Webber: I Could have Done Better

Australian Webber, tipped once as the successor to Michael Schumacher at the front of Formula One, joined German Nick Heidfeld in an all-new line-up at Williams this year and the pair have been evenly matched.

And Webber said: "I could have done a bit better but a few races have gone against me and we could have a bit more performance. I expect the second half to be better than the first half.

"I think there have been a few races where it has been hard to see the true performance. I was effectively on pole at the Nurburgring but people look at things and it is different.

"Montreal was not fantastic, a bit of a cowboy afternoon. But there have been a few mistakes because I am trying to get to the front and work very hard at staying there.

"Formula One is a very sensitive industry and if you have two or three shit races then people hammer you, but I know I have got the pace to race at the front."

Former Jordan, Prost and Sauber driver Heidfeld has already scored more podiums than Webber this season with a second place his best finish compared to Webber's third at the same race in Monaco.

And asked if the German is his toughest teammate to date Webber said: "Oh yeah, he was always going to be, considering some of the other guys I have had. So far I have had him generally under control but it is a pretty close battle between us.

"I think it is always good to have a strong teammate because you can compare a lot more aggressively against each other and it is nice to go home knowing you are doing a good job against someone of Nick's calibre.

"You feel better about your job when you are on top of the situation, there have been a few races this year like that, a few others where we have been a bit closer, but generally it has been okay."

Williams have not performed at the level Webber had expected so far this season but he is confident they have the resources to win this year and become World Championship contenders over the next few years.

"I think it is possible to win," he said. "It depends on what happens with the performance of the other teams, but when we get high downforce it could be possible. To do it on outright pace? That could be a tricky one.

"We have a lot more resources to develop the car over the season, especially aerodynamically, the guys have done an amazing job. The way Williams go about their racing is that they are clearly here to win.

"They are the only team I have driven for who have that in mind. I raced against the McLaren in the Jaguar here either last year or the year before and thought 'God, this McLaren is an absolute shitbox' and now look at them.

"When things start to get on line and on song then you have to capitalise on that. McLaren are the form team at the moment, Williams have been there in the past winning races by 60 seconds and wondering what everyone else is doing.

"It is possible that it is just about getting the timing right, the engines, tyres and so on, and we have to do that in the next few years. Winning is just the number on the pit board changes, it is not a big deal."

But success, he believes, will only come on higher downforce tracks and he added: "We should be stronger than Montreal here, but back to Magny-Cours and those sorts of places should be better."