Autoblog UK

Mark Webber's victory in Hungary has taken him to the top of the drivers' standings. With seven races left on the calendar, the Red Bull driver has a four-point lead over McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Webber is feeling confident about the rest of the season, because he is convinced that the RB6 can be fast on any circuit. "Singapore, Suzuka, Brazil and Abu Dhabi should be good tracks for us. We're a bit concerned about Monza, because the long straights may suit the opposition," explains Webber.

After the summer break, the first big challenge will be the Belgian Grand Prix. "It would be nice to win Spa, Suzuka and a few other victories this year, and along with that hopefully comes something special," says Webber on the official Red Bull website. "But we need to focus on being consistent. On some tracks where we're not quite there - or I'm not quite there - we've had a few hiccups, but you need perfect weekends to win at this level.

"And of course, Sebastian and I have been pushing each other pretty hard. To beat each other, you need to get everything right." The Australian is well satisfied with his season so far: "I have a few of my goals already in the pocket this year, which is sensational. But we have some great races coming up in the future which would be great to win. Every race is worth 25 points and we need to perform everywhere. If we can do that, you never know what can happen at the end of the year."

Lotus already have one Malaysian test driver under contract in the shape of Fairuz Fauzy who has spent a few GP Fridays this season deputising for the first-choice drivers. The team are planning to fast-track more budding talent into Formula One from their home base of Malaysia in the near future.

For example, 16-year-old Malaysian Nabil Jeffri has been invited to get his first taste of F1 by taking the wheel of the T127 for an aero test in England this September. Jeffri is currently contesting the Formula BMW Pacific series as a member of the Eurasia Motorsport Team and is fifth in the overall standings. His best race result so far has been a P5.

At Autoblog we love our gadgets and accessories and here are the latest goodies to keep us fiddling for hours.

Bumper Car Alarm Clock

£24.99, caagis.com


Get up in the morning with a smile on your face with this Bumper Car Alarm Clock! Simply set the analogue alarm, tune it in to your favourite station and it'll wake you up by flashing its headlights, a beep and your chosen breakfast show. And if you want an extra few minutes in bed, you can hit the bonnet to activate the snooze function.

Flavio Briatore may be out of Formula One now, but the former Renault team principal is still happy to share his opinions about the sport. And he has one very clear championship favourite. "Watch out! Webber is on the way to winning the title," says Briatore in an interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport. "Mark's victory in Hungary was phenomenal."

There may be an element of self-interest in Briatore's insight, as his management company has Webber as one of its clients. "But that's not the only reason I'm backing him," stresses Briatore. "I'm only saying what everyone can see from their living room. Webber has matured over the years and become much more focused. In Hungary, he clearly understood that he was taking a big risk by covering three-quarters of the distance on soft tyres. But that gamble won him the race. It showed how much he is using his brain - compared with many of the other drivers out there."

Even Formula One stars have been known to go on holiday. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton said cheerio to the rest of the team on Sunday and won't be seeing them again until just before the Belgian GP in three weeks' time. In the meantime, the McLaren duo have planned a programme of fitness training and relaxation.

Lewis isn't letting on where he'll be going: "As far as I'm concerned, it will be good to get away from it all for a short while. Where am I off to? I don't think I'm going to tell you." Jenson was more forthcoming in this regard - he is flying from Hungary to Guernsey to do some training prior to the London Triathlon next Sunday. He also competed in last year's event.

The announcement that Mini is returning to international rallying has boosted the World Rally Championship but before they return, there looks to be few challengers to the domination of Citroen.

Ford's Jari-Matti Latvala took victory on the recent Rally Finland to keep the two Sebastien's - Loeb and Ogier - on their toes, but there is no doubt that the French team is in a class of its own. And we think it's time to show off some of their past and present heroes.

Uwe Gemballa, the eccentric gentleman behind tuning firm, Gemballa, may have ceased to producing insane one-off versions of uber-expensive cars, but he wasn't the only one turning out utterly tasteless creations.

Mansory has shown it is more than up to the task with this one-off Bugatti Veyron bedecked in gold trimmings, containing gold ostrich-skin patterned seats, and finished off with, you guessed it, gold wheels.

Police forces are set to trial equipment that will test whether drivers are under the influence of illegal drugs.

If the trial is successful, the equipment could be rolled out to all police forces in the UK over the next two years.

If you were pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt, you might expect a bit of a slap on the wrists and then be sent on your way with maybe a small fine to make sure you remember to buckle up next time.

But a 70-year-old driver from Monmouthshire, who has reportedly recently recovered from a stroke and has a heart condition, was treated to a slightly more aggressive response. The police chased after his Range Rover, smashed his side window and windscreen and dragged him out of the car when he stopped after a 17 minute pursuit.