Webber: Red Bull need to improve
Wednesday 27th July 2011
Mark Webber believes Red Bull need to address their race-day form if they are to avoid further repeats of their German disappointment.
Although Webber claimed his second successive pole at the Nurburgring last weekend, the Australian had to settle for a fourth consecutive third-place finish.
With team-mate Sebastian Vettel a surprise fourth, the Red Bull duo found themselves behind a McLaren and a Ferrari for the first time this season as Lewis Hamilton beat Fernando Alonso over the line.
Such a result has been on the cards as Red Bull have not been as quick during a race as they have over one lap in qualifying.
That is of concern to Webber leading up to this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, and he said: "I don't think I could have done much more on Sunday. I drove to the limit of the car.
"Of course, I was disappointed not to win, but we know we have to improve the car on Sundays.
"It's an area that has been brewing the last few races, and it is something we need to try to address soon."
The cold, overcast conditions, however, suited McLaren more than their rivals, so the heat of Budapest should agree with Red Bull and Ferrari.
However, although it will be considerably warmer in Hungary, the forecast at present is for thunderstorms at various stages over the weekend.
So whether the race in Germany was a one-off, or if it signalled the start of a real battle for the title, remains to be seen.
Even 34-year-old Webber cannot predict that, saying: "Is it the form for the second part of the championship? Difficult to say.
"We're going to go to a track which should be a bit better for us than the Nurburgring. Let's see.
"Sunday's are more of a handful for us at the moment.
"Fernando was with us in Turkey and Valencia, Lewis in Barcelona, but it's a bit early.
"I actually think we were more dominant last year than we are this year. It's just we always put things together and we've always been there at the end.
"It's just that Seb had a good run, close victories, not winning by 20 seconds."
After winning from pole at the Hungaroring last year, Webber would naturally love nothing more than a repeat to help him close the 77-point gap to Vettel at the top of the standings.
"The circuit should suit our car well as we were very strong there last year, and more of the same this year would be good," he added.
"It's another opportunity for us to get some good points, and it's always nice to finish before the break with a strong result."
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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