Mark Webber is back in his fancy Red Bull Racing computer game thingy. This time he’s giving us a preview of what to expect from this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. Well, apart from lots of fans for Fernando and a tough race for car and driver.
You can see the video below after the break.
Here is the latest installment in the Red Bull Racing Grand Prix previews for the 2010 season. This time Webber is driving the Shanghai circuit in the Red Bull simulator. At the Chinese Grand Prix Mark thinks of millions of people, a nightmare drive to the the track and a fantastic circuit.
At last year’s Chinese GP Red Bull Racing achieved its first pole position, first race win and first one-two race result. Here’s hoping the team can repeat those efforts, with Webber out in front, of course.
Check the full video of Mark’s Shanghai preview after the break.
Mark Webber gives his regular preview of upcoming Grands Prix with a look at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit from the seat of the Red Bull Racing simulator.
In Malaysia Mark thinks of hot humid weather, a lot of thunderstorms and a very tough race for the driver. Which is a good thing because the weather predictions are for another downpour.
You might remember the 2009 race was total chaos thanks to torrential rain. The race was stopped after just 31 of the scheduled 56 laps and half points were awarded.
Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber will start tomorrow’s Australian Formula One Grand Prix on the front row after posting the fastest ever times recorded at the Albert Park track.
Webber desperately wanted to claim pole position but it was his younger German teammate that claimed the prize with a blistering lap time of 1:23.919. Vettel was the first, and to date, only driver to break the 1:24 barrier at Albert Park. However, local hopes remain high for Webber who was at the pointy end of the field all day. He was quickest in Free Practice 3, and qualified second with a time of 1:24.035.
Both Red Bull men were under Michael Schumacher’s previous lap record at the Melbourne street circuit of 1:24.125 set in 2004.
Tomorrow represents Mark Webber’s best chance yet to win his home Grand Prix and speaking after qualifying he was disappointed not to have claimed pole, “I would love to be on pole, it is good for the team both of us are up there, but there is always a bit where you can get a bit more out of it, overall it would be nice to be one place further up,” he said.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso will be the first of the non-Red Bull challengers, followed by McLaren’s Jenson Button and second Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.
[Pic: Getty Images]
Mark Webber has followed his Bahrain preview with a virtual lap of the Albert Park Grand Prix circuit behind the wheel of the Red Bull Racing simulator. Mark has just set the fastest lap time so far this weekend in Free Practice 3. Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix is about to start. Can Webber maintain his pace and claim his first Melbourne pole position?
At Mark Webber’s civic reception earlier this week the point was made he likes to remind people he is from Queanbeyan and not Canberra. Well, it seems if Canberra Milk is writing the cheque that Webber’s loyalty can be shifted.
After the break—pardon the pun—is a 30 second television commercial currently on high rotation during Southern Cross Ten’s Formula One coverage in the Canberra region. It’s all a bit of fun and kudos to Webber who has no doubt appeared in this ad for much less than his international profile might demand.
Earlier today Queanbeyan City Council honoured Australian Formula One driver, and local lad made good, Mark Webber with a civic reception. I made the short journey across the border to join in the fun.
Proceedings begun with a parade down Queanbeyan’s main street, where hundreds of people, including lots of school kids, were able to cheer Webber on and offer best wishes for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Once the parade was over Webber was greeted by Queanbeyan Mayor, Cr Tim Overall, before he became a pied piper of sorts on his way into the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. It was a short walk but with every step Webber happily signed autographs for F1 fans of all ages.
The usual speeches were presented including a great precis of Webber’s career from an old family friend. You could see from the smile on Mark’s face that he enjoyed the snapshot offered, and that the effort made was very much appreciated.
Webber then took the stand, accepted a plaque from Cr Overall and spoke of his fond memories from growing up in Queanbeyan. He also made special mention for two other local boys done good, namely David Campese and David Furner.
During Webber’s F3 days he was facing a financial crossroad and he needed money for his motorsport career to survive. Former Wallaby David Campese came to the fore providing $100,000 which allowed Mark to carry on. Webber quipped that he has since paid back the loan and acknowledged his gratitude to Campese who took a huge risk to support what was then a fledgling career.
David Furner, NRL premiership player and current Canberra Raiders coach, also earned praise from Webber who recalled his days growing up when he would walk his dog and see Furner out practicing alone. Mark commented that when he first arrived in Europe he thought he was doing pretty well, but he soon realised all the other young hopefuls from countries far and wide wanted to achieve the same thing he did, a Formula One career. He remembered Furner’s discipline and willingness to train that little bit harder and soon followed a similar methodology. Mark mentioned he likes training on Christmas Day and News Year’s Day as he reckons this gives him two extra days on his competitors.
Webber spoke well and his enthusiasm for friends, family and all in attendance was clear to see. He appears to have a humility that many of his peers would do well to imitate. He also has the support of Australian F1 fans and I’m sure all wish him great success, including a strong result this weekend.
More pics and a few sound bites from Webber’s speech can be seen after the jump.
Earlier this week Mark Webber arrived in Australia ahead of the Australian Grand Prix (25–28 March). As you might expect his time in Australia is full of promotional engagements, but Queanbeyan City Council has managed to get dibbs on Mark for a civic reception next Monday, 22 March.
A motorcade will travel down Queanbeyan’s main drag, Monaro Street, at 12:30pm before a reception is held at Council Chambers on Crawford Street. Queanbeyan Mayor Cr Tim Overall has invited the public to come along to support Mark and says, “Queanbeyan is proud of all of its sporting stars and is honoured to have such high-quality sports people representing it on all levels.
“The people of Queanbeyan have followed Mark’s career closely and the town celebrated as one when he crossed the finish line in Germany to record his first Grand Prix victory.”
Webber has also been acknowledged by Australian Grand Prix organsiers after they named a grandstand in his honour. The Webber Stand, just announced today, is situated in between the Fangio and Senna stands, near Turn 16.
You can relive Webber’s finest moments from the 2009 season, by checking out AUSmotive’s German and Brazilian Grand Prix galleries. Let’s hope there is more to come in 2010.
[Source: markwebber.com & grandprix.com.au]
Mark Webber quickly found his way to the top of the time sheets in his RB6 during pre-season testing at Barcelona overnight. Once Webber found his rhthym he was never headed and settled with a best time of 1:21.487, almost one full second ahead of his nearest rival, Nico Hulkenberg, Williams (1:22.407).
Webber’s Red Bull team were focusing on a race weekend simulation, including qualifying and full race-distance programs. Speaking on the RBR website Webber said, “We had a pretty good day of testing. We did some simulations and performance items in the morning and a race simulation in the afternoon. We had a precautionary stop in the middle of the race simulation because of a gearbox oil alarm, but the guys got the car turned around pretty quickly and we finished the session, so it wasn’t too bad.â€
Reliability seems to be the only concern for Red Bull Racing as both drivers have been consistently on the pace in pre-season testing so far.
Sebastien Vettel steps into the RB6 for the next two days of testing, while Webber will return for the final day on Sunday. A schedule of drivers can be seen HERE. You can follow the action when it resumes later tonight on twitter and autosport.com.
[Pics: Getty Images]
UPDATE: High resolution images NOW AVAILABLE
Red Bull have published these preview images of their new RB6 2010 racecar ahead of today’s official launch. With only a couple of hours to go until the full reveal, expect to see some higher res pics online very soon.
More of this very nice looking Red Bull machine after the break. From what we can see so far, the RB6 will be one of the nicest looking cars on the grid. Not that there’s any Aussie Mark Webber bias here at all!
[Source: RedBull.com]
Amazing results from the Brazilian Grand Prix this morning have seen Mark Webber claim his second victory in Formula One and Jenson Button clinch the driver’s and constructor’s championships for Brawn GP.
The race had a dramatic opening sequence which included three cars crashing out, Kimi Raikkonnen lose his nose cone, drivers fighting on the side of the track, a safety car and a fire in pit lane. Unusually, for Formula One’s unluckiest man, Mark Webber’s start from the front row of the grid ensured he missed all the dramas. He then combined with his Red Bull Racing team to get past race leader, and pole sitter, Rubens Barrichello after the first round of pit stops.
From there Webber completed the race mostly unchallenged and he claimed the chequered flag more than seven seconds ahead of BMW’s Robert Kubica. Of course, this is Webber’s second career win after he won his first Formula One race at Germany in July this year.
Webber’s victory caps a triumphant weekend of motorsport for Australian competitors with Casey Stoner winning his third Australian MotoGP and Jason Crump winning the World Speedway Championship.
Full race reports from the Brazilian Grand Prix can be read at Formula1.com and BBC Sport. Selected driver quotes are available HERE and a picture gallery showcasing Webber’s victory will be posted later today.
UPDATE: Pics from Webber’s victory are now available.
Media outlets across Australia have been reporting on Mark Webber’s maiden Grand Prix win all morning. The in car audio from Mark after the race, which captured his raw emotion, is still being played, “Yes, yes, yeehah. You f@#king beauty!”
His celebrations were typically Australian, he wore his heart on his sleeve and just as in the race, he left nothing behind. Speaking on ABC radio overnight, Will Hagon described Webber’s release of emotion as being the culmination of not one race, or one result, but his entire motorsport career.
As a young boy starting his racing career at the Fairbairn Park karting track in Canberra, Webber would have been dreaming of this day. Now he has reached the summit. Mark Webber, from the small New South Wales city of Queanbeyan, is a Grand Prix winner!
Even better than that, his Red Bull Racing team are providing he and Sebastian Vettel with a potential championship winning car. They have clearly been the form team of the last few races and last night’s results saw both Vettel and Webber close the gap to championship leader Jenson Button.
Button heads the championship table with 68 points, Vettel is second on 47 points. Webber’s win sees him leap frog Rubens Barichello into third place in the driver’s championship on 45.5 points, with the Brazilian in fourth on 44 points. Felipe Massa is fifth in the driver standings, back on just 22 points.
After Brawn GP’s early season jump start on the competition, Red Bull Racing are also narrowing the gap in the constructor’s title which now stands, Brawn GP 112 points, Red Bull Racing 92.5 points and Toyota, third, on 34.5 points.
Mark Webber is just the third Australian driver to win a Formula One race, following in the footsteps of Alan Jones and Sir Jack Brabham. Amazingly, Webber’s maiden victory came in his 130th race start—Alan Jones had 116 race starts in his entire career, Brabham had 126. Let’s hope Webber can continue the legacy of Australians who have won a Grand Prix race have also gone on to win a World Championship.
Full driver quotes from the post-race press conference are available from Formula1.com. Red Bull Racing’s media release, along with a vast gallery of images from the race are available after the jump.