MOTOR SPORT BELGIAN GRAND PRIX:IF RED Bull Racing's Mark Webber needed any reminding that the resumption in Belgium of his tilt at the Formula One drivers' title following the sport's traditional mid-summer break represents the most gilt-edged opportunity of his long career, the gift of a birthday cake, lit up by a host of glowing candles, will have been the perfect aide-mémoire.
In a sport that prizes youth with a fervent zeal only matched by that of Hollywood producers, Webber, at 34, is a relative veteran. Of the drivers who arrived in the sport in the year Webber made his F1 debut – Takuma Sato, Allan McNish, Anthony Davidson and Felipe Massa – only Massa, a full five years Webber’s junior, is still racing in the top tier.
With just seven races left Webber tops the drivers’ championship table, sitting four points ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and 10 clear of his own much-vaunted young team-mate Sebastian Vettel. He’s also taken double the amount of victories of any of his title rivals.
“Mark is like a good wine — he has got better with age,” said the Australian’s team boss Christian Horner yesterday. “This year he has had a phenomenal season and has been driving fantastically well.”
Despite Webber’s constant competitiveness this season, it is still the younger Vettel being tipped to outstrip his team-mate in the closing stages of the season, despite the German’s fondness for schoolboy errors such as the penalty he picked up in Hungary for failing to maintain the correct gap to the safety car.
“Still Sebastian Vettel,” said triple world champion Niki Lauda when asked for his tip for the title.
Webber though is resigned to the underdog status and earlier this season admitted to being comfortable with his status, saying he’d “do his talking on the track”.
Two victories in four weeks, in Britain and Hungary, shouted loudly and Webber believes the run can continue on through the final stretch, starting with tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Spa, though, presents a tough challenge. Red Bull have been successful on tight tracks that favour the car’s superior cornering and the medium-downforce Ardennes circuit will not suit.
It certainly didn’t yesterday during rain-hit practice. Webber was sixth in the morning and 18th at the end of the day, a confusing set of results compared with the domination of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, quickest in both sessions. Webber branded the day “messy”.
Spa in the rain and the ultra-fast Monza could yet scupper Webber’s insistence that a winning finale is possible. But even if the upcoming races treat him badly Webber has a plan.
“Finishing is certainly something you think of,” said Webber. “With this points system, you need to finish, so consistency is important. You have to capitalise on the days when you are not potentially going to win to get the next best thing, whatever that may be.”
