Question: Mark, Fernando described you and the team on Friday as unbeatable and you proved it today. You must be very happy?
Mark Webber: Yeah, absolutely rapped. After qualifying yesterday it was certainly a great position for us to start the Grand Prix in. We knew it was a long run to the first corner here and we had some pretty quick cars behind us in terms of top speed, so that was the very important part of the race to unlock that and get out of turn one still in the lead. It was quite tight into turn one. We had a good battle going into there and then I just settled into a rhythm really into the first stint, looking after tyres, making sure we got the option through as everyone is still learning, venue to venue, about how the tyres might operate. We had a pretty good idea they would behave themselves but you never know. We just made sure they were in pretty good nick and finishing the stint in a good fashion which they did. Clean pit-stop. I had Seb with me at that stage and then after the pit stop I had Lewis (Hamilton) behind me and we just controlled the gap really. Looking after the car, engine, tyres as still the grands prix are pretty long and the cars are built for a distance and you need to get the cars home. The team have been incredible this week, getting the cars ready, long, long nights for the guys, an incredible amount of effort at the factory. Working on holidays, so collectively Renault and Red Bull have put a huge effort in. The driver did his little bit of work and in the end it was a fantastic result and I am absolutely thrilled.
Question: Mark, a reliable Red Bull and an unreliable Red Bull. Tell us how you see the championship evolving from what we have seen today?
Mark Webber: Well, it is still very early days. We know there are some very competitive cars, in particular Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren and there are some pretty decent drivers as well, so there is a long, long way to go. We need to see how the car performs at different venues. The cars are pretty sensitive to different tracks, so there is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet in terms of how this will shake out in the next five or six months. As Sebastian touched on, you need a quick car but you need to have one that is always there for you. It showed with McLaren with the failure there that everyone is pushing things to the limit. Ferrari have had some engine problems. We can build tractors, but they are slow. You need to build Formula One cars that are on the edge and this is the balance everyone is chasing.
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Pole Sitter Mark Webber Wins Spanish Grand Prix
Formula 1: Spanish Grand Prix - Race Results
Question: Mark, this victory seemed to mean a great deal to you today?
Mark Webber: It was a special victory. The first one is good but this one is right up there with it. I had to work very hard yesterday not that you don’t ever when you are at the front in Formula One. But it was a crucial pole. I felt very good in the car. The car wasn’t easy at the start but it was always nice to see the gap going away and that helps. It gave me good confidence from there and off we went. I was just getting ready for a clean pit stop and making sure the tyres were getting to the back part that first stop as well. You are always learning about these tyres and how they will go, particularly at a venue like this. It is a very heavy car in the first 10 to 15 laps and you want to be careful you don’t bite off more than you can chew. We had the stop and I saw that Lewis and Seb changed positions at the stop. I then controlled the gap a little bit with Lewis at the start of the next stint, just picking my way through the traffic as there was quite a bit of that going on. Most of them were pretty good. Some guys. I then knew Lewis might be hitting the traffic and I did a few reasonably quick laps just to open it up a bit more. Then we could pace the car to the end. Sensational effort from the whole team this weekend. We had a faultless grand prix weekend in terms of yesterday’s qualifying and the race today was a very well executed grand prix. In a way we know that Seb could have been in second if he had a smooth race, so we have missed a few points for the Constructors, but in the end very special day for me. It was a good one. Unfortunately I can’t get too drunk tonight as we are at the track again on Wednesday but we will see how we go.
Question: Were you surprised just how you were pulling away from Seb in those early stages?
Mark Webber: Yes, I was. Some laps I wasn’t particularly happy with the laps I was doing. You always think you can get a bit more there but it was still stretching as I thought Seb was having similar problems, so bit of a surprise but a pleasant one. It makes life a bit easier for yourself.
Question: Your thoughts on Monaco. Will the car be good around there?
Mark Webber: It should be. We know it is a special venue. It is a one off on the calendar. It is a sensational challenge for the drivers. We all like going there. You certainly couldn’t have a track like it now if you wanted to design and build one. It is a little bit on the edge. We know that but we will go there and give is our best shot. It is a different type of weekend with running on Thursday and a bit of a break on Friday. The whole atmosphere is good and it is a special grand prix. We all know that front row will be king there as well.
Question: There will probably be a few Aussies on yachts.
Mark Webber: Lots of Australians are working on the boat. There were a few Aussie flags here today. There were a few Spanish ones unfortunately. It was good to have Fernando on the podium with us in his home race but in the end a lot of Aussie flags there too which is nice to see.
Question: Mark, you’ve paid tribute all through the weekend to the strength and the hard work of your team. Could you give us a couple of examples of people close to you who have put in a special effort or make special sacrifices?
Mark Webber: It started, really, on the way back from Shanghai. A lot of people were out of position for a long, long time, so that probably didn’t affect our team but there was a bit of a knock-on effect of people being stuck out there behind schedule, getting back into the rhythm, into the factory with race team and factory-based people getting going. And some astronomical hours really, Mike, I think there was a Bank Holiday Monday a few weeks ago and they were in, preparing the car, and after hours. OK, maybe every team is doing it but at least the intensity of the guys… people are telling them to do things and they are not even questioning it. It’s just boom, boom; everyone is on the same channel, pushing hard. Then trackside this week, Kenny (Handkammer, chief mechanic) was on the podium today, he’s been in Formula One a long time and it was nice to have him up there today for the first time. He’s won many, many races as the chief bolt (mechanic), him with his soldiers and his boys, the hours that he’s done. It’s good that we’re obviously run by Red Bull because I think it keeps the guys awake because their eyes are popping out of their heads because of the hours that they’ve done. That was a special effort. OK, Seb didn’t have a clean race but there were no mistakes on the cars even though they’re under stress. That was good.
Question: Mark, this victory seems very special for you, even more than the first one. Is that because it’s at the beginning of the season instead of the middle or the end? And you can fight for the championship?
Mark Webber: Yeah, it’s in Spain. All of them have been good. Obviously in Brazil it was all overshadowed by Jenson winning the title, so today was all about… it was Fernando’s home race, so there was a lot of people excited about that locally, but it was my day today and that’s why I was very happy and satisfied that I started on the pole and could control the race, and they’re the ones which are very special to have. They don’t always happen like that. I said to some people that when I win a race this year I will do something different, so it was nice to throw my helmet into the crowd and give a present back to the fans because they don’t always get the best treatment in Formula One, so it was nice to throw a bit of a gift out there for them. Just a really special day for me, to capitalise off the pole again yesterday. It’s the first time that someone’s won from pole this year and it’s the tenth time from pole at this venue, so it’s a very important position to start the race and we did the job in the end.
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