Sports

Dutch financial services entity ING said it will pull out from its Formula 1 sponsorship deal with French car maker Renault.

Raul has insisted he would happily swap personal acclaim for club success after becoming the leading scorer in Real Madrid history.


The long-serving club captain replaced the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano as the Spanish giants' most prolific marksman after netting twice in Madrid's 4-0 Primera Liga win over Sporting Gijon.

The 31-year-old Raul and Di Stefano were tied on 307 goals before the game but 15 minutes into the contest at El Molinon the record was broken as Raul slotted home Sergio Ramos' cross to put Madrid 1-0 up.

That ensured Raul would go down in club folklore, but the former Spain captain preferred to look at the benefit his goals could do the team over any individual plaudits.

Madrid`s win was their eighth on the trot and saw them trim the gap to Primera Liga leaders Barcelona to 10 points with 15 games remaining.

''I feel very good and I`m happy because I`ve been able to surpass Alfredo`s record and also score another goal,'' said Raul, who only needs another 36 goals to replace former Athletic Bilbao hitman Telmo Zarra as the leading overall scorer in La Liga history as well.

''The thing I hope for is that these goals serve for something more than just to break records and that we can get ourselves closer to Barcelona in the table.''

He added in AS: ''It was an important day because we had the chance to cut the difference. It was a great game which we dominated from start to finish.

''The whole team performed at a great level and were better than Sporting at every moment.

''The team have shown in the last few games that they are focused and they have faith that winning the league is still possible.''

Raul knows it will not be easy to overhaul Barca though, with Pep Guardiola`s side having gone unbeaten in 22 league matches since losing on the opening day of the season.

Madrid also have a tricky series of fixtures coming up, starting with a home clash against improving Real Betis next weekend. Betis on Saturday ended Barca's 10-match winning streak in La Liga by playing out a 2-2 draw with the pacesetters, having been 2-0 up early on.

Following that match Madrid then resume their Champions League challenge with a home game against Liverpool, and then travel to Espanyol before facing local rivals Atletico and the return game with Liverpool.

''It`s important that we continue like that (the Sporting game), because the difference is still 10 points and that is a lot,'' added Raul.

''Barca are playing at a great level but there is a long way to go yet. We are focused on the possibility of cutting the gap further because now we face the most important phase of the league and also coming up is the game against Liverpool.

''The teams that are competing in European competition are not going to perform in the same manner as they have recently.''

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a confidence-boosting, warm-weather drive in his 2009 McLaren on Thursday while title rivals Ferrari were bogged down in a Middle East sandstorm.

The British driver put in 93 laps of the Jerez circuit with a best time of 1:20.737, the second fastest on the day behind Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais who clocked 1:18.493.

“Today’s test gave me the first opportunity to drive MP4-24 in warm, dry conditions — and I’m very encouraged by what I felt,” said Hamilton.

“The car feels strong, very similar to last year’s car, in fact. It doesn’t take long to get used to the new buttons in the cockpit, but the real test for everyone now is to understand the slick tyres ahead of the first race in Melbourne next month.”

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (1:20.738), Kazuki Nakajima in a Williams (1:20.898) and former double world champion Fernando Alonso, in a Renault (1:21.307) completed the top five.

Bourdais’ time was slower than that set by team-mate Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland the previous day.

Meanwhile, in Bahrain, Ferrari, as well as Toyota and Sauber, saw their testing schedule decimated by a desert sandstorm.

The teams were allowed out for installation laps in the morning at the Sakhir track, but after that running was suspended because the medical helicopter was unable to fly between the track and the nearest hospital.

The storm meant that former world champion Kimi Raikkonen spent the day in the Ferrari garage, unable to set a time.

“Another extremely precious test day has been lost,” said a Ferrari team statement.

“There are just another 12 testing days left before the season starts. We have another session planned for Friday with Kimi behind the wheel but the weather forecast is not optimistic.”