Feature: Wilson Can Make Life Harder for Webber

Australian Mark Webber could experience a Formula One first of his own in Germany this weekend when new teammate Justin Wilson makes his Jaguar debut.

After making previous partners look slow, Webber suspects the British rookie could be the first to give him a hard time on race pace.

"I'm sure that Justin will be consistently a lot, lot tougher than Antonio was," said Webber, who blew away Malaysian Alex Yoong at Minardi last year and has left Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia in his slipstream this season.

Wilson was signed from Minardi last week to replace Pizzonia for the last five races and he has a real chance of securing a long-term contract if he can impress the Ford-owned team.

Hockenheim is his first outing and Wilson needs to make his mark quickly, with a decision expected from Jaguar before the end of the season.

He and Webber were Formula 3000 rivals in 2001, when the Australian also tested for Benetton and finished overall runner-up as Wilson became the first Briton to win the championship.

Webber says he knows what to expect from a driver who, while yet to score a point, has already got himself noticed with storming starts.

"I think he's just a stronger person. He's English as well, which will help him here," he said. "Let's say that Justin is a lot more complete and should be very quick."

Real Deal

Wilson's arrival means that Jaguar have had a British driver every year since they took over the renamed Stewart team in 2000. The Sheffield-born racer, who turns 25 on Thursday, can now follow in the tracks of Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine by helping Jaguar to achieve their best ever finish in the Championship.

"I hope to be close to Mark at the end of the race," he said. "I know he's very strong the whole time so I don't think I'm going to outqualify him or outrace him in the first race."

Irvine, dropped at the end of last year, gave Wilson his backing last week while relishing the prospect of someone finally being in a position to prove "if Mark Webber is truly the real deal".

"So far he's never had a teammate who could give him a tough time," he wrote in the Sun newspaper. "In fact both the partners he has had should never have been in Formula One in the first place.

"The great thing is that they now have an English driver in one of the most famous names in British motoring. That is the way it should be. The only thing Wilson will have to cope with for the first time in F1 is pressure. When you are driving a Minardi, there are no great expectations but, with the ever-improving Jaguar, there is an urgency to deliver."

That is true, with Jaguar team boss Tony Purnell saying that one of the key reasons why Wilson replaced Pizzonia was to help the team secure fifth place. But he was confident Wilson, who did a handful of laps in the car at Silverstone on Monday, would cope.

"It's a bit brutal when you haven't had any real opportunity to integrate," said Purnell. "Hockenheim will be the equivalent of winter testing for Justin and Hungary will be Australia (the season-opener).

"I think it's an awful lot to ask of anyone to perform in those circumstances but he did pretty well for Minardi. (Minardi boss Paul Stoddart) was very firm that Justin was every bit as good as Mark, even before the season started."

Fair Crack

Webber, who has scored all his team's 12 points this year, made clear that Wilson would have to fight his own battles but could expect even-handed treatment.

"Everyone is there for his job, aren't they?," he asked. "I'm not going to pump up my teammate's tyres. I know he's there for himself. That's how it is.

"We're all big enough to stand on our own feet and get on with it. You've got the same equipment and Antonio and I always had that. It's important to be able to beat your teammate, that's normal.

"It's all fair, it's all very open and I'm sure Justin will be extremely happy with how all the briefings are done. It's all totally open.

"If there's races where he's ahead of me and outqualifying me then of course I won't be overly (pleased) with it. But both finishing in the points will be absolutely brilliant," added the Australian. "I think Justin and I can get on, no real egos. Straightforward.

"I don't think it's a great habit for drivers to make excuses and I'm not a big fan of trying to make them. He's got his races and it will be business as usual after the first session in Hockenheim."