The legendary Sir Jack Brabham is expecting Mark Webber to make a big impact with Jaguar Racing next year. But will the Aussie buckle under the pressure?
The legendary Sir Jack Brabham is expecting Mark Webber to make a big impact with Jaguar Racing next year. But will the Aussie buckle under the pressure?
Sir Jack, who won the world championship three times, predicted that Mark Webber and the Jaguar team would be a strong combination in the 2003 season.
Webber became the darling of Melbourne in March this year when he finished fifth for Minardi in the Australian Grand Prix – his first race for the struggling team.
“Mark did a very, very good job in his first year with Minardi,” Sir Jack told . “He proved that he’s quite capable of driving a F1 car. Now he has the opportunity to move forward. I’ve got a feeling that Jaguar is going to go a lot better in 2003 than in 2002. Mark could be in the right place at the right time.
The Jaguar team started its revival at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this year when Eddie Irvine finished on the podium. “In a couple of races towards the end of the season the Jaguar was in the points. Its Cosworth engine is doing a pretty good job. I think they could be a very good combination in 2003. It’s a good place for Mark to be,” Sir Jack said.
Seemingly unperturbed by the weight of expectation on his shoulders, Webber is convinced that dedicated development work by Jaguar Racing in the coming months could pay dividends when the team lines up on the grid in Melbourne in early March.
“It’s a huge opportunity for me. I’m tremendously excited to have my new role with Jaguar,” Webber said. “I’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of me but hopefully you’ll see the fruits of that hard work come Melbourne.
”Minardi was a very, very small operation, no question about that. We have big resources here (at Jaguar) and obviously that will help make it an easier step forward in terms of pace. I’ve still got a lot of stripes to put on my sleeve in terms of my reputation in F1. It’s going to be very, very competitive in the midfield of F1. I do want to be racing competitively with the top guys,” he added.
