SEPTEMBER 8, 2012
Webber: we need to improve qualifying
With McLaren having won the last two grands prix and locked out the Italian GP front row, Mark Webber has admitted that Red Bull needs to improve its qualifying performances to maintain its lead in the constructors championship and to close down Fernando Alonso in the drivers' championship.
© The Cahier Archive
By Tony Dodgins (@TonyDodgins)
With McLaren having won the last two grands prix and locked out the Italian GP front row, Mark Webber has admitted that Red Bull Racing needs to improve its qualifying performance s to maintain its lead in the constructors championship and to close down Fernando Alonso in the drivers' championship.
Sebastian Vettel will start timorrow's race fifth on the grid after Paul Di Resta's gearbox penalty is applied, but Webber will line up 11th, having failed to make it through Q2.
At Monza, a renowned power circuit, it was noticeable that the fastest Renault-engined cars (Vettel, Raikkonen and Webber) were ninth, tenth and eleventh in Q2, all split by just over a tenth, and behind five Mercedes and three Ferrari-engined cars.
"That's true," Webber conceded, "but at Spa and Monza last year we dominated both events. That's 11 months ago and I don't think that much has changed. At high speed tracks, the last two races, it's been the same compound of tyres. So is it that? Is it the low downforce? Is it a bit of engine? There are so many trees we could climb up to try and get the answer but I think it's car performance and understanding the tyres. In a fortnight we're at a completely different venue, Singapore, and Monza will be forgotten.
"We need to improve qualifying, we know that. It used to be a very big part of our armoury and we clearly need to improve on it. We don't want to be always recovering on Sundays, so we know we've got work to do."
"We might get our arse kicked tomorrow as well, but relatively we should do a bit better. I'm looking foward to the race but not the formation lap and seeing how many cars are ahead of me. That pisses me off, but it's how it is."