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All these official threads popping up, and none yet for my favourite driver, Mark Webber!

There has been plenty of discussion as to whether Mark can challenge Sebastian this year. I certainly hope he can, or at the very least improve over his 2011 performance, which overall was pretty strong - it just was made to look bad by Vettel's excellent campaign!

I frequently keep hearing that various changes to the cars/rules & regs may better suit Webber this year - can anyone elaborate on this for me?

Webber is my 2nd fave driver so I hope for a better 2012 than last year.

Not sure how the changes will help him this year either! but as long as they do, I will be happy!! is one of F1's nice guys and no idea why some people tore him apart last year saying how bad he was yet in 2011 he came within a broken shoulder (I think it was his shoulder.. something broke anyway) from taking the title.

One theory floating around was that Mark was harder on the 2011 spec Pirellis than Vettel, which meant he either couldn't drive as hard or had to change them more often.

Apparently the 2012 spec tyres are a bit more durable than last year's, which could tighten things up a bit.

There's still the matter of the starts - you'd almost think Marko taped a squash ball under Webber's accelerator pedal.

BUMP

Last pit stop cost Mark the podium and was clearly faster than Vettel - if he is equal footing or leading Vettel/Button/Hami by his preferred races in Spain/Brittan/Monaco he will be right up to his eyeballs in this championship

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Hear the Thunder from down under...
Casey Stoner - 2 Championships and Counting
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I was waiting for one of these to pop up for Webz

Solid start to the season, looking much faster than his teamate. Hope it continues!

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[[[[Mark Webber for the win in 2013 and beyond]]]
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[http://www.octanic.com]]]]]]]]]]]]

What happened on his last stop? Came out into traffic or was there an incident?

Good solid effort from mark. and his start this time wasnt so disastrous. but i want to see him get up on that podium!

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Supporting Webber, Alonso, Ricciardo, Kobayashi

Good performance by Mark today, should give him a nice mental lead over Vettel. Webbers been faster in Quali and now leads him in the points.

Mark lost out waiting in traffic for 5 seconds in the pits, but apart from that had the pace for a podium. Only a matter of time until he delivers.

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Supporting in 2012:
Mark Webber.
Lewis Hamilton.

Mark's right it took him a while to get going after the change to inters but he really shouldn't have been behind Vettel and Raikonnen anyway. Horrible stop from the team cost him at least 3 secs and a bunch of positions although I'm not sure if in the end if would have too much of a difference maybe 3rd at best all things being equal. That said two 4th's is probably close to his best ever start to a season and it definitely seems he's back to the 2010 gap with Seb (on average on par from track to track) so I can see him winning a race or two this season. Watch out for him on return to Europe.

It is his best start to the season in every regard. He's out qualified Vettel at both Melbourne and Malaysia, two tracks he has never out qualified him at before and he's only 6 points behind Hamilton, who is the 'realistic' leader of the season at the moment.

Whats more is Webber looks in form, and in a more normal race I expect him to perform even stronger. Assuming he can get it off the line that is.

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Supporting in 2012:
Mark Webber.
Lewis Hamilton.

Today he seemed to start ok. Much better than last weeks start. I hope he has the clutch problems sorted out finally. He was level with schumachers start. It was slippery also.

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And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. Ayrton Senna

His start was about as good as Melbourne, not horrible but not speedy.. Seb had a much better start but was held up.

I'm not really looking for him to gain positions off the start, just hold station, find a rhythm then punch out the laptimes and let his talent shine through.

Solid start to the season. Clearly the RBR car isn't the strongest Qualifier but I think Mark's race pace will shine through in the not too distant future.

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[[[[Mark Webber for the win in 2013 and beyond]]]
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[http://www.octanic.com]]]]]]]]]]]]

I think they had to hold him in the box because of cars coming into the pitlane. Nothing that anyone can do about that, just plain bad luck.

I'm never quite sure where I stand on Webber as a driver - I like him and find his racing exciting to watch (my main prerequisite for supporting a driver!), but at the same think I don't think he's quite as good as the likes of Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel in terms of natural ability. However, his pace looks very good this season. I just worry that for various reasons he might not maximise his results until Vettel inevitably catches up.

Not only that but his confidence is back. He was never really in the game last seasonand I'm sure there would have been some doubt creeping in. But I think he's feeling much more comfortable with this years Pirelli and as some of us predicted has probably dealed with the loss of the blown disfuer better than Seb so far.

+1

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Science is about the natural world, things we can observe, test and gather data for. Why, then, do we teach that life on earth arose spontaneously from non-living matter in school science classes?

I agree with most of that Kate.

However of course when we're talking differences in natural ability we're talking 1-3 tenths maximum across most of the entire field. IMHO Webber (on average) would only be hundredths off that top group and given the right track, car balance and most importantly for Webber state of mind I believe he can match it with them. But you're right he needs get the most out of those situations and in the past consistency has been his weak point. Too often he'll have a poor sector here or there at a crucial time in a race.

Highlight of the race was when Vettel thought he could overtake Webber and Mark just got the position straight back without a moment of hesitation.

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Supporting in 2012:
Mark Webber.
Lewis Hamilton.

+1 - all manner of statements being made right there.

I think on pure qualifying/race pace Webber is just about up there with the very best. His overtaking ability is also top notch. The things that have let him down are his starts and his consistency which have not allowed him to capitalise on his strengths.

Hopefully with his confidence back and a car setup that is more suited to him he will be able to at least be challenging for the championship come the end of the European season.

Obviously I'm biased (see my username ), but he's not bad for a 36 year old number 2 driver!

Starts and Quali were lacking a bit last season. These are the areas I cross my fingers for improvements in consistency this year

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[[[[Mark Webber for the win in 2013 and beyond]]]
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[http://www.octanic.com]]]]]]]]]]]]

Webber back to 2009-2010 relative to Vettel it seems. Maybe even better.


Was it the blown diffuser that put him so far back from Vettel?

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Over the off season Mark told me that in qualifying he much preferred the grooved tyres, he could 'switch them on' as he put it... The slicks were harder for him and last year it was the tyres and his style didn't get the best out of the blown exhausts... I asked him whether the new regs for 2012 were gonna suit him and he grinned and simply said 'oh yeah mate no worries!' also the tyres are better for him.
I guess we are already seeing the proof of that in the last two races where a mistake or problem in the pits has cost him a podium or two!
Rock on Webster!!!

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Oh yes indeed.. He says it himself.
Also remember the one race of 11 without full exhaust blowing,Silverstone, when Mark was suddenly quicker than Seb, the looser rear end definitely suits Him better, as he's always been awesome under braking and accelerating through a turn, which when the exhaust was blowing, suddenly became less important.
That 'feel' for the grip has suddenly come back to the fore and hey presto! Websters back on form!
Lovin' it!!

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I'd say that as well. Vettel is clearly missing the blown diffuser, Mark seems to have gotten over that quickly.

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"You are who you pretend to be."
Kurt Vonnegut Jnr

One of Marks skills has always been his speed through fast corners. His bravery and feel for the grip always made him one of the fastest there was.
The exhaust blowing hid this or reduced his advantage because every driver found it easy to just plant his boot through the floor even in the middle of a corner and the car did the rest. There was less skill and input from the driver. Thankfully they've gone and the 'touch' is back again

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The Blown Diffuser was just another 'driver aid' that makes the cars more tame I think. Sounded like quite a clever idea but not for racing cars.

I'm worried about Webz getting stuck behind a Lotus or Merc early in a race and ruining his chances of a win, unless RBR gets better in Qualifying this year... although I won't ask for too much. After last years results I'm just looking for him to be infront of his team mate at least 50% of the time!

I'm glad he is still in top shape and has another few years left in him. I had a thought the other day that although the Ferrari rumour is the one at the top of my pile that a straight swap between Webber and Hamilton could happen.. but that idea was before this season started when the RBR was faster than the Macca.

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[[[[Mark Webber for the win in 2013 and beyond]]]
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[http://www.octanic.com]]]]]]]]]]]]

Webber was only 0.4 off pole. That is not a big difference. I expect when Red Bull get a super F duct in Quali they will be ahead of Mercedes and Lotus. Webber also holds the top position in the intra team points.

Personally I think its best for Webber for RBR to play midfield for a few more races, it brings out the absolute worst in Vettel.

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Supporting in 2012:
Mark Webber.
Lewis Hamilton.

Agree totally

Vettel can only handle being in the fastest car - Mark has been in far inferior machinery and done better with it 100 times over

_________________
Hear the Thunder from down under...
Casey Stoner - 2 Championships and Counting
Two countries, one greif, the pride of Australia & Ireland - Vale Jim Stynes

I can't be too harsh on Vettel, he is definitely a quick driver, and can ocassionally make good moves on race day.. but you have to say everything went perfect for him last year.

I held hope for this year in Webbers race performances, storming through the grid. Recovery drives and the like.. and the 7 Fastest Laps he did.

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[[[[Mark Webber for the win in 2013 and beyond]]]
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[http://www.octanic.com]]]]]]]]]]]]

Lets not be to quick to assume such a big swing in the Red Bull dynamic.

Yes, Webber quailified ahead of Vettel in 2 out of 2 .

But in the 1st race Vettel went from 6th on the grid to 2nd place while Webber went from 5th to 4th.

In the 2nd race Vettel had gone from 6th on the grid to 4th at the time of his mishap, while Webber had gone from 4th to 6th.

So the insiders at Red Bull can justify saying that so far Vettel is still performing better on race day.

You see quotes from the Red Bull team about unlucky Vettel in Malaysian who had made his way to 4th. It does not occur to them that Vettel only reached 4th through the bad luck of Mark Webber in the pits.

The team still sees Vettel as the clear hero and are not ready to even see the shift of fortunes that has been noticed in this Webber aware thread.

They do not see it, as if you look only to support a specific outcome, you can always find justification. And the team primarily wants to justify Vettel.

You really are desperate aren't you?

Blind man can see that Vettel is still performing better in the race.

4th to 5th in Malaysia(not 6th as you said) and closing on Vettel.

And why do the RBR team need to state the obvious? MW was ahead before the second stops, he lost out because of pure bad luck which was obvious to see and not because SV was faster than him.

As for their personal preferences, they don't matter, as long as they give equal treatment to both of their drivers. They say as much and so far in the 2 races acted that way.

Webber got blocked in the pits for 5 seconds, that allowed Vettel past. What do you want him to do? He had the better race pace all day. That means very little when the team can't get you out in clean air but, as is usually the case for mark.

And Vettel turned into that HRT. It was driver error on his behalf for not expecting that, so no he finished behind Webber on merit today.

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Supporting in 2012:
Mark Webber.
Lewis Hamilton.

Excuses as always....

Seems Webber needs everything perfect in 1 race weekend just to finish ahead of Vettel

NK admitted it was his falult for Vettel incident.

This actually shows that Webber was significantly faster than Vettel throughout the race. Bit of a shame for Red Bull that things didn't go quite right for either car.

These are official laptimes from the race..

So much of.."Webber having better pace for the whole race"....

Seems Vettel needs a perfect car for his style otherwise he's not so commanding and starts throwing tantrums. Also NK didn't say it was his fault. He apologized for ruining SV's race but said he had nowhere to go. BTW he apologized to Button too even though it's way more clear-cut Button's fault case. That's class!

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Actually for Mark to be faster than Vettel for the wet laps is pretty impressive given past wet races and Vettel's reputation in the wet. You have omitted most of Mark's dry laps because Seb was out, which is when he really hit form during the race and kept getting purple laps, similar to Melbourne last week.