Formula-1 news

As many of their rivals suspected they would, Red Bull found a little bit more pace in Saturday afternoon’s final practice session in Abu Dhabi, and Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber set the fastest times of the weekend. The German lapped in 1m 40.696s, and the Australian was just 0.133s adrift with 1m 40.829s.

Lewis Hamilton was unable to match yesterday’s 1m 40.888s but was third fastest for McLaren on 1m 41.280s…

Even if Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel doesn’t take the drivers’ title this weekend, one thing that will be remembered for years to come will be his qualifying successes during the 2010 season. And after clinching his tenth pole position in 19 races at Abu Dhabi, Vettel is certainly happy with his car around the Yas Marina circuit

Up until Lap 45, when his engine started to smoke and he was forced to retire from the lead, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel had delivered a perfect race weekend. The 25 points he could have bagged for a well-deserved win would have seen him take the lead in the drivers’ championship and step closer than ever to the title. It was a cruel fate, but the thwarted Vettel is determined to be back on the offensive in Brazil

Corners matter. Yes, straight-line speed is important, but ultimately it is how quickly a car and driver can corner that dictates that all-important lap time. But what makes a great corner? It is, of course, a very subjective issue.

The new Korea International Circuit threw up a few at the weekend, but it is a little too soon to dub them ‘classics’. For those, most drivers will refer you to the likes of Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuka and Istanbul Park

Following its debut event at last month’s Italian Grand Prix in Milan, F1 Rocks

Renault’s Robert Kubica talks us round a flying lap of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix

While Red Bull won the race, Williams also had reason to celebrate in Hungary, with drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Rubens Barrichello both finishing in the top ten in Budapest.

The impressive pace of the FW32 – and the team’s haul of nine points – have certainly put technical director Sam Michael in a buoyant mood ahead of the summer break. Michael discusses the Hungarian weekend and looks forward to the Belgian race

Hockenheim is practically in Sebastian Vettel’s back yard – he grew up barely 40 km away – so few were surprised to see him take pole for his home race. More surprising was the way he then got dumped down to P3 at Turn One by the Ferraris. Vettel, however, is looking on the bright side – he outscored his main title rivals and for a change it is a team other than Red Bull courting controversy at the end of the weekend

It was another promising but ultimately frustrating weekend for Williams in Germany, with both Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg making the Q3 cut in qualifying, only to be stymied in the race by poor starts. Technical director Sam Michael reviews the events of Hockenheim and looks forward to this coming weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix

Hot on the heels of Hockenheim, the teams head straight to Budapest for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before the Formula One community takes a well-earned summer break. Drivers and senior team personnel discuss their prospects for the Hungaroring