NUERBURGRING, Germany, (Reuters) – Australia will have at least one win to celebrate when Mark Webber joins captain Ricky Ponting and the Ashes cricket team for dinner yesterday.
The Red Bull driver ended his country’s long wait for a Formula One triumph in Germany yesterday, Australia’s first since Alan Jones in 1981.
Webber had hoped to toast a double victory with Ponting but England thwarted what would have been a winners’ dinner by holding Australia to a draw in the first test of the Ashes series in Cardiff.
The driver’s success, in his 130th race, marked a remarkable recovery for a man who only last November was lying in a hospital bed with a badly broken right leg after a cycling accident in Tasmania.
Nine races on, still with a pin in his leg, the Aussie ironman is just 1.5 points behind German team mate Sebastian Vettel and third in the championship.
Years of pent-up frustration came pouring out as he crossed the finish line and let rip with an unrestrained show of raw jubilation.
Already seen as one of the sport’s unluckiest racers, he had been second three times already this season and now finally he was first.
BRABHAM TRIBUTE
“During my time at Williams it was very tough for the motivation, that’s the hardest part of it. No one likes turning up and getting your arse kicked every weekend,” he said remembering hard times in the past.
“That would test anyone’s patience.
“Now it’s obviously different. We can turn up at race weekends and get very very good results. I’ve certainly had testing times in my career with unreliable cars and being in a position to get results hasn’t happened for whatever reason.
“It’s happening at the moment and as you say there was a lot of emotion.”
Jones provided the immediate point of reference but it was triple champion Jack Brabham, now in his 80s, who came to mind in the closing laps as the chequered flag approached and Webber eased off.
“There was no reason to finish 20 seconds in front instead of 10,” he said. “As Jack Brabham used to say, ‘Win at the slowest possible speed’. So I was thinking of Jack today.”
Webber had started on pole position for the first time in his career but the jinx that has seen him compared to retired New Zealand racer Chris Amon, who went through his career without winning a grand prix, appeared to have struck.
The Australian, beaten into second place at the start by Rubens Barrichello, was handed a drive-through penalty for banging into the Brazilian. He took it on lap 14 and set about rebuilding his race. In the end, it almost seemed easy.
“What happened today is not going to change my life massively but it’s a very, very important thing,” he said.
“I will sleep well tonight, everything’s fine but I’m not a different person because I’ve won one race. I’m just very very happy that I’ve won it fair and square.
“It’s a real message to the Australian people,” added Webber.
“I’ve always tried to represent my country as best as I can. We’re a very proud sporting nation, we have done well on two wheels, on motorbikes with Mick (Doohan) and with Casey (Stoner) but the motorbikes aren’t motorsport in general at world level, where we haven’t been amazing.
“It’s a great day for me and Australia.”
