Penalties are so inconsistent it's a joke! Overall though a very entertaining Valencia and who would have expected that. A good win by Nando, a driver I seem to be liking more and more as the season goes on. Really don't know what's going on at Mclaren though. Both Force India's are running well now and Heikki did very well to get into Q2 in a Caterham.

Schui got a 5 place grid penalty for misjudging how slow senna was at barca, Maldonado does some kamkazi **** taking out another car and just gets a few seconds added on. All over the place

Were the Maldonado/Hamilton and Vergne/Kovalainen similar? Vergne hit Kovalainen in the same way that Maldonado hit Hamilton albeit at speed.

Vergne gets a 10 place grid drop plus 25,000 euro fine, Pastor gets 20 secs?

Is this consistent?

What happened for Alonso running out of fuel and not reaching the pits again?

Nothing, it doesn't matter after the race, only after quali

Schui got a 5 place grid penalty for misjudging how slow senna was at barca, Maldonado does some kamkazi **** taking out another car and just gets a few seconds added on. All over the place

Schuey and Vergne didn't finish the race though, they went out. Maldonado finished. All 3 offences would have got a drive-through as punishment. There was no time to give Maldonado his drive-through, so they add on 20 seconds. Adding time on to Schuey and Vergne would be meaningless, so they get a grid penalty for the next race instead.

Oh yeah Vergne's tyre mullered his car, forgot about that. 5 places seems harsher than adding time on afterwards tbh.

Going to be an interesting race today - both the weather and the grid positions will sort that!

the red flag during qualy yesterday was a bit daft though

Why?

For all the reasons EJ mentioned.

I was watching sky. Never mind.

Anyway, as for the race, pretty good imo not a classic, but some good racing all the same.

Mclaren nowhere to be seen in the grand scheme of things which was really disappointing, I think they seriously need some upgrades tbh, scrapping with williams & saubers for points. Button did quite well to get himself up into the last point place from 16th though, be he shouldnt have been starting that far down anyway. Ferrari & Red bull seem to have gone forwards more thru the season so far than others, even massa is finding himself fighting for podiums now. Some great driving and clean racing between Webber & Alonso. Grosjean also making some pretty ballsy moves in the quick corners, its great to see two close matched F1 cars going wheel to wheel at 160mph. Shame the same couldnt be said for Maldonado again, i`ll not touch too much on him for fear of upsetting the fan boys. Lotus` both putting in solid performances also. I have to say, my heart did drop when Di Resta went out, fully gutted for him at his home race, but I think he has a podium in him this season.

Long term, I think it`s still going to be down to consistency this season, both webber & alonso have managed to still score points when they havent been in the best car over a weekend. As much as I`d love to see a British champion, I would be pretty chuffed if "just a No 2 driver" webber won it, however we have a long long way to go yet!

Next up is Germany in 2 weeks. . . . . .

The Beeb were speculating that Webber could go to Ferrari as his contract's up. I won't pay for Murdoch's coverage - he can stick it where the sun doesn't shine for me.

I have Sky HD, watched 15 mins of coverage, and have stuck with the BBC. Much better coverage, and much better team - even with EJ!

FML

I try to start a topic about the actual racing as oppose to going round in circles talking about the Sky vs BBC debate and what do we talk about . . . . . . . .

Not having a go, just bored of listening to the same bull****, watch whatever channel you like, I couldnt give a monkeys. The idea of this thread was to discuss more interesting things regarding F1.

Anyway, yeah, Webber has been on a rolling contract for a while, there was a piece in this months F1 magazine showing all the rumours of who could go where. Webber/Perez to Ferrari, Di Resta to Merc if Schui goes amongst others. Hamilton hasnt signed a new contract yet either. Its been going on for ages, but I doubt anything will happen this early in the season.

Isnt Vettel's contract up as well? Lewis' is, as is Massa so there's 2 certain openings if socks arent pulled up sharpish...

Yup! There is certainly opportunity for some serious shuffling about teams. I think alonso has alot of weight as to who partners him if massa does go, he is on good terms with Webber apparently. But then IF (big if) Webber wins or comes close to winning the championship, does he want to go and be almost certainly a number 2 driver?

I'm sure Redbull will try to keep him until retirement to keep any secrets under wraps. Whereas most teams keep drivers with expiring contracts well away from next seasons car, I get the impression Redbull would trust Webber enough to value his input.

Shame the same couldnt be said for Maldonado again, i`ll not touch too much on him for fear of upsetting the fan boys.

The guy is a total liability - goes from hero to zero very quickly and is tarnishing the Williams name whenever he goes out on track. Another complete FAIL by him on Sunday, rightly so the FIA has thrown "half" the book at him, I suspect he will be in serious trouble and probably a ban if he does anything stupid again soon:

No / Driver : 18 - Pastor Maldonado

Competitor : Williams F1 Team

Fact : Causing a collision with Car 15 Sergio Perez.

Offence : Involved in an incident as defined by Article 16.1 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations

Decision : In accordance with Article 18.1 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, a reprimand and a fine of €10,000.

Reason : In view of the serious nature of the incident the Stewards have decided under Article 18.1 to apply two penalties.

Kobayashi has also been fined €25,000 for unsafe entry to the pit area!

Yup! There is certainly opportunity for some serious shuffling about teams. I think alonso has alot of weight as to who partners him if massa does go, he is on good terms with Webber apparently. But then IF (big if) Webber wins or comes close to winning the championship, does he want to go and be almost certainly a number 2 driver?

AIUI Alonso actually has a veto on who Ferrari hire as his team-mate. The only thing that stops Massa being Alonso's ideal teammate is the 6 cars in between them! ;-)

I'm sure Redbull will try to keep him until retirement to keep any secrets under wraps. Whereas most teams keep drivers with expiring contracts well away from next seasons car, I get the impression Redbull would trust Webber enough to value his input.

Red Bull Racing have announced that Mark Webber’s contract has been extended for another year, meaning the Australian will continue to drive for the team in 2013. Webber, who won Sunday’s British round, has been at Red Bull since 2007.

“Mark has driven very well in the first nine races of this season and his performance has been impressive,” explained team principal Christian Horner. “Much of his Formula One success has been during his time with Red Bull Racing and together we have achieved 10 poles, nine wins and 31 podiums.

“As there was a strong desire from both sides to continue the partnership, it was a logical decision to extend our relationship and it is with great pleasure that we confirm Mark will drive for us in 2013.”

Webber has won nine Grands Prix and scored 24 podium places during his time with Red Bull and currently lies second to Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the driver standings.

“I’m high on confidence at the moment and firing on all cylinders,” said Webber. “I know the team well and I’m very comfortable here; we have grown together over the years and it feels like absolutely the right thing to stay with Red Bull for another season.

"The team is constantly working hard to improve in all areas and we’ve shown that together we can win races. It’s great to be able to make this announcement off the back of the win in Silverstone at the weekend and I’m looking forward to competing on the edge and pushing myself in every race again next season.”

Webber’s contract extension means that Red Bull will enjoy stability in its driver line-up for a fifth consecutive season, as Webber’s team mate Sebastian Vettel will also be driving next season.

So he is staying! Not a massive surprise but one less part of next seasons jigsaw.

The main piece is Ferrari...

Hummm, I do think massa still has time to pull it back. Next few races he will be racing for his seat though I reckon.

A racing incident, Mr Horner. That's an interesting interpretation. Complete rubbish, but an interesting interpretation of events.

Don't understand why Vittel didn't give the place back to Button and overtake him on the next lap. Seemed pretty clear cut to me.

Poor team management from Red Bull.