Hot Webber Forecast

Some in F1 rate Australian Mark Webber very highly, others aren't so sure. Regardless, the Red Bull driver is out to prove a point. By STEVE COOPER

Talk to some in the Formula 1 paddock and they will wax lyrical about Mark Webber. Not only is he one of the most frank, open and likeable drivers in the paddock, they'll say, he's also one of its unsung heroes - as fast as they come but just lacking the car with which to prove it. Talk to others, however, and they'll promptly dismiss the Australian: he's been in F1 for too long and achieved too little for me to ever believe in him, goes the cynical line.

And it's difficult to concede a middle ground between those two polar opinions - you're either with him or against him. Thing is, when his machinery too often fails to provide him with the necessary results, it's difficult for the Australian's supporters to convince the doubters.

Certainly, there have been some giant-killing performances (they have invariably gone unrewarded) and also some underwhelming ones, but one thing has been constant: a steeliness and determination to wring the neck of any car he has been given.

From his days at Minardi, via his two heroic seasons at Jaguar Racing, two disappointing years at Williams when the team hit an aero brick wall through to Red Bull Racing, Webber has always faced an uphill struggle.

Now entering his second season at the Milton Keynes squad, a team once again armed with promise and potential yet still failing to cut loose and begin marching forwards, Webber needs to make an even more convincing statement with his driving this year if he is to prove those naysayers wrong.

Webber's six years in F1 have offered much soul searching © XPB/LAT

But will that be enough? After all, when the car allowed him to rise to the occasion last year (most notably at the rainy Nurburgring and Fuji races) he transcended the machinery - but has yet to emphatically prove his credentials. Even when circumstance failed to throw him a bone, he looked impressive - more often than not hustling his unworthy car into the top 10 during qualifying.

"I was very happy with the way I drove last year," he says. "You've got to push yourself in Formula 1; it's not tiddlywinks, it's a bloody important sport and you go into it each year trying to test yourself. I had seven retirements last year - six of them were mechanical and the seventh was the accident at Fuji with Sebastian Vettel - and I'm happy with how I performed across the season.

"But in terms of proving myself, you can ask, has David Coulthard proved himself ? And the answer is: absolutely, he's won 13 races. And last year David got a few more points than me but if you look at the comparison, I was quite happy with my performance."

Indeed, while a healthier dose of mechanical reliability allowed Coulthard to steal ahead of Webber in the points standings, the Australian unquestionably had the upper hand on pure pace. In qualifying, Webber was awesome, regularly hurling the RB3 into the final Q3 session with a fearsome dedication. It was a car that didn't rightly deserve to be pushed so far up the grid - and it's inevitably led to accusations that Webber remains a single-lap specialist; somebody who can't quite cut it in a racing environment.

Again, it's something he refutes. "When you're scrapping for every last half tenth to get into Q3, people take that as a given," he says. "But when I deliver that, I'm hanging on. I have led races and out-performed the car. It's totally satisfying for me to race alongside a guy who has won grands prix, is highly motivated and still driving well and see myself finish 20 or 30 seconds ahead of him on the road.

"And it's nice because I know sometimes Kimi Raikkonen did that [at McLaren], so I think, 'am I in the middle?' Okay, sometimes David might have a better race than me every now and again - but that also happened when he was with Mika Hakkinen and Kimi. Of course, trying to compare the guy who's in the same team as you is always a moving target, but I just hope to God I don't get nailed by 20 or 30 seconds, because that will be a tough day for me."

Fury in Fuji: Webber was denied a top spot in Japan © LAT

You can see Webber's thought all this through, which is understandable for a driver spending every race weekend battling the odds and pondering the ifs and buts of life in a top team. There's plenty of food for thought and, given the myriad vague complexities of this sport, plenty in which to wrap yourself up.

Even worse, when that fog has lifted and Webber has been able to show his hand, he's often been cruelly denied a helping of the plaudits he should expect. Remember his faultless race at Suzuka in 2005? In an uncompetitive Williams, he finished fourth - only to be totally overshadowed by the frenzy surrounding Raikkonen's and Alonso's stunning drives from the back of the grid.

Last year, the aftermath of Fuji left him particularly despondent, his mood blackened not just by the loss of a possible victory but by the absurd circumstances of his removal from the race. A week later in Shanghai he remained bitterly philosophical, pondering the meaning of the oft-quoted motorsport truism 'you're only as good as your last race'. What did it mean, he openly questioned, when your last race possessed so much potential but was ultimately rendered gut-wrenchingly pointless?

"It would have been absolutely brilliant to have put the icing on the cake at Fuji," he admits. "And it's funny how one result can change your impression of the season."

Of course, the F1 community exists on impression. In a paddock too preoccupied to cast a lingering eye over the real data, F1 has taken to heart the maxim 'perception is reality'. But reality is something F1 doesn't do very well - and it means many hard-chargers are judged not by their performances but by their finishing positions and the number of points they score at the end of each season. It's a shockingly two-dimensional view of the sport - but it's the prevalent one.

"I've had some great races that have just been swallowed up," he says. "The race I had with Heikki Kovalainen in Hungary last year was a perfect example: I was on a three-stop strategy and he was on a two-stopper and there were maybe two laps where I dropped a couple of tenths. Apart from that, it was a war: mega lap after mega lap. Either of us could have won that race, we drove our socks off, but who saw it? Nobody."

He concedes it's equally frustrating watching drivers cruising to the finish line ahead of him, safe in the knowledge their car's performance advantage has allowed them to avoid a fight. "Look at Nick Heidfeld or Felipe Massa," he says, warming to his theme. "They'll finish 50 seconds down the road from me, but I know I out-drove them - and that's because them finishing five seconds further down the road doesn't make a big difference in their world; they don't need to.

Webber's desperate to emerge from Formula 1's long shadows © XPB/LAT

"It really tests your motivation to get beaten by guys who you'd love to have a crack at year in year out. Look at Massa at Silverstone last year - he started from the pitlane and still finished fourth, it just makes my heart bleed."

If 2007 was something of a hiding to nothing, how is '08 looking? While this year's RB4 has suffered nowhere near the amount of pre-season problems that hampered last year's car, it hasn't yet provided the team with the kind of definitive pace advantage it needs to pull clear of the tight midfield pack.

Moving into that gap - the space comfortably occupied by BMW Sauber throughout '07 - became something of a Holy Grail over the winter for a number of teams. There was a flurry of midfield contenders constantly tripping over themselves to head the chase to the frontrunners.

If anything, the midfield shuffle has tightened, with BMW appearing to slip back into the clutches of Red Bull Racing, Williams, Renault and Toyota. If the current status quo is maintained then it means Webber will once again be fighting over the scraps.

"It's still going to be frustratingly tough for us again this year," he says. "I would have liked the new car to be faster than it is now. Ferrari and McLaren have a little cushion and then BMW Sauber is sitting on its own at the moment. Then I think it's Williams, Renault and ourselves all tied very closely together - it's too close to call."

But there's reason for optimism. The inexperienced combos at Renault and Williams, where rookie drivers will take time to find their feet means the strength of the Coulthard/Webber line-up should be able to nail some early points as a result of their collective experience.

Even more encouragingly, the team's improved reliability has certainly lifted spirits. Last year, Red Bull only picked up its pace in the final three flyaways once it had overcome season-long gearbox gremlins. For 2008, the car already seems to have reliability largely nailed, meaning the team is free to focus on performance with minimal intrusion from mechanical failure.

"It means we can start the year a bit fresher," he admits. "RB4's reliability means we haven't been getting knocked down every time we get up and try to run. We haven't had guys having to rebuild gearboxes so that helps us a lot. Reliability brings you momentum.

"It's always hard to find an advantage, but it looks like we've closed the gap to McLaren over the winter. Last year, we were consistently 1.1 seconds off McLaren's pace, now we're the best part of six or seven tenths."

And six or seven tenths means Red Bull Racing will once again come tantalisingly close to challenging the leaders but will probably fall just short. So how does Webber view another potential season spent on the sidelines, watching those with lesser talent but faster cars proving little while he pushes on ingloriously at the periphery?

"Are we winning races? Not yet, but if I can perform as well as I did last year, I would be very satisfied. But I would not carry on like this for another four or five years - forget it, absolutely forget it. I wouldn't do it.

"But I can't be bitter and twisted about it - F1's been good to me up to a point. I know I don't have the podiums and the race wins to back up my efforts - and I'd love to have them - but I haven't had that opportunity in my career yet. And I still passionately believe I've got a few really good years left in me: three or four at the highest level.

"I've never been one to go out there and say how awesome I'm doing - that's for other people to do. I go out there, do my best for the team and go home. And I desperately want to get into a position where I have the chance to prove that to everybody."