Even though his performance in Barcelona could be construed as just another of those infrequent “Mark Webber Magic” moments, the Australian certainly dealt his much-vaunted team-mate Sebastian Vettel a significant psychological blow.
Webber has definitely inherited former team-mate David Coulthard’s crown as Formula One’s “nearly man”. Having struggled with Minardi, Jaguar and Williams for the best part of his Formula One career, he finally finds himself in a winning team, and notched up the third grand prix victory with impressive style on Sunday.
Yet, at the recent Malaysian Grand Prix, Webber’s heroics during the qualifying session came to naught when Vettel easily overtook him at the start of the race. The German hotshoe then went on to keep Webber at bay without too much effort… and the Australian looked like he had been well and truly whipped into submission.
It wouldn’t have surprised anyone if the precocious Vettel got the better of Webber again at Circuit de Catalunya, but Webber kept his head when the grand prix got underway and virtually dared Vettel to make a daring move, which would probably end in the gravel trap, on the outside of the first corner. The German was definitely on the back foot from that point onward – he was pipped by Lewis Hamilton at the conclusion of the first pit stop, and then bashed his Red Bull’s wheels on the kerbs and abused his brakes in vain attempts to keep up with the Australian.
There’s a reason why Vettel’s car always seems to be the Red Bull to give problems. Apart from a faulty spark plug in Bahrain, Vettel’s maladies always seem to strike when there is some margin for mechanical failure that can be attributed to a pilot’s driving style. Hamilton’s trip into the crash barriers two laps from the end in Spain certainly demonstrated that pushing a set of tyres past their optimal operating lifespan could have disastrous consequences. The same can be said of brake pads.
But Webber clearly won in Spain without needing to push his car past its limits. Vettel’s flabbergasted utterings during the post-race interviews showed that the German had been stunned by his team-mate’s raw pace… Before the season started, I proclaimed Michael Schumacher an outsider’s bet to win the title, but I think Webber has a much better chance, if he can maintain his winning momentum.
The Australian has a golden chance to strike a double blow in Monaco this coming weekend. He is unlikely to ever have as good a car at his disposal to make a bid for a world championship title, and judging by his performance in Barcelona, Webber appears to be in a rich vein of form, AND in the right head space to capitalise on it.
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