Third place for Mark after intense race-long battle with Lewis Hamilton
POSTED ON October 17th, 2011
Mark finished a thrilling Korean Grand Prix in third place to help clinch Red Bull Racing’s second consecutive constructors’ world title. He had a race-long battle with Lewis Hamilton, eventually coming home 0.4s behind the McLaren driver.
“It was good to finish one place higher than I started,” says Mark, “but my initial reaction after the race was one of disappointment. I was frustrated that I didn’t get ahead of Lewis, but that’s normal for a competitor.
“It was an intense battle and Lewis didn’t make any mistakes. I might have had a chance to pass him if we’d done something different at my second pitstop, but the team brought me in on the same lap and we never found out what my pace would have been like in clean air.”
Wet running during Friday practice left a lot of question marks concerning tyre wear going into the dry race. However, talk of three to four pitstops proved to be exaggerated and Mark was able to complete the race with only two pitstops.
“The tyres performed better than anybody expected,” says Mark. “Ahead of my second pitstop I was quite happy on the prime and I radioed the team to tell them that I could go longer than lap 33. But they wanted me to pit then, as did Lewis, and I took a lot of risks on the out-lap to get past, but I couldn’t find a way through.
“Our cars were quick on different parts of the lap: the McLaren was good on corner exit and I was fast through the twisty final sector. It was a good battle, but ultimately a frustrating one for me. I’ll probably be dreaming of the pink rear wing on Lewis’s car for some time to come!”
Mark’s ninth podium of the season moved him to within 13 points of Jenson Button, who lies second in the world championship. With three races left, there’s everything to play for.
“Now that the team has won both world championships,” says Mark, “the focus in Milton Keynes will inevitably move towards next year’s car. But there are still three races to go and we want to get the maximum from each of them. I would like to finish second in the standings because that’s one place better than last year, so I’ll be doing everything possible to achieve that.”
The inaugural Indian Grand Prix comes next in New Delhi. Mark has driven the Buddh International Circuit on the simulator and says he’s looking forward to the race.
“It looks like an interesting circuit,” says Mark. “There are a lot of elevation changes and there are some quick sections. The weather should be hot and balmy, and I hope we can put on a good show for the fans. India is a keen sporting nation – okay, cricket’s the number one sport over there and F1 is new, but I’m expecting and hoping that the fans will get behind the event.”
Credit: Mark Webber (www.markwebber.com)
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