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 Mariners Jerseys China . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Fake Mariners Jerseys . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Mariners Jerseys 2020 . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Custom Seattle Mariners Jerseys . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. Of course Hope Hornish was going to gravitate toward auto racing. Its hard to imagine it turning out any other way.She grew up idolizing her uncle, Sam Hornish Jr., who won 19 races, including the 2006 Indianapolis 500 and three championships in IndyCar between 2000 and 2007. Add a love for speed and plenty of support from other family members, and Hopes career choice was easy.Now comes the hard part: getting a real shot.Shes getting her best opportunity yet this week at Floridas New Smyrna Speedway as an invitee to NASCARs 13th annual Drive for Diversity (D4D) combine, a multifaceted tryout for scholarships in stock car racings premier driver development program.Seventeen drivers, including a record-tying 13 females, are competing for spots in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Class of 2017. At least six berths are available, but that number could grow if any of the six members of the 2016 class are invited back. Ali Kern from the 2016 class and another Whelen All-American Series driver, Maddie Crane, also are in the mix, so all told, 15 females are in the running.Hornish, 19, comes from Defiance, Ohio, and is majoring in political science at Adrian (Michigan) College. She has been racing go-karts and other cars since she was 8. She has also been watching her uncle Sam, who has also competed at NASCARs top level and has a win this season in the Xfinity Series.Were pretty close, Hope said of her relationship with Sam. I hang out with his children, who are my cousins, and we go to church and have family dinners all the time. Hes been a really good mentor as far as being a role model for people who look up to you no matter what you are doing. Hes also been very influential with my life as a Christian.If Hope has a racing question or needs a tip, Sam is just a text message away.I can simply ask him a question, and hell get back to me and give me some insiders or some pointers whenever I need it, Hope said. But I have to ask for it. He doesnt want to step on my toes or anything, and I dont want to bug him too much because I know he has a busy schedule, but hes always there if I need him.Hope began racing late models after graduating from high school in 2015, competing at Angola Motorsport Speedway in Fremont, Indiana. She spent most of this season competing on the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. Racing is expensive, and for Hope, it has been a we effort to this point.We is my parents, April and John Hahn; my grandpa, Sam Hornish [Sr.]; my nana, Joanne; my uncle, Sam; my aunt, Crystal ... my whole family in general, she said. My grandpa has been very influential in my racing career. He has given me a lot of advice and pointers when I need them, and he helps me with the off-track connections and knowing people as far as trying to get my foot in the door in the racing world.Theres a lengthy application for the D4D program, and more than 70 candidates submitted résumés thiis year, according to NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations Jim Cassidy, who leads the sanctioning bodys multicultural development department.ddddddddddddDriving talent isnt the only skill the evaluators will be measuring during the combine, which started Monday and runs through Wednesday after being postponed from Oct. 10-12 because of Hurricane Matthew.First and foremost, were looking for that vision of somebody who is going to be able to compete at a very high level, Cassidy said. In order to compete at a very high level, you have to have a whole lot of natural talent, but you also have to be teachable. If youre not teachable, if youre not a great communicator in the car, that can translate in a way that doesnt optimize what your natural talent is.Gone are the days when the racing jobs went only to the fastest and toughest. The skill set now has to be much broader.Outside of the car, you need to be able to represent Fortune 500 [companies], and be able to interact and represent brands in a way that drives business, Cassidy said. And then, obviously, were looking for young drivers who are ultimately going to represent the sport and understand the significance of their position being the star power of the sport. We want to see personalities, we want to see those come out. We always say it, and its cliché, but we want the entire package.Among the other female candidates are Macy Causey, who at 14 years old was the youngest participant in D4D combine history in 2015, and Hailie Deegan, daughter of Brian Deegan, the most decorated athlete in freestyle motocross history. Causey is the granddaughter of Diane Teel, who in 1978 became the first woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race.Danica Patrick remains the only woman competing in NASCARs top Sprint Cup series, but between the D4D applicants and participants and a few who are further along, there could be others before long.Cassidy noted that NASCAR Next member Julia Landauer and alum Nicole Behar finished on the podium (second and third, respectively) in the K&N West Series race at Meridian (Idaho) Speedway late last month. NASCAR Next drivers receive promotional and marketing support.I think it would be short-sighted for us to say wed like to find another Danica, Cassidy said. What we want to do is make sure that every young woman out there understands that NASCAR has an avenue, if thats something that you think you want to do. Weve really got a great group of drivers coming in, and I would hope that were not looking for just another female driver to get to the highest level, but rather, were looking for it to become not so much of a conversation as it is a norm.And just maybe, NASCARs racing future could include another racing Hornish -- a female iteration this time. ' ' '