Mixed emotions for Mark in South Korea

POSTED ON October 14th, 2012

MARKWEBBER_REV_V_CMYK

It was a day of mixed emotions for Mark at the Korean Grand Prix. He ended the race in second place, giving him his first podium finish since he won the British Grand Prix, but the day had promised even more after he started from pole position.

“Clearly, it was a good day for Red Bull Racing,” said Mark. “Everyone’s worked really hard all year and to help give the team its first 1-2 of the year is special. It was good to capitalise on McLaren’s tough day because they’re a strong team and they’ll be back. But when you start from pole, as I did, second place isn’t the result you’re looking for and that’s why it’s a day of mixed emotions.”

Mark lost the lead on the run to the first corner, after having a few issues getting away from the line.

“I didn’t have enough clutch at Suzuka last weekend,” says Mark, “and here I had too much. The initial launch wasn’t good and that resulted in me having a mediocre run to the first corner. That allowed Seb to get alongside, on the inside, and it was very difficult to defend from him. I thought I had another chance down the long straight because I got into his slipstream, but as soon as I pulled out I hit a brick wall and couldn’t get past.

“After the first-lap collision at Turn 4, there were then yellow flags in the DRS zone for the next 600 laps and by that time Seb had used the clear air to get a slight gap. From then on it was a question of managing the tyres because the fronts were pretty marginal today.”

Tyre wear came to a head during Mark’s second stint. He struggled with graining on the fronts, which allowed Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso to close up to within 1.3s of Mark’s RB8. Not that he was ever going to find a way past…

“I went relatively slowly at the start of the second stint in an effort to look after the tyres,” says Mark, “but it turned out to be the wrong thing to do. I got too much graining and lost a lot of time. Tyres are like women: they’re difficult to manage. It’s the nature of F1 these days.”

After Mark’s second and final pitstop, the performance of his RB8 was more consistent and he closed to within eight seconds of Vettel by the chequered flag. To emphasise the transformation of his car’s handling, he set the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate lap.

“I was really able to attack in that last stint,” says Mark. “I was driving well and enjoying myself out there. But to win against guys like Seb, you’ve got to get everything right and that didn’t happen for me today. My start wasn’t perfect and nor was the second stint. I know what I’ve got to do and I’m confident that I can win more races before the end of the year.”

Mark lies fifth in the world championship standings, but he’s now only one point behind fourth-placed Lewis Hamilton, with four races to go.

“I’m 63 points off the lead, with 100 points still on the table,” he says. “That means it’s going to be pretty difficult for me to win the title now; I’d need a pretty bizarre set of circumstances to close the gap. But it’s not in my nature to give up and I look forward to continuing the battle in India in two weeks time.”

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John POSTED October 25th, 2012

Mark i am surprised how much you have held on without going public about the obvious sabotage of your WDC campaign by RBR just to keep the spoilt kid happy. Two gearbox peno’s ,poor strategy, slower pitstops, miraculously slow starts when starting near Vettel. Front wing preference etc etc

Speak out mate. No matter what happends RBR wont let you win the title this year or next.

Speak out and expose what we already knew for the last 3 years almost.

Lara POSTED October 24th, 2012

Hi, Mark!
Good luck for this weekend in India. I want to see you win and I am sure that it will be so.
With best wishes from Russia

ayyub POSTED October 18th, 2012

great drive mark. i had a feeling that the start was masterminded by the team. if this theory is true, then my assumption is, only the best drivers can orchestrate it perfectly. this means you mark.

TRICKO POSTED October 17th, 2012

lets face it the start wasnt actually bad but getting away from it wasnt good.tell me why is pole on the outside of the track no advantage whatsoever.but even so good points were had.i would hated to have seen what would of happened if you were in the lead,could there have been a ‘move aside for your team mate’ call put through,hopefully something else would have cocked up on your car THE RADIO.keep on trukin.COME ON THE WEBBER!!!!

kos POSTED October 17th, 2012

Good driving but you need more work in details.
Some times you want to make the difference but you over do it .Some others is the oposite.
Bad luck in Suzuka where every one of us knew that you ll fight hard.
Keep yourself in good shape and maybe next year you ll get it.

If you win or at least be on podium in the next races will make your funs happy and it ll keep our hopes alive for the future.

Glyn Turton POSTED October 16th, 2012

You did good Mark. There is no shame in being 2nd hope you get a win before the end of the season. Maybe you should put some Red Bull in the fuel Tank lol. And yes we women can be hard to handle. x

Wendy POSTED October 16th, 2012

Well done Mark Second isn’t so bad and the championship ain’t over yet Congrats on the pole and fastest lap.

Edi, Albania POSTED October 16th, 2012

All as expected. Sorry to see an exellent driver in these conditions. It’s not a case that the car goes perfectly when you start from 18° or there somewhere but when the car 1 is around, car 2 is not a good one. Was not Mark’s start but was the Rebull’s start.
Anyway, I’m with you.

george POSTED October 16th, 2012

Well done Mark, great pole position you put together in such a relaxed way and hitting the apexes each time. I hope the start issue gets resolved mate. Go for it in India. You never ever know – it may come down to a single point that wins the championship.

natalia POSTED October 15th, 2012

mark doesnt matter, the way you are makes you a champion´!! you are the best for me.
can’t do anything if red bull team cut your wings!!!!!

Adriaan ter Mors POSTED October 15th, 2012

It may not have been the perfect weekend, but Saturday’s pole position brought a smile to a lot of people’s faces, including mine.

Alison POSTED October 15th, 2012

You are a real inspiration for all F1 fans. Another great drive well done. Looking forward to India. X

Trevor Parrott POSTED October 15th, 2012

Good on you Mark #2 on the podium is good
hope you can be #1 for the next few races.Regards Trevor

Jon Herd POSTED October 15th, 2012

G’day, Mark you are indeed one of the best drivers in the world, and will have a world championship to your name soon.

But… (Now don’t tkae this the wrong way) you are no good at take-offs. In every race, hyou have been relatively slow off the line.

OK, Korea was a joke where P2 was better positioned than P1.

You can already drive extremely well, you already knwo the world’s tracks, so don’t practice that aspect of racing, just practice launches.

If you get a good launch form P1 or P2 and you will win. We have already seen you gain 10 or more places, so you can do it.

cho-i POSTED October 15th, 2012

You are so lovely driver! This game is my first f1 racing!! Now, I am your fan! I hope that you have better racing and happiness. You will be the best driver♥:)

Adam POSTED October 15th, 2012

Go Mark! You’re a champ in every way.

psycho budgie POSTED October 15th, 2012

Never mind mate, one never knows how these things will pan put, looking foward to the next race.

stuart POSTED October 14th, 2012

Well done Mark. Good weekend compared to the one before. One more step to climb.

Susie Hines Walters POSTED October 14th, 2012

Bitter sweet but well done in the true Aussie grite style! We got up early on Sunday to watch it and couldn’t believe it when you couldn’t get away. Even if it was not exactly where you had hoped to be, you got points and you got on the podium !!!! Proud fans.

judy POSTED October 14th, 2012

You are a fabulous driver, a credit to your team and to Australia. Althoughmy passport is still red, youare my inspiration for swapping it for a blue one x

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Mixed emotions for Mark in South Korea

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