I'm a dyed in the wool Rubens fan but in the same cars Webber is more of a hard-nosed customer and this is the edge he has over Rubens. Rubens also seems to be happy about being second or third, Webber would not settle for that even if he was in the same team as MS, we're Aussies and we don't take second place to anyone For Webber to have got where he is takes a lot of determination from our neck of the woods and only the absolute best and most determined will make it to F1 so when Webber got there he was never going to be second, given equal cars he would be wheel banging with MS on equal terms whereas Rubens (love the man) would be beaten by sheer willpower. I am unbiased after all
Totally agree. Men from down under have BALLS and pride ... RB has neither! Mark would put RB firmly in his place ... can't wait for Williams and him to be giving MS a hard time, if Williams can finally make a decent car. Pete
the other point about MW joining Williams is that Sam Michael runs the show now so will probably be slightly biased towards Webber as well, both being Aussies and not taking any BS from the engineers, when MW says this is rooted or this is good, Sam will make sure that they get the right response from the engineering guys. Personally I think Williams will improve when Montoya the destroyer has gone to his rightful end (RD GOM) and Webber and hopefully Fisi sort this team out. Fisicella is a seriously underrated driver and given the same chance in a Williams/McLaren or Ferrari would make for a much more interesting race. I think Webber will end up 2nd or 3rd in the Williams next year and fight MS on equal terms the following year, it did take MS a few years to get all his team together before results came our way. John
Yes it is a big IF ... but I'm hoping for Mark's sake they can. Williams have made great cars in the past ... Pete
The Past is history... and that IF will never happen again! Williams have wasted 5 years of Ralf's career. Now they will waste another driver in the form of Webber.
IMHO Barichello, he's proved time and time again that he is not afraid to take the fight to the top. Webber had potential, but I think Jaguar has neutered him to an extent. One hopes going to Williams helps, I hear he might be in the Williams as early as Hungary.
If Webber was at Ferrari, he'd be second... like it or not. Rubens doesn't like being second to MS... but he's not going to whine about it... he just keeps quietly working on his game... and it keeps getting better. Webber may be more "hard nosed" (I'm not so sure though), but it wouldn't matter as I don't think Webber could keep up with RB's pace... RB would just slowly walk away from him. JMHO. But I agree it will be very VERY interesting to see what Webber can really do... once he's in a competitive car. This poll will be fun to re-do at the end of next season.
Not all the time like RB. Atleast he would always be trying ... and there is no way that an Aussie would take it up the arse like RB is and play the team orders BS ... no way. We would do it ONLY if we had no chance at the WC ourselves and the other driver needed our help. Yep it will. Pete
I love Rubens and think he is damn great but lacks the killer instinct Webber has (his partners never get near him either!) Aussies, like you US boys, will NOT sit back and be told to take a dive if you know you are better than the guy in front, we'd rather go to another team than be told to sit back (this is why I had no respect for Irvine the mercenary), we only gt to the top of the tree every now and then, Jack Brabham/Alan Jones, but when we do no MS or RB or ANYONE is going to stop us WINNING....to us coming second is being the first of the losers and who wants to be that. Schumacher is good...err brilliant but if Webber had the other Ferrari we'd be hearing the Aussie anthem a lot more and some dodgy excuses from the Schu JMHO and that of 20 million other slightly unbiased people
I reckon that's just bull...to drive for ferrari with what they'd pay for the right guy, webber would just shut up and do what he's told, just like RB does. who the hell wouldn't?
you would have more than enough pride to tell them to f*** *ff given the chance....money sucks in the end who do we have the most respect for, the one who took the money or the win ??
Alarm!! Alarm!! Chauvinism detected!! Just kidding. Webber´s speed doesn´t depend on his nationality but he´s very promising everyway.
Over 2 laps Mark would be quicker but i think Rubens has proved a full race distance is different and that he has the experience to go the full distance and be quicker at the end, Rubens record this year is very good how is Marks?
Number of wins Mark = 0 Rubens= 7 Best Ever Result Mark =5th Rubens= 1st RACES LED Mark =1 Rubens=40 LAPS LED Mark = 2 Rubens=629 Birth Date Mark = 27 August 1976 Rubens=23 May 1972 I could go on and on... but this is a little ridiculous. Webber would not stand a chance. Webber is just 4 years younger its not like he is going to improve overnight! Over an entire race (60 laps) Weber would be lapped ... TWICE.... before the finish.
I'm not a big fan of Webber myself, but I wouldn't close the book on him like that. The comparison is unfair as you should look at races participated and type of cars driven. Webber has done stunningly in the slowest car (aka a Minardi) and is now driving fairly well in still a bad car. Whereas Rubens did almost all of his accomplishments in the mighty (as opposed to the Ferrari his predecessors had) Ferrari. What people kinda forget about Rubens is, that he is a very slow starter in F1. He is doing a fine job now, but part of that is down to his experience. Similar deal like Fisichella. Compare that to guys like MS, Kimi or Alonso who are fast out of the box. Again I'm not holding Webber too high myself, but let's see what he can do in a Williams. If he actually ends up there together with Fisico we'll have a much better picture of what these drivers are really capable of.
There are always two sides to the coin, Imperial83... Wasn't Rubens' first F1 Grand Prix win in 2000 at Hockenheim (in the championship winning Ferrari F1-2000 no less...)? He entered Formula 1 in 1993, so that means it took him 7 years to get his first win. I can see Webber winning his first Grand Prix next year when he's in a Williams (if they're as competative as they were in 2003). That means, considering his entered F1 in 2002, he'd have his first F1 GP win 3 years after entering F1. So if this eventuates, Webber will have achieved his first F1 win in less than half the time Rubens did.
Agreed 100%! BUT, F1 is a team sport and there is a BIG "IF"... if Williams can provide Webber a good enough car. Fact is Webber is not a proven quantity and Rubens is a proven driver. As of today, until Webber actually starts to win races, Rubens would be too tough for Webber. I have seen how Williams completely failed Ralf. Hopefully they wont waste another decent driver in the form of Webber. I would have liked to see Webber drive for Mclaren instead of Montoya. Now that would have the makings of a good team. Kimi and Webber on the same team would have been much better than Webber at Williams with God knows who and Kimi having to put up with Montoya.