From GMM

Renault wants to build its team around Robert Kubica. That is the claim of the team's new majority owner Gerard Lopez, amid rising speculation that Pole Kubica is being lined up for a 2011 switch to Ferrari.

In the wake of the French carmaker's part-withdrawal from F1 at the end of 2009, Kubica has been widely credited for Renault's solid season so far this year.

The 25-year-old looks particularly impressive on the streets of Monaco, where Lopez admitted that Renault is willing to fully embrace Kubica's presence into the future.

"He is in a unique position, as a racer, to have a team built around him now and we see it that way," Lopez, who announced he has sold a share of the team to oil company PetroSaudi CEO and friend Tarek Obaid.

As for Mark Webber, he is F1's man of the moment, but on Saturday he was not in the mood to confirm the latest paddock rumour.

In the space of a few months, the Australian has been linked with a looming retirement and a 2011 Ferrari seat, and the latest whisper is that he has signed an extension of his contract with Red Bull.

But in Monaco, after scoring his second consecutive pole position within a week, the last-start winner played a straight bat.

"Certainly haven't come to any agreements yet but there's still a long way to go in terms of what to do for next year," said the 33-year-old, the first Australian since Sir Jack Brabham in 1967 to be on pole in the Principality.

And if he wins on Sunday, leaping towards the very top of the drivers' standings, it will be the first Australian win in Monaco since Brabham more than 50 years ago.

"We've worked very hard over the last few years, Red Bull and myself to get into this situation.

"I'm actually in no real rush to make any big decisions myself; also I think both of us are very happy with each other, a lot of trust with each other, so let's see how it goes, there's plenty of time," added Webber.