Carolina Panthers founder Jerry Richardson has died aged 86.
Richardson brought the Panthers to Carolina and the NFL in 1995, reaching Super Bowls in the 2003 and 2015 campaigns.
He left the franchise in 2018 after allegations of sexual and racial workplace misconduct.
Panthers owners David and Nicole Tepper paid tribute to Richardson after his death was announced on Thursday, saying: "Jerry Richardson's contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic.
"With the arrival of the Panthers in 1995, he changed the landscape of sports in the region and gave the NFL fans here a team to call their own.
"He was incredibly gracious to me [David Tepper] when I purchased the team, and for that I am thankful.''
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also saluted Richardson, saying in a statement: "The NFL community is deeply saddened by the passing of Jerry Richardson.
"The Carolina Panthers are a testament to his extraordinary and tireless dedication to the community. But his league-first attitude as seen through his leadership of numerous NFL committees... helped pave the way for a series of public-private stadium partnerships throughout the country, and collective bargaining agreements that continue to support the growth of the game.
"As a former player himself, Jerry cared deeply about the welfare of players and the labour agreements he helped negotiate have led to improved pay and benefits for generations of players. From a personal perspective, he was a wise and caring advisor to me, his fellow owners, and many Panthers players and coaches over the years."
New Panthers head coach Frank Reich was the franchise's first quarterback under Richardson, and said: "I will always be thankful to Mr Richardson for the Panthers. Being a part of the inaugural [season] is something that I will never forget.
"It was truly a special experience to play a part in the culmination of his efforts to bring football to the Carolinas."
Novak Djokovic clinched a 20th win in a row and maintained his perfect year to date with victory against Hubert Hurkacz at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The world number one cruised in the opening set, before Hurkacz put up more of a fight in the second.
Djokovic eventually prevailed to seal a 6-3 7-5 win, successfully seeing off his opponent despite Hurkacz valiantly throwing everything at him.
The 35-year-old Serbian has now won 15 consecutive matches in 2023, with his latest impressive display including just seven unforced errors, less than half Hurkacz's 15 as Djokovic's clinical edge proved decisive.
Fifteen successive victories is the fourth-best start to a season in Djokovic's career, though he remains some way off the 41-0 record he began 2011 with.
A semi-final clash against Daniil Medvedev awaits following the Russian's comfortable 6-3 6-2 victory against Borna Coric, which clocked in at one hour and 21 minutes.
Medvedev is also in the midst of an impressive winning streak, rattling off 12 consecutive successes since being eliminated by Sebastian Korda at the Australian Open in January.
Andrey Rublev booked his spot in the final four with a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) victory over Botic van de Zandschulp to maintain his title defence.
He will face seventh seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, the German having seen off Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-4.
LeBron James' foot injury will be reassessed in three weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers have confirmed.
The 38-year-old sustained the injury in the third quarter of Sunday's victory over the Dallas Mavericks and subsequently missed the defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies and the victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Reports on Thursday stated that James would not require surgery and, although not confirmed by the team, the Lakers have said it is a right foot tendon injury.
A team statement said: "LeBron James has been evaluated by Lakers team physicians and medical staff, and it has been determined that he has sustained a right foot tendon injury.
"James will be reevaluated in approximately three weeks."
There is just over a month remaining of the regular season, with the Lakers facing a battle to secure a spot in the playoffs, sitting 11th in the Western Conference on a record of 30-33.
Charles Leclerc is confident Ferrari can compete with Red Bull for both titles in the new Formula One season.
Ferrari failed to capitalise on their strengths last year and compete with Max Verstappen, who waltzed to a second consecutive championship title.
Early signs ahead of the 2023 season suggest Red Bull remain ahead of their rivals, with Leclerc admitting that is a perception he holds.
However, he believes Ferrari can mount a threat over the course of the season due to the developments from last year.
"From what I can see, it seems Red Bull is a bit ahead. But it's a long season, our goal is still to win the championship," he told Sky Sports.
"I am confident. We have great guys in Maranello, I think we have shown it with the big step forward from 2021 to 2022.
"There were too many mistakes in 2022, we know that, but we've been very honest with ourselves in order to get better for this season.
"The target is still [to win the title]. Even if we are starting a bit of the back foot compared to them in terms of performance, I'm sure we can come back."
Leclerc's assessment that Red Bull begin the campaign ahead of their rivals is shared by Mercedes' George Russell, who expects them to dominate the opening weekend in Bahrain.
"It probably wasn't the smoothest three days we could have hoped for at testing. But the learning we found is going to put us in better stead for this weekend," he said in Thursday's press conference.
"I think it’s definitely fair to say Red Bull are in a league of their own this weekend. But it'll probably be a nice fight for second between Ferrari and Aston Martin."
Lewis Hamilton rebuffed suggestions the 2023 season will be his final year in Formula One and is adamant he will be at Mercedes next season.
The seven-time champion is in the final year of his contract with the team, who are expected to be off the pace of rivals Red Bull in the hunt for the championship.
Speculation that Hamilton will walk away from the sport has persisted ever since a controversial conclusion to the 2021 season, when Max Verstappen pipped him to the title in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton returned to the grid for 2022, although Mercedes struggled and lost their constructors' championship crown to Red Bull, and is set for a 17th season in F1 in 2023.
The Brit is not set for a swansong, as he hit back at claims from former F1 drivers Jenson Button and Damon Hill that he will retire following the campaign.
"It is ultimately people creating rumours without facts, and it is never helpful. You would have thought that they [Hill and Button] would both know me by now," he told reporters ahead of the opening race of the season in Bahrain.
"I have been with Mercedes since I was 13, and last year we had a difficult year, but I am still here, and whether or not we have a difficult year this year, I will still be here.
"I am a fighter, and we fight as a team. I love the challenge of finding solutions and I still believe I am able to put the car in places that perhaps others are not able to. I love that challenge.
"Of course, I wish we started the season with a great car, but it is the journey that really counts."
Negotiations over a new contract for Hamilton are continuing, with the 38-year-old confident an agreement will be reached.
"There is no hold-up with our contract. I have always been very, very relaxed and I don't feel like I have to get it done right this second. I am in a very fortunate position," he added.
"It will get done when we are ready. I have a great relationship with Toto and with Mercedes and we fully support each other.
"I am really excited about the future together and really proud of the work we are doing, on and off the track and the potential of new things that we can do moving forward.
"We will get there, unless something catastrophic happens between me and Toto [team principal Wolff] and we get in the [boxing] ring, but other than that we are good."
LaMelo Ball will be out for the rest of the NBA season after the Charlotte Hornets point guard underwent surgery on a fractured right ankle.
Ball suffered the injury during the Hornets' 117-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
The 21-year-old went down awkwardly with the ball during the third quarter.
Charlotte revealed Ball has undergone a successful operation and further updates will be provided on his recovery.
The third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Ball averaged 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.3 steals in the 36 games he played this season.
He became the fourth-youngest All-Star in NBA history when he featured in the 2021-22 showpiece.
Ball was named the NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2020-21 season, having averaged 15.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals.
Lance Stroll has been passed fit to race at this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix after recovering from a wrist injury that threatened to derail Aston Martin's plans for the season opener.
Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich was put on standby after Stroll hurt his wrist in a freak cycling accident and had to miss pre-season testing.
There had even been speculation of a Sebastian Vettel comeback, after team principal Mike Krack initially refused to rule out the possibility of the German coming out of retirement.
However, that idea was knocked on the head eventually, and now Drugovich can stand down, too, with Canadian Stroll cleared to take part after undergoing surgery.
The team announced Stroll's involvement in a statement on their website, with the 24-year-old driver saying: "It was frustrating not to be out in Bahrain for the pre-season test and I was disappointed to miss the three days of running. However, given the injury to my wrist, the team and I felt it was best to focus on recovery so that I would be ready for this weekend and the long season ahead.
"It was an unfortunate accident – I fell from my bike when my tyre caught a hole in the ground – but thankfully the damage was not significant and a successful minor surgery on my right wrist fixed the problem very quickly. Since then, I've been working hard with my team to ensure that I am fully fit to compete this weekend.
"Now I'm ready to get my head down and concentrate on racing this weekend – something I'm really looking forward to."
Stroll will be entering his seventh season in Formula One and hoping for a first top-10 finish in the drivers' championship. He finished 15th overall last year, three places behind then team-mate Vettel.
Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso will be Stroll's team-mate in the new campaign, having switched from Alpine.
Kevin Durant felt he "fit in pretty well" during an impressive Phoenix Suns debut against the Charlotte Hornets but still feels under pressure to prove himself.
Durant scored 23 points in his first appearance for the Suns in a 105-91 win over the Hornets on Wednesday following his blockbuster trade from the Brooklyn Nets last month.
Returning to the court after recovering from a knee injury that had kept him out since January 8, the 13-time NBA All-Star was 10-of-15 shooting and racked up his points haul in just 27 minutes.
Devin Booker scored 37 points, claimed six rebounds and provided seven assists as Phoenix – fourth in the Western Conference – snapped the Hornets' five-game winning streak to go 34-29 for the season.
Durant said: "I feel like I fit in pretty well, everybody out there was trying to make me as comfortable as possible.
"I just got to keep grinding, man, and this jersey on me will look normal as games go on."
Despite all he has achieved over the years, Durant was nervous prior to his Suns bow.
He added: "New environment, new situation, new team-mates, I mean I always feel I got to prove myself to my team-mates and my coaches every single day no matter what I've done in the league. So I feel like there's pressure to be who I am every day."
Booker was pinching himself over being on the same side as Durant.
He said: "This is one of those moments that doesn't really feel real. I mean, it's just every time he shoots the ball, it's just so effortless.
"You can see defenders trying their hardest to contest or fight over a screen and he just looks unbothered, unfazed."
Suns head coach Monty Williams wants Durant to focus on playing to the best of his ability rather than feel he must be a leader.
"I think there's too many players in the NBA that get too much pressure to lead," Williams said. "I just don’t think it's necessary. It’s my job to lead.
"The players do it in spots, but that's the one thing I told him, I said, 'I'm not looking for you to lead. We just want you to be yourself and hoop,' and I think that's where he's the most free to be himself."
Second seed Casper Ruud suffered a shock three-sets second-round defeat to Japan's Taro Daniel at the Mexican Open in Acapulco on Wednesday.
The 2022 US Open and French Open runner-up had struggled past Guido Andreozzi in the first round and followed up that up with a 7-5 2-6 7-6 (7-5) loss to Daniel.
The Japanese qualifier, ranked 125th in the world, won in just under three hours, winning the final three points of the deciding tie-break after Ruud led 5-4.
Ruud had more winners (38-32) but committed 30 unforced errors compared to Daniel's 12.
Taylor Fritz cruised into the last eight with a 6-4 6-4 win over Canada's Denis Shapovalov, setting up a quarter-final with sixth seed Francis Tiafoe, who eased past Feliciano Lopez 6-2 7-6 (8-6).
Fourth seed Holger Rune was too strong for Nuno Borges 6-0 6-2 inside an hour, while eighth seed Alex De Minaur crushed Jacopo Berrettini in just over an hour 6-1 6-0.
Top seed Lorenzo Musetti was a surprise second-round loser at the Chile Open with Jaume Munar triumphing 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 31 minutes.
Fourth seed Diego Schwartzman also bowed out, going down 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2) to local Nicolas Jarry.
Jarry will face Yannick Hanfmann in the quarter-finals, while Munar will take on Thiago Monteiro.
Kevin Durant scored 23 points in his Phoenix Suns debut as Devin Booker stole the show with 37 points in a 105-91 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
Durant stepped out for the Suns for the first time since his trade last month, having been sidelined with a sprained right knee, shooting 10-of-15 from the field and two-of-four from beyond the arc with six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Booker shot 15-of-26 from the field in his 37-point haul with six rebounds and seven assists, while Deandre Ayton scored 16 points with 16 rebounds.
Veteran guard Chris Paul took a back seat, with only two points whilst providing 11 assists as the new-look Suns showed off their multi-dimensional line-up.
The victory snapped the Hornets' five-game winning streak, with the Suns going wire to wire in a strong display, improving their record to 34-29.
Charlotte got within six points at three-quarter time but Durant played his part at the start of the fourth with nine points, registering only 19 minutes for the opening three periods, as Phoenix pulled away.
Tatum and Mitchell record 40-point games
Jayson Tatum recorded his ninth 40-point game of the season as the Boston Celtics overcame Donovan Mitchell's Cleveland Cavaliers 117-113.
Tatum finished with 41 points with improved 13-of-21 shooting including four-of-six three-pointers with 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Al Horford added 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Mitchell shrugged off an apparent quad concern in the third quarter with 44 points, piling only 29 in the second half. That was Mitchell's seventh 40-point game of his season.
Knicks down Nets to continue win streak
The New York Knicks extended their winning streak to seven games as Jalen Brunson scored 39 points in a 142-118 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Brunson hit 30 of his 39 points in the first half, with the Knicks piling on 47 points in the first quarter as they opened up 81-57 half-time lead. The Knicks improved their record to 37-27, sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Cam Johnson scored a season-high 33 points for the Nets, who fall to their fourth straight loss and a 34-28 record as they continue to slide in the east.
Fifth seed Sloane Stephens moved into the quarter-finals of the ATX Open as one of only three seeds remaining after a straight-sets win over Heather Watson on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old American triumphed 6-4 6-4 over Watson in one hour and 27 minutes in Austin.
The 2017 US Open champion firmed into favouritism in Austin with third seed Anastasia Potapova knocked out by USA's Katie Volynets in a thrilling three-set encounter.
Volynets came from a set down and also 5-0 down in the third frame, needing two hours and 19 minutes to get past Potapova, winning 5-7 6-2 7-5.
Potapova's exit follows top seed Magda Linette's first-round defeat, while second seed Zhang Shuai withdrew due to illness on Tuesday.
Stephens has seven career WTA titles to her name, the last coming in February last year at the Abierto Zapopan in Mexico.
Varvara Gracheva defeated Anna Blinkova 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1, while American wild card and Texas local Peyton Stearns beat Mirjam Bjorklund 6-3 7-5.
At the Monterrey Open in Mexico, third seed Donna Vekic progressed to the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Emma Navarro.
Fifth seed Zhu Lin accounted for Rebecca Marino in three sets, while Ysaline Bonaventure also needed three frames to beat Kamilla Rakhimova.
The Indianapolis Colts appear ready to improve their fourth overall pick in this year's NFL Draft with general manager Chris Ballard leaving that idea wide open.
The Colts have endured four difficult years in the quarterback spot since Andrew Luck's departure in 2019, finishing the 2022 campaign with a 4-12-1 record.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young looms large as an early pick prospect, but the Colts would likely need to trade up from their No.4 pick to get access to him.
"I know all the speculation out there," Ballard told reporters at the NFL scouting combine. "To move up, there's got to be a guy worthy of it.
"Everybody has just automatically stamped that you've got to move up to one to get it right. I don't know if I agree with that. But that's going to be the narrative, and that's OK.
"If, when we meet as a staff and we say, 'OK, this is what we need to do. This is the guy for the next 10 to 15 years and we think he's the right guy,' we'll do it. But who's to say we won't get one at four?"
Ballard was clear when asked what it would take for the Colts to take an aggressive approach to acquire a QB like Young, replying: "That we were just convicted that this is no freaking doubt the guy."
During the post-Luck era, the Colts have never been better positioned to acquire a QB to solve their dilemma with the role.
Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and veteran Matt Ryan have been their most used starting QBs over the past four seasons respectively.
"It took a lot of freaking pain to get there," Ballard said in reference to earning the No.4 pick. "But when you're there, you need to take advantage of it."
The Colts will be led by new head coach Shane Steichen in the 2023 season, coming in from the Philadelphia Eagles where he was offensive coordinator to replace interim boss Jeff Saturday.
The PGA Tour has confirmed plans to introduce designated events with limited fields and no cuts from 2024, in a bid to fend off competition from the rival LIV Golf circuit.
The tour has seen several household names – including Lee Westwood, Cameron Smith and Phil Mickelson – defect to the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed series since its launch last year.
On Wednesday, reports suggested a radical overhaul of the PGA calendar was on the agenda, with some events refashioned in the format of LIV Golf's no-cut, limited-field structure, while others would offer exemptions to players with strong ranking positions.
Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has now outlined the changes, with the 2024 season to contain eight events with fields of 70-78 players competing for elevated purses and FedEx Cup points.
"These smaller, designated event fields will not only deliver substantial, can't-miss tournaments to our fans at important intervals throughout the season, but they will also enhance the quality of full-field events," Monahan said.
"Together, this approach provides a schedule that is cohesive, compelling, consequential and with clarity for fans, players and sponsors alike."
The tour said eligibility criteria for the events will "reward top performers" while still providing opportunities for players to qualify, with the FedEx Cup standings largely used to determine entry.
The announcement attracted the ire of LIV Golf, with the official account of the breakaway tour tweeting: "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Congratulations PGA Tour. Welcome to the future."
Earlier on Wednesday, LIV Golf player Westwood took to social media to accuse the PGA of hypocrisy, saying: "I've spent the last year reading how good full fields and cuts are!"
Anthony Davis will join LeBron James on the sidelines and miss the Los Angeles Lakers' game with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday due to a foot injury.
The Lakers said Davis had a right foot stress injury, which is an issue that has caused him to miss 20 games earlier this season.
Darvin Ham's 29-33 side are already without James (ankle) and D'Angelo Russell (foot) as they look to launch a charge to qualify for the playoffs. Entering Wednesday's slate of games, the Lakers are 12th in the Western Conference.
Wednesday's game was the second of a back-to-back for LA, having lost 121-109 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Joel Embiid will also not play on Wednesday due to a sore foot, missing the Philadelphia 76ers' clash with the Miami Heat.
The 76ers said it was left foot soreness, forcing him to miss a game for the 13th time this season.
The Baltimore Ravens are "fervently hopeful" that a deal with Lamar Jackson will get done.
Jackson's future with the Ravens remains uncertain ahead of Tuesday's franchise tag deadline, with the quarterback yet to sign a long-term contract.
The Baltimore signal-caller, who represents himself rather than employing an agent, reportedly wants a fully guaranteed deal, but the Ravens are reluctant to offer that, meaning talks have been deadlocked.
"You can't win in this league without a strong quarterback. I mean, that's been proven," Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said.
"We want Lamar here. We think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He's certainly one of our best players, and we want him back.
"We understand that living in a world without a quarterback is a bad world to live in."
DeCosta voluntarily said that few teams have made more trades than the Ravens since he became GM four years ago but had no plans to offload Jackson.
"I covet great players. I covet quarterbacks. And I love Lamar," DeCosta said. "That has not factored in one time with me. We want to do what's best for the club. We try to do what we can for Lamar. We want to make everybody happy."
The Ravens can place the franchise tag on Jackson before Tuesday's deadline, but would have to create more room in their salary cap to fit the QB's tag under the cap.
The exclusive tag is projected to cost Baltimore $45.2million, while a non-exclusive tag would be around $32m, but the latter opens him up to offer sheets from rival clubs.
"Both understand the urgency of the situation," added DeCosta, before reiterating he remains "positive" on agreeing a new deal.
"I've seen a lot of deals happen when things look bleak, or I haven't seen deals when I would've thought it was a slam dunk," he said. "It takes two people to do it. I remain positive. I have no reason not to remain positive."
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he was "200 per cent" that 2019 MVP Jackson wanted to remain with Baltimore.
"He's my quarterback, he's my guy," Harbaugh said. "I love him. As a coach, I'm looking forward to seeing it get done but it's not easy. It's the business part of it but I'm fervently hopeful and excited.
"We've been texting back and forth here and there ever since the season was over. I feel like 'Mar is doing really well. It's just part of the business, it's what you expect when you have a great quarterback."
Jackson threw 17 touchdown passes with a 62.3 per cent completion rate across 12 starts in the 2022 regular season, which was cut short due to a knee injury. His 2021 campaign was also impacted by an ankle injury, Jackson again making only 12 starts.
Stephen Curry has stepped up his recovery from a leg injury amid suggestions the two-time NBA MVP could return during the Golden State Warriors' three-game road stretch next week.
Curry has missed the Warriors' last nine games after suffering the injury in a collision with McKinley Wright IV against the Dallas Mavericks last month.
Scans subsequently revealed Curry had sustained tears to his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane, as well as a contusion to his lower left leg.
While Curry initially planned to return "after the All-Star break" without setting a specific date, the team confirmed last Thursday he was to sit out at least one more week.
On Wednesday, however, a report from ESPN claimed the Warriors were optimistic Curry could feature in their upcoming road trip, which begins against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday before taking them to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies.
The team then released an update regarding the four-time NBA champion, revealing he had increased his workload in practice and would soon be reassessed.
"Stephen Curry, who has missed the last nine games due to injury, is making good progress and has recently increased his on-court workload to include scrimmaging," a statement on the team's Twitter account read.
"His return to play will be based on his continued progress and response to full practice and scrimmages."
The Warriors are 32-30 for the season and sit fifth in the Western Conference, having made it three consecutive wins with Tuesday's 123-105 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Mohamed Haouas will play no part in the rest of France's Six Nations campaign after he was banned for a collision with Scotland's Ben White.
The prop made head-on-head contact with White while trying to clear out the Scotland scrum-half in the 10th minute of France's 32-21 win at the Stade de France on Sunday.
Haouas also received a red card against Scotland in the 2020 edition of the competition, being given a three-week ban for punching Jamie Ritchie.
He has received a four-week suspension on this occasion, meaning he will miss France's matches with England and Wales as his team bid to retain the Six Nations.
A widely reported statement from Six Nations said: "French prop Mohamed Haouas appeared before an independent judicial committee via video link having received a red card for an act of foul play in the Guinness Six Nations match between France and Scotland on Sunday.
"After reviewing all the evidence, the committee applied World Rugby's mandatory minimum mid-range entry point for foul play resulting in contact with the head. This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension.
"Having acknowledged that there were no aggravating factors and accepted mitigating factors including the player's early acknowledgement that the incident warranted a red card; the lack of intent and premeditation and clearly expressed remorse, the committee reduced the six-week entry point by two weeks, resulting in a sanction of four weeks."
The suspension leaves head coach Fabien Galthie with a headache ahead of Saturday's meeting with England at Twickenham, with first-choice prop Uini Atonio also unavailable following his ban for a tackle in the loss to Ireland.
Sipili Falatea looks to be the favourite to deputise against England, though Atonio could return for the clash with Wales should he complete a tackle coaching intervention program.
Formula One returns this weekend with Red Bull clearly the team to beat after a dominant 2022 season.
Max Verstappen won his second straight drivers' championship but in far more comfortable fashion than the previous year when the most dramatic of finales saw Lewis Hamilton pipped.
And unlike in 2021, it was a double celebration for Red Bull as the team also took the constructors' title after a run of Mercedes triumphs.
But Red Bull's commanding campaign did not start as strongly as it finished, and hope of a repeat will encourage the chasing pack at this week's Bahrain Grand Prix.
Red Bull pair Verstappen and Sergio Perez were both forced to retire at this event a year ago, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc controlled proceedings with pole position, the fastest lap and a race win.
Unfortunately for the Scuderia, it was not a sign of things to come.
Verstappen was back on the top step of the podium at the next race and soon disappeared into the distance.
That initial result was nothing out of the ordinary as Red Bull have only once won the first race in the calendar, back in 2011 when they took the first two.
Those slow starts clearly do not hamper Red Bull across the rest of the season, although they will hope to avoid a similar early setback this time and have both Verstappen and Perez off to a fast start.
Charles the chief threat
If Red Bull are to be beaten again this week, last year's victor Leclerc appears the man most likely to profit. In the past six races in Bahrain, he is the only man to secure pole twice. A third would make this his favourite event.
Meanwhile, podiums for both Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz would make Ferrari the first team to tally 800 in F1.
But Leclerc has been guarded on the merits of his SF-23 car, telling F1's Beyond the Grid podcast: "Sometimes I've had a car that feels good, and until you see the lap time, you're like, 'okay, this feels pretty good'. And then you have a very bad surprise watching the lap time. Sometimes it is the other way."
All eyes on Lewis
The driver of most interest this weekend might be the man who finished the season sixth last year. Lewis Hamilton vanished from contention, and while Mercedes' issues were the key factor, he also trailed new team-mate George Russell.
At the very least, Hamilton will expect to fight back and beat Russell this year.
Only in Abu Dhabi (10 points) and Great Britain (zero points) has Russell won fewer points than his 12 in four editions of the Bahrain GP, so the opportunity is there for Hamilton to forge an early lead.
Novak Djokovic swept through to the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships with ease on Wednesday, clinching a 6-2 6-3 win over Tallon Griekspoor.
The Serbian picked up his 19th consecutive victory midway through his record 378th week as world number one, settling his last-16 clash in straight sets.
Griekspoor, at a career-high position of 39th in the ATP rankings himself, proved no match for the 22-time grand slam winner, who dismantled him inside an hour and 22 minutes.
Djokovic had looked poised for a near-flawless performance, with a late lost service game at 5-1 up in the second set the only major blemish on his display.
"It's been a great evening for me," Djokovic said in his post-match interview.
"Yesterday [against Tomas Machac], I really had to work hard to get a win. Tonight, right from the blocks, I think I was sharp. I definitely played better than I did last night.
"Maybe the last three or four games weren't the best to close the match, but I managed to find a good serve in the end.
"I'm very pleased with the performance and with the way I felt on the court, and hopefully things can go in the right direction for tomorrow."
Djokovic, who remains undefeated in 2023, is bidding to win the Dubai title for a sixth time, in what represents his first tournament since he won the Australian Open in January.
Elsewhere, second and third seeds Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev joined Djokovic in easing their way into the last eight.
The former was made to work by Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina however, recovering for a 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) win, while the latter saw off Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-2.
Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out with a surprise 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 loss to Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, who is rewarded with a last-eight clash against seventh seed Alexander Zverev.
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