UPFRONT WITH MARK WEBBER
UPFRONT WITH... MARK WEBBER
Hours after signing a one year contract extension with Red Bull Racing, the F1 team who currently sit on the top of the World Constructors’ Championship, and days before a stellar 2nd place performance at Belgium Grand Prix which earned Mark his 28th podium finish, Danny Walker talks in and out of the hot seat with Mark Webber... WEBBER’S TIPS FOR GETTING TO THE TOP It’s important to follow your dreams and be focused to work out where you want to go and the last one is very important; application... make sure you try and be as professional as you can be, you never know who is watching and just keep trying your hardest. There is a lot of luck and fortune involved with it but just keep your head down and press on from there.
“IT’S THEN UP TO YOU TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR OPPORTUNITIES, TO GET THAT MOTIVATION AND THAT IS WHEN THE APPLICATION COMES IN.”
30 / RWDMAG.COM
Hello Mark, who is it going? Good, mate, how are ya? I’m very good, how has Red Bull Speed Jam gone today? Yeah, it’s gone very well, so far so good. The weather has held off. Obviously the track is pretty tight and twisty, we didn’t have much room down here but it was great for the go-karts and we even got a NASCAR down here. I’m driving an F1 car so all is well. It’s all been good. Good turn out and a really good crowd here. Yeah, I’m enjoying it. There are a load of RWD competition winners down there today so be careful of them. They’re probably making the most amount of noise. Well that’s good, sounds like you put on a wicked competition cos to get here is good and I think the way it’s all been setup down here is great. You get really good access to the drivers and the cars themselves so it’s turned out really well. Is this the reason why you signed another year extension to your contract [at Red Bull]? Because of the events that they put on with the community and things like that? Errrrm... no. The reason I signed on again is to race at the highest level and to keep testing myself as a competitor. I love driving the cars on the best tracks in the world and against the best guys... that’s what motivates me. I keep training, keep fit and do the best I can. Let’s talk about the younger version of you, when you were at school, did you have a nickname? Er [long pause] Yes I did but... erm... [is Mark going to tell us?] My nickname was Potsie after Warren “Potsie” Weber from Happy Days. Can you remember your first racing moment? Yes, it was Nigel Mansell, about 84 when he won the Monaco Grand Prix in the rain.
And you started with go-karting first, is that right? Yeah, I did indoor go-karting for several years and then into single seaters and the story went on from there. When we interviewed Lewis Hamilton, we remember him talking about his hunger and driving being all he wanted to do, was it much the same? Yeah, I think all of us out here, even the kids here, I know what they want to do, they want to drive the go-karts; obviously parents are very influential at that age and then into your early teens and it’s just a case of seeing if they can guide you and help you along the way. It’s then up to you to make the most of your opportunities, to get that motivation and that is when the application comes in. What do you think of Lewis and Jenson? Obviously they’re top top drivers, I think they’ve done a great job for McLaren and I’ve been racing them for several years now so it’s been a bit of a battle. Let’s talk about your first win, in 2009 at the German Grand Prix... what were the feelings going through your head? At first relief... because I wanted to be in that position for years – having a car that was capable of winning but it didn’t really happen – but that year, we had a good car and I started winning races and yeah, it was great to win at the Nürburgring. It was important to have a race that I actually won rather than to get the first win by luck. I led from the front, from pole position... I had a 20 second lead at one stage in the race so... that was really satisfying for me. Nürburgring is one of my favourite tracks, can you give me any tips for when I play on F1, the game? Not really mate because computer games are pretty rubbish to be honest with you. [Laughs] What are your hopes for >>