Formula One is a sport where fine margins separate success and failure, with teams going to extreme lengths to squeeze fractions of a second out of their precision-engineered racing machines.

As a result, constructors jealously guard the secrets behind the design of their car. If those details were to fall into the hands of a rival team, it could dent a potential world championship charge.

With that in mind, the Force India team pursued Italian wind tunnel manufacturer Aerolab for £15 million ($23.6 million), eventually reduced to £13 million ($20 million), after claiming aspects of their 2009 car design had been replicated by a rival team.

What followed was a British High Court case involving Force India, Aerolab, and F1 marque Team Lotus — now known as Caterham.

Aerolab initially launched a claim against Force India, run by team principal Vijay Mallya, for unpaid funds.

The case was complicated when, shortly after their split from Force India, Aerolab signed a contract to work on Lotus’ 2010 car.

A statement issued by Aerolab’s legal representatives on Wednesday said the company had been ordered to pay €25,000 ($39,500) in damages after work conducted during their contract with Force India had been used on Lotus’ 2010 car.

The statement read: “The Honorable Mr Justice Arnold held that Aerolab’s CAD designers had misused certain of Force India’s confidential information as a means of taking a ‘short cut’ to produce a wind tunnel model which could begin to be used for testing as soon as possible.

“He further held that a small number of the relevant wind tunnel model components had found their way as full size components into the car which Caterham F1 Team (then racing under the name of Team Lotus) had raced at the beginning of the 2010 season.”

It was a victory for Force India, but an expensive one. Despite ruling Aerolab had incorrectly used intellectual property, the judge also said Force India must pay €846,230 ($1.3 million) in unpaid fees.

It was also decreed that Force India’s claim of “systematic copying” by Lotus, in particular chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne, was unfounded.

Force India were unavailable for comment but a statement was issued on their official website.

It said Force India will report the case to F1′s global governing body, the FIA, while continuing a criminal case against Caterham team principal Tony Fernandes, Gascoyne and Aerolab owner Jean-Claude Migeot.

“The UK High Court judgment, in respect of the illegal copying, will now be referred for the consideration of Formula One’s governing body,” read the statement. “The Italian criminal case against Mike Gascoyne, Tony Fernandes and Jean Claude Migeot remains ongoing.”

Sepp Blatter, president of football’s world governing body FIFA, has described Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba’s recovery from a cardiac arrest as “a miracle”.

Muamba collapsed during Bolton’s FA Cup match at Tottenham on Saturday, with his heart stopping for 78 minutes before he was revived by medical staff at the London Chest Hospital.

And Blatter, speaking at a UEFA congress in Istanbul, Turkey, has revealed he has also spoken to Bolton chairman Phil Gartside following Muamba’s collapse.

Blatter said: “It’s a miracle. When I saw it on the television, it was terrible. I had a phonecall from Phil Gartside, the chairman of Bolton, and I have to say it was a very emotional call.

“He spoke about a miracle and I spoke about a miracle. I am a deeply faithful man, a religious man, and I believe there is something more than just playing the game. There is somebody who looks after us,” continued Blatter.

Blatter was present when Cameroon’s Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed and died during a Confederations Cup match in France in 2003, and accompanied the player’s body back to his homeland.

And, following Foe’s death, Blatter was instrumental in urging clubs to regularly carry out cardiac screenings for all their players.

Blatter added: “Muamba had a heart screening last year and it should be done for everyone, in repetition, but especially for those in competition in football or other sports.”

Muamba, 23, remains in intensive care but is showing improvement day by day and has been able to speak to visiting family and friends.

And Dr Sam Mohiddin, the consultant cardiologist treating Muamba, told reporters: “Fabrice continues to demonstrate positive signs of recovery and has exceeded our expectations and hopes.”

Serena Williams made a winning return from a left ankle injury by defeating Zhang Shuai in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Williams, seeded 10th, had not been in WTA action since losing to Ekaterina Makarova in the last 16 of the Australian Open.

However, she was always in control against her Chinese opponent, easing through 6-2 6-3 in just 80 minutes.

The 30-year-old Williams, who has won the tournament five times, now faces 21st seed Roberta Vinci of Italy, who defeated Tsvetana Pironkova 7-5 6-1.

Another former world number one, Kim Clijsters, is also through to the third round after getting over some of the rustiness that plagued her first round performance.

The Belgian struggled to defeat Slovak Jarmila Gajdosova on Wednesday, but was far more impressive in dismissing 14th seed Julia Goerges 6-2 7-5 on Thursday.

However, there was disappointment for yet another former world number one, Jelena Jankovic, after the 13th-seeded Serb was crushed 6-0 6-3 by Mona Barthel of Germany.

Meanwhile, Russian second seed Maria Sharapova was given a scare, dropping the opening set before rallying to defeat Israel’s Shahar Peer 4-6 6-3 6-3.

Also through to the last 32 are US Open champion Samantha Stosur, 12th seed Sabine Lisicki, 17th seed Shuai Peng and 23rd seed Yanina Wickmayer, who all progressed in straight sets.

But 25th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain crashed out 1-6 6-4 6-0 to South African Chanelle Scheepers, while two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded 26th, lost 1-6 7-6 7-6 to Czech Iveta Benesova.

Tiger Woods showed no ill effects from his recent ankle injury, carding an impressive opening round three-under-par 69 in the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament at Bay Hill, Florida.

The injury forced Woods to limp off during the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship just 11 days ago — and he also missed last week’s Transitions Championship.

But the former world number one always performs well on this course, having won the tournament six times, and he only dropped one shot, three-putting on the short 17th.

Four birdies ensured Woods ended the day just three shots off the lead, which is shared by Jason Dufner and Charlie Wi.

“For some reason the course just fits my eye,” Woods told reporters. “I was just solid all day — I drove the ball well, hit my irons decent and putted all right.

“I’m in a position where I can hit it again. That’s something that’s been missing for a while and it’s all the work that coach Sean Foley and I have put together.”

Woods continued: “My ankle is good. No swelling. If I can just keep it that way, everything will be great.”

Dufner, who was beaten by Keegan Bradley in last year’s U.S PGA playoff and is still waiting for his first PGA Tour win, carded an eagle and five birdies on his way to his 66.

Meanwhile, Korean Wi enjoyed seven birdies in his six-under-par round, as he attempts to win his first tournament since victory in the 2006 Malaysian Open.

American Nick Watney lies alone in third place after a four-under-par 68, while Cadillac winner Justin Rose is amongst those who carded a 69 alongside Woods.

Meanwhile, recent Abu Dhabi winner Robert Rock’s hopes of qualifying for the Masters next month are over after a disastrous opening round in the Hassan Trophy in Morocco.

Rock needed to finish in the top two to move into the world’s top 50 and earn a coveted spot at the Augusta major.

But the Englishman slumped to a five-over-par 77 on the Royal Palace course, with a disastrous 11 on the par-four fourth appearing to seal his fate.

Italian teenager Matteo Manassero is the other player trying to qualify for Augusta. The 18-year-old has to win the event to line up at the Masters and a three-under 69 keeps his dream alive.

Irishman Damien McGrane carded the best round of the day, a seven-under-par 65, to lead by two strokes from Alejandro Canizares of Spain.

Real Madrid had two players and coach Jose Mourinho sent off as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Villarreal, offering hope to Barcelona in the race for the Spanish title.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal looked to have sealed victory for the league leaders only for Marcos Senna to salvage a point for the home side with seven minutes left.

After that Sergio Ramos was sent off for picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Nilmar before Ozil was dismissed two minutes later for dissent.

It was Real’s second 1-1 draw in the space of four days after Malaga took a point from the Bernabeu on Sunday night.

Barcelona will take heart from Real’s stutter, having kept their chase up with a 5-3 win over Granada on Wednesday.

While Barca’s talisman is Lionel Messi — whose hat-trick in the Granada game saw him become the club’s highest goalscorer of all time at the age of only 24 — Real would be significantly weakened without Ronaldo.

His strike took his goal tally to 33 for the season, just one short of Messi, as Real seek to secure their first league crown since 2008.

With ten games left, Real are still favorites to claim the title, but their game against Barcelona on April 22 is looking ever more crucial.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich booked their place in the final of the German Cup by beating Borussia Monchengladbach on penalties.

The game remained goalless after 120 minutes of football, Bayern winning 4-2 in the shootout to seal a clash with Borussia Dortmund on May 12.

Meanwhile, Napoli overcame a 2-1 aggregate deficit to beat Siena2-0 and clinch a place in the Italian Cup final against Juventus.

An own goal from Simone Vergassola was added to by Napoli striker Edinson Cavani.

In the French Cup there were surprise defeats for Ligue 1 leadersParis Saint-Germain, who were beaten 3-1 at home by Lyon, and second-placed Montpelier, who lost 1-0 to third tier Ajaccio GFCO.

She might have been out of the game for over six months but Venus Williams was back in the groove immediately in Miami, losing just three games in a victory over Kimiko Date-Krumm.

Williams has been sidelined since the U.S. Open in August last year after being diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome — an incurable condition which affects energy levels and causes pain in the joints.

The seven-time grand slam winner took just 77 minutes to beat her Japanese opponent and set up a third round meeting with Czech No. 3 seed Petra Kvitova,

It marks a big breakthrough for the former World No. 1, who insists she never thought about quitting the game she loves.

Will of the Williams: Venus vows to rise again after illness

In an interview with CNN, she said: “When you don’t feel well and things are taken away from you, it’s hard to stay positive. But, for me, it is not an option to get negative or to feel sorry for myself.

“It’s easy to say, ‘I’ve done enough’ — or it would be easy to go on a permanent vacation. But I need to look back and know that I gave everything.

“I know I still have so much more. Before I was sick I was on top of the world in singles and doubles. So that’s my goal, to return to that.”

Williams is playing in Miami as a wild card and has won the event three times previously.

Another former world No. 1 also made a successful comeback in Miami, as Kim Clijsters overcame her rustiness to beat Jarmila Gajdosova, from the Czech Republic, in three sets.

The Belgian has been sidelined for nearly two months with an ankle injury, her last appearance coming at the Australian Open in January where she lost in the semifinals to Victoria Azarenka, the eventual champion.

Due to a string of injury complaints that affected her shoulder, abdomen and wrist as well as her ankle, this is just Clijsters sixth appearance since the tournament in Miami last year.

“It’s always tough to get that first match rhythm under your belt,” Clijsters told the WTA Tour’s official website. “When it comes down to my game I felt I wasn’t quite going through my shots as I should have.

“I was just trying to find that rhythm, but on the other hand maybe forgetting to still play aggressive tennis.

“But as I started to feel more comfortable with the conditions and being in a match situation again I was hitting better, and that definitely showed in the second and third sets.”

Clijsters, who has dropped to 37 in the world rankings due to her absence, will now face No.14 seed Julia Goerges next.

Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba did not respond to 15 defibrillator shocks and was in effect dead for 78 minutes before his heart started beating again, doctors who treated him have revealed.

The 23-year-old has improved significantly since suffering a cardiac arrest during an English FA Cup match last Saturday but is still in intensive care with his condition described as serious.

Muamba is responding appropriately to questions though, speaking in both French and English, and has been joking with some of his many visitors.

Bolton’s club doctor, Jonathan Tobin, spoke for the first time on Wednesday, talking reporters through the severity of Muamba’s collapse and the frantic efforts made to save his life.

Pinto: Is Muamba collapse a wake-up call for football?

Tobin said he and the other paramedics who rushed onto the field treated Muamba for a total of 48 minutes on the pitch and en route to London’s Chest Hospital, but it took a further 30 minutes to restart the midfielder’s heart.

“In effect he was dead in that time,” Dr Tobin said. “Fabrice was in a type of cardiac arrest where the heart is showing lots of electrical activity but no muscular activity.

“It’s something that often responds to drugs and shocks. Now heaven knows why, but Fabrice had, in total, 15 shocks. He had a further 12 shocks in the ambulance.”

Muamba’s plight stunned players and supporters as the Congo-born star dropped to the floor with no-one near him just before halftime in the match.

And Tobin explained the exasperation he felt as he sprinted onto the turf ,with the other medics on hand at the stadium, to try and save Muamba’s life with 40,000 people looking on.

“I can’t begin to explain the pressure that was there,” he said. “This isn’t somebody that’s gone down in the street or been brought into accident and emergency.

Bolton manager has ‘brief chat’ with recovering Muamba

“This is somebody that I know, I know his family. This is somebody I consider a friend. This is somebody I joke with on a daily basis. As I was running onto the pitch I was thinking ‘Oh my God, it’s Fabrice’.”

The desperate effort to save Muamba was assisted by an off-duty cardiologist, who was in the stadium watching the game as a fan and was allowed onto the pitch.

Dr Andrew Deaner suggested Muamba be transferred to the London Chest Hospital, where he works, and administered vital drugs to the player in the ambulance.

He says the fact Muamba is responding appropriately to questions and is able to make jokes within five days of suffering such major heart trauma is nothing short of astonishing.

“If you’re going to use the term miraculous, I guess it could be used here,” he said. Deaner also revealed he had been in to see Muamba a few hours after he woke up.

‘Muamba collapse proves I was right to quit the game,’ says ex pro

“I whispered into his ear ‘What’s your name?’,” he explained. When Muamba said his name Deaner continued: “I said ‘I understand you’re a very good footballer’. And he said ‘I try.’

“He’s made a remarkable recovery so far. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. As things stand, I think his life is not in danger at this time. His neurological function is looking very good but it is early days.”

Meanwhile, Bolton will be back in action on Saturday after Muamba’s family gave their blessing for the club to face rivals Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League. Bolton’s proposed league match with Aston Villa, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed.

“We spoke together with the players as a group this morning and I talked with Fabrice’s family last night,” Bolton manager Owen Coyle told the club’s website.

“Fabrice’s father Marcel and his fiancée Shauna were keen that we fulfill our fixtures. Once the players knew this, there was no doubt in our minds that we would play the matches.”

The FA Cup quarterfinal with Tottenham that was abandoned in the wake of Muamba’s collapse, will be replayed on March 27 at White Hart Lane.

India’s record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar is looking forward to enjoying cricket after finally becoming the first player to reach the milestone of 100 international centuries.

Tendulkar turns 39 next month, but says he has no intention of following teammate Rahul Dravid and ending a top-level career that began as a teen prodigy in 1988.

“The next thing for me is to enjoy cricket. That factor is really, really important,” the man known as the “Little Master” told CNN’s Indian affiliate CNN-IBN.

“If I am enjoying it then the performance will be there, and that’s how I have always played in the past. There are different challenges along the way and you overcome those obstacles and that is also part of the learning process.

“You take a lot of pride in overcoming those obstacles and contributing something which everyone takes notice of, and that is enjoyment for me. That is satisfaction for me to have done something, and I hope it continues.”

Tendulkar has broken every major batting record in the sport, being cricket’s highest run scorer in Tests and one-day internationals and the scorer of the most hundreds at the highest level — now 29 ahead of his closest rival, Australia’s Ricky Ponting.

However, his progression from 99 to 100 centuries took more than a year as he was left stranded for 33 innings before scoring 114 against Bangladesh last week.

“Yes, finally because the wait was quite long. My own expectations, also I thought it should have happened earlier but there are certain things which God has planned for every little thing in life and maybe it was that way,” he said.

“One thing I can be proud of is my efforts. My commitment in that phase where it was really, really tough didn’t fade away — it was very much there and I was 100% there all the time.”

The expectation was even greater given that Tendulkar’s 99th ton came during the 50-over World Cup, which India went on to win in his home city of Mumbai last April.

“I got my 99th hundred a year ago against South Africa and after that we played about four or five World Cup matches and nobody spoke about my 100th hundred at that stage because the entire focus was on the World Cup,” he said.

“Once the World Cup was over, that’s when things shifted to the 100th hundred and there was speculation I didn’t go to West Indies because I wanted to score it at Lord’s (the home of cricket in England).

“I wish I was good enough to do all those things in my life as to when and where you could score a 100.”

Tendulkar is a national hero and one of India’s highest-paid athletes, having scored more than 15,000 in 188 Tests and over 18,000 in 460-plus limited-overs internationals.

“I knew there were patches where I was really batting well. There were patches where I thought yeah, I was okay and there were phases where I thought I could have been better and that’s very normal,” he said of his past year.

“That’s part of every sportsman, not just cricketers, but every sportsman goes through that. From a personal point of view I can say it’s been a fantastic journey, something that hasn’t been overnight or in a decade. It’s taken more than a decade to come my way.”

Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle revealed Tuesday he had held a “brief conversation” with stricken Fabrice Muamba after the soccer star suffered a cardiac arrest during a match on Saturday.

The 23-year-old collapsed on the pitch during a clash with Tottenham Hotspur in the English FA Cup and was rushed to the London Chest Hospital after a prolonged period of treatment on the turf.

Muamba’s condition improved on Monday when it was confirmed he was breathing without a ventilator and able to respond to questions appropriately.

And Coyle, who has visited his player several times a day, reported that he had been able to converse with Muamba.

“I’ve been into see him myself, as have his close family members, and had a conversation, a few words exchanged, that will remain private, which is a great sign,” he told reporters.

“But I must stress it’s still very early in the process, the doctors have stressed that point. Fabrice still has a long way to go but it is encouraging signs.

“I’ve spoken to Shauna his partner and his dad Marcel about it and where we all were on Saturday night certainly at this stage I would never have expected the improvement that’s come.

“I have to mention the support he has had from countries all over the world. The qualities he has as a man, football pales into insignificance but he is an outstanding young individual and we pray he gets back to that level again.”

Even though the treatment given to Muamba at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane ground is widely credited with helping to save his life, the English Premier League said they are to review medical procedures in the wake of the 23-year-old’s collapse.

‘Muamba collapse proves I was right to quit the game,’ says ex pro

Chairman Richard Scudamore told a sports industry event that an incident involving goalkeeper Petr Cech in 2006, which saw the Czech Republic international fracture his skull, had been a wake up call for the football authorities.

Chelsea made an official complaint to the Premier League that there was no ambulance on hand to transfer Cech to hospital in the wake of his serious injury.

In quotes carried by AFP Scudamore said: “Incidents and events shape policy, shape developments, shape progress. There are no guarantees but we will do whatever we can to improve.

“What we will certainly be doing is looking at every aspect of what happened and if there are ways and means of improving, if there are ways and means of making it better in the future – just like we did in 2006-07 following the Petr Cech incident.

“We will do everything we can to make sure we reduce to the point of elimination, if we possibly can, things like that.”

Coyle again paid tribute to the medical teams that treated Muamba at the ground and the staff at the hospital, saying the player’s family wanted to stress how touched they were by the worldwide support he had received.

Muamba grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He came to England as an 11-year-old when his family fled civil war in the country.

When asked if Muamba could make a full recovery Coyle replied: “That’s something [doctors] have said has happened before but every case is individual.

Fears for stricken soccer player Muamba’s recovery

“But we’ve said before the two things Fabrice has that can help is that he is such a fit young man and the life he’s had he’s had to fight every step of the way along his young journey. Those things will stand him in good stead.”

He said Bolton’s players, most of whom had visited Muamba since Saturday evening, could be back in training on Wednesday.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said on Tuesday he feared the worst for Muamba when he collapsed, especially as he had previously coached the late Mark Vivien-Foe, who died of a heart attack while playing for Cameroon in 2003.

“I signed Mark, I brought him to England, he played at West Ham for me. He was a fantastic boy. When you saw [doctors] pumping [Muamba's] chest you feared for the worst but the medical assistance was amazing,” he told a press conference.

“It’s affected everybody who saw it. It was an unbelievable incident, we’ve never seen anything like that before.

“The last few days, you can’t get the lad out of your mind, what happened. But the news is positive so we keep our fingers crossed.

“One or two people came down from the crowd, a top cardiologist came down and helped as well so he couldn’t have had better support.”

When Luke Donald became the first player to top the PGA and European Tour money lists in December last year, it seemed unimaginable the Briton’s position at the top of world golf would be called into question just three months later.

But following U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy’s victory at Palm Beach a fortnight ago, Donald found himself knocked off top spot for the first time in 40 weeks and having to prove he was capable of recreating his record-breaking form of 2011.

Donald’s emphatic response to his doubters came on Sunday, as he overcame a three-shot deficit heading into the final round to clinch a playoff triumph at the Transitions Championship in Florida.

“I think people thought that my last year was maybe a little bit more of a, not a fluke, but I don’t think many people thought I could do that all over again this year,” Donald told the PGA Tour’s official website. “Hopefully I can prove them wrong.”

The 34-year-old holed a birdie putt on the first additional hole to defeat American duo Jim Furyk and Robert Garrigus and South Korea’s Sang-moon Bae, having carded a five-under-par 65 to launch himself into contention.

When asked if he felt he had been disregarded by some following McIlroy’s brief reign at the top, Donald responded: “Absolutely. I don’t pay too much attention to it, but I certainly wasn’t in the media at all.”

One of the first players to congratulate Donald on his return to the top of the rankings was McIlroy, who used his official Twitter account to say: “Well I enjoyed it while it lasted! Congrats @LukeDonald! Impressive performance!”

Donald, who is now guaranteed to occupy the No. 1 position heading into the Masters next month, backed his European Ryder Cup teammate to maintain his challenge at the top of the sport.

“I’m sure he got a taste of the view and I’m sure he’ll want more of it. He’s a great player,” Donald said of the 22-year-old. “I think golf is in a good spot right now. There’s a lot of excitement going on.”

Donald, Furyk (69), Garrigus (64) and Bae (68) finished the tournament on 13 under, one stroke clear of American trio Scott Piercy (62), Jeff Overton (66) and Ken Duke (68).

Also on 12 under was South African three-time major winner Ernie Els, who led the field on 14 under with just three holes to play.

Bogies on the 17th and 18th holes saw Els’ challenge fade and they could ultimately cost the “Big Easy” a spot at the Masters.

“It’s going to be tough,” said world No. 62 Els, who would have qualified for the prestigious Augusta event with victory.

“I’m pretty hot now, and it’s difficult to talk with a straight head here. If I take stock, I think I’m playing good golf, and I’ve got to head into the next couple of weeks trying to get a win.”

Els now has just two tournaments to qualify for the year’s first major. The veteran’s best chance might come at next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational as the event is skipped by a lot of the game’s biggest names.

American Bo van Pelt (66) finished alone in ninth on 11 under, one shot ahead of compatriots Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Kevin Streelman and Jason Dufner.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia (70) finished on eight under in a four-way tie for 16th, ahead of 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen (68) and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington (71) — who were part of a nine-way tie for 20th.