be a chance for him to have success.And hes definitely done a gre

Nico Rosberg serenely marches on. All the historical stats point to him becoming world champion this year although, as he says, those stats dont include having Lewis Hamilton around.Twice on Sky F1 at the weekend he described Lewis as the benchmark. Interesting psychology - praise your rival while youre winning to further enhance your position, like the boxer who threatens to knock him out in the third, does so, and then hugs his bloody face and praises him as a most worthy rival? Or does he still mentally feel hes second best?Nico is a smart boy and he knows through painful experience that it could easily have been his car which failed in qualifying, and the championship could be now neck and neck. He also knows Lewis will not give up and has peerless speed when required. I believe its just his way of managing down the pressure and expectation in a tidal wave of questions so early in the season. Nico Rosberg comfortably won his sixth consecutive race; Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat completed the podium He will also want to beat Lewis to the title, if it happens, in a straight fight with wheel-to-wheel combat and making key overtakes stick.Thankfully for us, now they cant just focus on each other in this fight. When Ferrari stop treading on their own tails with reliability issues and contact, they will be in the race fight too and fully capable of taking points off a Mercedes driver or drivers having a bad day.A difficult afternoon no longer means a guaranteed 18 points for Rosberg or Hamilton for second place.And coming up on the rails fast is Red Bull; they could be serious race contenders in the second half of the season on certain tracks. Wolff: Nico not the favourite Mercedes boss predicts Lewis Hamilton will close the gap The first lap in Shanghai was very wild, with multiple contacts. With both Ferraris sliding a little wide, I thought Daniil Kvyat was fully within his rights to seize the opportunity in the space up the inside of Sebastian Vettel.He didnt hit the Ferrari - indeed, Vettel spun his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen around such that he actually made contact with Kvyat. From on-board Vettels car, it looked as if there was not much he could have done in the space and timeframe, and contact was made.Vettels brain was thereafter engaged fully. In front of fearsome team boss Sergio Marchionne, he had just damaged both cars, scarlet against scarlet. He set about rationalising and minimising that on the radio by deflecting everything at Kvyat. This whining would go into the post-race press conference, where he raised his voice as if on a West End stage but with a global audience to further shift the blame. A German verbally scrapping with a Russian in English.I thought Kvyat batted it all back perfectly and had every intention of enjoying a guilt-free, important-for-him, and well-deserved podium. Hamilton: Im out of jokers Lewis Hamilton admits he cannot afford another poor weekend in 2016 Seb calmed down a little after the race when describing it all as a racing incident, but he also had his brain engaged in the pits under the safety car as Nico Hulkenberg backed up Carlos Sainz, so as not to queue at his pits while they serviced his team-mate Sergio Perez. In a flash, Vettel passed the pair of them in the narrow lane before the speed limit. I loved it, but I saw a couple of tweets asking why I was impressed - surely this was illegal and dangerous? The regulations specifically allow for overtaking between the two safety car lines on track either end of the pit straight zone, rather necessarily as cars stop at their pits.It was a little risky, rather like getting in an F1 car in the first place. Its a race, not a polite high-speed demonstration, as Kvyat reminded Vettel on the opening lap. Sebastian Vettel had words with Daniil Kvyat as they waited to head out to the podium Through all of that, Vettel drove a brilliant race for second place, surpassing Ayrton Sennas and matching Raikkonens record with 81 podiums. In fact, second and fifth for the Ferrari team was a major save.I felt for Daniel Ricciardo. Hes in such fine form and deserved better than a puncture while leading. There was so much debris around Im surprised we didnt have an earlier Safety Car and more punctures.The Aussie drove a stormer, which he described as one of the best of his career, fourth was some kind of reward except for his team-mate drinking the champagne.Once again, the third race tyre compound livened up proceedings and 13 of the 22 starters (and finishers) used all three at some point in the race. Having lost Saturday through rain, and with a much warmer race day, the teams and their strategists were working blind and living on their instincts and experience.It makes for a better and less predictable race. After an horrific accident in Australia and then missing Bahrain, Fernando Alonso was finally cleared to race in China. Here he talks to Martin Brundle With 62 pit stops and so much talk about tyres, it was maybe a little too much, and we are told that the wider 2017 tyres will be targeting much less degradation. The supersofts in Shanghai degraded at four tenths of a second per lap, which is very high, but spices up the action.I can see why the drivers are frustrated, because the major race-long focus is on tyre preservation and not going as fast as humanly possible. The problem with the zero-deg tyres of the past is that we had very little action of any kind. Lets hope the 2017-spec can find a nice balance between the two.Lewis elected to start from the grid and not the pit lane because that should always deliver a better track position at the end of lap one, but sadly he was penalised for that. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here. After a great start and a careful approach around the carnage of turns one and two, a Sauber suddenly entered stage left and heavy suspension and front-wing contact was made. A trip through the gravel with the wing trapped underneath did nothing helpful for his numerous aerodynamic addenda.As much as I admire the skill and artistry of all these myriad of strakes and aerofoils, I wish we could simplify them because races are so often ruined by cars which lose a mysterious 30 points of downforce which we just cant see or feel as spectators.Nothing seemed to work thereafter for Lewis, and by just after half distance he had pitted five times for tyres and a wing and then had a long run to the finished. The team were unaware that one of his sets of tyres had been cut in the contact. At one point, Lewis made a great and unorthodox move on Valtteri Bottas in turn nine, along with other passes and carrying solid pace, but a similar move on the other Williams of Felipe Massa failed and left him exposed to being passed by Ricciardo.Despite such occasional strong pace, it was clear that Lewiss Merc was munching through its tyres too fast, although one driver on the plane on the way home unprompted said to me: Ive no idea why Lewis thought his tyres would survive attacking the fast corners like he was when I was behind him.Rosberg feels that the next few races really suit him, and Lewis must feel that his unlucky run will be coming to an end. Either way, Rosberg is guaranteed to be leading the championship until at least Spain and hes on a super-impressive roll.MBDont miss the F1 Report on Wednesday at 8:30pm on Sky Sports F1 for full analysis of an action-packed Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit. Natalie Pinkham is joined in the studio by Marc Priestley and Alex Lynn. Also See: Hamilton admits: Im out of jokers Chinese GP driver ratings Wholesale Bruins Jerseys .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Cheap Bruins Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.cheapbruinsjerseys.com/ . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Cheap Bruins Jerseys Authentic . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. Cheap Bruins Jerseys . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. ASHBURN, Va. -- When Vernon Davis didnt produce like his young self, he understood the questions.Everybody starts to worry, Davis said. Theyre like: Hey guys, we need to figure it out: Can Vernon still play?Quarterback Kirk Cousins wondered whats left in the tank for Davis when the Washington Redskins signed the veteran tight end after the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos decided they didnt need him.Those fears evaporated at an informal offseason session at a local Washington-area high school in April.We were throwing, and I realized right away this guy can still play, Cousins said. Im still trying to figure out what the catch is or why two teams let him go.The catch is Davis is 32 years old and in his 11th NFL season, and he was limited to two touchdowns in 2014 and none last season. Back in his hometown, hes rejuvenated with 31 catches for 450 yards and two touchdowns through 11 games.I feel like the older I get, the better I get, said Davis, a D.C. native and star at Maryland. I feel like Im just starting, man. Im just getting started. I tell everyone the same thing: When I lose my speed, then Ill hang it up. But I still have my speed. I can still run. With that, I continue to play this game.Davis could be a big part of the Redskins game Sunday at the Arizona Cardinals as starting tight end Jordan Reeds status is in doubt with a sprained shoulder.Davis already shouldered the load when Reed missed two October games with a concussion, and he has the speed and big-play ability for Cousins to turn to him.Cousins said Davis could run the 40-yard dash like an elite wide receiver.Its just been a joy to play with him and have him on the team, Cousins said. And with the injuries that Jordans sustained, hes become even more valuable needing to step up and be a difference maker.Davis days as a difference maker arent that far gone. He had 52 catches, including 13 touchdowns, in 2013 for San Francisco.On Wednesday, he lamented mistakes madde along the way and expressed gratitude for playing and winning a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning.ddddddddddddDavis remained optimistic, but perhaps most importantly he maintained his chiseled physique -- which has receiver Pierre Garcon thinking: When you get older, you definitely want to look like that.Offensive coordinator Sean McVay said Davis is a guy that takes care of his body, and I think we felt very comfortable that if he was put in this situation that there would be a chance for him to have success.And hes definitely done a great job. Hes exceeded a lot of expectations.Beyond the passing game, coach Jay Gruden sees Davis influence on the run, too.I think thats where he has helped the most, Gruden said. These 4.6 yards a carry that I think we are averaging right now, a lot of it is because of our tight end -- blocking in the core, cut off on the backside or what have you -- and hes a big part of that.Blocking is one of Davis skills, but Garcon is quick to point out that hes a receiving tight end. Davis definitely feels like that again and is glad the Redskins took a chance on him.Im always expecting the best and preparing for the worst, Davis said. I wouldnt trade it for anything in the world, because being back home where I was born and raised, getting an opportunity to play in front of friends and family, cant trade that. It doesnt happen like that often.NOTE: Reed and DL Anthony Lanier (shin) did not practice Thursday for a second consecutive day. ... Cousins was chosen as the NFC offensive player of the month for November after completing 72.4 percent of his passes for 1,086 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions. He had a passer rating of 124.4 in November, and his 362 yards a game led all quarterbacks.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '