Mark Webber said he couldn’t have gone any quicker on his pole position lap at the Nurburgring.
Speaking after taking pole he said: “The performance has been getting a little better in the last few races. This track seems to be not too bad for me in the past.
“I must say the session went pretty well with the exception of the first [soft tyre] run in Q2, the only run in Q2. That wasn’t very smooth but the other two laps were good.
“The boys did a great job on the car. We’ve had some pretty late nights in the lead up to this event so we’ve recovered well and got it all together at the end their.
“I was thinking on my in-lap, ‘If someone gets me, they deserve it”, because I don’t think I could have got much more out of it. It was my complete limit, it was a pretty good lap.
“So it’s very satisfying to see no-one grabs you at the end there because it’s a pretty anxious wait, those last few seconds.”
2011 German Grand Prix
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
Steph (@)
23rd July 2011, 14:45
Webber has just had the momentum around him all weekend so far. Anything can happen tomorrow but he just seemed in that mindset to bang out a pole lap today. Great performance.
Funkyf1 (@funkyf1)
23rd July 2011, 16:33
Webber does like this track, I’ve been saying to friends all week with the added frustration of the Silverstone rubbish and the return to track of his first win, this will be his best and only chance to turn it around this year. At least one of your boys should get Vettel of the line, just hope they don’t get Mark
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd July 2011, 22:39
Yeah, this seems to be the perfect setting for Webber. The lone warrior on “home turf” fighting it out.
I just hope he gets a bit more out of it than he did from his last pole :-(
Eggry (@eggry)
23rd July 2011, 14:45
Thanks for Prediction Championship point Mark!
Bleeps_and_Tweaks (@bleeps_and_tweaks)
23rd July 2011, 19:50
+1!
LiteralF1
23rd July 2011, 15:01
Great laps from both Mark & Lewis. Vettel’s lap wasn’t bad but certainly not his best. I think this is the first time in 15 races he’s starting off the front row.
Alexi
23rd July 2011, 15:04
12 races in fact. It seems like forever…
Bigbadderboom (@bigbadderboom)
23rd July 2011, 15:13
And an opportunity for Vettel to prove that he can win from the second row…..But i doubt it, he will have his hands very full with a fast starting Alonso causing him problems. My predictions include a Vettel DNF, I think it’s due.
Franz
23rd July 2011, 15:25
Only one race win when he’s not been on pole, so I won’t bet on it. Anything’s possible though… he’s still in the fastest car, after all: Mark just drove it faster today.
Fixy (@)
23rd July 2011, 17:46
Alonso starts on the dirty side – but Stella said that with all the support races of the weekend it’s hardly different from the clean side.
Doance
23rd July 2011, 15:05
Fantastic. Good luck tomorrow. Please please please be leading into the first corner. Please!
David-A (@david-a)
23rd July 2011, 15:07
Any what? :D
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
23rd July 2011, 15:14
Quicker! Fixed it.
Damon (@damon)
23rd July 2011, 19:07
Sexier?
Franz
23rd July 2011, 15:12
Could the Red Bull brass have sounded any more disappointed this morning? It’s sickening! When Vettel’s on pole it’s all screams & cheers, but when it’s Mark they sound bloody downbeat. I hope both Ferraris get Vettel off the line & make him have to work in the first stint for once this year. Red Bull often seems to forget that they’ve got two drivers in the team.
David-A (@david-a)
23rd July 2011, 15:19
They did sound quite happy when telling Mark he got pole (happy he’s finally getting himself in a position to be taken seriously), so I believe you are looking too deep into that.
Franz
23rd July 2011, 15:23
I could be, but to my recollection they’ve always sounded way more ecstatic when the Golden boy gets P1. Horner especially didn’t sound too pleased to me. Obviously it’s not factual… just my opinion.
@HoHum (@hohum)
23rd July 2011, 15:34
To suggest they sounded displeased may be overstating it, but you are right, compared to the whooping and hollering that goes on almost every Q3, Horners “that was a very good lap, you drove very well” sounded distinctly lacking in enthusiasm,just like when Mark won BritGP last year.
bosyber (@bosyber)
23rd July 2011, 19:43
But it could also be from disappointment that Vettel wasn’t on the front row, that hasn’t happened in a while, while Webber has had a lot of reasons why he couldn’t get close to pole earlier in the season.
BasCB (@bascb)
23rd July 2011, 22:41
And to add to what Bosyber wrote, it might have also had to do with Red Bull being a bit shocked to find out Hamilton being that close out of nowhere when they thought they had Alonso covered as biggest challenge!
Patrickl
23rd July 2011, 16:12
Yeah that was appalling. But then Webber didn’t seem to pleased with the team either. The situation is obviously gone even mor sour after Webber refused to yield to team orders in Silverstone.
Scary Terry (@hatebreeder)
23rd July 2011, 15:32
oh now i so want to see Mr. Horner ask webber to slow down and let vettel pass. Lets see you pull that off Mr. Horner. Bet it wont be a very “celebratory” scene in the RBR garage to see the man they asked to slow down in the previous race now leading the pack tomorrow.
suka (@suka)
23rd July 2011, 21:19
There are many ways for them to slow him down. Webber is pretty experienced driver but his starting traction is just below average???
Howick20
23rd July 2011, 17:20
Vettel is on the cleaner side. As much as it pains me, we could quite easily see a Red Bull 1 2..
montreal95
23rd July 2011, 17:32
Well done Mark!!! Although I’ve spotted a couple of very small mistakes(turns 1 and 3) which could’ve cost him a tenth.
Fact: Mark has never been out-qualified by a team-mate in 10 races at the Nurburgring, not in F3000 and not in F1! And before anyone mentions 2005, this was race-fuel qualifying and fuel-adjusted Heidfeld was 2 tenths slower than Webber.
Funkyf1
23rd July 2011, 17:55
Nice stats… How about his starts from nurburg? Hopefully it’s a good one tomorrow
montreal95
23rd July 2011, 19:48
See my reply below, don’t know how it ended down there ’cause it was supposed to be here.
Adrian Morse
23rd July 2011, 19:43
Is it me or was Webber himself also not that happy after qualifying? Half a wave to the crowd after he had lazily extracted himself from the car, and his mood in the press conference seemed more grumpy than ecstatic.
Surprising since he just beat his one-lap-wonder teammate for the second Q3 running.
montreal95
23rd July 2011, 19:53
Don’t know, I’ve seen him smile more than usual both when he got out of the car and also at the top 3 qualifiers pic before the press-conference. At the press conference MW was his usual self IMO-straight forward, to the point answers, serious face. Nothing important to report there as far as I could see :)
montreal95
23rd July 2011, 19:45
Well, I remember only 1 good start from him at the Nurburgring and that was in 2003 and he finished 6th with the Jaguar. In 2004 he had a clutch problem but recovered brilliantly to finish 7th in the Jaguar. In 2005 he was hit by Montoya in the first corner and retired. I don’t remember his starts in 2006-7 but I do remember him finishing on the podium in 2007 with a midfield RBR. In 2009 he had quite a bad start and a collision with Barrichello, which hadn’t prevebted jim from winning the race. All in all not very encouraging starts-wise, but very encouraging results-wise. :)
James
23rd July 2011, 20:36
I reckon Hamilton or Alonso are going to snatch it tomorrow. Dont know why, just got that feeling. This isnt bad news for Vettel though, he’s gotta be feeling smug with the lead he has, whilst everyone else are picking points off each other.
suka (@suka)
23rd July 2011, 21:34
I hope that happens and Massa bursting through at the start as well.
Ell (@ell)
23rd July 2011, 20:52
Yeah, but the RB7 is one of the slowest in a straight line. If Hammy sticks with Webber then he could make mincemeat of him.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
24th July 2011, 1:45
This is a good opportunity for him to take away some points from Vettel,though is very far away but any points taken from the WC leader is a bonus.