Webber refuses 'supporting role'
2012-12-07 11:04
TEAM SPIRIT? Mark Webber (Left) claims he can beat Sebastian Vettel, three-times world champion, in the 2013 season.
MELBOURNE, Australia - Mark Webber is confident he can outrace his team mate but he's talking about Sebastian Vettel, triple consecutive and reigning World champion who ranks with Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna and Jackie Stewart.
Webber, however, who has shared the Red Bull garage with the 11-years-younger Vettel throughout the German's title dominance, is not ready to admit defeat.
TEAM-MATE RIVALRY
He recently denied he was sliding into a "supporting role" for Vettel and insisted he could match the 25-year-old for sheer pace. "Sebastian's strength is qualifying, and it was 10-11 this year in his favour.
"Two races he had me over one lap on sheer pace. You don't get anything for that but the team know that's also a measure of whether you can put it out there over one lap."
Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen believes his reputation for being a driver who never crashes is something he’s OK with. "It's better than having a reputation for crashing every race, I've never suffered because of it."