Sebastian Vettel has broken yet another record.
The Red Bull driver, already the sport’s youngest ever race and title winner, broke Rubens Barrichello’s lap record whilst appearing on the popular British motoring programme Top Gear.

The flying lap, called ‘Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, takes place at the BBC show’s UK test track with F1 drivers at the wheel of a Suzuki Liana.

Last year, Barrichello leapt to the top of the times by beating previous laps set by mystery Top Gear driver The Stig as well as the likes of Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber.

But a few days before the British grand prix, Vettel broke that record by 3 tenths.

“Why are we all surprised,” host Jeremy Clarkson joked, “that he’s faster than a 62-year-old Brazilian?”

One of F1′s non-executive directors is looking to get involved with formula one sponsorship deals.
The Financial Times reports that global communications services company WPP, headed by founder and boss Sir Martin Sorrell, is taking a minority stake in the biggest F1 sponsorship agency Just Marketing.

Sorrell is a board member of CVC, the controlling shareholder of formula one.

He said motor sport and F1 have grown significantly “But it needs a more professional approach from the marketing side”.

Zak Brown-headed Just Marketing handles the F1 sponsorships of clients including LG, Johnnie Walker and UBS.

“Motor sport is a very interesting area. It is very global, it has good reach, and with its live events has tremendous cross-media and new media opportunities,” added Sorrell.

Brown confirmed that the deal is going ahead and will “result in bringing in more clients and more money in the sport”.

But he remains concerned that F1′s constant politics is a barrier to the involvement of some potential sponsors.

“I do think it crosses the line from time to time, and I’m sure there are some companies that won’t participate in F1 because they can’t stomach the politics,” said Brown.

Ferrari leapfrogged not only McLaren but also Red Bull at Silverstone, but the question now is whether the Italian team will maintain its pace in Germany in two weeks.
Fernando Alonso’s winning pace in Britain coincided not only with a new package for the 150 Italia car, but also changeable weather and the fact that the Spaniard did not have to use the hardest compound tyre en route to victory.

But also significant is the fact that Silverstone was the debut of the FIA’s full clampdown on off-throttle exhaust blowing.

Der Spiegel reports that, when unfettered blowing was allowed in Valencia and earlier, Ferrari-powered teams were only able to rev their engines to 50 per cent at the most when the driver was not on the throttle.

And unfortunately for the famous Maranello based team, the regulations will return to Valencia specification at the Nurburgring and beyond.

So will the 150 Italia lose its advantage in Germany?

“I think it would be unfair to say that. I think there will be people who conclude it,” said McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

“Ferrari have been pushing this year, pushing hard, they deserved a win.”

Ferrari test driver Marc Gene said that at Silverstone, where the regulations changed multiple times, the improved 2011 car was consistently competitive.

“We were good when we were blowing 50, 20 or 10 per cent,” the Spaniard told El Mundo newspaper. “There are teams who think we benefit the most but it (the better pace) has nothing to do with it.”

Niki Lauda, however, thinks the discussion is moot, given Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel’s huge championship points advantage.

“Sebastian is clearly on course for the championship,” the triple world champion told Germany’s N-TV.

Drivers-turned-pundits Niki Lauda and David Coulthard have defended Red Bull’s use of team orders at Silverstone.

An openly unhappy Mark Webber ignored the instruction to hold station behind Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps of the British grand prix.

Despite team orders now being legal under Jean Todt’s reign as FIA president, Sunday’s incident has reopened the old debate about unfettered racing versus the interests of a team of hundreds of staff.

So was Red Bull wrong to clip Webber’s wings?

“No, not at all,” triple world champion and now RTL pundit Lauda told Germany’s motorsport-magazin.com.

“I can perfectly understand Horner making that call over the radio, simply because he was worried about his two cars. That’s fine by me.”

British pundit Coulthard agrees with Lauda, although he is aware that the readers of his Telegraph column may not.

He insisted: “You cannot expect teams who have sponsorship contracts worth millions to risk throwing away valuable points at that late stage of the race.”

The obvious implication is that Webber’s stance might affect his negotiations for a new contract with Red Bull, with boss Christian Horner already flagging private talks this week.

1996 world champion Damon Hill said: “If he was asked not to overtake, that’s a bit serious for a racing driver.”

But Coulthard, a former Red Bull driver and still a consultant to the energy drink’s premier team, doubts Webber’s reaction will affect his future.

“(Owner) Dietrich Mateschitz wants a fighter; he wants two guys battling hard for wins. He does not want a pussycat,” said the Scot.

Red Bull is planning to pair Sebastian Vettel with his friend Kimi Raikkonen in 2012.

That is the sensational claim of the high-circulation German newspaper Bild-Zeitung, less than two days after Mark Webber ignored team orders at the end of the British grand prix.

2007 world champion and Finn Raikkonen, 31, left formula one at the end of 2009, and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was quoted on Monday as saying “I believe he has put F1 behind him”.

Bild said the plan to replace Australian Webber with Raikkonen is “top secret” but divulged the information of a source “at the highest level”.

German Vettel remains friends with Raikkonen, the pair often meeting in Switzerland to play badminton. Asked recently who his ideal teammate is, the reigning world champion replied: “Kimi.”

The former Ferrari and McLaren race winner had talks with Red Bull last year and has now “apparently changed his mind” about wanting to stay in rallying and NASCAR.

And referring to Webber, Red Bull’s driver manager Helmut Marko told Bild recently: “We have other options but I don’t want to talk about them now.”

The report also said Raikkonen told a Finnish journalist recently: “I have never said that my formula one career is over.”

Williams is likely to retain its current driver lineup for the 2012 season, according to chairman Adam Parr.

Team boss Frank Williams at Silverstone described Brazilian veteran Barrichello as “superb”, while rookie and reigning GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado is improving and his Venezuelan sponsor PDVSA is under contract to the famous Oxfordshire based team.

Asked if that means Williams is keeping its drivers, Parr told reporters: “Yes. I think that’s vastly the most likely outcome.”

The previously ultra-successful Williams has had a challenging past half-decade, but the future looks brighter with Renault coming on board as engine supplier and Parr looking to seal new sponsor deals.

“I said to the marketing guys (last year) ‘just back off. Keep things ticking over for the moment because we need to put in place a vision for the future which is very different to the vision of the present’,” said the Briton, as Sam Michael prepares to depart as McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan has come on board.

“We have some fantastic conversations going on and I’m very optimistic we will bring in some stunning new partnerships for next year,” he added.

Franz Tost has admitted team owner Red Bull will decide Toro Rosso’s 2012 driver lineup.
A mid-season driver change had been expected for the energy drink’s secondary team this year, but Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi duly upped their game and have kept their places for now.

Red Bull’s rising star Daniel Ricciardo therefore made his debut last weekend for the struggling Spanish team HRT, but a full-time place at Toro Rosso is regarded as likely for the 22-year-old Australian next season.

“He can’t drive for Toro Rosso (in 2011) because we have two race drivers who are doing a good job,” confirmed team boss Tost to redbull.com.

“What our driver pairing will be in 2012, I don’t know yet. This will be decided by Red Bull at the end of the season.”

Ferrari and Sauber brought an end to the exhaust blowing saga that marred the British grand prix weekend.
The teams rowed at Silverstone about the FIA’s clampdown and how it could be equitably applied to the four engine manufacturer’s distinct V8 engines.

Ultimately, Charlie Whiting proposed to scrap the clampdown and simply revert to the Valencia setup, where changing engine settings between qualifying and the race were banned but off-throttle blowing was unrestricted.

Williams initially opposed the reversion but eventually signed the letter of unanimity, leaving Ferrari-powered Ferrari and Sauber yet to agree.

“We thought primarily of the image and the fans of formula one,” Sauber managing director Monisha Kaltenborn told Auto Motor und Sport, explaining the Swiss team’s eventual change of heart.

“We are glad that we now have an agreement,” she added.

In the pages of La Stampa, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali agreed: “These stories, with everyone thinking only of what advantage they can get, are not good.

“For this reason we kept a low profile. Without thinking about what we will or will not lose, we have signed the agreement to return to what we had before Silverstone,” he confirmed.

Kimi Raikkonen is no longer a candidate for a race seat at Red Bull, team boss Christian Horner has said.
Last year, the 2007 world champion – who left F1 in 2009 and has since been racing in the world rally championship as well as NASCAR – was linked with a return to formula one with the energy drink’s premier team.

Red Bull’s Austrian broadcaster Servus last week conducted a viewer survey about who should be Sebastian Vettel’s teammate next year.

Mark Webber received 26.2 per cent of the vote, ahead of Finn and former Ferrari and McLaren driver Raikkonen with 26.1. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button received 17.4 and 16.4pc of the vote respectively.

“Kimi is a great driver,” Horner is quoted by Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, “but I believe he has put F1 behind him.”

Jaime Alguersuari is back in favour at Toro Rosso, according to the Spanish press.
Very recently, the 21-year-old was heavily tipped to make way at the Red Bull junior team for Daniel Ricciardo.

But the Spaniard Alguersuari then achieved consecutive points finishes in Canada and Valencia, reportedly spurring Red Bull’s driver manager Helmut Marko to instead find a place at HRT for Ricciardo’s mid-season debut.

At Toro Rosso, Alguersuari is now fully back in favour, with a third consecutive points finish at Silverstone compounding his new status.

According to Spanish sports daily AS, Marko and Alguersuari had a friendly wager before the British grand prix.

“If you score tomorrow (Sunday), I’ll pay you double for the points you score, but if you don’t, you give me a case of my favourite Spanish wine,” Marko reportedly told the youngster.

It is believed Alguersuari still intends to buy Marko the wine.

Rumours about the health of the team currently known as Renault refused to disappear at Silverstone.
Boss Eric Boullier recently dismissed the rumours, hinting that they were triggered mischievously at Monaco by his predecessor Flavio Briatore.

But six weeks later, there was once again similar talk in the paddock of the British grand prix, not long after Williams was announced as engine supplier Renault Sport’s newest partner team for 2012 and beyond.

Apart from the continuing naming connection, a customer engine contract and their historical links, the French marque is no longer involved with the Lotus-sponsored Renault team.

And Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that the team might even be powered by Cosworth engines next year.

“This is fiercely denied by those in charge,” the magazine acknowledged.

However, the Williams situation is perhaps relevant, particularly with the fanfare of the Renault engine announcement involving former works champions Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve at the team’s Grove headquarters last week.

As for Lotus Renault, “poor results and apparently still pending payments for the engines do not make things any better”, Auto Motor und Sport added.

Renault is looking to debut an all-new exhaust design as its performance has slid amid the FIA’s clampdown.

Even though the rules will return to their Valencia specification in the wake of the off-track saga at Silverstone, the Enstone based team was already struggling on the streets of the Spanish port city.

It was at Valencia that teams were no longer allowed to change engine maps before the race, with Renault previously one of the most aggressive in running special qualifying modes to maximise their innovative front-exiting exhausts.

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey said Renault has been the most affected by the clampdown on off-throttle blowing so far.

“There is no other reason to have the exhausts exit so far forward,” he said.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said on Sunday that the team is therefore devising a more conventional exhaust layout, with boss Eric Boullier hinting it may be ready for the Nurburgring in two weeks.

“We have some good developments coming, which unfortunately were not available for Silverstone but will be ready when we reach Nurburgring,” said Boullier.

“These will take our performance forward, of that I am convinced.”

Conversely, it is tempting to assume that Ferrari’s return to victory on the same weekend as the full FIA clampdown was no coincidence.

But winner Fernando Alonso doesn’t think so, and he is therefore not nervous about the rules returning to Valencia specification in Germany and beyond.

“For me, nothing. I don’t think it was a big factor,” said the Spaniard, who won on Sunday with a new package for the 150 Italia and without having to use the hard slick tyre.

Martin Whitmarsh has admitted that McLaren’s current situation has raised questions about his future at the helm of the British team.

McLaren was the most notably affected by the exhaust blowing clampdown at Silverstone, where on Sunday Jenson Button retired with a loose wheel before Lewis Hamilton had to slow down because his sister car was running out of fuel.

They were the latest in a series of mistakes for one of the most successful and best funded teams, whilst former boss and perfectionist Ron Dennis has been lifting his profile at several grands prix recently.

“I am confident that I will stay in my job,” Whitmarsh said late on Sunday.

“I answer to the board, not just Ron, and they seem happy with the job I’m doing — for now, anyway.”

He admitted however that his relationship with Dennis, McLaren’s executive chairman and shareholder who stepped down as team boss in the wake of the hugely damaging spygate saga, is “interesting”.

“We have ups and downs but I think our relationship is strong at the moment. I am firm about where I draw the line in terms of what my responsibilities are and what his are with regard to the F1 team,” he said.

Mark Webber has admitted to deliberately ignoring Red Bull’s imposition of team orders in the closing laps of the British grand prix. The Australian revealed that he received four or five calls from his engineer to back away from teammate Sebastian Vettel, before team boss Christian Horner sternly issued the terse order to “maintain your position”. Briton Horner said immediately that while Webber will be frustrated, he “should be fine” with the team strategy. “I am not fine with it, no,” Webber clarified. “I ignored the team as I wanted to try and get another place.” The situation has rekindled memories of last year’s in-fighting about equality between Vettel and Webber, and brought into renewed focus the fact that the latter’s contract is yet to be renewed for 2012. “Well, I cannot change that — that’s part of such actions,” championship leader Vettel told F1′s official website after the Silverstone incident. Asked if the situation might affect Webber’s contract negotiations with Red Bull, Horner – who admitted he was “surprised” with the driver’s attitude – said at Silverstone: “I sincerely hope not. “It’s something he and I will talk about in private,” added the team principal.

The jury was out on Sunday after Mark Webber was ordered to hold station behind his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel.
A year ago, after his new front wing was removed from his car and handed to Vettel, Australian Webber furiously declared “not bad for a number 2 driver” as he won at Silverstone.

German Vettel went on to win the 2010 title as Red Bull insisted staunchly that team orders run against the philosophy of the team’s owner mogul Dietrich Mateschitz.

But in the closing stages of the British grand prix a year on, Webber was told by boss Christian Horner on the radio as he challenged Vettel for second place: “Maintain your position.”

The initial reports were that, despite team orders now being fully legal, the 34-year-old is furious and in fact ignored the order several times.

“I can understand Mark’s frustrations,” Horner told the BBC, “but we cannot give away a load of points.

“He should be fine with that, he is a team player.”

Webber commented: “I tried to do my best with the amount of conversation I had with the four or five messages of the team.”

Asked if he felt like repeating his ‘Not bad for a number 2 driver’ after crossing the line in third place, he added: “Not really, I wanted to race to the end.

“Of course they (Vettel’s side of the garage) want the points, but I also need to try to get some points as well.”