Fernando Alonso reckons his team will struggle to match the speed of the pace-setting Red Bull duo Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, at the Spanish Grand Prix.
In practice yesterday he was fourth fastest for Ferrari behind the two Red Bulls driven by Vettel and Webber, and Michael Schumacher for Mercedes was third.
He said that in normal conditions it was going to be very difficult to beat the Red Bulls this weekend.
The team has made several modifications to his Ferrari car which they were evaluating on the track yesterday.
Socceroos striker Harry Kewell’s World Cup chances are looking doubtful after a groin injury flared up again and has put paid to him playing the remainder of the season for Turkish club Galatasaray.
Galatasaray’s assistant coach said he thought it would be very difficult for Kewell to be fit for Australia’s opener against three-time champions Germany on June 13.
Kewell underwent surgery on his groin in January but has been feeling more pain there since.
It was thought he would play as a lone striker for Australia at the World Cup but this now looks increasingly unlikely.
This will surely have considerable impact on the team, as he is such an experienced player, having played in many countries and for different clubs.
Despite this, it is likely he will be named in the 27-man provisional squaad by coach Pim Verbeek on Tuesday and he will then have two friendly warm-up games to prove whether he is fit or not.
Australian hooker Cameron Smith suffered a suspected grade two medial ligament strain in his right elbow during last night’s Test win over New Zealand.
The Kangaroos beat the Kiwi’s 12-8 but Smith didn’t make it to the end of the first half of the match after getting his arm caught under the weight of Kiwi lock and Melbourne Storm teammate Adam Blair.
At first he tried to have the arm strapped in an effort to get back on the field but Kangaroos medical officials ruled against a second half comeback.
He will be out of action now for four weeks but has vowed to be fit for Origin I.
Payments made to AFL players by a charity linked to the Melbourne Storm NRL are being investgated by an insolvency firm as part of the salary cap scandal.
The now-defunct Unity Foundation is being looked into to clarify whether the charity was used to channel money to Storm players outside the salary cap.
As reported on the Nine Network last night, the players include several Essendon players and at least one St Kilda player.
All payments are currently under scrutiny with the opportunity to provide further explanation if necessary.
Essendon Bombers chief executive Ian Robson said the payments to players appeared legitimate, although the Bombers were probing further.
Michael Schumacher is still confident he will turn things around in the championship this year, starting with this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
He said he has no regrets about coming back from retirement to return to Formula One, but has requested some patience as he continues to familiarise and take charge of his Mercedes car after a three-year absence from the sport.
He said yesterday it was not right to judge him on past results because there had been so many changes in the sport since he left, but he was adamant that things will improve and he will be back on that podium before too long.
Renault driver Robert Kubica echoed many people’s sentiments when he said they were all surprised that he is struggling but that it did show he is human after all.
Lleyton Hewitt is not best pleased with the timing of Australia’s crunch Davis Cup tie against Japan in Brisbane, describing it as “ridiculous”.
Hewitt had his rant ahead of a gruelling schedule of events which sees him playing in Brisbane on clay this weekend, then heading off to Europe for ATP Masters events in Rome and Madrid, and then on to the French Open at Roland Garos from 23rd May.
The Madrid Masters starts just one day after the Cup tie concludes at Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane.
The former world No.1 says it is “nightmare schedule” and wanted the world governing body the ITF to address the Cup calendar.
Pace bowler Mitchell Johnson is suffering an elbow infection and is now in doubt for Australia’s Group A World Twenty20 clash with Bangladesh.
Australia need to win against Bangladesh again on Wednesday (0300 AEST Thursday) or even a narrow defeat would ensure they make the Super 8 stage.
If Johnson is unfit for the game, it’s possible that reserve pace bowler Ryan Harris will take his place.
But Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons has warned Australia that dropping their spinner for an extra paceman could blow up in their face.
Australia’s Michael Katsidis has been laying low in Bangkok ahead of next week’s fight against East Londoner Kevin Mitchell in the UK.
Katsidis has been in training in the Thai capital for three months and has managed to avoid any of the ongoing conflict there by chilling out and watching TV.
He arrived in London on Tuesday and said he is not at all worried about facing Mitchell despite his impressive 31-0 record, with 23 knock outs.
Katsidis said he had no intentions of watching too much footage of his opponent, saying he was expecting the fight to be a war, and that he thinks he will win on the night as long as he is 100% confident of himself.
The Aussie fighter should beware though - Mitchell thinks he is an “arrogant sod” after approaching him three years ago when Katsidis beat Graham Earl at Wembley. Mitchell approached him to congratulate him but Katsidis just looked at him as if he wasn’t there.
Mitchell is harbouring this rude memory to use as motivation when they fight next week.
Australian hooker Cameron Smith has been glad to get away from the Storm melee this week as he prepares to play footy for the Kangaroos in tomorrow night’s trans-Tasman Test against New Zealand at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
As the Storm’s captain he is one of the highest paid players there and by default has become the main focus of attention.
In a press conference today, Smith said he was looking forward to playing tomorrow. However, he still had to field a deluge of questions from the media regarding the salary cap rort.
The NRL is considering allowing players to have their own individual numbers on the backs of their jerseys.
Sydney Roosters chief executive Steve Noyce put the idea forward yesterday at a meeting of club bosses in Sydney and it was well received by the other clubs.
Noyce said it’s time for rugby league to follow the lead of AFL and cricket teams by individualising teh jerseys which fans can then buy replicas of to show their support for their favourite player.
NRL CEO David Gallop said the idea goes against the face of tradition but it would definitely be looked into.
