F1: Silverstone returns to its glory days as news piles up

It all started with Williams. Next year, they will be powered by Renault engines bringing the French manufacturer up to four clients: Renault (which they don't own), Team Lotus, the mighty Red Bull and now Williams.

Then little HRT - the team that barely made it into F1 last year after a funding crisis and has struggled but not disgraced itself - was sold to an investment company. These things don't have a habit of turning out well although Renault don't seem to have done too badly.

Who will sit in the HRT is open for debate: Australian Daniel Ricciardo was signed just before the sale completed. Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi have been this year's drivers so far. Last year the team shuffled drivers each race - causing considerable disruption. Bruno Senna and Karun Chandok are now reserves with major teams. While being in a decent car for Friday is nice, being on track on Sunday, even if it's in a bag of bolts, is better. Ricciardo is said to be slated for a debut at Silverstone.

Mark Webber is dismissing yet more speculation as to his future with Red Bull. He says that the team want him to stay on. But he is fidgeting for the sole reason that he simply cannot understand where Vettel is getting the extra performance from.

There is speculation - fired by Christian Horner and Lewis Hamilton meeting in public (which happens all the time but right now it's contract time and everything is given new meaning) - that Hamilton wants to move from McLaren and, as the clear front runner at present, Red Bull is where he (and at least half the grid) would like to go. But Horner has said that he thinks that Hamilton has a multi-year contract with McLaren and expects him to honour it. But, although the contracts are not public, others think that Hamilton's contract expires next year. Webber has confirmed he has a contract with Red Bull until the end of next year. That seems to fit in nicely.

Bernie Ecclestone got into the news-making business with an announcement that Cape Town in South Africa could be a GP city "within two years." But he needs some good news after the announcement that he may be under investigation in Germany on suspicion of corruption. He, on the other hand, says he's no idea what, if anything, might be investigated as he had not done anything that would justify such an investigation. But Ecclestone is being caught up in the case against Gerhard Gribkowsky which has been rumbling on for some time.

And then there's Team Lotus. Big white letters down the side of the car for this weekend will spell out "CATERHAM." Oh, yes: Colin Chapman would be delighted at the unifying of his 7 concept with the F1 team (at least in name) he created.

Virgin has been very proud of the fact that it designed its car on a computer with loads of modelling and little physical testing. But it's not working and so the team has done a deal to use some of McLaren's testing facilities.