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Sebastian Vettel admits that Friday in Hockenheim was something of a wasted day as the rain prevented the local hero from assessing the true form of the latest incarnation of the Red Bull RB8.

Vettel was 12^th in the morning session and an encouraging third in the wet in the afternoon, although in the mixed conditions times meant little.

“I think mostly I tried to get used to the conditions,” said Vettel. “It’s not impossible we have some rain tomorrow and on Sunday, the weather forecast is not looking great, so we’ll see.

“Obviously I would have loved to have had a dry session, especially this afternoon to get a couple of runs and be able to test a couple of things on the car. If conditions are like that, changing all the time, you are between extremes and intermediates, the circuit is drying, half dry, half wet, then it’s difficult to get a proper read.

“It’s difficult on Friday if the conditions are like that. We only have one set of tyres for free in intermediate conditions [ie which have to be used on Fridays], the extremes we have to carry them into tomorrow’s practice and potentially qualifying and the race. You obviously try to save the mileage on them, and you only have one set of intermediates for free. It’s limited the amount of work you can do just because you don’t know the kind of weather you can expect.”

As ever Vettel was a little coy about what sort of updates he had wanted to test: “We’re always pushing and having little bits here and there, no major upgrade I think, nothing you can see. I would have loved to have dry conditions just to see how the car works, how it feels, and that’s the only chance you get to get consistent laps and try whatever you want to test.”

Vettel also made an interesting observation about McLaren after Jenson Button was fastest in the dry FP1 session.

“They looked very competitive this morning, no doubt, we couldn’t go that pace. But I think we were not entirely happy this morning. It’s a Friday, it’s difficult to draw a conclusion.

“They looked very competitive in Silverstone on Friday as well and their weekend wasn’t so good. I think it can turn out one way or the other tomorrow and we have to look up to see what kind of weather we get.”

Michael Schumacher admits that he had lost concentration when he crashed in the wet FP2 session at Hockenheim today.

In the closing minutes of the session Schumacher went off at the fast right into the stadium, and touched the barrier with the front and rear of the car. He had been fourth in the dry morning session.

“Basically I was not fully concentrated,” said Schumacher. “I was on the radio and I was doing some other changes to the car, and touched the white line. That’s it.

“Cosmetically it looks almost all four corners touched on the barriers, so that’s not the nicest way, but the impact wasn’t too big.”

Schumacher admitted that Mercedes hadn’t learned much in today’s mixed conditions.

“It didn’t help us a lot, conditions, being so inconsistent, I don’t think we learned a great deal.

“It is what it is, so you’ve got to the best out of it. Nevertheless we’ve got to qualify probably in wet conditions, so that’s why it’s good sense to be out today and try the car and get the set-up right and so on. But it’s a guess work for Sunday.

“It’s OK. Any time we’ve been out, we’ve been top end.”

Sebastian Vettel emphasised today what a German GP victory would mean to him, especially after he finished only fourth in his home race last season.

Bizarrely he has never won a Grand Prix during the month of July, although he has little time for that unusual stat.

“Yeah, obviously it would be very special to win here,” said the double World Champion. “I think first of all to have the chance to race in your home country is something that’s very special, and being able to win would be incredible. We try again – but I don’t believe in a bad month or a bad date in that regard.”

As the half way point of the season approaches Vettel has 104 points less than he had at the same stage last year, after nine races.

“It’s different, of course. Obviously we had an incredible year last year, good start, a lot of points, a lot of wins. This year we’ve had two DNFs and all in all, I think it has been a tricky season. Obviously a lot of guys and a lot of cars that are very competitive, so naturally I think it’s a different season so far but feeling-wise, I feel as happy as last year really, so looking forward to this weekend, but I think we have a long season ahead of us.”

Today Vettel recalled some very early memories of visiting Hockenheim to watch F1 cars in action – including getting ripped off by a bottled water seller!

“Yeah, I remember the first time I came here was with my father in I think 1992. I was five years old and we came on a Friday, it was raining like crazy, on the old track. We were waiting for the cars to come, for Michael to come, but they only did the installation lap but that was already enough because just to hear the cars, the sound, see them, see the spray, was unique. So that’s a nice memory.

“A couple of years later I watched again a Formula One Grand Prix, from the main grandstand and it was very hot. I remember they sold water for 10 Deutsche Marks, which was really expensive at the time, and later on when we left we found out that they had just refilled the water bottles from the tap, so that was quite a good business.

“After that, through Formula BMW and Formula 3, a lot of racing here. It’s not far away from where I was born, where I grew up, therefore it’s obviously special to come here.”

Vettel said he likes the Hockenheim atmosphere, especially in the rowdy campsites: “I haven’t been camping myself but two years ago, last time we’ve been here, we’ve been to the campsite to visit the fans, so yeah, there have been plenty of fans and obviously the atmosphere was very special. I don’t know if you have been there already but if you haven’t then you should go – I think you will get a beer for sure.

“So, yeah, it’s a good atmosphere, a good vibe, so I think the people come here and enjoy the whole weekend. Hopefully the weather is not like Silverstone this week, otherwise it will be quite poor for them.”

Felipe Massa says Mark Webber’s decision to turn down Ferrari and re-sign for Red Bull has not had any impact on his thinking about his future.

The Brazilian remains in limbo as the Maranello team considers its options for 2013 and beyond.

“Of course I keep an eye on what is going on with other drivers, just as anyone likes to know what is going on in whatever work they do,” Massa told the Ferrari website.

“But the only thing that is important for me is that I keep performing in the same way I did in Silverstone. In the two Grands Prix prior to that, in Montreal and Valencia, I should have been entirely capable of finishing in the top five or on the podium, but for various reasons – a spin in Montreal and a problem with the floor of the car in Valencia – that did not happen.

“Without that, since Monaco, I would have been fighting for the top five at every race. I’m sure that driving the way I am now is the only thing I can do and need to do to ensure my future. What happens in the drivers’ market does not have a significant effect on my position. If I carry on performing the way I did in Silverstone, then I don’t feel too worried about my future.”

Massa says the season isn’t as tough as it might look from the outside.

“In my situation, I have had some strong races recently and our car is getting better all the time, so you want to keep racing, because you have in mind that your performance can get even better. In our case, I expect that trend to continue all the way through to the final round of the championship.

“But if you are struggling, having hard races, then you really have to dig deep and in those circumstances, it can seem like a long road, although even then, you have the incentive to work hard and look ahead to every race in the hope of doing better.

“It’s human nature that you have to push yourself harder when times are tough. Thankfully, at the moment, we are not in that position and I’m looking forward to all the remaining races, so the fact it is a long season is fine for me. Twenty races is definitely a long championship, but I am enjoying the fact that we have many races remaining to get some good results.”

He remains confident that he can move up the championship table: “For sure, the Drivers’ is still important to me. Looking at where I was just before Silverstone, I am aware that are a lot of points still available over the coming eleven races. It is very important for me and I want to fight to get back into the top six or top five. That might be a difficult target to achieve, but you always need to set yourself a hard challenge. In addition, the Constructors’ Championship is very important to us and the better I do in the Drivers’ the more I help Ferrari.”

Pirelli is taking its experimental new hard tyre to Hockenheim after rain meant it wasn’t possible to try it at Silverstone.

Drivers will have two sets of the hard to try on Friday alongside their regular allocation of softs and mediums for the race weekend. The extra sets will be very handy as they will guarantee extra running at a track no one has seen since 2010.

“After a wet Silverstone, we hope to give the drivers the chance to run on the experimental hard compound tyre during free practice at Hockenheim,” said Pirelli motor sport boss Paul Hembery. But the weather in Germany at this time of year can be almost as unpredictable as it is in England: when we were at Hockenheim for the GP3 Series two years ago we saw plenty of rain, although it’s been very hot in the past too.

“The new hard tyre is not a big evolution, but it has a slightly wider working range, which should make it easier for the teams to get the tyres up to temperature and maintain them in the correct operating window.”

Pirelli has no plans to introduce the new hard as a race tyre during the 2012 season, although it is open minded should the teams agree to try it.

“We’re running them in Friday free practice only as with the championship so finely balanced, we feel that it would be unfair to suddenly alter one of the fundamental parameters that the teams have made a lot of effort to understand and get the most out of. But we enjoy a very productive dialogue with them, and we will always take into account the wishes of the majority.

“It’s certainly going to be interesting hearing what they have to say about the new tyre, and seeing if their impressions match up to the conclusions that we have drawn from our private testing. Coming to a circuit that is new to us always holds a different challenge, as we don’t have any of our own previous data to compare it with.”

Fernando Alonso’s engineer Andrea Stella says that hard work and a positive attitude has helped to ensure that Fernando Alonso is top of the World Championship table as the half way mark approaches.

Stella conceded that it the current scenario seemed very unlikely just a few months ago.

“At the start of the season it would have required one to be extremely optimistic to imagine such a situation,” he told the Ferrari website. “But in this sport, things can change very quickly and we have always maintained a positive attitude. The current situation is the result of this attitude combined with a lot of hard work.

“We simply adapted the aerodynamic development of the car and progress also came as we gained a better understanding of the tyres. In fact, the tyres have been a major challenge this year, as well as optimising the aerodynamics, the latter because of the change of rules in this area compared to last year.

“However, another important challenge we all face this year is not so much a technical one, but stems from the fact that the performance level of many of the cars is extremely close.”

Stella sees no reason why the F2012 should not be competitive in Hockenheim.

“The car was good in Valencia, it was also good in Silverstone. And as Hockenheim is a mix of the slow speed of Valencia and high speed of Silverstone, I would expect Ferrari to be competitive in Germany.

“In the past in Hockenheim, managing the tyres was difficult, especially the front left and sometimes we also saw blistering on the rear tyres. So it could be an interesting weekend from the tyre point of view.”

He also said that he now has a good understanding with Alonso.

“The relationship is more solid and we know each other much better. From my point of view and that of the other engineers, it is important that we know what the driver wants and what he requires to go fast and this aspect has improved in the two and a half years I have been working with Fernando. At the moment, things are going well, so let’s hope it stays like this.”

Caterham has started work on its new Leafield base in preparation for the arrival of the F1 team at the end of the month.

The race cars, now en route to Hockenheim, will return to Leafield rather than Hingham after the Hungarian GP.

Leafield was formerly the home of the Arrows and Super Aguri teams, and its location puts the team into the UK’s ‘motor sport valley,’ with greater access to technical  talent.

All three teams that joined the grid in 2010 have now moved from their original locations.

“The F1 and GP2 teams will be first in place in Leafield, and Caterham Cars will be moving its HQ to Leafield in due course,” said team boss Tony Fernandes. “Caterham Composites will remain in Norfolk and CTI (Caterham Technology and Innovation) will retain its offices in Germany whilst expanding production into the Hingham site to join Caterham Composites at the base we have owned since ’09.

“The first task is to refurbish the whole site and prepare it for a long and successful future. While that work is taking place the F1 team’s race trucks have left Hingham with our 2012 race cars for the last time. The next time they are back in the UK they will go straight to Leafield and that is excellent news for everybody associated with Caterham Group.

“More than 200 of the F1 team staff are making the move to Oxfordshire over the next few weeks and when we have finished the refurbishment, in late October 2012, we will have a facility that will put us on a par with the teams we are trying to catch in F1. Importantly, it will also give us the base we need to allow Caterham Group to achieve the impossible for many years to come. This is why I am so excited about what we have ahead of us, and this is why I am now dreaming of bigger, better and more ambitious plans than ever before.”

Technical director Mark Smith underlined the handicap of the Hingham location: “One of the immediate benefits of the move is in attracting people to come and work with us. Since I joined the team in 2011 I have been aware that there have been people we wanted to bring to Norfolk who were reluctant to move their families out of ‘motorsport valley’ where all the UK based F1 teams, and their associated supply chains and partners, are based.”

Marussia says that Maria de Villota’s accident at Duxford Airfield was not caused by any issues with the car – but the team has stopped short of saying that her sudden acceleration was due to driver error as the Spaniard attempted to bring the car to a halt after her first straightline run.

The team conducted its own analysis, which was backed up what it described as an “external forensic investigation.”

The team noted: “As would be normal procedure, the Team’s findings have been shared with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), the independent UK regulator which acts in the public interest in respect of work-related accidents.”

Team principal John Booth said: “We are satisfied that the findings of our internal investigation exclude the car as a factor in the accident. We have shared and discussed our findings with the HSE for their consideration as part of their ongoing investigation.

“This has been a necessarily thorough process in order to understand the cause of the accident. We have now concluded our investigatory work and can again focus on the priority, which continues to be Maria’s wellbeing. In that regard, we continue to support Maria and the De Villota family in any way we can.”

Marussia has issued a positive update on the condition of Maria de Villota, some eight days after her accident at Duxford.

The team says that her condition is improving, and that she is no longer under sedation.

A statement said: “Following two successful surgical procedures in the days following the accident, last Saturday the medical team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital began to gradually reduce the level of Maria’s sedation. By Sunday morning, Maria was awake and able to speak to her family, which provided a very important – albeit early – indication that there were positive signs for Maria’s recovery.

“Since that time, Maria has been making small but significant steps. She was moved out of the Neurological Critical Care Unit on Monday and is no longer receiving sedation. Her family remain by her side and she is communicating freely with them and the medical team. Medical assessments are ongoing to monitor Maria’s improving condition.”

Red Bull has issued an intriguing Q&A with Mark Webber, who confirms that he turned down Ferrari.

Q: Was signing with Red Bull Racing for 2013 an easy decision?

MW: In the end, yes it was. It’s been an interesting few months, but overall the continuity and desire for me to continue at Red Bull Racing was very strong. My main focus is on this year’s Championship, which is very important. In addition it’s an amazing bunch of guys and girls at Red Bull Racing and I really, really like working with them. That has a huge effect on me and how I perform in the car and it helped me in my decision.

Q: You mention the people, what else is it that you like about the Team and Red Bull?

MW: Well, we have gone through plenty together here. We went from the days when Red Bull had not long owned the team to what it is now. The team really changed when we started to get successful, in terms of getting the balance right between being extremely professional on all fronts to still keeping that laid back and approachable attitude that the team still has within reason. It is just one nice big family now in many ways and we have grown so much. We’ve come a long way and I think it’s clear that I fit well here and that’s what I really like about it.

Q: Were you tempted to think about moving elsewhere?

MW: There were discussions with Ferrari, but my decision was to stay here.

What’s the benefit of staying with Red Bull Racing?

MW: I virtually know everyone’s shoe size! I know everyone’s names, I know how everyone ticks and I know all the departments which is very, very important for a driver. There’s a whole raft of factors.

Q: And how is working with the Team and with Sebastian (Vettel)?

MW: Very good. Obviously with Seb, we’ve worked very, very close together for a long period of time now. I think no-one would really have envisaged how long we have worked together, so that’s probably been a bit of a surprise. There are not many team-mates staying together for that long in Formula One, but it’s proved to be a successful partnership with both of us working very hard with the key technical members of the team. It’s been a potent operation. We’re still competitive when we hit the track, no question about it, especially in 2010 and this year. Last year there wasn’t much racing between Sebastian and I, but in 2009, 2010 and this year, there have been some great battles. That’s been enjoyable for the team, sometimes stressful too as it’s not easy for both of us to be at the front and I can understand that, as both of us are thinking about ourselves sometimes, but ultimately we know that we need to get the cars home and get the best results for us and the team.

Q: Does it help to have contracts sorted earlier in the season?

MW: Yes it does and that’s another reason to just get it to bed. I’ve been hearing different rumours and reasons for a long time now. At the end of the day I know everything that has been going on. You want to make sure your focus is clearly on driving the car and the guys that you’re working with. It’s important the team knows you’re 100% with them, which, of course, I am.

Q: Will 2013 be your last season in F1?

MW: I’ve been asked this question for the past four years and my answer remains the same. It’s a results-based sport at the front of the grid so the future lies in my own hands. It’s down to me to deliver the on-track results.