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.

Q: Mark, what should they do to put
more  back  on  the
driver  in
Formula One, to get more passing  rather  than  for  you  to  be  under  the
control of electronics and smart boffins back in the pits with laptops?

MW: Well, electronics is not the issue, the issue is the
 downforce.
That's the big problem. The braking areas are so  late  and  so  short  that
it's very hard to get into the inside of other cars. I think on the  control
side that is something  which  in  the  electronics  side  is  a  relatively
healthy thing for Formula One,  because  that  will  filter  into  the  mass
market. I'm a big fan of getting as much as they can back to the driver.  We
still have a huge amount on our plate to do  the  Grand  Prix  as  quick  as
possible and try to pass, and passing is the frustrating thing, no  question
about it. All the drivers talk about it, but we all  know  it's  very,  very
fast corners, it's very, very hard to  follow.  If  they  were  to  look  at
things, the aerodynamics would be the area if they were  to  chip  away  on,
but it's very, very difficult to  slash  the  aerodynamics  because  if  you
slash the aerodynamics then you have cars that are a  lot  more  unstable  -
and potentially more unsafe. With the  tyre  war  last  year,  we  saw  some
pretty good racing and different people over  different  phases  with  their
tyres. We will see. I hope this year can provide some more racing.

Q: Mark, isn't passing, or potential
passing, diminished  a
little
bit by the fact that often times people, when they've  caught  somebody  and
might in past times have tried to get  past,  these  days  it  seems  to  be
smarter to go in and do a pit stop?
MW: Yeah, your strategy these days is you have your 
windows  to  do
your stops and not only to be able  to  be  moved  around  within  two  laps
really so, yeah, you can look at the stop to be  a  very  powerful  tool  to
pass somebody. But we did have races, as you well know, we had  races  where
they start with 220 litres (of fuel) and do the whole race and not  see  the
pits at all, so I thought when we did the pitstops  and  more  activity  and
different fuel  loads  that  it  actually  is  more  entertaining  and  more
interesting to know what is actually happening  in  terms  of  strategy  and
fuel loads. And the pitstops, again, are very, very important and  it  would
be interesting to see what is going to happen to the outcome  of  the  race.
There always will be issues in terms of how we best  make  the  championship
better or more exciting, but I think, as it is at the  moment,  we've  still
got the qualifying, you have a few people out  of  position,  the  different
fuel loads, it's pretty good.

Q: The new engine regulation (only
one  for  each  driver  for
the
whole GP weekend)? Has that made the engines any  different  to  drive?  And
has it changed, for instance, the number of gears you need?   Are  they  any
least "peaky" powered than they were?

MW: Good question. We've looked at that.  Your  torque 
curve  might
change a sniff. Our power for Melbourne will be very similar to what we  had
there last year, which is a good thing. I think a lot of teams  will  be  on
the same sort of level, if not a little bit more. The  engine  will  have  a
lot more different modes in terms  of  safety  and  security  modes  on  the
engine to look after the engine, certain running of  certain  parts  of  the
Grand Prix, so from the driver's side we don't feel a  huge  difference,  to
be honest, but we will have more demand put on us, I suspect,  in  terms  of
us having to nurse the engine.

Q: When you talked about fuel stops
and pitstops and  whatnot,
are
you counting on an extra pitstop,  a  third  stop  in  Melbourne  this  year
because of the straightening of the pit lane entry?

MW: I'm sure the boys have looked at it. I don't know
yet. Until  we
do some running down there, see what the track  is  up  to.  I  wouldn't  be
surprised if we had three stops there for the first  time.  And  it's  great
that it has been straightened to potentially make  a  three-stopper  happen.
We will see.

Q: From a local angle, you're really 
driving  with  the
hopes  of
people from Canberra and Australia. How conscious are  you  of  the  support
you have in Canberra and around Australia when you are driving?  Is  that  a
pressure on you?

MW: Well, I'm very proud to fly the flag for  Australia,
 especially
for everyone there in Queanbeyan. And Canberra is very,  very  close  to  my
home there. Like I touched on  before,  I  think  the  Australian  fans  are
extremely knowledgeable, they do understand  how  my  career  is  trying  to
progress, and I hope that in the future I can give them even more  to  cheer
about and stay up late nights and really give them something to look  at  on
TV and hope we can do that this year and in the future. I'm  very  proud  to
fly the flag and try to do my best and I'm still true blue,  even  though  I
don't get home much, and I still love performing for my country.

Q: Just a follow-up on  the 
questions  about  engines.  Last
year
Cosworth (Ford and Jaguar's engine company) had more failures than most  and
you've just told us this year there will be more modes on the  engine,  more
things perhaps to worry about. Is it the mechanical side that's a  worry  to
you, or will it be electronics that you're looking at and  things  that  you
can still work on despite the one engine rule? Or is the  engine  the  major
concern to you?

MW: No, I think the engine should be quite  reliable,  I
 hope.  The
dyno work has been  quite  encouraging,  also  our  circuit  work  has  been
backing that up quite well. It is the major components  that  will  probably
let you down, if they are going to. We've seen  a  few  crashes  in  testing
with teams obviously getting to the  last  part  of  the  mileage  of  their
engine and whether you have got a hole in your floor where the rod has  gone
through the bottom of the floor, or you've got some serious amount of  smoke
flying out your exhaust, which is a top-end  failure.  Cosworth.  what's
important is that Jordan (team) have the same engine as us,  which  is  very
important in terms of mileage, and in the integration  of  what  Jordan  and
Jaguar are doing it's easier for Cosworth logistically  to  have  those  two
teams: one program going out the door for them, so that's good because  last
year they had three different types of engine which was a  bit  strange  and
obviously Paul (Stoddart, the Australian who owns the Minardi team) was  the
only one with the  older  Cosworth  engine,  so  it  should  be  better  for
Northhampton (Cosworth's base).

Q: Just to  follow-up  on  the 
situation  with  your  future.
You
mentioned performance clauses in your contract, and obviously if you  didn't
perform no one would want you. What is your feeling looking at  the  reverse
direction in terms of your view of the performance of the car and the  team?
Do you have a performance standard you expect from the car and team,  or  in
fact do you have clauses where you have a way  out  if  the  Jaguar  is  not
performing in the opposite direction?

MW: Clauses both ways, always has to be. That's what a 
contract  is
all about. Both of us have to perform, and you  always  want  more.  I  went
into the Jaguar agreement a very, very happy man and  I  still  am  a  very,
very happy man, so we have to make it work and  do  the  best  we  can.  The
opposition is something that we can't control, and I  want  to  be  able  to
control the situation I'm in at Jaguar. That's all I can do. We will do  our
absolute utmost to make sure that we keep as many smiles  on  our  faces  as
possible and not have a season that we don't enjoy.

Q: Just also looking back a little
bit earlier in  the  year,
Tony
Purnell, the boss of your operation, was reported as saying there were  some
fundamental issues with the car. They were  later  denied  by  another  team
spokesman.  Those  things  seem  to  be  at  odds  with  each   other,   the
explanations. Is there a fundamental problem and is there  some  instability
in the team from that point of view in having  a  common  view  of  what  is
really going on?

MW: What was amazing with that is that I read  that  the
 same  time
you guys did. (I thought) That's interesting that we've got major  problems,
I actually don't know about these things, and Tony was massively  misquoted.
I think he did he send an e-mail out to every single person in  the  factory
to apologise for that, and he was very disappointed that his quote  was  not
handled as he would like it to have been. I think in Australia,  also,  that
it got some reasonable mileage, from what I've heard. The  car  hadn't  even
run properly.  It  was  a  strange  one.  Our  superb  PR  man  covered  the
situations superbly.

Q: You said earlier it's a bit hard
to tell what is going  on
with
other teams testing and you sounded almost sceptical.  Where  do  you  think
BAR is at the moment? If you were to guess, if you will, and  just  overall,
where do you think Jaguar needs to improve to get  a  bit  closer  to  those
teams in your area, and perhaps even the next-level teams like Renault?

MW:  BAR aren't where they are (in) testing  now, 
that's  for  sure.
They're going to be strong, they'll  have  a  good  year.  I  will  be  very
surprised if they're on pole and drive  to  victory  in  Melbourne,  and  it
would be good for Formula One if they do, but I will be  surprised  if  that
happens. The thing in testing, there is a  whole  raft  of  different  tyres
floating around, there's different weights in the car. Mrs De La  Rosa  puts
the washing up on the line out at turn three  at  Barcelona  and  the  whole
track changes, so when you're out  on  the  track  you're  there  for  eight
hours, when you want to do your run there  is  so  many  different  windows.
[Pedro De La Rosa is a Spanish driver whose home track is Barcelona; he  has
raced for the Arrows  and  Jaguar  teams  and  is  now  a  test  driver  for
McLaren].

So with testing you  get  a  rough  idea,  but  until  we  get  to
Melbourne, that's what really counts. What Jaguar needs to do,  we  need  to
improve on our racing performances. Clearly qualifying  was  strong  for  us
last year, that was something which I was actually over to be honest, I  was
over doing well in qualifying and was a bit disappointed  that  we  couldn't
convert that into races, and it didn't reflect well on myself or the team  -
and it's something where we could be a lot stronger team with stronger  race
performances. And that's where the experience and the  resources  come  into
play. You look at  Williams  in  2001  and  Juan  in  2002  had  seven  pole
positions and only one win, so they've  clearly  switched  that  around,  so
it's the whole package. Experience is what we need. This is the  first  time
Jaguar has had some good stability, so we are going  to  learn  a  lot  from
this and there is some bloody good blokes there and we just need more  time,
more experience. That's what we need.

Q: Ryan Briscoe seems to be in  line 
to  be  the  next
Aussie  in
Formula One at the moment and he is going down the  test  driver  route.  Do
you think that's now the way to go, or do you think a  Minardi  drive,  much
like you took, is probably still the better option of getting a foot in  the
door?

MW: I think clearly if the Minardi thing could  work 
for  him  Paul
(Stoddart) would do a great job for him. And, also, as long  as  he  doesn't
have to cut his ties with Toyota to achieve that then I'm  sure  that  would
be the good thing for him to do.  The  most  important  thing  for  Ryan  is
obviously his association with Toyota, which is clearly going to be a  force
in the future. They are going to win Grands Prix, it's just  a  question  of
when, not if. And they've looked after him well and been very  patient  with
him some through some of the championships that he's  done,  so  what's  the
right thing to do? It would be great, it would be  good  to  see  him  in  a
Minardi. Paul would be very happy to have that,  I'm  sure,  if  Toyota  are
happy to help him out to get in there and keep that  link  up,  then  that's
great.

Q: You said before that you thought a
podium  finish  was
probably
out of the question this  year.  What  would  you  see  as  good  result  in
Melbourne?

MW:  A good result in Melbourne depends how  the  race 
goes.  If  we
finish eighth we might not be that happy with it, but if  we  finish  eighth
and all the big guns  have  finished  that's  a  decent  afternoon  for  us.
Whoever finishes in front of you, the overall pace of the car, might  finish
fourth, or finish fifth like I did in the Minardi (on debut  in  2002),  but
clearly that's probably going to be  your  last  chance  and  you  won't  be
happy. So  I  will  be  taking  two  things  on  board  that  weekend:  one,
obviously, it's a great weekend for me and I enjoy driving there,  but  it's
the trend for the next four or  five  months  for  my  life  basically.  The
performance of the car in Melbourne is a big reflection on what I'm  in  for
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the future, in the short-term, so that is something that shall  be  more  on
my mind than probably the short-term result in Melbourne.

Q: You talk of finishing eighth in
Melbourne and we know that
Ford
isn't putting in anything like the commitment and the  money  that  some  of
the other manufacturers are. This is the problem, isn't it, that in a  sense
eighth isn't going to please Ford and isn't going to encourage them  to  put
in more money. How do you do that? How do you wind up their need for  value,
in a sense, in terms of  results.  And  the  public  sees  value  as  being,
perhaps, on the podium? How do you reverse that trend?

MW: It is pretty tough, to be honest. All I could do  is
 absolutely
do my job, have absolutely no  regrets,  do  as  professional  a  job  as  I
possibly can, and it's up to my bosses to make sure  that  they  sort  their
bosses out, that the team has a healthy future.  The  control  I  have  over
that is obviously what I do with my feet and hands in the car.  And  I  felt
we had a strong year last year and if we can do something  like  that  again
then maybe the guys above me can do something.

Q: A few teams, and Jaguar was one,
were flattered  by  the
point-
scoring system last year with first getting less of a margin over  the  rest
of the field than they had in previous years (and points being awarded  down
to eighth place instead of the traditional sixth)?

MW:  Yes, they were. But what was  absolutely  clear 
was  the  point
system was the same for everyone last year. The old point system I  liked  a
lot more - top six was a good result, top eight a  lot  of  people  can  get
points now. But that's how it is now. Everyone had  a  good  chance  to  get
points at race weekends. We clearly had  a  massively  strong  part  in  the
middle season where we got points, where a lot of teams  were  reliable  and
weren't fast and we were there to get some  points.  So  we  did  chip  away
quite well in the middle part of the year. I think the  gap  from  first  to
second  is  quite  harsh  in  terms  of  Michael   (Schumacher)   and   Kimi
(Raikkonen). Kimi won one race and was still in with a chance  at  the  last
race, which is a bit strange - but that's how it is.

Q: Can you crystal ball who will be
the regular podium people
this
year?

MW: McLaren and Williams are very strong. I think 
Renault  will  be
there. Ferrari will be there. They're your  four.  Renault  will  be  a  lot
closer than people think. I think they will have a strong year.  Toyota  and
BAR. Probably BAR more than Toyota will be there grabbing the odd  one,  but
I really doubt we (Jaguar) are going to see consistent podiums. I  think  we
(the sport) are going to have a good mix of people on those steps  and  it's
going to be good. It's absolutely guaranteed we are going to have  fireworks
at  the  front  -  it's  going  to  be  very,  very  close  and  very,  very
competitive. And it will be great to see Michael try to defend it.  It  will
be good.

Q: It is interesting that you are
tipping  or  would  like  to
see
Schumacher win again when there is a sense that  the  pendulum  is  swinging
towards Williams and McLaren and that the tyres could be decisive.  You  are
going to be on Michelin tyres, as are McLaren and Williams, and yet you  are
still basically favouring a Bridgestone driver (Michael Schumacher)  to  win
the championship.

MW: No, I'm not favouring him to win it. I want him to
win  it,  but
I don't think he will win it.  I  think  a  Michelin  driver  will  win  the
championship.  I  think  Kimi  or  a  Williams  driver  (Montoya   or   Ralf
Schumacher) could give it a good run, (with)  Fernando  (Alonso,  the  young
Spaniard with Renault who won last year's  Hungarian  GP)  on  the  outside.
Michael  (Schumacher),  you  can't  underestimate   the   guy,   he's   just
unbelievably  consistent,  unbelievably  cool,  every  session,  every  race
weekend. He's just got the whole thing under control.  So  Ferrari  and  the
whole package will need Michael to win the championship, as  they  did  last
year. It was Michael who won the championship last year.

Q: Of the drivers most likely to beat
 Michael,  how  do  you
rate
Kimi against Montoya in terms of speed, consistency - consistency  not  only
through the race but over a race weekend?

MW: I think Kimi is slightly stronger just as an
overall. If  I  was
a team boss I would probably say Kimi. There is not much in  it;  both  very
different characters in terms of how they go about it.  They're  very,  very
quick and very, very fast, but they've got a long way to go before they  get
to Michael's level.

Q: In absolute flat out speed, just
on  a  lap,  how  do  you
rate
those two?

MW: Consistently, I would say Kimi is quicker.

Host: Obviously you hold Michael Schumacher in  the  absolute
highest
regard, so it  was  interesting  some  weeks  ago  to  note  that  your  new
teammate, perhaps while he  might  have  regard  for  Michael  as  a  racing
driver, cheekily  suggested  that  he  was  perhaps  too  arrogant  and  too
serious. Do you think that was a wise thing for a 20-year-old fellow  to  be
doing?

MW: I don't know. There's lot of history over  there, 
as  you  well
know, what happened through the '50s and '60s. So I don't know what  they're
playing at. I will leave it at that.

Host: Let's wrap it  up  there.  Thanks  very  much  to  everyone
for
participating, particularly Mark Webber. Thanks for your time  again,  Mark,
and all the best with the testing and we  look  forward  to  seeing  you  in
Melbourne soon.

MW: Thanks.

-agpc-



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