Formula 1®
Webber Evens Race at Three
Red Bull’s Mark Webber sets the fastest lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix while chasing Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen in the closing stages of the race.
The retiring Mark Webber continues to show Formula One fans around the world that he will not drive off quietly into the F1 sunset. From P10 off the grid, the Aussie veteran battled hard for position and a place on the podium, earning the day’s fastest lap honors in the process.
Car trouble during Saturday’s qualifying left Red Bull’s number two driver starting the FORMULA 1 MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2013 from a hapless 10th on the grid.
“KERS, gearbox, you name it. Driving the car around so far off the potential is unbelievable, so it’s massively frustrating,” Webber said after the day’s qualifying rounds.
Solid strategy regains ground
Team Red Bull’s success with tire maintenance this season was used to their advantage on Sunday when the decision was made to start Webber on the medium tires and run them as long as possible. Avoiding the pit lane until lap 23 actually put the Aussie pilot in the lead for nine laps. Although he fell back to fifth after his first pit stop, Webber had still netted five places from the starting grid.
This nearly perfect strategy put the Australian in a fine position to contend for the podium in the second half of the race.
Homestretch on fast softs
Webber made his move with just 10 laps to go, pitting in lap 60 for Pirelli’s soft compound. After rejoining the track, he immediately went ballistic and raced the day’s Fastest Lap in lap 61. Webber completed the 4.381 km Hungaroring in 1min 24.069 sec, nearly a full half-second ahead of his teammate.
Alas, he was unable to catch Vettel, despite running faster than the reigning champ in the final laps of the Grand Prix. He crossed the finish line 5.5 seconds behind in P4.
“This year we’ve seen many many times that whoever puts on a fresh set of tires – ideally a soft set of tires – towards the end of the race while running a light car is within a very good chance of setting the fastest lap of the race,” said DHL’s F1 Expert, Christian Danner after the Hungarian Grand Prix. “Webber is now in a very good position to win the 2013 DHL Fastest Lap Award.”
17th career Fastest Lap
Webber’s fastest lap was the 17th of his career, which ties Rubens Barrichello and puts him only one behind teammate Vettel. As the Aussie sets to retire at the end of this 2013 Formula One season, he is certainly leaving a fastest lap legacy.
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