After seven years and 130 races Mark Webber has finally become a Formula One Grand Prix winner. No other driver in F1 history has waited as long as the Australian for their first win, which makes Webber’s triumph at the Nurburgring one to savour. As well as being a great personal achievement Mark’s victory has turned out to be very a significant and timely result for Red Bull.
Mark Webber has been striving towards his maiden win for some time now but has developed a knack of being in the right place at the wrong time. After a great debut season with Minardi, Webber moved to Jaguar where he expected to be fighting for regular points. However, the team never reached its potential and Mark’s best finish in two years with the British squad was sixth.
The Australian had still done enough to prove his worth and had a number of options available to him in 2005. He had the opportunity to drive for either Renault or Toyota, but ended up joining Williams instead. His decision made plenty of sense at the time but proved to be a bad one in hindsight.
Williams are one of the most successful teams of all time and had a car that could occasionally challenge the mighty Ferrari in 2004. With that in mind they should have been right up there in 2005 but that proved not to be the case. Webber drove well and scored his first podium, but if he had signed with Toyota or Renault instead he would have been winning races. The following year offered more promise but the FW28 was horrendously unreliable and Mark lost a swag of podiums due to technical problems, including possible victories in Australia and Monaco. He left Williams for Red Bull and has steadily improved since into the position he finds himself in today.
Webber’s win at the Nurburgring was made all the more special by the fact that he had to overcome a drive through penalty to claim the chequered flag, and he joins the likes of Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna to have done the same. Ayrton won the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix after an early stop go penalty, and Schumacher did similar at Montreal and Silverstone in 1998, as well as Magny Cours in 2002. That’s not bad company to be in.
Webber’s penalty was pretty hard to justify though.
Whilst Mark was the guilty party in the controversial incident with Barrichello, his drive-through seemed particularly harsh. Webber moved gently right off the start line and Barrichello coasted slightly to the left before the two ran alongside each other on the run to the first corner. Both drivers continued to edge closer together until Webber made a second definitive move to the right and made contact with the Brawn. Their touch was only fleeting and it looked a lot worse than what it was on TV because both drivers jinked violently out of the way as soon as it happened.
The penalty was fairly severe because neither driver was delayed and neither car was damaged. It was nothing more than a bit of wheel banging and it’s the sort of thing that happens through the grid all the time. It was a little reminiscent of the penalty that Lewis Hamilton received after the start at Fuji last year when he pushed Raikkonen wide at the first corner. The steward’s ruling that day seemed over the top considering the start of a race will always be hectic with 20 cars in close proximity, and the same could be said for the verdict handed to Webber yesterday.
The bigger issue for Mark at the start was Lewis Hamilton. The reigning champ also made contact with Webber before turn one and that little collision could have had far more serious consequences. Lewis pulled alongside the Red Bull after a stunning KERS assisted getaway and joined the lead battle heading into the hairpin. Hamilton squeezed Webber in an effort to avoid running wide but the two made contact and the McLaren speared off with a puncture. Amazingly, Webber suffered no damage whatsoever. His front wing didn’t even have a scratch on it. If the two cars had been just an inch closer it might have done more damage to Webber’s victory chances than a drive through penalty.
Mark’s strong performance all afternoon was his best in F1 to date, but it was also very significant for his team and came at a very opportune time.
Firstly, it brings Red Bull into serious championship contention. There is no doubt that Adrian Newey’s car is now the fastest in F1 and the team have made huge inroads into Brawn’s championship lead. In the last three races they have scored 50 points in comparison to Brawn’s 24, so if they keep that up Red Bull will be leading the constructors standings after Belgium.
At the Nurburgring the RB5 was up to half a second quicker than anything else, which is interesting because the circuit is fairly generic and should not favour any particular type of car. The next race is in Hungary which features a slow tight circuit run in hot conditions that should suit the Brawns. If Red Bull can win that race comfortably as well, they will be near impossible to catch for the rest of the year.
Brawn GP has the championship lead but may not have the firepower to compete with Red Bull for the remainder of 2009.
The Drivers World Championship is also tightening up and is now a three way battle between Button, Vettel and Webber. Barrichello is holding a watching brief as well in case any of the others stumble. The two Red Bull drivers are nearly within 20 points of Button which is equal to just two Grand Prix victories. Vettel and Webber can easily manage that in the final eight races of the year, so all it will take is an unexpected Safety Car or a rainy day to see one of them vault into the championship lead.
The German Grand Prix was a clear indication that 2009 is going right down to the wire.
Webber’s victory also comes at a crucial time for his team politically.
Red Bull is currently trying to secure a Mercedes Benz supply deal for 2010. The German engines are reportedly a very a big part of Brawn’s success this year and Red Bull want to get in on the act.
The current F1 regulations state that manufacturers are only allowed to supply two teams with engines. Mercedes was given a special dispensation this year to supply three in order to ensure the survival of Brawn (which is why there is no Mercedes branding on the car). Next year FOTA have arranged to have this rule changed and manufacturers will be allowed to service up to four teams, or almost a third of the grid.
This leaves room for one more privateer to join those currently using Mercedes engines.
Understandably there are a few teams interested and Red Bull is one of them. They are clear favourites to land the deal thanks partly to the presence of Sebastian Vettel, with whom Mercedes would love to be associated. However, even more important than that would be an association with a team that’s performing well and Mark Webber’s crushing victory on German soil would have been duly noted by the Mercedes board.
Webber underlined the strengths of his team along with his own driving credentials.
Interestingly, Mark only needs to take three points out of Button in each of the remaining races to catch him in the championship standings. Considering that he’s taken 11 away from Jenson in the last two rounds and is currently sitting in the fastest cockpit on the grid, it isn’t such a crazy thought.
Webber could even catch Button in the title chase with a few races to spare.
If he keeps driving like he did in Germany he stands half a chance.