Mark Webber is doubtful about his chances of making a charging recovery drive up the field following the mechanical problems that have left him down in 19th in the grid.
Although the Red Bull Racing driver has history of bouncing back from lowly grid positions – having most famously finished third after starting 18th in China last year – he does not think such an outcome is likely in Valencia.
“It’s a completely different track,” he said, when asked about the prospects of another China-type result. “There’s one line. Shanghai has the long back straight: you can pass in Turn 4, you can pass in many places.
“Here, it’s very tricky to pass. Obviously, we know the top speed is not our forte and we have to have a clean track to do the lap times.”
The other factor that Webber thinks works against being able to charge through the field is the strategy element – because Valencia does not lend itself to a three-stop option.
“One more pit stop doesn’t work because that means you need to clear people on track,” he said. “So it has to be one less. We might give it a try.”
Webber also suspects that the early-season characteristic of the RB8 – where it was much better in race-trim than qualifying – may also now have switched around.
“Seb has done a good job in qualifying in the last two events but ultimately wasn’t quick enough to win in Canada,” he said. “Second or third was his best there with a normal clean grand prix.
“On Saturdays, the form card has been a bit stronger for us. At Barcelona, I could have achieved the front row; not beating Lewis, but I could have got close to Pastor. So yes, we have been very consistent on Saturdays and come Sunday, also not bad, but no huge advantage on Sundays.
“But our gap is less now. It has changed a bit because in the first part of the championship we were very weak on Saturdays and very strong on Sundays.
“Now, we have taken a bit out of Sundays and put more into Saturdays. It’s not through design, it’s just the way other people have done what they’ve done and things like that.”
Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines
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