Red Bull downplays engine issue

The Australian stopped near the end of second practice with an engine blow-up - prompting fears that the team could be set for a repeat of the power unit dramas that blighted its campaign last year.

But the team says it is calm about the situation - because the unit in the back of Webber's car was very near the end of its scheduled running anyway.

"Mark's engine was right up at the end of its mileage," team principal Christian Horner said:

"I think it stopped about 50 kilometres short of its target miles, so it doesn't affect his programme. It is just important for Renault to understand exactly what the failure was - but it was an engine right at the end of its life."

Horner said the engine had already completed 2,000 kilometres, and it was scheduled to be withdrawn from active duty after the day's running anyway.

"While disappointing to have an engine failure, it has cost Mark just five or six laps," added Horner.

Webber himself conceded that he knew the engine was right 'on the limit' prior to it blowing up - and said his biggest frustration was trying to get marshals to put something behind his car's front wheels to stop it rolling back once he had got it off the track.

"I was telling them, just find some common sense," he said. "There is no handbrake on an F1 car, so I was telling them to put something behind the wheel to stop the car rolling back. It took them 10 minutes to try and explain that I couldn't stop the car from rolling back. It was a simple thing but frustrating."