Formula one: Adrian Sutil returned to the Formula One cockpit for the first time since 2011 yesterday but the German may have to wait a while before Force India decide whether the test leads to a racing comeback. Sutil and Frenchman Jules Bianchi are rivals for the last vacant slot on the starting grid but the Silverstone-based team appeared to be in no hurry to name their second driver even though the season starts in Australia on March 17. Ferrari-backed Bianchi is due to test at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya today although the team say there is no ‘shoot-out’ between the two.

Cricket: New Zealand opening batsman Martin Guptill will miss the final one-day international and test series against England to undergo surgery on his left thumb. Guptill, who scored an unbeaten 27 to guide the hosts to victory while playing with a left hamstring strain in the first one-day international in Hamilton, will have surgery on the thumb ligament next week. New Zealand physiotherapist Paul Close said while the batsman could have continued playing in the short term with the injury, which occurred earlier during the England series, he needed to have surgery at some point.

Tennis: Samantha Stosur’s season of woe continued at the Dubai Championships when she crashed out in the quarter-finals following a 6-2 6-4 defeat by Italian Roberta Vinci yesterday. The Australian has lost more matches than she has won this year, with her win-loss record standing at 5-7, after she produced an error-strewn performance under the searing desert sun that left her frequently yelling in frustration.