FORMULA 1 - 2010

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British GP photo gallery

Check out the best action and post-race celebration photos from an absorbing race day at Silverstone.

A pumped up Mark Webber charged past Vettel into the lead before Copse, while Hamilton got very close to the former before tagging Vettel's right-rear tyre

Vettel ran across the run-off at Copse, before his rear tyre blew before by the time of the next corner

Rubens Barrichello and Kamui Kobayashi both enjoyed fine afternoons, while Schumacher behind lost ground after showing early promise

Alonso got past Kubica by cutting the corner at Vale, an incident that would come back to haunt him

A driveshaft failure ended Kubica's run of eight consecutive points finishes

The 100,000 sell-out crowd were treated to fine weather and an absorbing race

Webber had streaked away from Hamiton in the second stint but his lead was wiped out on lap 28 when the safety car was called for debris on the track

Debris from de la Rosa's Sauber following a clash with Adrian Sutil was littered around the racing line on the pit straight

The safety car failed to disrupt Webber's progress to his third win of 2010

Button thanks the fans for their support following his comeback drive to fourth

Barrichello drove another fine race at Silverstone to take fifth for Williams

Kobayashi took his best finish yet for Sauber in sixth

After feeling hard done by over Red Bull's allocation of its new front wing, Silverstone victory was particularly sweet for Webber

The race winner shows off his British GP spoils

Sir Stirling Moss received a huge ovation from the Silverstone crowd when he presented Lewis Hamilton with the runner-up trophy

Rosberg's fine drive took Mercedes back to the podium for the first time since the flyaway rounds

All smiles for the cameras, but Webber has said he wants talks over the wing row

Webber takes a soaking, but tensions are clearly still simmering at Red Bull

Fernando Alonso had a hugely frustrating British Grand Prix

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Horner: No 'orders from above' on wing

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has insisted there is no agenda from higher up the company to favour Sebastian Vettel over Mark Webber, as the fall-out from the Silverstone wing row continues.

Webber was infuriated when the team removed the latest front wing design from his car to put it on Vettel's before qualifying - the German's example of the wing having been damaged in a practice failure.

Vettel went on to take pole, but it was Webber who triumphed in the race, and then called for talks with the team over the issue, having also blasted the line "not bad for a number two driver" in Horner's direction over the radio on his victory lap.

Red Bull said it only gave the wing to Vettel because he was ahead in the championship and had been more keen on its characteristics than Webber, but there have long been suggestions that the Red Bull company - and particularly its motorsport consultant Helmut Marko - would rather see Vettel emerge on top as it considers the younger driver more marketable and has nurtured his career since the junior categories.

Horner vehemently denied this allegation and insisted the order to change wings came from him and technical chief Adrian Newey.

"There has never been any pressure from Red Bull to favour one driver over the other,” Horner told the Daily Telegraph.

“I didn’t have a conversation with Helmut or anyone from Red Bull regarding the decision to give Sebastian the wing.

"It was purely a technical decision, which I discussed with Adrian."

He added that with hindsight he felt he could have resolved the issue before it erupted had he sat down with Webber to discuss what the team was doing.

“My one regret is that I didn’t have time to discuss the issue with Mark personally prior to qualifying as I’m sure that would have given him a more balanced understanding," said Horner.

The team chief also suggested that rumours of tension within the garage were exaggerated, saying the two drivers had sung together at a post-race party at his house, and that there was no rivalry between mechanics working on the two cars.

“There is one team of mechanics for both drivers and all championship bonuses are based on team position rather than driver so there is no favouritism at all," he said.

OZ I do not think "WING GATE "will go away any time soon ,the burners been lit

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Good weekend, bad weekend

In the latest of our series analysing the successes and failures of each grand prix weekend, ITV.com/F1 picks the winners and losers from Silverstone 2010.

Webber had a weekend of incredible highs and lows

The British Grand Prix was a GOOD weekend for...

Mark Webber's standing in the paddock

There was very widespread sympathy at Silverstone for Mark Webber's predicament, and had he had to follow Sebastian Vettel home in the race, or had things gone horribly wrong on Sunday, then it would have been a very bad weekend for him indeed.

But instead, the wing controversy could be the making of his title challenge. He channelled his fury productively and took a blistering win, then made it plain that the incident was not forgotten with his "not bad for a number two" quip, a 'joke' delivered with serious intent. In short, he turned a rough situation to his advantage, and after the events of Silverstone, there are surely many more people hoping it's Webber who wins this year's crown.

McLaren

It arrived at its home race with a massive upgrade that didn't work as expected and caused severe reliability worries, which meant a late night of hard work to re-convert the cars' spec, a whole day of set-up time basically wasted, and two local heroes on the back foot for qualifying.

Yet somehow, thanks to its hard work and its drivers' never-say-die brilliance, McLaren came away from Silverstone with second and fourth places, and its championship leads bolstered, not diminished. Many other teams in that position wouldn't even have salvaged a top five.

And while McLaren is too professional to ever say so, it certainly doesn't hurt its championship chances that its main rival squad is in intra-team relations turmoil again at the crucial stage in the title battle... This was damage limitation on a spectacular scale.

The Silverstone Arena (eventually)

The initial reports weren't promising. No one really despised the new infield section, but it wasn't getting a very enthusiastic welcome - though was it ever going to when the drivers were comparing it to their beloved sweeps at Copse, Becketts and Stowe? Drivers probed for their opinion on the new loop kept responding with praise of the unchanged parts of the circuit...

And then there were the bumps, which were heavily criticised, and most were sceptical about the chances of the new complex really encouraging overtaking.

But by the end of the race, the new Silverstone had proved itself. The absolute front of the field might have been quite static, but Vettel's charge and similarly bold passes pulled off by the likes of Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil showed that the Arena's architects had got it spot on. Silverstone was still a fast epic - and now you could go wheel to wheel around it too. Mission accomplished.

The unsung Germans

While the spotlight was on Vettel's pole, puncture and comeback charge, and the continued unhappy tribulations of Michael Schumacher, Formula 1's lower-profile Germans had an excellent weekend.

Once again, Adrian Sutil turned a mediocre qualifying session into a hard-earned points finish in the race, and put up a tougher defence against Vettel's flying Red Bull then anyone else. The talented but erratic newcomer of 2007/8 now looks a man you could count on to win races in a top car.

Nico Rosberg was smiling again too - and a little amazed that Mercedes was suddenly on the podium again so soon after the misery of Valencia. And further back, Nico Hulkenberg got the point he was denied at the previous round, and Virgin's updates meant Timo Glock went from scrapping with Hispania in Spain to giving Lotus a fright.

All of which bodes very well for Hockenheim in a fortnight, where no doubt the focus will be on Vettel and Schumacher, but the remaining two thirds of F1's German pack will be keen to get out of the shadows.

But the British Grand Prix was a BAD weekend for...

Red Bull's marketing slogans (and people skills)

'Red Bull give you wings', say the drinks cans. Yes it does, but they may have been taken off your team-mate's car... is the lesson of Silverstone.

The tenuous logic behind Red Bull's stance on who got the remaining intact new wing for qualifying was lost on most outsiders, with the most common response being along the lines of 'whatever made them think that was a good idea?'

Coming so soon after the convoluted smoothing out of the Turkey collision fall-out, it was the last thing Red Bull needed when embroiled in a title battle and team boss Christian Horner unrepentant, those talks Webber called for at the factory will probably be fairly trenchant ones.

Ferrari

Anyone expecting another Fernando Alonso rage explosion after the race would've been disappointed. A fortnight after Ferrari fumed because others were not penalised adequately for their misdemeanours, he found himself on the receiving end of a very tough penalty with unintentionally large consequences (thanks to the immediate and coincidental appearance of the safety car just after his drive-through for corner cutting was announced).

Of course Alonso could have avoided it all by just letting Kubica through, and his apparent disinterest in doing so probably did merit a punishment, but being dumped to the tail of the field seemed harsh.

But after yet another race in which Ferrari and Alonso were quick but had nothing to show for it, his muted post-race demeanour and his request to halt radio conversation summed it up: there was nothing left to say.

Hispania's people skills

Bruno Senna's bizarre 'suspension' from Hispania got the weekend off to an intriguing start, and things only got more confusing when the much-promised team statement on the issue finally emerged.

Even Sakon Yamamoto - the man Hispania had apparently just wanted to give "an opportunity" to - seemed totally perplexed about why he was suddenly racing.

Had there been a massive row? Had Senna's sponsors coughed up cash the team wanted? No one was saying. The only certainty was that this was the last thing a team trying to establish its long-term credibility needed.

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Michael: Rubens doing a great job

Williams' technical director Sam Michael has praised Rubens Barrichello for the job he is doing both on and off the track.

The Brazilian has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes of late, finishing fourth at the European Grand Prix and fifth two weeks later at the British Grand Prix.

The results have not gone unnoticed, with Michael admitting that the team are happy with the experienced driver.

"Rubens is doing a great job driving our development programme as well as delivering strong qualifying performances and race results," said Michael.

"We are very satisfied with his contribution to the team as a whole and specifically with the role he is playing when it comes to which direction we take with the car."

Williams introduced a number of updates for last Sunday's race including a blown diffuser and a new rear wing, all of which Michael was satisfied with.

The Australian was slightly critical of the new Silverstone track, expressing concerns about the uneven nature of the circuit.

"The new layout was very bumpy," he explained.

"That improved as rubber was laid during the race, but it's something that needs to be addressed for 2011.

"On a positive note, I was impressed by how the new layout seemed to promote overtaking during the race," he added.

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New teams to fork out £16 million upfront

Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that any team hoping to join the Formula One grid next season will have to pay a £16 million deposit.

Following the capitulation of USF1 and the financial struggles experienced by the new teams on the grid - Lotus, Hispania and Virgin Racing, Ecclestone has moved to ensure that teams show their financial clout upfront, as was the case prior to 2009 when teams were forced to pay the FIA a deposit of £24.2 million that was refunded if they failed to race.

However, with costs in F1 soaring at the same time as the world economy faulted it was decided to withdraw the deposit policy in order to encourage teams to enter the sport. With the results of this strategy proving less than desirable Ecclestone has indicated a return to the previous measure is on the cards.

"We have told them that if they can't put £16 million in now we don't want them," Ecclestone told the Evening Standard.

"If they can't find that now there is no way they are going to run."

The £16 million entry clause could make it difficult for independent teams to state a claim for a place on the grid, and with car manufacturers BMW, Toyota and Honda leaving the sport in recent years it's hard to see who will fill the 13th spot in the pit lane next year.

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'Schumacher Unlikely To Continue'

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes Michael Schumacher won't stay in F1 if he doesn't have a car capable of winning races.

The seven-time World Champion has for the most part struggled in his return season, finishing ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg on only two occasions during the first nine races of the season.

Ecclestone believes that such is the German's winning mentality he will not be satisfied with just making up the numbers and would rather leave the sport at the end of the season.

"If Schumacher doesn't perform I doubt whether he will want to stay," Ecclestone told City A.M. newspaper.

"He is obviously fit, motivated and talented but the car hasn't been up to him," he added.

Ecclestone's sentiments are shared by Sir Jackie Stewart. When asked by the Express whether Schumacher could challenge the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, the Scot answered: "He cannot even keep up with his team-mate. He [Rosberg] is usually faster and has not won a grand prix."

"I would have preferred to have seen Michael not come back," Stewart went on to say.

"Why did he do it? He had achieved everything and could only lose. In my opinion, he retired too early - he should have stayed another two years with Ferrari, and I have no idea why he didn't. Now he's in a difficult situation and has to live with the criticism.

"The first question should be 'will he do another year?' I believe he will stop after this season. What does his heart say? I will believe it only when I see him on the starting grid in March," he concluded.

MIKA: I think MS realises this is a long term issue where he needs to develop the car and team in order to achieve another WDC.

Certainly MS would love to be winning right now, but he has been around long enough to realise MercedesGP are in need of development. He did the same with Ferrari, set them up developed the car before they started winning WDC's.

I hope he sticks around, its good for F1.

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Barrichello hoping to stay at Williams

Rubens Barrichello has revealed he is hoping to extend his stay at Williams beyond 2010.

The Brazilian is only contracted to Williams until the end of the season, but is hoping to stay on with the Grove-based outfit.

"I have not signed any contract [for 2011] but I am not in any talks with other teams," Barrichello told Motorsport Aktuell.

"Leaving Williams would be exactly the wrong thing, because they are already working on the programme for next year. It would be a waste not to be here.

"I want to be back on the podium with this team this year, and next year I want to be winning races."

It would appear that Williams are keen on retaining Barrichello too, with Sam Michael singing his praises after the British Grand Prix.

"Rubens is doing a great job driving our development programme as well as delivering strong qualifying performances and race results," said Michael.

"We are very satisfied with his contribution to the team as a whole and specifically with the role he is playing when it comes to which direction we take with the car."

After a disappointing start to the season Williams have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes of late, with Barrichello following up a season's-best fourth place in Valencia with fifth spot at Silverstone.

MIKA: I think Williams would sooner release Hulkenberg before they released Barrichello.

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'We told Ferrari to let Kubica pass'

FIA race director Charlie Whiting has hit back at suggestions that the stewards took too long to decide to penalise Fernando Alonso for illegally passing Robert Kubica.

Ferrari have been highly critical of the fact that it took the stewards nine laps to hand out their punishment on Alonso for going off the track to pass Kubica.

Alonso was given a drive-through penalty which curtailed any chance he had of a points finish, with the Spaniard eventually coming home in fourteenth place.

Speaking after the race team principal Stefano Domenicali expressed his unhappiness at the steward's decision.

"You can have a situation where immediately there is a possibility to give position back to a driver if you feel there is really an advantage to be gained, but we felt that was not the case, otherwise we would have done it," Domenicali exlpained

"As soon as we received the information that in the opinion of the stewards Fernando should have given back position to Robert, he was already very far behind and was really slowing down because he had a problem.

"We feel [the penalty] is very harsh," he added.

But Whiting has now contradicted the Italian's claims, indicating that Ferrari were immediately informed to allow Kubica to pass and at that stage the Pole was still in a position to do so, although he later slowed as a result of mechanical troubles that caused him to retire.

"We told Ferrari three times that in my opinion they should give the position back to Kubica," Whiting told Autosprint magazine.

"And we told them that immediately, right after the overtaking manoeuvre. On the radio, I suggested to them that if they exchange position again, there would be no need for the stewards to intervene.

"But they didn't do that and on the third communication they said that Kubica was by then too far back to let him regain the position.

"It's not true at all that the stewards took too long to decide. For us the facts were clear immediately: Alonso had gained an advantage by cutting the track," he added.

MIKA: Ferrari are changing their team name to 'AlonsoF1' as both driver and team are constantly complaining and wingeing!

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Renault keen on Buemi

Renault team principal Eric Boullier has admitted that his team are considering signing Sebastien Buemi for the 2011 season.

The Toro Rosso driver's current contract expires at the end of the year, potentially leaving him a free agent, and Renault have signalled their interest in the Swiss driver.

"Sebastien is on our list of potential drivers for 2011," Boullier told the Le Matin newspaper.

"He even has a special place on it, because I know him well and like him very much on a personal level," Boullier added.

Despite being outshone by his younger team-mate Jaime Alguersuari for the majority of the season, a scintillating drive in Canada saw the 21-year-old draw lofty praise from Red Bull boss Dr Helmut Marko.

"His Montreal race was perfect, exactly the kind of performance we expect from him," said Marko at the time.

"If it continues, we might consider placing him in the Red Bull team in 2012."

While the possibility of graduating to the Red Bull team will certainly serve as incentive to re-commit to Toro Rosso, the recent progress made by Renault could leave Buemi with an interesting choice to make.

MIKA: If Renault are looking at removing Petrov and replacing him with Buemi, they are making a mistake IMO.

Why replace something that isn't broken? Petrov has shown a great deal of promise in his rookie season, he has speed, guts and skill which can only develop. If Renault do replace Petrov with anyone, it should only be with an experienced developed driver like Kimi or the like IMO.

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MIKA: I think MS realises this is a long term issue where he needs to develop the car and team in order to achieve another WDC.

Certainly MS would love to be winning right now, but he has been around long enough to realise MercedesGP are in need of development. He did the same with Ferrari, set them up developed the car before they started winning WDC's.

I hope he sticks around, its good for F1.

I agree Mika I think Michael has some serious work to do next year (well the end of this year and the off season).

It is hard to imagine how quickly Brawn/Mercedes have gone off the boil ,

But michael now has the full resources of mercedes behind him so hopefully they can turn the corner and be a lot more competitive next season ,as a fan,thats what i want to see close racing ,I must admit i am a big fan of the new points system

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'We told Ferrari to let Kubica pass'

FIA race director Charlie Whiting has hit back at suggestions that the stewards took too long to decide to penalise Fernando Alonso for illegally passing Robert Kubica.

Ferrari have been highly critical of the fact that it took the stewards nine laps to hand out their punishment on Alonso for going off the track to pass Kubica.

Alonso was given a drive-through penalty which curtailed any chance he had of a points finish, with the Spaniard eventually coming home in fourteenth place.

Speaking after the race team principal Stefano Domenicali expressed his unhappiness at the steward's decision.

"You can have a situation where immediately there is a possibility to give position back to a driver if you feel there is really an advantage to be gained, but we felt that was not the case, otherwise we would have done it," Domenicali exlpained

"As soon as we received the information that in the opinion of the stewards Fernando should have given back position to Robert, he was already very far behind and was really slowing down because he had a problem.

"We feel [the penalty] is very harsh," he added.

But Whiting has now contradicted the Italian's claims, indicating that Ferrari were immediately informed to allow Kubica to pass and at that stage the Pole was still in a position to do so, although he later slowed as a result of mechanical troubles that caused him to retire.

"We told Ferrari three times that in my opinion they should give the position back to Kubica," Whiting told Autosprint magazine.

"And we told them that immediately, right after the overtaking manoeuvre. On the radio, I suggested to them that if they exchange position again, there would be no need for the stewards to intervene.

"But they didn't do that and on the third communication they said that Kubica was by then too far back to let him regain the position.

"It's not true at all that the stewards took too long to decide. For us the facts were clear immediately: Alonso had gained an advantage by cutting the track," he added.

MIKA: Ferrari are changing their team name to 'AlonsoF1' as both driver and team are constantly complaining and wingeing!

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Rubens Barrichello has revealed he is hoping to extend his stay at Williams beyond 2010.

I hope he does too.

Completely agree. After his history with Ferrari where the team favoured Michael Schumacher over him, I think this guy deserves a few wins and even a WDC should Williams by some miracle get their act together and dump Cosworth engines.

Barrichello has the skill to win a WDC and IMO, is still THE BEST wet weather driver ever in Formula 1.

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Rumour - Senna dropped after email error?

Bruno Senna may have lost his seat at Hispania for the British round of the championship because of an email sent to his boss, Colin Kolles, by accident.

With a decent explanation as to why the Brazilian was dropped for a single race yet to become clear, it has led to the Auto Bild Motorsport publication speculating that an email meant for someone else, was sent to the very person it was criticising, team principal, Kolles.

The publication believes the email criticises the Romanian-born-German's management style, and therefore the loss of his seat for a single GP, could be a form of disciplinary action.

Whatever the reason, it led to Sakon Yamamoto debuting for the Spanish team after a three year absence from Formula One. He managed to secure 20th place behind his team-mate, Karun Chandhok.

MIKA: I think HRT should be removed from F1 completely. Their team are not F1 standard. Not even close.

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2013 engine rules could be finalised in 2 months

Formula One's innovative energy-efficient engine formula that will be introduced in 2013 is expected to be finalised within the next two to five months, as engine manufacturers and the FIA move closer to agreement more than two years before the engines are due to race for the first time. The sport is hoping to reduce fuel consumption on its F1 cars by as much as 25% as a result of the new engine formula, a saving that could then be passed onto road cars by the manufacturers involved in the sport, thereby dramatically cutting carbon emissions globally.

The new engine formula is just one part of a broader project been embarked upon by the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) to reduce F1's carbon footprint. Although only 0.3% of a Formula One teams' carbon emissions comes from running its race cars on-track, passing on a fuel consumption saving of even 1% to road cars would have a monumental effect on the carbon emissions generated by road transport around the world.

Discussions are ongoing between the engine manufacturers and the sport's governing body to finalise the 2013 engine rules, and although there are a number of details yet to be agreed, an announcement of the regulations could be made as early as the September meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, just two months away.

General manager of Cosworth's F1 operations Mark Gallagher said that everything was finely poised going into the summer break after the Hungarian Grand Prix. “It's finely poised at the moment,” he said. “I think there are still a number of details that need to be finalised. We all hope that within the timeframe of the September or December World Motor Sport Council meetings that there will be a breakthrough in announcement of the 2013 engine regulations, because we want to embrace the regulations for 2013.

“What I think is important is that the regulations get settled down and if not in the next two months that they are done and dusted before Christmas. That would give us a full two-year gestation period and a proper run at it, because it won't just be down to engine and transmission, the whole car will be new and everyone including the teams will need a proper run-in to 2013.”

Along with new engines the 2013 regulations will include more energy-recovery systems to help drive the technology forward for use in road cars. Such systems will include KERS and heat-recovery, where heat expelled from the engine will be recovered and used to power the car in much the same way KERS collects energy from the brakes.

“It's common knowledge that there is a significant push towards having a much smaller engine, possibly an inline 4 cylinder, turbocharged, quite a small capacity in the region of 1.5 to 2 litres,” Gallagher continued. “There will be an emphasis on fuel efficiency, on energy recovery, on having technologies that are road-relevant for road car manufacturers.

“I personally feel this is an extremely exciting step change in F1 regulations, because this won't be confined to the engine. With the engine becoming smaller, much more efficient, slightly less powerful, the cars will change too because we all want to keep laptimes at the kind of level they're at today. And I think the FIA, under Jean Todt, should be congratulated because they have been working hard to drive the regulations into a very responsible direction in relation to F1 providing some technical innovation and leadership in the area of exciting fuel efficient and, to some degree, hybridised technologies for the next set of regulations."

It's also hoped that the new fuel-efficient engine formula will help attract more car manufacturers to the sport at a time when they are under pressure to cut the carbon emissions being produced by their cars. While Formula One will continue to harness huge potential as a marketing platform, it has a tremendous opportunity to make the world's fleet of automobiles significantly more fuel efficient, and thereby contribute to a cut in emissions akin to taking a quarter of the world's cars off the road.

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Hamilton: 'Current package over-delivering'

Lewis Hamilton believes the McLaren team are 'over-delivering' with the car they have.

The Woking-based outfit currently tops the constructors' championship with a 29 point lead, and holds the top two places in the drivers' championship despite not having the quickest car on the grid.

"We're really happy with the result, overall we're doing a damn solid job with what we have," said the Brit.

"We're not the quickest but the car is good. But we're over-delivering with the package we have. We're definitely over-delivering."

Red Bull clearly have the quickest car, having taken nine of the ten pole positions, but the Milton Keynes based team has suffered from reliability problems, as well as recent favouritism accusations.

Hamilton knows the McLaren team have their work cut-out to catch the 'Bulls' but he believes the team will catch them in the coming races, if they can get their recent upgrades working sufficiently.

"Red Bull are still the quickest. They were over a second quicker in qualifying," he added. "We've still got a huge amount of time to find in the car.

"Hopefully in the next race, in the next two races, we should be able to get our upgrades working and we will be with them."

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Renault likely to introduce F-duct at Spa

Renault are likely to introduce their version of the F-duct at the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August.

The French manufacturer lie fifth in the Constructors' Championship with 89 points following a string of impressive performances from Robert Kubica.

However, the team had a tough weekend at Silverstone with Vitaly Petrov finishing 13th and Kubica forced to retire with a driveshaft failure at the rear of the car.

The team though will be boosted by several upgrades, including the F-duct, over next few weeks, according to team boss Eric Boullier.

"The second part of the season will be crucial to see where exactly our pace is and if we can get the best of our car to get some more pace and more podiums," he said on the Renault F1 podcast.

"You always have some inertia, when you have an upgrade on the car the decision to do it and to manufacturer it was done two weeks or maybe three races before. So we still have some good developments coming for the next two, three or four races.

"We obviously have some specific tracks like Singapore, Monza or Budapest where we will have a special aerodynamics package. But we still have some good upgrades including an F-duct coming so that is quite promising for the end of the season. Actually I can't wait to have all this on the car!

"[its introduction will be] depending on the production, because now we have validated a good package, and depending on the schedule because Budapest is a high-downforce track so we don't need to have it there. Maybe we will get it before but very likely right after."

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Fry: Red Bull are beating themselves

Although he has some degree of sympathy for the Red Bull team, Mercedes GP CEO Nick Fry admits it's "very satisfying" to see their rival shoot themselves in the foot.

All is not well in the Red Bull camp after the team bosses took a new spec lighter front wing off Mark Webber's RB6 at Silverstone and gave it to Sebastian Vettel.

Team boss Christian Horner, though, has confirmed that he is due to hold clear-the-air talks with a frustrated Webber later this week.

Fry, who faced similar situation at Brawn GP last year when Rubens Barrichello suggested they were favouring Jenson Button, believes the team are causing their own problems, and he's not complaining.

"I do sympathise on the one hand with them," he told Autosport. "But one of the main points is to stop shooting yourself in the foot. Just looking at it from the outside, there seems to be a case of Red Bull causing more problems than they need to.

"They have clearly got the fastest car by quite a margin, and they should be way ahead of the rest of us, and they are not. So they do need to look at themselves and try and work out what they are doing wrong.

"They are beating themselves - which is very satisfying for the rest of us but it should not be what they are up to."

Despite having the best car on the grid, Red Bull are behind McLaren in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship.

Fry warns that if Red Bull don't get their house in order they could fall further behind McLaren.

"I don't know what is going on inside the team, but clearly they need a good discussion between drivers and the three levels of team management - because there is the technical side, the team management and the Red Bull side. They have got to work out how to rectify their issues if they are going to beat McLaren.

"McLaren are clearly the big threat. They are immensely well organised, they are a brilliant team and they have won lots of Championships - so beating them is a very tall order. Red Bull have to get their act together quick, because they should be much further ahead than they are."

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Boullier: Petrov's future in his own hands

Although they are not disappointed by his performances so far this year, Renault have warned Vitaly Petrov that his future is in his own hands.

The French squad confirmed last week that Robert Kubica will stay with the team until the 2012 season. However they are yet to reveal Kubica's partner for next year and rumours are rife they will replace Petrov - who finished in the points just once in his debut campaign - with Kimi Raikkonen.

Team principal Eric Boullier says the team are totally committed to rookie Petrov, but also concedes they want both cars to score regular points.

"His future is in his hands," Boullier said during a Renault podcast. "We have not been disappointed by him - he clearly is the best rookie in the paddock.

"He did some very amazing jobs sometimes [but] he clearly today lacking some consistency to get the points he deserves. We definitely need to have both cars scoring points, so that's obviously creating some rumours surrounding his race seat.

"But we are totally committed to him. We are happy to have him on board and we will do everything we can to help him take the final step to where we want him to be."

MIKA: Petrov 'IS' the best rookie in the field and Renault should develop his potential rather than dumping him. They may sound in favour of Petrov but should Kimi show interest, they'll throw Petrov to the curb.

IMO, Petrov has great skills as an F1 driver and could potentially be one of the greats in time to come. He certainly is far better than Hulkenberg and the like.

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Alonso: Very little room for creativity

Fernando Alonso has lamented the ban on testing, saying the regulations leave "very little room for creativity" in Formula One.

The in-season testing ban means teams are no longer able to introduce new features to their cars at will, much to Alonso's frustration.

"Our goal is always to win but it's not easy," he said during a "video chat" with fans on the Ferrari website. "It is difficult to invent new things without testing. There is very little room for creativity, our technicians have their hands tied."

With just nine races to go in the season Alonso finds himself 47 points behind pacesetter Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship while Ferrari are 113 points off McLaren in the Constructors' standings.

The Spaniard, though, insists they will continue to fight for the title and is already eyeing pole position in the next race at Hockenheim in Germany.

"The World Championship remains our main goal," he added. "We have lost points and are in fifth place, but we must do more because we want to win the title," Alonso said.

"In Germany and Hungary will fight for pole position."

MIKA: Pole position doesn't win you races. It helps, but doesn't win if you can't drive,defend and manage your tyres to survive the race length.

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Lotus no longer targetting established teams

Lotus chief technical office Mike Gascoyne reckons his team will not be able to challenge any of the established teams between now and the end of the season, although he remains confident that they can continue to beat their main new-team rivals Virgin Racing. Lotus came close to outqualifying one of the BMW Saubers at the recent Canadian Grand Prix, with Heikki Kovalainen lapping just two tenths slower than Kamui Kobayashi, but the established teams have now pushed further forward despite Lotus bringing a new aero package to their car for Silverstone.

Lotus has now put most of its effort into designing next year's car and is confident that it can elevate them to a solid midfield footing. When asked if he thought the established teams could be caught, Gascoyne said: “I think that's too much to ask for in terms of pure pace because we've put so much effort into next year's car, but that's a value judgement we've got to make. This time next year I'm sure we'll be solidly in the midfield.”

Gascoyne admitted that the high-speed Silverstone track was never going to be an easy race for the T127, but is still confident of being able to stay ahead of Virgin until the end of the season. “I've got no doubt about that,” he said when asked if Lotus would stay ahead of Virgin. “This was always a track that wasn't going to suit us. Some of the other tracks we'll be much stronger at.”

Virgin brought a major aerodynamic upgrade to their car for Silverstone, but Lotus were still able to stay ahead, with Trulli and Kovalainen finishing 16th and 17th as best of the new teams. Although they did have some reliability problems earlier in the weekend, Gascoyne was pleased with the performance. “We didn't have our best weekend here in terms of reliability, Jarno had a lot of problems, but a strong two-car finish, best of the new teams with both cars,” Gascoyne stated. “We had a problem in the pitstop with both cars and that dropped Heikki behind Glock but he was able to get past. So very pleased and we'll have a stronger performance in the coming races.”

[MIKA27]

Kovalainen: I've got more energy at Lotus

Finland's Heikki Kovalainen has been given a new lease of life. Last year at the McLaren team, the 28-year-old was over-worked and over-tired having had his energy sapped by a relentless development programme and was failing to produce the results that had earned him his drive in the first place. Now, 10 races into his rebirth at Lotus, he's enjoying Formula One again, he's constantly smiling, a pleasure to chat to, and most importantly of all, having a ding-dong battle with team-mate Jarno Trulli for the honour of the fastest new-team driver on the grid.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, Kovalainen explained how he is now able to focus 100% on driving the car at race weekends, and that all the energy he used at McLaren to help develop the car away from the racetrack is now being pumped into showcasing Lotus's on-track strength on the global stage.

“Honestly I enjoyed working at McLaren as well. Of course the end of last year was difficult, was tough, the results were not coming. We were working very, very hard to try to improve the results and to get things going but it just didn't work out,” Kovalainen said. “We probably worked too much, maybe I was getting tired, the energy wasn't there. It just wasn't working.

“This year the balance feels much better, I feel fully charged coming to the race weekend. The head is 100% clear, I have no doubts, I don't have to think about anything else. I'm very comfortable in the position of the team and I'm comfortable arriving at the race weekend. It might seem that I'm happier outside but I've got more energy. I'm in a better balance.”

But it wasn't just the pressure and expectation of winning at McLaren that made him tired. Kovalainen revealed that the intense work carried out at McLaren in 2009 to challenge the front-runners did eventually take its toll. He explained that he was arriving at race weekends tired meaning he couldn't get the maximum out of his car on a regular basis.

“It wasn't the pressure last year. I think it was the amount that we did was just too much,” he continued. “I spent a lot of time with engineers, with designers, in the simulator, just working, working, working, just to try and get things going. I think it was just taking a lot of energy out of me, and then arriving at a race weekend tired, not mentally and totally prepared, it was not ideal. I could not get everything out of the team and out of the car.

“If I don't perform, if I don't feel I get everything out of the car I'll put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve that. I don't care what people around me say, and certainly at McLaren they were very supportive. Nobody was forcing me to do things and add extra pressure. Even here it's the same. I know the team wants to improve quickly and get good results.”

Heikki signed a three-year deal to drive for Lotus late last year meaning he's staying with the team until 2012 at the earliest. So what is his he hoping to achieve at Lotus in the long-term? “The ultimate target is to start winning races. Winning a world championship with Lotus would be a dream come true,” he said.

“At the moment it's better not to think about that, that's too far ahead. We have a lot of intermediate targets that we need to hit. We need to grow as a team, we need to become bigger, we need to become stronger, more efficient. We have a big name behind us, just the name Lotus, a very successful name. That's something that is driving us and pushing the team forward as well. I see a lot of positives in that.”

[MIKA27]

Barrichello breaks Top Gear lap record

Williams' Rubens Barrichello became the latest F1 star to feature on the BBC's Top Gear programme on Sunday when he took part in the show's regular Star in a Reasonably Priced Car challenge. The 38-year-old Brazilian, officially F1's most experienced driver ever with 294 race starts, went up against times set by other fellow racers Nigel Mansell, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Damon Hill and Mark Webber, with the ultimate target being a time of 1m44.4s set by the show's resident driver, The Stig.

The challenge involves the drivers completing a number of practice laps in a Suzuki Liana on their test track, a 2.82km run through the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, England, before completing one final tour to set their time. The most recent F1 driver to take Top Gear's challenge was 2009 world champion and Barrichello's former team-mate Jenson Button who set a time of 1m44.9s on a wet track, slightly slower than a previous 1m44.7s he set on a dry track in 2006.

Rubens didn't fail to disappoint though, and on a dry track, set a time of 1m44.3s to become the fastest driver ever around Top Gear's track in the Liana. The programme was recorded on Wednesday and was aired on Sunday night following the Brazilian's impressive run to fifth in the British Grand Prix.

For those who missed Sunday's show on the BBC, watch Barrichello's appearance on Top Gear

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Diffuser crucial to fighting RBR – Lewis

Lewis Hamilton is confident McLaren can take on Red Bull on a more level playing field once it gets the complex blown diffuser working well on its MP4-25.

The championship-leading Woking squad had hoped to begin taking the initial benefits from the concept when it introduced it at its home Silverstone event last weekend, but was forced to abandon running it from Saturday onwards after it created handling and reliability problems.

Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button nevertheless managed to salvage strong second and fourth places finishes respectively from the weekend, although Mark Webber still cruised to victory for the pace-setting Red Bull squad.

McLaren is aiming to resolve the problems it experienced at Silverstone in time for the next round in Germany and Hamilton says that, while it will take time to fully optimise the concept on the car, the blown diffuser will undoubtedly provide a step forward in performance.

Asked by reporters if he thought the MP4-25 would be in different shape at Hockenheim, he replied: “I hope so.

“I’m sure it will be a step forward if we get the rear floor.

“It’s not going to be a simple fix. They are going to put it on and we to have to work with it to really try and understand the set-up, try to tweak and fine-tune it to try to really make it work like the Red Bulls have, because they’ve had it since Barcelona.

“But I think we can get it working and when we do we’ll be able to fight them [RBR] properly.”

Although McLaren is currently trailing a number of its chief rivals in the development of the ‘blown diffuser’, Hamilton and the team still lead their respective championships at the mid-way point in the season.

The 25-year-old former champion acknowledges their position in the standings is a big bonus given the MP4-25 isn’t yet the fastest car, admitting the team “over-delivered” at Silverstone by finishing two-four.

“It’s very important because we’ve not been fastest,” Hamilton added.

“We are on the real back foot trying to defend with a slower car because we don’t have the upgrade package.

“The Mercedes has the upgrade package, the Renault has the upgrade package, the Ferrari has and the Red Bull has that blown diffuser.

“So we are still yet to have that and it’s worth quite a bit of time, maybe four tenths, five tenths, who knows. So we are waiting for that.

“But we have to go into each race at the moment and try to get as much as we can from the package we have.

“We over-delivered this weekend. I think we did a great job even though we are only on the old floor."

[OZCUBAN]

Webber and Red Bull clear the air

Mark Webber says he and Red Bull have moved on from the favouritism row that engulfed the team at the British Grand Prix and now have a clear understanding on how new parts will be allocated should a similar scenario reoccur.

The 33-year-old publicly expressed his anger towards the team last weekend after it decided to take its new front wing design off his car and onto team-mate Sebastian Vettel’s prior to qualifying.

While RBR team boss Christian Horner defended his call and the reasons for it – namely Vettel’s then higher championship position – and Webber won the Silverstone race, the Australian driver was still seething after taking the chequered flag and sarcastically told Horner over the radio that the result was “not bad for a number two driver”.

Webber also demanded talks with Horner over the decision and those subsequent discussions appear to have pacified the Australian, who issued a statement on his own website on Wednesday night.

He says he now understands why the team on occasions may have no choice than to give a new part to one driver other the other if only one is available, and that he accepts the policy that the one with the most points at that stage in the standings – a position he now finds himself in after his Silverstone win – would be favoured in that situation.

“My disappointment on Saturday after qualifying spilled over into Sunday but it was simply due to the fact that I, along with every other driver on the grid, wanted the best possible chance of success,” Webber said on his website.

“Sebastian received the newer front wing for reasons which were not clearly explained to me until Saturday late afternoon. Obviously I can see why a team may at certain points have to favour a driver with more points in the championship, if there are only enough resources to fully support one of us.

“We’ve already debriefed the race weekend at the factory and have cleared the air. It’s now understood that, should we face this unlikely dilemma again, preference will go to the championship points leader.”

Webber admits his post-race radio comment towards Horner was probably uncalled for, admitting his emotions had been running high.

“Of course things get said in the heat of the moment which, with hindsight goggles on, probably shouldn’t have been said,” the championship-challenger added.

“Formula 1 is a highly charged and fiercely competitive arena where emotions and adrenalin do run high from time to time like in many sports and my comment on the radio after the race was an example of Australian sarcasm – either at its best or worst depending on how you choose to take it.

“But rest assured, under the helmet I was massively rapped about winning one of the most prestigious events on the F1 calendar and Red Bull Racing’s local race.”

The Silverstone wing controversy was the second favouritism row to hit Red Bull in the last two months, the Milton Keynes-based squad having also been accused of favouring protégé Vettel after he collided with Webber in Turkey.

Last weekend’s event seemed set to inflame tensions inside the team, but Webber insists he has no problems with either Horner or Vettel.

“Christian Horner and I have known each other for many years; we’re friends and have a strong mutual respect which continues and extends to other activities, such as our GP3 team and interest in finding and nurturing young racing talent,” Webber explained.

“The respect within the team extends to the drivers. I know I have a very good driver as a team-mate and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We share information freely in team meetings and contribute to the development and improvement of our cars.

“Seb and I are not enemies, we’re just two drivers that are pushing hard and want to do the best for ourselves and the team, it’s as simple as that.”

Webber, whose Silverstone win took him within 12 points of Lewis Hamilton at the top of the drivers’ standings, concluded: “The British Grand Prix was a wonderful result for myself and the team; however time moves fast and looking in the mirror for too long doesn’t prepare us for Germany.

“We’ve moved on.”

OZ

It will be over when its over (Aussie sarcasm)

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Coulthard 'turned Ferrari down'

David Coulthard has revealed that he once turned down Ferrari because he didn't want to be number two behind Michael Schumacher.

Writing in his Daily Telegraph column about the ongoing civil war at Red Bull, Coulthard claims he had the chance to join Ferrari but didn't fancy their policy of backing one driver for the Championship.

"There are two ways of running a race team. You can either go the Ferrari-Schumacher route, with one driver openly backed over the other. Or you can go for an equal partnership.

"The first is the most effective way of winning a Championship but morally dubious. The second is the fairer system but is incredibly volatile and difficult to put into practice.

"My preference is for the second system. I once turned down the chance of a move to Ferrari as I would not accept being a signed-up No 2 to Michael."

Coulthard also warned Webber that his decision to publicly criticise the team for giving team-mate Sebastian Vettel his new front wing at Silverstone could backfire.

"Red Bull would doubtless prefer it if Mark aired his grievances in private. Mark, who suspects Red Bull's Austrian owners would prefer Vettel to win the Championship, clearly feels he can gain more leverage by going public and trying to shame the team whenever he feels hard done by.

"It is a risky strategy. If it goes wrong, the relationship with the team could sour irreparably. If it comes off, he could consolidate his position, attract public sympathy and be remembered as a steely champion who battled against the odds to win his title."