Better Late Than Never

As we approach the half distance mark in the season, one man who has impressed is Red Bull ace Mark Webber.

I’ve never been a massive Mark Webber fan. Over the years he has been continuously pumped as a great drive, something I never bought into it. I’ve always seen a loudmouth who failed to do the job in the equipment given to him. My case in point was his attack on Williams last year, where the Aussie labelled them as nothing more than a Toyota ‘B’. Of course, Red Bull also receives customer engines, something conveniently forgotten.

The joke ended up been on him at the end of the season, with Williams finishing above Red Bull in the constructors championship. Red Bull finished nine points behind the ‘Toyota ‘B’ team’ in 2007. Of course, what shouldn’t be overlooked is Red Bull’s horrid reliability. Only on two occasions did both cars make it home to the flag.

Since his points scoring debut, Webber has been touted as a potential champion. But like many, he failed to bring consistency to his raw speed. On occasion he has found himself in the upper echelons of the Formula One grid in qualifying but never brought it home.

It took him until Monaco in 2005 for him take his first podium, his fourth year in Formula One. The 2005 season was a breakthrough year for the Australian. He finished with a career high 36 point, with five top-five finishes. In his first few seasons, he was bringing home the car in sixth, seventh and eight positions.

It’s easy to point and say he was in a poor Jaguar and that he regularly trounced his team-mates. But to be fair, up until he teamed up with David Coulthard in 2007, he hasn’t really had a driver to properly test him. There is always the old adage that a great driver can always draw more out of a bad car to consider as well.

In similar machinery to Coulthard, he found himself beaten by the experienced Scotsman in the championship. It didn’t help his credibility. While Webber is no spring chicken, many see Coulthard in the final ebbs of his Formula One career. Losing to him didn’t help to reinforce the idea that this was a potential new champion in the midst.

The 2008 season has seen Mark bring all the elements of his package together. He is regularly putting his Red Bull car in the final session of qualifying. In race trim, Webber has put together a string of five consecutive points finishes. After a blip at the chaotic Canadian Grand Prix, the Australian got straight back on the horse with another impressive run at France.

He is putting his team-mate in the shade, something he should have done last year. Outside of the Ferrari, McLaren and BMW drivers, Webber has taken the mantle as ‘best of the rest’. Just shy of the halfway mark, he has already accumulated 18 points in the drivers’ championship. If he continues his current form there is no reason why he can’t set a career high points total.

There is already talking of where he might land in 2009. He has left the door open for what options might be out there. In my view, he is best to stay at Red Bull. The team has serious backing and after overcoming the mechanical woes of last year, have a package that rivals the likes of Toyota and Renault. No mean feat against two motoring giants. There is no much better options out there for him. At his age, the top teams maybe a bit reticent to take him on now. Currently he’s in the best of the rest, so it’s all rosy for him.

One concern for him may be the arrival of Sebastian Vettel has his team-mate next year. If rumours are true, it will require him to raise his game. Unlike previous team-mates, Vettel is regarding as a rising star. If Webber could beat him, it would be quiet a feather in his cap.
Until then, Webber just needs to keep his head down and continue his fantastic 2008 season.