Civil war has been averted in the Red Bull Racing Formula One team. It has given its Australian driver, and world championship leader, Mark Webber a contract extension to the end of next season.

It's an early birthday present for Webber, who will turn 34 on August 27.

There was speculation in F1 circles a few weeks back that, with talk of a Ferrari offer in the wind, Webber's pay packet could double next year.

If that's the case he could earn close to $20 million next year, although it may well be that this extension is heavily performance-based.

It's been a week of damage control for Red Bull Racing since the controversy - not quite the "disaster" it was painted as - in the Turkish Grand Prix, when Webber and his young German teammate Sebastian Vettel collided, robbing the team of a likely quinella in that race.

The drivers, team principal Christian Horner, the genius who created the pacesetting RB6 car, Adrian Newey, and Dr Helmut Marko, the Austrian ex F1 driver who is the motorsport adviser to Mr Red Bull Dietrich Mateschitz, met last Thursday to clear the air.

The upshot is that, with another 12 races to come this year, the team will have an unchanged driver line-up for next season.

It's a huge vote of confidence in Webber, for whom it will be the fifth year with Red Bull Racing.

There had been constant speculation that Kimi Raikkonen, the brilliant, but dreadfully dull, Finn who won the 2007 world title for Ferrari, was in the wings for a return from the world rally championship to F1 with Red Bull, in place of Webber.

Less than two weeks ago Horner had said that, while he expected to keep Webber next season, any formal contract extension for the Australian was likely to be two or three or four months off.

August-September tends to be when the key pieces of the following year's F1 driver jigsaw fit into place.

Interestingly, Webber reveals in the announcement of his new deal that the parties were "in a position to sign" by the weekend of the Spanish GP, which was to be the scene of Webber's first dominant performance of the season.

He took the pole position there and led every lap of the race and then did the same in Monaco a week later. And in Turkey he again outqualified Vettel (although the German had a broken roll bar in the final stanza of qualifying after heading the first two), and led from the start until the collision.

More than a week after that instantly infamous incident the powerful Marko - who promptly blamed Webber for the crash - appears to have been made, at least publicly, to bite his tongue.

Moneybags Mateschitz has written it off as: "Shit happens ... we shouldn't talk about the past, but concentrate on the future. Fact is that we not only have the fastest car but also two of the best and fastest drivers."

Webber says it was "an easy decision to remain with Red Bull Racing".

"The decision to extend for a further year was a mutual one - it's widely known that I'm not interested in hanging around in F1 just for the sake of it and, at this stage of my career, I'm happy to take one year at a time.

"I continue to feel very comfortable here - I have a fantastic relationship with the whole team and the factory at Milton Keynes (north of London) feels like home.

"It's been incredible to be part of the team as it's moved forward from a midfield competitor to one that is challenging for the championship.

"I hope we experience more success together in the future and achieve our ultimate goal of winning the world championship."

Horner says that retaining Webber "was very straightforward".

"He is an important member of our team and is in the best form of his career, as the leader of the drivers' championship (by five points over reigning world champion Jenson Button (McLaren team), 93 points to 88, with Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Vettel all within another 10 points).

"The team is extremely happy that the driver pairing of Mark and Sebastian will remain unchanged for a third season in 2011."

And, despite the perceptions that Vettel is the team's favoured son, Horner insists the pair have always been treated equally and will continue to be.

But how will Red Bull avoid a repeat of the competitive spirit between the pair overflowing and jeopardising its chances of maximum points at each race - and winning both driver and constructors titles?

"What we expect from our drivers, as teammates, is that they show respect for each other and allow one another enough room on the race track," Horner says.

Webber says now of the Turkish turmoil: "It was a shame for the team ... we lost a good opportunity to win the race.

"It's sport and these things can happen, but it shouldn't have done.

"Seb and I will make sure it doesn't happen again and will continue to work openly together - no problem.

"We have talked enough on it now, it's done, we're looking ahead and I'm focused on the race in Canada (early next Monday, Australian time)."

An understandable position for a man in Webber's position.