GreenBkk.com Mark Webber | Mark Satisfied with Hard Fought Third in Singapore

Mark Satisfied with Hard Fought Third in Singapore

POSTED ON September 26th, 2011

Singapore Podium

“I’m pretty satisfied with that,” said Mark. “Marina Bay has always been a tough venue for me and to come away with a trophy – albeit not the biggest one – is still a good result. It was hard work out there in the heat and it was a great effort by the team to get both cars home on the podium.”

Mark started the race from second on the grid, but he lost places to Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso on the run to Turn 1 and that defined the rest of his evening.

“For some reason I’m not able to make the starts I made last year,” says Mark. “We’re working hard to improve the situation, but too often I’ve been left to fight my way through the field. That’s not such a problem at tracks like Shanghai and Sepang because it’s possible to overtake there. But Marina Bay and Monaco are the two most difficult tracks on which to overtake and I spent more than 30 laps looking at Fernando’s gearbox.”

Mark managed to pass Fernando on lap 10, but the Ferrari driver promptly undercut him at the pitstops to regain third position. Mark then made a move stick at the re-start following the Safety Car period.

“I knew I had to pass him before his tyres and brakes were fully up to temperature,” says Mark. “I got a run on him at Turn 10; it was a bit risky, but I made it through and I was gone. But it was too late to do anything about Jenson because he was too far ahead. If I’d had track position over him after the start, I think we would have had a good race because my pace on the prime tyres was good; as it was I finished 27s behind him.”

Seb Vettel won the race and is now one point from clinching the world title. Mark, Fernando and Jenson are separated by just three points in their fight for second place, so there’s all to play for.

“I can no longer win the world title,” says Mark, “but I’m very motivated for the last five races of the year. I want to win and I want to end the year with some momentum. Once Seb is champion, the next mini-goal for the team is to try and get me into second place.

“I like the circuits that come next on the calendar: all of the drivers love Suzuka because it’s a beautiful circuit with lots of fast changes of direction and undulations. I pushed Seb over the line there in 2010 and would like to get my nose in front this year.”

Credit: Mark Webber (www.markwebber.com)