London, Apr. 17 : Formula One racing champion Lewis Hamilton will stay on at McLaren.

The world champion pledged his support for the under-fire team's new regime as manager Ron Dennis stepped down from all grand prix activities.

Dennis, 61, insisted his decision to go had nothing to do with McLaren's appearance before motor sport chiefs over the Aussie Liargate scandal.

He said the timing was "purely coincidental" and all about becoming chief executive of their new sports car business.

London, Apr. 17 : Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas says he dreams every day of lifting his first trophy and he is not losing any sleep over a Champions League semi-final clash with Manchester United.

Fabregas believes the Gunners have the fearlessness of youth on their side going into the eagerly awaited all-English showdown.

London, Apr. 17 : England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney wants Everton fans to give him Wembley hell as it makes him play better.

As he prepares to face Everton in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final, Rooney said: "All the stick I get makes me want to do better. But it doesn't bother me that much now because I expect it whenever I play against Everton."

Rooney's old boss David Moyes also stoked up the fires ahead of the Wembley crunch - by hinting match referee Mike Riley is a United fan.

Shanghai  - Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton Friday topped the timesheets in the first practice for the Chinese Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver completed the fastest round of the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai circuit in 1:37.334 minutes, 0.116 seconds ahead of GP Brawn driver Jenson Button.

Button's Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello came third, followed by McLaren's Heikki Kovaleinen, indicating a closing gap between the two teams.

Tokyo-Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso pledged his government's full support for Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Games as a delegation from the International Olympics Committee began an inspection Thursday.

"It is my earnest desire to invite young Olympians from around the world to Tokyo to experience what I felt and learned as a young athlete," Aso told the 13-member IOC evaluation team.

Zurich  - Blood doping in Austria, and elsewhere, was an open secret in the cycling community, the former advisor of ex-Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich said in an interview published on Thursday.

Speaking in the wake of allegations that a Vienna blood bank was part of a doping scheme in Austria, Rudy Pevenage told Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ) that "many in cycling knew three years ago that there was a nest in Vienna."