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Should Webber retire at the end of this year? (36 posts)

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raymondu999 said 1 year, 6 months ago:

@Bullfrog for the first half of the year he was never on Vettel’s strategy – he was always having 1 stop more than Vettel. Mark has also said that the team have been very proactively helping him. They introduced a fundamental change to his baseline setup which has helped him preserve the tyres better. He said that in Singapore.

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rdpunk said 1 year, 6 months ago:

His performances haven’t been that bad this year, just everyone elses have been better. I don’t think he’s got to grips with the PZero tyres and that’s set him back badly at the begging of the year and that’s had a knock on effect for the rest of the season. That or I could start a conspiracy theory that the Red Bull car was desgined around Vettel and Vettel only.

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Deleted User said 1 year, 6 months ago:

@raymondu999

Exactly. No matter how mature he is at the moment, he needs some breathing space too.

As for WEB, he’s confirmed several times to the press that the team has been very helpful in trying to make the Pirelli tyres work better for him.

Don’t forget VET was the first to visit Pirelli and study the tyres before the season started.

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raymondu999 said 1 year, 6 months ago:

@Trix no no of course he does. I hadn’t thought about that angle yet. (of being a mentor). But as a standalone driver/team; I think he can already carry it. Given that he’s a double WDC with 3.5 times as many wins as the other driver; it’s quite clear that he should be the team “leader” and he’s probably already the one galvanizing the team and rallying the troops. While I did hear about Vettel’s visit too; to be fair; it wasn’t to learn about tyres. It was to learn about the company.

But what is a key sticking point however would be that Webber opted to spend his time doing Perth show runs rather than testing the Pirellis at Abu Dhabi the week after the season finale last year

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STSCM said 1 year, 6 months ago:

I don’t understand the idea of either retiring or moving to another team (out of the top tier teams currently). He’s scoring points, he knows what the car is capable of (looking at his teammate), and he’s with the top team in the sport. Being number two with #1 is better than being number 1 with #4 or worse. How did that move work for Reubens?

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Deleted User said 1 year, 6 months ago:

@raymondu999

We all know that learning about the company and factory visits are always a manner to get close and personal. There is the official reason that gathers media attention, then there’s networking and beginning/continuing of work relationships. Especially in a sport like F1 where the key to technology is held by many different outside players.

It is safe to say VET’s immediately shown interest in Pirelli. And that it has served him superbly.

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raymondu999 said 1 year, 6 months ago:

Yes it would have brought him closer; a lot closer to the engineers. But my point was that that specific visit wasn’t to study about tyres as you said.

When I heard that story however; one thing just flooded back to mind – Schumacher working closely with Bridgestone. The resemblance is uncanny.

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Deleted User said 1 year, 6 months ago:

@raymondu999

I never claimed he went on the visit to study the tyres directly, I simply pointed out the not-so-coincidental timing of his visit and an apparent ease thus knowledge of the Pirelli product as soon as the season started.

Anyhoodle. Back to Mark.

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raymondu999 said 1 year, 6 months ago:

Can I just say; I’m of the opinion the thread title should kind of change to something like “Can Mark bounce back” or some such. I think that’s the primary issue being discussed; rather than directly talking about how many more years he has of being employed as a professional F1 racing driver.

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Fixy said 1 year, 6 months ago:

Should Webber retire at the end of this year?

No.

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Thecollaroyboys said 1 year, 6 months ago:

Why would WEB retire or why would he be sacked for being in the Top 5 drivers for the past four years? Why would you sack the only non WDC driver who routinely mixes it at the front of the field with two double WDCs, two WDCs and a seven times WDC? Why would you sack the driver who beats HAM for position two out of every three times they race (2009 to date) IMO WEB is probably one of the best drivers never to have won a WDC. He wasnt gifted into a top team when he broke into F1 and suffered years of being in very ordinary cars unlike many of todays wunderkinds. As with most he has his faults and deficiencies but he’s still a major talent and a top performer.

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raymondu999 said 1 year, 6 months ago:

@thecollaroyboys I think that’s exaggerating it a bit – he challenged for the title when he had an utterly dominant car; and when he had a less dominant one as this year; he hasn’t been really in victory contention.

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Thecollaroyboys said 1 year, 6 months ago:

No exageration at all, thats all fact. I am a big supporter, obviously, but i dont think, and I certainly didnt imply that he was ever going to win a WDC. The question was should he retire and based on the past four years he’s been a front runner sandwiched between some of the greatest champs ever, for which he deserves a bucket load of credit. as for having a utterly dominant car i reckon thats overstating it. Both he and the team have all but said that the cars are set up for Seb. Even then Marks got about 5 kilo of body weight on Seb so thats worth a couple of tenths per lap isnt it. Yes, I’m clutching at straws here.

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raymondu999 said 1 year, 6 months ago:

5kilos of weight is nowhere NEAR 2 tenths. Probably less than a tenth. You have to remember that that 5kg will only be a benefit to center of gravity this year; with no weight distribution benefit.

I’ll give that the cars are probably more designed around Seb’s feedback – not that they would build a car that makes Mark slower; but rather their main focus would be centering car design around Seb; and if that also helps Mark; great. Having said that I don’t buy that that would hamper Mark at all. We’ve heard loads of times about Seb taking Mark’s setup data and using that when he can’t find a good balance. We’ve also heard about Mark taking Seb’s setup data and using that when he can’t find a good balance.

Yes they may have different driving styles; but different styles could also require the same things from a car; and judging by the way they share setups so closely; you would have the same needs from a car.

To answer the thread question; should he retire of his own volition? No. What on earth for? He’s probably got the best chance of winning a race where he is right now. “Should Red Bull retain him,” however, is a different matter.

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Thecollaroyboys said 1 year, 6 months ago:

LOL, the five kilos was in jest, but agreed, maybe cut him off at the knees to adjust the COG. The reason he’s not challenging Seb is because he simply isnt as good a driver as him. But then nobody is. I found itnhard to believe that he couldnt get past HAM in Korea when VET was pulling ten seconds on the field (twice if you take account of the SC). It was a flat out drag race but he still couldnt make an impact even with DRS. I wonder if Seb would have fared the same in that position. I agree that RB wouldnt consciously build a crap car fornthe number two. Long live the Queanbeyan kid, the best thing to come out of that town other than the road to Cooma.

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