F1 & WRC is for sale!!!

It's on sale! Buy it! Contact us on: f1andwrc@gmail.com

FIA launches probe into World Rally Championship timing

The FIA has launched an investigation into the delivery of timing and tracking in the World Rally Championship.
Previous supplier Stage One Technology was dropped in favour of Spanish firm SIT this year.
The teams, event organisers and drivers have been frustrated from the start of the season by a variety of issues with both the timing and tracking.
The lack of split times, accurate or otherwise, has made it difficult for the teams to track and relay progress of their cars against the competition.
Tracking issues include Volkswagen being unaware of Sebastien Ogier having to stop his car to open a closed gate mid-stage in Mexico, and the system failing to pick up Mads Ostberg's accident in Sardinia.
The Norwegian's M-Sport team was unaware until being telephoned by Ostberg.
The FIA's rally director Jarmo Mahonen said: "We are six months in now and the time has come to deliver a good service. We have met internally in the FIA and now we have launched the investigation."
SIT's Pedro Cieza said his firm had received mixed messages from the sport.
"At the beginning, we were told split times were [a] secondary [concern], but now we know that this is not the case and we have been making times more and more accurate rally through rally," he said.
"I am not making excuses, but our timing system is very high technology for some of the local marshals to use. We expect this to be easier on the next rallies.
"We have run real-time tests in Madrid this week and I need some feedback from my technical department.
"This is a question of time. When we were given the contract in November, we were given one month and a half to get everything ready.
"If we had been told in August we were doing this job then it would have been a different story."

Poland leads race as World Rally Championship plans new 2014 event

Next year's World Rally Championship will include one completely new round, according to FIA rally director Jarmo Mahonen.
Mahonen confirmed that one of the candidate rallies running this season will be included on the 2014 WRC calendar expected in coming weeks.
While Mahonen would not be drawn on the specifics of the calendar and refused to confirm a drop from 13 to 12 rounds for next season, he did say a new event would feature.
Brazil, China and Poland are believed to be the three countries running candidates this season and speculation suggests that Poland is looking increasingly likely to make the grade.
Poland has been included twice before (in 1973 and 2009), with the Mikko Hirvonen-won event of four years ago one of that season's highlights.
There is an increased appetite for rallying in Poland folllowing Robert Kubica's switch to the WRC with Citroen.
This year's Rally Poland runs as a round of the European Rally Championship in September.
Brazil and China are both key markets, however, and the WRC is expected to be running in both countries in the near future.
Mahonen said: "I don't want rallies coming with the asterix [meaning provisional]. That is why we decided to postpone the original announcement.
"We want the calendar to be set and I expect one of the candidate rallies to be included."

FIA announces F1 pitlane clampdown after German GP incident

Formula 1's ruling body, the FIA, has announced an immediate ban on anyone other than marshals and team personnel in the pitlane during qualifying and races following the incident during the German Grand Prix.
Formula One Management cameraman Paul Allen suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone and concussion after he was hit by a loose tyre from Mark Webber's car which fell off following a botched pitstop. He is expected to make a full recovery.
As well as the new personnel restrictions, with the only exception being approved members of the media allowed on the pit wall, the FIA is also fast-tracking a reduction in pitlane speed limits and the mandatory wearing of helmets for team members involved in pitstops.
A statement issued by the FIA said that its president Jean Todt had requested the World Motor Sport Council approve the changes, which had already been planned for 2014, immediately.
The pitlane speed limit will be reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h, except in Australia, Monaco and Singapore, where it will be 60km/h.
Furthermore the speed limit may be amended by the stewards if the safety delegate recommends it.
The FIA said it is also expecting a written report from Red Bull about the causes of the pit lane incident to be submitted on Wednesday. The details of this will be shared with other teams in order to help improve safety.

Monte Carlo Rally revives Casino Square start for 2014 WRC

One of the most famous start venues in world motorsport will return next year, when the 2014 Monte Carlo Rally gets underway from Casino Square.
The French Alps classic moved out of the principality in 2007 and was centred on Valence in the Drome region.
Next year's route returns what is likely to be the opening round of the World Rally Championship to its more traditional Monaco-Monaco format.
The Casino Square start is late on the afternoon of Tuesday January 14. The location was used for the Volkswagen WRC launch last year (pictured).
Shakedown runs the following morning at an all-new stage close to Gap, while competition proper starts on Thursday January 16 with two loops of Orpierre-Saint Andre de Rosans (15.86 miles), Rosans-Sainte Marie-La Charce (11.18 miles) and Montauban sur l'Ouveze-Col du Perty-Laborel (12.03 miles). Mid-day service will be in Gap.
Friday runs out of Gap as well, starting with Vitrolles-Col D'Espreaux-Faye (30.60 miles) and Selonnet-Col des Garcinets-Breziers (14.13 miles).
After a final service in Gap, the crews will head south for Monaco, returning to Vitrolles on the way. They will also drive the legendary Sisteron-Col de Fontbelle-Thoard (22.80 miles) and Digne-Col de Corobin-Chaudon Norante (12.17 miles) at night.
Saturday will bring its usual break in the morning before two loops of two stages in the evening, the first being the infamous La Bollene Vesubie-Col de Turini-Moulinet (14.67 miles) and the second the new Sospel-Col de Brouis-Breil sur Roya (10.37 miles) stage.
After a late night return to Monaco, the podium celebrations take place outside the palace on Sunday January 19.

Hyundai confirms Juho Hanninen as first test driver for WRC return

Hyundai has confirmed that Juho Hanninen is the first test driver for its World Rally Championship return.
Team boss Michel Nandan underlined that Hanninen was just one of a number of drivers set to work on the Hyundai project this year, and that the 2014 squad would not be revealed for some time yet.
"We're very pleased to welcome Juho on board for our 2013 test programme," he said.
"I'm sure his experience and background will contribute to the project and I'm happy with the job he's done so far.
"We have decided to work with different drivers with unique skills and capabilities this year, which will provide us with valuable feedback for 2014."
Hanninen said his first impressions of the Hyundai i20 were encouraging.
"The first run with the i20 WRC was quite positive for me," he said.
"I'm very impressed with the work the team has done so far in such an incredibly short space of time."
The 31-year-old Finn was a long-time member of the Skoda factory squad, adding the 2011 Super 2000 class WRC crown and the '12 European Rally Championship title to his IRC championship before leaving the Czech marque last winter.
Hanninen then made two WRC starts with M-Sport Ford at the start of this year.

German GP: Sebastian Vettel resists Kimi Raikkonen for home win

Sebastian Vettel finally won his home grand prix in Germany as he resisted big pressure from Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean at the Nurburgring.
As the Lotus duo took turns to hound Vettel for most of the race, it looked unlikely that the Red Bull driver would be able to cling on for victory, but he ultimately managed to after a dogged drive.
Polesitter Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes was swamped by the faster-starting Red Bulls off the line, as Vettel and Mark Webber moved into an immediate one-two.
Webber stayed right with his team-mate until the first pitstops, when he was sent out before his right-rear wheel was fully attached.
The tyre shot off and hit a television cameraman further down the pitlane. The cameraman was taken to hospital for observation.
Hamilton lost ground with heavy tyre wear as the race progressed, but Lotus moved in the opposite direction.
Grosjean ran 13 laps on softs in his first stint - far better than anyone else managed - and that jumped him from fifth to second.
The Frenchman then chased Vettel down, though he could not get closer than two seconds behind.
A safety car just mid-distance closed things up and brought Raikkonen from 12s down into contention.
The caution period was required after Jules Bianchi's Marussia retired in a cloud of smoke and flames, and then began drifting back across the circuit on the chicane approach after its driver had got out.
The leaders made their second stops behind the safety car but could not make it from there to the end.
Grosjean was first to pit, with Vettel reacting on the next lap and staying ahead.
Raikkonen ran 10 laps further then pitted for softs, allowing him to charge back past Grosjean (who obeyed a team order to not delay the Finn) and then catch Vettel.
But the world champion had just enough in hand to hang on and win by a second.
Grosjean resisted a similar late surge from Fernando Alonso to keep third.
Alonso's Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa spun out at the first corner just four laps in while running sixth.
Hamilton ended up fifth, passing two-stopper Jenson Button's McLaren on the last lap.
Webber was brought back to the Red Bull garage and given a new wheel, then recovered from a distant last to seventh, just ahead of McLaren's Sergio Perez.
Nico Rosberg could make little progress from 11th on the grid and finished ninth ahead of countryman Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber.
Daniel Ricciardo faded from sixth in qualifying to 12th, between the Force Indias.
Williams appeared to have a shot at points for a while, before pitstop delays hampered both its drivers.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The German Grand Prix
Nurburgring, Germany;
60 laps; 306.458km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team        
 1.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault           
 2.  Raikkonen      Lotus-Renault                        
 3.  Grosjean       Lotus-Renault                        
 4.  Alonso         Ferrari                              
 5.  Hamilton       Mercedes                            
 6.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes                     
 7.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault                     
 8.  Perez          McLaren-Mercedes                     
 9.  Rosberg        Mercedes                             
10.  Hulkenberg     Sauber-Ferrari                       
11.  Di Resta       Force India-Mercedes                 
12.  Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari                   
13.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes                 
14.  Gutierrez      Sauber-Ferrari                       
15.  Maldonado      Williams-Renault                     
16.  Bottas         Williams-Renault                     
17.  Pic            Caterham-Renault                    
18.  van der Garde  Caterham-Renault                     
19.  Chilton        Marussia-Cosworth                    
DNF. Vergne         Toro Rosso-Ferrari                   
DNF. Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth                    
DNF. Massa          Ferrari                              


World Championship standings, round 9:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel        157        1.  Red Bull-Renault          250
 2.  Alonso        123        2.  Mercedes                  181
 3.  Raikkonen     118        3.  Ferrari                   180
 4.  Hamilton       97        4.  Lotus-Renault             159
 5.  Webber         93        5.  Force India-Mercedes       59
 6.  Rosberg        84        6.  McLaren-Mercedes           49
 7.  Massa          57        7.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         24
 8.  Grosjean       41        8.  Sauber-Ferrari              7
 9.  Di Resta       36       
10.  Button         33       
11.  Sutil          23       
12.  Perez          16       
13.  Vergne         13       
14.  Ricciardo      11       
15.  Hulkenberg      7       

Christian Horner Q&A: Raikkonen, Ricciardo or Vergne for ‘14

It’s been a busy week for Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, what with Mark Webber’s exit announcement, Sebastian Vettel’s retirement from an explosive British Grand Prix, and the fallout from the race regarding revised rubber. We caught up with Horner at the Nurburgring to discuss tyres, testing, Mercedes, and - of course - Webber’s replacement for 2014…
Q: Christian, after the events of Silverstone, you will now be able to run your two race drivers at the young driver test, while Mercedes sit on the side lines. Is justice now served?
Christian Horner: It is not about justice. I think the right decision was made by the FIA to allow Pirelli a tyre test at the young driver event - and for teams to put experienced drivers in the cars to give experienced feedback. This is a logical and correct solution. There are no winners out of what happened last weekend, so it is important that we work together and find a solution.
Q: How much time will the regular drivers spend in the cars?
CH: Well, it was agreed on Wednesday that the rookies will have the equivalent of two days and the race drivers will be allowed one day. Teams will carve it up as they see fit.
Q: Given the dramatic tyre situation we saw in Silverstone, is it still right that Mercedes stay away?
CH: Absolutely. They’ve already done their three-day test. With both drivers! One thousand kilometres!
Q: Your chief technical officer Adrian Newey was quoted as saying that some teams had previously refused to agree to Pirelli bringing in new tyres that could have prevented the Silverstone incidents because the change may have had a negative impact on their performance. Is that so? Has team success become a greater priority than driver security?
CH: Yes, I think so. We’ve been talking about a certain danger with the tyres since Malaysia, since it became evident that there are issues. This was not performance related, as we had a relatively competitive first half of the season and with the current tyres we lead both championships. So we’ve always focused on safety. It is inevitable in sport that teams will look to protect their competitive position, but after Silverstone all the teams saw that we have to do something on the grounds of safety - and most importantly the FIA have intervened. They are responsible for safety and now have made the right decision.
Q: So it must be a good feeling that everybody can now see that your reasons for complaining about the tyres were honourable and in the interest of safety - and not for selfish reasons…
CH: Ah, that thing with the selfish reasons… but now it’s become clear. We’ve been lucky in Silverstone, but at some point luck runs out, so we now have to see that the teams, together with Pirelli and the FIA, work closely together.
Q: Was what you saw at Silverstone shocking?
CH: It was shocking. When your cars are travelling at up to two hundred miles an hour and big pits of rubber are flying through the air, that can be extremely dangerous. There’ve been one or two drivers who were really lucky not being hit or struck by big pieces of rubber flying through the air. So I understand that [FIA race director] Charlie Whiting came close to stopping the race. It was not at all good to see.
Q: We have seen some other unusual situations this season, the two buzzwords being tyres and testing. Some have questioned whether this is the result of a weak governing body? That they are not acting but reacting…
CH: The FIA is the policeman - they police the rules at the end of the day. They have intervened now, they are taking this matter extremely seriously and they came up with a proposal with Pirelli to move forward and have asked for certain guarantees. It is always very easy to criticize, but the reality is that the right decisions have now been made.
Q: Too late?
CH: It is a difficult one. We’ve been pushing [for tyre changes] since Malaysia, but other teams have been pushing against it, so when you have different voices from different teams it becomes hard to make a judgment.
Q: Red Bull didn’t have any tyre issues at Silverstone, but Sebastian had a gearbox failure. Have you analysed the situation - and hopefully eliminated the glitch?
CH: It was an input shaft in the gearbox. It was a component that was pretty much the same for the last three or four years - and it was frustrating. We worked very hard to find out why it happened and to prevent it from happening again. It is frustrating to have a mechanical failure like that - particularly ten laps away from winning the British Grand Prix!
Q: So it was the first time that this issue had happened?
CH: It is the first time in six years that we had that component fail.
Q: A week on since Mark’s announcement that he’s quitting F1 racing at the end of the year. Any new ideas on when Red Bull will announce his replacement?
CH: We are in the fortunate position not to be short of choice. We’ll take our time to make the right decision.
Q: How much was it Mark’s decision to quit - and how much was he pushed?
CH: It was one hundred percent Mark’s decision to retire.
Q: Wouldn’t the whole philosophy of sister team Toro Rosso nurturing driver talent for you be nullified now if you look outside the Red Bull family for Mark’s replacement?
CH: Red Bull Racing is a world championship-winning team and wants to put the best drivers in our cars. Now if one of these drivers can be of the junior team, that will purely be based on merit. They both have the opportunity to shine, but we are also taking into consideration what other drivers are available. For sure, both of the juniors [Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne] are contenders, and also one or two drivers that are out of contract at the end of the year.
Q: We already know that one of those two drivers is Kimi Raikkonen, but who is the second?
CH: Well, there are a lot of drivers without contract at the end of the year. But the reality is that it will boil down to three drivers: the two juniors and Kimi.
Q: Who will sit down and decide?
CH: It is that type of thing that we will discuss and agree on collectively: obviously myself and Adrian, [Red Bull motorsport consultant] Helmut [Marko] and [Red Bull owner] Dietrich [Mateschitz]. Obviously Dietrich has the final say, but he is always listening to what Adrian’s, Helmut’s and my opinions are.
Q: From now on you will have to have Mercedes on your list of title rivals, at least for the constructors’. Will the hotter races save you - a weakness that Mercedes admit to?
CH: Mercedes have been on our radar since Malaysia! They have a good car this year and they have two good drivers. We can’t ignore Mercedes, but we also can’t ignore Ferrari and Lotus. It’s going to be competitive until Brazil and it would be foolish of us to underestimate any of our competitors.
Q: One car in the points is not enough to stay in front. Will you return to a two-car result again this weekend?
CH: I certainly hope so. And today was a good start into the weekend. This race is Sebastian’s home race and it would be fantastic for him to win here. Mark won his first ever Grand Prix here in 2009, so we have good memories. Sebastian has a fantastic home crowd here - that should propel him and us - but in the end this race carries the same amount of points as any other weekend - and we want to win them all!
Q: From Silverstone on, Mark is effectively on his farewell tour. What are you doing to make happy memories for him?
CH: Most important is that he enjoys it and takes it all in. He is obviously relaxed that his decision about his future is made. He will, of course, do his best and the team will help him to add to his statistics.

Exclusive Kimi Raikkonen Q&A: No deadline for 2014 decision

With his contract at Lotus expiring at the end of this season and a vacancy at Red Bull opening up following Mark Webber's confirmation he will leave at the end of the year, Kimi Raikkonen has been the talk of the paddock over the last week. We caught up with Raikkonen to find out his thoughts…
Q: Kimi, in 2009 Ferrari seemed like they couldn’t wait to get you out of their cockpit but three and a half years down the road you are now the hottest thing in an overall in the paddock. Are you surprised about your huge increase in popularity?
Kimi Raikkonen: No, actually I’m not. Last year when I came back was not too bad and this year has been pretty okay. Things change quickly in Formula One. There have been many reasons for what happened in the past - but it is the past. Now let’s see what happens in the future.
Q: But it seems there’s something like a Kimi-mania at some teams at the moment…
KR: …no, I am just doing my own stuff and obviously there are some people who like it. (laughs) I am only trying to do the best for myself and the team.
Q: When will you make a decision about where you will race next year?
KR: I have no idea. I will obviously decide at a certain point but there are still a lot of things that have to be right and good things always take time. I have no deadline.
Q: You have frequently said that you feel comfortable at Lotus. What does ‘comfortable’ mean to you?
KR: I want to do what I want. That’s it.
Q: Do you think you will have that luxury if you move somewhere else?
KR: I have no idea. I have only been at some teams. Each team is different and you always have good things and sometimes there are bitter pills attached to it. There is no perfect world…
Q: But personal freedom seems very dear to you…
KR: …yes, and I have always looked to get the maximum in that respect. But yes, at some teams you have a little more to do than at others. It largely depends on the sponsors. The important thing for me is that I can do my stuff and that has not been different in the past and will not change in the future.
Q: People dismiss lightly that money could be a decisive factor for you but, on the other hand, it is no secret that money makes the cars go round. What role could a well-stocked piggybank play in the decision process?
KR: The money is one part of it but there is also another side to the coin. Whatever the decision will be, it will be very similar to what the situation is now in terms of the ‘piggybank’.
Q: Do you still dream of another title?
KR: That’s why we are here. If it doesn’t happen this year we will try again in the future. It is always the aim to win races and championships. If it doesn’t happen it doesn’t happen, but at least we keep trying.
Q: Hand on your heart. Is the title still on your agenda after all these years you’ve been in Formula One racing?
KR: Of course. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.
Q: You seem to have a good time here so why break your back?
KR: Ha, I would have an even better time not racing! (laughs)
Q: What factor could play to Red Bulls advantage? Adrian Newey?
KR: There is not just that one thing. I think there are things that matter with regards to racing and also some that are outside of racing. And it is never one thing that makes me make a decision. It’s the overall package. As surprising as this might sound, I look at the details! (laughs)
Q: Some teams would kill to get Adrian Newey on their payroll and you could be given the chance to drive his car…
KR: …I’ve raced cars that he has designed! At Red Bull they want me but I have other choices - so time will tell.
Q: It wouldn’t be a surprise if those teams that develop engines and chassis have an advantage over the others in 2014. But obviously the two teams that do - Ferrari and Mercedes - are probably not an option for you. Could you therefore deduce that Red Bull might be closer to Renault than Lotus and would that be a factor in your considerations?
KR: Stop, stop! I have no idea what they are doing at Red Bull. The only thing that I know is that Lotus is very close with Renault and they are working fantastically together. I don’t think that there is any difference between how the teams work together with Renault. They are very fair, so these considerations are not affecting my decision.
Q: How much will the friendship between you and Sebastian Vettel play a role?
KR: It plays no role in the decision.
Q: What is relevant to your decision?
KR: The decision has to be made in light of a bigger picture and not on single things. There are so many aspects that have to be considered. But one thing I can say is that right now I don’t know myself how the die is cast.
Q: Will you sit down with advisors and management to make the decision? Or wake up one morning and know which contract you will sign?
KR: I will make the decision. And if it is good or bad I will be the one to blame. I can live with it, as it has been my choice.
Q: What do Sebastian and you both find so exciting in badminton?
KR: It is a nice sport for practice. And I have to do something…
Q: Niki Lauda is quoted as saying that if you don’t move to Red Bull you are a mouse not a man. Does his viewpoint surprise you?
KR: No, because it is normal for him to talk. (laughs) He can talk what he wants and I know him a little to know what he thinks.
Q: Will you make a return to the podium this weekend?
KR: Obviously it hasn’t been too bad today, if you compare it to the previous three races. Hopefully we can challenge for a podium tomorrow.
Q: Have you been worried about the performance of the E21 in the last three races?
KR: No. We just had some issues at the last races but we should have been on the podium in Silverstone. So the speed is definitely there.
Q: So you aren’t worried about a development slowdown?
KR: No. Never.

Qualifying - Hamilton snatches pole in Germany

His Mercedes team mate, Nico Rosberg, may have endured something of a nightmare, but Lewis Hamilton's qualifying session couldn't have gone better as he pipped home favourite Sebastian Vettel to pole position at the Nurburgring on Saturday afternoon.
Hamilton's late effort on soft tyres was enough to pip the Red Bull driver to P1 by a tenth of a second, with Mark Webber third in the other Red Bull and Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean fourth and fifth for Lotus.
Q3 had some relatively unfamiliar drivers in it, notably Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, but, very surprisingly, not the in-form Rosberg. Mercedes clearly miscalculated how much the track was ramping up and elected to leave him in the pits whilst a flurry of improvements suddenly jeopardised his lap time of 1m 30.326s.
When time expired Rosberg was still in the top 10, but Raikkonen was on a hot lap and when the Finn bumped himself up to P2 the German was eliminated.
Hamilton saved face for Mercedes, however, in Q3 setting the pace with a lap of 1m 29.540s which held Vettel to second on 1m 29.622s. On their second runs the German shaved his time down to 1m 29.501s, but the Briton’s response was an emphatic 1m 29.398s to settle the issue.
Behind them, Webber took third with 1m 29.608s, with the black and gold cars of Raikkonen and Grosjean in threatening fourth and fifth places with 1m 29.892s and 1m 29.959s respectively.
Daniel Ricciardo was in top form again to take sixth with 1m 30.528s for Toro Rosso, ahead of the Ferraris which both ran (and will subsequently start tomorrow's race) on medium tyres in what should be a clever strategy ploy. Felipe Massa was once again faster than Fernando Alonso, with 1m 31.126s to 1m 31.209s.
Button made it through to Q3 for McLaren and lines up ninth after opting not to record a timed lap, and Hulkenberg did one untimed lap for Sauber for 10th.
Behind Rosberg, Paul di Resta was 12th in Q2 as Force India couldn’t quite muster the pace. His lap of 1m 30.697s left him ahead of Sergio Perez’s McLaren on 1m 30.933s, Esteban Guttierez’s Sauber on 1m 31.010s, a time shared by Adrian Sutil in his Force India, and Jean-Eric Vergne on 1m 31.104s in the other Toro Rosso.
As Massa had set the pace with 1m 30.547s, Q1 weeded out the Williams, Caterham and Marussia duos. Valtteri Bottas was unfortunate to miss out with a lap of 1m 31.693s which left him 17th, while team mate Pastor Maldonado was 18th on 1m 31.707s. Caterham's Charles Pic wrested back the tail-end honours from Marussia's Jules Bianchi in the closing minutes, bettering the French driver’s 1m 33.063s with 1m 32.937s. On the final row of the grid, Caterham's Giedo van der Garde kept the other Marussia of Max Chilton at bay, with 1m 33.734s to 1m 34.098s.

Record entry for Rally Finland

 

Neste Oil Rally Finland has attracted the largest number of entries of any WRC round so far this season, with 101 cars on the list to start the event on 1 August.

There are 14 crews in the top-flight World Rally Car category, and a comprehensive supporting cast including WRC2, WRC3 and Junior WRC drivers.
As well as the works team regulars, the seventh round of the season will feature a number of other World Rally Car drivers each out to prove themselves on the high-speed Finnish stages.
Finland’s Juho Hanninen returns to the championship in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC and is more than capable of challenging the factory team drivers on home ground. Also hoping to put his local knowledge to good use is Jarkko Nikara, who will tackle the rally in a MINI WRC prepared by Prodrive.
British driver Kris Meeke has been drafted in to drive Khalid Al Qassimi’s DS3 World Rally Car for the Abu Dhabi Citroen World Rally Team. Sweden’s Per-Gunnar Andersson will drive a Ford Fiesta RS, while local driver Riku Tahko will be at the wheel of a MINI.
The WRC2 category has attracted 20 entries, including highly rated Finn Esapekka Lappi who will drive a Skoda Fabia S2000. After dominating the most recent round in Sardinia, Formula 1 star Robert Kubica returns in his Citroen DS3 RRC.
WRC2 will feature R5 specification cars for the first time, with five drivers, including Jari Ketomaa, Elfyn Evans and Eyvind Brynildsen all running Ford Fiestas – the first of the new breed of cars to be homologated.
There are 11 drivers in the WRC3 class, all driving Citroen DS3 R3Ts as part of the Citroën Top Driver scheme.
The rally is the third round of the FIA Junior WRC, and series leader Pontus Tidemand can expect some tough opposition from local drivers Andreas Amberg and Niko-Pekka Nieminen.
Click here to see the full entry list.

Formula 1 drivers pledge to boycott German GP if tyre dramas return

Formula 1 drivers have warned that they will boycott the German Grand Prix if there is any repeat of the Silverstone tyre problems over the weekend.
Following a meeting of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) in the Nurburgring paddock on Thursday night, the body issued a strongly worded statement making clear its unhappiness at the current situation in F1.
Although Pirelli is adamant that the Kevlar-belted tyres it has brought to the Nurburgring will not suffer a repeat of the dramatic failures that blighted the race at Silverstone, the GPDA is not fully satisfied.
It has made it clear that if there are problems with the tyres at any point during the German Grand Prix weekend, then its members will withdraw.
The statement said: "The drivers of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association wish to express their deepest concerns about the events that took place at Silverstone.
"We trust that the changes made to the tyres will have the desired results and that similar problems will not occur during the German GP weekend.
"We are ready to drive our cars to the limit, as we always do, and as it is expected by our teams, sponsors and fans.
"However, the drivers have decided that, if similar problems should manifest themselves during the German GP, we shall immediately withdraw from the event, as this avoidable problem with the tyres endangers again the lives of drivers, marshals and fans."
Four drivers suffered blow-outs during the British GP - with Pirelli blaming a combination of low tyre pressures, adverse camber, tyre swapping and kerbs for the problems.
The new Kevlar-belted tyres used in the German GP will be for this event only, with a new specification - featuring 2012 construction and '13 compounds - being used from the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Algarve base for Rally Portugal 2014

After investigating a move to the north of the country, the organisers of Rally de Portugal have confirmed that the event will run from its current base in the Algarve again next year.

Portugal rejoined the World Rally Championship in 2007 after a six year absence. It has run six times since, on each occasion from a service base at the Algarve Stadium, close to the holiday resort of Faro.
Up to 2001, however, the rally had been based in the north, from Portugal’s second-largest city, Porto.
The only remnant of the previous route in the modern Rally de Portugal is the pre-rally Fafe Rally Sprint, run near Porto on a section of the iconic Fafe-Lameirinha stage.
The Rally Sprint is used by many WRC teams as a last-minute testing opportunity before the rally proper and this year drew a crowd of 100,000 spectators.
Last year the organizing Automobile Club de Portugal began discussions to move the whole rally back to Porto.
But after 12 months of negotiations, the Automobile Club de Portugal announced on Tuesday that it had failed to reach an agreement with the local government in Porto and the event would instead remain in the Algarve in 2014.

Nico Rosberg: Mercedes becoming favourite for Formula 1 success

Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes is now going into grand prix weekends as the favourite for success.
The team is up to second in the Formula 1 constructors' championship, has taken pole for five of the eight races so far in 2013, and claimed two victories - only one less than Red Bull and equal to Ferrari.
"Slowly but surely we are dropping into the role of being favourites, which is fantastic," said Rosberg.
He believes Mercedes is now reaping the benefit of all it learned during its disappointing 2010-12 seasons, when it could not keep up with the frontrunners over the course of a campaign.
"We've had three years where it's been difficult, and we learned a lot," Rosberg said.
"Now things are coming together. We built up the team with more employees, working together better. A lot of fantastic people have joined the team to complement the fantastic people that we already had.
"They managed to build a great car over the winter. Then in the development race this season, which was our big weakness last year, it seems to be going pretty well at the moment - which is another sign of the team building and having learned from our issues in past years.
"We have fantastic momentum in the team at the moment. It's great to be a part of it."
Rosberg does not think the forthcoming changes to F1's tyre specification will destabilise Mercedes either.
"It doesn't really matter which tyres we use," he said. "In general I think we have a very quick car so I think we can stay where we are."
HAMILTON PESSIMISTIC
But his team-mate Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes still cannot claim to be a genuine match for Red Bull, despite his race-leading pace before his tyre failure at Silverstone.
"I don't think we're favourites," said Hamilton.
"Red Bull is still favourite. They're leading the championship.
"We are improving and getting closer.
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff warned that there would still be some events where the team expected to slip back.
"On some occasions we're showing that the car has improved a lot and with the two best drivers in these cars we are able to not only compete for pole positions but also for race wins," Wolff said.
"There will be other tracks where, because of track temperatures and ambient temperatures, we're going to struggle a bit more, same as any other car."

Alonso says drivers can only hope Pirelli tyre changes will work

Fernando Alonso says Formula 1 drivers are going to have to put faith in Pirelli that changes made to the tyres have improved safety, although he admits there are no guarantees that there will no repeat problems.
Pirelli is introducing new tyres at this weekend's German Grand Prix, featuring a Kevlar-belt rather than the steel belt that has previously been used.
It is hoped that this change, allied to stricter limits on tyre pressures and camber settings plus a ban on tyre swapping, will prevent a repeat of the blow-outs that marred the British GP.
But speaking on the eve of the Nurburgring race, Alonso says that all he and his rivals can do is 'hope' that matters have improved, because there has been no testing of the new products so far.
"After what we saw in Silverstone, we now go to the Nurburgring, confident we can see an improvement," Alonso said during a promotional appearance for Ferrari.
"I know that various modifications have been applied and let's hope that means all of us drivers can race in safe conditions.
"At the moment, we can't make any predictions, because no one has tried them and we don't know what and how many benefits they can bring, apart from trusting in the fact that it won't be dangerous to race."
As well as tweaking the construction for this weekend's race, Pirelli will bring all-new tyres to the Hungarian GP.
These will feature the 2012 construction with the 2013 compounds and will be tested for the first time at the forthcoming young driver test at Silverstone.

'We can’t afford to take our foot off the gas'

 

Despite a handsome lead in the World Rally Championship drivers' and manufacturers' standings, the boss of Volkswagen Motorsport, Jost Capito, says his squad cannot afford to relax in the second half of the season.

Volkswagen has made a dream start to its debut season in the WRC. And with seven of the thirteen rounds complete, it has racked up some impressive statistics; winning more than half of this season’s special stages so far and taking five rally wins.
Volkswagen leads the manufacturers’ championship on 220 points – 46 points clear of defending champions Citroen – while its drivers Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala are first and second in the drivers’ standings - with Ogier a massive 65 points in front.
“We are very happy with the results, as we have far exceeded our original goals,” acknowledged Capito. “However, we cannot afford to take our foot off the gas, but must remain just as focused in the second half of the season if we want to win the World Championship.” 
"We still have six races to overcome – a challenge we are looking forward to facing. Our focus for now is on the Rally Finland, the next event at the start of August. That is followed by the Rally Germany – another highlight, the home race for Volkswagen, and our first real asphalt rally. We are already looking forward to the second part of the WRC season and to the sporting challenges that it throws up.”

Red Bull upbeat over long-run tyre management progress

Red Bull is upbeat that it has made good progress with its long-run tyre management, but it believes it faces a big fight for the world championship.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit had struggled on high-speed front-limited tracks prior to the British Grand Prix, so its near-miss on victory at Silverstone was a huge encouragement.
Team principal Christian Horner says his outfit has taken heart from the leap in form displayed at the British GP, but knows that the pressure is on with Mercedes breathing down its neck.
"We have learned a bit and we probably ran a better set-up at the weekend," he explained.
"We looked competitive on the long runs so we take encouragement from that.
"Certainly at Barcelona we were nowhere near Ferrari's pace, but here [at Silverstone] we had them covered and we were on the same pace as Mercedes by the looks of things."
Red Bull had appeared to have the out-and-out fastest car in the early stages of the campaign, but Mercedes' growing form now points towards the Brackley-based team having the edge.
Horner has no doubts that the title battle that appeared to be narrowing down to a straight head-to-head with Ferrari is now opening up.
When asked if he felt Mercedes could be a genuine threat, he said: "For sure. I think they are a good team; they have a quick car, they have good drivers.
"They will for sure be a contender from now until the end of the year.
"But so are Ferrari, and so are Lotus. There is still a long way to go in this championship."

Paddy Lowe to focus on 2013 Mercedes car development

Mercedes has instructed new recruit Paddy Lowe to focus his efforts on improving the team's 2013 Formula 1 car as it steps up its push for the world championship.
On the back of its second victory in three races, and indications that it has made a big step forward in understanding the tyres, Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn has revealed that Lowe's priority in his role as executive director (technical) is to drive forward the development of the W04.
"There may be a point where we say it is not better to put our efforts into next year, but at the moment we are putting the maximum into this season," said Brawn when asked about Mercedes' title prospects.
"One of the things I have said to Paddy is focus most of your attention on this car.
"Obviously [he must] know what is going on with the other car which is progressing well under Aldo Costa, but let's push this one. That is an easy thing for Paddy to step in to.
"We will juggle our resources over the next six months to see what comes, but Silverstone was a pretty good step."
Lowe joined the team at the start of last month, after a deal was reached for him to be released from his McLaren contract early.
Mercedes' focus so far this year has been in curing its poor tyre degradation, but the way its drivers were able to match the pace of Red Bull at Silverstone has suggested it is now on top of the situation.
Brawn was encouraged by that performance, but equally knows that the team cannot get complacent.
"We took the race to them [Red Bull] this weekend, but we have to take another step because we were a little bit defensive," he said.
"We made quite a lot of changes to the car for here that we think are significant, but we have to wait and see."

Q&A: Sebastien Loeb

 

The WRC's most famous export talks after obliterating the Pikes Peak hill climb record.

Q: Sebastien, what did it feel like to drive the 208 T16 Pikes Peak?
SL: “It’s definitely a very special feeling and a big moment. You have the downforce of a Le Mans car, with acceleration that is faster than a Formula One car, going through scenery that is a bit like rallying. It just comes out of corners like a cannonball; the traction is astounding. With steep drops either side, and so much work and investment going into this programme, you obviously can’t make any mistakes… It’s 20 kilometres of taking risks. There was a certain amount of pressure that I felt before the start, that’s true.”
Q: How do you find the right balance between being quick enough to win but safe enough not go off?
SL: “Good question… In fact, before starting, I spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not to push to the maximum to get a really good record or whether or not just to push hard enough to get a result so that we could win. In the end, once I was in the car, I decided to push hard. I’d say I was pretty much on the limit of it with every corner. But it was OK, we didn’t have any moments at all.” 
Q: How does this win rank among all your other achievements?
SL: “Well, I’m not going to say it’s like winning a rally title but it still means a lot. I always looked at Pikes Peak in the past and thought that it would be nice to do it one day, and now here I am. For me, with what I’m doing this season, it’s the race of the year. Of all the cars I’ve driven this year, the 208 T16 Pikes Peak is definitely the most fun. This one is a good record, which I think will be quite hard to beat.”
Q: How much of a worry was the weather?
SL: “It was certainly a big worry as there were lots of delays to our start time; every time something else. We had some information from our weather forecasters that there would be rain after midday and then when we were waiting to start it seemed to be getting closer and closer to midday. I thought that if we didn’t get on with it soon, we’d be in trouble… From the start line I could actually begin to see the weather start to close in around the mountain.”
Q: How long did it take you to get used to the car?
SL: “Before starting on this programme I did ask myself whether or not this car would be too extreme for me to find the same sort of feeling and confidence as I have in my rally car. After all it’s 875 horsepower and the most radical car I have ever driven. In the end though I had a very comfortable feeling with the car and I was able to push with full confidence.”
Q: So will you be back next year?
SL: “To be honest that’s not something we’ve spoken about. I’ve really enjoyed this but we’ll see what happens and who tries to break the record. The feeling is amazing, but the risks are also high.”  

British GP: Whiting nearly stopped race because of tyre failures

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has revealed that he came close to red-flagging the British Grand Prix in the wake of the multiple tyre failures.
With Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Sergio Perez and Jean-Eric Vergne all suffering major blow-outs in the early phases of the Silverstone race, Whiting says it had crossed his mind to stop the race on safety grounds.
"It was quite close to being red-flagged; it did occur to me to do that," explained Whiting after the race.
When asked if just one more failure in that phase of the race would have been enough, Whiting replied: "I'm not going to give a specific number. Obviously to clear up all that debris was putting marshals at risk, and it is not satisfactory.
"We haven't seen a failure like this before; we have seen other types of failure - and that is what has been addressed. So we need to analyse it very carefully to see if we can establish the cause."
Whiting said the FIA needed to get answers from Pirelli about what it believes caused the incident before it could establish a way forward.
"It is too early to draw any conclusions," said Whiting. "They have a lot of analysing to do, including the tyres that didn't fail – because maybe we will find something there that was on the verge of failing that will give us a better indicator of what happened.
"It is too early to say what will happen, so it's too early to say what needs to be done."
The tyre safety issue has been added to the agenda of next week's Sporting Working Committee meeting that was already scheduled to take place at the Nurburgring ahead of the German Grand Prix.
However, Whiting believed that the tyre situation needed to move forward before then – so solutions could be put in place.
"We will be on it first thing in the morning," he said. "Pirelli have got to analyse it, to try and find the cause. We need to make decisions earlier than Wednesday."

British GP: Formula 1 teams demand urgent action over tyre failures

Formula 1 is in a 'serious' situation as it works to come up with an urgent solution to the Pirelli tyre crisis, reckons McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh.
Although meetings are scheduled for this week - including a Sporting Working Committee gathering on Wednesday - to try to find a way forward for the sport, Whitmarsh believes that action is needed even before that.
"We clearly have a serious situation where we have to act responsibly, and respect Pirelli," said Whitmarsh, who saw his driver Sergio Perez suffer two tyre failures at Silverstone.
"They have to do the best they can. We have to make a decision urgently, as it gives you a much better chance than talking about it on Wednesday when you want to drive out of the garage Friday."
Whitmarsh claimed that the only solution that would guarantee no repeat of the dramas for next weekend's German Grand Prix was to revert to last year's tyres.
"In 2012 we were not having this problem," he said. "Therefore, if that is a known, established, durable specification, you would have thought that is the easiest thing to do."
Red Bull boss Christian Horner backed Whitmarsh's view that the best short-term solution was to go back to last year's specification.
"The most logical thing would be to go back to the tyres that worked well for them previously," he explained. "The tyres they had last year did not have these failures.
"They need to find a solution, and they need to address it. Whether they go back to last year's car or a different tyre they need a solution."
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier added: "Going back to the Kevlar belt from last year would be one solution.
"I don't know what they have in stock and how quick they can produce tyres. That is a question for Pirelli.
"It is a different track lay-out next weekend and first we need to find out what is causing these failures. But it is a concern."
FINAL ANSWER DOWN TO PIRELLI
Whitmarsh admitted, however, that the final answer would have to be left to Pirelli - as only it had the facts about what went wrong at Silverstone and what tyres it could bring to the Nurburgring.
"I don't think Formula 1 can possibly not respond to the events of this weekend," he said.
"I think there is an argument that the Nurburgring is a slightly less severe circuit than Silverstone, but we have Spa looming not long after that - and we would certainly not want to go there with these tyres.
"But we have to do what is practical. The schedule is tight and we have to work to support Pirelli."
When asked if there was even an argument for the German GP to be cancelled because of the tyre issue, Whitmarsh said: "If they have got sufficient quantities of the 2012 tyres then I have no doubt we go ahead with that as I sense that is a very safe thing to do.
"In fairness to Pirelli I don't know how they can respond in such short order but we have to do what we can to support them.
"We don't want an Indianapolis, but cancelling a race is a big step. We don't have all the technical insight Pirelli have. All I would ask is they do everything they can to give us the most durable tyres they can for next weekend."

British GP: Rosberg reprimanded, keeps victory

Nico Rosberg has been given a reprimand for failing to slowing sufficiently for yellow flags during the British Grand Prix, but his win is unaffected.
The Mercedes driver had been called up by the officials when he was reported for not taking proper heed of yellows in the Loop section mid-race.
As Rosberg's margin of victory over Mark Webber was only 0.7 seconds, any penalty risked costing him his third win of the 2013 Formula 1 season.
But with the stewards opting to stick to a reprimand, Rosberg's win is now fully official.
Rosberg picked up the lead when Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull stopped with gearbox trouble 10 laps from the end.
The second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton had led at first, before becoming the first of five cars to suffer a tyre blow-out.

British GP: Rosberg wins chaotic race amid tyre drama

Nico Rosberg fended off Mark Webber to win a thrilling British Grand Prix littered with tyre blow-outs and featuring a late retirement for championship leader Sebastian Vettel.
Rosberg's Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was leading until he became the first man to suffer a tyre blow, with Vettel then controlling the race until his Red Bull lost drive in the closing stages.
That set up a thrilling finale as Vettel's team-mate Webber, who had fallen to 15th on lap one, hunted down Rosberg, while Fernando Alonso and the recovering Hamilton charged past Kimi Raikkonen into third and fourth.
Hamilton had established a two-second lead over Vettel, who jumped Rosberg off the line, by lap seven, when his left rear tyre blew going down the Wellington straight.
That was followed soon after by a seemingly identical failure for Felipe Massa. The Ferrari driver had thrust from 11th on the grid to fifth at the start and was pushing Adrian Sutil for third when his tyre gave well while accelerating out of the The Loop.
When Jean-Eric Vergne's left rear tyre also exploded on the approach to Stowe, the safety car came out for seven laps, with engineers urging their drivers to avoid the kerbs.
Vettel kept Rosberg at arm's length once the race restarted. Sutil ran third until leaving his second pitstop too late and being jumped by Raikkonen, Alonso and Webber. The Australian was on a charge from 15th after a slow start and a first-corner brush with Romain Grosjean, and overtook Alonso going into the closing stages.
Just as the result seemed settled, Vettel ground to a halt on the pits straight with a loss of drive.
With the stranded Red Bull prompting a safety car, Rosberg dived in for a third tyre stop and rejoined still ahead of Raikkonen. Webber and Alonso also went for tyres and dropped to fifth and eighth, elevating Sutil and Daniel Ricciardo to third and fourth.
Webber made sublime use of his fresh tyres to quickly pick off Ricciardo and Sutil, then battle past Raikkonen.
By the final lap the Red Bull was within a second of Rosberg, who held on to win by seven tenths of a second.
Alonso also made rapid progress on his new rubber, dodging the McLaren of Sergio Perez as it became yet another tyre-blow victim, then fighting through to third.
The recovering Hamilton followed through, demoting Raikkonen - who had questioned Lotus's decision not to pit under the late safety car - to fifth.
Massa climbed back to sixth after his puncture, with Sutil and Ricciardo pushed back to seventh and eighth ahead of Paul di Resta (from the back of the grid) and Nico Hulkenberg.
Jenson Button had been on course for points for McLaren until the final laps, when he was elbowed down to 13th.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The British Grand Prix
Silverstone, Britain;
52 laps; 306.198km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Rosberg        Mercedes                   1h32:59.456
 2.  Webber         Red Bull-Renault           +     0.765
 3.  Alonso         Ferrari                    +     7.124
 4.  Raikkonen      Lotus-Renault              +     7.756
 5.  Hamilton       Mercedes                   +    11.257
 6.  Massa          Ferrari                    +    14.573
 7.  Sutil          Force India-Mercedes       +    16.335
 8.  Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +    16.500
 9.  Di Resta       Force India-Mercedes       +    17.993
10.  Hulkenberg     Sauber-Ferrari             +    19.700
11.  Maldonado      Williams-Renault           +    21.100
12.  Bottas         Williams-Renault           +    25.000
13.  Button         McLaren-Mercedes           +    25.900
14.  Gutierrez      Sauber-Ferrari             +    26.200
15.  Pic            Caterham-Renault           +    31.600
16.  Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth          +    36.000
17.  Chilton        Marussia-Cosworth          +  1:07.600
18.  van der Garde  Caterham-Renault           +  1:07.700
19.  Grosjean       Lotus-Renault              +     1 lap

Fastest lap: Webber, 1:33.401

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Perez          McLaren-Mercedes             47
Vettel         Red Bull-Renault             42
Vergne         Toro Rosso-Ferrari           36


World Championship standings, round 8:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel        132        1.  Red Bull-Renault          219
 2.  Alonso        111        2.  Mercedes                  169
 3.  Raikkonen     100        3.  Ferrari                   168
 4.  Hamilton       87        4.  Lotus-Renault             126
 5.  Webber         87        5.  Force India-Mercedes       59
 6.  Rosberg        82        6.  McLaren-Mercedes           37
 7.  Massa          57        7.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         24
 8.  Di Resta       36        8.  Sauber-Ferrari              6
 9.  Grosjean       26       
10.  Button         25       
11.  Sutil          23       
12.  Vergne         13       
13.  Perez          12       
14.  Ricciardo      11       
15.  Hulkenberg      6       

British GP: Fernando Alonso urges struggling Ferrari not to panic

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari must remain calm and try to find solutions for its problems after struggling in qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
The Spanish driver will start the race from 10th position after his car proved too slow to fight for a better position. Alonso finished over 1.3 seconds off pole position.
Team-mate Felipe Massa completed a poor day for Ferrari with 12th place on the grid.
Alonso conceded Ferrari needs to find more pace.
"It's almost the first time I remember that one of us is out of Q3 and the other is 10th," said Alonso. "We have to improve.
"We have to stay calm more than ever now things are not going well, just like when things are going well we don't have to get over-excited."
Alonso admitted his main target for the race was to gather an many points as possible, a goal he labelled as 'sad'.
"We'll try to get as many points as possible," he said. "It's a realistic goal, probably a sad goal, but we need to try to get as many points as possible.
"We have been doing poorly so far, but maybe tomorrow it will be better."
Massa also admitted Ferrari had gone backwards since the previous race.
"I think the car is not working like before," said Massa. "In Montreal the car was quick in the race, and even in qualifying the pace was better than what we have here.
"It was definitely more competitive there, so that's the biggest worry. I hope everything changes tomorrow and we see a competitive car in the race."

Raikkonen to race passive DRS in the British Grand Prix

Lotus's passive drag reduction system will make its race debut in tomorrow's British Grand Prix on Kimi Raikkonen's car.
The team has been trying to make the system work since first trialling it in practice for last year's German GP.
But despite being confident in its potential at the launch of this year's car, this is the first time it has run on a race weekend in 2013.
Raikkonen used the system - reckoned to have the potential to increase top speed to allow more wing to be run for the corners without compromising pace on the straights - during qualifying, meaning it must run tomorrow.
The Finn, who was ninth fastest in qualifying, admitted that he had hoped for more from the design, but that there was nothing to be lost by running it.
"We hoped for a bit more from it but let's see how it behaves tomorrow and hopefully it helps us with the race pace.
"You always want more from new parts, but I guess we are where we are right now and hopefully we can go forward.
"If we never try things, we will never learn anything and we will never start using it.
"I don't really see that we have much to lose because without trying something new and finding a chunk of time we will not catch the guys in front of us."
Silverstone is an obvious choice for trialling the passive DRS because of the number of high-speed straights.
The design uses a fluid switch to redirect airflow to stall the rear wing once the car hits a specific speed.
But the team has struggled to consistently get the switch to de-activate when the car decelerates, leading to the potential problem that a car could lack rear downforce when a driver first hits the brakes for a corner.
At the launch of the Lotus E21, then-technical director James Allison, explained that it was easier to make the design work at certain track configurations.
"It all depends on how good we are engineering it," said Allison of how often the device could be used.
"It's possible to imagine it being useful at every circuit. If we do a less good job than that, then it will only be at certain circuits, like Spa, where even a relatively crudely placed switch can bludgeon its way to a decent gain."

British GP: revised starting grid after Paul di Resta penalty

The British Grand Prix grid changed post-qualifying for all bar the Mercedes and Red Bulls, as Paul di Resta's exclusion from the results dropped his Force India from fifth to the back.
Di Resta's penalty for being underweight brings Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso into the top five. Force India still has a car on row three, as Adrian Sutil is elevated to sixth.
Caterham driver Giedo van der Garde was set to start last as he had a 10-place penalty for colliding with Nico Hulkenberg while being lapped in Canada.
But di Resta's issue cancels out that punishment, as it brings van der Garde back up to 21st, which was where he had originally qualified.
Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg share the front row, followed by the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Pos  Driver               Team/Car
 1.  Lewis Hamilton       Mercedes
 2.  Nico Rosberg         Mercedes
 3.  Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull-Renault
 4.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault
 5.  Daniel Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari
 6.  Adrian Sutil         Force India-Mercedes
 7.  Romain Grosjean      Lotus-Renault
 8.  Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus-Renault
 9.  Fernando Alonso      Ferrari
10.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes
11.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari
12.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13.  Sergio Perez         McLaren-Mercedes
14.  Nico Hulkenberg      Sauber-Ferrari
15.  Pastor Maldonado     Williams-Renault
16.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Renault
17.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari
18.  Charles Pic          Caterham-Renault
19.  Jules Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth
20.  Max Chilton          Marussia-Cosworth
21.  Giedo van der Garde  Caterham-Renault
22.  Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes

FIA post-qualifying press conference

DRIVERS: 1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 3 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
Q: Lewis, a great lap there at the end to take pole position at your home grand prix. How does that feel?
Lewis Hamilton: It’s incredible! It feels just like it did in 2007.  Just to see the crowd here today is fantastic – such a great turnout from everyone. So that was a lap for them. I hope that tomorrow we can do something special for them but this is really down to the team. They’ve been doing a phenomenal job, improving the car constantly. I haven’t been feeling 100 per cent comfortable all weekend – so I was really happy to finally get a lap.
Q: Nico, your thoughts on qualifying. That’s the fifth time in six races that Mercedes has been on pole position – and disputing it between you two as well. So, your thoughts on today.
Nico Rosberg: It’s definitely a really, really great feeling, to go into qualifying and having such a car. To definitely have the fastest car… it’s really, really cool. It’s a great job that the team has done to get us to where we are now. And we’re also improving on Sundays – hopefully. I’m confident we have improved so tomorrow should be a bit better. I’m sure that still there are going to be other teams that are a little bit stronger than us but maybe starting on front for sure is going to help and maybe it’s going to still be possible to get a great result.
Q: Sebastian, there seemed to be some different tactics at play with regard to tomorrow’s race in terms of your saving one tyre of tyre, Mercedes saving another type of tyre. You see this as a very tactical type of weekend clearly.
Sebastian Vettel: We’ll obvious see what happens tomorrow. It’s a long race but honestly very happy today. I don’t know, either Lewis found a short cut or he has something special around here. A phenomenal lap. I think it wasn’t in reach today. I was very happy with the lap I had at the end. And I think it was very close with Mark as well. I think we did what we could for the team and, yeah, it’s always nice to position well in qualifying. Especially around here qualifying is good fun, enjoying the high-speed corners and looking forward to tomorrow, for the race. We’ll see how well we are with tyres, looking after them. But as I said, for now very happy for the team. Hard to put the car in third place, Mark right behind, so I think it’s a good position to start from. Obviously our factory is very close to this track. Milton Keynes is not far away and yeah, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Q: Lewis, we’ve seen obviously this year quite a few times that qualifying is one thing but the race is another. What about tomorrow? How do you feel Mercedes will fare against the Red Bulls in the British Grand Prix?
LH: I think undoubtedly it’s going to be tough for us to keep Sebastian behind but our long run pace wasn’t as bad as we’ve seen in the past, so I’m hoping with the temperatures and a bit of care, we can nurture the tyres to get a good result. I’m going to be pushing, giving it my all tomorrow, as I’m sure Nico will as well, to finish up ahead.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, difficult day for you yesterday, as you were saying in your comments after the free practice. You weren’t happy with the balance of the car. It’s quite a turn around from you and the team. Can you talk a little bit about that - and also the crowd power aspect of things: did you feel that today?
LH: The car is… obviously as Nico was saying, we’ve got a great car and to fine-tune it seems to be a little bit harder than what I’ve been experiencing in the past. So really trying to get the car underneath me and feeling comfortable and having an equal balance. With a Formula One car you’re always trying to balance it on a knife-edge. Just for some reason with this car I’m struggling to do that. In the past I would aim do that all the time. But got closer. We made the right steps, made a change going into qualifying which helped - still not perfect but it helped. And then the crowd to make a huge difference. After seeing them turn up in their thousands and seeing all the flags waving. Of course this weekend I come here with an extra boost of energy and just want to pay them back. Every year I come… this is the first time since 2008 that I’ve had a car that I’ve really been able to compete with so I’m really, really proud of what the team have done and I hope the fans can have a good evening and bring us some good luck tomorrow.
Q: Nico, we mentioned earlier on that the last six races have really been all about this, particularly in qualifying, between the two of you. You’ve had the upper hand a few times, Lewis has had the upper hand a few times. Can you talk a little bit about how you’re enjoying this in-house battle with someone you’ve known and raced against for such a long time?
NR: Yeah, it’s a big battle we have, and usually it’s very close - not today - Lewis did a great lap in the end. It’s also a really, really big push, also for the whole team, that we’re pushing each other all the time, and that’s really good. We’re really lucky because we have a great atmosphere at the moment in the team, everybody’s going in the same direction and sticking together, so it’s fantastic momentum that we have at the moment.
Q: Sebastian, do you feel that you’ve got the most complete package for this weekend? Obviously you’ve given a bit away in qualifying but you’re here, some of your rivals for the championship are behind you tomorrow, how’s your approach?
SV: Well, certainly we’re not giving away anything consciously or on purpose. They are bloody quick in qualifying, I think that’s what it is. I think we are not too bad but obviously they seem to be in a different world on Saturday afternoons. I think something, yeah, they manage pretty well around the tyres which allows them to get a very, very strong lap in. Plus Nico and Lewis are doing a great job. Doesn’t help if you want to qualify on pole. But points are scored on Sunday and the last couple of races have been pretty good for us.  I think, to sum it up in both - in qualifying and in race - so for sure today I think P3 was our maximum but for tomorrow y’know, who knows? They are also getting better. It helps the more time we spend on the tyres - let’s leave it there - and yeah, I think we all try to understand more and more and as the season goes on we do get better and there’s less and less room for improvement. For the moment it seems that we have a strong car in the race, maybe a little bit better than the Mercedes. Whether it will be like that tomorrow? Well, we’ll find out. But that’s the fun part. I’m looking forward to finding out.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Kate Walker - GP Week) Lewis, obviously none of us experience putting together a pole lap like the one we just watched and it really was a phenomenal performance. Could you explain what it’s like actually sitting in the cockpit; do you sit there completing your sectors going ‘ wow, I’m really on it’ or is it only afterwards that you realise how well you’ve done?
LH: No. You have a delta time on your dashboard so you can tell as soon as you cross the line into turn one and when you start the lap whether you’re up or not and so you kind of keep checking it, halfway through, after each corner, after each sector so already by turn nine I could see that I was two and a half tenths up and you just don’t want to lose that, so you have to take extra care after that, but also you want to improve. But yeah, you also feel that it’s a feeling having the tyres up to temperature, the brakes up to temperature and the car just beneath you and not trying to get away from you. Sometimes it is like a wild bull, you’re trying to tame it which is very very difficult to do. But when you do, and you pull out a lap like that, it really felt like 2007. I couldn’t hear anyone still, because the car’s too loud, hopefully I got a good roar today.
Q: It looked like the track improved a lot, two or three tenths improvement from session to session this afternoon.
LH: Yeah, each time we go out we seemed to... which is kind of normal but it’s quite a good surface here at Silverstone so the grip does continue to go down (on the circuit) and hopefully that will be good for us tomorrow.
Q: (Julian Harris - City AM) My question is for Lewis as well: are you still learning this car, are you still finding out more each week and do you think you’re getting better in each race, or do you think you’ve pretty much got it sussed now?
LH: I definitely haven’t got it sussed. This weekend’s been a tough weekend. Every weekend is tough, even if you are used to a car it’s tough but I really have been struggling with the car, trying to tune it, trying to get it to behave the way I want it to, and then drive it and extract what I want from it. Out of all the cars I’ve driven, it’s one of the hardest cars to drive. So when you pull it together, it’s a great car and obviously very quick. Each weekend I’m working as hard as I can, each weekend it does feel like it’s improving a little bit. We made another improvement on the brakes this weekend which is another step in the right direction so I hope we can continue going forwards.
Q: (Peter Farkas - Auto-Motor, Hungary) Lewis, obviously Paddy Lowe is now at Mercedes and he is here, working with you. Is it a boost for you personally to have him in the team since you have known him for a long time, and did you influence the decision that he would join the team in any way?
LH: I don’t believe I had any influence on him coming here. I think that was a decision of his and Ross and Toto. Is it a boost? It’s a boost to the team. We already have some incredibly talented people in the team, doing fantastic things and coming up with great designs but the stronger the package, the better it is for everyone. He’s a good addition to the team and hopefully he will only help us moving forwards.
Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Sebastian, you started Q2 with hard tyres. It looks like you are very comfortable with tyre wear... No?
SV: You said I started Q2 on the hard tyres?
Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Yes.
SV: No. I did only one run in Q2 with the soft tyres, well, medium.
Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Well, it looks like you are very comfortable with tyre wear for the race. Is that correct?
SV: Well, it depends. I think comfortable or not depends on where the others are. I think we were happy with the runs that we had yesterday. I had another one this morning, so I think we are pretty happy with that but it’s difficult to judge, because you don’t know what fuel loads other people are running, the usual stuff, so we will find out tomorrow plus in the race it’s always a little bit different. Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter which is nice for the crowd after the last couple of years, I think it was always quite miserable on Friday, so now we’ve had a good Saturday and tomorrow, as I said, again a little bit warmer so it could change the balance of the car and how the tyres work. I think we’ve saved as many tyres as we could and the ones that we liked so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, Alonso is only tenth today. It’s good news, thinking about the championship?
SV: Well, I didn’t really think about that. I think it’s not good news for him. For sure he wanted to be a little bit higher up as well as Ferrari. It’s a bit of a surprise. I think they’ve been very competitive here the last couple of years but this is also a circuit - let’s not forget - where the balance is very important so even if you have a good car, if it’s not coming together it can make a big difference, especially over one lap. And the other thing, that’s why I’m not too interested to look at the results today. In the race we’ve seen that a lot of things can happen and people starting from further back can still score a lot of points and come through the field, so I think in terms of race pace and tyre wear they will be strong tomorrow and surely, should everything go as per plan for them, they will finish higher up than tenth. Everything else, I think, would be a surprise.
Q: (Sarah Holt - CNN.com) Lewis, before you got in the car before qualifying, we saw you wave to the crowd. Did you feel, having lost pole to Nico over the last few races, that you needed to psyche yourself up and find something extra today?
LH: Not really. It’s not about psyching myself up because I’m always mad for it, I’m always on the limit, I’m always on the edge. I always have the determination and the will but it’s just trying to get my car to where I want it to be so when I went out there, I was hoping that my car was where I wanted it to be and it’s also... The fans sit there for a long long time during the day and don’t really get to see our faces so it’s the one opportunity that I do get to see them and try to extract what I can from them, because the support means a lot.
Q: (Derek Bish - Anglia Newspapers) Lewis, you’ve obviously been here in junior formulas as well; what sets apart the Lewis Hamilton that puts together a lap like that today from the one who was here in GP2 and before that?
LH: Yeah, my age, getting older, older and wiser, I think. I’m still very much like the GP2 driver I was. I just have more knowledge now. Of course, we all change over time but yeah, I think I’m a little bit more sensible and a little bit better at making decisions than I was back then. And hopefully that approach helps me win in the car.
Q: (Phil Agius - Racing Post) Sebastian, Toro Rosso have been going well this weekend and I think Daniel Ricciardo is sixth on the grid. Would you be comfortable with another Australian teammate next season?
SV: I think first you should see the individual rather than the country where he comes from but surely I haven’t got a problem with Australia. I like going there, it’s a nice track, we go every year too, so I’m looking forward to going back next year. Congratulations to Daniel. It seems that both of them, the whole weekend... I don’t know what happened to Jean-Eric in qualifying but both of them had a car that was good enough to show their potential so happy for them and hopefully they can keep it up throughout the race and score some good points for the team. In a way, obviously, we’re all fighting for ourselves; secondly we are fighting for our team but obviously we have more connection to Toro Rosso than Mercedes for example so not a surprise is it? So yeah, all the best to Daniel and Jean-Eric tomorrow.

Kris Meeke secures factory Citroen for Rally Finland

Kris Meeke will return to a factory World Rally Championship seat in Finland to stand in for Khalid Al Qassimi at Citroen next month.
Al Qassimi has to miss the event due to business commitments, leaving a vacancy in the car Citroen runs under the Abu Dhabi banner.
Meeke, the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion, has not had a top WRC seat since the Prodrive Mini programme was cut back at the end of 2011.
"This is an incredible opportunity for us," said Meeke.
"Taking part in Rally Finland in a DS3 WRC is a dream that I didn't think would become reality one day.
"We're going to benefit from the advice and expertise of a team that has won the world championship eight times. We therefore have every chance of securing a good result."
Al Qassimi said he was excited to see what Meeke achieves in Finland.
"Kris has real potential as a driver and has the maturity you need to enjoy a sensible and efficient race," he said.
"I'd like to give him the chance to express himself fully at this unusual event. I hope he is very successful there."
Meeke's main programme this season is testing with Peugeot ahead of its return to top-level rally with its new R5 car. He is driving the R5 as a course car on the European Rally Championship round in Ypres this weekend.

Lotus agrees to modify suspension for the German Grand Prix

Lotus will make small modifications to its suspension for the next race at Germany following a rules clarification from the FIA.
McLaren asked the governing body at the British Grand Prix whether or not the design of the Lotus suspension was allowed.
Although the Woking-based team declined to comment on the matter, it is understood the issue relates to the maximum number of suspension components that can be connected together for an upright.
Article 10.5.2 of F1's Technical Regulations states: "The loads from the suspension members and wheel bearings must individually and entirely be carried by the suspension upright.
"Exceptionally up to three suspension members may be connected together by titanium, aluminium alloy or steel components before their load is passed into the upright."
It is suggested that the Lotus design could be interpreted as having four suspension members connected together, rather than the maximum three.
The Lotus view of this regulation was different to that of McLaren's and, following an investigation by the FIA, it has been agreed that modifications will be made for the German Grand Prix.
Lotus sources have indicated that the required changes to conform to the FIA's clarification are minor, and will not affect the competitiveness of the car.

British GP: Hamilton storms to pole ahead of Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for his home grand prix in Britain by a commanding 0.4-second margin.
Hamilton won a huge battle with his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg as the silver cars monopolised the qualifying contest again.
A 1m30.096s early in Q3 gave Hamilton the initial advantage by a tenth and a half.
Rosberg beat that with a 1m30.059s on his second run, but Hamilton was already responding.
He came through to set a 1m29.607s and take a comfortable pole, his first at Silverstone since 2007.
Red Bull was Mercedes' main rival, but Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber had to be content with the second row. They were just 0.009s apart.
Hamilton was not the only Briton to star, as Paul di Resta added to the home crowd's excitement with fifth on the grid for Force India.
His team-mate Adrian Sutil was up in seventh, behind the sensational Daniel Ricciardo. His Toro Rosso team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne was way back in 13th.
Ferrari struggled badly. Fernando Alonso was only 10th fastest, beaten by the muted Lotuses as well as the flying underdogs, while Felipe Massa failed to get out of Q2 and will start 12th.
Despite predicting on Friday that Q3 would be impossible for McLaren, a mighty late-Q2 lap from Jenson Button almost got him into the top 10.
Unfortunately for the Woking team, Raikkonen squeezed ahead by 0.057s, leaving Button 11th. His team-mate Sergio Perez was 0.4s and three places further back.
One race on from his incredible Montreal qualifying result, it was back to reality for Valtteri Bottas. He was eliminated in Q1 and will start one place behind Williams team-mate Pastor Maldonado in 17th.
Sauber's year continued in the same disappointing vein too, with Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez 15th and 18th.
Max Chilton was troubled to end up slowest in his first Formula 1 qualifying session at home, especially with Marussia team-mate Jules Bianchi 1.7s faster (although he was behind Caterham's Charles Pic in the backmarker shootout).
But Chilton will not start last as Giedo van der Garde will drop back due to his penalty for tangling with Mark Webber in Montreal.

Pos Driver                Team                 Time            Gap   
 1. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes             1m29.607s
 2. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m30.059s  + 0.452s
 3. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m30.211s  + 0.604s
 4. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m30.220s  + 0.613s
 5. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m30.736s  + 1.129s
 6. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m30.757s  + 1.150s
 7. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m30.908s  + 1.301s
 8. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m30.955s  + 1.348s
 9. Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m30.962s  + 1.355s
10. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m30.979s  + 1.372s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m31.592s                                   Gap **
11. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m31.649s  + 0.659s
12. Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m31.779s  + 0.789s
13. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m31.785s  + 0.795s
14. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes     1m32.082s  + 1.092s
15. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari       1m32.211s  + 1.221s
16. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m32.359s  + 1.369s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m32.512s                                   Gap *
17. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault     1m32.664s  + 1.669s
18. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari       1m32.666s  + 1.671s
19. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault     1m33.866s  + 2.871s
20. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth    1m34.108s  + 3.113s
21. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault     1m35.481s  + 4.486s
22. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth    1m35.858s  + 4.863s

107% time: 1m37.364s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

Red Bull seeks Pirelli test clarification after Mercedes verdict

Red Bull has requested formal clarification from the FIA about whether it is now free to test a 2011, or even a 2013 Formula 1 car, following the Mercedes test affair.
Amid a renewed focus on testing restrictions following the FIA International Tribunal hearing into Mercedes' running of its current car after the Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull wants to know more about what is and is not allowed.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has written to F1 race director Charlie Whiting asking for further details about testing limitations.
In the letter, Horner has asked for Whiting to specify whether there are circumstances under which Red Bull could participate in a Pirelli test with its 2013 car if certain conditions were met - as were originally laid down to Mercedes in correspondence with the FIA prior to its own test.
He also questions the exact procedures for approving the tests, as well as whether or not the team needs formal approval from the FIA's World Motor Sport Council, as was suggested in the Tribunal hearing.
Furthermore, in light of it emerging that Ferrari had conducted two Pirelli tests - one in 2012 and one before this year's Spanish Grand Prix - with full FIA approval, Red Bull wants to know if it too can run a 2011 car at tracks shortly before grands prix are due to take place.
In particular, it wants the FIA to clarify whether an unlimited mileage test at a venue prior to it holding a grand prix, conducted by race drivers, using a 2011 car that 'conforms substantially' with the current rules, is OK.
This is in reference to Article 22.1 that outlaws testing undertaken by a competitor with a car from the current year or previous year, as well as those that 'conform substantially' with the current technical regulations.
Red Bull sources have indicated that the letter is not an attempt to challenge the recent ruling – or open the way for it to conduct 2011 car tests before each grand prix – but simply a way to clarify what is and is not allowed so it knows the situation.
PIRELLI PLANNING MORE TESTS
F1 tyre supplier Pirelli has two further private tests planned over the next month as part of its preparation process for 2014, and has invited all teams to take part if they wish to do so.
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said that there had not been much interest from teams in the test, while further clarifications were sought from the FIA.
"There hasn't been a huge take up – although there are a couple of teams that have asked," he said.
"There are some clarifications from the FIA, Red Bull being one of them, asking clarification on what terms you could run and what car you could run - and does it have to go to the WMSC to get approval.
"We are all asking for clarification about how that can happen.
"In two weeks' time we are in Paul Ricard and two weeks after that we are in Barcelona. All the teams are invited to that – either to do 1000km, which nobody is coming to, or send an observer, which a few teams might send somebody along to."

Raikkonen: 2014 decision will be a tough one

Kimi Raikkonen has admitted he will face a difficult choice should he be in a position to pick between a Lotus and a Red Bull seat for 2014.
Raikkonen’s contract with Lotus expires at the end of this season and Red Bull have a vacancy following confirmation that Mark Webber will leave Formula One racing at the end of the year.
"Whatever the decision, it will not be easy, but it is never easy," said the Finn. "It is not the first time that there are different options on the table, and then you take the one that you think is right at that moment.
"So it is hard to say if it is the right or wrong decision and you have to live with it. Only you can make the decision yourself."
Raikkonen, world champion in 2007, returned to the grid in 2012 after a two-year hiatus. He admitted that Lotus has been a great environment for him - and that it won’t only be the car that determines whether he goes elsewhere next season.
“It has been perfect. Without them I wouldn't be back in F1," he said. "For sure they also got some good things out of it, so I have no complaints. Obviously there are certain things that have to improve but I have had a great time with the team so far. That is why whatever the decision will be will be difficult.
"Obviously you want to have a good car and certain things have to be right, but there are a lot of small things that have to be right for yourself. I've been in the business long enough to know what I want and if those things are not right then the decision might be different."
Asked if he would relish the prospect of racing alongside his good friend Sebastian Vettel, Raikkonen insisted he would have no issues with partnering the three-time world champion.
“I have no problem to race with him. I’ve never been in a position to choose who I drive with so it doesn’t change anything. If it would happen it would obviously probably be easier than with some other drivers.”
Red Bull have made it clear they will not be rushing into any driver decisions, especially with two up-and-coming F1 racers - Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne - already on their books at sister team Toro Rosso.