Mark Webber

[racechick]

Mark Webber is a joy to watch in formula one, I also like him other than his team mate

Yeah! Mark rocks!

I like both RBR drivers in different ways. Don't I, RC?

Yes you do Lew

[LewEngBridewell]

Mark Webber is a joy to watch in formula one, I also like him other than his team mate

Yeah! Mark rocks!

I like both RBR drivers in different ways. Don't I, RC?

Yes you do Lew

[Denthúl]

I thought this was a little interesting.

Mark Webber believes quality of Formula 1 grid is dropping
By Andrew van de Burgt and Sam Tremayne Monday, August 5th 2013, 10:19 GMT

Mark WebberMark Webber believes the quality of the Formula 1 grid has dropped since he made his debut in 2002 because of the prevalence of pay drivers.

The Australian believes financial concerns are forcing teams to focus on budget rather than talent, and that some of the most worthy drivers are being overlooked.

In what he labelled a 'sad state', Webber believes that has diluted the quality of the current grid to the extent it is actually weaker than it was 13 years ago when he made a home soil debut with Minardi.

"When I was on the grid at the back with Minardi you had Irvine, Salo - all those guys had been on podiums," Webber said.

"The grid was just packed full of guys who had won in F3000, won a lot of impressive races.

"[Now] there are a lot of talented guys out there, but a lot are slipping through the net unfortunately. That's a sad state.

"[Robin] Frijns for example is a phenomenal young talent, [but] has got no cash."

Webber said he remains focused on ensuring protege Mitch Evans reaches F1, but admitted he is wary of the 19-year-old being promoted too early.

Evans won last year's GP3 championship and has taken four podiums for Arden in his maiden GP2 campaign in 2013.

Asked about the example of Sergey Sirotkin, who is set to race for Sauber next year, Webber said entering the sport so young could present a safety concern.

"Maybe it's a safety worry, we'll see," Webber said of drivers being promoted so early.

"You can drive the car, but for sure it's not the optimal point to enter I don't think.

"My job is to get Mitch there to show what he can do, [but] there's not much testing going on at the moment [so] you have to see what they can do in the period they have.

"Is he [Sirotkin] a Kimi or Sebastian? We'll find out."

Australian GP starting grids -
comparing Webber's debut with his final home grand prix

Code: Select all

2002                                 2013
 1. Rubens Barrichello                1. Sebastian Vettel
 2. Michael Schumacher                2. Mark Webber
 3. Ralf Schumacher                   3. Lewis Hamilton
 4. David Coulthard                   4. Felipe Massa
 5. Kimi Raikkonen                    5. Fernando Alonso
 6. Juan Pablo Montoya                6. Nico Rosberg
 7. Jarno Trulli                      7. Kimi Raikkonen
 8. Giancarlo Fisichella              8. Romain Grosjean
 9. Felipe Massa                      9. Paul di Resta
10. Nick Heidfeld                    10. Jenson Button
11. Jenson Button                    11. Nico Hulkenberg
12. Olivier Panis                    12. Adrian Sutil
13. Jacques Villeneuve               13. Jean-Eric Vergne
14. Mika Salo                        14. Daniel Ricciardo
15. Heinz-Harald Frentzen            15. Sergio Perez
16. Allan McNish                     16. Valtteri Bottas
17. Enrique Bernoldi                 17. Pastor Maldonado
18. Mark Webber                      18. Esteban Gutierrez
19. Eddie Irvine                     19. Jules Bianchi
20. Pedro de la Rosa                 20. Max Chilton
21. Alex Yoong                       21. Giedo van der Garde
22. Takuma Sato                      22. Charles Pic

In 2002, all the rookies (barring McNish, who I can't find information for) finished in the top three of a significant feeder series the previous year. Oddly, Takuma Sato was the reigning British F3 champion. I wonder what happened there... Anyway. In 2013, we have (from the back of the grid onwards): Pic , van der Garde (6th in GP2 last year, 3rd in the two-event Asia series, previous top-three finish was Formula Renault 3.5 in 2008), Chilton (4th in GP2 last year, last top-three result was in T Cars back in 2006), Bianchi (didn't race in a full series last year, but has had numerous top-three finishes in the three years prior), Gutiérrez (3rd in GP2 last year, GP3 champion in 2010), Bottas (didn't race last year, 2011 GP3 champion).

So on the rookies, we have three with no real credentials, one who I don't think is ready (Gutiérrez), and two who are doing pretty well. The number of drivers with wins is the same (9 at the first race in each season), though there were more podiums (4 then, 1 now) and less points-finishers (2 had scored points at that point, as opposed to 6 today) however that's obviously skewed by the two extensions of the points system between 2002 and the present day.

[Hammer278]

Man...seeing the 2002 grid brings back so many memories. It really was Formula 1, with top notch drivers, V10s and cars which made the difference rather than tyres. Fuel fires, random engine blowouts, wheel to wheel racing with hardly any drive throughs, penalties handed out...damn. The old F1 was awesome.

[LewEngBridewell]

Man...seeing the 2002 grid brings back so many memories. It really was Formula 1, with top notch drivers, V10s and cars which made the difference rather than tyres. Fuel fires, random engine blowouts, wheel to wheel racing with hardly any drive throughs, penalties handed out...damn. The old F1 was awesome.

In 2002, tyres made all the difference. Working with Ferrari, Bridgestone outclassed the Michelin-shod teams, and we had one of a number of Scuderia-dominated years. And F1's following suffered as a result.

[andrew]

Why's the Ferrari diminace revered yet the periods of McLaren dominance in the 80's is held up as a golden period of F1? It's quite odd.

Anyways, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Ferrari/Schumacher dominance. It was pretty cool to see a team and driver performing at the top of their game for so long and cope with the pressure and expectations brought by such a high level of performance.

[Hammer278]

Man...seeing the 2002 grid brings back so many memories. It really was Formula 1, with top notch drivers, V10s and cars which made the difference rather than tyres. Fuel fires, random engine blowouts, wheel to wheel racing with hardly any drive throughs, penalties handed out...damn. The old F1 was awesome.

In 2002, tyres made all the difference. Working with Ferrari, Bridgestone outclassed the Michelin-shod teams, and we had one of a number of Scuderia-dominated years. And F1's following suffered as a result.

That's true, the tyre wars cheapened things a bit. I'd like to refer to the time when we only had Bridgestone supplying all....those were good times. But the tyre wars weren't bad at all, 2003 was a classic with 3 teams in the running for the WDC until the last 2 races if I recall correctly.

[LewEngBridewell]

Man...seeing the 2002 grid brings back so many memories. It really was Formula 1, with top notch drivers, V10s and cars which made the difference rather than tyres. Fuel fires, random engine blowouts, wheel to wheel racing with hardly any drive throughs, penalties handed out...damn. The old F1 was awesome.

In 2002, tyres made all the difference. Working with Ferrari, Bridgestone outclassed the Michelin-shod teams, and we had one of a number of Scuderia-dominated years. And F1's following suffered as a result.

That's true, the tyre wars cheapened things a bit. I'd like to refer to the time when we only had Bridgestone supplying all....those were good times. But the tyre wars weren't bad at all, 2003 was a classic with 3 teams in the running for the WDC until the last 2 races if I recall correctly.

Yes, 2003 was a stand-out year, that ended up being quite close.

[racechick]

We had one for the Vettel fans, here's one for the Webber fans
http://twitter.com/AussieGrit/status/36 ... 72/photo/1

[sagi58]

Man...seeing the 2002 grid brings back so many memories. It really was Formula 1, with top notch drivers, V10s and cars which made the difference rather than tyres. Fuel fires, random engine blowouts, wheel to wheel racing with hardly any drive throughs, penalties handed out...damn. The old F1 was awesome.

In 2002, tyres made all the difference. Working with Ferrari, Bridgestone outclassed the Michelin-shod teams, and we had one of a number of Scuderia-dominated years. And F1's following suffered as a result.

That's true, the tyre wars cheapened things a bit. I'd like to refer to the time when we only had Bridgestone supplying all....those were good times. But the tyre wars weren't bad at all, 2003 was a classic with 3 teams in the running for the WDC until the last 2 races if I recall correctly.

Just to chime in on this discussion, I believe what we have now, with one sole supplier of tires cheapens this sport even more than any tire war could have. We now have Pirelli "dictating" which tires to use, when and how!!

And, I agree with

Why's the Ferrari diminace revered yet the periods of McLaren dominance in the 80's is held up as a golden period of F1? It's quite odd...

It's all about "perspective"!!

[What's Burning?]

We now have Pirelli "dictating" which tires to use, when and how!!

Dictating? That would be like hiring an architect and telling him how to design the building. You think there's anyone more qualified than Pirelli to determine which tires to bring to which circuit? The only dictating goign one was from the FiA and they got it very wrong and is the only reason we've had the fiasco we've had to endure. Pirelli in this case is just the cuckold husband.

[sagi58]

We now have Pirelli "dictating" which tires to use, when and how!!

Dictating? That would be like hiring an architect and telling him how to design the building. You think there's anyone more qualified than Pirelli to determine which tires to bring to which circuit? The only dictating goign one was from the FiA and they got it very wrong and is the only reason we've had the fiasco we've had to endure. Pirelli in this case is just the cuckold husband.

It was my understanding that Pirelli was given instructions as to what type of tires were expected; but, Pirelli was the one to design and manufacture them. In doing so, they must not have tested their tires properly, otherwise we'd not have seen a change in tire composition midseason. Also, if I'm not wrong (which is known to happen) Pirelli is also the one that dictates which tires are brought to which race, not the FIA.

[racechick]

They weren't allowed to test tyres properly, just given a ludicrous mandate to make tyres that wear out too quickly, therefore Mercedes stepped in to help them out of an increasingly difficult situation

[What's Burning?]

We have a long and "colorful" Pirelli thread if you'd like to continue the discussion there. It's worth a read though.

[LewEngBridewell]

I wasn't a fan of the tyre war. Affects the battle at the front too much for my liking.

People complain F1 is too much about tyres these days, well, those tyre war times were ALL about tyres!