Formula One news
Brawn still the team to beat, says Webber
21 April 2009Brawn GP remain the strongest team heading into Bahrain, despite Red Bull's impressive one-two result in last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. That's the view of Mark Webber, runner-up in Shanghai, who thinks that the expected dry conditions at Sakhir will better suit the BGP 001 than the rain of China.
 |
| Webber clinched his first second place in China |
"There's nothing to suggest a huge amount has changed since Malaysia when, in the dry, Brawn were a second faster than anyone else," Webber told the BBC. "That car is definitely strong and they are the team that is the benchmark for every team to try to close in on." Webber enjoyed a career-best second place in China, which was also his third podium place since entering Formula One with Minardi in 2002.
The white and green cars, complete with a third sponsor, wound up third and fourth on Sunday and still lead the championship, ahead of Red Bull by 16.5 points. "If you look at the fuel-corrected timings, taking into account the loads being carried by each car, the grid would have been Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button, Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber so clearly we have to keep improving," Webber continued, who qualifying third.
"We have some good momentum coming off what was a special afternoon, but we realise we're not going to get 18 points every weekend," he admitted. "We have to maximise our car's performance every weekend - especially with a mind to the development race we have going on off the track, which is incredible."
 |
| Button has the championship lead after three rounds |
The Red Bull-Renault does not yet sport either a double diffuser or the KERS device, although a major aerodynamic upgrade is due for Round 6 in Monte-Carlo. "All the teams have got new stuff coming and that is going to move the performance barrier around from team to team," the Australian explained. "We have to hope we can continue to push the performance of the car, to stay up with the best."
Webber's comments reflect the opinions of GPUpdate.net readers, 70% of which still felt that Brawn had the edge over Red Bull in a poll conducted after China. "The challenge now is to continue to push the performance every race to ensure the car stays at this level," Mark went on. "It is imperative that the team, myself and Sebastian keep going and keep pushing, because the next three or four months will be absolutely crucial to how we do in the championship."
more news
- 10 Nov.
- 09 Nov.
- 08 Nov.
- 07 Nov.
- 06 Nov.
- 05 Nov.
- 04 Nov.
Homepage
Jerez