Mark Webber Upbeat for Silverstone despite death defying Valencia Crash
Red Bull’s Mark Webber has asserted that his readiness for the upcoming Silverstone event will not be frustrated by his high-velocity accident in Valencia at this weekend’s European Grand Prix. The Australian miraculously walked away from the 300km/h swing unhurt after he bumped into the rear of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus vehicle.
In the aftermath of the debacle, the Red Bull front-man reported on his website he was in high spirits and that apart from some minor wounds, he was in excellent shape.
Cameras aboard Webber’s Red Bull revealed in full measure the melodrama of the stunning mishap, whereby the Australian’s vehicle flipped through the skies before bumping to a tumbling halt at the circuit’s tyre fence. Webber explained he had felt his RB6 to be floating mid-air for quite some time and that it was fortunate there were no arches in close proximity to the accident site.
Both Webber and Kovalainen were keen to avoid the blame game, but the Lotus protagonist claimed the RB6 had plainly knocked into him. Webber mooted whether his colleague could have proceeded with greater caution. “...when you’re five seconds off the pace and you have one of the quickest cars in the pack behind you...how long was Heikki going to stay ahead of me? He must be asking himself whether it was worth it.”
The misadventure marks the first time Webber abandoned a race this season. The Australian will now make his way to Silverstone for the year’s British event ranked fourth in the aggregate results table behind third-placed teammate Sebastian Vettel. Webber persisted that his 24 point disadvantage to current leader, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, was by no means an insurmountable gap and that he is still very much in the contention for the 2010 World Championship title. The Red Bull catalyst stressed that the present disparity did not amount to much considering he had bagged 50 points within a short span of time only a few runs earlier. However, Webber was careful not to underestimate the mounting threat from Red Bull’s competitors who, he said, were unceasingly in their pursuit to bridge the point’s gap through regular mechanical upgrades.
Keeping in view the RB6’s palpable superiority this season, it is something of a wonder that Sebastian Vettel’s triumph in Valencia marks only his second victory of the year’s campaign. Although Lewis Hamilton managed to consolidate his aggregate advantage after finishing second at the recent European Grand Prix, Vettel now has the Englishman and his overall second placed McLaren compatriot Jenson Button, within clear eyeshot. Unlike his unfortunate teammate, Vettel had a relatively smooth run in Valencia apart from the initial tussle with Hamilton’s McLaren. The German almost got overtaken by the freshly crowned Canadian Grand Prix victor at Valencia’s rudimentary stages, but a minor injury to his McLaren’s nose thwarted the bid to catch up. Vettel was especially delighted to record his season’s second victory on a track that was not thought to be particularly amenable to the RB6 make.
Quite apart from his extraordinary crash midway through the 9th lap, Webber’s disastrous afternoon commenced on the wrong foot when he plummeted from the second spot to a lowly 9th in the very initial laps. He had slipped further down to an unspectacular 19th position by lap seven before embarking on a miscalculated attempt to overtake Kovalainen’s Lotus, a move that subsequently sent his Red Bull shooting in the air. A safety car instantly took to the circuit as marshals set about to clear the wreckage from Webber’s terrific collision. The incident unmistakably aided Hamilton’s campaign, for he was able to receive a readjustment to his car without relinquishing a spot. Yet the emergence of the safety car became a catalyst for much controversy as Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa found themselves on the wrong side of the traffic while Lewis Hamilton weaselled his way out of any meaningful penalty for illegally overhauling the safety vehicle.
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