Mark Webber said he and team mate Sebastian Vettel expected they would be competing between themselves for pole position at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Speaking after taking pole position, Webber said: “It was pretty clear going into qualifying that we might have a bit of a margin so it was probably going to be down to Seb and I for the front row – without being arrogant, you never can underestimate these guys but we thought we were probably going to battle for pole between ourselves.”
He added: “The lap was pretty good, I was just praying that my number went above number one when I crossed the gantry at the start/finish line, and it did.
“So it was a nice lap, a good battle with Seb and today was my day.”
2011 Spanish Grand Prix
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
Steph (@)
21st May 2011, 15:03
Congrats to Mark he deserved pole. I hope this is the beginning of a change for Mark’s season.
Sushi Meerkat (@sushi-meerkat)
21st May 2011, 16:20
I hope so too, I really do, he’s great to watch both on track and off track.
if he can keep Vettel honest I reckon Red Bull will offer him another yearly contract, after all if there is an outside chance Webber wins the WDC then Horner and Red Bull wouldn’t want a rival team to bare the Number 1 racecar.
My favourite palindrome… Racecar
What is a palindrome?
No its not! hehe
:D
OK I’m done talking to myself.
Steph (@)
21st May 2011, 18:12
Lol! Sushi you always crack me up :)
I’d love Webber to stay in the sport for at least another year. I think both of the Red Bull drivers are great characters but (not wishing any bad luck on Seb) it would be nice to see Mark’s season come alive.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
22nd May 2011, 1:56
Agreed 100% Steph! That pole could be the saviour to our 2011 championship! But I’d prefer it if we saw the Ferraris and McLarens up there a bit, too. :)
BasCB (@bascb)
21st May 2011, 21:38
LOL, really sharp there Sush!
Hope you had a nice chat then.
Cluffy_Wedge
21st May 2011, 16:17
Can Mark put up a fight for the title? Let’s face it, all the talk about upgrades from Mclaren and Ferrari with the end result being the Red Bulls have only increased their margin over them.
Fixy (@)
21st May 2011, 16:31
Everyone expected them to battle between themselves.
verstappen (@verstappen)
21st May 2011, 18:09
For the championship it would be nice if the other cars could join that battle…
I expected Vettel to go out another time, and not only for the record books. He has shown that he often needs one stop less than Webber and he could’ve gambled to be first with Hamilton second after the first lap.
So a bit of a conservative approach for Red Bull, showing that they have equality within the team.
verstappen (@verstappen)
21st May 2011, 18:18
Edit: upon rereading my conclusion about equality is a bit unclear. I meant Sebastian could have highered the stakes by going out a second time in Q3. But then it would be harder to keep the other cars distant through teamwork. And therefore I think Sebastien wanted to go out but the team decided against.
DMC
21st May 2011, 18:57
Am I wrong in thinking vettel did not have kers? Supposedly worth .5sec.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st May 2011, 21:22
KERS is worth some 0.25-0.4 seconds. Vettel did not use his KERS for his fastest lap.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
21st May 2011, 21:36
A good result for Mark today. His face afterwards and his manner reminds us all that he still has to score the points and he won’t be celebrating much yet.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
22nd May 2011, 2:29
He worked very hard this week.Good lap,I don’t mind fighting but just don’t take each other out on track.