Red Bull can harbour ambitions of catching Ferrari by the August summer break, reckons Daniel Ricciardo. Adidas Superstar Herr Rea . F1s former all-conquering champions have made a stronger than expected start to the new season and, with one podium and three fourth places so far, are already just four points behind Ferrari in the standings.And Ricciardo believes that while Red Bull may remain adrift of F1s top two teams for now, an expected upgrade to Renaults engine at Junes Canadian GP could allow them to bridge the gap to the first of their leading rivals. Were certainly getting closer, said Ricciardo ahead of this weekends Russian GP, where he will test Red Bulls new aeroscreen head protection concept in Practice One.Still, I think if Mercedes and Ferrari do their perfect lap, they are still ahead of us. But were certainly a lot closer, and its nice.Hamilton welcomes challengers I feel the chassis is better, for one, but if you look at the speed traps were a chunk closer than we were last year. Weve got improvements from both sides [car and engine] which is really encouraging.Naturally, the chassis gets better as the season goes on, but with some updates coming from the power unit side hopefully these two things keep going up and then we can genuinely at least be on Ferraris pace before the summer break. Heres a look at Red Bulls new cockpit screen, but what do their drivers think about it? Having warned during pre-season that they faced a transitional 2016, Red Bull have already picked up more points - 57 - than they managed in last seasons first eight races.Ricciardo feels the improvement delivered by the RB12 car is split equally between chassis and engine development - with performance gains from the latter even raising the subject of a once-unlikely contract renewal.Russian GP talking pointsRed Bulls long-standing relationship with Renault almost resulted in an early divorce in 2015, before an 11th-hour revision of their deal saw the teams engines rebranded under the Tag Heuer name for 2016 and the agreement continue into its final season. Now asked if they could extend the deal after a brighter start to this year, Ricciardo replied: Its definitely not unlikely now. And, if we do get what we hope and what we see from the update, it should put us on a Ferrari power unit level, which is competitive enough for the team and the chassis we have.So we might not have that much of a silly season with the power units as we did last year.Watch the whole Russian GP weekend - LIVE ONLY on Sky Sports F1. The race begins at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up from 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Whens the Russian GP on Sky? The F1 Gossip Column Adidas Superstar Skor Herr . “The shootout, theres nothing wrong with it, I think its an exciting part of the game but its just one small aspect,” said Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. “Its a skill exhibition. If you can get it back closer to regular hockey and have it decided that way; that would be my preference.” “I dont think its a knock on the shootout, I think more of the managers would like to see it end in overtime,” added Washington Capitals GM George McPhee. Stan Smith Adidas Dam Sverige .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45. http://www.nmdsverige.com/superstar-adidas-skor.html . After seven wins in a row, they have to do it one more time to get into the playoffs.GLASGOW -- Ryan Cochrane said before the Commonwealth Games it would be difficult to repeat his double-gold performance of four years ago. The Canadian swimmer is already halfway there. Cochrane powered past Australias David McKeon on the final lap Thursday to win the mens 400-metre freestyle for Canadas first gold medal on the first day of competition at the Games. The 25-year-old from Victoria broke his own Canadian record set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by catching McKeon with just 25 metres to go. "I could tell I was reeling him in, but you also dont know where everyone is in the pool," said Cochrane. "You have to pick your battles of where you look. There were some many great guys in that final that I was just happy to touch first." Cochrane won with a time of three minutes 43.46 seconds for the fastest time so far in 2014, but said it wasnt his plan to allow McKeon -- who wound up 0.63 seconds back -- to get so far ahead. The Australian jumped out to a big lead that he still held with 100 metres to go before Cochrane put things into overdrive. "I went out hard, and he went out a little harder," said Cochrane. "What worked for me was that it was hard but it was smooth. In the past Ive got excited and it hasnt really helped me, where this time I worked on my strengths and I think that really carried me through the entire race." Canada also picked up a bronze medal in the pool on Thursday with Montreals Victoria Poon, Alyson Ackman and Sandrine Mainville and Torontos Michelle Williams finishing third in the womens 4x100-metre freestyle. Canada won four total medals after Kirsten Sweetland -- who grew up with Cochrane in Victoria -- opened the day with a silver in triathlon and the Canadian women won gold in the rhythmic gymnastics team event. Canada stood fourth in the medal standings while England took the early lead with 17 total medals, including six gold. A two-time Olympic medallist, Cochrane won gold in both the 400- and 1,500-metre freestyle at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and is off to a great start in Scotland. "Its stressful swimming first day, almost first event, but its exciting to get a race done and see how that sets you up from the rest of the meet," said Cochrane. "This was by far going to be the harder race, not to say the 1,500 will be easy, because it never is. "Those guys (in the 400 metres) have gone fast time and time again so Im happy I could do it when it counts." Cochrane added hes hoping the performance will be a springboard as he prepares for next summers Pan American Games in Toronto, and what will almost surely be his final Olympics in 2016. "I think getting the results here are fantastic and getting the podium and hearing our anthem is what we dream of," said Cochrane. "But also going best time and working off that ... when I hadnt got a best time year after year that was a bit difficult. "I can build off that the next few years." Cochrane has been trying out new training methods this year and said he finally saw the results he was hoping for on a big stage. "You always have to focus year after year on what your strengths are," he said. "I think that race was something that, start to fiinish, was definitely one where I focused on what I do well instead of what other people do well. Adidas Falcon Dam Rea. "A lot of time I touch the wall and Im happy with the result, but I can think of five things that I did wrong. Youre always focusing on the next event. This time I was just so ecstatic to go best time and it was a swim I was really proud of." Later Thursday, Australia set a world record with a time of 3:30.98 in the womens 4x100-metre freestyle, followed by England (3:35.72) and Canada (3:40.00). Poon said the Canadian swimmers were inspired by Cochranes performance. "For sure its a positive motivation for us," said Poon. "He won in the last 25 metres -- I mean, come on. "Its just amazing to see him race and he gives us a really good vibe." Englands James Guy (3:44.58) was third behind Cochrane in a raucous Tollcross International Swimming Centre that cheered on Scotlands first two gold medals on home soil. Hannah Miley won the womens 400-metre individual medley with a time of 4:31.76, powering away in the final 50 metres to set a Commonwealth Games record ahead of Englands Aimee Willmott (4:33.01) and Australias Keryn McMaster (4:36.35). Ross Murdoch (2:07.30) and Michael Jamieson (2:08.40) then gave Scotland a 1-2 finish in the mens 200-metre backstroke, with Englands Andrew Willis (2:09.87) taking the bronze. Cochrane said the atmosphere was electric for all the athletes, not just the hosts. "For 5,000 people it felt like 20,000 people. Theyre just really excited," he said. "The most important thing as an athlete is you can focus you own race (but) that excitement factor is something on top of what you can do and I really felt it tonight." Gymnast Maria Kitkarska of Montreal also felt the power of the crowd as she helped her team, which also included Annabelle Kovacs of Vancouver and Patricia Bezzoubenko of Thornhill, Ont., to gold. "We never competed in such a full house and the cheering was amazing and pumping us up for our routines," she said. Ottawa native Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson was the top Canadian in the womens 400-metre individual medley behind Miley, followed by Vancouvers Emily Overholt in fifth and Marni Oldershaw of Oakville, Ont., in sixth. Torontos Brittany MacLean finished fifth in the womens 200-metre freestyle, while Samantha Cheverton of Pointe-Claire, Que., was seventh. MacLean was pleased with her race, but was thrilled for Cochrane. "Oh my gosh that was so exciting," said the 20-year-old. "Hes just as good a teammate as he is in the water. He really has been a leader on this team." Oakvilles Tera van Beilan finished second in her semifinal of the womens 50-metre breaststroke to advance, Katerine Savard and Audrey Lacroix of Pont-Rouge, Que., qualified for the womens 100-metre butterfly final and Calgarys Russell Wood made the final of the mens 100-metre backstroke. Cochrane, meanwhile, is set to compete in the 200-metre freestyle on Friday before he defends his 1,500-metre title on Tuesday. "The 200 will be exciting. It will be a splash and dash," he said. "Its (a short distance) for me, but Ill take what I learned tonight and hopefully I will be that much faster in the morning." ' ' '