Williams’ new blown exhaust will stay on the FW32 for the rest of the Silverstone weekend, while at McLaren, Lewis Hamilton said a similar upgrade is a "step forward" for the MP4-25.
However, the 2008 world champion was more than a second off the pace on Friday, with Red Bull’s Mark Webber accusing the British team of "sandbagging". Hamilton agreed that he expects to be faster on Saturday and beyond.
Rally driver Kimi Raikkonen would complete a "very good lineup" for Renault in 2011, according to Robert Kubica, but the Enstone based team is in no rush to replace the Russian pay-driver and solid rookie Vitaly Petrov. "I would say our second seat is interesting for many drivers," said team boss Eric Boullier.
Bruno Senna is under pressure at HRT, but Karun Chandhok’s place looked secure on Friday with the announcement of a sponsor deal with Jaypee Sports. The company is building a F1 track near New Delhi, and Indian Chandhok said at Silverstone: "To be the Indian driver on the grid for the first Indian grand prix next year will be very special for me."
Drivers gave mixed reviews of Silverstone’s new Arena section on Friday, but the main gripe was about a huge bump on the transition of asphalt at the new fast Abbey corner. "A bit of an issue with the bumps," agreed Ross Brawn, "but the new section hasn’t taken away from the great character of Silverstone."