Hamilton joy as Silverstone closes on deal for British GP

Nobody who set foot in the Yas Marina circuit has been anything other than hugely impressed by the audacious scale, opulence and achievement of Formula One's latest showcase venue. "I walked round the track last night," Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday, "and I just couldn't believe it. It's night and day compared to Silverstone. They are both the complete ends of the spectrum."

Hill hails Silverstone grand prix deal

• BRDC president says track is 'place for all motorsport'• Details of 17-year agreement remain unclearThe protracted negotiations to secure the future of the British grand prix ended in success yesterday when the British Racing Drivers' Club secured a 17-year deal to stage the race at the wartime RAF airfield which has been at the core of motorsport for the past 60 years."The title of Silverstone as 'the home of British motorsport' has come true," said Damon Hill, the BRDC president, who won the 1996 Formula One world championship when driving for Williams. "It is a place for all motorsport. Everybody in the BRDC loves motorsport and we are looking forward to the Moto GP as well as the British GP."It is not easy to enter into a contract of this magnitude and you have to take on a lot of responsibility but the BRDC wanted this relationship to continue. Everyone was well aware that the British grand prix was not just a sporting event but the dynamo of the industry in this country. Losing it would have been damaging and perhaps there would have been no coming back."Hill's delight was echoed later in the morning when Gordon Brown appeared at the BRDC's annual awards lunch to present Jenson Button with the Richard Seaman Trophy, in memory of the British Mercedes driver who was killed in the 1939 Belgian grand prix."This puts Britain at the centre of world racing for 17 years to come," said the prime minister.The details of the contract are sketchy. As is the way with race promoters' contracts signed with Bernie Ecclestone, the billionaire Formula One commercial rights holder, the intricacies of the financial details are strictly confidential and have left the motor racing fraternity clutching at straws."We are satisfied with the deal and confident that Silverstone can turn a profit under its terms," said Robert Brooks, the BRDC chairman. However, he would not be drawn into discussing speculation that the starting cost for the 17-year deal was around $21m (£12.775m) for the 2010 race. Nor would he say whether the crucial annual financial escalator had been reduced from its previous level of 10%, though the figure of 5% was reported yesterday."I can't talk about things like that," he said, though Silverstone was reported to have bought the rights at a starting price of £11m.What is clear, however, is that there is a break point which can let Silverstone relinquish its obligations after 10 years. That serves as a reminder that Formula One can be a challenging business when there is no bottomless pit of government money available to buttress any financial shortfall. Nor is it clear whether there is any cash penalty payable in the event of Silverstone exercising its get-out clause.Yet Silverstone remains hopeful that it can pack in a capacity 90,000 crowd year after year, tapping into the soul of fanatical British fans at a time when they have the last two Formula One world champions, in Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, to entertain them.Silverstone made a profit of only £662,000 last year and that is a surplus which could be wiped off the balance sheet at a stroke, should the FIA, motor sport's governing body, require improvements to the Northamptonshire circuit – such as kerbing or wider run-off areas – in the interests of safety.The saga behind cementing the British grand prix's position on the 2010 international calendar has been a lurid one but entirely in keeping with the tortuous and unpredictable relationship which has existed between Ecclestone and the BRDC for two decades now. After weeks of telling the BRDC to sign up or bow out of Formula One, and despite the distractions caused by the failure of Donington Park to live up to its commitment to take on the grand prix contract, Ecclestone said he was happy a deal had been done with Silverstone."This will ensure that Britain will remain on the Formula One calendar for many years to come, which is something I have personally always wanted to see happen," said Ecclestone. He could not resist a parting shot, however. "It's been a long and tiring nonsense," he was reported as saying. "They could have done this whole thing months and months ago."This time, however, the crucial difference is that the minimum 10-year deal at least gives Silverstone leeway to earn some money, plough investment back into the circuit and build a pit and paddock complex that is more to Ecclestone's taste, and facilities closer to those provided by tracks like Bahrain, China and Abu Dhabi.More importantly it has saved Silverstone as a shrine to Formula One, something for which future generations of fans will come to be grateful.British grand prixSilverstoneFormula OneMotor sportAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton on pole in Singapore

• Hamilton quickest ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg• Button qualifies 12th two places behind Rubens BarrichelloLewis Hamilton secured pole for the Singapore grand prix but there was disappointment for championship leader, Jenson Button, whose world title hopes were dealt a blow by qualifying in 12th place on the grid.Hamilton, whose engineers worked through the night to fit a new chassis for his McLaren, impressed in practice and took that form into qualifying as he clocked a time of 1min 47.891sec in Q3 at the Marina Bay street circuit.In contrast, Button had struggled in practice after his Brawn car had been switched to the same set-up as team-mate Rubens Barrichello. Though they reverted it to yesterday's settings, the 29-year-old failed to threaten, with Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull taking second and the Williams of Nico Rosberg third.Barrichello, who will be looking to cut into Button's 14-point lead tomorrow, was fifth fastest before crashing with 26 seconds of qualifying remaining but will start from 10th on the grid tomorrow after being hit with a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox prior to the session.Race standings1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 47.891secs, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:48.204, 3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:48.348, 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:48.722, 5 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:48.828, 6 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:49.054, 7 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:49.180, 8 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:49.307, 9 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:49.514, 10 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:49.778, 11 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:47.013, 12 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:47.141, 13 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:47.177, 14 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:47.369, 15 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:47.413, 16 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:48.231, 17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:48.340, 18 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 1:48.350, 19 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:48.544, 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 1:48.792Note: Rubens Barrichello will start the race in 10th position following a five place penalty for a gearbox replacement.Formula OneLewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton wins Singapore GP

• Hamilton puts in perfect performance to take second win of year• Button steals a march on Barrichello to gain a valuable pointLewis Hamilton scored his second victory of the season at the Singapore grand prix as Jenson Button extended his title lead by one point, to 15, despite a poor qualifying position.McLaren's Hamilton put in a perfect performance to lead home the Toyota of Timo Glock, the German equalling his best-ever finish. Meanwhile Renault's Fernando Alonso gave his team something to cheer about at the circuit that has caused their recent woes by claiming third place.Button followed Sebastian Vettel home, having overhauled his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello at the Briton's last stop, to take fifth. It means he has extended his championship lead by one point with three races remaining as Barrichello finished sixth ahead of Heikki Kovalainen. Robert Kubica picked up the final points position after a late-race battle for eighth, holding off Kazuki Nakajima and Kimi Raikkonen.The 11th-placed finisher Nico Rosberg had been an early contender but his chances of repeating last year's podium finish in Singapore were dashed when the Williams driver crossed the white line while leaving the pits after his first stop. Rosberg had made an excellent start to pass Vettel on the opening lap but was forced down the order thanks to a drive-through penalty.The situation seemed to play into the hands of Vettel, who looked set to challenge Hamilton for the lead, but the Red Bull driver was himself given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He also damaged his car by running wide over a kerb but recovered to finish the race in fourth place, leaving him 25 points behind Button.Mark Webber, who went into the race with slim title hopes, crashed out in the closing stages through brake trouble. The accident led several teams to bring drivers, including Hamilton and Barrichello, into the pits early in case of a safety car period, although this did not transpire.This played into Button's hands as the Brawn driver was able to stay out for a long middle stint and make up ground while his rivals struggled with heavier cars. It had seemed as though Button might challenge Vettel for fourth but the Brawn driver was told to hold back and protect his position."It was a good day for us," said Button. "I was happy to get Kazuki [Nakajima] off the line; that was key for me. I'm happy to get fifth and pull a point on Rubens. I go to Japan very positive for the next race."Lewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnFormula OneMotor sportGemma Briggsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton's first pole of 2009

• Hamilton follows up win in Hungary with pole in Valencia• Heikki Kovalainen will start second in McLaren one-twoLewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position of the season as McLaren locked out the front row for tomorrow's European grand prix in Valencia.The reigning world champion, fresh from winning his first race of the season last time out in Hungary, posted a time of one minute 39.498 seconds to beat Heikki Kovalainen to top spot by less than a tenth of a second."Clearly, we have very, very good pace this weekend," said Hamilton. "We thought we would be competitive, but I don't think we thought we'd be on the front row. We've not had a one-two qualifying experience for quite a long time, so it's great to be here."Despite the turnaround in McLaren's fortunes, Hamilton insists there is no question of him getting carried away. "For sure, going into tomorrow we stand in the best position for a podium, but it all depends of strategy and how the start and the race goes."Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello will start behind Hamilton and Kovalainen in third, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fourth and championship leader Jenson Button fifth. Home favourite Fernando Alonso will be disappointed with eighth place for Renault.Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil's rapid practice pace failed to convert into anything more than 12th on the grid for Force India, Renault debutant Romain Grosjean had to settle for 14th and Felipe Massa's stand-in Luca Badoer suffered a torrid return to Formula One. Back behind the wheel of a grand prix car for the first time in a decade, the 38-year-old Ferrari test driver qualified last on the grid."I was hoping for better, but that more or less was the range," the Italian said. "We were expecting this. One year without driving and a new track, what could I do? This race is a test. I have to be better in the next race."Positions after qualifying:1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 39.498secs, 2 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:39.532, 3 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:39.563, 4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:39.789, 5 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:39.821, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:40.144, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:40.185, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:40.236, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:40.239, 10 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:40.512, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:38.826, 12 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:38.846, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:38.991, 14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:39.040, 15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.514, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:39.531, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:39.795, 18 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:39.807, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.925, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:41.413Formula OneLewis HamiltonMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Jenson Button visits McLaren HQ

• World champion given a guided tour round McLaren HQ• Button would share equal billing with 2008 world championMcLaren have teed up Jenson Button to partner Lewis Hamilton in their 2010 Formula One line-up and the world champion could be close to turning his back on the Brawn team for whom he won this year's title. Button and his manager, Richard Goddard, today visited the McLaren headquarters at Woking, where they were given an escorted tour of the facilities by Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal. A contract could be signed as early as next week if terms can be finalised, creating the first team with two world champions competing alongside each other since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were team-mates at McLaren in 1989."As I've said many times before, Jenson wants to drive a car which is capable of winning the next world championship," said Goddard. "We've been talking about possible terms for 2010 with Brawn for months and we're not being difficult or unreasonably expensive in our demands for Jenson. In fact we've given up quite a lot of negotiating ground in our discussions with them."McLaren have made Kimi Raikkonen their second choice if the Button approach fails, with Nick Heidfeld third favourite.Goddard made it clear that Button was not aiming for the £10m annual fee that drivers such as Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have under the terms of their existing agreements. But it is clear he wants more than the bargain-rate, reputed £4m deal he agreed with the emergent Brawn team before the start of last season to stay on the Formula One grid in a year when he was almost left kicking his heels in the pits with nothing to drive."I think it's also important that Jenson wants to feel valued in whatever situation he finds himself next season," Goddard added. "He needs to explore all the feasible options." A McLaren spokesman said: "Having just arrived at Heathrow, Jenson made a small detour to Woking to say hello."It is understood that Button has moved to the top of McLaren's wish-list over the past couple of months, with Whitmarsh and his fellow directors impressed by his tenacity in regaining his form to round off the season with two outstanding drives in the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi grands prix.However, Niki Lauda, who won the last of his three world championships with McLaren in 1984, and was paired there with Prost for two years, believes that Button would be best served in the long run by continuing to negotiate with Brawn. "One of the problems faced by drivers today is that there is generally less money around in the business than there was," he said. "So if I was Jenson, I would try to stay with Brawn even if Ross might pay him slightly less than McLaren. Of course, if McLaren are going to pay a lot more, then he must go."But the other thing he must consider is that it is Lewis's team and he needs to be sure he has the confidence to deal with this. It is a tough decision for Jenson and he needs to think it through carefully."McLaren also played host to Raikkonen on Wednesday when the 2007 world champion visited their base with his managers, David and Steve Robertson. The Robertsons – father and son – have an impressive reputation as negotiators, having not only secured Raikkonen an income of around £27m from Ferrari in 2008 but also cleverly inserted a clause in his contract whereby Ferrari were obliged to exercise their option to keep him in 2010 if he scored a certain number of championship points by the middle of 2008.That led to the current situation whereby Ferrari have chosen to pay off Raikkonen's contract for a figure believed to be between £15 and £17m to make room for Alonso. Raikkonen previously drove for McLaren from 2002-06.If Button should eventually join McLaren he would do so on equal footing to Hamilton as the team have always given absolute parity of equipment to their drivers and both would be permitted to race unfettered for grand prix wins and the world championship.Heidfeld, who was a McLaren test driver in the late 1990s, and the incumbent Heikki Kovalainen are also under consideration as potential candidates for the seat alongside Hamilton, although very much as outsiders.Formula OneJenson ButtonMcLarenBrawnAlan Henryguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds