19 replies to this topic

[Alfisti]

I realise this is related to the Yoong thread but it's a little diferent so here goes. Oh, i know that being an aussie means i am biased but i think i have been fair in appraising Mark so far (ie. i haven't lavishly praised him with blind eyes the way some ofmy fellow skips have).

Let's forget Alex's woeful drive and just look at what Mark did. He drove the spare car with the settings Alex and flung the thing up to 19th ahead of DeLaRosa and Bernoldi. To top it off he is only half a second away from 16th place.

This is the first time I have seen Mark do something really "special" ........ maybe he is a little better than i thought.

[holiday]

I think it is obvious that Minardi has improved this season, but Webber's remarkable performances so far put the ones from Alonso last year in a different shade of light. Maybe Fernando wasn't thaaat much of a highflier, much profiting from an improved Minardi when nobody still didn't notice.

By the way, where is FA on this BB?

[Alfisti]

Nah i don't think Mark has done anything "special"until today ... that was a very good drive IMHO.

[boost]

Mark proved he pushes it every time!!

It was an awesome day and an awesome qualifying session for us. We had a problem on my racecar today - we still don't know exactly what happened - and I had to jump in the T-car, which was set up for Alex,” Mark explained. “I just gave my last lap absolutely everything to get the time I did. I was so happy for the guys because they really busted themselves to get the spare car turned around for me, and then to do those two runs in the end was great. It was good to do it here at Imola, as I love the circuit.”

Farken oath!
Webber
Minardi

[D. Heimgartner]

Mark's gonna go places. I could see him heading to Sauber not long down the road (replacing QuikNick), then maybe he might head down to Maranello after 2003...

[AMD]

I wonder why Minardi would set up their spare car for Yoong, maybe because they think he is more likely to crash? It would have taken the mechanics quite a while to reset the car to suit Webber.

[Witt]

Originally posted by AMD
I wonder why Minardi would set up their spare car for Yoong, maybe because they think he is more likely to crash? It would have taken the mechanics quite a while to reset the car to suit Webber.

Yoong pays the bills, and at all costs Minardi must not look like they treat him as the number 2 driver in the team. I think they swap the spare car between Webber and Yoong at alternatings races.

Webber did do pretty well, out qualifying 2 cosworth powered cars. Hopefully he can make a move up the grid but he really needed that Australia result in Canada, France or Britain when silly season is in full swing. Team bosses would have forgotten Australia by that time.

[farQ]

Watch webber go today!
top 10 finish if his car stays together, he is more a racer than qualifier at the moment but this will change as he becomes more accustomed to the mad 1 hour, 3 or 4 run mayhem of qualifying.
Top effort if the t car was set for alex


farQ

[Dudley]

Maybe Fernando wasn't thaaat much of a highflier, much profiting from an improved Minardi

Fernando's Minardi was effectively a hybrid 2000 car for the first half of the season.

It had an engine that was only good enough for 8th in the construtors on it's first appearence 3 YEARS EARLIER!

--

Webber has a purpoese built new car on a budget Minardi haven't had for years and a developed version of an engine that was vastly better last year.

Still, he REALLY did a superb job on sat.

[Slyder]

Webber is a great driver, he proves it race after race, outqualifying his teammate Alex YOung, who is showing that he's more of a silverspoon rather than a driver.

Webber should be the #1 driver.

[StickShift]

Webber was running a very competive race today. Only 10 seconds behind Salo and Fisichella before they both retired. As well, he was running ahead of both the Jags before they broke. Eventually the car lasted the distance and crossed the line in 11th. Combined with the good qualifying and a strong race, Webber had a great race. He's certainly proving his worth in Formula 1. I just wish that Stoddart could fill the other seat with a driver who has talent. He

[AlesiGOD]

[markzed]

WEBBERMANIA IS HERE!

Now if we could only get him a faster car

I thought he might squeeze a top ten but 11th is OK. Reliability will hand Mark plenty of 9th 10th 11th places this season. If we have a big pile-up like Melbourne we might even see some more points.

[Witt]

Did you all notice his first lap? He dropped behind pedro de la rosa at the start, and before the first lap was finished, he repassed him. It would have been good to see it. Minardi's aren't meant to do that, especially to the team representing the second biggest car manufacturer in the world. He then had a good race with the Jags. If it wasn't imola, he'd probably have been able to pass eddie irvine.

[Scoop]

webber did well

[palmas]

Webber

NO matter how good or bad is your car, just do your thing!

[Zawed]

Webber did a good job, fighting with the Jaguars. He throughly deserves to be in F1 because of his ability. But I still don't rate his chances of getting a seat much better than a Minardi. Being an Aussie, sad to say, might count against him in these commercially driven times. If he was European or British he would have a much better chance I think.

[Locai]

Well, with Stoddart owning the team and Webber driving and with them doing quite well together I would think that some Australian companies would want to jump on to sponsor the team.

As for Yoong, I can only imagine what's going on with his head right now. He would just love to put the blame on the car (it's a Minardi afterall), but Webber jumps in the T-car that is setup for Yoong and STILL outqualifies Yoong. That's gotta really hurt the ole ego!

[Jumboexpress]

Whats so special about Fernando Alonso? pls. enlighten me

[Ferrari Boy]

Webber kicks a$$, give him a Ferrari