Mark Webber doubts rescheduled Bahrain GP will happen

The Australian, 34, said: "Even though a decision has been made, I'll be highly astounded if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year."

Bahrain was due to be the season-opener on 13 March but was called off due to unrest and pro-democracy protests.

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, agreed generally on Friday to restore the race to the calendar on 30 October.

Webber, writing on his official website, added: "In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its choice in the hope of being able to rearrange it in 2011.

"It would have sent a very clear message about F1's place on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues."

The government has cracked down hard on resistance activists during 11 weeks of martial law and military trials of mostly Shi'ite dissidents are continuing.

The FIA's choice to reschedule the race - with India moving to a December date - was a move strongly criticised by human rights campaigners and also opposed by teams.

"It's obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a choice but sadly I feel that they still haven't made the right one," said Webber.

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Sebastian Vettel triumphs after Monaco Grand Prix drama

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel won his first Monaco Grand Prix and pulled additional ahead in the championship.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Jenson Button, who briefly led the race, had congested in on Vettel but a late safety car helped the German.

Alonso finished second for the first time in 2011, with Button third and Red Bull's Mark Webber fourth.

Lewis Hamilton became involved in a row over critical comments about stewards after finishing sixth.

The Englishman was called before officials for two separate incidents and, asked why he had been to see stewards five times in six races this year, he said, in fact in jest: "Maybe it's because I'm black. That's what Ali G says."

The race was poised for a exciting finish as Vettel, Alonso and Button were enclosed by less than a second and chasing each other hard. 

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Hamilton: Don’t anticipate much from DRS in Monaco

Lewis Hamilton believes that the choice to allow DRS in the Monaco Grand Prix won't lead to a huge increase in overtaking.

On the whole, the system has led to a obvious increase in passing manoeuvres during the season so far, although the location of the DRS zone in Spain at the weekend meant drivers found it more hard to use their blown rear wing to make a move for position.

There had been talk that DRS could be barred for the Monaco weekend given the nature of the circuit, but the FIA has established that the rear wing can be utilised in a zone on the start-finish straight during the race.

However, Hamilton said he didn't think there would be many DRS-assisted moves for place in the principality given the position and length of the DRS zone.

“I think the DRS zone at Monaco is only around 300 metres, so it's pretty short, and not really long enough to allow us to really get enough of a launch on the car ahead,” he said. “I think the aerodynamics will only really start functioning properly once we've reached the braking zone for Ste Devote, so I don't think we'll see too many DRS-assisted overtaking moves next weekend.”

Hamilton did add however that the new Pirelli tyres were probable to spice up the action on the streets of the principality.

“I think the tyres will probably give us the greatest scope for thrill and the best chance of passing,” the McLaren man said. “While I don't think the Super-Soft and Soft compounds will be as critical around Monaco as they were at a place like Turkey, I still think the drop-off we encounter as the tyres go off should create opportunities for overtaking.

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Race - Vettel holds off Hamilton for nervous Spanish win

There may not have been as much overtaking as we saw in Turkey, but Lewis Hamilton made it a riveting Barcelona race on Sunday as he hounded Sebastian Vettel from the 20th to the 66th and final lap. The reigning world champion had to work every inch of the way as he took his fourth triumph of the season for Red Bull, and the two drivers were estranged by a mere 0.6s after more than 300 kilometres of flat-out racing.

There was drama that the crowd loved at the start when Ferrari's Fernando Alonso rupture through from fourth place to slam down the inside of poleman Mark Webber going into the first corner. It was the lead up to a disappointing afternoon for the Australian, who had been focusing on keeping Vettel at bay and didn't spot the Ferrari in time.

Alonso kept it in the lead until his first of four pit stops on the 10th lap, and his second on the 19th, but thereafter the race was between Vettel and Hamilton, who stopped at first on Laps Nine and 11 and then 18 and 23 respectively, and also congested four times in total.

As they raced ahead, Alonso kept a aggravated Webber at bay, and McLaren's Jenson Button worked his way back from a awful start that dropped him originally from fifth on the grid to 10th at the end of the opening lap.

Alonso was third when he rutted for the third time on the 29th lap, and again he held off Webber, but the Spaniard soon scorched a set of hard tyres and gradually dropped away as he had to make his final set of hard Pirellis last from the 39th lap to the end.

Not so Vettel and Hamilton, who went at it hammer and tongs. The gap fluctuated between two seconds and half a second, but in a race in which DRS failed to produce as much overtaking action as had been predictable, a 0.6s to 0.7s stalemate set in over the final 15 laps and Vettel worked the traffic well to maintain this small but critical advantage after a super-cool drive.

Hamilton was a fearless second, and McLaren picked up the third podium place after three-stopping Button made the most of his final set of soft tyres to jump the slowing Alonso and Webber. Webber fought back at first after his final stop, but was 12.2s behind the 2009 champion by the flag, and Button in turn was 35s adrift of his team mate.

Alonso clung on to a lapped fifth place, ahead of the duelling Mercedes. Michael Schumacher kept team mate Nico Rosberg at bay to take his best result of the season with sixth, but by the end Nick Heidfeld's heady race from the back of the grid in his Renault saw him only four-tenths away from Rosberg.

It was a good day for Sauber, with Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi driving hard races for ninth and 10th, the Japanese driver clawing back after being delayed by a pierce picked up on the opening lap.

Renault's Vitaly Petrov dull from the points in the closing laps, but was too far ahead for Paul di Resta to challenge after another race in which the Scottish rookie contentedly beat Force India team mate Adrian Sutil as they both stopped only three times.

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Red Bull take Formula One back to Austria

The last Austrian Grand Prix took place in 2003 at the A1-Ring. On Sunday, Formula One cars returned to the famous Spielberg venue as, revamped and upgraded, it began a new life as the Red Bull Ring, as long as a new home for national and international motorsport.

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were amongst those present at the special opening event, showcasing their F1 machinery, along with Toro Rosso stable mates Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.

“I was 14-years-old the first time I was at Spielberg for a Formula Konig race and I watched the drivers there with great enthusiasm, counting the Austrian, Bernhard Auinger,” Vettel told Red Bull Racing’s official website. “At that time I was very new to the Red Bull family. A lot of time has passed since then and it has tainted a lot.”

Vettel took time out to add his hand and foot prints to a special plaque for the Red Bull Ring’s ‘winners’ road’, as well as completing the obligatory demonstration laps for a soaked, but highly grateful crowd.

“I like the new track very much, as the core of the circuit remains the same,” added the world champion. “The downhill sections with the curves, which are still lynching to the outside, are very tricky, especially because today the track was wet. It would be very nice to drive a race here and I would be very happy if Formula One should return to the Red Bull Ring - if possible during my career!”

The original circuit, then known as the Osterreichring, opened in 1969 and staged its first Grand Prix the following year, with local hero Jochen Rindt drawing enormous crowds. Austria’s other world champion, Niki Lauda, won his home event there in 1984 and he returned on Sunday to win again in a special ‘legends’ race from compatriot and fellow F1 veteran Dieter Quester.

“It's really impressive what's happened here,” said Lauda. “I am very happy that the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg has been revitalized - it's a huge asset to the racing scene in Austria. The basic route is the same, but the whole course is in perfect condition and has similar current facilities to those in Bahrain.”

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Smoke to swap rides with F1's Hamilton

Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart and 2008 Formula 1 champ Lewis Hamilton are exchange race cars at Watkins Glen International.

The Mobil 1 Car Swap will take place June 14 at the well-known road course in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Hamilton will take laps in Stewart's No. 14 Chevrolet and Stewart will climb into the cockpit of team Vodafone's McLaren Mercedes MP4-23.

"Tony and I will have some fun with the swap and make sure we put on a good show," Hamilton said of what will be his first foray in a stock car. "It's a racer's circuit and will give us both the chance to appreciate the differences between the two styles of racing at this legendary track."

Each will drive the long course at The Glen, which is 3.4 miles through 11 turns. NASCAR uses the 2.4-mile short course, which doesn't comprise the famed Boot section, but Stewart, who has a record five Cup victories at Watkins Glen, has determined it in a Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race.

"When you've been around spirited racing for as long as I have, you really look forward to new experiences, and this car swap with Lewis is absolutely one of those opportunities," said Stewart, who also won an IndyCar Series title. "I already have quite a bit of respect for what Lewis and the F1 drivers and teams do, so to experience laps in the cockpit of an F1 car and see what Lewis can do in the Cup car is amazing I am really excited about."

The Glen became world-renowned by hosting the United States Grand Prix from 1961-1980 and has been home to NASCAR Sprint Cup races since 1986. This season marks the 50th anniversary of The Glen's opening F1 race.

Details of how many laps Stewart and Hamilton will make are still being worked out. They'll follow the lead of Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya, who swapped rides at Indianapolis in 2003 when Montoya was heavy in F1. 

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Webber ponders F1 future before Turkey

Mark Webber has not lined out finding a new Formula One team if Red Bull don't offer him a new agreement at the end of 2011.

The 34-year-old was widely predictable to retire if no new deal was forthcoming from Red Bull but told Italian newspaper La Stampa on the eve of this weekend's race in Turkey he still has amazing to offer.

"I have my flaws, but I'm strong-minded," Webber said.

"Last year I fought for the title, and I want to go for it yet again When this season ends my agreement with Red Bull will expire.

"If the team doesn't want me anymore, I will have to react to a good question: to hang up the helmet, or to change teams? Let's see what happens."

The Australian will be hoping for a alike drive in Istanbul to his last outing in the Red Bull car when he came from 18th on the grid to finish third in China.

The Turkish grand prix was the scene for Webber's much publicised collision with coworker Sebastian Vettel last year.

Webber was foremost the race when the pair came together as Vettel tried to pass, allowing McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton to grasp a win while teammate Jenson Button came second.

Webber was able to direct his stricken car to a third-place finish but the incident forced Vettel to leave and began the rumour mill about a split in the Red Bull garage between the two drivers' camps which rumbled all year.

Despite that incident, Webber said he was looking onward to returning to Istanbul Park.

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Whitmarsh: Lewis will remain at McLaren

With McLaren stressed at the start of this year's Championship, rumours emerged claiming that Hamilton is allowing for looking elsewhere for a race-seat.

The 26-year-old didn't help the rumours with his contradictory statements.

While in one breath he affirmed that "loyalty has its limits" in the next he insisted that he is "committed to them. I want to try and help them as well as becoming one of the most winning drivers myself."

Whitmarsh, though, believes it's only a matter of time before Hamilton commits his long-term prospect to the Woking team.

But, having said that, he's in no rush to start contract talks.

"Lewis has a long career ahead of him and I think he's intelligent sufficient to realise that the environment he has here is good for him and plays to his strengths," said the McLaren team boss told the Daily Mail.

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Vettel Rolls In Shanghai P1

Carrying the energy of wins in both of the season's first two races, Sebastian Vettel looked every bit as strong in gap practice Friday at Shanghai International Circuit.

Vettel, chasing the rare feat of initial a season with three straight wins, posted a quick lap of 1:38:739 to easily beat out coworker Mark Webber in the sister Red Bull RB7.

Webber, at 1:39:394, was the only other driver to eclipse the one minute, 39 second fence as third-place Lewis Hamilton (1:40:845) was more than two full seconds back of Vettel.

Jenson Button, who reported throughout the practice that his KERS system wasn't working, and Nick Heidfeld finished the top five.

The 90-minute session didn't turn out to Heidfeld's liking, however, as the German stopped his Lotus Renault GP entry on a wet track below overcast, hazy skies.

Heidfeld went over the curbs at Turn 10 and lost power, damaging his car.

Rookies Pastor Maldonado and Paul di Resta also spun, in that order, at different times.

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