Webber 'Over the Moon' to be on Front Row
Jaguar's Mark Webber was "over the moon" after securing his first front-row start in Formula One in Saturday's qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Jaguar's Mark Webber was "over the moon" after securing his first front-row start in Formula One in Saturday's qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
"Absolutely, we are very, very surprised," said the Australian, who briefly held pole position before having to settle for second quickest behind World Champion Michael Schumacher. "But pleasantly surprised. As a team, we are absolutely rapt...absolutely over the moon."
Webber, a revelation for Jaguar last year, clocked 1:33.715 - 0.641 slower than Schumacher - in sweltering conditions at Sepang.
"Today we just stayed cool and waited for qualifying to come to us. The car has done a great job for me," said Webber, who failed to finish the season-opening Grand Prix in Melbourne.
"The track was a sniff better (than in the morning practice) and, when I crossed the line, I was very happy to see it was number one at the time."
Despite his success in qualifying, Webber sounded a cautionary note ahead of Sunday's race.
"I will be very pleased if I can be second quickest through 56 laps tomorrow," said the 27-year-old. "We will be looking to get decent points, be aggressive and fight very hard. But I need to finish the race, which I didn't do in Australia. If I see the chequered flag, I'll be happy."
Austrian teammate Christian Klien placed 12th in Melbourne for Jaguar, whose main aim in 2004 is to keep pace with the likes of BAR, Sauber and Toyota.
"We need to prove ourselves in race conditions, but it will be quite tough to deal with this guy," smiled Webber, pointing to Schumacher who was sitting next to him after qualifying. But the track is bumpy and no car is bullet-proof."
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