Motorsport: Webber's patience running out

Monday motorsport reportApril 16, 2007

Red Bull's unreliability driving Webber crazy
Mark Webber's patience is wearing thin at Red Bull Racing.

At his first three races with the team, Australia's Formula 1 driver has qualified in the top 10 each time -- way beyond the expectations we had of him and the RB3 car before the season, and quite brilliant in the context of the opposition (particularly factory cars) the combination is up against.

Yet after the Australian, Malaysian and Bahrain grands prix, Webber does not yet have a world championship point to his name this year.

In Bahrain he had a similar problem to the season-opening GP in Melbourne; the fuel flap on his car jammed open after his first pitstop, adversely affecting the RB3's aerodynamics.

"We had the flap up in the second stint -- the same thing we had in Melbourne, and the same thing I've had with this car since day one," Webber says.

"It's frustrating to say the least, and it's not good enough.

"Then we get ourselves back in position again and I don't know what failed (putting him out of the race) -- it could be one of many things.

"Whether you stop on the first lap or the last lap, the result is the same.

"I've been here too often."

Webber had pretty much held station in the race and was on course for either seventh or eighth place, which again would have been an excellent performance in a non-works team considering there are two Ferraris, two McLarens, two BMWs and two Renaults as well as four cars from the two Japanese manufacturers, Toyota and Honda, in each GP -- as well as the Toyota-powered Williams'.

Webber's veteran teammate David Coulthard showed some of his old spark in coming from 21st on the grid to get on terms with Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella and Webber, who -- troubled by the fuel flap -- politely moved aside to let him past.

Then a driveshaft failure halted Coulthard's run.

So neither Red Bull finished.

Webber took little consolation from the RB3's improved performance and admitted he was getting impatient.

It is, remember, his sixth year in F1, and he has only one podium to show for it.

And he left Williams because of its unreliability, hoping that the "marriage" of the design skills of Adrian Newey, a Renault engine, and a crew that still contained many of those he worked with during the earlier incarnation of the Red Bull team as Jaguar Racing would be a big step in the right direction.

Coulthard, six years Webber's senior and with a bundle of GP wins behind him from his McLaren and Williams days, is a little more patient about Red Bull than his Australian teammate.

"We're going through some growing pains at the moment, but we will get through it and we'll be stronger on the other side -- everyone's working very hard," Coulthard says.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner concedes: "We need to get on top of these reliability issues very quickly, as obviously they're unacceptable."

We believe Webber has an escape clause in his contract. It's too early yet to be thinking of exercising that, and even if he did there is the question of what alternatives he might have.

As he's managed by Flavio Briatore, the best -- and perhaps only -- hope he might have, certainly during this season, might be a call-up to the Renault team if either Fisichella or Heikki Kovalainen are perceived by Briatore, the Renault team boss, to not be doing the job.

Webber, of course, may not be in the predicament he is now had he gone to Renault when he had the chance, for the 2005 season.

Then again, had he gone there and been comprehensively outgunned by Fernando Alonso, who won world titles for Renault in 2005 and 2006, he might not be in F1 at all now.

The Australian public, spoilt by the success of so many other Australian sports people, is exceedingly cynical about Webber.

The fact is he is incredibly quick -- and has a magnificent qualifying record to prove it.

We're not convinced he has the racecraft of an Alonso, young newcomer Lewis Hamilton, or even a Nick Heidfeld, who was his Williams teammate in 2005, but it would be nice to see the Aussie in a car capable of consistently getting him to the finish.

Then all we would have to worry about would be where he finished.

That would be a nice problem to have.

Hamilton just one step from the top
Lewis Hamilton continues to be the sensation of the F1 season.

What a start to a career -- third in Australia, second in Malaysia and second in Bahrain, this time qualifying and finishing, well ahead, of dual world champion teammate Alonso.

Hamilton is the first driver in 57 years of the F1 world championship to achieve podium finishes at each of his first three GPs.

And the 22-year nonchalantly says: "There's only one more step from here" -- the top one!

F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone, who must be laughing even louder all the way to the bank since Hamilton's arrival, says people shouldn't keep talking about the youngster being black, because of his Caribbean heritage.

"I wish people wouldn't keep on talking about him being coloured and all that because he doesn't need to have the praise because he happens to be coloured," Ecclestone says.

"He is just bloody good. He is also young, good looking and talks to people. That's important.

"The point is he is selling the business -- 100 per cent."

Yes, Bernie, your business. And McLaren boss Ron Dennis is paying him to do it, so Bernie wins again.

Hamilton is often likened to Tiger Woods, but the youngster says modestly: "I hope I can have a similar impact on F1 as he had on golf."

Felipe Massa's victory in Bahrain was overdue and should not be overlooked, but the excitement about Hamilton, who started from the front row of the grid for the first, is understandable.

Although the constructors' championship is looking a two-horse race between McLaren and Ferrari, we now have three drivers -- Alonso, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen (third in Bahrain) and Hamilton -- equal on 22 points, with Massa on 17.

It is too long ago to remember when there were four drivers genuinely competing for the world title.

And Nick Heidfeld has been consistently excellent this season, finishing fourth in all three GPs.

BMW was a somewhat distant third team at the first two races, but a lot closer in Bahrain, with Heidfeld ahead of Alonso, although there seems to be some doubt about whether the German team (albeit based in Switzerland) wants to keep its experienced German driver beyond this season.

Toyota, whose F1 team is run from Germany, is supposedly interested in Heidfeld.

He may not be the most effervescent personality, but with more than 100 GPs under his belt and having held his end up against a raft of teammates (including Kimi Raikkonen at Sauber), Heidfeld is an ideal team leader for either BMW or Toyota.

Polish youngster Robert Kubica has been overshadowed by Heidfeld since Melbourne, and BMW has German rising star Sebastien Vettel as its reserve driver in the wings -- and perhaps the even younger German, Nico Hulkenberg from the A1 GP series, as a possibility too.

But it would be unbelievable to let Heidfeld go when his speed and experience could be the winning ingredients if BMW can improve its car just a little more.

F1 world championships after three rounds -- Drivers: Raikkonen, Alonso, Hamilton 22 points each, Massa 17, Heidfeld 15, Fisichella 8, Trulli 4, Kubica 3, Rosberg 2, Kovalainen, Ralf Schumacher 1 each. Constructors: McLaren 44, Ferrari 39, BMW-Sauber 18, Renault 9, Toyota 5, Williams 2. Next GP: Spain (Barcelona), May 13.

Power still on top in Champ Car
Australia's Will Power retained his lead in the Champ Car series in the US despite his French rival Sebastien Bourdais winning the second round at Long Beach, California, for the third year running.

Spaniard Oriol Servia -- called in to substitute for Canadian veteran Paul Tracy, who suffered a back injury in a practice crash on the street circuit -- finished second and Power third for Team Australia

Power, winner of the previous weekend's opening race in Las Vegas, now has 59 points, followed by Alex Tagliani (fifth at Long Beach) on 44 and Bourdais 40.

The Frenchman started from pole position, led three times for 58 laps of the 78-lap race, and now has 24 Champ Car race wins.

Servia started 14th, gained the most positions in the race (12), for which he earned a bonus point, and led seven laps.

Englishman Justin Wilson finished fourth and the drivers in Australian Paul Stoddart's Team Minardi USA -- Englishman Dan Clarke and Dutchman Robert Doornbos -- 12th and 13th.

However, Doornbos is the top rookie in the series, standing fifth overall on 35 points thanks to his second place in Vegas.

Champ Car now has its third street race in as many weeks, at Houston in Texas, next Monday morning, Australian time, and then a six-week break before until the Portland road course race in Oregon in June.

That gap will perhaps come at a good time for some under-funded teams and drivers chasing extra sponsorship.

Drivers are being asked to bring up to US$3 million a season at the minute for a Champ Car season.

Indy 500 open for latecomers
The six-week break in the Champ Car season also opens the way for team owners and drivers to run in the Indianapolis 500, the centerpiece of the rival Indy Racing League series -- and we wonder whether Team Australia and Will Power might take up that option.

The entry deadline for the classic has passed, but the chief steward, Brian Barnhart, can make exceptions -- and The Brickyard is keen for some late-starters because of the thinner than usual list.

It has sent 50 potential entrants a 10-page booklet explaining how affordable "The greatest spectacle in racing" is.

A team can have a car for the 91st Indy 500 from as little as US$321,200.

And Derrick Walker, who runs and co-owns Team Australia, calls that "quite tempting".

Walker told the Indianapolis Star newspaper: "It's not out of the question.

"The question is, does it really help (Champ Car) teams to go off for the month of May?

"We can all get back in love with the Indy 500, which we would and would want to, but (this) would take away from our Herculean effort in Champ Car."

The cheapest alterative for late entry to the 500 is by getting a 2005 Panoz chassis.

Costs can be contained by skipping the first week of the "Month of May" at The Brickyard, taking to the track in the second week.

The most expensive option now is a 2006 Dallara at US$681,250 with ancillary equipment expenses included, or US$527,200 from the second week.

Several costs are fixed, including entry fees (US$8,500), fuel (US$1,500), team and driver license fees (US$750 each), and the electronics package (US$30,000).

Engines can be leased by the month for US$225,000 or part-time at US$95,000.

A month's tyre bill is US$64,750, or the partial package is US$40,700.

Against these costs, the smallest prizemoney to the 33 starters last year was US$193,305.

The arithmetic might just look attractive to Team Australia's Aussie partner Craig Gore to pop Power into the field, which already includes his Australian contemporary Ryan Briscoe, driving for Roger Penske's son.

World Cup goes to Germany
Germany is champion in the A1 GP "World Cup of Motorsport" with a round still to go, while New Zealand won the Shanghai round at the weekend.

Sydney's Ian Dyk qualified 20th in Shanghai for A1 Team Australia, finished 16th in the sprint race, 28.852 seconds behind British winner Robbie Kerr, and did not finish the longer feature race, won by NZ's Jonny Reid from Kerr in a reversal of the first result.

Teenager Nico Hulkenberg's third place in each race in China was more than enough for Germany to clinch the title that France won in the first season.

Hulkenberg has won eight races this season, while NZ has won three and is set to be runner-up in the series.

The final round is at Brands Hatch in Britain in a fortnight.

Battling a broken front shock absorber, Ambrose crashed into Montoya exiting turn two of the speedway with 21 laps remaining, forcing both cars to retire.

Ambrose apologised to Montoya for the incident.

"He was good about it," Ambrose says.

"Unfortunately my car wasn't handling very well and I got up a bit high (on the banking).

"We touched and that was it. I feel bad … it wasn't intentional, but that sort of thing happens sometimes."

Matt Kenseth won the race in front of almost 100,000 fans, with Denny Hamlin second and Kenseth's teammate and series points leader, Carl Edwards, third.

Ambrose's crash dropped the dual V8 Supercar champion to eighth in the series.

ALMS win may go to Briscoe
An Australian winner may yet emerge from Long Beach in California at the weekend.

Roger Penske's Porsche RS Spyders finished first and second in the American Le Mans Series round there, with the car driven by German Timo Bernhard and Frenchman Romain Dumas first across the line, ahead of that driven by Briscoe and German Sascha Maassen.

However, an Acura team has protested that Dumas was in the victorious car 8 seconds longer than the 70 per cent of the race time allowed, which could see the race handed to Briscoe and Maassen tomorrow.

Briscoe ran over a bolt on the track -- possibly from a car which hit the wall on the pace lap -- and his car had a deflating tyre which meant a pitstop and a change of all four tyres after just eight minutes of the race.

A tricky hairpin in the circuit denied the all-conquering Audi R-10 diesels their usual quinella.

The top seven finishers were all from the P2 class, with another Porsche third.

It was the first time any manufacturer has swept the overall podium in ALMS.

David Brabham shared the Acura with Sweden's Stefan Johansson that finished fourth.

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