Mark Webber answers a few questions
Current Formula One championship leader Mark Webber has revealed his thoughts about the 2010 season title contenders, race politics, and cricket in an exclusive Q & A for his fans on BBC Sport. The Red Bull driver, who stands at 187 points in the driver’s
championship, is confident about his title chances, but remains wary of the competition.
When asked if the hunger for a first F1 crown would make him a more daring competitor than the former champs currently seeking it, Webber replied, “Motivation is not a question for any of us at this level. All I would say is it's natural and rewarding when
you're going for championships that you are going to be racing against people who have won them before. So it's nice to be able to beat people who had achieved good things in the past.”
Indeed, Webber is right to remain grounded about the competition, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, and team-mate Sebastian Vettel all striving for the win. But with Red Bull’s current configuration, which is more suited to
the remaining tracks, Webber takes a slight advantage over his opponents going into the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. “We should be closer to the front than we were in Singapore last year,” he commented, reflecting on how McLaren was last year’s favourites."The
car has changed a lot since last year and we're very confident we'll go there and go well.” He later added, “I've got the cleverest guys and the best car to finish the season. I wouldn't want to be with any other team.”
Webber was also asked about Red Bull’s performance on Sundays, and why the car has been so dominant in qualifying, but less so once race-day comes around. Webber acknowledged, “There were a few tracks where we weren't quick enough on Sundays, but also you
can say we have won a lot of races. If we had converted all our grid positions, yes, the championship would look a bit different, but I don't think anyone has done that. When you have two-hour grand prix races, things like that can happen. It's a mixture of
a few things, but having said that we're not exactly struggling in either championship – we’re leading both. So let's keep it in perspective.”
Another topic that was raised was in regards to the controversy surrounding Ferrari’s team orders scandal at the German Grand Prix, when Felipe Massa was radioed to step aside for team-mate Fernando Alonso for the race win. Though the International Automobile
Federation (FIA) issued no further punishment than Ferrari’s $100,000 fine, many critics argued that the FIA’s stance on team orders has become too vague. Webber reasoned that clarification is a must, and that team orders can never be completely eliminated.
“I think we need clarification on where the rule is going to go in the future, but what happened in Germany has happened hundreds of times before. You can't say Fernando won't deserve the championship if he wins it by less than the seven points he gained by
Felipe Massa moving over in Germany. There have always been team orders in F1 to a degree, [with] teams influencing how the results will be between their drivers. It may happen rarely in some teams, or a lot with some others. Where I think we can't allow it
is where you had Eddie Irvine backing people up and getting Michael Schumacher a free pit stop [in the 1990s]. But we shouldn't have formation team orders from the first few races, [because] I don't think the fans would be happy with that.”
The interview wrapped up with one fan from England asking for Webber’s predictions on the winter’s Ashes series in cricket. Webber replied after a dramatic sigh, “I think the English will get a Test match or two off us – hopefully no more than two. I really
believe we can do it down there with a young side, but it's going to be a very good series and we're going to have to be on top of our game to beat the English. I'll take anything as long as we do it.”
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