[31/03/05 - 16:50]
Webber aiming for podium after injury clear-up
The Williams driver is 90 percent fit
Mark Webber
Australian Mark Webber is hoping to fight for a podium finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix here Sunday after returning to full fitness following a recent rib injury.
Webber, who joined front-runners Williams at the start of the season, suffered broken ribs during pre-season testing because of an ill- fitting seat and raced through the pain barrier in the first two Grands Prix of the year. He finished fifth in the season opener in Australia, equalling his best ever Formula One finish, but crashed out while challenging for third place with Italian Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella in Malaysia.
Now he is "90 percent fit" he expects his Williams team to be fighting with McLaren and Toyota for a podium place while the Renault drivers, who have won the first two races, cruise into the distance again.
"The injury's a lot better than it was the last few weeks," said Webber. "It has settled down now. It was alright (in Malaysia) when the adrenaline got going but it is actually just pre and post, when you are out of the car. It didn't affect my driving at all, just the sleeping and all the boring little things like doing shoelaces up and things like that, it just does your head in."
"I hope we can sniff for a podium this weekend. Toyota are strong, McLaren, we haven't seen really what they can do yet, but they are the quick teams. I think it is Renault then after that Williams, Toyota and McLaren very close."
Williams had expected to be off the lead pace at the start of this season after admitting that pre-season testing had not run as planned and the car was not as fast as they had hoped. But Webber has been pleasantly surprised by his team's performance so far, with team-mate Nick Heidfeld securing third place after Webber's demise at the last race in Sepang, Malaysia.
"Yeah, we are surprised at where we are," he said. "That's good, but you never want to lift off. We have got some stuff coming through which is obviously going to help us and the improvement is there."
"Williams have shown in the past that they can ramp up in the season quite well and BMW have done a good job of the engine, so it is going alright. But it would be nice to get ahead of the group and get ahead of the Renaults."
Ferrari are also expected to move back into the mix this weekend after struggling in the first two races with their uncompetitive modified version of the championship winning F2004. They will bring their new car to the Bahrain circuit for its debut race, having rushed it forward two races after an intense period of testing which assured them it would be race ready.
Webber is still unsure how much the new Ferrari will improve their pace but he insisted that the Italian team are at their most dangerous after the disappointments they experienced in the first two races.
"It is impossible to say (on the new Ferrari)," said Webber. "They were very slow in Malaysia, it was very unusual and it was good to see them having a hard time. We all like to try and win but it is good that Ferrari are going through a bit of a lean patch, it's nice to see! But that is when they are strongest and they will be back."
Source AFP
