Pitlane rivalry hots up after FIA tinker with regulations

Those that emptied their torrent on the track decimated free practice for the 75,000 spectators, while those that broke out in the revamped pitlane led to simmering tensions between Formula 1’s top teams.

Runaway leaders Red Bull and their hottest pursuer McLaren are at loggerheads going into today’s qualifying session for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix.

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh wants black and white regulations over the restriction on use of exhausts to generate downforce – a regulation supposedly outlawed from this weekend.

But governing body the FIA yesterday informed engine suppliers during the first practice session that the rule was not being fully enforced.

And Red Bull’s Christian Horner, whose Renault engines have benefited most from the mid-session law change, believes the FIA are within their rights to have flexible rules for different engines.

Confused? So were most fans, including team principals like John Booth of Yorkshire’s Virgin Racing, and Tony Fernandes, his opposite number at Lotus.

Plain-speaking Booth called for such disagreements to be settled behind closed doors while Fernandes called the uncertainty a ‘shambles’.

But whatever the finer points of the technical issue between Horner and Whitmarsh, the bigger picture is that the rivalry between the two teams is intensifying.

Red Bull are the new kids on the Formula 1 block who in the past 18 months have left the rest eating their dust with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel and Horner and design genius Adrian Newey setting the benchmark technologically.

McLaren, the established older guard whose Mercedes engines were perceived to benefit aerodynamically prior to the ruling, have been left choking on exhaust fumes.

A season of frustration has left their star driver Lewis Hamilton bristling with anger on and off the track.

The Briton was recently reported to have courted Red Bull last month in his determination to return to the top of the sport.

Whitmarsh and Horner stayed respectable yesterday, but the tensions were palpable.

“The rules are slightly fluid and appear to change by the hour at the moment,” argued Whitmarsh.

“We were a little surprised when the regulations changed halfway through free practice one and I’m sure that has put many teams on the back foot.

“When the goalposts are moving part way through a practice session then it makes it very difficult and we’re trying to cope with that at the moment.

“To do this in a cloudy, ambiguous and changing way, inevitably – in a competitive environment – leaves every team feeling hard done by.”

Horner countered: “A lot of focus has been placed on us and whether we have a silver bullet in our car.

“We don’t. But at the same time we expect the FIA to regulate in a fair and proper manner and that is exactly what they have done in this case.

“They’ve looked at the Mercedes and Renault cases and allowed them to have certain parameters.

“It’s very hard for the FIA to pick their way through it. They’ve tried to be as fair, balanced and equitable as they said they would be.”

The heated debate took the attention away from the drivers on a day when Vettel found himself in the unfamiliar territory of midfield and the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher discovered some speed on the saturated track.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber stayed true to the pattern of the season by setting the fastest time of the day in the morning session – a lap of 1.46.603 – while Ferrari’s Felipe Massa topped the timesheets in a rain-hit second session.

But the deluge from the skies gave little indication as to how the teams will run this weekend.

“I think everybody expected this weather,” said Webber, who won last year’s British Grand Prix.

“It looks a bit better for Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s normal for Silverstone to have difficult conditions as the rain showers come fast and the wind is high, so the conditions are always capable of changing quite quickly.”

More than 120,000 fans are expected to flood through the Silverstone gates for tomorrow’s race, the majority more in hope than expectation that either Hamilton or Jenson Button can reward them with a home winner.

Button has yet to finish on the podium at his home grand prix, let alone win it, while McLaren’s confusion over the off-throttle blown diffusers saga will mean a busy weekend for the Woking team’s mechanics.

McLaren want the political storm clouds to disperse but the rain clouds to remain.

Otherwise Red Bull’s hand will only be strengthened further as Vettel looks to tighten his grip on the title with a seventh win in nine races, and Webber seeks to turn the chase of his German team-mate into a lone pursuit.

WET WEATHER OFFERS SOME HOPE FOR VIRGIN

THE fans may be hoping for sunshine over the next 48 hours, but John Booth is praying for rain.

Virgin Racing’s team principal knows the Yorkshire-based team’s best hope of springing a surprise at their home grand prix is if the heavens open consistently and effectively turn qualifying and also tomorrow’s race into a lottery.

Sunshine will almost certainly mean elimination from the first session of qualifying today and a long struggle at the back of the pack for Virgin.

The ramifications of the exhaust-blown diffuser row have not reached their end of the pitlane, leaving Booth to concentrate on narrowing the gap with the help of the gods.

“I’m hoping for showers this weekend, that will really help us,” said Booth, whose Dinnington team are making their second appearance at the British Grand Prix.

“If it’s wet in qualifying then at least it will mean we learned something on Friday.

“Plus Timo Glock excels in the wet.

“But we’ve learned nothing about tyre degredation from a wet Friday.

“What that means is we will probably have to think on our feet in terms of tyres and pit-stops for the race, which we have become quite adept at this season.”