at scrum-half, and Hogg as skipper.
EARLY CHANCE TO PROVE PACK'S STRENGTH
The visiting Lions can expect a robust welcome to South Africa, and Gatland will look for his team as a whole, not least the forwards, to show they are up for the battle ahead.
Prop Jones is keen to make an early impact and said in Friday's news conference: "We know what South Africa bring. They'll be a big pack and every team we face out here there'll be a big front five.
"As a prop, it's a challenge that I'm looking forward to and I can't wait to get into."
British and Irish Lions: Stuart Hogg (captain), Louis Rees-Zammit, Chris Harris, Owen Farrell, Josh Adams, Finn Russell, Ali Price; Wyn Jones, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Jonny Hill, Courtney Lawes, Hamish Watson, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Zander Fagerson, Iain Henderson, Sam Simmonds, Gareth Davies, Bundee Aki, Elliot Daly.
Lions: EW Viljoen, Jamba Ulengo, Manuel Rass, Burger Odendaal, Rabz Maxwane; Jordan Hendrikse, Dillon Smit; Nathan McBeth, PJ Botha, Ruan Dreyer, Ruben Schoeman, Reinhard Nothnagel, Sbusiso Sangweni, Vincent Tshituka, Francke Horn (captain).
Replacements: Jaco Visagie, Sti Sithole, Carlu Sadie, Ruhan Straeuli, Emmanuel Tshituka, Morne van den Berg, Fred Zeilinga, Dan Kriel.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Excluding their Test matches against the Springboks, the British and Irish Lions have suffered just one defeat in their 56 tour matches on South African soil since losing to Transvaal in 1968 (W54, D1), with the solitary defeat in that run coming against Northern Transvaal in 1997.
- The Lions won just one of their five completed matches in this year's Rainbow Cup SA (L4), against the Bulls in round four; their three games at Emirates Airlines Park saw an average of 66 points and nine tries scored per game (W1 L2).
- The Lions averaged the most carries (103) and passes (125) per game of any team in this year's Rainbow Cup SA, averaging 16 minutes and 35 seconds in possession per match, more than any other side; however, they gained the fewest metres (350) and beat the fewest defenders (19) on average.
- Finn Russell assisted 12 tries in the Top 14 for Racing 92 in the 2020-21 season, more than any other player in the league, and a competition-high four of those assists came from kicks.
- Sam Simmonds scored 21 tries for Exeter Chiefs in the recently concluded English Premiership, the most any player has managed for any side in an edition of the competition. He also topped the charts for carries (263), was the only forward to gain 1,000-plus metres, made the second most tackles (234) and beat the second most defenders (63) of any player.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
