Max Verstappen saw off Fernando Alonso to take pole position in a scintillating qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Alonso’s Aston Martin mechanics celebrated wildly after it appeared as though the 41-year-old Spaniard had taken his first pole in 11 years.
But Verstappen delivered a mesmerising final sector in Monte Carlo to take top spot with his final throw of the dice, beating Alonso by just 0.084 seconds.
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, one spot ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon with Carlos Sainz fifth.
Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth for Mercedes, two places ahead of team-mate George Russell, with Sergio Perez set to start Sunday’s 78-lap race from last place after he crashed out.
It has been 3,691 days since Alonso’s last pole in the sport and the rejuvenated Aston Martin driver looked on course to finally end his losing streak when he temporarily moved to the top of the time charts after declaring he was “pushing like an animal”.
Verstappen was the only driver who could spoil both the dreams of Alonso and Aston Martin, and he trailed the Spaniard by two tenths heading into the final sector.
But the double world champion danced his way through the final part of the circuit to finish clear of Alonso and claim a pole which he will be expected to convert into his fourth victory from the opening six rounds.
Mercedes were banking on their much-anticipated upgrade providing them with a springboard to challenge the grid’s all-conquering Red Bull team.
But on its grand unveiling here in the sun-cooked principality, Hamilton was at odds with his new machine.
The British driver, who crashed out of final practice following a mistake at the right-hander Mirabeau, missed the chicane in Q1, only avoiding an early bath with his final lap, before scrambling into Q3 after he grazed the wall at the swimming pool chicane.
“Man this car is hard to drive, mate,” said the seven-time world champion, who also reported there was “something wrong” with his right-rear suspension.
He finished four tenths behind Verstappen in Q3 with team-mate Russell six tenths adrift.
Perez is Verstappen’s closest championship challenger, but the Mexican driver will start the race at the back of the pack.
The running was just six minutes old when Perez – 14 points adrift of Verstappen in the standings – carried too much speed through the opening Sainte Devote corner and thudded into the wall.
Perez sustained extensive damage to the left-hand side of his Red Bull before coming to a standstill in the middle of the circuit.
“I crashed, I crashed,” said Perez, who now faces losing serious ground to Verstappen in the championship race with overtaking extremely challenging at this most unique of configurations.
River Of Stars battled hard to take the William Hill Bronte Cup Fillies’ Stakes for Ralph Beckett at York.
The Sea The Stars four-year-old won a Listed race at Chester last season before heading to Doncaster and coming home fifth in the Park Hill Stakes.
On the latter occasion the winner was Mimikyu, the 3-1 favourite for the York rematch as River Of Stars went off at 4-1 under Rossa Ryan.
Ryan kept the filly near the front of the field of nine and in the home straight it was the two Doncaster rivals who locked horns, crossing the line almost in unison as a photo finish was required to identify Beckett’s horse as the short-head winner.
“It played out well, if it wasn’t her first run of the year I’d have probably let her roll along,” said the jockey.
“In the middle part of the race we filled up a lot, you can see from the top of the straight she was just being a bit lairy.
“Kieran’s horse (O’Neill, Mimikyu) has just dragged me into the race, she knew where the line was and she stuck it out well.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if she gets a small bit further but it’s worked out great.
“Ralph’s been aiming her at this for a while and it worked out lovely.
“She had a lot to turn around from the Park Hill with the winner, but she’s turned it round.
“She’s a light enough filly and I’d say she quite enjoyed that good ground, she’s just a bit on and off the bridle the whole way.
“If they don’t get away from her, like they didn’t today, she grinds it out well.
“She’s very versatile and it’s good for the owners, the team at home have done a great job, they’ve stuck faith in her and she’s paid them off.”
Paddington made a seamless switch to Classic company as he gave trainer Aidan O’Brien another victory in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh.
Having begun his season in handicap company off a mark of 97, Paddington won the Tetrarch Stakes next time before being pitched into the Guineas.
Ryan Moore was keen to grab an early position on the 3-1 victor and settled just behind Oisin Murphy on Hi Royal, the surprise runner up in the Newmarket Guineas.
For a brief spell it appeared as if Murphy was keeping a bit up his sleeve as Moore got down into the drive position, but with half a furlong left to run, Paddington began to gain the upper hand.
He leaned in briefly on Hi Royal, but he was already in command and as Hi Royal began to weaken it was the winner’s stablemate Cairo who made late gains from the rear to claim second, beaten two lengths.
Royal Scotsman was sent off the 6-4 favourite but never looked like getting involved as O’Brien claimed a 12th victory in the race, although it was his first since Churchill in 2017.
The winner is now the 4-1 second favourite for the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot with Coral, who have Newmarket winner Chaldean as the 11-8 market leader.
Dramatised came with a powerful late challenge to land Group Two honours in the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock.
Last seen finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Dramatised was sent off the 4-1 favourite for trainer Karl Burke and jockey William Buick.
The three-year-old was settled off the pace by Buick as both Live In The Dream and The Platinum Queen were eager to make their presence felt early.
However, Buick rode a perfect waiting race and when he gave Dramatised the signal, she quickly made strides up the near side rail, collaring Live In The Dream inside the last of the five furlongs.
Equilateral, a 20-1 shot, did his best to challenge down the middle of the track, but Dramatised was just too good, prevailing by a length, with Live In The Dream keeping on for third ahead of Existent.
Just Stop Oil protesters forced a stoppage in play during Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham.
Two men invaded the pitch midway through the first half of the match between Saracens and Sale, throwing orange paint powder on to the field.
Fans jeered the duo before cheering as stewards escorted them from the stadium.
Orange powder remained on the field as the match resumed.
The protest followed a similar one at the World Snooker Championship in April.
On that occasion, a man tipped orange paint on the table during the match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry at the Crucible in Sheffield.
A woman was prevented from executing a similar stunt on the other table after being tackled by quick-thinking referee Olivier Marteel.
Little Big Bear proved his 2000 Guineas run to be all wrong with a comprehensive success in the Betfred Nifty Fifty Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock.
Champion juvenile last year on the back of his seven-length win in the Phoenix Stakes, his campaign was then curtailed by injury.
Aidan O’Brien opted to switch up to a mile for his seasonal bow, but nothing went right at Newmarket and he finished slightly lame in last place.
Just three weeks later, he was a different proposition dropped back to six furlongs on Merseyside, travelling sweetly throughout in the hands of Frankie Dettori, with Ryan Moore on Irish Guineas duty at the Curragh.
Hollie Doyle appeared to be going just as well on last year’s Coventry winner Bradsell until a furlong and a half out, when Dettori made his race-winning move.
Richard Hannon’s Shouldvebeenaring tried to make a race of it having cruised into contention, but he could never quite get close enough to put the evens favourite under pressure and he went down by a length and a quarter.
The winner is now 6-4 favourite from 9-2 with Betfair for the Commonwealth Cup at Ascot.
Dettori said: “Aidan got in touch with me 10 days ago and I said ‘yeah, I would love to ride the horse’, but I didn’t know where I was going to be. Very kindly they held on for me, I was on the phone on Sunday and said ‘listen, I’m going to Haydock’.
“He looked magnificent today. I guess they had to try the Guineas, it was too long (a mile) and it didn’t work out, but he won in good style today.
“I always had the race covered, he quickened up well under hands and heels and it’s a good confidence booster before the Commonwealth Cup.
“I don’t know what the line-up will be, but he was champion two-year-old, he has big figures and has come back to his best today, so he’ll be the favourite.”
Oisin Murphy rode his first ever winner at the Curragh as Art Power confirmed his love for Ireland when winning the Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes in clear-cut fashion.
Trained by Tim Easterby, the grey was winning for the fourth time in as many attempts in Ireland.
Swiftly away from the stalls, the 2-1 joint-favourite looked in a comfortable rhythm throughout while his main market rival, Charlie Hills’ Garrus, was almost detached at the back of the field under Ryan Moore.
When Garrus did begin to make a move from the rear, Art Power had plenty left and kicked on again over a furlong out, running out a four-and-three-quarter-length winner from Big Gossey, with Garrus third.
The winner, gelded in the winter, is now as low as 8-1 with Betfair for the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
“He was a top-class sprinter and he lost his form a little bit. Tim Easterby and King Power Racing have been patient with him and today he gave me a super feel,” said Murphy.
“He loves Ireland and has never been beaten here, that’s his fourth victory from four starts – what a fantastic horse.
“I hadn’t ridden any winners here before today, so I can’t say I was very confident through the race and I knew what I was doing. I pretended I did anyway and I had the right horse.
“This is a great feeling. I managed to win a Listed race on Buckaroo at Leopardstown last month and to be here on such a big day is massive.”
Covey looked the proverbial Group horse in a handicap as he and Frankie Dettori led their rivals a merry dance in the £100,000 Betfred Silver Bowl at Haydock.
Narrowly beaten by Zoology on his debut at Southwell, John and Thady Gosden’s colt went one better at Newmarket next time before landing extremely short odds of 1-16 when doubling his tally at Newcastle.
Making his handicap debut from a perch of 90 on Merseyside, the son of Frankel again headed the betting as the 6-4 favourite and the result was never really in any doubt as he cut out most of the running and passed the post with just over three lengths in hand over Royal Cape.
Covey does not hold any big-race entries, but appears almost certain to be part of the Gosden squad for Royal Ascot next month.
Dettori, sporting the same Juddmonte colours he will wear aboard Covey’s stablemate Arrest in next weekend’s Betfred Derby at Epsom, said: “That was good and he’s going the right way.
“He was a difficult horse six months ago – he ran off the gallop with me in October! But he’s getting his act together and improving all the time.
“You always need a decent horse to win this kind of race, I guess the Britannia or the Jersey could be on his agenda for Ascot.”
Hollie Doyle came in for a winning spare ride aboard the Hugo Palmer-trained Solent Gateway (5-1) in the Betfred TV Hell Nook Handicap.
With intended jockey Neil Callan stuck on the M6, late substitute Doyle was at her power-packed best as her mount dug deep to repel 2-1 favourite Law Of The Sea by three-quarters of a length.
She said: “Neil got stuck in traffic unfortunately and I was probably the only one in the weighing room!
“I knew the horse quite well as I’ve ridden against him a few times and I just did what I was told.
“I got an easy lead, I cantered round in front and he was very push-button.”
In The Breeze came from the clouds to get trainer Mick Appleby off the cold list in the opening Betfred Supports Jack Berry House Florida Handicap.
The Rutland-based trainer had gone 81 runners and 43 days without a winner heading to Haydock and In The Breeze was a 9-2 shot to stop the rot in the hands of Ray Dawson.
The five-year-old was at the rear of the field for much of the 10-furlong contest, but charged home to get up in the dying strides and beat Swift Tuttle by a neck.
“We’ve been knocking on the door a bit, but we’ve had a very busy winter, so you expect to have a bit of a quiet time. It has been a bit longer than normal,” said Appleby.
“This horse is a bit highly strung, so we just have to try to keep a lid on him. I thought when they were crawling early on it wasn’t going to suit us as it turned into a sprint, but Ray gave him a great ride and he got the job done well.”
Coco Gauff hopes returning to Paris can help her find a new groove.
The 19-year-old reached her first grand slam singles final at the French Open last summer, losing a one-sided contest to Iga Swiatek.
She began this season by winning a WTA title in Auckland but has struggled recently, failing to make it past the third round at any of her last four tournaments and suffering some heavy defeats.
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Having established herself as a top-10 player, Gauff is now seeking the right path to move forward on and off the court.
“I would have liked to approach it (the tournament) the same way but I feel that’s not realistic because I am a different person than I was last year,” she said.
“I think I just have to find the way I want to approach it for this version of myself now. That comes through trial and error.
“I feel like for some reason, though, I always seem to find that in Paris. I don’t know if it’s the city or the vibe here that makes me a lot more at ease.
“I think there’s always things I would like to keep from myself a year ago and things I would like to get rid of. I have to figure out what things I want to keep and what things I don’t want to keep. I think that’s just learning about yourself.
“No matter how young or how old I am, I think I’m always going to be in this process of learning about myself. But I feel like even more in these years as I’m transitioning into being like a real adult.”
Gauff is back working with Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou having split from Diego Moyano and is trying to take more ownership of her tennis.
The American is a superb athlete and has one of the sport’s best backhands but her forehand is not nearly as reliable and is often cited as the weakness holding her back.
“I’m used to being told what to do and I just do it,” said Gauff. “So I guess now I’m trying to find, and I think Patrick and previous coaches want me to be more vocal about my game and about what I want to do.
“Obviously the forehand is something that I have to improve on, but on clay especially I feel like it’s one of my weapons. Last year, I won a lot of points using that heavy forehand, and I think that that’s something I continue to do this year.
“I feel pretty confident going into this tournament regardless of how other people view my game.”
Gauff will begin her tournament on Monday or Tuesday against Spain’s Rebeka Masarova.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka opens play on Philippe Chatrier on Sunday against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk while third seed Jessica Pegula meets fellow American Danielle Collins.
Jessica Harrington’s Givemethebeatboys maintained his unbeaten record with a narrow victory in the GAIN Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh.
A winner at Navan on his debut just a fortnight ago, he was sent off an 11-1 chance in what looked a strong Group Three on paper as five of the six runners were defending perfect starts to their careers.
The only one beaten on debut, Adrian Murray’s Valiant Force, had been second and he set a scorching gallop down the centre under Colin Keane but started to weaken a furlong out.
At that point Noche Magica looked sure to collect having gone by the eventual winner, but Paddy Twomey’s colt began to tire while Aidan O’Brien’s His Majesty made a run up the rail, only for Givemethebeatboys to poke his head in front in between the pair and win by a head under Shane Foley.
O’Brien’s Democracy, his apparent first string under Ryan Moore, disappointed in last while the winner is now 12-1 for the Coventry at Royal Ascot with Coral.
Assistant trainer Kate Harrington said: “It’s great to kick off the day with a Group Three winner. He was very professional out there and he out battled the other horses the whole way to the line.
“He was very impressive when he won at Navan, a furlong down you’d think ‘how is this horse going to win?’ and he put his head down and galloped the whole way to the line.
“He hated the ground that day and was green. He’s learned an awful lot from that and will learn an awful lot from today, he’ll be even more competitive the next day when we go to Ascot.”
O’Brien had already been on the mark in the opening Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF (C&G) Maiden with Unquestionable.
Third on his debut in a Listed race, he appreciated the step up to six furlongs and the 4-6 favourite bounded four and a quarter lengths clear of Mr Saturday.
The Ballydoyle handler indicted the Coventry Stakes would be next, for which Coral make him a 12-1 chance.
“We’re delighted with him. We felt he’d appreciate the step up, it was big ask to throw him in over five first time in a stakes race, he’s going to get even further than this probably,” said O’Brien.
“Ryan was very happy with him. He went to the line very strong.
“It’s very hard to beat a run and he had a good run. He looks like a Coventry horse.”
Emily Upjohn tops a possible 9 contenders for Friday’s Dahlbury Coronation Cup at Epsom.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained filly returns to the scene of her narrow defeat in last year’s Oaks, when she was edged out by a short head in a thrilling finish with Tuesday.
She gained Group One consolation on her final outing of the year in the Fillies & Mares Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot last October and she is at the head of the betting with most firms to make a triumphant return on the opening day of the Derby meeting.
The Ralph Beckett-trained Westover is also at the top of the market, having finished an unlucky third in the Derby last June before going on to land the Irish version at the Curragh.
He already has a run under his belt this season having chased home Japanese star Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic on World Cup night back in March.
Godolphin pin their hopes on Hurricane Lane, the 2021 St Leger hero who roared back to form for trainer Charlie Appleby with a six-length victory in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket last time out.
Aidan O’Brien has three to choose from in Chester scorer Point Lonsdale, last year’s Derby fifth Changingoftheguard and Broome, winner of the Dubai Gold Cup and third in the Yorkshire Cup earlier this month.
The Peter Schiergen-trained Tunnes is a fascinating contender having hacked up in a German Group One by 10 lengths at the backend of last year before an unsuccessful Japan Cup challenge.
Tunnes, a half-brother to Arc victor Torquator Tasso, suffered a surprise defeat on his seasonal bow, though.
Likely outsiders Royal Champion, who represents Roger Varian, and the David Menuisier-trained Caius Chorister complete the list of confirmations.
Godolphin’s Eternal Hope has been supplemented for the Betfred Oaks at Epsom on Friday, resulting in a possible maximum field of 15.
The Charlie Appleby-trained filly won the Lingfield Oaks Trial on the all-weather earlier this month, beating Aidan O’Brien’s Be Happy by a length and three-quarters.
That was just the third run of her career but having impressed Appleby in a piece of work on Saturday morning, the decision was made to pay the £30,000 supplementary fee.
The runner-up at Lingfield could take on Eternal Hope again as one of six potential runners for Ballydoyle.
Boogie Woogie, Jackie Oh, Red Riding Hood, Warm Heart and the ante-post favourite Savethelastdance – so impressive when winning the Cheshire Oaks on soft ground – make up the potential O’Brien team.
John Gosden, who along with O’Brien is responsible for the last nine winners of the race, now trains with son Thady and they appear to have a strong hand.
Pretty Polly winner Running Lion, the mount of Oisin Murphy, and Musidora heroine Soul Sister, who is set to be ridden by Frankie Dettori, comprise the Clarehaven challenge.
The fourth and fifth from the 1000 Guineas, Jack Channon’s Caernarfon and Charlie Johnston’s Dance In The Grass, could run in their second Classics while David Menuisier’s Heartache Tonight, beaten a little over a length in the Group One Prix Saint-Alary, is another contender.
Karl Burke’s Bright Diamond, Richard Hannon’s Maman Joon and Andrew Balding’s Sea Of Roses complete the list.
Lewis Hamilton crashed out of final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion lost control of his Mercedes through the right-hander Mirabeau and ended up in the wall.
Hamilton sustained front suspension damage in the low-speed accident with his Mercedes team now facing a race against time to repair his car for qualifying at 4pm local time (3pm UK).
“Sorry about that, mate,” said Hamilton on the radio, shortly before trudging away from his broken machine with his hands behind his back.
“No worries, we will sort it,” replied Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington.
Hamilton was running in eighth place before he crashed out with just five minutes remaining.
Cornish rookie Harry Hall fired four consecutive birdies around the turn as he took a three-shot halfway lead in the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Hall followed his opening round 62 with a 66 as he moved to 12 under par, three clear of American Harris English who lit up his round of 66 with a hole in one at the eighth hole at the Colonial Country Club at Fort Worth, Texas.
Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo is a shot further back after a best of the day round of 65.
Former Walker Cup star Hall is chasing his first PGA Tour win after chalking up two top 10 finishes in his rookie season to date.
Starting at the 10th, he bogeyed the 13th before getting that shot back two holes later and grabbing four straight birdies around the turn to strengthen his position at the top of the leaderboard.
That run was ended with a bogey at the third, but he birded the seventh and holed his second attempt to escape a greenside bunker at the eighth after plugging into the side.
English fared much better at the 170-yard eighth where he produced the first ace at the hole since Jim Furyk in 2011.
Adam Schenk, Byeong Hun An and Robby Shelton were tied for fourth, a stroke behind Grillo and one ahead of Andrew Novak and world number one Scottie Scheffler, who lost in a play-off 12 months ago and had his second consecutive round of 67.
Justin Rose, who won at Colonial five years ago, was tied for ninth at 5 under after a bogey-free 66.
Michael Block, the 46-year-old club pro from California who earned an invitation after tying for 15th at the US PGA Championship, finished last in the 120-strong field at 15 over par but improved on his opening round of 81 by seven strokes.
Tyson Fury claims to have sent Anthony Joshua “a draft contract” for a fight at Wembley Stadium in September.
The fierce British rivals appeared on course to meet each other last year, but discussions broke down.
Joshua has been linked with a fight against Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia, while WBC champion Fury’s proposed undisputed heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk fell through in March.
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Fury says a clash with Joshua “is a fight that everyone wants to see, including myself”.
Writing on his Instagram page, Fury said: “A few days ago I sent a draft contract to @anthonyjoshua for a fight in September @wembleystadium it’s a fight that everyone wants to see, including myself.
“Come of AJ lets give the world what they want to see. This time I’m not gonna make a million vids & keep putting pressure on. the ball is now on your side.. @frank_warren_official @eddiehearn @btsportboxing @daznboxing @toprank @espn @skysports”.
The Arizona Cardinals have released wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins after failing to find a trade partner.
The team announced the move Friday on Twitter.
Hopkins spent three seasons with the Cardinals after being acquired via trade from the Houston Texans in March 2020.
The 30-year-old had a stellar debut season with Arizona, being voted to his fifth Pro Bowl after tying his personal best with 115 catches totalling 1,407 yards.
In 2021 and 2022, Hopkins had a combined 106 catches as a torn knee ligament and a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing substances limited his playing time.
Earlier this offseason, the Cardinals brought in a new leadership team in general manager Monti Ossenfort and defensive-minded head coach Jonathan Gannon, leading to trade rumours circling Hopkins.
Arizona were unable to find a trade partner to take on Hopkins' $22.6million salary cap hit during the draft last month, leaving the rebuilding Cardinals no other choice but to release the three-time All-Pro receiver.
Amid the offseason trade rumours, Hopkins had been notably absent from voluntary OTA workouts and caused a stir earlier this week when he discussed the NFL's top quarterbacks on a podcast and omitted now-former teammate Kyler Murray.
In three seasons with the Cardinals, Hopkins recorded 221 receptions for 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns in 35 games.
The 10-year veteran has 853 career catches for 11,298 yards and 71 touchdowns.
Joseph O’Brien is heading to Royal Ascot with Nemonte who came with a strong late run to win the Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden on debut at the Curragh.
Although sent off an unfancied 20-1 chance for the six furlong contest, the daughter of Ten Sovereigns was staying on strongly from a patient ride by Mikey Sheehy, getting up by a neck in the shadow of the winning post. Sheehy’s brother, Danny, was on the runner-up Gaenari.
Connections of the winner could target the Albany Stakes if wishing to stay at six furlongs, but O’Brien is eyeing up a step up in trip where she could tackle the colts in the Chesham Stakes at the royal meeting.
He said: “It was a smart performance. We thought she would run well but didn’t expect her to win first time at six (furlongs). I was impressed with the way she really quickened up on her own on the wing
“It looked a good maiden with plenty on them well fancied so we’ll look to go for either the Chesham or the Albany.
“The dam won at a mile and a quarter so she qualifies for the Chesham and will probably go straight there. She probably wants to go seven.”
Fresh from saddling their first winner since joining forces last weekend, Michael Halford and Tracey Collins doubled their tally when Ostraka caused a shock at 50-1 in the Extra Place Races At Novibet Irish EBF Fillies Maiden.
The Profitable filly came from last to first under Ronan Whelan, looking a nice prospect in the process.
“Last year we brought her to a barrier trial and she disappointed. She lost a shoe and things just didn’t work out for her. She kept growing and weakened out on us so we put her away,” said Halford.
“She was working well and only getting going for us now. I thought she would come on for the run as she’s very laid back.
“She jumped a bit slow and Ronan just let her find her feet. You’d know from a long way down that she was travelling easy.
“She’s from a very fast family, the likes of Osterhase. Hopefully she’ll be a black type filly and we’ll sit down and see where we go from here.”
Bellaphina (13-2) was a first ever Flat winner for John Kinsella when winning at Limerick last month and the filly followed up under Conor Maxwell in the DNG Spring Fillies Handicap.
Aidan O’Brien’s Subzero (8-11 favourite) broke his duck at the third time of asking in the Live Music At McDonnells Bar Newbridge Irish EBF Maiden.
Lewis Hamilton had hoped his revamped Mercedes would have propelled him closer to the front after he finished sixth in practice for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team arrived for the sixth round of the season in the sun-cooked principality armed with a major upgrade.
But after an encouraging start – with Hamilton briefly heading the order in the opening running of the weekend – the British driver ended the day half-a-second behind Max Verstappen, who finished fastest for Red Bull. George Russell was only 12th in the other Mercedes.
“It is a shame we were not as close as I hoped we would be at the end of the session,” said Hamilton.
“In P1, I thought, ‘Wow, maybe we’re looking pretty good’, but in P2 we were close to half-a-second off. I don’t think we have half a second in the bag.
“We’ve just got to keep chipping away to see if we can squeeze any more juice out of the cup.”
After giving up on this season’s car on the eve of the opening race in Bahrain, Mercedes have spent the ensuing dozen weeks working on a new design philosophy.
The Silver Arrows have abandoned their controversial zero-sidepod concept and introduced a new front suspension, new floor and cooling system in a drastic change of development on a car which has contributed to the longest losing streak of Hamilton’s career.
On Sunday, it will be 539 days since Hamilton last stood on the top step of the podium at the penultimate round of the contentious 2021 season in Saudi Arabia.
And although Mercedes are keen not to draw too many conclusions at this week’s unique Monte Carlo configuration – and believe the following round at the well-trodden Circuit de Catalunya venue on the outskirts of Barcelona will present them with a better understanding of where they stand – the evidence of practice suggests they are no closer to providing a real challenge to Red Bull.
Hamilton added: “It’s not really the place to test an upgrade, but the car was generally feeling good.
“It’s very clear where the lack of performance is, and we will talk about that in the debrief. Hopefully this gives us a platform to build on moving forwards.”
Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez are the only men to have won a race this year, but their rapid Red Bull is not necessarily suited to the narrow and slow-speed track in Monaco.
However, despite Perez managing only seventh in practice, Verstappen’s pace indicates he could still be the driver to beat.
Home favourite Charles Leclerc is ready to pounce – after he finished just 0.065 seconds back – with his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, who crashed out of second practice remaining following a mistake at the high-speed swimming pool chicane, third.
Fernando Alonso could be a contender, too. The Aston Martin driver, 41, took fourth spot, 0.220 sec adrift of Verstappen. Lando Norris finished fifth in his McLaren.
Owen Farrell insists Saracens return to the Gallagher Premiership final with more strings to their bow as a result of last year’s Twickenham heartache.
Leicester were crowned champions at Saracens’ expense and although it was a narrow 15-12 defeat, a disappointing performance prompted a tactical rethink that has produced greater emphasis on attack.
Now they face the ultimate test of their progress in the winner-takes-all clash with Sale on Saturday.
“It took us a while to figure out how to get the best out of ourselves after last year’s final because we didn’t do that in that game,” Farrell said.
“What happened probably allowed us to change a bit more than we usually would after a final. It got us looking at ourselves a bit more than usual.
“Just simply because we were nowhere near our best and we didn’t give the best version of ourselves.
“Obviously Leicester played a massive part in that, but we don’t want to come off the field feeling like that again. That 80 minutes made us look at everything and look at how we can be better.
“Everyone talks about us now like we have turned into a team that plays attacking rugby this year alone. We’ve won stuff before playing good rugby.
“We have always had a solid basis behind us and we still have but there were times during the year and sometimes in big pressure games that we were trying to stay in the fight whereas now we want to take opportunities and make good decisions.
“Part of that could be staying in the fight – we want to be good at that – and part of that could be moving the ball. It could be anything – kick pass, run.
“We want to be good enough to play any way the game demands of us and we feel like we have taken a step forward with that this year. Hopefully that plays a big part in what we have do on Saturday.”
A key battle that will shape the contest is Farrell’s fly-half duel with George Ford, his long-term friend and former England team-mate who has been hugely influential for Sale since returning from an Achilles injury.
“I have known George since I was a kid. When you come up against him, first and foremost you know you are playing against a quality player,” Farrell said.
“You know you are playing against someone who knows what they are doing and as he has shown since coming back into the Sale team, he has been outstanding.
“He’s in a good place, he looks calm, he looks in control and I am sure he is a big driver behind this Sale team so I am looking forward to it.”
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