Mark Webber not focusing on world championship
Fresh from his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Mark Webber says it is too early for him to start thinking about becoming world champion.
The Australian stormed straight to the top of the drivers’ standings after winning in Budapest, and although the victory gave him his fourth win of the season and put him in the driving seat, he is focused on one race at a time.
“We are way too far out for that [for the championship],” he said. “We've got a lot of people that can win races at this level and we have already seen that. The most important thing for me is the next race. That's a bit boring, it's an old cliché, but that's what it is,” said Webber.
Webber is one of five drivers separated by 20 points who can win this year’s world championship, and with seven races remaining, he is pleased with his current performances.
“It's unrealistic to think I'm going to win the next seven. You have got to get everything right in order to do that and the team have worked incredibly hard to get the car to where it is and obviously I'm pretty happy with my driving,” he said.
This is quite a turnaround for the 33-year-old, as only last month at the British Grand Prix he sparked controversy about his position within Red Bull by saying on his team radio when he won the race: “Not a bad job for a No.2 driver.” That weekend had been a turbulent one for Webber, as he felt the team were favouring his teammate Sebastian Vettel when they took off Webber’s newly-designed front-wing and gave it to Vettel after he broke his.
Red Bull have shown blistering pace all season, and one could argue they should have been victorious at every grand prix. They have taken 11 out of 12 pole positions, highlighting their dominance in qualifying, and Webber is confident they can maintain their pace for the remaining races.
“We’ve shown this year that the car is performing on all tracks so we hope we don’t have any weak circuits,” he said.
“Singapore should be good, Suzuka [Japan], Brazil and Abu Dhabi. We’re a little bit worried about how the long straights might go at some of the other venues, at Monza [Italy] maybe. But the car is very, very strong at most tracks so we’re ready to take on anyone at any venue.”
Webber is currently on holiday as Formula One takes a three-week summer break ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend in Spa beginning on August 27th, and he believes Red Bull need to remain consistent if they are to win both championships.
“At some tracks we’re not quite there or I’m not quite there. We’ve had some small hiccups but you need perfect weekends to win at this level. Every race gives 25 points and we need to perform everywhere. If we can do that you never know what could happen at the end of the year,” Webber said.
He’s right not to think too far ahead, but the dream is close to becoming a reality for Webber.
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