Webber: I wasn't ready for F1 at 19

Webber will have 23-year-old British F3 championship runner-up Anthony Davidson as his KL Minardi Asiatech team mate in Hungary and Spa, but was not aiming his remarks at the young Briton, who has extensive F1 testing mileage with British American Racing under his belt.

Webber himself impressed in his Formula Ford days when he first came to England from Australia, but said: "I think that when I was 19 I probably wasn't ready for F1. Sometimes things come about at certain stages in your career that are just meant to be. There have been exceptional cases, such as Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button doing a very good job, but I think to have that happening every year is probably not the best way to go about it.

"I still think that a good solid grounding is crucial for a driver. I learned a lot in sportscars working with a big manufacturer [Mercedes] and also working with Renault while I was testing for Benetton. It made the transition to F1 very smooth when it came.

"A lot of guys can latch on to a reasonable lap time in an F1 car but it's about getting more out of it over the season and working with the team."