Webber out to spoil partyposted in F120 | 11 | 2013
THE 2013 FORMULA ONE season ends this weekend with its traditional samba on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. But anyone hoping for a meaningful race at Brazil's Interlagos circuit will be disappointed (Related: Di Resta fired up for finale).
With Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull already having wrapped up both the drivers' and constructors' championship, the Brazilian Grand Prix is, to all intents and purposes, a 'dead rubber'.
What little consequence it has revolves round the fact it's the last grand prix of the current generation of V8-powered, and whether Vettel can extend his recordbreaking eight-race winning streak.
But while the likes of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, plus Lotus's Romain Grosjean will all be looking to end the season with a confidence-boosting win, most F1 fans will be cheering on Mark Webber (pictured).
The always likeable Aussie bows out of F1 this weekend before heading to Porsche next year to lead its Le Mans 24-Hours bid.
And there's nothing more he — and the army of non-Vettel supporters — would like to see than Webber standing on the top step of the podium on Sunday.
Related: Vettel remorseless in US
But Webber has been told in no uncertain fashion that he won't get any favours from Red Bull team-mate.
"It would be great to see him win his final race — what a way to sign out — but Sebastian is going to be going for that record as well," team boss Christian Horner said.
"As usual it will be a straight fight between the pair of them. Mark would not want to be gifted a win.
"You only have to look in the eyes of every single member of the team to see the motivation and desire that still exists.
"Even though we won the championship in India we have been pushing flat out. And, as I have always said, we will continue to do so until the chequered flag in Brazil.
"The target now is to try to get Mark the third place in the drivers' championship — and see out the season in style. There is nobody lacking motivation or being complacent in any way."
Webber enters the weekend fifth in the championship, eight points behind the non-competing Kimi Raikkonen — still recovering from his back surgery — and 16 adrift of current third-placed driver, Hamilton.
Related: Dario Franchitti — Reflecting a legacy
In the constructors' championship, Mercedes currently hold a distant second — a whopping 205 points behind the all-dominant Red Bull — but the Brackley-based team have a slender 15pt advantage over Ferrari in third.
Ferrari, of course, will also be bidding farewell to Felipe Massa, who contests his final race with the Maranello giant on his home track at Interlagos before joining Williams in 2014.
Behind them, Scot Paul di Resta is determined to deliver a solid points-scoring performance to help ensure his Sahara Force India team equals its best-ever result in the constructors' championship.
"We're sixth at the moment, 22pts ahead of Sauber. On paper it looks like a healthy gap, but we're certainly not taking anything for granted.
"There's 11 teams in F1, so for Sahara Force India — still one of the smaller teams in the sport — to finish sixth would be a terrific achievement.
"It would also equal the best ever result for the team and guarantee significant financial rewards: and it's that money which will help us make further progress next season. So we all know how important sixth place is."
Related: Tyres deflate Di Resta points run
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Jim McGill