Mark Webber began his Barcelona testing stint on Sunday, taking over the Red Bull from team mate Sebastian Vettel. Webber had a lot on his plate thanks to the inclement weather, but nevertheless the Australian came away full of praise for the RB7…
Q: Mark, these days it is particularly hard to say where everybody is, so let’s make it simple: were Red Bull having a good day?
Mark Webber: Yes, today went well. We’ve done almost 140 laps so you cannot complain about that and we obviously have a lot of data to digest. Everything was going a bit better, but that is only because we are learning a huge amount every day. It was a good day. We came here with a plan today of what to do and actually we did more than was planned. We did a whole race simulation and that was really good.
Q: Learning about what in particular? Tyres?
MW: Yes, but also about the car. It’s still early days for all these cars, so learning is what is on our timetable. It was pretty damp in the morning so we had a pretty condensed programme in the afternoon and had a good recovery. The car went really well.
Q: Was KERS running alright? Your team is new to KERS…
MW: Yes, it was alright so far.
Q: Everybody is looking forward to the start of the season - wherever that might be. Is the team confident?
MW: Absolutely. And a day like today is also evidence of how well the team is operating. There are a lot of positives, but for sure we are not getting ahead of ourselves. We have some serious competition out there so we need to keep on working hard.
Q: From your praise of the car does that mean that the Red Bull will be as strong as last year?
MW: I truly hope so. We had an amazing year last year and we are pushing hard this season to achieve a similar goal - at least that is what we are trying to do. I am sure it will be as tough as last year as we have a lot of competitive teams around. We are all starting again from zero and they have the same opportunity as us.
Q: Would missing the Bahrain test have any influence on preparations, as it will be a good chance to test car and tyres under hot conditions…
MW: Should it be called off it is the same for everybody. We wouldn’t be the only team missing such data. The most important thing right now is that Bahrain is in control of itself at the moment - and Formula One is not important right now for Bahrain.
Q: What did you learn from last season and make different this year?
MW: Oh god, obviously I’ve done a lot of things right last season. You always have to keep the positives. But then you might say: you haven’t won the championship so what did I do wrong? I messed up by one fourth place so it was indeed a fine line, and I should have finished the race in Korea - that is obvious now. So what will I do different this season? Be patient and finish every single race. And believe me that is not easy.
Q: How will it be, having to fight the world champion in your own team?
MW: I am not only fighting Sebastian. There are a lot of other guys out there that you have to consider as well. There is Lewis (Hamilton) and Jenson (Button) and of course Fernando (Alonso). And we will miss Robert (Kubica).
Q: From what you know now, what will be the decisive factor this season?
MW: Reliability is always an issue. Ferrari is pretty good at that and we are also doing quite well at the moment. That is the first thing that you have to get right. Last year it hurt Seb quite a bit, so we need to get that right and then of course performance is the thing to have. But we are getting there.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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