F1′s astonishing season continues to live up to the hype, as a fifth driver and constructor on Sunday won the fifth grand prix of 2012.

Not only is the victory Pastor Maldonado’s first, his walk up the steps at the Circuit de Catalunya was the first taste of the podium in his two-season F1 career.

It’s also the first Venezuelan triumph in the sport’s history, and a hugely popular victory for Williams, the once-great British team headed by Sir Frank Williams, whose 70th birthday was warmly celebrated in the paddock on Saturday.

“Boy did we need that,” said Williams on BBC television.

And asked how he feels on Sky television, he smiled: “Relief.”

“Some said Maldonado was a pay driver and he didn’t deserve his place in formula one but they’ll be eating their words now,” commented former team driver David Coulthard.

“That was a fantastic drive,” added Coulthard, referring to Williams’ first win since Juan Pablo Montoya in 2004.

Williams enthused: “I didn’t see him (Maldonado) make one single mistake.”

“You can’t really fault him,” agreed Williams’ 1996 world champion Damon Hill.

Amazingly, however, away from the champagne, Sebastian Vettel’s sixth place leaves him at the top of the drivers’ championship, and he is now neck-and-neck with Fernando Alonso, who finished second on Sunday in the improving Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton, who finished dead last on Sunday and finished eighth, is third in the points classification, ahead of Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen.

Finn Raikkonen finished third on Sunday, and is the favourite to become F1′s sixth different winner of 2012 in Monaco in a fortnight.

“We showed we still have the speed,” the Lotus driver said after the Spanish grand prix. “If we had a few more laps, we could have fought for a victory.”

Martin Brundle has described Red Bull’s lack of pace as the biggest surprise of the 2012 season so far.

After consecutive world championships with Sebastian Vettel, the energy drink-owned team was universally tipped as the pre-season favourite for yet another F1 title.

But McLaren dominated in Australia before Ferrari and Sauber surprisingly set the pace recently in Malaysia.

Former F1 driver Brundle admitted the struggling RB8 was the surprise of the opening salvo in 2012, but he also acknowledged that the turnaround might have been predicted.

“When you look at how the regulations have changed, it’s almost like they were designed to slow the Red Bulls down,” the Sky television commentator told the website of the BBC programme Top Gear.

“Doubling the torsional stiffness of the front wings, the way Red Bull were ‘flying’ their car down the track with lots of rake, nose close to the ground, exhausts helping to sort the high rear ride height out, it’s all been taken away from them,” added Brundle.

An unnamed engineer at Red Bull has admitted the team was caught on the hop in the winter pre-season, when it became clear McLaren was better prepared for the new rules.

“McLaren came with a (exhaust) system on the edge of legality,” the engineer told Germany’s Auto Bild, “and it was declared legal by the FIA.

“So (Adrian) Newey had to adapt,” he added, referring to Red Bull’s last-minute decision to change tack at the very end of the pre-season test period.

The message coming from the Milton Keynes based team, therefore, is that Red Bull is playing catch-up.

“We need to understand the car better,” admits team advisor Dr Helmut Marko, “which is why for the next race (in China) we will have hardly any new parts.”

So until he’s back at the front, F1′s formerly-dominant Vettel – who lashed out at backmarker Narain Karthikeyan recently in Malaysia – needs to adapt.

Asked if the German was justified in calling his Indian rival an “idiot”, Brundle insisted: “No.

“That’s just an angry man who hasn’t got a front-running car at the moment. He’s just frustrated.”

The FIA could sanction F1′s reigning back-to-back world champion for his behaviour during the recent Malaysian grand prix.

Before calling backmarker Narain Karthikeyan a “gherkin” and “idiot” in the wake of their collision, Sebastian Vettel was captured by his on-board camera twice displaying his middle-finger to the Indian driver.

“I think he’s highly frustrated because he’s having a tough season,” Karthikeyan told the Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday.

“It’s completely unprofessional to blame me for the incident. The derogatory remark only goes to show him in bad light.

“Just because he has a good car, he can’t call others an idiot,” Karthikeyan continued.

“I have won races in all the previous single-seater championships I have participated in so I don’t need a certificate from Vettel.”

Reports in Germany, including in the Kolner Express, Bild and Die Welt newspapers, claim that Red Bull driver’s behaviour may have breached the new stricter code of conduct introduced by FIA president Jean Todt.

The FIA has been contacted for comment.

“He has breached the code of conduct,” former F1 driver Marc Surer told Germany’s Sky television. “You sign it when you get the license and then you have to behave correspondingly.

“Any behaviour that hurts other people or the sport is an offense,” added the Swiss.

Asked what the penalties might be, Surer explained: “Anything from a warning to a license revocation. In this case I think it was quite understandable and there will be a mild punishment, if there is anything.”

Hans-Joachim Stuck, however, is slightly less forgiving.

“When you’re overtaking, misunderstandings can occur. I think Vettel needs to learn this.

“With him, the curve was always upwards and now it’s not the case, and he needs to deal with that,” the German legend told the DAPD news agency.

As for Vettel’s description of Karthikeyan as a “gherkin”, Stuck insisted: “It’s better than ‘asshole’.”

Vettel’s attack, however, was sustained, with Kleine Zeitung newspaper now quoting the Red Bull driver as having said: “Maybe formula one is not the place to learn how to drive.”

Stuck responded: “If Sebastian had left more space, it would not have happened. It happens sometimes so it’s a racing incident.

“He (Karthikeyan) didn’t do it on purpose and it always takes two.”

The HRT driver hit back by calling Vettel a “bully”, and even David Coulthard – a Red Bull team consultant – defended Karthikeyan.

“He can’t make his car invisible,” the Scot is quoted as saying by the Mirror.

Also defending Karthikeyan was Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who told the Indian press this week: “From what I saw, it was not Narain’s fault.

“So I don’t really understand why he (Vettel) said all that.”

Hukenberg’s Force India teammate Paul di Resta added: “Narain is entitled to do as much on the track in comparison with someone like Vettel.

“Both are F1 drivers and are there to represent their teams.”

Fernando Alonso is F1′s shock world championship leader, after Malaysian rain shook up the order at Sepang.

“It’s a tough time for us at the moment, but we will remember this day,” said the Ferrari driver, who finished ahead of another surprise podium-sitter, Sauber’s Sergio Perez.

The young Mexican was catching Alonso at a rate of knots when he made a mistake.

“I think the win was possible,” Perez, who has been linked with Felipe Massa’s works Ferrari seat, said after beating the back-to-back 2012 polesitter Lewis Hamilton.

Former Toro Rosso driver and BBC radio commentator Jaime Alguersuari, however, was not overly impressed.

“The team did a fantastic strategy to put Perez on the right tyres at the right moment. For me, that’s it,” said the Spaniard.

Back-to-back world champion Sebastian Vettel had an horror Sunday, cutting a tyre whilst passing an HRT and eventually retiring with what Red Bull described on the radio as an “emergency” technical problem.

The German lies sixth in the drivers’ world championship, four points behind Perez and 17 off the lead.

Title leader Alonso, meanwhile, is not overly happy with the rain-soaked win.

“I think it changes nothing,” he said. “We are in a position that we do not want, fighting to get into Q3.”

Team boss Stefano Domenicali agreed: “I hope this helps the people at home to push, but we were not stupid yesterday and we are not phenomenal today.”

The Italian also denied that Perez’s debut podium is the ideal time to immediately pluck the Mexican from Sauber and put him in struggling Felipe Massa’s red car.

“Not true, not true,” Domenicali told British Sky television.

A third major team has joined the crusade against Mercedes’ so-nicknamed ‘W-duct’ innovation.

Until now, only Red Bull and Lotus were pushing hard for the FIA to ban the drag-reducing system that Britain’s Sky television is calling ‘Super-dooper DRS’.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that Ferrari has now joined the anti W-duct group, providing a new argument about why a driver is not permitted to activate a separate system by pressing the ‘DRS’ button on the steering wheel.

“So far I have heard nothing that convinces us that it is illegal,” the FIA’s Charlie Whiting is quoted as saying.

He is not, however, ruling out an eventual change of heart.

“As we understood more about how the mass damper worked and as more arguments came onto the table, eventually we could no longer turn a blind eye,” said the Briton.

Still, Whiting is not expecting a post-race protest in Malaysia.

“I think everyone understands that that is not good for the sport,” he said.

So far, McLaren is staying out of the fight, with Auto Motor und Sport believing that Martin Whitmarsh “will not wage war against his engine supplier”.

Nonetheless, Mercedes boss Ross Brawn is more than unimpressed with the warring trio.

“There are a massive amount of things we do with DRS, so to pick on one thing and say ‘We don’t like that very much as we haven’t thought about it’, is wrong,” the Briton charged.

Bruno Senna will give up his race car to Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas on fourteen more occasions in 2012.
It has emerged that, every time young Finn Bottas takes to the track on a Friday this season, it will be at the wheel of Senna’s Renault-powered FW34.

“Pastor Maldonado will keep his car in every session,” Turun Sanomat correspondent Heikki Kulta reported.

Brazilian Senna confirmed the news to British Sky television whilst he sat out Friday’s initial running in Malaysia.

Bottas, 22, was just quicker than the British team’s number one driver Maldonado on Friday.

 Rumours are swirling in the Melbourne paddock that Red Bull and Lotus are preparing to lodge a post-qualifying protest.
“I’ve heard something like that,” confirmed Mercedes’ motor sport director Norbert Haug to German Sky television.

They are reportedly unhappy with the new ‘F-duct’ solutions seen on the W03 car.

British television Sky confirmed that team boss Eric Boullier has confirmed that Lotus will protest the outcome of Saturday afternoon’s qualifying result.

“The FIA has its opinion and so do we,” Haug added.

“I remember the noise made about the double diffuser; a noise, incidentally, that came from the same place,” said the German.

Rumours are once again swirling in the F1 paddock about the alleged illegality of Red Bull’s dominant single seater.
The latest speculation is about the apparent flexibility of the Adrian Newey-inked RB7′s floor.

“I’ve heard about it but I certainly do not participate in the rumours,” Mercedes’ Norbert Haug admitted on German Sky television.

“There are enough people who do that — spending a lot of time writing all sorts of those kinds of stories,” he added.

“Of course, everybody looks around, which is perfectly normal.”

Swiss commentator Marc Surer said he has seen the offending images of the bottom of Mark Webber’s car, showing “drag marks in the middle of the floor”.

“The competitors see it too and think ‘Ah, something is up’. I happen to think that as long as the car passes the tests, everything is in order,” he added.

Sebastian Vettel should not be worried about his 2011 championship running off track.
That is the view of the Red Bull driver’s rivals as well as pundits and journalists despite a third consecutive defeat for Vettel in Hungary last weekend.

German newsmagazine Focus observed that while Budapest winner Jenson Button “laughed” on the podium, it was the sullen Vettel who had “scored” by actually pulling out his championship lead to a huge 85 points.

“It is really beginning to look like it is a case of when, and not if, he will seal his second world title,” former driver Johnny Herbert wrote in his latest column for The National.

Some pundits believe Vettel needs to worry, however, given that McLaren and also Ferrari look to have caught up with his previously-dominant RB7 car.

“But,” Herbert insisted, “Vettel’s lead is so vast that just finishing in the top four or five regularly should be enough to see him home.”

Also pessimistic is Marc Gene, Ferrari’s test driver who writes a column for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

“Our resurgence has been outstanding,” he said, “but unfortunately the championship situation is not changing much.”

Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport said the remaining races this season will be closely contested by Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, but likened the actual championship battle to a runaway leader in the Giro d’Italia bike race.

“It’s too late for the championship as the pink jersey is far ahead,” said the sports newspaper.

“Vettel no longer has a performance advantage but now he can use his head more than his foot, while behind him the protagonists take points off each other.”

Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore told Onda Cero radio on Monday that the world championship “is over” unless “something tragic happens”.

Agreed Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, who called the Hungarian grand prix with German Sky television: “That (Vettel’s second place) is how he will become world champion.”

For instance, Button – then with Brawn GP – won the title in 2009 with a smaller mid-season points advantage, a smaller and less financially-powerful team, and more pressure given that he was charging for his first title.

“If I had the lead he’s got, I wouldn’t be feeling any pressure at all,” the Briton told The Independent.

Button headed to Hawaii this week to begin F1′s summer break, and Bild newspaper reports that Vettel is Mallorca-bound.

“I need a bit of energy from the sun,” the 24-year-old German is quoted by Die Welt.

Said Italy’s Tuttosport: “Vettel can enjoy his holiday in peace.”

Ross Brawn has played down reports Michael Schumacher is set to extend his return to formula one beyond next season.
Based on the seven time world champion’s claim in Canada that driving a team to success typically takes about “five years”, German media claimed it was a strong hint the 42-year-old was set to renew his contract through 2014.

But when asked on German television RTL if this is the right interpretation to make of Schumacher’s comments, Mercedes team boss Brawn answered: “No.

“There was absolutely no reason to drive that speculation. The situation has not changed.”

The Briton also told German Sky television that the issue of Schumacher’s renewal has “not been discussed”.

“I am very happy with our two drivers — they are not the reason we are not winning races,” Brawn insisted.

“Both our drivers have contracts at the moment and our priority is to make the car better. We definitely have another year with Michael and if with next year’s car we can get the results we want, then I see no reason why we shouldn’t go on.

“But at the moment there are no talks,” he added.

Also asked about the rumours of a contract extension, Schumacher said in Montreal: “At the right time we will talk about it, but right now would make no sense.”

The famous German has had a difficult time since returning to F1 from retirement last season, but in Canada came close to securing the first podium of his comeback.

One foreign newspaper said the Montreal performance showed Schumacher “has some talent left” in the wake of his record-setting previous career tallying 91 wins.

With Sebastian Vettel tipped for a supporting role in the build-up to the 2010 finale, the shoe is now on the other foot ahead of Sunday’s decisive race.

Although with fewer points than both his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber and leader Fernando Alonso, Vettel is starting the Abu Dhabi decider from pole.

But if he goes on to win, Alonso – starting from third – will need just a fifth place finish to deliver the drivers’ title to Ferrari.

“Now we have to rely on Mark Webber,” Red Bull’s motor sport consultant Helmut Marko is quoted by Welt newspaper.

Niki Lauda agreed: “I don’t think Sebastian is in the situation anymore where he has to let Webber past.”

Webber’s most realistic chance of winning the title for himself is to win the race, with the Australian then needing Alonso to finish third or worse.

That might require Vettel’s help, but the German – separated from Webber on the grid by three rival cars – sees the shoe now on the other foot.

“It is funny how the tables turn,” Vettel is quoted by F1′s official website.

“On Friday I was confronted with those kind of questions (about helping his teammate) and now it is Mark who has to answer them!”

Some good news for Red Bull’s title hopes comes from Germany, with Bild newspaper reporting that Mercedes has secretly agreed to help Vettel to beat Alonso.

And Norbert Haug is quoted in German by Sky television: “Two hearts beat in my chest for the championship; one for (Mercedes powered) Lewis Hamilton, but … honestly I would be very, very pleased for Sebastian Vettel.”

As for whether Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg or Michael Schumacher could help to influence the outcome, Haug answered: “Given our pace, that’s probably a bit presumptuous.”

F1′s travelling circus is arriving in South Korea, and the first reports are mixed.

BBC television anchor Jake Humphrey summed up the Yeongam venue as satisfactory but “far from finished”.

“Things look pretty ready to go,” said Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi, “with some beauty work still to be finished but the main structure is ready.”

Others talked about their long journeys from the huge Seoul airport to Mokpo, the closest city to Yeongam, in the impressive high-speed KTX train with free wi-fi.

Photographer Darren Heath was less impressed with the journey, tackled by many in buses.  “F1 in Seoul?  Nah, let’s have it in the middle of nowhere 100s of miles from anywhere,” he wrote on Twitter.

Veteran Swiss correspondent Roger Benoit, writing in Blick newspaper, said the F1 track itself is an “enormous construction site”, and his hotel room one of the ones usually rented by the hour.

“No joke,” he said.

Reportedly so unimpressed was Williams with the local accommodation on offer that the British team has committed to a 3 hour round trip every day in order to stay in a nicer hotel.

“Dominating the venue are the excavators, debris and waste,” wrote Benoit, who said a bridge over the front straight is still littered with scaffolding and hard-hatted workers.

Sauber’s team manager Beat Zehnder complained about the cost of the team buildings, with the rent costing $40,000.

“Whoever wants to use the upper floor must pay another 20,000,” he said, “but everyone has decided to just use the ground floor!”

Said Benoit: “I’m already looking forward to the final races in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi!”

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said rolling machines are still working on the recently-laid top surface of asphalt, with the paint for the starting grid yet to be sprayed.

“Only on Friday will we know whether the surface will withstand the stresses of formula one cars,” read the report.

“Everything on the sandy site is under construction.  Next to the pitlane is a large pile of sand.  Whoever didn’t know that F1 is running here in a few days would think it’s not happening until next year,” it added.

German Sky television pundit Marc Surer reports in Speed Week that the seating in some grandstands is not complete.

“Much remains to be done, but as for the track itself, I am surprised that it is ready,” he said.

“Whether it can withstand hours of practice and racing, however, is another question.”

Christian Horner on Sunday said he “knows” the inaugural Korean grand prix will take place as scheduled in two weeks.

There has been great uncertainty about the health of the event due to delayed construction at Yeongam, but Bernie Ecclestone and some other bosses are now openly bullish.

Indeed, ahead of Charlie Whiting’s inspection early this week, the latest photographs show that the top layer of asphalt is now laid, kerbs installed and the main grandstand complete, even though some supporting infrastructure is unlikely to be ready for late October.

Red Bull team boss Horner told German Sky television: “We know it is going to take place.

“It’s interesting because it’s new for everybody.  We’re looking forward to it.

“The long straights don’t really suit us, but our car should work well on the twisty parts,” added the Briton.

Red Bull looks to be back to its dominant best on the street confines of the Singapore grand prix city venue.

Despite some rivals expecting the RB6′s speed on high downforce tracks to have been muted by the flexibility tests, championship leader Mark Webber and Sebstian Vettel both tasted the top of the times at the end of Friday’s two 90-minute practice sessions.

“We knew nothing would change with our car before we came here,” said Webber.

“We’ve passed all the new FIA tests and we weren’t coming here expecting to be slower than we were in Budapest.”

And while Monza winner Fernando Alonso had looked quick before stopping his Ferrari after a slip into a run-off zone in the night session, the Spaniard admitted: “We know Red Bull are maybe the favourites.”

The McLaren looked the best part of a second slower than the Red Bull.

Jenson Button confided to reporters that the RB6 is “crazy quick” this weekend, but Lewis Hamilton insisted that Red Bull “definitely aren’t unbeatable here”.

Mercedes’ Norbert Haug told German Sky television: “On a track like this, Red Bull seems to have the advantage.”

Lewis Hamilton took the lead of the world championship from Mark Webber on Sunday, by beating the Australian to victory at slippery Spa-Francorchamps.

As the fickle Belgian Ardennes continued to produce changeable weather conditions, the mere 20-point gap that had separated the top five title chargers blew out to more than 40.

One big loser on Sunday was Fernando Alonso, initially taken out by Rubens Barrichello at the start of the race before crashing on his own at the end.

Also now a long way behind in the championship – 35 points – is Jenson Button, who was innocently taken out by Sebastian Vettel as the Red Bull charger lost control during an overtaking attempt.

“It’s a massive blow — a massive blow,” Button said on BBC television, shortly before Vettel said “sorry” in his own media scrum.

There is clearly no love lost between the drivers’ management, with McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh admitting he thinks Vettel “got off lightly” with a drive-through penalty.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner naturally adjudged the penalty “a bit too hard”.

“What else can you give him?” said Button.  “It was a racing incident, he didn’t do it on purpose.”

Horner added: “You need to take into account the difficult weather conditions and that Jenson braked early.”

Vettel, scoring no points at Spa and now 31 points behind his teammate, also had to serve extra pitlane time after cutting a tyre on Tonio Liuzzi’s Force India.

“Everything that could go wrong for Sebastian went wrong today,” boss Horner told German Sky television.

In the sister Red Bull, Webber’s second place on Sunday leaves him just 3 points adrift Hamilton and well clear of the next challenger.

He intimated to reporters that the team might now be wise to back him for the last six races of 2010.

“It depends how hungry they are,” he said.

But Horner said: “It’s too early for that.  Sebastian is still in it.  We have seen already how quickly the tide can turn.”