GreenBkk.com Formula 1 | 2010 infighting behind us - Webber

2010 infighting behind us - Webber

Mark Webber is ready to start the 2011 season afresh © Sutton Images

Mark Webber is confident Red Bull has learnt from the infighting it suffered last year and he is approaching 2011 as a clean slate.

The relationship between Webber and his team-mate Sebastian Vettel deteriorated throughout the 2010 season and came to a head in Brazil when the Australian said he felt the team emotionally backed Vettel. However, Webber is confident Red Bull has regrouped over the winter and is ready to defend its championships.

"The winter has been very good for all of us," he said at the launch of the new car. "Obviously it's very difficult in the middle of the season when the team is achieving some very big things - as we did last year - to tackle and learn about some of the things that went on. But as a group we went through a huge amount last year and I believe that we certainly all learnt from that, and I certainly did as well.

"The way I'm approaching this year is head on again and obviously we'll go out there and try to improve on what I did last year. There are a lot of things I did right last year but there were still some very bad moments. We're not sure where we will be yet but we're very optimistic that the car will be good."

Webber said he will focus on scoring points at the early fly-away rounds so that he does not have to play catch up like he did in 2010.

"I need to start the season better than I did last year as well, obviously I didn't start the season that well last year," he added. "But 80% of my season in the middle was good, so I'll just try to improve a little on that and go for it."

And he is confident Red Bull will once again be competitive even though the regulations have changed to incorporate KERS and movable rear wings and ban double diffusers.

"We didn't achieve what we did last year because the team doesn't know what it is doing," Webber said. "There are a lot of firsts with everything but the motivation is absolutely not a problem for any of us going into this campaign.

"It's enjoyable to upset other people's plans, that's what competition is about, but we know we have a huge, huge battle on our hands. We have the people and the continuity to fight this very strongly."

Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)