Webber: We're readyposted in F109 | 03 | 2011
THERE'S NO DENYING Red Bull already looks like the team to beat in the 2011 Formula One World Championship; a point which was again emphasised by Mark Webber topping the timesheets on Day 1 of the final pre-season test at Barcelona.
And while other teams up and down the pitlane look to be struggling for pace and reliability, the Aussie has admitted his Red Bull Racing is 'ready' to take its new car into battle at the opening race in Melbourne on March 27.
"You can always do with more time - but I feel we are ready to go now and get into it," Webber said. "We will see where we are. You always learn more when you go racing about your strengths and weaknesses as a team. That comes from pace, reliability, pitstops, organisation, Saturdays/Sundays, the whole thing. So the whole weekend needs to be tested shortly and we will go from there. We are only a few days away from that.
"We are not going to sit here and say we are going to destroy the first race and kill everyone, because that would be naive. There are a lot of people with similar pace – don't worry about that.
"It is pretty obvious that the team is incredibly motivated, and organisation-wise we are in great shape, so we are building on what we did last year. But I don't think there is a huge amount of evidence to go on from the previous eight weeks to be honest, because today we see everyone with similar pace. Ferrari isn't here, and McLaren is not hanging around either.
"We need to go racing. Unfortunately I won't be able to tell you guys a lot more come Sunday I believe, even Saturday night in Melbourne. We will have an idea of 60% of it after quali in Melbourne, but 40% will still be confirmed after the race to be honest.
"So it is quite frustrating that I cannot give you guys more on what is happening. There is such a big variation in tyre age and fuel loads, that there is no one in the pitlane who knows where they are."
And Webber was quick to have a laugh when he was quizzed as to whether he and his Red Bull team were sandbagging at the pre-season tests.
"Certainly not," he smiled. "I would love to be able to say that. There is not enough time to play games with yourself, let alone other people."
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Jim McGill