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Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez has taken full responsibility for the accident which saw him and Adrian Sutil retire from the Chinese Grand Prix.

The young Mexican ploughed into the back of Sutil's Force India on lap five after outbraking himself and not anticipating the lack of downforce that followed. Whilst the Force India retired in the pits a handful of corners later due to an excessively damaged rear wing, the Sauber retired on the spot.

"It was definitely my fault, and I apologize to Adrian and to his team," said Gutierrez after the race.

"I had Checo [Perez] fighting behind me, and I approached the corner too fast," he continued.

"I was braking at the same place where I usually brake, however, I didn't anticipate the loss of downforce and the amount of speed I had."

The incident will see Gutierrez take a five-place grid penalty in next weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Volkswagen's Sebastien Ogier has claimed his third consecutive WRC victory by almost a minute on the Rally of Portugal ahead of Citroen's Mikko Hirvonen and teammate Jari-Matti Latvala.

The Frenchman entered the third and final day of the event with a 34.4 second advantage over Latvala, but a slipping clutch on his car and a driveshaft issue on the Finn's Polo R WRC which led to a loss of four wheel drive, almost halted VW's charge on SS12.

Citroen's Mikko Hirvonen looked set to benefit from the problems suffered by the VWs, with the Finn taking 30 seconds out of Ogier on the Silves stage and moving ahead of Latvala by almost four minutes.

However, some roadside fixes by Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia saw the championship leaders extend their advantage to 49.9s at the mid-point service, by finishing second on the mammoth 52.3 kilometre SS13. Despite Ogier being unwell and driving with his “fingers crossed”, he also set the fastest time on the day's final stage. By the end of the event, the Frenchman's lead was 58 seconds.

M-Sport's Mads Ostberg, who made a storming recovery to eighth after re-entering the event, completed a hat-trick of victories on the morning's stages, SS12-14, with the Norwegian underlying what might have been had he not had his rally ending accident on Friday.

The sister M-Sport run car of Evgeny Novikov finished fourth, ahead of teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah and VW rookie Andreas Mikkelsen. Czech privateer Martin Prokop finished seventh, ahead of Ostberg, the works Citroen DS3 WRC of Khalid Al-Qassimi and WRC 2's Esapekka Lappi who rounded out the points scoring positions.

Ogier's latest victory means he has a 58-point advantage over Hirvonen in the championship standings.

Sébastien Ogier, Portugal (Photo: VW Motorsport)

Results - Rally of Portugal
1. Ogier-Ingrassia (VW Polo Wrc) in 4.07'38”7
2. Hirvonen-Lehtinen (Citroen DS3 Wrc) - 58”2
3. Latvala-Anttila (VW Polo Wrc) - 4'04”5
4. Novikov-Minor (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) - 5'27”7
5. Al Attiyah-Bernacchini (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) - 7'43”5
6. Mikkelsen-Markkula (VW Polo Wrc) - 9'39”8
7. Prokop-Ernst (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) - 15'04”2
8. Ostberg-Andersson (Ford Fiesta RS Wrc) - 15'04”2
9. Al Qassimi-Martin (Citroen DS3 Wrc) - 15'56”9
10. Lappi-Ferm (Skoda Fabia S2000) - 16'21"0

From GMM

F1's tire situation will change after this weekend's Bahrain grand prix.

Pirelli's heavily degrading 2013 product is dominating the sport at present, to the point that - according to Mark Webber - it is "a bit WWF".

That is a reference to the American 'fake' professional wrestling federation, with that sport taking a back seat to choreography and elaborate plots.

"At the moment it (F1) is not much to do with racing," reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel was quoted on Sunday by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Like Red Bull, Mercedes has also been pushing Pirelli hard for a change of tack.

"Pirelli has a plan," team chairman and shareholder Niki Lauda said on German RTL television in China.

It is believed new harder compounds that last longer will be brought to May's Spanish grand prix, the first European race of the season.

"I can break the good news that the situation will change from Barcelona.  Then it will get better," said Lauda.

He said the decision has been made for the good of the sport.

"It's just that there is so much confusion," said the triple world champion.  "The tires need to last longer."

Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone reportedly told British Sky television on Sunday that - also from Barcelona - Pirelli will supply more tires to teams for Fridays, to ensure more action than has been seen in practice so far in 2013.

Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen has blamed McLaren's Sergio Perez for forcing him off the track during the Chinese Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver had been robust in his race-craft to the point of weaving in the race's earlier stages, but until the incident with Raikkonen, the young Mexican had not made any actual contact with any of his rivals.

As Raikkonen finished the first of his three pit-stops, the Lotus came up against the two stopping McLaren in turn five and attempted to make a pass in the following corner.

However, Perez defended the position and sent the Lotus onto the grass, damaging its nosecone.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus E21 (Photo: WRi2)

"I got a better run out of corner three and thought he would leave me enough space but he pushed me off the circuit," said Raikkonen after the race.

"I tried to avoid him but then was on the grass and kerb. [It] the kerb saved me as I had grip. I couldn't slow down and hit him in the rear," he continued. "I don't know if he could see me or how it happened. [But] there was no way for me to avoid it.”

Raikkonen also admitted after that whilst he suffered increased understeer due to incident, he expected the damage to be heavier considering how hard he hit the McLaren.

"I was surprised there was not much damage as I hit him quite hard," conceded the 2007 world champion.

"I was also a bit surprised that we didn't have more problems, just a bit too much understeer and destroying the front tyres because of that."

From GMM

Kimi Raikkonen has hinted moving to Red Bull could be an option for 2014.

Rumours are swirling in the Shanghai paddock that the Finn, who is Sebastian Vettel's closest friend in F1, has been earmarked as the successor to Mark Webber.

"There is so much talk that I've agreed a contract for next season," Raikkonen exclaimed to Germany's Bild am Sonntag.

"First I'm trying my best at Lotus, then I'll think about my future.

"It is of course flattering, what Red Bull have said, but why is there all this talk if there is nothing (signed) on paper?" the 2007 world champion added.

The answer, of course, is that given Red Bull's obvious interest, Raikkonen's move would make sense.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus E21 (Photo: WRi2)

He would work harmoniously with Vettel, and it would also be a good next move for the 33-year-old, who won 19 grands prix for McLaren and Ferrari before taking a two-year sabbatical in world rallying after the 2009 season.

"About the future, I am clear," Raikkonen said.  "I want to work with a good team and sit in a good car.

"Red Bull is a good team, they have been world champions and won everything in the past years.

"Basically, there are not many top teams to think about.  With Lotus, we are not yet where Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are."

Speaking against the move, however, are equally-heard rumours in the paddock that Raikkonen is no longer serious about his trade: that he only returned to F1 for the money.

"Do you really think I would be here if it was just about money?" Raikkonen hit back.  "I do enough fun things in my spare time than to have to listen to this bullshit.

"And I'm not exactly broke," he added.

Adapted from GMM

Toto Wolff has played down suggestions Ross Brawn is definitely set to leave Mercedes.

Earlier, Wolff - the Brackley based team's new director and shareholder - hinted Brawn's future is clouded, having been informed of Mercedes' interest in securing the services of McLaren's Paddy Lowe.

"Ross responded totally professionally and said 'For three years I have not brought the results that were expected. Therefore it is clear that you would look around for a successor'," Wolff told Die Welt newspaper.

The wind has changed for Mercedes in 2013 (Photo: WRi2)

But that was before Lewis Hamilton secured pole in Shanghai and then subsequently finished third in the race, raising the question that if Mercedes is capable of getting the job done, why would the man at the helm be sacked?

Wolff is quoted by Speed Week: "As Ross always says -- performance is everything.

"It is how success is measured.

"Even if the media has run up and down the paddock saying Paddy Lowe is coming, it is true we wanted to think about the management in a rational way.

"Currently, it's running fine," said Wolff.

"What happens with Lowe does not mean that Ross will be leaving us," he added.

Fernando Alonso claimed his and Ferrari's first win of the 2013 season ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton in a strategy dictated Chinese Grand Prix.

The three former world champions started the race on soft compound tyres which despite their short shelf life, proved a vindicated decision as Sebastian Vettel could only manage fourth, albeit 0.2 second from the back of Hamilton's Mercedes come the race finish.

Lewis Hamilton leads, but not for long (Photo: WRi2)

The race's start was characterized by the difference between the hard and soft compound tyres; the assumption being that those starting on softs would have a pace advantage of around four to six laps, but then would have to drop back in traffic, whilst those starting on mediums would benefit earlier but hit tyre troubles later.

The race began with fast starts made by the Ferraris of Massa and Alonso, which by the first corner, had swamped Raikkonen's slow starting Lotus and were up into second and third. By lap five, the two red cars had overtaken Hamilton's Mercedes on the pit straight.

Alonso's pit stop was perfectly timed (Photo: WRi2)

The difference in strategies became visible when Alonso pitted early and switched to medium tyres to slice through traffic and eventually catch first place Vettel - who had left his pit stop five later than the Ferrari - in the middle stage of the race.

The current world champion saved his soft tyres until the final five laps of the race, which allowed him at one stage to close on Hamilton at three seconds a lap, putting him into contention for the second spot on the podium given the Lotus and the Mercedes were on older medium tyres.

Nico Hulkenberg led prior to his first pit stop (Photo: WRi2)

Jenson Button finished fifth after a strong two-stop race, one place ahead of Felipe Massa, who will no doubt be disappointed with sixth place given his teammate's win and promising pace shown earlier in the weekend.

Daniel Ricciardo confirmed Toro Rosso's progress by finishing seventh ahead of Paul di Resta and Romain Grosjean who had yet another quiet but solid weekend. Nico Hulkenberg finished in a 10th behind the wheel of the Sauber after having run the same strategy as Vettel and even leading the race ahead of the Red Bull at one stage.

Mark Webber's troubled weekend continued after he registered his first DNF of the season following a torrid qualifying. The Australian failed to finish following a tangle with Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso which forced him into making an extra pit stop after he had pitted at the end of the first lap to switch to mediums.

The right rear wheel of the shortly Red Bull fell off which forced the Australian to retire.

The other high profile retirements of the race were Nico Rosberg with suspension problems and Esteban Gutierrez after ramming his Sauber into the back of Adrian Sutil's Force India.

The race was also not without controversy with many drivers facing possible post-race sanctions due to overtaking under yellow flags; according to Autosport, the misunderstanding was caused by a paddock-wide telemetry issue.

Kimi Raikkonen left some paint on the side of Perez's McLaren trying to pass the Mexican (Photo: WRi2)

Sergio Perez was also the subject of discussion with the young Mexican being accused of weaving whilst rivals attempted to overtake the McLaren. His race was earmarked by contact with Kimi Raikkonen which saw the Lotus lose a section of its nosecone.



Race results* - Chinese Grand Prix
1 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 56 laps 1.36'26"945
2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 10"168
3 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 12"322
4 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 12"525
5 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 35"285
6 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 40"827
7 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 42"691
8 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 51"084
9 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 53"423
10 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 56"598
11 - Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'03"860
12 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'12"604
13 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'33"861
14 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'35"453
15 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap
16 - Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1 lap
18 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1 lap

Fastest lap of the race: 1'36"808 (Sebastian Vettel)

Retirements
Lap 4 - Esteban Gutierrez
Lap 5 - Adrian Sutil
Lap 15 - Mark Webber
Lap 21 - Nico Rosberg

Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 52; 2.Raikkonen 49; 3.Alonso 43; 4.Hamilton 40; 5.Massa 30; 6.Webber 26; 7.Button, Rosberg 12; 9.Grosjean 11; 10.Di Resta 8; 11.Ricciardo, Sutil 6; 13.Hulkenberg 5; 14.Perez 2; 15.Vergne 1.

Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 78; 2.Ferrari 73; 3.Lotus-Renault 60; 4.Mercedes 52; 5.Force India-Mercedes, McLaren-Mercedes 14; 7.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7; 8.Sauber-Ferrari 5

*Unofficial

Top three finishers (Photo: WRi2)

Audi has won the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship with a stylish 1-2 finish at the Six Hours of Silverstone

The #2 R18 e-tron Quattro shared by Allan McNish, Loic Duval and Tom Kristensen took the lead of the WEC season opener from the #1 Fassler/Treluyer/Lotterer car with five minutes remaining in an event characterised by mixed conditions.

The No. 2 Audi at the Six Hours of Silverstone (Photo: Audi)

Despite opening the season in style, the event was not entirely drama free for the reigning champions, with the #1 car suffering from an energy-retrieval system problem during Lotterer's stint and the sister car spinning in the hands of McNish, whilst the Scot tried to avoid a wayward Aston Martin in the race's closing stages.

The Toyotas of Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin and Wurz/LaPierre, despite starting in first and second positions on the grid, finished in third and fourth and a lap down after completing a total of 196 laps.

The Japanese manufacturer was expected to continue where last season ended, with the quickest and most tyre efficient car. However, it seems the decision to start with a 2012 car may have been short sighted, as the two TS030 HYBRID cars could not keep pace with the 2013 Audi, as some ten minutes into the race, the McNish/Duval/Kristensen car had easily taken the lead of the race after they suffered with tyre issues.

The LMP1 category was rounded out with the two Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota B12/60s finishing in fifth and sixth, the Heidfeld/Prost/Jani car heading the sister Belicci/Becchi/Cheng machine home.

Antonio Pizzonia, Tor Graves and James Walker claimed victory in LMP2 for Delta-ADR ORECA-Nissan ahead of the OAK Morgan Nissan of Olivier Pla, Alex Brundle and David Heinemeier Hansson.

Aston Martin claimed victory in the GT Pro class, with the #97 Vantage GTE of Stefan Mucke, Darren Turner and endurance returnee Bruno Senna winning ahead of the AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Toni Vilander and series debutante, ex Sauber F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi.

The second Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Frederic Makowiecki and Pedro Lamy completed the final step of the podium in third.

It was also a good day for the British marque in the GT Am division, with Cristoffer Nygaard, Kristen Poulsen and Allan Simonsen claiming victory ahead of the Larbre Corvette of Patrick Bornhauser, Julien Canal and Fernando Rees on the company's 100th year of competition.

Mark Webber will take a three-place grid penalty for his tangle with Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne during the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Red Bull stablemates tangled at turn six, with the Australian ploughing into the side of the sister car as he tried to make up position after starting from the pits following a grid penalty in qualifying.

The incident resulted in a spin for Vergne and a broken front wing for Webber. In spite of his obvious disappointment, the Red Bull driver does not blame the Toro Rosso driver for the incident and after the race claimed the Frenchman was ‘entitled' to defend his position.

“It's disappointing. He was entitled to do that, but if he'd just gone around the outside we would've both survived,” said Webber.

The Australian also admitted that he was confused by Vergne's actions as he thought he was letting him through.

“I was regrouping and coming through the field and got to Jean-Eric," he continued. "I was coming from a reasonable distance back but he knew I was there.

“I thought he [Jean-Eric] was being very co-operative under braking and I thought that's fair enough and we'd roll round there together and he'd give me some room.”

“[But] then he came down [towards the apex] and I couldn't get out of it at that point. It probably looks quite clumsy, but it was disappointing that we made contact.

“He was really, really wide and looking like he opened the corner and was giving me the line.”

"[But] we got to the apex and he took it.”

Webber also admitted that his difficult weekend could not have been any worse as he retired from the race after the Red Bull lost a wheel after a pit stop following the incident with Vergne.

“You could not script it, could you?" he said after the race.

Price Range: $57,300 and up

Description: As part of one of the most comprehensive luxury car lineups on the road today, the BMW 3-Series Cabriolet has long been a staple part of the German automaker's product portfolio. Joining wagon, GT, coupe, and sedan variants of the 3-Series, the Cabriolet targets shoppers after the styling, safety, and performance that the model is known for along with a bit of that “wind in your hair” feeling on beautiful days.

Selection in the BMW 3-Series Cabriolet range for 2013 includes three unique models and a wide-reaching lineup of features and option packages to suit a variety of tastes and budgets.

All models are four-seat, rear-wheel drive units with a fully motorized, hard-paneled roof that opens or closes at the touch of a button.


Drivetrain: All 2013 BMW 3-Series Cabriolet models get a 3.0L straight-6 engine at the heart of their powertrain -- though three versions of said engine are available. The 328i Cabriolet runs BMW's legendary naturally aspirated straight-6, turning out 230 horsepower.

Step up to the 335i Cabriolet, and you'll benefit from BMW turbocharge technology which spikes power output from the 3.0L mill to a robust 300 horsepower.

Topping the standard 2013 BMW 3-Series Cabriolet range is the 335is Cabriolet, which boosts turbocharger output and remaps the engine computer to turn in an elevated output figure of 320 horsepower. Suspension and chassis revisions help manage the higher power output.

All models get a 6-speed manual as standard equipment, while a dual-clutch gearbox in automatic trim is available for lightning-fast browsing of seven forward gears via paddle shifters.

Consider it if: your next convertible is to be one with pedigree, performance, instantly recognizable looks, and a touch of exclusivity. The BMW 3-Series Cabriolet, thanks to its suite of connectivity-based features and applications, is also ideal for folks using it as a mobile office or workstation. The hard-panel roof makes it ideal for year-round use, too.

Skip it if: you're after maximum power per dollar, or if you don't like standing out.

Other Notes: Look for a Bluetooth handsfree phone interface, Bluetooth media streaming, and a satellite-linked, voice-commanded navigation system to keep you on course. A premium sound system option is available for audiophiles on the move, and full connectivity to your favourite MP3 player, iPod or satellite radio station is included in the 2013 BMW 3-Series Cabriolet.

Don't Miss: the turbocharged performance of the 335i Cabriolet. This legendary engine has been called one of the best in the world, and is noted for its warm, sweet exhaust note, strong pull at virtually any RPM, exciting and peaky character, and overall fuel efficiency.

Thanks to a uniquely engineered hardtop roof mechanism and advanced attention to vehicle aerodynamics, BMW 3-Series Cabriolet drivers can expect a quiet, relaxing driving experience with the top up or down.

Standard safety equipment includes advanced antilock brakes, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), and a high-performance lighting system.

Photo: BMW

India's annual car sales fell for the first time in a decade in the financial year just ended and are expected to post subdued growth this year, calling into question bullish expectations that fueled billion-dollar bets from global manufacturers.

NEWS EDITOR GREG MIGLIORE: The 2013 Santa Fe Sport 2.0T is an attractive value with enticing design and a comfortable interior.

What is it?

Daimler's effort to reclaim the crown of world's largest luxury-car maker is looking a lot like the 1980s with the Mercedes CLA compact that harkens back to the 190 'Baby Benz' sedan.

Daimler's effort to reclaim the crown of world's largest luxury carmaker is looking a lot like the 1980s with the Mercedes CLA compact that harkens back to the 190 'Baby Benz' sedan.

2013 Fiat 500e First Drive

By Decree, an EV

The 2013 Fiat 500e is what’s called a compliance car—meaning that California requires any volume automaker doing business in the state to offer an electric model. This is Chrysler’s, and it will be sold only in California, although other states may be added later.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Fiat 500e First Drive - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Fiat 500e First Drive - Automobile Magazine

2013 Fiat 500e First Drive | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Oh brother! It took a track record to spoil Kurt Busch's day as his younger brother, Kyle, had a record qualifying run of 27.509 seconds 196.299mph in a Toyota at Texas Motor Speedway.

“Not too shabby of a day,” Kyle said.  “It certainly didn't start out as good as we expected to -- but we made the most of the day.  We used the whole tool box today.

“I can't say enough about everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing -- everyone at the shop that work so hard to give us great equipment to come to the race track with.

“I appreciate that Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and the guys dug in and worked hard today to give us a good piece for qualifying and I feel like we have a good piece for the race tomorrow night too

Brian Vickers set the track record of 196.235mph in 2006.

Kurt, the former Sprint Cup champ, lapped the mile-and-a-half oval in 27.595 seconds or 195.688mph in a Chevrolet. How did he feel about losing the pole to his brother?

“Track record is a small feather in the cap.  The fact that it's Kyle I wouldn't want to lose to anybody other than him, but it is bitter because I did lose to him.”

This is the second time since the Busch brothers will start one-two. The first time was in 2009 at Las Vegas their home track.

A pair of Richard Petty Motorsports Fords, Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose were third and fourth respectively at 195.009 mph and 194.946 mph.

Fernando Alonso is still confident of Ferrari's chances in tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix despite both cars qualifying third and fifth

The double world champion comfortably set the fastest time in FP3 ahead of teammate Felipe Massa, who recorded the quickest lap of FP2 on Friday. The team's pace seemed to fade slightly during Saturday's qualifying session with Alonso and Massa dropping to third and fifth, despite many considering Ferrari to be the favourites for pole.

However, Alonso refused to be downbeat following qualifying and believes Ferrari's traditionally strong Sunday pace will allow both cars to fight for the podium come the race.

"I think the race pace is normally better so I don't see any change here compared to any other race," Alonso said.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F138 (Photo: WRi2)

"I expect tomorrow to have a good position in the race fighting for the podium and hopefully for the win.

“The car felt competitive from Friday, this morning we made some changes and the car was responding well,” he continued.

“I think we have a good setup for the race as well - which is always more important than qualifying - and I think tomorrow if everything goes well I think we should be able to fight for the podium and hopefully with both cars, so this is good news for the team.”

Despite his optimism, the Spaniard expects strategy and Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus - a car notoriously soft on its tires - to be decisive factors in the outcome of tomorrow's race.

“Tomorrow we know the tires are going to be the key factor,” he said.  “Pitting first is obviously going to be an advantage in terms of pace but it's going to be a disadvantage in terms of traffic.

You'll be in the middle of many cars that will probably be going longer; cars that are starting in 11th will go longer with the prime, also people like [Sebastian] Vettel and [Jenson] Button will be longer with the prime so it's something that we need to be very flexible in the strategy and very clever and hopefully take the best chance.

I think especially with Kimi we will have a strong opponent because normally Lotus and him is one of the best at taking care of the tires.”

Toyota has taken an almost assured pole position at the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Six Hours of Silverstone.

The team's lap is still surrounded in uncertainty, despite the #7 TS030 Hybrid driven by Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre setting the fastest qualifying time in damp conditions as the session was characterised by a timing glitch which saw no times recorded.

However, the team remains confident it will keep its grid slot ahead of tomorrow's race.

Lapierre believes he and Wurz were ahead ‘by miles' from the sister car and reigning champion Audi's R18 E-Tron due to gauging the changeable British spring weather conditions correctly.

Toyota has started the 2013 WEC season on the right foot (Photo: Toyota Motorsport)

"We are on pole by miles for sure, because we got the conditions right,” he told Autosport.

"We went from intermediates to slicks, whereas our other car went inters-inters and the Audis, we think, wets to slicks.

In the other categories taking part at this weekend's race, the G-Drive/Delta-ADR ORECA-Nissan 03 driven by Antonio Pizzonia and James Walker is expected to take pole in LMP2, with the fastest GTE Pro time being set by the Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Pedro Lamy and Frederic Makowiecki.

UPDATE: Toyota has had its pole position at the Six Hours of Silverstone confirmed some four and a half hours after the qualifying session finished, with the sister car shared between Anthony Davidson, Stephane Sarrazine and Sebastien Buemi lining up alongside in second.


Qualifying results - Six Hours of Silverstone
1.Lapierre-Wurz (Toyota TS030 Hybrid) - Toyota - 1'48"021
2.Davidson-Buemi-Sarrazin (Toyota TS030 Hybrid) - Toyota - 1'49"995
3.Kristensen-Duval-McNish (Audi R18 e-tron) - Audi - 1'51"283
4.Prost-Jani-Heidfeld (Lola B12/60-Toyota) - Rebellion - 1'52"124
5.Treluyer-Lotterer-Fassler (Audi R18 e-tron) - Audi - 1'53"488
6.Belicchi-Beche-Cheng (Lola B12/60-Toyota) - Rebellion - 1'53"835
7.Graves-Pizzonia-Walker (Oreca03-Nissan) - ADR Delta - 1'55"148
8.Pla-Heinemeier Hansson-Brundle (Morgan-Nissan) - Oak - 1'57"629
9.Rusinov-Martin-Conway (Oreca03-Nissan) - G drive - 1'57"697
10.Baguette-Gonzales-Plowman (Morgan-Nissan) - Oak - 1'58"729
11.Turner-Mucke-Senna (Aston Martin Vantage) - Aston Martin - 2'00"566
12.Dalla Lana-Makowiecki-Lamy (Aston Martin Vantage) - Aston Martin - 2'00"772
13.Goethe-Hall-Campbell Walter (Aston Martin Vantage) - Aston Martin - 2'01"158
14.Bergmeister-Pilet-Bernhard (Porsche 911 RSR) - Manthey - 2'01"308
15.Lieb-Lietz-Dumas (Porsche 911 RSR) - Manthey - 2'01"452
16.Bruni-Fisichella (Ferrari F458) - AF Corse - 2'01"512
17.Nygaard-Poulsen-Simonsen (Aston Martin Vantage) - Aston Martin - 2'01"544
18.Holzer-Kraihamer-Charouz (Lotus T128) - Lotus - 2'01"555
19.Kobayashi-Vilander (Ferrari F458) - AF Corse - 2'01"803
20.Weeda-Liuzzi-Bouchut (Lotus T128) - Lotus - 2'02"144
21.Gerber-Griffin-Cioci (Ferrari F458) - AF Corse - 2'02"396
22.Perez Companc-Minassian-Kaffer (Oreca03-Nissan) - Pecom - 2'02"454
23.Potolicchio-Aguas-Peter (Ferrari F458) - 8 Star - 2'02"513
24.Bornhauser-Canal-Rees (Chevrolet Corvette C6) - Larbre - 2'02"862
25.Imperatori-Howson-Ka To (Morgan-Nissan) - KCMG - 2'02"991
26.Narac-Bourret-Vernay (Porsche 911 RSR) - IMSA - 2'04"176
27.Dyson-Marsal-Kimber-Smith (Zytek Z11SN-Nissan) - Greaves - 2'04"491
28.Krohn-Jonson-Mediani (Ferrari F458) - Krohn - 2'05"482
29.Nicolet-Merlin (Morgan-Nissan) - Oak - 2'10"475
30.Leventis-Watts-Kane (HPD ARX 03a-Honda) - Strakka - no average time

McLaren's Jenson Button has tipped Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel for victory in the Chinese Grand Prix.

The two drivers will line up eighth and ninth as they elected to sacrifice grid position to save their more durable medium compound tyres, whilst their immediate rivals will start on the softer compound which is expected to last around four to six laps.

"We have a very fast car next to us [Vettel]. He is starting just behind me on slightly newer tyres,” said Button to the BBC.

“"He is the guy who is really going to challenge at the front for the win."

Jenson Button's money is on Sebastian Vettel (Photo: WRi2)

Whilst Button ruled himself and McLaren out of contention for outright victory tomorrow, the 2009 world champion is pleased with the team's improved performance this weekend.

“I think we should be very happy with our qualifying performance: we don't really have the pace of the front-running cars yet, but finishing seventh in Q2 was really satisfying,” he said. “[And] to out-qualify both Red Bulls in Q3, and with a two-minute lap, was amazing!

“This was the best we could do with what we have.”

The Briton also expects his and McLaren's decision to conserve tires to pay off in the race due to the high levels of wear seen during the practice sessions.

“I've looked at a few of the tires of the soft runners and they looked grained,” he commented. “It's going to be cooler so we're going to see the graining we saw yesterday on high fuel.”

"They're going to struggle with that at the start of the race. Hopefully we can get a good start and at some point we should find some clear air in front of us.
“It's going to be an extremely interesting race.”

Teammate Sergio Perez continued to endure a difficult weekend and will line up 12th behind the Force India of Paul di Resta, but remained confident he can add to his two points for McLaren tomorrow.

“It's been a difficult weekend so far,” commented the young Mexican. “That was frustrating; the warm-up of my tyres before my quick-lap wasn't ideal, and I struggled to really pull everything together on the lap.”

“I've got a great team behind me and I know they'll do a fantastic job to give me the best possible strategy for the race tomorrow,” he continued.

“We can definitely do a good job and score some good points.”