Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has played down the rift between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber and claims the issues resulting from the team orders controversy at the Malaysian Grand Prix are now settled.

Former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has added his name to the list of Sebastian Vettel critics after last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, labelling the German driver's defiance of team orders as deliberate and stupid.

In a release received Monday from Lime Rock Park, the track has announced plans to host a Formula One event. The release is as follows:

In a surprise announcement, F1 major domo Bernie Ecclestone told reporters that he's made a deal with Lime Rock Park owner Skip Barber to bring the F1 circus to Connecticut's 1.5-mile, nine-turn road course, starting in 2017. A date has not been set, and the FIA World Council must still approve the expanded schedule, “But that's simply a formality,” Ecclestone said.

Two F1 correspondents have contradicted reports about allegedly illegal 'splitters' aboard the top Red Bull, Lotus and Mercedes cars.

Italian reports had said F1's governing body warned the teams to make changes before China, after scrutineers flagged the too-flexible front floor solutions in Malaysia recently.

But Jennie Gow, the pitlane reporter for British radio BBC, said on Tuesday that she has "spoken to Lotus and Merc who say FIA splitter story is just that -- a story!"

"Both teams passed tests and no changes to make," she added on Twitter.

German correspondent for Auto Motor und Sport, Tobias Gruner, agreed: "Neither Lotus and Mercedes nor Red Bull was asked to change the splitter.

"So everybody calm down!"

The 'Multi-21' affair stepped up another notch on Thursday, as a feisty Sebastian Vettel withdrew his apology to teammate Mark Webber.

"My apology was for the team, not Mark," the reigning triple world champion was quoted in Shanghai by German media.

"The order came only once, and in a moment where I was distracted. As a driver, you still need to drive," he said.

Radio evidence, however, suggests that Vettel was told several times, in several different ways. Team boss Christian Horner even intervened at one point, calling him "silly".

"The bottom line is that I was racing, I was faster, I passed him, I won," he said.

"He (Webber) didn't deserve it," said Vettel.