Formula One news
Webber confident of 2009 race win
01 June 2009Mark Webber has reflected on his and Red Bull's strong start to the season. Having wound up with a total of twenty-nine points and seventh position in last year's constructors' World Championship, the Milton Keynes squad now lies second with 42.5 points from the season's first six races of 2009.
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Webber first entered F1 with Minardi in 2002, scoring a famous two points on his first attempt in Melbourne. Over seven years down the line, the Australian now has his hands on a race-winning car for the first time in his career. "I would have thought I'd have achieved a lot more in that time frame," he admitted when speaking with The Times. "But if you had told me I would do 129 races and drive in more Grand Prix races than any other Australian, I would not have believed that either. People will say, 'He should have done better' but look at the teams I have raced for and my team-mates - with the exception of this year, they did not win a race.
"I've always been fair with myself: Am I Michael Schumacher? Maybe not. Have I the ability to win races? Absolutely, I believe I will do it this year. I really do think I'll win a Grand Prix this year and hopefully more than one because, for the first time in my career, I think I've the chance to do that."
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| Mark finished fifth in last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix |
It was all so nearly a missed opportunity for Mark, however, after suffering a leg-breaking accident in November when his bicycle was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser in Tasmania. "'Mark, this is not supposed to happen,'" Webber continued, recalling the words of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, "'But we're fully behind you if you can get back in the car.'"
Amazingly, Queanbeyan-born Webber returned to the cockpit of the new Red Bull-Renault RB5 in the New Year. "I remember when Villeneuve and Montoya stopped mid-season; they were forgotten in literally days," he went on. "I knew how important that test was; Dietrich came - everyone was there - and, as usual, it came down to the stopwatch. I was okay, I was a bit distracted trying to get into the car but I managed to get through it okay."
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| Webber and Sebastian Vettel celebrate a Red Bull 1-2 in China |
Due to attend his 130th Grand Prix as a driver in Istanbul this weekend, the team is hoping to maximise use of its double-diffuser after a disappointing debut for the device in Monaco. Webber continued to describe his rise to a top team for 2009:
"There's a few things which are uncharted for me I've always generally been on top of my team-mates but I've got one now who is testing me quite hard. The second thing is that I'm driving a car that is so bloody competitive, it's fantastic. I mean, you come up on people in practice and they move out of the way because they know you are quick and have a quick car."
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