Webber wants to stop Vettel’s domination in qualifying

No one could have missed that after a brilliant 2010 season, Mark Webber, in 2011, suffered in comparison to his world champion teammate. The Australian saw Sebastian Vettel climb to the top step of the podium eleven times before he had the honor, in turn, during the last race held in Brazil.

The native of Queanbeyan knows that his teammate has built his success from pole position, an exercise over which he has reigned supreme, claiming the new record for pole positions in a single season, previously held by Nigel Mansell. The great Mark has only outpaced his teammate three times, and each time, he occupied pole position, a performance he hopes to repeat more regularly this season: “Seb is clearly going to fight again at a good level, and he won’t back down,” Mark Webber confides on Australian television channel Channel 9. “If he dominates the pole, it puts him in a very good position to manage the race, so he needs to be there less often. If I can secure pole position and approach the first pit stop in the lead, it will make things easier regarding our little confrontation.”

If he hopes it’s enough to outpace everyone, the Australian admits that it’s primarily about winning the battle between teammates: It might very well not be enough to win the race if the McLarens are 30 seconds ahead, but within the context of our internal struggle, we know how it works within the team, the Australian notes, referring particularly to the recent British Grand Prix where the team had asked Webber to hold his position at the end of the race while he was chasing Sebastian Vettel, assuring that it would have been the same if the situation had been reversed.