Webber sticks up for F3000

Webber, who is expected to be announced as the lead driver for the crack Super Nova squad, says the series does not deserve criticism for failing to produce drivers of an acceptable calibre for Formula 1. The Aussie believes Nick Heidfeld and Juan Pablo Montoya will prove the category's worth this year.

The importance of F3000 has diminished in recent seasons due to drivers such as Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen moving up to the world's premier category straight from more junior formulae like Formula 3 and Formula Renault.

"People think F3000 drivers aren't best prepared for F1," said Webber. "But how come? We've all done Formula 3 before, which is where they are looking for the new talent at the moment.

"Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld will prove F3000's worth this year. If Heidfeld had joined McLaren last season, he would probably have finished fourth in the championship and F3000 would have been considered the business."

Montoya won the F3000 championship with Super Nova in 1998 and Heidfeld took the honours the following year driving for the now-defunct McLaren Junior outfit.

Webber competed in F3000 last year with the European Arrows team and should the Super Nova deal go through, the Australian will head into the season as a firm title favourite. He said: "I know what I have to do to win the championship and I can't wait."

Once the Super Nova driver line-up is announced the rest of the F3000 driver market should fall into place. Mario Haberfeld is tipped to partner Webber at the Norfolk-based team. Elsewhere Formula Nissan champion Antonio Garcia has signed for the Red Bull Junior Team.

Enrique Bernoldi was set to partner German F3 graduate Patrick Freisacher, but the Brazilian has signed to drive for the Arrows F1 team in place of Pedro de la Rosa (see separate story).