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Formula 1
F1: Webber Back In Game With Second At Suzuka
Mark Webber bounced back from recent struggles by qualifying second in Japan...
Mark Webber looks to return to the podium Sunday in Suzuka. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
Mark Webber has given his receding championship hopes a boost by qualifying second at Suzuka.
The Red Bull driver has endured a tough time since his win at Silverstone marked him as a title contender, but now he has a chance to get back in the game with a good result on Sunday – although pole man Sebastian Vettel won’t make it easy for him to win.
“It’s been a good weekend for us so far,” said Webber. “Seb and I had a clean run in Q3 when it mattered at the start there. And two pretty big laps from both of us. Obviously, Seb got me a bit, so that was a good lap from him. But to be this much further up for us, obviously we’ve had a rough run with qualifying of late, particularly my side with penalties and bits and bobs.
“It just makes the race much more difficult: you have to start doing wacky strategies and stuff like that. So, I am happy to be on the front row, and looking forward to a good result tomorrow. Like you say, for the team it’s just a great tonic for them, at this point in the championship to have the cars towards the front again.”
Webber abandoned his last lap after coming across yellow flags for Kimi Raikkonen’s spin.
“I had to back off for the lights and the flags,” he said. “There was no car there when I got there, so it was very, very close. Obviously, JB (Jenson Button) was behind me, and I saw he was still committed to his lap with the DRS, etc., so obviously the lights were just cleared for him. Would have been nice to have a look at the last chicane, would have liked to have got that a little bit better.
“I was down a sniff into Spoon, but the hairpin was tricky for us today; trying to get the hairpin a little bit better would have been nice. But in general the first sector was very strong, and for both of us to have a strong car here, when it really mattered, to put ourselves right towards the front of the grid, on the front row, is something we’re really, really happy with. We can really race from there and have a good Grand Prix tomorrow.”
Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.
The Red Bull driver has endured a tough time since his win at Silverstone marked him as a title contender, but now he has a chance to get back in the game with a good result on Sunday – although pole man Sebastian Vettel won’t make it easy for him to win.
“It’s been a good weekend for us so far,” said Webber. “Seb and I had a clean run in Q3 when it mattered at the start there. And two pretty big laps from both of us. Obviously, Seb got me a bit, so that was a good lap from him. But to be this much further up for us, obviously we’ve had a rough run with qualifying of late, particularly my side with penalties and bits and bobs.
“It just makes the race much more difficult: you have to start doing wacky strategies and stuff like that. So, I am happy to be on the front row, and looking forward to a good result tomorrow. Like you say, for the team it’s just a great tonic for them, at this point in the championship to have the cars towards the front again.”
Webber abandoned his last lap after coming across yellow flags for Kimi Raikkonen’s spin.
“I had to back off for the lights and the flags,” he said. “There was no car there when I got there, so it was very, very close. Obviously, JB (Jenson Button) was behind me, and I saw he was still committed to his lap with the DRS, etc., so obviously the lights were just cleared for him. Would have been nice to have a look at the last chicane, would have liked to have got that a little bit better.
“I was down a sniff into Spoon, but the hairpin was tricky for us today; trying to get the hairpin a little bit better would have been nice. But in general the first sector was very strong, and for both of us to have a strong car here, when it really mattered, to put ourselves right towards the front of the grid, on the front row, is something we’re really, really happy with. We can really race from there and have a good Grand Prix tomorrow.”
Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.
Spanish Grand Prix
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