Red Bull Formula 1: Second Webber pole in a row
16.05.2010
A ls the prophets the World Cup Listed favorites because they forgot a name. At the top of the list were Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The romantics led Michael Schumacher into the field. Jenson Button and Felipe Massa were an insider tip. But no one thought of Mark Webber. The first four races seemed to confirm the impression. A second place and a lot of mediocrity marked Webber's season. That fit into the picture. On good days, Webber is a winner. But he makes too many mistakes.
After his coup in Barcelona, many thought: Maybe it was one of those Webber days when everything worked by itself. Like in 2009 at the Nürburgring and in Interlagos. But just a week after the win in Spain, the 33-year-old Australian unpacked the hammer again. The pole position in Monte Carlo is always an accolade. But one with a lead of 0.294 seconds, that raised eyebrows in the whole paddock.
Competition from Webber impressed
All potential candidates for the best time in training had to admit: 'Mark's time we didn't drive. ' The Red Bull driver was honest: 'I wouldn't have thought myself capable of this time. My second-best time would have been enough for pole, but because I didn't know how well the others are doing, I went even further. Somehow I did Today I found additional confidence in the car. '
Last year's World Cup fourth was unbeatable in the last two track sectors. Ironically, those passages that should actually be Sebastian Vettel. At least that's how it was last year. Webber was desperate: 'Nobody drives the slow corners as precisely and with as much discipline as Sebastian. I need fast corners to compensate for that.' The man from the other end of the world has cast off his old weaknesses. He blames it on the new generation of tires: 'It suits my driving style better.'
Vettel takes longer with the setup
It is also noticeable that Webber usually works faster optimal tuning of the car hits as its German colleague. As in Barcelona, he was satisfied with his car from the first practice session. Vettel played around with the chassis setup until the third training session. 'When it finally fit, he had too few free laps in qualifying to get used to,' said team advisor Helmut Marko asDeclaration to. Vettel added that he could never do the optimal warm-up lap for the tires in traffic.
You could tell how Webber's challenge made him thoughtful. Lose once to your teammate, that can happen. The second time the gears are running at full speed in your head. What have I done wrong? What the other better? Was it the car or was it me? A lot of questions go through your head.
Webber fears Kubica more than Vettel
Webber wants Vettel to overtake second-placed Robert Kubica at the start. Not because he feels sorry for his stable rival, but because he fears Kubica more than the second Red Bull in this race. 'Robert was the fastest on the hard tires all weekend. For me he is more difficult to assess than Sebastian, and somehow I have the feeling that he's even stronger in a racing trim than in training. ' Vettel believes he can keep Webber in check over the 78-lap distance. 'I drive a little more gently than Sebastian and usually take better care of the rear tires. That could be my joker.'
