Marko in ’no hurry’ over Webber’s birthday present

Confirmation of Mark Webber’s new contract for 2012 is taking a long time, but Helmut Marko insists Red Bull is "in no hurry".

The Swiss newspaper Blick speculated that, with the matter having been scheduled for resolution over the August break, Australian Webber might get the paperwork he needs as his 35th birthday present on Saturday.

But Austria’s Kleine Zeitung quotes Red Bull driver manager Marko as insisting: "We are in no hurry with our timing."

The report said a possible reason for the delay is Webber’s contemplation about his desire and motivation for a new deal.

"If one of our two top guns no longer wants (to drive), we have our young drivers," Marko added, possibly referring to the likes of Daniel Ricciardo, the current Toro Rosso drivers, and Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne.

Asked to estimate the probability of a new contract, Webber told the BBC: "Pretty good. 50-50. We’ll let you know shortly."

And Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport quotes him as saying: "It looks good that I’m going to be in formula one next year. We are very close."

Last year, Sebastian Vettel admitted he had forgotten about his teammate’s birthday and joked that he would give him some free shampoo from his hotel.

And this time?: "I don’t know. Maybe body lotion?!"