Andy Farrell says Ireland are “devastated” to have lost veteran prop Cian Healy to injury ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France.

Healy has been left out of his country’s 33-man squad and is facing up to 10 weeks on the sidelines due to a calf issue sustained in Saturday evening’s 17-13 warm-up win over Samoa.

The 35-year-old – Ireland’s third most-capped player with 125 appearances – was helped off the pitch by medical staff in Bayonne and was later pictured on crutches.

Munster loosehead Jeremy Loughman will fill the void, with head coach Farrell holding faint hope of Healy possibly being fit to feature in the latter stages of the tournament.

“He’s just had a scan as we got off the plane and he’ll be out for a spell of time that won’t be right, unfortunately, for Cian and for us, certainly for the start of the competition,” said Farrell, speaking in Dublin.

“We’ll see how his rehab goes during it, you’d never know towards the back end if he could be a replacement or not.

“It’s devastating, isn’t it? That’s sport, that’s life, that’s rugby. Cian’s big enough and old enough and experienced enough to be through these type of things before.

“I remember in 2013 on the Lions (tour) he got injured early and had to fly home. He’s experienced something like this and understands that these things happen. He’s devastated as we are for him.

“The prognosis is something between five, six to 10 weeks. How that rehab carries on is something that we’ll keep a track of as we go.”

Healy’s absence was the headline news from Farrell’s selection, but was hardly a shock given he was still hobbling when boarding the plane to return to Dublin from Biarritz earlier on Sunday.

Captain Johnny Sexton says his Leinster team-mate will be missed.

“I only just found out literally five minutes ago,” said Sexton. “He has been through ups and downs in his career, he’s a very, very decorated player, a great player. We’re going to miss him.

“I’m gutted for him to miss this tournament. It has meant a lot to him in how he has prepared for it and how he has trained.”

Ulster pair Jacob Stockdale and Tom Stewart, Connacht back-rower Cian Prendergast, Leinster fly-half Ciaran Frawley and uncapped Munster hooker Diarmuid Barron also failed to make the cut.

But Dan Sheehan, Ronan Kelleher, Jack Conan, Dave Kilcoyne and Keith Earls have been picked, despite recent injury issues, with Farrell opting for a 18-15 split of forwards and backs.

Ireland begin their campaign on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux and also face Tonga, world champions South Africa and Scotland in Pool B.

“It’s obviously difficult because you’re shattering somebody’s dream, but I would hope that through all campaigns you don’t let bad news become a shock,” Farrell said of cutting down his squad.

“We think we have an extremely gifted squad and I also feel the balance is right.

“We’re the lucky ones that get to chase the dream for the wider group and the nation itself.

“If we can’t get excited for that and the first game against Romania, we’re in the wrong job. I think we’re in a great place, ready to take this challenge head on.”

Christian Horner has hailed “untouchable” Max Verstappen as the best driver in the world after the Red Bull star overcame a chaotic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row.

Despite two separate downpours wreaking havoc at the beginning and conclusion of Sunday’s 72-lap race in Zandvoort, Verstappen delivered in front of 105,000 expectant fans to take the chequered flag ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with Pierre Gasly completing the podium.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, slapped with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane, finished fourth while Lewis Hamilton – who bemoaned his Mercedes team’s poor strategy in the inclement conditions – came home in sixth place.

Verstappen, who has won 11 of the 13 rounds so far, will head to next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza 138 points clear in the drivers’ championship.

There remains an outside chance he could complete his hat-trick of titles at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24 with half-a-dozen rounds still to run.

“Max is in a period of his career where he is just simply untouchable,” said Red Bull team principal Horner, who oversaw Vettel’s streak of nine straight wins a decade ago.

“I don’t think there is any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he is doing in that car.

“To win nine races in a row is insane, and it is something that none of us would have envisaged, and I never thought we would repeat it after we managed it with Sebastian. What we are witnessing is a driver that is generational.

“Max has been in incredible form for the past three years, and the most impressive thing for me is all the pressure that he is under here.

“With the expectation of 100,000 Dutch fans, a lot would have cracked under that pressure, but he kept his composure and delivered, as he has done so many times.”

Come wind, rain or shine, 25-year-old Verstappen is the man for all occasions. On pole, he found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including team-mate Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.

But by lap 13, Verstappen – who at one stage was lapping his home track four seconds faster than Perez and two seconds quicker than anybody else – was back in the lead.

His record-equalling feat was placed in doubt when the rain returned with vengeance with a dozen laps to go, and Zhou Guanyu crashed out, and the race was stopped.

A 43-minute delay and six-lap dash to the chequered flag followed, but Verstappen denied Alonso any hope of taking his first win in a decade with an assured drive. He finished 3.7 sec clear of the Spaniard.

As Verstappen ensured Red Bull’s unbeaten run remained, Hamilton’s afternoon was scuppered by Mercedes’ dithering following the first-lap downpour.

Hamilton was not called in for wet tyres until the end of lap three with team-mate George Russell following in on the next lap. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell, who started third, were 16th and 18th respectively.

From there it was a damage-limitation exercise for both men, with Hamilton driving well to take sixth place.

Russell might have finished seventh but for a late duel with countryman Lando Norris leaving him with race-ending harm to his Mercedes. Norris crossed the line in seventh place.

Captain Johnny Sexton admits he instantly regretted the heated exchange with referee Jaco Peyper which caused him to miss Ireland’s Rugby World Cup warm-up matches through suspension.

Fly-half Sexton was hit with a three-match ban for misconduct for his behaviour following Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle on May 20 in Dublin.

The 38-year-old, who did not play in that match due to injury and is set to retire after the upcoming tournament in France, says the incident was a “mistake in the heat of the moment”.

He was on Sunday afternoon confirmed in Andy Farrell’s squad for the World Cup and is likely to make his return in his country’s Pool B opener on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.

Asked if he had any regrets about the on-field altercation with South African official Peyper at the Aviva Stadium, he said: “Of course, yeah. I’ve held my hands up since day one.

“I made a mistake in the heat of the moment.

“I was obviously very emotional on the day not being part of what I had mapped out from the start of the year as playing my last game for Leinster in the Aviva, winning a European cup.

“It’s what I dreamt of and then obviously to miss that, there’s a lot of emotion that goes with it and in that split second I went on to console my team-mates, I made a remark and I regretted it instantly.

“You make mistakes, you say sorry and hold your hands up and that’s what I’ve done.”

Sexton was forced off by a groin injury while helping Ireland clinch the Six Nations Grand Slam against England in March and has not played competitively since.

He watched from the stands this month as his country defeated Italy, England and Samoa.

Without the suspension, the 29-10 success over Steve Borthwick’s side on August 19 would have been Sexton’s final Dublin appearance.

“It’s been incredibly frustrating to have to sit and watch, it’s obviously my own fault,” he continued.

“But that’s been life, I’ve just had to do what I could for the team and try and learn by watching the guys and contribute where I could.

“It was particularly tough last weekend in the Aviva. You live and learn and it’s time to move on now.”

Sexton, who has 113 Ireland caps, was appointed skipper following the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

The 2018 world player of the year feels “very privileged” to have the chance to lead his country into the forthcoming competition.

“(It means) a huge amount,” he said. “If someone told me four years ago I’d be back here captain, I would have taken it 100 per cent.

“There’s been a lot put into this team by the management over the last four years and to get their vote of confidence four years ago to do it with this as the end goal, it’s been huge.

“I’m very proud for myself, my family and just for the group that we have. It’s a very privileged position to be in with such a good group.”

Steve Borthwick insists England will urgently address the defensive crisis that threatens to torpedo their Word Cup.

Fiji plundered three tries in a seismic 30-22 victory at Twickenham as England’s preparation for the tournament in France continue to unravel amid a run of five defeats in six games.

Most concerning of all is a defence overseen by Kevin Sinfield that has now been breached 30 times in Borthwick’s nine Tests in charge, each outing seeing an average of 26 points leaked.

Fiji were typically ruthless in attack but also met willing victims and with the World Cup opener against Argentina arriving in less than two weeks, England must resurrect a fundamental of their game.

Borthwick has stated that he is happy with his management team as scrutiny of Sinfield’s work grows, but the head coach is demanding an immediate improvement in the team’s work without the ball.

“I’m very clear that I was disappointed with the defence. We conceded too many tries and we missed too many tackles,” Borthwick said.

“Our focus is on ensuring we are much better than that against Argentina in two weeks’ time.

“The dropping off tackles has not been the case with what we’ve seen recently, but there were a lot against Fiji – more than 20 missed tackles. I think the total was 27.

“Now Fiji have exceptional power and speed, and that hurt us. But what we have to do is look at those tackles and what we could have done better.

“We didn’t want that result. We were clearly disappointed by the game and disappointed by aspects of that performance.

“Whilst there are areas of our performance which saw signs of growth, you can’t slip off that many tackles in a Test match.”

Novak Djokovic has had his fair share of rivalries over his career but says the latest, with Carlos Alcaraz, is bringing the very best out of him.

Djokovic begins his quest for a 24th grand slam title at the US Open on Monday having already eclipsed the totals of his illustrious peers, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

But the man likely to be standing in his way is Alcaraz, the defending champion who beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last month.

Djokovic got a measure of revenge when he outlasted the 20-year-old Spaniard in a near four-hour final in Cincinnati a week ago.

The duo may be at the opposite end of their careers but they have already built a rivalry which looks set to endure for as long as Djokovic, 36, continues to pick up a racket.

“He’s always pushing me to the limit,” said the Serbian. “I think I do to him pretty much the same thing. That’s why we produced a memorable final.

“It was one of the best, most exciting, and most difficult finals I was ever part of in best-of-three, no doubt, throughout my career.

“That’s why I fell on the ground after I won the match because it felt like winning a grand slam, to be honest. The amount of exchanges and rallies. It was physically so demanding and gruelling that I felt very exhausted for the next few days.

“Those are kind of the moments in matches that I still push myself on a daily basis, day in and day out, practice, sacrifice, commitment. At 36, I still have the drive.”

If Djokovic wins his first-round match, against Frenchman Alexandre Muller, he will overtake Alcaraz to become world number one again.

Alcaraz, the top seed, starts his campaign on Tuesday against Dominik Koepfer of Germany.

Iga Swiatek opens proceedings on Monday against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden as she bids to defend the title she won last year.

“On one hand you always want to kind of take experience from last year, find all these positive things that happened, take strength from that,” said the world number one from Poland.

“On the other hand you have to remember that it’s a totally different story. A lot can happen during like these 12 months.

“So I try to take everything step by step, not really go forward with my thoughts, think that I need to do something more because last year I won.”

Jack Darcy made all to uphold family honour and provide the Coles with their sixth success in the Grand Prix de Deauville.

Paul Cole first won the Group Two event with Ibn Bey in 1988 and took home the first prize five times as the sole licence holder at the family’s Whatcombe base.

But it is the first time since Oliver Cole has joined his father on the licence that they have tasted glory in the mile-and-a-half contest on the Normandy coast.

Second to Hamish in the Glorious Stakes at Goodwood two starts ago, it was a welcome return to form for Jack Darcy who raced too freely when last seen at Newbury.

And having snapped a nine-race winless run, he will enter Cole family folklore having added his name to the race’s roll of honour.

“He’s a very good horse,” said Oliver Cole.

“Arguably he was a bit too keen in the Geoffrey Freer and it didn’t really go for him. Today he was lovely and relaxed in front and got his own way and won well.

“I nearly didn’t run him because he’s had two quick runs in succession and this was a third, but he’s a very talented horse and he’s shown it today, it’s a good race to win.

“My father has won the race five times, and now we’ve won it six (in total). We love the race and I’m really proud of the horse.

“I remember all the good horses we’ve had win this, Snurge, Courteous and the others. It just means so much for us.”

Jack Darcy’s victory was the final leg of a fantastic treble for the British-trained raiders at Deauville on Sunday, and Mill Stream appears to have teed-up a shot at Group One competition having landed back-to-back course and distance sprints.

A winner of the Prix Moonlight Cloud earlier this month, Jane Chapple-Hyam’s son of Gleneagles took another step up the sprinting ladder by following up in impressive style in the Barriere Prix de Meautry.

Then fresh from a first Group One victory when winning the Prix Morny at the track last week, the father and son duo of Simon and Ed Crisford struck again when Poker Face claimed Barriere Prix Quincey honours.

England have confirmed that Jonny May has replaced Anthony Watson in their squad for the World Cup.

Watson has been ruled out of the tournament by a calf injury so May, who started Saturday’s defeat to Fiji, has filled the gap in the 33-man party to be submitted to World Rugby on Monday.

The only other name missing from the group originally named by Steve Borthwick on August 7 is Jack van Poortvliet whose ankle problem means he has been replaced by Alex Mitchell.

Elliot Daly and Kyle Sinckler are also present as they continue their recovery from respective knee and pectoral injuries.

Veteran prop Cian Healy has been left out of Ireland’s 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup in France due to injury.

The 35-year-old suffered a calf problem in Saturday evening’s 17-13 warm-up win over Samoa.

He was helped from the field by medical staff in the first half at Stade Jean Dauger in Bayonne before being pictured on crutches.

Munster loosehead Jeremy Loughman has taken Healy’s place.

Ulster pair Jacob Stockdale and Tom Stewart and Connacht’s Cian Prendergast have been left out by Andy Farrell.

Leinster fly-half Ciaran Frawley and Munster hooker Diarmuid Barron also failed to make the cut.

Dan Sheehan, Ronan Kelleher, Jack Conan, Dave Kilcoyne and Keith Earls have been picked, despite recent injury issues.

Fly-half Johnny Sexton, who has now completed a three-match ban, will captain his country ahead of retirement.

Ireland begin their campaign on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux and also face Tonga, world champions South Africa and Scotland in Pool B.

Aside from the sidelined Healy, wing Stockdale is the highest profile player overlooked by head coach Farrell.

The 27-year-old, Ireland’s joint-sixth highest try-scorer with 19, has become a peripheral figure since the last World Cup amid a series of fitness setbacks.

He started against Samoa due to Earls’ late withdrawal with a niggle but was taken off with a hamstring issue.

Veteran Earls and first-choice wide men James Lowe and Mack Hansen have been preferred to Stockdale.

Farrell’s decision to go with an 18/15 split of forwards and backs sees Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey picked and back-rower Prendergast, who started last weekend’s 29-10 win over England, overlooked.

McCloskey has impressed when selected but his opportunities at 12 have been limited by the presence of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw, in addition to some untimely injuries.

The group includes 16 players who travelled to the 2019 World Cup in Japan under predecessor Joe Schmidt.

Sexton, Conor Murray and Earls are each set for their fourth World Cups.

Regular starters Hugo Keenan, Caelan Doris, Sheehan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Hansen and Lowe are among the 17 players preparing for their first.

Versatile back Jimmy O’Brien, fly-half Jack Crowley and lock Joe McCarthy have each made the grade, having only made international debuts in the autumn.

Ireland squad:

Forwards: Ryan Baird (Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Rob Herring (Ulster), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (Munster), Jeremy Loughman (Munster), Joe McCarthy (Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Tom O’Toole (Ulster), Andrew Porter, (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster).

Backs: Bundee Aki (Connacht), Ross Byrne (Leinster), Craig Casey (Munster), Jack Crowley (Munster), Keith Earls (Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Mack Hansen (Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Hugo Keenan (Leinster), James Lowe (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Conor Murray (Munster), Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Johnny Sexton (Leinster, captain).

Max Verstappen equalled Formula One’s all-time record of nine consecutive race wins in his home Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver matched Sebastian Vettel’s achievement and here, the PA news agency looks at how he compares.

Cloud nine

Verstappen has won 11 of this season’s 13 races – with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two as the duo surpassed the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s run of 11 straight wins in 1988.

Since Perez’s win in Azerbaijan on April 30, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian, British, Hungarian, Belgian and now Dutch Grands Prix.

He won from ninth on the grid in Florida, passing Perez with nine laps to go, and his team judged the rain correctly to hold off Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in Monaco.

Dominant wins in Spain and Canada brought him level with Senna’s career tally of 41 race wins, which he quickly overhauled in Austria.

Victory at Silverstone took him 99 points clear in the drivers’ standings and he shot past pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton on the run to the first corner in Hungary before clinching Red Bull the record for consecutive team wins.

His attention could then turn to the individual landmark and after surging through from sixth on the grid at Spa, he returned from the summer break to beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.

History repeats for Red Bull

Vettel set the record – also driving for Red Bull, for whom Adrian Newey has been in post as chief technical officer on both occasions – when he won the final nine races of 2013 to surge clear of Alonso and win the title.

His run began in Belgium, where he overtook Hamilton early on and was untroubled thereafter, before dominant wins in Italy, Singapore and Korea and a strategic success in Japan.

The German clinched the title in India and added further wins in Abu Dhabi and the United States before a season-ending success in Brazil made it nine in a row and 13 for the season.

Alberto Ascari has a claim to a share of the record, having won the last six races of the 1952 season and his first three starts of 1953. The run was interrupted by Ascari not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship and was won by American Bill Vukovich.

Michael Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season.

Schumacher also had a run of six across the 2000 and 2001 seasons while Hamilton’s longest run is five wins, as was Verstappen’s before his current streak.

Verstappen is on track to be the first driver ever to win over 80 per cent of races in a season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – while he has won almost 94 per cent of the maximum points available with 339 of a possible 362 so far.

Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row.

Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.

The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower.

A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired.

But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.

Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium.

Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris.

Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened.

While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres.

With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.

Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.

“We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.”

“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”

But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places.

“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”

By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march.

On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road.

Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control.

On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine.

Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race.

With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing.

Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance.

The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso.

As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race.

After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.

Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard.

Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row.

Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.

The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower.

A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired.

But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.

Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium.

Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris.

Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened.

While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres.

With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.

Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.

“We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.”

“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”

But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places.

“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”

By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march.

On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road.

Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control.

On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine.

Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race.

With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing.

Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance.

The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso.

As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race.

After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.

Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard.

Ocean Quest showed her class when storming to Tally-Ho Stud Irish EBF Ballyogan Stakes at Naas.

Jessica Harrington’s speedy daughter of Sioux Nation was an impressive winner of the Committed Stakes at Navan on her three-year-old return and following a narrow defeat over course and distance in the Lacken Stakes, performed with real credit at Royal Ascot when fourth to Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup.

Freshened up following that outing at the Royal meeting, Ocean Quest was the 10-11 favourite to secure Group Three honours, something she did with the minimum of fuss.

Away well in the hands of Shane Foley, she was always forcing the pace on the far side and came home in splendid isolation to record a decisive three-and-three-quarter-length victory over Aussie Girl who finished best of those on the near side.

Paddy Power handed winner was handed quotes of 12-1 from 16s for Haydock’s Betfair Sprint Cup on September 9 and the same price from 18-1 for the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (Ascot, October 21), with Harrington indicating both Group One races would be on Ocean Quest’s radar.

“That’s great. She hasn’t run since Ascot, we gave her time. We know she likes a bit of give in the ground and that’s why we put her away after Ascot,” said Harrington.

“I think she’ll go on anything actually and she’s a very classy filly.

“Ascot in October is the main target and she’s in at Haydock in the Group One sprint there.

“We didn’t put her in Irish Champions Weekend because it’s five furlongs, but apparently she gets a free entry now. If it came up heavy maybe.

“This summer we’ve had no idea what ground we’re going to get. You can have good to firm in the morning and abandoned in the afternoon.

“We know she goes on heavy, she’s won on heavy and she’s gone on good to firm so she’s a very versatile filly. She’s classy and speedy.”

There was earlier success for Harrington on the card when Matter Of Fact landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden at 22-1.

The daughter of No Nay Never was well held on debut earlier in the season, but showed how much she has flourished in the interim with a stylish display which brings loftier targets into the picture.

“That was nice. She ran in May and has grown an awful lot since then,” said Harrington.

“Nathan (Crosse) said when she was in behind she was behind the bridle, whether it was the kickback or what. It wasn’t until he pulled her out that she absolutely flew up the hill.

“She did it well. She was still very green and she’ll have learned a lot, which is great.

“I’d say she could step up in trip but the dam only got six, even though she’s by Galileo. She has got a beautiful pedigree.

“My two-year-olds are only just starting to come to themselves. They were all good in the spring and then they all started growing. She was small in May but now she’s a fine big filly.

“We’ll see what comes up and see where we go from here. I’d hope we’d be going for stakes race next. She’s got the pedigree and she’s done that well.

“I’d say it was a good maiden, my other filly didn’t seem to get home.”

There was a shock in the opening Irish EBF Median Sires Series Fillies Maiden when Kitty Rose denied Dermot Weld’s 11-10 favourite Tannola.

Sent off at 25-1, Natalia Lupini’s filly made the perfect start, travelling powerfully on the front-end and running on strongly to score by a length and three-quarters.

The trainer’s partner Craig Bryson said: “We were hoping for a nice run but you never know first time out.

“She’s a filly that we’ve liked a lot at home, she did it well and she’ll progress plenty. She’s big and she’s a nice filly.

“She likes to go forward, she likes to gallop and I’d imagine as you step her up in trip she’ll be better. She’s one to look forward to.

“I’ll talk to the lads but we might look at the Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown, that might suit her. If she comes out of it well that’s probably the race to go for.

“We had a filly (Highly Desirable) that was third in this race last year and went on to finish third in the Ingabelle. You’d be happy to go and take your chance in it and hopefully get black type.”

The afternoon’s other two-year-old contest went the way of Joseph O’Brien’s McTenett who justified 9-4 favouritism in the Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden.

“He had a nice run the first day and he learned a good bit, he was more professional today. He looks like a nice horse going forward,” said O’Brien.

“We were happy that he’d get the six up here well. It was a nice straightforward ride by Dylan and it’s nice to have a winner for Neil (Sands) and the Bronsan team.

“There is plenty of money in those auction races and there is a winners race in Roscommon in early September.”

Al Riffa has a choice of engagements for his next outing, with Joseph O’Brien sure “the best is yet come” from his lightly-raced colt.

Winner of the National Stakes last season, the son of Wootton Bassett did not make his three-year-old return until the Curragh in July, finishing second to Mashhoor in the International Stakes.

He went from there to Deauville for the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano – and gave unbeaten French Derby winner and Arc favourite Ace Impact a real race in going down by just three-quarters of a length.

“He’ll either go to the Irish Champion or the Prix Niel, I’d say,” said O’Brien.

“He came out of his last run well. It was a great run, the winner is one of the best three-year-olds in Europe and we were right in the mix with him.

“Hopefully the best is yet to come with him.”

O’Brien also had news on his high-class filly Above The Curve, who has been placed in Group One company three times so far this campaign, most recently in the Prix Jean Romanet.

He said: “She may go back to France for the Prix Vermeille. She’s come out of the Prix Jean Romanet well.”