In the light of Mark Webber’s bike crash down under, which left the Aussie with a broken leg, will teams crack down on drivers’ extra-curricular pursuits?

All F1 drivers are adrenalin junkies, naturally. Which means they get up to all sorts of dangerous activities in the off-season - Kimi Raikkonen loves snowmobiling and rally driving, for example.

But when these adventurous young chaps are being paid millions of pounds by their teams to race, should they be allowed to go off bungee jumping, free climbing and mountain biking?

Singapore tram firm strike back at Red Bull

The company responsible for Singapore’s tram network has refuted suggestions that one of their vehicles forced Mark Webber out of the Singapore Grand Prix. Red Bull had suggested that the transmission problem which messed up the Australian’s gears at Turn 13 had been caused by static electricity from a nearby tram. But Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit have - after a strange delay - denied that his was the case.

“There is no MRT track beneath Turn 13,” an SMRT official said, possibly whilst giving the Vs. “The nearest MRT tunnel is about 200 metres away with a depth of about ten metres. And train wheels and running wheels do not generate static electricity.”

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You’re messing with my electrics, man!

Red Bull believe Mark Webber’s Singapore Grand Prix may have been ended to a tram. The Australian was on course for a podium finish when he had to be rolled into the garage with transmission problems - his first mechanical retirement of the season.

Camber not averse to throwing F1 cars into barriers

No, it is not a nasty tropical disease. The Singapore bumps are in fact the road surface at Turn 18 of the street circuit. The bumps claimed several victims in the first practice session alone, so expect them to be a factor throughout the weekend. The first driver to underestimate the power of the bumps was Red Bull’s Mark Webber who suffered a knackered suspension when the bumps threw him off course and into one of the water-filled barriers at the turn.

Toyota’s Jarno Trulli found himself driving down an escape road after the same bumps threw him off his chosen line, and Renault’s Nelson Piquet also ended up in a run-off area at the same turn. There were similar incidents elsewhere on the track as David Coulthard spun his Red Bull in Turn 14 and Adrian Sutil got his Force India into a bit of a mess at the chicane.

Do not underestimate the power of the Singapore bumps.

Brilliant behind the wheel but petrified of pincers

Just look at the sheer panic on the face of Torro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel as he is confronted by some Singapore seafood during one of those cringe-inducing F1 photo opportunities. Mark Webber’s look could be described as mild concern meets great boredom. 

Briton not popular with Australian, German and Spaniard

Lewis Hamilton’s racing has come under criticism from his F1 rivals following a couple of controversial manoeuvres in the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday. The McLaren driver - sporting an increasingly large chip on his shoulder - was in the spotlight once again for his on-track antics at Monza.

Surprisingly, first in the queue for a spot of Lewis-bashing was former team-mate Fernando Alonso. “There was some unnecessary movements he made and he repeated them with Glock and Webber,” the Spaniard said. “It is his way of racing.” But Alonso need not have worried about fighting Timo Glock’s battles as he was only too happy to speak out against Hamilton for himself. 

Lewis struggles, young Toro Rosso star is the new rain master

Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix down in 15th position, after a rain-affected qualifying session left the grid with a topsy turvy look. McLaren didn’t send their No.1 driver out at the right time, or on the right tyres - he should have been on extreme wets, not wets - and so Lewis will really have his work cut out if he’s to make the podium.

Sebastian Vettel put his Toro Rosso on pole - you’d have got brilliantly long odds on that happening before the session began - and further enhanced his rep as F1’s brightest young star. “It’s just unbelievable and incredible,” Vettel said. “I was joking with my engineers that if it was wet we’d have to go for pole position. There was so much water out there you never knew what to expect especially at Ascari, just needed to be lucky not to lose the car.”

Not only does Red Bull’s so-called junior outfit have its first pole, but Mark Webber starts third for the senior team, with Seb Bourdais in fourth for the second Toro Rosso. A great day all round for Red Bull.

Red Bull shine in Spain again

Mark Webber topped the timesheet at Jerez yesterday, to compete another strong day for the Red Bull team; Seb Vettel - who will team up with Webber in 2009 - set the pace for Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s junior team, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Steady Webbo was pleased with his team’s efforts in Spain:

“The car ran pretty reliably, and we’ve clocked up some good mileage. Today we were mostly getting ready for Budapest, as well as looking at developments for a little later in the season. Yesterday we were focusing more on ‘09, and it was quite a challenging day. Today was better in terms of what we learned mechanically and aerodynamically. It’s been a hot week for the guys working here, and they’ve done a good job.”

Full timesheet after the jump…