Lewis Hamilton (4/11 favourite to win the race on Totesport Formula 1 coupon) has claimed his McLaren has not felt better all season as he cruised to pole position at the Abu Dhabi grand prix.

The former world champion was 0.7 seconds quicker than Sebastian Vettel (5/1 second favourite to win on race coupon), who is battling to secure second place in the drivers title with Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello (14/1 for victory on coupon), who will start the season-ending grand prix in fourth place.

Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber will sandwich the rivals, with newly-crowned world champion Jenson Button qualifying in fifth spot (Webber 8/1, Button 14/1 to win the grand prix on coupon).

Hamilton, who starts on pole for the first time since the Monaco grand prix in May, said he hopes to put on a great show for the fans during the race, adding the Abu Dhabi Yas Marina circuit is “stunning”.

“It’s never easy, but it was definitely as fun as it looked,” said the Englishman.

“The car is the best it has been all year. It was a smooth lap, and it just kept getting better and better,”

It was recently rumoured that Hamilton and Button could be lining up together next season at McLaren, however it remains a doubt that the new world champion will be leaving Brawn GP as the team looks to tie him down to a new contract.

Thomas Levet (11/2 to lift the title at Totesport golf coupon) believes his time could have come as he bids to win the Barclays Singapore Open.

The French golfer currently sits top of the leader board alongside Ian Poulter and Kodai Ichihara (7/1 to win on coupon) on eight under as the third rounds have been interrupted by the latest thunderstorm to hit Sentosa Golf Club.

Levet has benefitted as Ian Poulter (9/4 favourite for the title on golf coupon) has had a nightmare start to his third round which has seen him blow a five-shot halfway lead.

The Englishman had a clear buffer ahead of the pack after he completed his weather-affected second round, but three-putted the first hole before hitting the water on the fourth and eventually ending with a double bogey.

His five-shot lead at the halfway point had disappeared by the time the weather took a turn for the worse and his round was halted after six holes.

Levet is looking to win his second title this year and he registered three top-ten finishes after lifting the trophy at the Open de Espana in May, however his form has since dropped and he has been struggling with his game.

“I just kept telling myself to wait for it to come and wait for it to happen and it looks like it’s happening,” said Levet.

“I am very happy with the way that I am playing at the moment and I am looking forward to tomorrow because I love the battle.”

Three-time major winner Ernie Els (12/1 for the victory on golf coupon) currently sits three shots off the top after playing eight holes of his third round.

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England ace Kevin Pietersen is raring to go ahead of the tour to his native South Africa and says his spell on the sidelines injured has rejuvenated his love for the game.

The 29-year-old missed the final three Tests of the Ashes series this summer as he continued to struggle with an ankle and Achilles injury.

An ankle operation and period of recuperation away from the game has since ensured he is now almost fully fit again while it has also made him fall back in love with cricket once again.

His recovery from surgery suffered a setback when his ankle wound became infected and Pietersen was forced to miss the Champions Trophy one-day tournament in South Africa.

There were concerns the Hampshire man would not be able to play in the forthcoming tour of his native South Africa (England 7/2, South Africa 1/2, draw 7/2 in the Totesport outright Test markets), but it appears he is now raring to go ahead of the trip.

“This year has been one of the toughest of my career, with the captaincy debacle in January plus the injury,” he said.

“This break has refreshed my head and who knows how I’ll come back as a player? My Achilles won’t hamper me any more and I definitely feel fresh mentally.

“I’ll be starting off really enjoying myself – and this year I haven’t particularly enjoyed playing cricket because I was in pain and because of what happened in January. It’s been a tough thing for me.”

Pietersen added: “I believe everything happens for a reason and these three months have happened to refresh me and knowing that I was sort of falling out of love with the game, it was a symbol or a sign for me to refresh and recharge my batteries.”
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Steven Gerrard could miss Liverpool’s trip to Fulham on Saturday with his troublesome groin injury amid speculation the Reds skipper now needs an operation.

The 29-year-old England midfielder was forced to sit out the 2-0 win over Premier League title rivals Manchester United  on Sunday after limping out early on against Lyon in the Champions League last week.

Reds boss Rafa Benitez was hopeful at the start of the week that his talisman would be fit for the trip to Craven Cottage (Liverpool 5/6, Fulham 11/4, the draw 23/10 with Totesport) but now it is looking like the 29-year-old may miss the game.

There is better news for Benitez on key striker Fernando Torres, however, as he should be fit to start in London after missing the midweek Carling Cup defeat at Arsenal.

Summer signing Alberto Aquilani could be named among the substitutes against Roy Hodgson’s men following his impressive 15-minute run-out at the Emirates on Wednesday.

Liverpool will be hoping to build on the momentum created by last weekend’s much-needed win and they have a good recent record at Craven Cottage, winning on their last two visits there.

Hodgson has created a strong-looking Fulham this season, though, and they are in decent form coming back from 2-0 down to claim a draw at Manchester City last weekend following a 1-1 draw at home to Serie A giants Roma in the Europa League.

The imminent departure of Hull City chairman Paul Duffen has left the future of manager Phil Brown shrouded in uncertainty.

Brown survived a day of frenzied speculation on Wednesday when he held meetings with owner Russell Bartlett about his position at the KC Stadium.

And while, he is expected to remain in charge for Saturday’s crunch game at Burnley (in which the Tigers are 11/4 to win at Turf Moor with Totesport) nothing is certain beyond that game.

The main problem for Brown, (whose Hull side are 2/5 favourites to be relegated with totesport) is that his main ally in Duffen is expected to leave the club and be replaced by former Derby County chief Adam Pearson.

Therefore it will leave the manager needing an immediate upturn in results to keep his post at the Premier League club.

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Arsene Wenger claims Fran Merida’s performance for Arsenal, as they defeated Liverpool 2-1 to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup, is the reason why he has such faith in his young guns.

The 19-year-old former Barcelona trainee looks like being the latest starlet to come off the Emirates Stadium production line after the fine first-half strike against Rafa Benitez’s Reds.

Emiliano Insua had equalised for Liverpool before the break but the Gunners’ 21-year-old elder statesman on the night, Nicklas Bendtner sent Arsenal through with a winning goal on 50 minutes.

The Gunners now go into Saturday’s all Premier League last-eight draw with Spurs, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Blackburn, Portsmouth and Aston Villa.

However it was Merida who caught the eye of Wenger after an impressive performance and showed why the French tactician opted not to send him to Levante on loan.

“Fran is a quality player,” said Wenger.”He comes from a very good school.

“I kept him because I felt he had the quality to break through, but when you look at all the players who did not play, of course the competition for players is very difficult.”

He added: “Fran came to us at a very young age, but our school is in line with the way he was educated.

“He suits perfectly the way we want to play football.”

Despite Merida’s good display it is likely he will not feature on Saturday lunch-time as Arsenal are (3/5 with Totesport) to win the north London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium.

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Padraig Harrington feels he still has a chance of claiming top spot in the European Tour money list this season, despite slipping to 16th in the standings.

The two-time Open champion is over €1million behind leader Lee Westwood with just three tournaments left, but Harrington feels he is playing well enough to make a late burst.

The Irishman, 8/1 second favourite with totesport for this week’s Singapore Open, would need to win at least two of the remaining events and although that appears unlikely, Harrington has not given up.

The world number six admitted: “It’s mathematically possible I can make number one. It is possible but it’s a very long shot. I may as well try and win all three.”

Harrington will partner American Anthony Kang and Wen-chong Liang of China in the opening two rounds in Singapore.

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Michael Owen (40/1 in Totesport’s top Premier League goalscorer market) feels the pundits have been harsh in their assessment of his performances this season and is hoping to prove the doubters wrong.

The England striker was handed a rare start in Manchester United’s Carling Cup win at Barnsley, scoring the second goal in United’s 2-0 success at Oakwell.

Many media pundits have questioned whether the former Real Madrid frontman is still the same player after a number of injuries in recent years.

But Owen feels some of the criticism has been unfair but admits that people will judge him on the number of goals he scores for United (9/2 to lift the Carling Cup this season).

The 29-year-old said: “A start and a goal, you can’t ask for more than that. It is how people judge me unfortunately. I started a game against Bolton thought I played pretty well, then I looked at the papers and was given a three or four.”

League Two side Notts County have appointed Hans Backe as Ian McParland’s managerial successor handing him a three-year contract at Meadow Lane.

Magpies’ director of football Sven Goran Eriksson was handed the task to find a replacement for McParland, who was sacked on October 12 following a 2-2 home draw against Torquay United. And he has moved for Backe, who worked under him at Manchester City and Mexico.

The Swede had told the Nottingham Evening Post: “I want to get back into the daily routine with practice, I’ve felt a longing for a long time now.

“It’s possible that the next two to three years will be my last as a club manager.”

Backe snubbed the chance to take over as coach of the Sweden national team in favour of getting Notts County promoted to League One this season. They are 7/5 in the League Two outright market and 1/4 in the promotion market.

The side is currently fourth in the table, a point off the automatic promotion places and six points off top spot.

County’s joint caretaker team of Dave Kevan and Michael Johnson have been in charge for the last two games, but Backe will almost certainly be at the helm in time for the home game against Shrewsbury (County are 3/5 to win, Shrewsbury are priced 4/1 and the draw is 5/2 in the 90 minutes market) on Saturday.

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Martin Johnson has called on the England (9/4 joint favourites in Totesport’s Six Nations outright market) players given their chance in the Autumn internationals to claim a spot in the squad for next year’s Six Nations.

The 2003 World Cup winners will play three Tests, against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand, next month but the coach has seen his plans decimated by injury.

Seven regular starters are all sidelined and it means that Johnson has had to bring in three new faces, Bath (100/1 to lift the Heineken Cup this season) prop David Barnes and uncapped forwards Richard Blaze and Courtney Lawes.

There are also recalls for experienced forwards Steve Thompson and Lewis Moody, but the England boss remains upbeat going into three tough matches.

Johnson insisted: “We’ve had to make a number of changes because of injuries but we have strength in depth. Each of the players coming in has the opportunity to push themselves into contention.”

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