Webber: I have good points and champagne but it’s not what I was after
14 October, 2012
Mark Webber soaks Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey on the podium
Oct.14 (FIA) Despite claiming pole position for the Korean Grand Prix, Mark Webber was beaten off the line by his teammate who went on to win the race, which left the Australian in second place where he stayed throughout the race, unable to make an impression on the leader he was able to easily fend off any challenge for the runner-up spot. He spoke during the post race press conference and here are highlights:
Pole position was obviously a good start for you – unfortunately on that start you just didn’t get off the line – but what was the race like for you? What difficulties did you have, if any?
Mark Webber: The start wasn’t sensational. I’ll have to look into it but yeah, probably the initial getaway wasn’t too great but after that it was… everyone wants… it’s not the best corner to lead off so I thought, OK, we won’t risk too much in the first corner, and then we got a good slipstream off Sebastian but it was just neck-and-neck for us along the back straight. After that I just tried to hang in there as best I could. But then it was just about tyres, looking after the front right. And at the end of each stint it was difficult to keep the front right alive. Yeah, the first two stints were quite tricky for me and then the last stint I was much happier with the balance but it was all too late then. So, good drive for Seb, great day for the team, the guys did a great job. Of course I’m disappointed but I’m happy to get a good result in the other side as well. Thanks to all the fans for coming out today. Cheers.
Exactly what happened at the start there? We could see from Sebastian’s…it’s almost as if when you moved into second gear it…
MW: Yeah, I think we were chasing the clutch quite a bit after the first launch on the formation lap, and also coming to the back of the grid the boys were asking me to get the move clutch ring quite a bit so the initial launch wasn’t good. The first bite just kicked to wheelspin and from then on I knew I could have some issues. It was just a very…mediocre let’s say…run to the first corner. Seb got a good one. All wasn’t lost, obviously, second corner, getting the slipstream on the back straight I thought it was still possible to do something there. We were side-by-side, I had a tow but when once I pulled out I just hit a brick wall as well, both of us were just… vvrrrmmmmmm… and then everyone just coming up behind as well. So, yeah, and then after that we had to manage the tyres really, look after the… go as quick as you could, looking after the tyres but also trying to keep some pressure on Sebastian. It’s the way it is these days: you’ve got to look after the black things on the corners and yeah, so that’s part of it. Mixed emotions for me, it’s still a very solid result, I was very, very happy with the lap I did yesterday, could have easily been not on pole but I was through a solid lap and today is a good result but yeah, it’s mixed emotions. Second is a big difference to first. I have good points and champagne but it’s not what I was after. But for the guys, it’s a great result for the team and they’ve done a very good job in the last two weeks and I’ve got to congratulate Sebastian on the win.
If you look at these two guys beside you, do you think that with the 18 points from today, you still have the chance to fight with them for the championship?
MW: Yeah, well it’s getting tricky now. I obviously need some bizarre circumstances. It’s clearly possible for me to win grands prix. You just need to get everything perfect and today I didn’t, I paid the price. I can win some races before the year’s out but the gap is massive to these two guys. That’s the way it is. We have quite a few races and all the points add up at the end of the year. Of course we’re all on our game, we all drive pretty well. I only smelt a little bit of tyre smoke off Seb today so I knew that that was unusual for him, but apart from that it was a clean grand prix for all of us and that’s how it generally goes for us three, when we don’t get smashed out by other people. It’s difficult,but you never never never know.
Subbed by AJN.
Related posts:
- Red Bull: Both drivers executed excellent races
- Alonso: We are again bringing home more points than we expected
- Webber: Only after the last corner was when I thought I was going to win
- Red Bull: A good recovery and good haul of points
- Webber: McLaren looks nice but we’ll see which one gets most champagne
