ng forces with fellow Indian pro Rohan Bopanna as a mixed doubles

The speed of Red Bulls RB12 at the Monaco GP has been hailed as absolutely unbelievable by the Sky Sports F1 pundits after the former champions outpaced Mercedes in Thursday practice. Living up to pre-race predictions the former world champions were poised to battle it out with Mercedes this weekend, Daniel Ricciardo dominated second practice to outpace Lewis Hamilton by a large six tenths of a second margin.Fresh from their first victory in 21 months at the Spanish GP after profiting from the first-lap collision between the two Mercedes drivers, Red Bull are using Renaults new engine on Ricciardos car, while the RB12 is well suited to the twisty street confines of Monaco. Standing on the inside of Monacos fearsome Swimming Pool section, which cars sweep through at around 230kph, Sky F1s Martin Brundle said: Absolutely unbelievable speed and confidence those two Red Bull drivers have got through here.And theyre braking later and taking more speed into the next right-hander, the exit of the Swimming Pool, as well for good measure.Absolutely unbelievable. It defies belief that they can carry that amount of speed into this Swimming Pool section. Practice Two timesheet - Top four Driver Team Lap time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:14.607 2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:15.213 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:15.506 4. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:15.571 The performance of the RB12 slightly later round the lap also caught the eye.We were standing on the outside of Rascasse, and they look very cool round there, said Johnny Herbert. The amount of speed they are able to carry into the corner and use the tyres almost as a brake and it seems to change direction so quickly.When is the Monaco GP on Sky?With a lot of cars, the back end flicks around the same time, but this is so stable. It looks very good.Mercedes engineers were seen taking a closer look at Ricciardos Red Bull as it was pushed into the garage at the end of Practice Two, with chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin remarking they look pretty quick.Nico Rosberg, third fastest in P2, concurred with that assessment.Its very simple: today they were faster than us, the championship leader admitted. So we need to dig into it and see if we can find a big chunk of lap time. Of course, we can still turn up our engine, but we dont have six tenths [worth] of turning up the engine.So definitely surprising how quick they were. We expected them to be there or thereabouts, but not that quick.Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Sky F1: It was a massively impressive session for Daniel. On both sets of tyres hes been quicker than Mercedes Of course, nobody knows what fuel levels, engine modes people are running on a Thursday in Monaco, but certainly a very positive start. Short runs and long runs look competitive.Armed with the one new engine Red Bull have access to this weekend, Ricciardo outpaced team-mate Max Verstappen, the winner at Barcelona, by nine tenths of a second - although suggested the new unit was worth just a little bit of additional lap time.Obviously weve got a good car around here as well, Ricciardo said. So its down to a little bit of both. Lets see how we go in qualifying, but certainly today Im happy. This track is certainly one where you can find a little bit more when you can push it on the limit.Ive always enjoyed it around here and felt more comfortable this afternoon in the balance. I think were in a pretty good window now. It depends what the track does on Saturday, but if it doesnt change much I dont think well be touching too much. Ive got some good confidence, which is the most important thing around here.Ricciardo led for the majority of the last race in Spain, but finished only fourth after Red Bull split their drivers strategies and Verstappen ended up winning the race on his debut for the team.If there was a way to react, Daniel has done it following Barcelona, said Paul di Resta. Hes nearly a second quicker than Verstappen, all bar three hundredths [of a second]. Hes going to try to take the spark out of Verstappen and make him think about his approach for Saturday.Watch the Monaco GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Ricciardo fastest from Hamilton WATCH: F1 Report Monaco GP When is Monaco on Sky F1? Monaco GP talking points Nike Air Force 1 Deutschland . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Nike Air Force One Deutschland . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. http://www.airforce1gunstig.de/ . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Air Force 1 Weiß Deutschland . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Nike Huarache Günstig Ebay .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. With the start of the new tennis season less than a month away, Sania Mirza is untroubled at the prospect of losing her No. 1 individual doubles ranking. Mirza, who has held the top spot since April 2015, is part of a grouping of five players who are within 300 ranking points of the top spot on the WTA computer at the moment.Having won tournaments in Brisbane, Sydney and the Australian Open in Melbourne at the start of 2016, she will be defending those points as the 2017 season begins. Any of the chasing pack -- which includes Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic of France, former partner Martina Hingis and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands -- can displace Mirza over the coming weeks.Nobody remains No. 1 forever, Mirza told ESPN. Even if I lose the ranking, it does not mean that I cannot come back. As tennis players thats what we are playing for. Win the big titles, play for No.1. Most likely even if I win everything, I still may lose the ranking but I have a good chance of coming back.People take it a bit for granted because I have been No. 1 for 87 weeks. But I work harder than when I was not No. 1. Believe it or not that is just how it works. Getting there is a bit easier than staying there and I am very proud of myself for having achieved that and stayed there as long as I have and I will try and hold on to it -- and if I cant, I will try and get back to it. Just because I have been No. 1 doesnt mean the field has been easy. There [have] always been people challenging.Mirza started 2016 in the midst of a red-hot streak with Hingis. Having clinched the Wimbledon and US Open titles besides the year -ending WTA finals in 2015, the pair won their first four tournaments of the year and constructed a 41-match unbeaten streak. However, a mid-season slump forced them to reconsider the partnership and they made the decision to part ways ahead of the US Open.Mirza has since rediscovered her verve with Czech player Barbora Strycova, winning titles in Cincinnati and Tokyo and entering the final in Wuuhan.dddddddddddd Mirza will open her season in Brisbane with Mattek-Sands but will resume her partnership with Strycova at the next tournament in Sydney and then at the Australian Open.I have been No. 1 in the world for almost two years now, it has been an amazing journey, she said. I will try to do everything I can to try and win every tournament I play. Whether I can is always different. I am looking forward to playing, competing and hopefully replicating that success. If not, even coming close would be good.Although she is likely to continue her partnership with Croat Ivan Dodig in Australia, Mirza is keeping the door open on combining forces with fellow Indian pro Rohan Bopanna as a mixed doubles pairing. Dodig and Mirza reached the final at the French Open last year and the semi-finals at the Australian Open but were knocked out early at Wimbledon and the US Open.Bopanna and Mirza came within touching distance of clinching a medal at the Rio Olympics earlier in the year and have combined well over the last three weeks at the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL). Mirza says despite the challenges the league has faced this year she has relished the experience at the end of a long season on the circuit.You will hear many tennis players say it is so great to be part of a team, the atmosphere is so different, she said. On the team you are playing for everybody sitting on the bench. I love the format. We have had three great years and the format itself is a lot of fun. It is very competitive. Nobody wants to lose and everybody is giving their heart out to win even though it is at the end of the season.No athlete in the world wants to lose no matter what they are playing. I want to win even when I am playing gotis (laughs). On paper it is an exhibition but if you ask every single person here they are fighting their heart out every time they step on the court. ' ' '