Mercedes admit they will be working overtime on Monacos rest day in a bid to catch Red Bull after being caught by surprise by Da

Mercedes admit they will be working overtime on Monacos rest day in a bid to catch Red Bull after being caught by surprise by Daniel Ricciardos blistering pace in Thursday practice. Timo Werner Jersey . Ricciardo, buoyed by the introduction of Renaults new engine and reenergised by the appointment of Max Verstappen, topped the timesheets by over half a second from Lewis Hamilton with Nico Rosberg a further three tenths adrift.While Hamilton welcomed the prospect of a close fight, Rosberg admitted that Red Bulls speed had surprised the world champions. Its very simple: today they were faster than us, conceded the championship leader. We can still turn up our engine, but we dont have six tenths [worth] of turning up the engine. We expected them to be there or thereabouts, but not that quick.Sky F1 pundits dazzled by Red Bulls Monaco paceWhile the abnormal size of Ricciardos advantage suggests that Red Bull and Mercedes were running different fuel strategies, Ricciardos lap, faster than last years pole position time, will have the world champions working around the clock on Friday despite the absence of any on-track action. Ted Kravitz and Johnnny Herbert analyse how Lewis Hamiltons nose got broken in the Mercedes garage during Thursday practice at Monaco We need to spend the day wisely, said Rosberg. Friday is going to be an intense engineering day, much more intense than a usual weekend. Red Bull were quicker than us today [Thursday], we need to do our homework well tonight and tomorrow. In the situation we are finding ourselves in, its great to have an extra day, it gives us time to dig through everything and find more performance.If an answer to counter Red Bulls sudden surge is to be found, it is likely to be discovered in the detail of how the new ultrasoft tyres, debuting this weekend, perform. Unlike Red Bull and Ferrari, Mercedes declined to experience the new range of Pirellis during winter testing but have selected 10 sets of ultrasofts this week in anticipation of a one-stop race where the final stint will be run on supersofts.But with overtaking notoriously difficult around Monte Carlos mean streets, track position is expected to be nine-tenths of the Monaco GP law - making Saturdays qualifying hour the most important of the year so far. A feast of live sporting action is on Sky Sports this weekend - dont miss it! All our focus is on that one qualy lap because thats all that counts around here. Its all building up to that one qualifying lap in Q3, said Rosberg. Its an exciting challenge to see if we can extract a bit more from these tyres. We have so much information on the tyres with sensors here, there and everywhere so that we can capture an accurate picture of what the tyres are actually doing. We have a huge data gathering and that is where Qualcomm come in.The technology giants have developed pioneering data processing that enables the team to download tyre telemetry even before their cars have returned to base via an advanced wifi connection that is eight times faster than the standard household wireless system.The faster you make that process, the faster you find new directions, added Mercedes technical boss Paddy Lowe. In the past, to get a download you would typically have to delay your car which you dont want to do in a practice session. We may only have five or six unique runs during a practice session and this means we can make every one count.After the unsettling surprise of Red Bulls blistering pace on Thursday, Mercedes know they have no time to lose on or off the track before the action resumes on Saturday.When is the Monaco GP on Sky Sports and how can you watch it? Meanwhile, the British-based Mercedes and McLaren outfits have confirmed they will adopt a position of neutrality ahead of the United Kingdom referendum vote on EU membership.One of our directors looked at the issue because some of our staff members asked which way they should vote, revealed Paddy Lowe. He concluded it didnt really make a lot of difference, either to the company or to Formula 1 in general in terms of how we run the business. So weve left it to our employees to vote how they wish personally.McLaren team boss Eric Boullier revealed the Brackley-based outfit had carried out a similar study and reached the same conclusion.We dont believe there will be a significant impact on the Formula 1 business, said Boullier. The team and the industry is mainly based in the UK but we have managed always to use some suppliers abroad and I dont think its going to change much.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: Red Bull Monaco speed unbelievable When is the Monaco GP on Sky? Lauda: New deal for Nico soon Get a NOW TV weekend pass Leon Goretzka Jersey . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Sebastian Rudy Germany Jersey . -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wanted to keep Logan Mankins with the team for a long time. http://www.germanysoccerpro.com/Thomas-Muller-Germany-Jersey/ . You can watch all the action on TSN and TSN GO beginning at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center.PORTLAND, Ore. -- For more than four months, the Portland Winterhawks were invincible on home ice. The Edmonton Oil Kings ended the Winterhawks 25-game home winning streak Friday and closed to within one game of winning their second Western Hockey League championship in three years. Griffin Reinhart and Henrik Samuelsson scored second-period goals as the Oil Kings defeated Portland 3-2 in Game 5 of the WHL finals to take a 3-2 series lead. "Gutsy effort by our guys coming into this building and grinding out a solid road game," said Edmonton coach Derek Laxdal. "I thought our guys were really composed in a huge game." Edgars Kulda scored a first-period power-play goal for Edmonton, and goaltender Tristan Jarry made 37 saves and stood tall during a late Portland charge. "The mindset coming into the series was that wed have to win one on the road," said Reinhart. "Weve been comfortable in close games all year." Paul Bittner and Mathew Dumba scored for Portland, which hadnt lost at home since Jan. 4. Corbin Boes stopped 27 shots in defeat. "I thought we did a lot of good things tonight," said Winterhawks head coach Mike Johnston. "If we repeat that game well be OK in Game 6." Bittner broke a scoreless streak of nearly 132 minutes for the Winterhawks with his fourth goal of the series with 4:32 left in the first period to put Portland up 1-0. Kulda responded with 1:33 left in the first onn the Oil Kings fourth power play of the period. Niklas Sule Germany Jersey. The Oil Kings took their first road lead of the series on Reinharts goal 2:11 into the second period, then made it 3-1 on Samuelssons fourth goal of the series at 7:39. That score held until Dumba scored with 1:45 left in regulation to pull Portland within one, but the Winterhawks could not find an equalizer down the stretch. "(Edmonton) is good when they have the lead," Johnston said. "They really trapped it up in the third period, but we had seven or eight chances where we shot it over the net, we cut it too fine." Edmonton finished 1 for 5 on the power play, while Portland went scoreless on four chances. The Winterhawks, who had the top power play in the WHL in the regular season, are stuck in an 0-for-15 slump with the man advantage since Game 1. "Were not getting the bounces we want, but if we keep playing the same way we can win 3-2 next time," Bittner said. Edmonton, which beat the Winterhawks in seven games in the 2012 WHL finals, has won three straight games after dropping the first two of the series in Portland. The Winterhawks won last years championship in six games over Edmonton. The Oil Kings can wrap up the series with a win in Sundays Game 6. If Portland wins, the Winterhawks will host Game 7 Monday. "Weve been good at home," said Reinhart. "Were going to put distractions aside and play our best game." ' ' '