Just one victory to secure this year’s title – Mark Webber
The 2010 championship leader Mark Webber said that he must take another race victory in the remaining three races in order to secure the Formula 1 drivers’ title. Webber was able to increase his championship lead at Suzuka this past Sunday but has not been
able to score a victory since the Hungarian Grand Prix back in August.
“I need to win again in the future. I’m very confident I can do that, and that would be beneficial, of course, but also reliability can still yet play a role, many things, circumstances, lots of different things,” said Webber after his second-place finish behind
Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel in Japan.
Mark benefited from the intense competitions since the past couple of races between the top 3 teams and his consistency has kept him on top as he was able to score four podiums since the past 5 races. Due to the retirements that Lewis faced and the competition
between Lewis and Fernando, the Australian driver was able to extend his lead marginally after Hamilton lost the championship lead to Mark Webber.
“Two weeks ago (my main rival) was Lewis, then it was Fernando - it’s chopping and changing, but the most important thing is that the gap is going the right way. I need to keep it like that. We’ve got three races to go and it’s a good result for me,” continued
Webber.
Nevertheless, the championship is far from over as there are still 75 points up for grabs in the coming 3 three races at Korea, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. With five drivers still contending for the title, Webber is aware that he will have to maintain his performance
and he cannot take anything for granted at the moment as this is the most crucial point of the championship.
Nevertheless, with 75 points still up for grabs from the remaining races in Korea, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, and with five drivers still in contention for the title, Webber knows he can take nothing for granted.
“As we’ve seen this year, five of us are capable of winning races. Well, four in the dry - Jenson’s (Button) had a few races in the wet conditions - but in the dry conditions it’s been four of us who can win,” he added.
Mark Webber took only four victories this season, the same as Fernando Alonso while Vettel and Hamilton took three apiece. Jenson Button is the driver with the least victories amongst the top 5 drivers as he won just 2 races this season. Mark’s final win
tally could prove critical for his rivals because if it happens, the 4 challengers will have to kiss their title hopes for this year goodbye.
Webber is currently just 14 points clear of his teammate and Fernando Alonso. However, he is 28 points clear of the two McLaren drivers. This means that the two McLaren drivers can do nothing to take the championship lead until the next race and they require
at least two races in order to take the lead.
Mark Webber has been astonishingly consistent this season and this is the only reason why he is on top of the drivers’ standings. Red Bull has a comfortable advantage in the constructors’ standings as the team is 45 points clear of McLaren in 2nd
place.
The upcoming Korean Grand Prix is a fast track with long straights. The track contains the longest straight in the Formula 1 calendar and that is not good news for Red Bull as McLaren has been the fastest car on the straights this season due to their extensive
F-duct technology.
Red Bull will have to take a huge step forward if they want to ensure a good performance at the upcoming race and come up with something that will give them some sort of edge over their rivals. Otherwise, the final two races will be nerve racking for team
Red Bull.
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