Following is a transcript of a telephone hook-up with Australia's Formula
One driver Mark Webber by Australian media on February 4, 2004, organised
by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation ahead of the world championship
season-opening 2004 Foster's Australian Grand Prix to be held in Melbourne
on March 4-7.

Host: Good evening to Mark Webber in Britain and good morning to
everyone else in Australia. We have a lot of people on the line today and
we won't waste time getting started. Mark Webber needs little introduction
these days, except perhaps to say that as Australia's only modern Formula
One star he is now preparing for his third season in F1, starting at the
2004 Foster's Australian Grand Prix.

Q: Mark, first of all about the car.
We  believe  there  have  been
some problems. How is it going?

Mark Webber: It's going well, actually. I think the
problems have been
fueled up in the press more than what we know about. The press know a lot
more than we do at the moment, which is interesting, but we're going along
pretty well. The tests in Jerez (in south-west Spain) next week and also in
Valencia (in eastern Spain) the week after will be very, very important for
us We've got two new cars (going) down there, and they will be all set for
Melbourne. It's progressing along pretty well. We've got issues, which
every team has at this stage of the year. The Australian Grand Prix date is
always one that comes along very, very quickly, but everyone in the factory
is confident at this stage.

Q: How happy are you with the 
support  that  you're  getting  from
Jaguar at the moment? There have been rumors  that  other  teams  have  been
chasing you?

MW: Very, very happy (with Jaguar). I've never been 
closer  to  the
team, we're working very, very hard together to get the best out of the  car
in the early parts of the championship this year, and  we're  focused  very,
very hard on the issues that need to be addressed from  2003.  It's  a  huge
challenge for me, as it is for any  driver  at  any  team,  so  I'm  looking
forward to the season, looking forward to getting down there  in  Melbourne,
and we're looking forward to it.

Q: Bernie Ecclestone said a couple 
of  days  ago  that  Ford  (the
owner of Jaguar Racing) just can't go on with its restricted budget, and  if
it wants to compete with the top teams it has to get serious or  not  be  in
it.  Is that too harsh, do you think?

MW: We have a smaller budget, clearly, to the big guns.
There is  no
question about that. It's how you  spend  your  money  that  makes  the  car
perform well, and what we have at the moment is a very healthy budget to  do
our championship for this year - and what Ford  do  in  the  future  no  one
really knows at the moment. I'm sure they're committed to making it work  as
best they can. I think I'm probably not in the position to talk  about  what
Ford's involvement is going to be. Probably Bernie knows more  than  what  I
do about what they're up to. Time will tell.

Q: There was a lot of  talk  at  the 
time  when  your  very  young
teammate (20-year-old Austrian Christian Klien) was  signed  up  to  partner
you this season. How has he been going in testing and  is  he  going  to  be
more of a test  for  you  than  Pizzonia  (Brazilian  Antonio  Pizzonia)  or
(Englishman) Justin Wilson was last season?

MW: I think he will be. I think he's been testing very, 
very  well.
He has matured beyond his years. And you don't win in Formula Three  if  you
don't know what you're doing - and he has won some very, very tough races  -
the Marlboro (F3) Masters in Holland, which is a  very,  very  tough  event,
probably one of the toughest Formula Three races  in  the  world.  He's  won
that. So clearly (he has) a lot of talent, speed and determination  there  -
and he is (gelling) fairly well with the team, which is very good, which  is
important. We're getting on well, actually. Probably the best  I've  got  on
with any of my teammates, so that's good. And I'm expecting that it will  be
a tough fight. It always is at this level. These guys are expecting  a  good
challenge. Testing is one thing, racing is another, but as usual I  will  be
focusing on myself.

Q: What are the goals for the team
this  year,  in  terms  of  what
they expect to achieve and trying to achieve, and where does that  fit  with
your goals as a Formula One driver?

MW: What we did last year was probably slightly above 
expectations.
Certainly to finish in the top 10 of the driver's  championship,  we  didn't
really expect that. Finishing seventh in the constructors' championship  was
a bit of a late blow. If you looked  at  it,  we  chipped  away  at  getting
points, had a lot of breaks during the mid part  of  the  championship,  and
where there was low retirement and they were tough races for  us.  And  then
you had things like, teams, Sauber potentially coming along and  rattling  a
lot of points at wet races. Last year seventh, which was okay, but for  this
year we need to achieve a step further than that, for sure. We need  to  try
to finish sixth. That's going to be tough with Toyota - they  will  be  very
strong. If we can keep them covered, that would be very, very good  for  us.
It's pretty clear within the team what we have to try to  do  -  and  that's
stay in the race with BAR and Toyota and those teams. Clearly the  top  four
are going to be very, very strong. BAR looks strong. When you  look  at  the
testing when you go out there, there's actually not many weak teams.  That's
the game really, at the moment, and we will see when we  get  to  Melbourne.
I'm actually not aware of what is going on in (the northern) winter  and  we
will see what happens in Melbourne. We're a massively realistic team,  we're
very critical of ourselves, and we will look at all the issues  we  need  to
address for Melbourne and hopefully we can do a good job down there.

Q: Just in light of what you said
then,  what  are  your  prospects
for Melbourne? How do you feel you are going to go?

MW: I think we will go pretty well. It's again very,
very  difficult
to know; if we all knew what was going to happen it would be pretty  boring,
I suppose, but we know as much as you guys do at  the  moment,  which  is  .
it's going to be very interesting, I think. The  top  five  are  very,  very
tight at the front . we've seen Williams and  McLaren  and  Ferrari,  that's
going to be a great battle, and with the guys like ourselves,  Sauber,  BAR,
Toyota, us four there trying to pick up the scraps, so to speak.  So  that's
going to be  very  interesting.  Reliability  is  going  to  be  crucial  in
Melbourne, it's a tough race, the date always comes up on you  too  quickly,
we've got the one-engine rule, so we  have  to  run  with  the  engine  from
Friday onwards we use in the race.  Once we feel that, that's it, so  a  lot
of new  things  to  the  rules  and  qualifying  -  only  the  one  day  (of
qualifying) so we've got a lot of things that teams have got  to  get  their
head around for the first event of the season. I predict that if we see  the
flag it will be a reasonable result for us.

Q: The atmosphere at the Australian 
Grand  Prix?  You're  probably
looking forward to it more than most F1 drivers.  Do  you  like  driving  in
Melbourne?

MW: Absolutely.  It's the best race for me of the year
in  terms  of
atmosphere.  It's probably not the best race for me in  terms  of  off-track
activities, I'm stressed a little bit, to be honest, but it is a  phenomenal
event. Whether you talk to the drivers or the engineers  or  the  mechanics,
they always love coming to Melbourne and they're so well looked  after.  The
fans are very knowledgeable, they understand the situation  that  I've  been
in each year, they get behind me, and it is  a  great  event.  And  I  think
Melbourne in general is a great sport - they get out and support it  and  we
know it gets huge attention nationally as well.  Great  event  for  me.  I'm
very  lucky.  Others  drivers  like  Kimi  (McLaren's  Finnish   star   Kimi
Raikkonen), a lot of drivers, don't have a home Grand  Prix.  But  I'm  very
fortunate that I do - and we have one of the best on the calendar.

Q: Michael Schumacher has been
"road-testing" the  new  Ferrari  as
well. How do you think your Jaguar will come up against the Ferrari?

MW: Well, two different categories to be honest. They're
on the  end
of probably, I would think, a very strong phase - and I  hope  Michael  wins
the championship this year, I think to win seven  (world  titles)  would  be
amazing, but it's going to be very, very tough for him. So  how  we  compare
to Michael? We don't really talk about Ferrari much in our factory. We  talk
about other teams which are closer to us.  Clearly  it's  a  different  ball
game, with the experience and development resources that Ferrari have  under
their belt. We can't buy that overnight, so I'm not really expecting  to  be
shaping up to Michael in the championships as yet.

Q: Could you walk us through the new
rules - how do you think  they
will affect you and the way the race weekend unfolds this year?

MW:  Clearly the biggest one  is  obviously  the 
one-engine  rule  -
having to have an engine which is going to  do  the  whole,  complete  event
starting on the Friday. I think  we're  going  to  see  limited  running  on
Friday at Melbourne. There won't be much activity on the Friday,  especially
the first session; the second  session  you  will  probably  see  a  lot  of
activity, because the track is quite dirty - and that's  the  same  for  any
circuit in the world. Doesn't matter where  we  go,  the  first  session  is
always a bit of a non-event. Teams will be very,  very  selective  in  their
mileage, so they won't be doing a great deal on Friday. I  could  be  wrong.

First of all, you will see that, and also  we  will  see  the  test  drivers
being used to do quite a bit more mileage in  front  of  the  teams  to  get
information on tyres and just where the surface is going. Then  Saturday  is
going to be absolutely flat out. You're going to have  everyone  getting  as
much information as they can, even though the track is always  traditionally
a lot cooler on Saturday morning. It's nice to  get  the  long  runs  in  on
Friday, but we only have one real qualifying session now  as  such,  instead
of what we had last year with two - with one being you  can  use  what  fuel
you want in the first qualifying run, and the second qualifying run  is  the
one for the grid. And that is obviously your starting  field  for  the  race
there. So I don't think that's going to  be  a  huge  difference  from  last
year, to be honest. Friday was a bit of a non-event in terms  of  qualifying
(last year).

We've also got the 100kmh speed  limit  (in  pit  lane),  which
will have an interesting twist on strategy. So 10  places  further  back  if
you have an engine-related issue. There are  certain  parts  of  the  engine
which won't be counted as an engine change;  it's  the  main  parts  of  the
engine which will be sealed. If you have some electronics  and  maybe  black
box or control panel issues, they won't be counted as an engine  issue,  but
if you have a serious issue and you need to change the engine, then it  will
be 10 places further back on the grid. As far as I'm aware that's about  it,
unless you guys know anymore. That's about it in terms of  changes.  [Host's
note: Mark omitted to say that the test drivers  for  BAR,  Sauber,  Jaguar,
Toyota, Jordan and Minardi will be allowed to drive  in  Friday's  two  one-
hour practice sessions].

Q: What about the car changes, like
gearbox  and  traction  control
and stuff?

MW: Launch control, yes, that's  out.  We're  basically 
doing  more
manual starts, so it's more in the driver's control now -  so  that's  good.
That's a useful thing. I think traction control is very, very  difficult  to
police, so that's still legal. Talking about the areo changes which we  have
got . different engine covers and different rear  wing  end-plates.  We  are
only allowed to run two  rear  wing  elements  in  our  rear  wing  package,
instead of three, which we probably traditionally run at Melbourne.  All  of
these things, I think for the person in the grandstand seats  won't  make  a
huge difference, but it probably will do - it's just more bringing  specific
costs down for those certain issues, I think.

Q: The speculation linking you  to 
Williams  doesn't  seem  to  be
going away, whether you like it or not. Is it a  threat  to  team  unity  at
Jaguar, based on every performance, if it actually happens to be a  mediocre
weekend for you at Jaguar that you are going to be moving closer and  closer
to Williams?

MW: Until somebody  replaces  Montoya  (Williams' 
Colombian  driver
Juan Pablo Montoya) it's going  to  go  on,  whoever  is  going  there.  I'm
clearly focussed on Jaguar and will be throughout the whole year.  The  boys
in the  team  who  are  very,  very  close  in  terms  of  our  professional
relationship, they haven't mentioned  absolutely  zero  about  what  my  job
potentially could be in the future. As  far  as  we're  concerned  it's  all
systems go and in 2005 I will be at Jaguar. But to try to get some  sort  of
answer, in terms of just the press and the momentum and the stuff  that  can
be out there, whether it's Juan going to McLaren, and I think in  this  game
they are professional people and it is a very,  very  intense  industry,  we
know that each weekend we have to do the business, so it's in  the  back  of
everyone's mind really - and that's what the case will be. I mean,  Juan  is
in a different situation. My stuff is a million miles away  from  that.  But
systems as normal and we will see what happens.

Q: What are the major differences
between Jaguar's latest R5  model
and last year's car? And if  there  have  been  any  improvements,  in  what
areas?

MW: The major differences are a lot of installation of
the  car  and
where we put the weight in the car and  lots  of  things  like  that,  which
gives us more window for step-up, if you  like,  and  to  tune  the  car  to
circuits, so a lot tidier in places. The gearbox is different, if you  like,
a bit faster, hopefully leaner and  meaner,  and  obviously  the  engine  is
slightly different as well, so  the  aerodynamics  obviously  totally  being
revised. They will be different for Melbourne. The issues we  need  to  work
on, what we're trying to improve on, obviously the tyre  management  or  the
tyre degradation situation was something we wanted  to  chip  away  at  last
year and we did make progress with it.

Again, I touched on  the  flexibility
potentially with our weight distribution and things  like  that  to  try  to
help that take the load off the rear tyres. We want  to  try  to  chip  away
with that. Our control, whether it's traction control side  of  things,  all
of that is one of our strong departments, and that has gone very, very  well
over the winter - something which was very, very poor about  18  months  ago
and that has come in leaps and bounds. So we're  just  chipping  away.   The
next few tests are very, very important, (indistinct)  after  Jerez  to  see
where we really are, but Melbourne will  be  the  final  wake  up  call  for
everyone and see what  we've  got.  Always  got  issues  you  want  to  keep
chipping away on, but hopefully with the R5  we've  addressed  quite  a  few
from the R4 and hopefully (that will) be enough to give us a good season.

Q: You talked before about the gulf
between teams like  Jaguar  and
Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. Is that a source of frustration,  or  is  the
team realistic about where it is and what it can achieve?

MW: Yeah, we're very realistic. If you look at Jordan 
in  1998  and
'99 they were giving the championship a run and things change. They  clearly
won't be doing that this year. We all have our different  goals.  Last  year
was clearly a season which worked quite well for us and it would  have  been
nice to get a podium last year, but to get a consistent run  of  points  was
always very rewarding. We lead probably in terms  of  satisfaction  for  our
job, very similar to what McLaren and Williams have done - finishing  second
or third for them is a bad day at the office. They've  got  a  lot  more  to
achieve in terms of their strike rate,  so  very  difficult  to  achieve  in
terms of their wins. So for us it's also hard  because  you  have  different
goals. Just got to assess your goals at the moment. Yeah,  it  is  a  little
bit frustrating. Everyone wants to be a winner, everyone wants  to  win  the
next race, but you've got to remember what you've got.

Q: You spoke a little earlier about
some of  the  teams  that  were
going well in testing, and the BAR-Honda is one  of  those.  (BAR's  British
driver) Jenson Button has  predicted  that  they  can  probably  score  some
podiums this year. Do you  see  that  as  a  possibility  for  yourself  and
Jaguar, being on the podium at any race this year?

MW: We will need a reasonable amount of luck, to  be 
honest  to  do
that; I don't think we will be driving on to a  podium,  to  be  honest.  It
would be a nice surprise to have, but if you look at  how  bullet-proof  the
big guys are - McLaren, Ferrari, Williams and Renault -  the  level  now  of
Formula One from the top teams in terms of  everyone  can  make  a  reliable
car, that's very, very easy, but the car would not be very quick and  (would
be) very heavy. In terms of what is out there  now,  in  terms  of  the  lap
times, the lap times that they're doing and also the reliability of the  car
is very, very strong. If you are on a podium this  year  you  (will)  bloody
deserve it and there might be a  few  races  where  you  have  a  bit  of  a
lottery, as we always do in one season, but we could be there to  grab  some
of that. But I'm thinking it's going to be tough for  us  to  drive  on  the
podium if everyone else is finishing.

Q: You touched on the Melbourne track
 a  little  bit  before.  How
does the Melbourne track shape up compared to others around the world?

MW: The surface is very, very good. It doesn't  have  a 
history  of
Spa (in Belgium) and Monaco and places like that, of  course,  because  it's
relatively new to the calendar, but it's a track which is extremely  safe  -
very, very safe surface - which is very, very good for the drivers. They  do
a great job, the marshalling and the whole thing  is  exceptional,  probably
one of best in terms of the effort that's put  in  there.  A  driver  always
likes to see the attention to detail, and Melbourne  does  a  lot  of  that,
whether it's the curves or the grass, and the track is always  in  the  best
condition possible. It's a very,  very  good  modern  Formula  One  circuit.
Very, very good, definitely in the top five, and  it's  a  great  track.  In
terms of organisation it's leaps and bounds  ahead,  very  smooth  as  well,
which drivers like. Bumpy surfaces are not very  enjoyable  in  these  cars.
It's a good circuit.

Q: Harking back to the R5 again, you
mentioned a  couple  of  times
that you have had a few teething problems or issues to  sort  out.  Are  you
able to say what they are? And also your test  schedule:  do  you  get  much
chance to have a break between now and Melbourne?

MW: Yeah, I've got a break this week actually. I've just
 come  back
from Geneva, launching the new X-Type Jaguar Estate there and  doing  a  lot
of rally-crossing in the  snow,  which  was  good  fun.  Issues  we've  got:
clearly just not enough mileage. Issues which . you  want  to  get  as  much
mileage on the car as possible, and we've just had a few  snags  which  have
caught us out and they're just small things: Installation,  pipeage,  a  few
things with brakes and stuff which stops you putting long runs on  the  car.
That's the thing which you would like to be able to do. We had a  good  last
day in Valencia with the car  (last  week),  a  lot  of  those  issues  were
addressed, but we need to build more confidence with that,  which  I'm  sure
we can do in Jerez (next week). You can't  run  these  cars  half  pregnant,
they've got to be fully pregnant before  we  can  run  them  properly.  They
don't work. So we're looking forward to the next few tests.

Q: A question related to drivers and
the importance of  sponsorship
in modern Formula One. Do you think drivers that are the  best  drivers  are
making it into Formula One or do you think some drivers are missing out?

MW: I think some drivers have always missed out, no 
question  about
it. Eighty per cent of the guys on the grid are the best and there's  a  few
guys who probably don't deserve to be there. Whether it's through the  '60s,
'70s or '80s we've always had guys who probably haven't been  to  the  level
of the guys at the front. Christian (Klien) is not a good example  for  that
because, yes, he's brought some funding to the team, but the guy  has  blown
away seriously quick peddlers in Formula Three. Christian has  come  from  a
very, very normal background, which is great, and they're  very,  very  good
people. And Red Bull (the Austrian energy drink brand that  sponsors  Klien)
have plucked him when he's 16, so you can't take that away  from  him.  It's
always been in  Formula  One,  always  will  be,  especially  now  with  the
climates as they are. A lot of sports are like  that,  struggling  a  little
bit, and they're looking to drivers to bring a little bit  more  funding  to
the teams. That's what basically they're going through at the moment.

Q: You've said that you're focussed
on  Jaguar  until  the  end  of
2005, but it's been reported that your contract has performance  clauses  in
it. Should you be released from that contract  due  to  performance  clauses
not being met, would it be you  alone  that  decides  your  future  or  does
Renault still have some influence on your decision?

MW: We will look at it. We've got the old crystal ball
on the table
and also the things we have got within our control, and we've get a good
grip on actually the whole situation. First thing is Mark Webber has to
perform, otherwise we don't have a problem at all because no one wants me,
so I will do my best at every single race, and the next two years I'm
planning to be at Jaguar. There's performance clauses in every driver's
contract, I assume, and we hope that we have the best bloody season
possible this year to look into 2005. We will make the decision together.
Renault helped me massively to get into Formula One and have been
absolutely brilliant throughout that, so we'll make that decision together
and there is options for me to go there, to go to other places in 2007,
2008.

-agpc-


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