Webber does not separate Vettel and Alonso, but criticizes Schumacher

In an interview given by Mark Webber to the BBC, the Australian, who began his testing this week with Porsche as part of the World Endurance Championship, reflected on his career and notably on the standout drivers of the Webber era, which spanned 12 seasons.

When asked about the best driver he has raced against, Webber can’t decide: « Certainly Seb or Fernando. You have to take everything into account. It’s hard to say. We constantly modified our skill set, this last stage of our profession: Pirelli, refueling, single-lap qualifying, all those things… So, to try to answer your question, on Sundays, Fernando over two hours is particularly good. It’s indisputable. On a single lap, I think he’s not at Seb’s level. But on Sundays, between those two, it’s very, very close. »

Often ranked by observers among the best drivers of his generation, the Briton Lewis Hamilton is not among the Australian’s choices: Lewis is strong but probably not as much of a machine as those two. They are really like: Plug them in and off they go. They are very, very strong.

Having made his debut in 2001, Mark Webber raced alongside Michael Schumacher from 2001 to 2006 and then from 2010 to 2012. However, he believes he cannot truly judge Schumacher’s qualities: « I didn’t really race against Michael, because he was in a Ferrari [at the start of my career] and I was in something [less competitive], and when I had a Red Bull, he was in a Mercedes, which was behind. But [Vettel and Alonso] were certainly at their best when I was around. »

By addressing the topic of the seven-time world champion, questions were raised about the deliberate maneuver – or recognized as such by the stewards – during the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying. The German had stopped his Ferrari at Rascasse while other drivers were at risk of taking pole position from him: « It was terrible, absolutely terrible. Stopping in the middle of qualifying so that we couldn’t complete our lap is certainly a bad mark against him, and obviously, it’s a legacy, isn’t it? Those are the choices he made at those times, and he made quite a few. He has a well-filled trophy cabinet, but […] for your peers and colleagues, there are limits you approach to push others and gain respect. That day, he made a big mistake. »

Asked also about the 2014 season, the former Red Bull driver believes that Sebastian Vettel will still be the man to beat: « Seb is the favorite for the drivers’ championship. They will be favorites to start the season very strong, which is probably not what the spectators want to hear. » For him, if the scenario will be different, the role of the driver will always be essential: « The engine will be decisive next year, probably more than the car or the aerodynamics, which is probably not a bad thing for some people. But there will always be the contribution of the driver, especially in terms of intelligence in pace and management, and with all the technologies that the cars will have, it’s going to help Sebastian. It’s his domain. Perfect for him. »