I think Webber is overrated

[andrew]

I really wish that all these PR soundbites by drivers were stopped. They are just dragging F1 down to the level of the playground politics that we all played aged 6 at school ("he said that you're a...", "she said .....", "I'm telling...." and so on ans so forth). Time was a driver turned up, raced, wee bit of PR, then went home or went and got hammered at some party. Now they are full blown media darlings bitching and sniping at other teams and drivers between races. Now I know this is a crash.net report but the BBC ran with this as well.

[Giblet]

+1 x infinity.

We used to get our news in large reports at 6 and 11, or in the morning paper articles and editorials. Lots of info, at once.

Now we get micro news. Tiny little out of context bits that people can latch on to with whatever free grubby hand they have available.

ǝƃpǝ uo ǝɯ suɹnʇ ʎʃʃɐǝɹ ʇI

[rayden]

I really wish that all these PR soundbites by drivers were stopped. They are just dragging F1 down to the level of the playground politics that we all played aged 6 at school ("he said that you're a...", "she said .....", "I'm telling...." and so on ans so forth). Time was a driver turned up, raced, wee bit of PR, then went home or went and got hammered at some party. Now they are full blown media darlings bitching and sniping at other teams and drivers between races. Now I know this is a crash.net report but the BBC ran with this as well.

surely this is the media's fault and not the drivers though?

[andrew]

Probably a bit of both. As adults they should know how to control what they are saying so they don't dangle a big fat juicy worm in front of some hack reporter but I guess on the other hand the media should have some form of moral compass and move awway from this style of reporting that appeals only to idiots that read Heat magazine.

[raymondu999]

Sorry to revive this thread, but just a small point of interest. I remember distinctly Mark Webber saying something along the lines of "Once we started winning in the dry, I knew I'd get my first win soon" after Nurburgring 2009. That would indicate a lack of confidence in his own wet weather skills, wouldn't it?

[andrew]

An Adrian Newey designed car is a huge advantage if you compare the Red Bull to the Renault with the same engine.

[zeph]

Sorry to revive this thread, but just a small point of interest. I remember distinctly Mark Webber saying something along the lines of "Once we started winning in the dry, I knew I'd get my first win soon" after Nurburgring 2009. That would indicate a lack of confidence in his own wet weather skills, wouldn't it?

I don't know what the original quote was, but if it is as you state, it does not necessarily mean that he was not confident of his own wet-weather skills.

Maybe he meant that the wet-weather victories might have been lucky breaks and that the dry-weather performance eventually confirmed they were not.

Just sayin'.

[raymondu999]

Yes, but the wet weather victory also indicated that their car had good wet weather pace, and it was winning wet weather pace. Meaning, in turn, that Webber wasn't confident of winning in the wet with that car. Maybe he felt that in the wet Seb was faster? Just as a disclaimer, I have nothing against Webber, nor am I saying that he is no good in the wet. But what he said seems to point to that

[DaveKillens]

Thank you for mentioning Gilles, I had the pleasure and honor of watching him race in Canada before he went to Formula One. One misconception I need to correct, he was quick, definitely. He was one of the very best, and knew it in a humble manner. Because of that, he loved to show off to the fans, and pushed his car past the limit, sliding and doing all kinds of cool stuff. Despite some spectacular accidents he was considered a clean driver, and the other drivers were comfortable racing against him.

Mark Webber's evolution as a Formula One driver is parallel to what teams he has worked with, a slow and gradual progression. Right now, I consider him competent enough to be win the WDC, and it helps to have what is obviously the quickest car.

Like others, I was convinced that Mark required an almost-perfect weekend to pull off a win,he never did anything if any kind of problem got in the way of running all sessions as planned. But lately I have seen things that indicate Mark is overcoming this limitation, and Hungary demonstrated that he can win, even when things don't go perfect.

Valenncia proved that Mark can commit brain farts of the highest order, that was a terrible mistake of judgement, and Webber deserves to be criticized for that mistake.

But more than anything, Mark Webber appears to be making a lot more good decisions than bad, and for me it's a pleasure to watch him race.