Horner: Webber staying at Red Bull

Webber was left infuriated by team-mate Sebastian Vettel's actions in the Malaysian Grand Prix at the weekend after the German ignored team orders to pass Webber and win the race.

In the aftermath of the controversial manoeuvre, Webber said he would be returning to his home in Australia to think over his future.

However, Horner says he is convinced that Webber will remain a valued member of the reigning constructors champions.

"I've got no doubt that Mark will see out the season with us," Horner told Sky Sports News.

"Mark knows there was no conspiracy within the team," he added.

"Our intention was to shut the race down, to minimise the risk ... the intent of the team was for Mark to win that race. We didn't suddenly give Sebastian an instruction to say, 'go and pass your team-mate'.

"He is big enough to know there was no malice, there was no intent from the team to create any situation like that.

"He is in a car that is capable of winning Grand Prix and hopefully going for a championship."

Max Chilton: A Formula 1 pay driver or a sponsorship gold mine?

Max Chilton has made the leap to Formula 1 this season, joining Marussia as part of a growing number of ‘pay drivers’ in the sport – but is the rookie merely making up the grid and funding the Banbury-based constructor or is paying for the privilege of a debut season a stepping-stone to success?

It was no surprise to see Chilton – just 21 years old – making his first F1 start in Australia during the 2013 season opener. Born into a family of motoring enthusiasts, the youngster competed for Force India in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi two years ago and spent last season as a Marussia reserve.

Chilton brings with him both motoring experience and wealthy backing – father Grahame is the proprietor of Carlin Motorsport, a UK-based motor racing team, boasting an impressive array of former employees such as Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg and three-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Crucially, Grahame is also the multi-millionaire chairman of insurance firm Aon Benfield and vice chairman of Aon Corporation, sparking criticism from some as to how Chilton found his way to a Marussia seat.

However, Chilton has not tried to dismiss the reality that has seen him start life at Marussia as a pay driver, watching potential team-mate Luiz Razia ejected for not meeting a £5m starting price, and claiming in a recent interview that sponsor money has helped provide drivers with race seats for decades.

And Marussia are not the only team on the grid who require driver-funded finances to progress, with rivals Caterham and Sauber also acknowledging their reliance on drivers who have splashed out for the privilege.

Even Williams and Force India have this season turned to drivers who bring with them a certain amount of financial backing and, in Australia’s season opening Grand Prix, almost 50 per cent of the 22-car grid had paid to be there.

What is a necessity for the relative newbies, relying on driver sponsorship to finance in Marussia’s case a £40m annual budget, comes at what many enthusiasts believe is a greater price – the absence of worthy drivers from the championship.

Marussia cited the global economic downturn and a lack of external sponsorship as the reason for releasing Timo Glock, while Heikki Kovalainen lost his Caterham seat to cash-backed rookies Charles Pic and Giedo Van der Garde.

What it does offer is young drivers from lower formulas, such as Chilton, the chance to step-up in the same fashion as multiple F1 world champions Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso – who also started their successful careers as pay drivers.

Understandably, Chilton has not troubled the scorers in his first two outings, but the improvement from Australia to Malaysia will be a confidence boost, finishing ahead of fellow Brits Paul di Resta and the unfortunate Button at Sepang.

Chilton may have financed his way to the grid, but he brings with him undoubted potential, not just as a driver, but as a marketing gold mine.

A winner at every level since he started racing at the age of 10, Chilton has dominated the podium in T Car, Formula Three and GP2 series.

Placing well for Marussia in Grand Prix’s this season is ultimately what will shape the 21-year-old’s future, but should the youngster impress, his ascent up the F1 ladder will not be harmed by a pretty-boy persona, which has already attracted the attention of some in the UK.

If his performance on the track can match up to his youthful good looks then there will surely be no shortage of top teams wanting to cash-in and draw on the potential sponsorship deals the Brit could command, in a similar fashion to compatriot Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes new-boy Hamilton fired a parting shot at McLaren, claiming his new team are more interested in winning races than sponsorship deals, but sitting 25th in the Forbes’ Sports Personality Rich List and worth a reported £18m, the 28-year-old has the Woking-based constructor to thank for his personal fortune.

Successful, dating a Pussycat Doll, represented by Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment empire – whose clientèle includes David Beckham and Andy Murray – Hamilton is one of F1’s most marketable drivers, but a deal with Reebok remains his only personal endorsement. A pay driver of sorts?

Admittedly, Chilton has a long way to go before he closes in on the proven ability of the former world champion, but nurtured correctly, the Marussia driver could provide a commercial windfall for a constructor willing to speculate.

Cash-backed racers may dominate the grid this year and Chilton may have paid for the privilege of a Marussia seat, but it may just be a matter of productive seasons before the Brit – and his future team – are cashing-in on lucrative sponsorship deals. Effectively, Chilton could remain a pay driver his whole career

Minardi co-founder Giancarlo Martini dies

Former driver and Minardi team co-founder Giancarlo Martini has died. The news was reported late on Tuesday by Italian media sources and confirmed by Gian Carlo Minardi, the former owner and boss of the Faenza based F1 team.

Minardi said Martini, whose nephew was the mid-90s Minardi driver Pierluigi Martini, was "a very generous and kind friend of mine".

Martini, 66, was also a driver himself, having raced some non-championship F1 races in the mid-70s in a Ferrari run privately by Minardi.

Minardi is quoted by Autosprint: "I have lost a friend with whom I shared more than just my passion for racing."

La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Martini had been ill for some time.

Fernando Alonso: “I think we could really fight for a win”

Fernando Alonso believes that he would have had the pace to fight for victory in the Malaysian GP, had he not been an early retirement.

He said that the opposition was much closer than it had been in the first race in Australia.

“I think today we had a good car, and I don’t think we were too far from the Red Bull pace, especially in the race,” he said on Sunday evening. “They didn’t have the easiest weekend in Malaysia. In Australia they were very strong, first and second in all practice, first and second in qualifying, and they were very good and fast. Also Lotus was very consistent in Australia, and we knew that.

“But in Malaysia no one was especially quick. I think we could really fight for a win, why not, with the Red Bulls. But obviously from the television it’s difficult to know.”

Alonso says that the team still needs to find some one lap pace in the dry: “We know that we miss some performance from the car. Q2, that is more representative one, because in Q3 we had rain – and in Q3 in Australia was with dry tyres but a wet track, so we didn’t have normal Q3s so far. So the last reference was Q2 here, and we were six-tenths off Rosberg.

“So for sure we are still missing some pace, and in China and Bahrain we will try to reduce this gap. We have three weeks now to work in the factory and bring some parts. Everyone will do it but hopefully we can take a bigger step than the others.”

Meanwhile Alonso rued the bad luck that saw his front wing get trapped under the car and send him off the road at the start of the second lap. He said it was easy to suggest that the decision not to pit was wrong, although his assertion that the wing began to drop off just before the pit entry would appear to have been a little wide of the mark, given that it was clearly dragging along the ground almost immediately after the contact with Sebastian Vettel.

“We touched with the front wing the car of Sebastian. It was a very, very small touch, but enough to damage the front wing a lot. It was extremely bad luck in my opinion, that incident. And then we were constantly talking on the radio on the first lap.

“The car felt OK, more or less, in the first two sectors, and from the television the team saw damage on the front wing, but we knew that on lap three or lap four we’d switch to dry tyres, so if we make it to that lap we’d save 20 seconds or maybe 30 seconds in the race. So at that point we said at the moment maybe everything looks OK, you don’t have the front wing performance that you should expect, but we see the next lap how it develops, this problem, and maybe we’ll make a decision.

“Unfortunately in the back straight the front wing dropped and we started to see some sparks from the floor and more damage, and at that point we were five seconds before the pit entry and we didn’t make it, and then on the next straight the wing fall and it was underneath the car and it was not possible to turn. So a lot of circumstances went in the wrong way, maybe the decisions can be wrong or good, it’s very easy afterwards to see what is the best thing to do.

“But I think it was extremely unlucky combination of things that happened. So many crashes in Australia in Q1, we saw people going off in the parade laps here, and nothing happened. We touched one car at 10km/h and we didn’t even have the luck to lose the front wing, the wing stayed half just to make us crash after one lap. This is the fact. It can be a wrong decision or good decision, you never know until afterwards, but the unlucky factor is there for sure.

“Looking now, after the incident, for sure it was the wrong decision to make. But at that point it was risky, but it was maybe the right thing to do. Who knows?

“If this unlucky combination didn’t happen, and we stopped on lap 3 and we changed the tyres and the nose and we win the race here, we were heroes.”

Massa confident over 2013 title chances

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa believes he will have a chance of fighting for the 2013 world title if the F138 chassis is developed effectively, with the Brazilian enjoying a solid start to the campaign courtesy of top five results in Australia and Malaysia.

Massa last claimed victory at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, the year he finished runner-up to title-winner Lewis Hamilton, but he says he feels 'very confident' about his team's position after bouncing back from the troubles of 12 months ago.

"I think we need to be confident and I am very confident," said Massa. "We need to keep our feet on the ground, but we know that there has been a great deal of work on the car from last year to this year.

"There is a lot to do to make this car better, to make the evolution right on this car and to make this car more competitive. I think if we carry on in this direction the chance of winning races and to fight for the world championship is there."

Ahead of next month's Chinese Grand Prix, Massa sits fifth in the Drivers' standings with 22 points to his name, four points ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso.

F1: Vettel or Webber will quit Red Bull, says Flavio Briatore

SEBASTIAN Vettel and Mark Webber will not stay together at Red Bull beyond the end of this season, according to Flavio Briatore, who claims to have spoken to the Australian in the aftermath of Sunday’s controversial Malaysian Grand Prix and been told that the relationship is fractured beyond repair.

“I don’t think it can be sewn back together again,” said Briatore, the former Renault team principal who has been a part of Webber’s management throughout his grand prix career.

Asked if he expected either Vettel or Webber to leave Red Bull at the end of this year’s campaign, the Italian replied: “For sure. Last year already there were problems.”

Webber remains furious with triple world champion Vettel for breaching team orders at Sepang by overtaking him in the final laps and has returned home to Australia with Ann Neal, his English partner, for a fortnight’s rest ahead of the next race in Shanghai.

Amid suggestions that the 36-year-old was re-examining his future in Formula One, Neal told Telegraph Sport on Tuesday: “There is no question whatsoever about Mark not continuing this season. He will be in China and looking forward to racing.”

While Webber is out of contract in November, Vettel is tied to Red Bull until at least the end of 2014.

The two have had a series of contretemps dating back to the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, when a collision cost Webber victory and sent his 25-year-old team-mate off the track.

Webber has consistently maintained that his young German team-mate is given preferential treatment by the reigning constructors’ champions, and Jenson Button argued that Vettel’s actions in Kuala Lumpur represented a serious violation of team discipline.

F1: Webber Out After 2013 ?

Mark Webber will leave Red Bull at the end of 2013, major German newspaper Bild is reporting. "Bild has learned: Webber will not get a new contract at Red Bull," the article reads.

But after the Australian driver hinted he might quit the team or F1 in the wake of the team orders saga in Malaysia, Webber's father Alan and partner/manager Ann Neal have confirmed the 36-year-old will be back at the wheel in China next month.

"There is no question whatsoever about Mark not continuing this season," Neal told the Telegraph.

Beyond 2013, however, Webber's future is much less clear.

Central to Webber's management throughout his career, Flavio Briatore thinks the driver's relationship with teammate Sebastian Vettel is now terminally broken.

Asked if one of them will leave Red Bull at the end of the season, the Italian told Rai radio: "For sure. I don't think it can be fixed now."

British journalist Bob Mackenzie agrees: "(Red Bull's) next decision will be who will replace the Australian."

Indeed, while Webber is this week surfing in his native Australia, Vettel on Tuesday was at work in the Red Bull simulator at Milton-Keynes.

McLaren's Jenson Button - now the most experienced F1 driver on the grid - agrees that the impact of the Sepang saga for Red Bull is "big".

"Even if they sit down and discuss it, it is not going to change the outcome," he is quoted by British newspapers. "What has happened is still in their minds. It does not go away."

Spain's El Mundo newspaper adds: "Vettel and Webber have never got along, but now a wide gap has opened up between them."

Hulkenberg calls for improvement

Despite an eighth place finish in Malaysia, Nico Hulkenberg is far from happy with the performance of his Sauber.

Hulkenberg finished behind the Lotus pair of Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen, nearly five seconds adrift of the Finn and 28 seconds behind Felipe Massa in fifth.

While the result is a big improvement on his showing in Australia when a collapsed fuel cell meant that he was unable to make it onto the grid, the German has urged the team to push harder.

Blick have reported that on crossing the line, Hulkenberg took to his radio to thank the team for their efforts but added that "we have to improve in many areas. This is not acceptable."

The 25-year-old is believed to have said that he could not keep up with the pace of the likes of Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren as any attempt to reach their speed resulted in extreme tyre damage.

However, speaking after the race, Hulkenberg commented that he was happy with the result although there was room for improvement.

"I feel quite well rewarded going home with four points after my first race of the season in a new team and with a new car," he said.

"I am quite happy with how it went, especially at the start of the race when we were quite quick on the intermediates. But then I was stuck in traffic and couldn't find my way past other drivers. I think eighth was well deserved, considering I had to fight and push a lot today.

"I think the potential is there, and now we have to work on a few details."

Hamilton: Mercedes now second best team behind Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton believes his Mercedes team is now Red Bull's closest challenger.

The former world champion thinks the pace shown by his team in the opening two races - allied to his first podium with the outfit in the Malaysian Grand Prix – proves Mercedes is now a serious frontrunner.

"We are the second best team," said Hamilton, when asked by AUTOSPORT about how encouraged he was by the Malaysia performance.

"To be that close - I was competing with the Red Bulls at some stages in the race – and to be in that position is a great feeling."

Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg shadowed rivals Red Bull for much of the Malaysian GP, before they were ordered to go into fuel-save mode towards the end of the race.

Hamilton believes that the outcome of the race would have been different had the team got its fuel strategy right.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have enough fuel in the car, more so my side," he explained.

"I was fuel-saving from lap 25 and it was very much an impossible task to challenge those up ahead.

"I was fuel saving at the end like you would not believe: I was coasting everywhere.

"I'm sure if we were all on the same fuel it would have been a different situation, so I'm confident about that."

Hamilton thinks the form shown by Mercedes is proof that the team is now in a position to win races.

"Definitely," he said. "I think this [Malaysia] proves that if we keep going in the direction we are heading, then there's a possibility that we could win a race at some stage this year."

Claire Williams promoted to deputy team principal

Claire Williams, the daughter of Williams F1 founder Frank Williams, has been named deputy team principal for the formula one team.

Claire begin working at the team in 2002, becoming the current director of marketing and communications three years ago. She will continue in this position, along with the new duties, and will work alongside her father.

Sir Frank Williams said, "Over the past decade Claire has worked tirelessly for Williams. Her knowledge of the sport and passion for the team is unquestionable and I'm proud to say that during her time here she has proven herself to be one of our most valuable assets. With Claire being appointed Deputy Team Principal, I know the future of Williams is in extremely safe hands. This appointment also had Ginny's blessing who I know would have been incredibly proud to have seen Claire taking on this position by my side.''

Claire Williams said, "I'm truly honoured to be taking on the role of Deputy Team Principal and look forward to working alongside Frank to help run the team this season and beyond. I have grown up in the sport and have learnt the ropes from one of Formula One's legendary Team Principals and as a result I feel well equipped for this new challenge. I understand the commitment that every person within the team gives each day to see our car out on the track and I am determined to see us back at the top. I don't underestimate the challenges that lie ahead but I have the full support of the Board and a very talented Executive Committee who will be invaluable as I move forward in this role. It has been a sad month for my family and Williams as a company following the death of my mother, but as the season takes hold we must look to the future. It will be a privilege to play a part in taking the team into what I hope will be a successful next chapter."

Ferrari and Lotus would 'veto' tyre changes - report

Ferrari and Lotus would veto any move to have Pirelli change the compounds of its 2013 tyres. Before the RB9 finished first and second in Malaysia, Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko claimed F1's Italian tyre supplier "has promised" to make changes to its controversial 2013 product in the wake of the high degradation seen so far this season.

Red Bull and Mercedes had reportedly complained to Pirelli that, according to their data, the new tyres are wearing out faster when fitted to the very best cars. "I think Pirelli has realised (the situation) and we have been promised that other compounds will come to Bahrain at the latest," Marko said in Malaysia.

Ironically, those who complained the loudest about tyres before the race at Sepang - Red Bull and Mercedes - ultimately monopolised the highest four finishing places, quietening the saga for now. And, anyway, changing the Pirelli tyres on grounds other than safety would require the unanimous agreement of the teams.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reported that Lotus, whose Kimi Raikkonen won in Australia, would "veto" any such move. And Ferrari principal Stefano Domenicali is quoted as saying: "Pirelli cannot change something without the agreement of the teams unless there is an imminent safety risk. "It makes no sense to panic after two races," he added. (GMM)

Ferrari drivers understand team comes first, says Domenicali

Stefano Domenicali says that managing two competitive drivers it’s not easy – but stresses that Ferrari’s drivers are mature enough to understand that the team comes first.

Ferrari has not been without team order controversies in the past, and with Felipe Massa now back on form, having outqualified Fernando Alonso in the last four races, there could be more to come.

“For sure it’s not easy, you can see what is happening in other teams,” Domenicali said when asked by this writer after the Malaysian GP. “I never speak about the others, you know me. You go and speak with them, it will be fun!

“But it’s something from the general point of view that it’s part of the competition, it’s part of the fact that every driver believes that he’s the strongest, and it’s good to be like that.

“And it’s part of the maturity of the drivers that are working with Ferrari to understand that.”

Force India to investigate wheelnut issue

Force India to investigate the cause of the wheelnut issues that forced it to retire both cars from the Malaysian Grand Prix

Team boss Vijay Mallya says Force India will investigate the wheel nut issues that saw Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil both forced to retire from the second round of the F1 season in Malaysia.

The duo lost time when they pitted together for the first time after an issue on Sutil's car, while di Resta was then delayed again when he pitted for a second time while fighting his way back up the order.

The end result was that both cars were retired for safety reasons, with Mallya promising that a full investigation into the cause of the problem would now take place.

“A very disappointing end to a weekend where we have shown tremendous pace with both our cars,” Mallya said. “We made it safely through the opening laps in the damp conditions and the track came to us as we switched to dry tyres with Paul being one of the fastest cars on the circuit. Unfortunately things went wrong in the pits when we experienced an issue with our captive wheel nut system at the first stop, which resulted in major delays for both cars. 

“The issue occurred again at the second stop and it became apparent we would not be able to solve it during the race. As a precaution we were forced to retire both cars and will have a full investigation. It's frustrating, but sometimes these things happen in racing. We will take the positives of the strong car performance and look to put things right next time out in China.”

Both drivers were also left disappointed by the need to retire, with di Resta insisting it was doubly frustrating given the pace that had been shown on track.

“It's frustrating to come away with nothing given how competitive we have looked all weekend,” he said. “We saw an issue at Adrian's first pit stop when I was sat behind him, which cost me about 15 seconds, and then I had the same issue with the wheel nut at my second pit stop. As a precaution the team chose to retire the car. 

“The good news is that we have the performance in the car, but this is definitely a missed opportunity because we had the potential to score a lot of points today. We will go away, take this on the chin, and come back fighting in China.”

A history of team orders in Formula One

Sebastian Vettel: paragon or pariah? Much ink has been spilt since lap 46 of last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, when the German disobeyed Red Bull Racing's instruction to hold station and took a risky lunge to team-mate Mark Webber's right as the pair approached Turn One at the Sepang International Circuit. It took another three corners for Vettel to make the move stick... and little else about the sport has been discussed since.

The world champion is by no means the first driver to ignore such an order – nor will he be the last. From the pit wall, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he didn't much care which of his drivers won: if they were running first and second after the final round of tyre stops, they should hold position and ensure the team netted a safe 43 points. Formula One tends to be secretive about its scale of rewards (unlike mainstream racing in America, where every cent of prize money is publicised), but differences of a single position in the world championship for constructors are estimated to be worth millions at the season's end. Unpalatable for sporting purists, perhaps, but a contemporary commercial reality. Vettel, though, had a more singular perspective: he spotted a chance to boost his own tally by seven points, the kind of ruthless pragmatism previously espoused by racers such as Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher (although in such situations the latter invariably had the benefit of a meek accomplice).

The very notion might be anathema to many, but team orders have been around almost since the wheel's inception. During the 1951 French GP, Alfa Romeo instructed Luigi Fagioli to swap cars with team leader Juan Manuel Fangio, whose own had hit trouble early in the race, and the pair scored a shared victory... although Fagioli wasn't best pleased and quit the team immediately afterwards. During the 1956 Italian GP, Ferrari asked Luigi Musso to hand his car to Fangio: the Italian refused, but Englishman Peter Collins voluntarily stepped aside... even though such generosity compromised his own title chances. To this day, Collins is feted as a gentleman rather than a conniving scoundrel. Such car swaps have long been off limits, but positional shifts are another matter.

F1 team orders were theoretically outlawed at the end of 2002, in the wake of a gauche incident during the Austrian GP. Fans jeered loudly after Rubens Barrichello heeded a call to back off and did so on the approach to the finishing line, allowing Schumacher to score a hollow victory. The irritation was triggered less by what Ferrari had done than by the cynical manner of its execution.

This ban was lifted at the end of 2010, largely because it could not effectively be enforced: it had been easy to identify team orders during that summer's German GP, when Felipe Massa blatantly slowed for Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso and the team incurred a $100,000 fine, but rivals were forever issuing coded messages – few of them subtle – that instructed drivers to stop racing, or perhaps allow their team-mate clear passage. The practice simply never went away.

There have been several high-profile examples of Vettel-style disobedience. Williams asked Carlos Reutemann to cede to team-mate Alan Jones during the 1981 Brazilian GP, but he chose to ignore the messages on his pit board. The same applied in France one year later, when René Arnoux continued to lead despite Renault's request that he should back off to assist team-mate Alan Prost's title challenge. And in the 1982 San Marino GP, Gilles Villeneuve felt duped when Ferrari team-mate Didier Pironi nipped ahead during the closing laps, despite the team having asked them to maintain position. Two weeks later, Villeneuve – still outraged – was killed when he crashed during practice for the Belgian GP.

Malaysia was hardly the first time Red Bull's radio channels have been worth scanning. Just three races ago, in Brazil, Webber was asked to move over because the team felt he was making Vettel's life unnecessarily hard. At the time, the German was carving through the field during his ultimately successful pursuit of a third world title.

The difference, that afternoon, was that Webber complied.

Button sympathetic after pit error

Jenson Button has admitted to feeling sorry for the latest McLaren mechanic to suffer at the hands of the team's pit-stop process.

Button was on course for a fifth-place finish at least in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix when his race was ruined by a tyre-change error.

The 33-year-old was released without the right-front wheel being pitted properly, forcing him to stop halfway down the pitlane where his crew had to push him back to finish the job.

By the time Button returned to the track he found himself a lap down and out of the points, with a late surge ending a few laps from home as the front-left wheel was suffering severe vibration.

Given McLaren's pit-stops gaffes last season which forced the team into a change of personnel and procedures, this was a case of the past coming back to haunt them.

Despite missing out on the 10 points, Button refused to condemn.

"The guy on the front-right (wheel) was devastated," said Button.

"I really feel for him because it was such a small mistake and it can cost you dearly, as it did.

"But I don't hold any grudges with anyone. It's a mistake and the guy has apologised."

Last season McLaren ended the campaign by setting world record times for their pit stops of 2.3secs, and aiming for sub-two seconds.

Button feels that as a precaution going forward, to ensure there is no repeat of what happened on Sunday, the team should ease off on its need for speed in changing tyres.

"When the guys are quick, they are super quick, but we have to be careful in trying to get them too quick," said Button.

"But when it's that fast, you are under pressure, even if the guys say they aren't.

"If you have to do something in that space of time, it's very, very difficult.

"Now we've worked so hard on getting the pit stops as quick as possible, but maybe we have to back off a little to get a bit more consistency."

The incident merely added to McLaren's woes to start the year given their car in the opening race in Australia was horrendously off the pace due to a wide range of issues.

But despite what occurred to Button, he will at least be heading to the next two races in China and Bahrain next month with more of a smile on his face and confidence raised after Sunday's race.

Button said: "The positives are that we started the race seventh, got up to fourth - actually, we were leading at one point - but on the road fourth, and the car was working really well.

"We went for a different strategy to most as we were going to three stop. Most people were four stops.

"When I made my last stop I had a good feeling we could fight with the Mercedes. I don't know if that would have been the case, although Lewis (Hamilton) was fuel saving, which I knew.

"Fifth place was definite. That was the worst result we could have got, and we could possibly have fought for a podium, but then we had the disappointing end and lost a lot of points.

"But for the season as a whole the weekend was very positive in terms of moving forward.

"We're still off the pace of the Red Bulls, although for a lot of the race we had the same pace as Sebastian (Vettel), so it's amazing how you can move forward within a week.

"A lot of that was understanding the aerodynamics of the car, some of it was lucking in on the circuit being smooth, but also we did a good job."

Brawn not prepared to risk points

Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn has defended the decision to order his drivers to hold station during the Malaysian GP.

Lewis Hamilton was running in third place during the final few laps and was told to save fuel, but his team-mate Nico Rosberg was quite clearly faster than him. Rosberg asked if he could overtake Hamilton, but the reply from Brawn was "negative Nico, negative".

After the race Rosberg told the team "remember this one" while Hamilton admitted during the podium interviews that his German team-mate deserved to finish third.

However, Brawn insists the team couldn't afford to take unnecessary risks and throw away a potential third and fourth place.

"In my judgement, the lowest risk solution was for the drivers to hold station," he toldAutosport.

"Nico may have got past Lewis, but on the fuel management programme that both drivers were running, there was no opportunity to progress further or challenge the front two cars.

"A third and fourth place finish was an excellent result for the team and I was not prepared to risk it.

"When I spoke to the team afterwards, I used the analogy of a man in the desert who had found a cup of water - and we wanted to make sure that we didn't spill a single drop."

Boullier expecting Lotus flower to bloom

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has no doubt his drivers will be fighting for victory again next month after suffering a malaise in Malaysia.

Just seven days after starting the new Formula One season on a high with Kimi Raikkonen's superb victory in Australia, the tables turned on Sunday as Lotus found themselves some way off the pace.

From sixth and eighth on the grid, Raikkonen and team-mate Romain Grosjean finished seventh and sixth respectively, 48 and 35 seconds adrift of controversial race winner Sebastian Vettel.

Ahead of the next two races in China and Bahrain on April 14 and 21, which will again be a contrast in conditions with the former cool and the latter hot, Boullier is expecting Lotus to be back at the front.

"On Sunday it was not the best start we've ever made, and then after we lost a lot in the first stint compared to the leaders, especially Mercedes," said Boullier.

"If you then compare the race pace after we were not bad, we were there, so our level of confidence going into the next two races is much, much higher and we're looking forward to racing there.

"Of course, if there are special conditions it is always difficult, but if there are normal racing conditions then we will be back in the fight for the podium, and maybe the win."

Despite Sunday's unexpected result, with the Lotus duo even behind the struggling McLaren of Jenson Button until he retired, Boullier is convinced his team are one of the frontrunners.

Asked as to where hie team figured in the pecking order, Boullier said: "We predicted after winter testing it would be very tight.

"Mainly because of the tyre management you can expect a different race winner every weekend, but definitely we are in the top four - Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and ourselves are very close."

Red Bull's one-two, with Sebastian Vettel disobeying team orders to finish ahead of Mark Webber, was also something of a surprise given their gripes earlier in the weekend over the Pirelli tyres.

The suggestion surfaced Red Bull were lobbying Pirelli to change the rubber they felt left them at a disadvantage given how quickly they degraded.

Suggested to Boullier Red Bull no longer had any cause for complaint, the Frenchman said: "How can they complain when they've just had a one-two? That would not be very understandable.

"Pirelli has no reason to change their tyre spec. It is the 2013 tyre spec and that is it. I don't think there is any interest or wish from Pirelli to change anything.

"Red Bull won, and they are going to win more. There are worse cars in the top positions with these tyres, so there is no reason why they have to change."

Felipe Massa confident of upcoming win

Felipe Massa who has not had a win in Formula 1 since Brazil 2008 and was rumoured to be on the verge of losing his seat last season, is confident of an upcoming win.

Felipe Massa told Autosport: ” We need to be confident [to win], and I am very confident.”

“I don’t think we had the car to win [in Malaysia], but I think we have a competitive car for fighting for the podium,”

“We need to keep our feet on the ground as well. We did great work on the car from last year to this year, but there’s a lot to do to get the evolution right and make it more competitive.

“I think if we carry on in this direction, the chance for winning races and fighting for the championship is there.”

Malaysia’s post-race interviews

Whenever I’m watching a Grand Prix I’m trying to come up with a ‘story of the race’ for every driver. It begins at the start and ends wherever they do – bullet points of places gained or lost from lights out, through the pit stops, their tyre performance, any crashes and bashes, thrills and spills.

There are some days, though, when the technical, lap by lap nitty gritty just isn’t relevant and it simply comes to down to human emotions. Sunday was one of those days.

I must admit, I was feeling the pressure while waiting to speak to Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. I would have just three questions to sum up everything – the emotions, the politics and the repercussions. But before I could apply my brain to that I had to interview the other 20 drivers and at that point they don’t care what else has been happening on track if it hasn’t affected them. They’ve just finished their own energy-sapping 56 lap race and have their own tales of excitement – or excuses – and it’s important to get those questions right too. Interviewing the other guys meant that I couldn’t watch the podium interviews and we never get to hear the press conference so it is difficult to judge the atmosphere before the drivers arrive in front of you.

Out of the top three, it was Mark Webber who came to me first. I always enjoy interviewing him; he is thoughtful, intelligent and has a much wider view of sport and the world. I’m not sure whether that view comes with age or maybe from moving so far away from home to pursue his dreams, but he always gives an honest and direct reply to any questions and that’s all an interviewer can ask for.

It was clear that he was emotional, trying to be restrained and yet clearly wanting to get his point across. He spoke about respect between himself and Vettel, about having to let Sebastian win in the days when team orders were banned. When I asked him if he was confident he would ever be allowed to challenge for a championship if he stayed at Red Bull he said he’d been asking himself the same question in the last 15 laps of the race.

To drive at those speeds with such precision in the colossal heat and finish second with that level of emotion and turmoil going on inside your brain is incredible.

I was next in line after the German TV crews to get Sebastian, but Lewis Hamilton came to me first. I had a brief but good interview with him and he was another who was hardly bursting with joy to be on the podium, saying it should’ve been Nico Rosberg instead. During my final question I was having to signal to Vettel’s PR to keep him there as he was obviously pretty keen to leave. Missing questioning the triple world champion was not an option for me. I did feel bad for Lewis as I wrapped up the conversation so I could bring in Vettel but he understands and maybe he was just glad not be the story on this particular day!

On came Vettel. Firstly, I wanted him to confirm that the order not to pass Mark had been given. It sounds pretty basic, but that question formed the rest of the interview. He said he did receive the order and as soon as he said that, I was free to challenge him on it and ask why he chose to ignore it. I’ve always found Vettel to be great in front of the camera and a pleasure to talk to, but as the interview went on and he realised how big the story had become, he started to look increasingly awkward, even ashamed by the end.

While Mark stood tall, open and angry, Sebastian was head down and apologetic. He said he wasn’t happy to win and that he wouldn’t sleep easily. But Mark wasn’t happy to finish second and I’m sure he wouldn’t be drifting off into a relaxed slumber that night either.

I don’t remember ever interviewing a more disheartened top four drivers. Even in Germany when Felipe Massa was told the infamous words “Fernando is faster than you”, Alonso still celebrated the win – although he had to play the part as team orders were not allowed.

If you can’t enjoy a victory then you would question the point of winning. The point is that if Sebastian Vettel goes on to win the championship by just seven points then this black cloud will suddenly have a thick silver lining and the matter will be forgotten by all those who benefit.

It certainly won’t be forgotten by others, including many more drivers than simply Mark Webber. To win races and championships you don’t have to be a nice guy on track, history proves that. It is all about where your priorities lie, winning championships or winning friends? Did Michael Schumacher lose sleep over some of his on-track antics? Who knows, but I imagine his seven world championships still give him plenty of sweet dreams.

Michael and Sebastian are friends. Just look how Schumacher moved over in Brazil last season to let his fellow German get the points he needed to win the championship. That is something which still riles Ferrari, even though Vettel would have got past eventually.

If Sebastian needs counsel he has the retired Schumacher. If Mark needs an ally then he has his friend and ubiquitous championship contender Fernando Alonso and that might be a lot more damaging to Vettel in the long run.

Mark Webber might not win a world championship and he might not be able to stop Sebastian Vettel from claiming his fourth title but one thing is for sure, he certainly won’t help him win it again. Those days ended on lap 43 on Sunday March 24, 2013.

Alonso: Massa's form good for Ferrari

Felipe Massa's return to form is a positive for Ferrari, says Fernando Alonso who also believes the Brazilian's struggles were never as bad as they appeared.

"It was very close the last three years," he claimed. "I know that for you it was not that close in terms of the results.

"Felipe had some bad luck, some incidents sometimes, some mechanical problems other times, but the last three years was much closer I think than it looked in the points at the end."

Massa himself attributes his rejuvenation to a fundamentally better car which has allowed him to feel more comfortable and confident.

"Last year it was so difficult to understand the car and I was struggling a lot," he said. "It took a little bit long to understand the car.

"When you try to do something you're not comfortable with you maybe cannot do the perfect lap.

"This year everything is more consistent," he added. "We understand the car a lot more so it is much easier to drive.

"It was really clear that I was not comfortable last year and the year before, so many things around the car, bad luck, around myself as well. So there were so many things that were not working in the proper direction. But now they are and I know how quick I can be. I've showed that many times in the past."

As if to emphasise his return to form the Brazilian has out-qualified Alonso for the last four Grands Prix straight, going back to the United States Grand Prix at the end of last season.

However rather being threatened by the improved form of his teammateAlonso appears to relish the challenge, believing it will drive himself and the team forward.

"This is only good news for the team and we will push each other to our own limits," said the Spaniard. "It's the best news for the team, because we need to have competition between the drivers in the team.

"We need to share information between the drivers in the team and now I think all the data that we have from free practice, from qualifying for everything is very useful to compare and to analyse to make ourselves better."

Felipe Massa believes he is on the brink of ending winless F1 run

Felipe Massa believes he is on the brink of ending his long Formula 1 win drought given Ferrari's 2013 form and his improved mindset.
Massa has not won a race since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, has been overshadowed by team-mate Fernando Alonso through their three years together and came close to losing his Ferrari seatlast summer.
But he rebounded and started 2013 strongly, outqualifying Alonso at both the first two races and moving ahead of his team-mate in the points for the first time in three years with his fifth place in Malaysia, where Alonso crashed out.

Asked by AUTOSPORT if he felt closer than ever to getting back on the top step of the podium, Massa replied: "Yes, for sure. We need to be confident [to win], and I am very confident."

He said Ferrari needed to make further improvements, but he was now optimistic that he could make the most of the car if it was title worthy.

"I don't think we had the car to win [in Malaysia], but I think we have a competitive car for fighting for the podium," said Massa.

"We need to keep our feet on the ground as well. We did great work on the car from last year to this year, but there's a lot to do to get the evolution right and make it more competitive.

"I think if we carry on in this direction, the chance for winning races and fighting for the championship is there."

Massa feels his Malaysian GP result was skewed by heavy tyre graining in the first stint. Having started on the front row, he spent a while near the foot of the top 10 before recovering to fifth.

"The pace was good. For sure without the problem at the start of the race, the race could have been quite different," he said.

"The chance to fight for the podium would have been much higher. It is important to take points home, and fifth, looking at the first stint, was not so bad."

Williams could revert to FW34 exhaust

Williams technical director Mike Coughlan says the team could be forced to switch back to its 2012-specification exhaust as it struggles with the FW35.

Having been very optimistic following the new car's debut in pre-season testing, Williams started the year well off the pace, struggling in both Australia and Malaysia. Coughlan admits that the team is struggling to get the Coanda exhaust to work properly and as a result could be forced to revert to last year's solution.

"It's understanding Coanda," Coughlan said. "It's grip and we need to go away and get a more consistent platform for the driver.

"We'll be in a position quite soon where if we don't nail it we'll use Friday's as test sessions. We're of the opinion at the moment that a FW34-type of car would be faster. I don't think we'll go back to an FW34, but we might go back to an FW34 style of exhaust system and treat Fridays as tests across cars. We'll go back on Tuesday and have a complete rethink and see if we have enough time to change things before China."

Despite considering a switch to the 2012 specification, Coughlan believes that the FW35 has the capacity to be much faster than it currently is.

"We feel there is lots of potential to unleash. As soon as you have a situation where there is a loss of downforce on corner entry the driver is suddenly a bit spooked and he just corners at a low potential. So even if you can show him he's got a lot more grip the problem is that he's understeered in, he now has oversteer and he's then trying to protect the rear tyres. So we've given the driver a very difficult platform to use.

"We still believe we have fundamentally a car capable of being in the lower regions of the top ten. [At Sepang] we were close but we ultimately fell short. We have a few major things to fix and then we think we can unharness the potential. The question is how long that will take."