Mark Webber was pleased to have come home second to team-mate Sebastian Vettel at the British Grand Prix on Sunday, after admitting that he lost his chance for victory in qualifying 24 hours earlier.
The Australian could only put his Red Bull machine on the second row of the grid, and when he failed to get by Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello at lights out, he just could not keep up with his flying team-mate.
“We needed to get on the front row [in qualifying] at least [to challenge for victory],” he admitted to reporters. “After that, we knew by the way that Sebastian was pulling away in the first stint - Rubens was doing his best but his car didn’t look that easy – that the race was virtually over.
“Sebastian had such a gap after the first 20 laps of the race, there was no chance of me being able to bridge that gap. It was way too big. We had a lot of traffic in the second stint and in the final one, it was just a question of getting the car home as the guys reported some damage at the back of the car in the second pit stop, so we had to use a different gear pattern for the last stint.”
Webber, who is three and a half points behind Vettel in the Drivers’ Championship, went on: “In general, I want to echo Sebastian’s words – the guys have absolutely buried themselves at the factory - the attention to detail they are now going to is an absolute credit to him.
“They have been led very well and they are responding to that. Results help, of course, and it’s an incredible injection for them to get these top results.
"It’s a 1-2 on their home turf, with the factory down the road. It’s the ultimate result for them and the best I could have done. I don’t think I could have got much more than that.
“Congratulations to Sebastian, he did a good first stint and that’s what laid the foundation. I enjoyed it, and, again, Silverstone, what an amazing track. We love driving these F1 cars here, it’s just incredible. To go through that first sector lap after lap is a great feeling.”