Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Nico Hulkenberg, Robert Kubica, Vitaly Petrov, Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Sebastien Buemi and Pedro de la Rosa have all received penalties from the Valencia stewards for safety-car rule infringements…

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel bounced himself back into contention for the world championship with an easy European Grand Prix win in Valencia on a day when a spectacular back flip left Mark Webber on the sidelines in the other Red Bull. Vettel led from the start, defending strongly against a forceful Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the first corner, as Webber was hung out to dry in the heavy traffic and dropped to ninth from second on the grid.

On Saturday in Valencia Sebastian Vettel took his fourth pole position of the season, and Red Bull’s eighth. Although they’ve struggled, on occasion, to convert their dominance in qualifying into race results, Red Bull – and Vettel – hope that, with a little luck on Sunday, victory at the European Grand Prix could be theirs for the taking…

Renault’s Robert Kubica is a real racer, who always works hard and never seems fully satisfied with his results. Kubica’s qualities as a driver have undoubtedly helped push Renault out of the midfield, and the French team are hoping to challenge Mercedes GP for fourth place in the constructors’ championship. On Sunday the Polish driver will start the European Grand Prix from sixth on the grid, and he’s optimistic he’ll be able to add to the team’s tally of points…

Sebastian Vettel pushed Robert Kubica off the top slot on the final lap of a gripping final practice session in Valencia this morning, as the leading runners slogged it out and those with ‘blown’ diffuser aerodynamics leapt ahead of the McLaren duo that had ruled the roost in Turkey and Canada. Vettel banged round in 1m 38.052s for Red Bull, pushing aside Kubica’s 1m 38.154s for Renault right at the end

Many teams were keen to get out and try significant modifications to their aerodynamic packages in Valencia on Friday. The programmes were relatively uncomplicated on the medium compound Bridgestone prime tyres on the dusty track. That changed when they attempted to go quicker on the super soft compound option tyre, which grained laterally and transversely in the morning.

Nico Rosberg pipped the two McLarens for the fastest time in Valencia on Friday morning, stopping the clocks for Mercedes GP with 1m 41.175s. That was 0.164s faster than Lewis Hamilton’s 1m 41.339s, and 0.208s better than Jenson Button’s 1m 41.383s. It’s early days, however, as the number of drivers running wide in Turn Two testified to the ‘green’ nature of the track, which remained extremely slippery.

Ferrari are very optimistic that they will turn a corner this weekend and fight for victory, now that their F10 is fitted with the ‘blown’ diffuser that is one of the keys to Red Bull’s aerodynamic advantage. The system basically uses the positioning of the exhaust system to direct hot air over the double diffuser, increasing the level of downforce

One is the man who made Formula One racing the global force that it is today. The other is the most successful driver of the modern era. Together they know the sport inside out – and both are uniquely qualified to provide an insight into the enigma that is Ferrari.

Ferrari announced on Tuesday that Pat Fry will join their technical department.