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

Fernando Alonso made best use of Ferrari’s new aero package to set the fastest lap in the second practice session in Valencia on Friday afternoon. The local hero’s 1m 39.283s best was 0.056s faster than Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel who recorded 1m 39.339s, and 0.144s ahead of the German’s team mate Mark Webber on 1m 39.427s…

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

With McLaren riding high in both the drivers’ and constructors’ standings, the British team is determined to do all it can to keep hold of the advantage. An integral part of this will, of course, be development work. In a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ‘Phone-In’ session, McLaren’s engineering director Paddy Lowe discusses the team’s planned introduction of a Red Bull-style ‘blown rear end’ exhaust solution at Silverstone, the regulation changes for 2011, and the departure of colleague Pat Fry to rivals Ferrari…

The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has agreed a number of significant changes to the Formula One regulations.

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.

Bridgestone will take the unusual step of bringing tyres from opposing ends of their dry-weather compound range to next month’s German Grand Prix. It means there will be two steps, rather than the usual one, between rubber types at Hockenheim.

After Robert Kubica’s fastest lap at the last round in Canada, Renault will be hoping to get back on the podium in Valencia this weekend. Unlike some of his F1 colleagues, Kubica loves the Spanish street circuit, while team mate Vitaly Petrov not only knows it well from his GP2 days, he also lives in the city