F1: Webber Frustrated To Miss Pole

Formula 1

F1: Webber Frustrated To Miss Pole

Mark Webber qualified second in India, running just a tick slower than teammate Sebastian Vettel...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted October 27, 2012 New Delhi (IND)

Mark Webber had to settle for second in Indian GP qualifying. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Mark Webber will join teammate Sebastian Vettel on the front row in India after missing out on pole by just 0.044s.

It’s the third time in a row that the two Red Bulls have hogged the top two spots, but Webber felt he could have had pole.

“The lap itself wasn’t too bad,” he said. “At the last corner I got onto the Astroturf a bit on the exit, so for sure I didn’t have the cleanest run to the start/finish line, so that was disappointing. But I’m driving the car. I did my best, it was close, a pretty tight run thing between both Seb and I, and then I didn’t get to do my last attempt.”

Webber said he wasn’t able to improve on his second run because he didn’t get enough heat into his tires, as he was in traffic on his out lap. He aborted the lap and came into the pits.

“Obviously the McLarens were doing very slow out laps to get their tires ready for the lap which is different to us, and I had no grip in the first sector,” the Australian said. “I didn’t get to do my second attempt, which would have been nice, but anyway I was surprised to end up second, to be honest, but I’ll take that and we can have a good race from there tomorrow.”

Webber was full of praise for the work his team has done in developing the car: “I think the way the factory has helped us this weekend has been incredible. Milton Keynes has really been pushing hard. Even though they’re not here they are with us in terms of work ethic and also for the team and the guys on the floor here.

“Obviously, it’s not the easiest environment to work in, not in terms of temperature but in terms of other challenges, and everyone’s getting through that pretty well. So far, so good, and today’s job’s done. Tomorrow we’ll wake up with a new day.”

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.