THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it is "way too early" to be discussing Mark Webber’s future with the team, and that any discussions will probably wait until the end of the season.
"(It) it is a mutual thing, it was agreed between Mark and the team that we would take things, at this stage of his career, one season at a time," Horner said. "It’s way too early to be focusing on 2012 at this point in time. We’re very happy with Mark, he’s a very popular member of our team."
Webber was fourth in the championship standings ahead of Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix, the fourth race of the season. The 34-year-old Australian will look for his first win of the season, starting from second on the grid at Istanbul Park.
Webber has improved as the season has advanced, moving up from fifth in Australia to fourth in Malaysia and then third in China, where an inspired performance saw him carve his way through the field after starting in 18th spot.
"I think that Mark has had a difficult start to the year, up until the race in China where he drove an absolutely phenomenal race there," Horner said. "He’s had some bad luck, (but) he’s still delivering at a massively high level."
Webber challenged for the F1 title last season until the final day, only to finish third behind Fernando Alonso and his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel, who became the youngest ever champion.
"(Webber’s) probably one of the most dedicated Grand Prix drivers out there. But at this stage it’s certainly too early to be talking about the future," Horner said. "There will be a private discussion we have with Mark. When the time is right we will sit down and discuss it."
Ahead of Sunday’s race, Webber was 31 points behind Vettel.
Webber’s relationship with the 23-year-old Vettel was not always harmonious last year — there was even a feud after their wheels touched at the Turkish Grand Prix — but Horner feels their relationship is healthy.
"I think the dynamics we have, the combination between the two is really very positive," Horner said. "They bring the best out of each other, they push each other hard."
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DON’T LOOK FOR A FEUD AT MCLAREN: Former F1 champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton get on so well it is hard to believe they are actually rivals.
The Britons seem to enjoy racing against each other, and there is no trace of the animosity that sometimes embitters rivals on the same team — particularly if they are also trying to become world champions.
"(It is) inevitable, (with) two British drivers in the same team, immensely competitive individuals; there’s always been hope in some corners of the media that there would be aggravation," McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said. "Who knows what happens in the future, but so far it’s been very, very good and it looks as though it will continue."
Button won the title two years ago, while Hamilton was the champion before then.
Heading into the fourth race of the season at Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix, Hamilton was second behind defending champion Sebastian Vettel, and Button was third overall.
"Neither of them like to be beaten on the track, but they are both very, very open with each other," Whitmarsh said. "They share information, they share jokes as well, so I think it’s a fantastic relationship."
The benefits of that, Whitmarsh says, spill over.
"You can’t necessarily quantify it on the stopwatch, but it makes it a pleasant environment for the engineers and for their exchange of information," he said. "I think they’re both very comfortable in the team."
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LOTUS FIRE: A small fire damaged electrical equipment in one of the Lotus trucks on Friday night, but there was no major damage.
"Fire hasn’t affected anything to do with the cars or systems," the team said on Twitter. "Don’t worry if you heard about a fire in one of our trucks last night. It was minor and only damaged some wiring inside."
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YOUR JOB IS SAFE, LEONARDO — FOR NOW: Inter Milan board member Marco Tronchetti Provera has given his backing to coach Leonardo, and does not think Jose Mourinho will be back in charge at the San Siro next season.
"I don’t believe next season Mourinho will change place, we are satisfied with Leonardo," Tronchetti Provera told The Associated Press at the Turkish Grand Prix. "He did a great job with us. He was able to be back on track after a very difficult time. We go ahead and we want to be competitive."
Inter has all but relinquished its Italian Serie A title to cross-town rival AC Milan, and went out of the Champions League in the quarterfinals to German team Schalke 04.
Mourinho, who also won the Italian Cup in guiding Inter to the treble last season, is having a difficult time since leaving for Real Madrid. That has led to doubts over his future, and talk of a return to Italy.
Inter president Massimo Moratti will eventually have to decide whether to keep manager Leonardo for another season, with the Brazilian not having entirely impressed since replacing Rafa Benitez during the winter break.
Tronchetti Provera, a prominent board member, hopes Leonardo can show more consistency.
"This season was very unstable, we did start well but we went into a confused time, then we went back on track," he said. "We were close to reach a number of targets, and we had a blackout. We lost the major opportunities because of the blackout of two weeks and we (have come) back in the last three matches."