McLaren will bounce back at German GP

Jenson Button drives his McLaren during the second practice sesssion ahead of the German Grand Prix. Photograph: Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images

Jenson Button is optimistic that McLaren will be back fighting with Red Bull and Ferrari at the German Grand Prix after he and team-mate Lewis Hamilton both suffered at Silverstone last time out.

Button had to retire at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago after exiting the pits with a loose front wheel, while Hamilton was forced to slow down in the closing stages to save fuel.

The team came to Germany looking for positives and, even if Friday's practice session did not give any indication of a recovery, Button is confident there will be no lasting damage done by the Silverstone result. "You get over it quick because the next one is just around the corner," Button said. "It was my home grand prix so it was obviously disappointing that we didn't get a good result.

"After the last race you move on and you come with a stronger car, which I think we will have here. You also come with a good atmosphere within the team and a positive attitude. None of the guys here are thinking about Silverstone now."

The debate over the exhaust-blown diffuser that dominated the previous race has also been closed and Hamilton hoped this would benefit the team in Germany: "I feel optimistic about this weekend, I think the regulations definitely affected us more than others," he said.

"The regulations have changed back to where we had been on engine modes so I think we should be on par with the others now on that side of things. Whether or not the car is quick as theirs, we'll wait and see."

Button, too, thought the rule-tweaking had been at least partly to Ferrari's advantage in the previous race. "It obviously hurt us and it hurt Red Bull but I don't think it hurt Ferrari so they stood out as being very competitive."

With everyone on the same page of the rulebook, however, McLaren struggled where Ferrari still produced an impressive performance in practice. Fernando Alonso recorded a time of 1min 31.894sec in the first session which was the fastest of the morning, with his team-mate Felipe Massa fourth-fastest, sandwiching the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton and Button were fifth and sixth respectively.

In the second practice session, Mark Webber, who won here two years ago, had the advantage, and topped the timing screens with a lap of 1:31.711. But Ferrari were again strong, with Alonso and Massa quickest for some time before Webber went fastest just after the hour. It left a Red Bull and Ferrari top four again but this time the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg rounded out the top six. Hamilton was seventh and Button 11th, losing the final 20 minutes with an exhaust problem.

Alonso was keen to dispel any notion that the British race had been a one?off, saying: "First impressions from the car are good. I've said it before it's not a case of a miracle having happened at Silverstone."

Button was unsure how his performance would unfold. "It's been a slightly frustrating day for me. I couldn't get a good balance on the car this morning," he said. "I think it will be difficult for us to beat the Red Bulls in qualifying."

Hamilton, too, was equivocal: "We've got some updates on the car and they seem to be working, which is also positive. But it's only Friday."

If both drivers' general optimism is to be justified they will expect a little better on Saturday, though it may be compromised. A 75% chance of rain is predicted for the weekend and, despite heavy falls all week, Friday's practice was entirely dry, so no team has yet had any running in the cold and wet.

If this comes it may hamper Ferrari. Alonso said: "In theory, the cold is not a friend to us: in these conditions the Red Bull has even more of an edge."

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Strauss craves bounce to rattle galacticos

England's captain Andrew Strauss believes Stuart Broad can play his part in taking on the touring India side. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

The statisticians may have added some spice by telling us that if England win the series against India by two clear Tests they will be ranked No1 in the world. But this series does not really need it.

The galacticos are here, probably for the last time: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman. Perhaps we might also include the man who may now be richer than them all, MS Dhoni. Virender Sehwag, who will not be around for the first two Tests, may well have the credentials as well.

Even without Sehwag India are a delight to watch. They have the best batsmen in the world (Yuvraj Singh, no less, may not make their Test side), the canniest bowlers and some of the worst fieldsmen. England have not beaten them in a Test series since 1996 when the likes of Ronnie Irani, Peter Martin and Alan Mullally were somehow too much for Azharuddin, Tendulkar and Co.

England's recent record is not too shabby either. Since they lost in the Caribbean in 2009 soon after Andrew Strauss took the helm, England have won seven of their last eight series while drawing with South Africa.

So the cricket should be of high quality and keenly contested. We should not take too much notice of India's desultory efforts in the field at Taunton. Moreover, if there is a dull moment in the series, there is the added piquancy of England's old coach, Duncan Fletcher, now taking on that role for India.

Fletcher, by his standards, was in gregarious mood with his old mates in the press at Taunton, but from now onwards only the early birds watching the net practices will see much of him in this series. He prefers bonding with players rather than press. Strauss is not too concerned that his old mentor is now on the other side. "The planning is an important part of a Test series but what happens in the middle is always slightly divorced from the plan," he says. "You have got to be able to adapt to what the pitch is playing like on a given day, what the opposition are doing, and no coach can help you with that. That is something you have got to do out in the middle either as a bowling side or a batting side."

So we are not about to embark on a rarefied game of chess between the two Zimbabweans – Fletcher and Andy Flower – with the players of both sides their pawns. Over the past few years Strauss has become as close to Flower as he was to Fletcher. "They are different characters," he says. "There are a lot of similarities; they are both very loyal, they have both got very good cricket brains but they are different personalities completely. It doesn't mean they are not equally effective."

For Strauss Flower is more a collaborator than a mentor and he is more important to him now. But that does not mean that Strauss is about to deny the massive contribution of Fletcher to England's cricketers in the recent past.

"He made me aware of what Test cricket actually entailed," he maintains. "He is a great father figure; he has been there, done it all, seen it all and once he worked with you for a while it was very hard not to be loyal to him as a bloke.

"Cricket is in his veins, he loves the game and there is no bigger challenge than the India job – for someone like him it is probably the dream job." I hazard a guess that as an opponent Strauss will have a better relationship with Fletcher in this series than, say, Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes.

Strauss thinks – and hopes – that home advantage should count for a lot in this series. But he is not so naive as to demand green tops. "We just want good Test match wickets, which means something in it for everyone. The Rose Bowl was an excellent wicket and we want that sort of carry and bounce if possible."

England crave bouncy pitches for their tall bowlers. That is how they think they can exploit their home advantage. But which bowlers? When the squad is announced this morning we expect to find Stuart Broad still there, along with Tim Bresnan. One of these will join Jimmy Anderson and Chris Tremlett in the final eleven. Despite his drought, Broad is more likely to play than Bresnan. But Strauss at least acknowledged that Broad has been going through a tough time recently.

"He is clearly frustrated that he has not taken more wickets. That is the same for everyone. If you are not performing up to the standards you are used to, it hurts. I don't think he is doing a lot wrong. The key thing is to be patient and persevere and not try and change his method too much. Stick to what he knows, keep banging out a length consistently and, as we have seen from most of our bowlers when they have done that over the last couple of years, it has generally worked," Strauss says, sticking to the Ashes formula.

Earlier in the summer it was suggested – not least by the side's bowling coach, David Saker – that Broad was the side's enforcer, the one to pepper opponents with the short stuff. "That is not his role in the side and it has never has been," Strauss clarifies. "Occasionally the situation dictates that you want to go short on a particular batsman, I think he is our best bowler at doing that. But Broad's role is not fundamentally different from Anderson or Tremlett, which is to build up pressure. He has got so many outstanding attributes: he bowls at good pace, gets good bounce and if he is banging out a length consistently he is going to be effective."

All of which suggests that Broad still has the confidence of his Test captain, even though he was dropped for the last ODI against Sri Lanka.

Probable squad: Strauss, Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Morgan, Prior, Broad, Swann, Tremlett, Anderson, Bresnan.

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Michael Phelps inspired by Ian Thorpe as he aims to bounce back

Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, but has had a dismal time over the last 18 months. Photograph: John Pryke/EPA

Michael Phelps has signalled his intent to regain medal-winning form at the world swimming championships after a dismal 18 months. Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, lost his third race in a row last month in his signature event, the 200m butterfly, having previously gone unbeaten for nine years at the distance.

The world championships, which begin in Shanghai on Saturday, offer the 26-year-old an opportunity to prove to his rivals that his poor recent form is not a terminal problem. "I would love to break a world record [here]," Phelps said from Australia's Gold Coast, where the US team are training. "It's time to get up and race now. It's like the old feeling I used to get leading up to meets – just being excited to get in the water and race."

Phelps sounded reinvigorated after admitting he had lost his passion for swimming after his success at the 2008 Games. "I felt like you had to twist my arm to get me into the pool," Phelps said. "I was like kicking and screaming not wanting to go to the pool. This year has changed a lot … I can't stand to lose, so I had to change something. I needed to get out of that funk."

Despite his continuing struggles, Phelps said he had gained inspiration to battle out of his slump from the return of Ian Thorpe, who announced his comeback to the sport this year. Thorpe, who was one of swimming's biggest stars before Phelps's emergence, retired in 2006 having amassed five Olympic gold medals, 11 world titles and 13 world records.

The Australian beat Phelps in their only serious contest in the 200m freestyle – the 2004 Olympic final which has been dubbed the "race of the century" – and while Thorpe will not be in Shanghai, the possibility of taking him on in London at next year's Olympics has galvanised the American swimmer.

"He and I only raced once over the 200 freestyle," Phelps said. "Having the opportunity to race somebody like him again, maybe in the 200 free, will be super fun. I've never had the chance and hopefully we get the chance over the next year."

While Phelps has been struggling with his problems in the pool, one of Britain's competitors in Shanghai, Gemma Spofforth, has endured a far tougher year out of competition. The Florida-based Spofforth, the defending 100m backstroke champion whose mother died of bowel cancer in December 2007, has had to endure another family tragedy in the build-up to this year's championships.

While she was in Britain awaiting her green card, tragedy struck again when her father Mark's new partner, June White, was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died at the same hospice where Spofforth's mother passed away while the swimmer was competing at the trials in Manchester in March.

The Shoreham-born swimmer, who has been appointed as a trainer at Alachua County Crisis Centre, returned to the States and admitted this year had been fraught with emotion and she considered returning to Britain.

"Physically I wasn't in the best shape I could be in and emotionally I was a wreck," Spofforth said. "I put a lot of extra pressure on myself to worry about things that probably didn't need to be worried about and it took me a while after that to get back into swimming and realise I was doing something that I love and not just something that took my mind off what else is going on at home.

"I questioned it [returning to England]. He [her father] was so invested in work and he is such a motivated person, I guess that's where I get my motivation from, that I felt it wasn't needed."

She will swim just the 100m backstroke in Shanghai and she feels little expectation given the form of others. "That takes a lot of pressure off me and just makes me want to go into the meet just enjoying it rather than thinking I've got to go and make a final, got to make a medal.

"This year has been a little bit of an off year to go in after the worlds and train for 2012."

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