Stefano Domenicali: “A fantastic start to the championship! This amazing one-two is just reward for all the work of the team, both at the track and the factory in Maranello, over these past few months and I dedicate the result to them. Today, we had to manage a very complicated situation with Felipe’s car, because of the high temperatures, but we did it and I was very happy to see our driver on the podium on what was a very special day for him. As for Fernando, what can I say? There could be no better way for him to start his adventure in red! I also want to thank our technical and commercial partners, first and foremost Philip Morris and Shell, who have always supported us, even in the most difficult times and I think there is no better way to also welcome on board a new important sponsor like the Santander Bank. Now we can enjoy this wonderful day for a few hours, but as from tomorrow, we must start preparing for the next round in Australia, adopting our usual approach which involves keeping calm, with our feet on the ground and working hard. We have a very long season ahead of us, in which reliability will be crucial, as indeed we saw yet again today and where we will be fighting very strong and determined adversaries.”

Fernando Alonso: “I want to dedicate this victory to President Montezemolo, who believed in me and to our mechanics who did a really great job, especially this morning, when they changed the engine on my car in a very short time. Jumping onto the top step of the podium was a special feeling and I hope I have matched the expectations of the whole team. We worked so much this winter and now we are beginning to see the results of that. The first races of the season are very important: we must get to the European part of the year with a lot of points in the bag and a high level of understanding of how the tyres work at various types of track. The key to winning will be to continue to develop the car race by race. Today, on the harder tyres, we went very well, but with the softer ones, I was struggling a bit to stay close to Vettel. I was planning to attack in the final ten laps, but luck gave me a hand: you always need a bit in every race. At the start, I got away well, making the most of being on the clean side of the track and I managed to pass Felipe, going for a space that was big enough to pull off the move without any risk. Then I was lucky not to have any problems with the car, while my team-mate had a more difficult time and had to ease up a bit. Now it’s time to think about Australia. We will see who has the best car at that track, but I think the four top teams will all be in the fight.”

Felipe Massa: “I am very happy with this result and I want to thank all the team and our fans. It is my best opening race of a season since I started in Formula 1 and, given all the problems we had, I am very pleased. We had to manage the temperatures on the car and, for around thirty laps, I was not able to push as hard as I could. At the start, I lost a place to Alonso, but then the car worked well with both types of tyre. With the softer tyres, the Red Bull was quicker than us, but on the harder ones we were much better. I want to thank one more time all those who have been close to me over these past months, writing and sending me messages. Now we must look to Australia to be as well prepared as possible.”

Chris Dyer: “A fantastic result for the whole team. We worked so hard over the winter – in the wind tunnel, in the design office, the engine department, on track, everywhere –and today we reaped our reward. It was a great welcome for Fernando and an equally nice welcome back for Felipe: it would be hard to have asked for more in the first race. It was not an easy weekend, because we had to tackle a whole series of problems which we controlled thanks to the efforts of everyone at the track and back home, but I really hope we have fewer of them in the future. Because of the high temperatures, we were not able to run the race we wanted, but especially with Felipe, we had to adopt a very conservative approach, although I don’t think we were the only ones faced with that particular difficulty.”

An agreement was reached on Thursday, with the contract subject to the condition the team has a starting place on the grid for 2010.

Doubts had recently been raised about the validity of a prior deal with Qadbak Investments Ltd, which has now been shelved in favour of the sale to Sauber.

Speculation has linked retired seven-time champion Schumacher with a return to the sport he once dominated following the German manufacturer’s takeover of reigning constructors’ champions Brawn GP earlier this month.

Reflecting on the rumours, Lauda told the official Formula One website, www.formula1.com: “I don’t believe that there is one single grain of truth in them, at least from all the signals that I get.”

Mercedes’ bosses in Stuttgart are thought to favour an all-German driver line-up for next season, following the departures of Rubens Barrichello to Williams and world champion Jenson Button to McLaren.

Nico Rosberg has been confirmed as one of Mercedes’ drivers for next season, and both Schumacher and fellow German Nick Heidfeld have been linked with the other seat.

Schumacher, who retired at the end of 2006, almost returned to the sport last season as understudy to the injured Felipe Massa but was forced to abandon his comeback due to a neck injury, but Lauda does not expect to see the 40-year-old on the grid in 2010.

Lauda added: “There was a window of opportunity after Felipe’s accident and had Michael been fit he would have taken up that chance to race for three or four races - to prove himself, get the adrenaline rush, and see where he stood in the pecking order.

“But I cannot believe that he would be up for a full season. Why then he did stop racing in the first place?”

Bosses at Silverstone claim they are close to agreeing a 10-year staging agreement to host Formula One in this country but Gillett, chief executive of Donington Ventures Leisure Limited (DVLL), insists it remains a two-way tussle. But with F1 rights holder Bernie Ecclestone setting a December 9 deadline for a deal to be done for a British race next summer, time is running out.

Whatever occurs in the battle of the midlands tracks, however, Gillett said of Britain hosting a race in 2010: “To me, it’s bloody essential. Personally I think we should have a British Grand Prix and it is a shame that other people within the UK don’t agree with that.”

He added: “No one is ever looking for a free handout from government but there certainly should be more support from central resources to make sure we have a grand prix.

“It is criminal when you see Wembley receiving £140million free money from the government for what is a very rich man’s sport and they will not give a penny to the British Grand Prix whether it is Donington or Silverstone.

“They won’t come near the sport, which is a real shame.”

Half-a-dozen investors are currently weighing up their options with regard to Donington, according to Gillett, who secured a 17-year contract to host Formula One in July last year only to have the offer withdrawn following failure to secure the £135million funding required to redevelop the site.

“[The money] is not from the traditional places that people might look to,” said Gillett.

“The minute you say you are looking for finance, everyone looks to the middle-east and assumes it is from a Saudi prince.

“But ours has come predominantly from mainland Europe and in the UK itself.”

Briatore’s lawyer Philippe Ouakrat attended the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris on Tuesday to outline his client’s assertion that the punishment handed down by motor sport’s governing body in September was illegal. The 59-year-old Italian is also demanding damages of just over £900,000.

Briatore was involved in a conspiracy which saw Nelson Piquet Jnr deliberately crash his car at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in order to help team-mate Fernando Alonso take the win. Briatore claims former FIA president Max Mosley was “blinded by an excessive desire for personal revenge” in pursuing the case, and believes the FIA did not have legal grounds to issue him with a wholesale ban from motor sport.

“The decisions to carry out an investigation and to submit it to the World Council were taken by the same person, Max Mosley, the FIA president,” Briatore said in a statement earlier this month.

The statement added that Mosley “assumed the roles of complainant, investigator, prosecutor and judge” in what Briatore claims was a breach of the “most basic rules of procedure and the rights to a fair trial”.

Briatore’s claim that the FIA World Council chaired by Mosley was out for “personal revenge” stems from his involvement in plans for a breakaway series, an issue that rumbled on through much of last season before an agreement was reached for manufacturers to stay in Formula One.

Renault’s former executive director of engineering Pat Symonds also appealed against his five-year ban for involvement in the scandal at Tuesday’s hearing.

The 23-year-old, who is currently with the F1 outfit’s engine partners Mercedes in the German Touring Car Championship, could get a reserve or test position next season if he impresses in Jerez next month.

American IndyLights champion John Hildebrand, 21, will also take part in the tests from December 1-3.

Di Resta is the cousin of IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti and has tested twice for McLaren.

The future of the British GP has been the subject of a long-running saga, with Donington Park having been lined up before being plagued by financial problems, but Silverstone - which has hosted every British Grand Prix since 1987 - appears set to retain the race next season, with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone having imposed a December 9 deadline for the future of the race to be decided.

Phillips told BBC Radio Northampton: “I don’t think there are any real stumbling blocks, we’re going through the last details of the deal. I’m pretty convinced that it will be run at Silverstone next year.”

The Northamptonshire circuit has been warned it must modernise facilities to keep the race long-term and Phillips is confident of a resolution.

He added: “We’ve been planning for more than a year, we’ll finish the track works in March and start on the new pits ready for 2011.”

It is also hoped a long-term deal will be agreed.

“We always had the faith that the Grand Prix would return,” said Phillips.

“We certainly would like the contract to be for more than 10 years - that’s the minimum.”