Martin Whitmarsh is sure McLaren’s recent errors will not affect contract negotiations with Lewis Hamilton.

The British team’s latest mistake not only cost Lewis Hamilton pole in Spain, it put the 2008 world champion to the very back of the grid.

Asked if he worries that the now seemingly constant flow of team gaffes will damage McLaren’s efforts to re-sign Hamilton, Whitmarsh insisted: “No, I don’t.

“He has got to build the support of the team, he has got to feel comfortable doing it, he has got to want to drive and he is in good shape,” British newspapers quote the McLaren team principal as saying.

“I look forward to working with him for a long time to come.”

But Whitmarsh admitted that, given Hamilton’s tumultuous 2011 season, he was worried the British driver might have despaired last Saturday when the team’s refuelling mistake cost the 27-year-old pole.

“I was concerned,” he said, “because it is a pretty tough thing to happen to a driver.

“But I have to say he showed some greatness I had not seen before. By the end of our chat he was consoling me.

“The relationship between Lewis and the team is stronger and better and hopefully we will work together for a long time,” added Whitmarsh.

The fact F1 has chosen the Singapore exchange for the sport’s high profile floatation does not mean the city-state’s popular floodlit street race is guaranteed.

The night event’s existing five year contract runs out this year, although a two-year notice clause in the deal means Singapore should stay on the calendar at least until 2014.

On the face of it, a new deal seemed a certainty, given it was Bernie Ecclestone himself who chose Singapore as the location for F1′s forthcoming floatation.

“Formula one is known in Singapore, and Asia is thriving. It is a simpler market and not as restrictive,” he said recently.

Talks about a new race deal “are underway”, the local Business Times reported in March, “but it is understood that one sticking point is the sanction fee.”

An unnamed banker commented: “The Singapore government wants formula one to be listed here and for that to happen, it knows the race has to remain here.

“But at the same time, it doesn’t want to pay top dollar again. So the bargaining should continue for some time.”

However, the English language newspaper now reports that F1′s floatation plans, and the expiring Singapore race contract, could be entirely unrelated.

“We are in the process of negotiating a possible renewal of the (race) agreement and the outcome will be announced once discussions are complete,” said a spokesman for race promoter Singapore GP.

Second minister for trade and industry S Iswaran insisted that the mooted floatation will not influence the outcome of the race contract negotiations.

And the Singapore tourism board’s Aw Kah Peng added: “You’ve got to see whether the deal is right in every way.

“We’re hoping everybody sees value in it and we get a so-called good deal for Singapore, in terms of whether all the numbers can work out and everybody takes home something — a kind of a win-win proposition.”

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.

Having arrived with a dominant car and leading both world championships, Red Bull has departed Turkey in crisis.

“They step on their tails too often,” said BBC commentator Martin Brundle, after Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel crashed while running one-two at Istanbul Park.

Crash and loss of tempers aside, the team’s management then misled the media about Webber’s fuel-saving engine setting and gave the undoubtable impression that it is the young German Vettel who they want to win the 2010 title.

Compounding the team-induced mess is that the isolated Webber, 33 – who had been in the midst of contract negotiations about 2011 – is now the clear leader of the world championship.

Even Webber’s race engineer Ciaran Pilbeam has been put offside.  When asked why Webber was not told that Vettel was much faster, Marko told Auto Motor und Sport: “We told his engineer but he did not pass on the information.”

Dr Helmut Marko, believed to be leading the German-speaking faction of the Austrian-owned team, denied that Red Bull is poisoned by an internal division.

“That’s not true.  We are handling our team and both drivers in the same way.”

The speed of the crisis is marked out by the memories of just two weeks ago, when Vettel and Webber exaltedly leapt off the motor home into the Monaco harbour.

“I’m sure they are not going to be going out for dinner in the coming days,” Marko said when asked if Sunday had destroyed their relationship.

For many in the paddock, despite their apparent media-savvy humour, Red Bull has never been the friendliest team in the paddock.

“They were always trying to squeeze (tension) between Fernando (Alonso) and Felipe (Massa) and at the moment they are facing this situation on their side,” said Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Referring to his Maranello employer, Fernando Alonso said: “It shows that there is a united team in the paddock.”

“The important thing is to have respect,” Felipe Massa added.

Team boss Christian Horner insists he will sort out the mess before Canada, after a patch-up job in the Turkey paddock proved impossible because Vettel had stormed out of the circuit.

“One of our drivers has gone,” Marko confirmed when asked by the press late on Sunday.

Apr.30 (GMM)  The extension of China’s formula one contract beyond 2010 may not be as simple as was recently suggested by Bernie Ecclestone.

The F1 chief executive had been asked in Shanghai about rumours that the race could now drop off the calendar, despite it being a crucial market for carmakers and sponsors.

“The contract is ongoing here.  We renew every five years.  It will go on,” said the Briton, blaming poor attendances on the local promoters but insisting that the government is “fully supportive”.

Earlier, a government official had warned that an “assessment” of whether China should renew its F1 deal was taking place.

And a Reuters media report on Friday predicted that contract negotiations will be “fierce”, after the event recorded “huge losses” over the last seven years.

But race promoter Juss Events’ Leon Sun sounded confident that a deal will be struck.

“It hasn’t been announced because there are still a few technical issues to be sorted out but we’re in good shape.

“It looks good at the moment,” he said.  “We’ve got until October this year to sort it out but I’m confident that we’ll have something before that.”