A wandering thread with Slick Attire…
The Mercedes-Benz CLR-GT1 was notoriously tricky to handle, as the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans so ably proved. So aerodynamically proficient was the bodywork that it didn’t take long for the Merc to become airborne at the hands of both Peter Dumbrek and Mark Webber.
The Aussie perfected the art so quickly that he actually did it twice on the fiendishly quick Mulsanne Straight, losing points from the judges after landing less than gracefully upside down on both occasions. Allowed to start the race, Webber’s Scottish teammate Dumbreck made his now famous exit from the race by somersaulting over the catch fencing and landing in the trees lining the circuit. Mobil, whose name was on the rear wing, were overjoyed with the unexpected promotion but Mercedes still decided to pull the CLR-GT1’s plug.
His acrobatics during the 2010 European Grand Prix proved Webber was keen to keep in practice…
…though Mercedes decided against such tactics at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix. Keeping all four wheels on the ground ensured overtaking was at a season low and allowed Nico Rosberg to take a well-deserved first win around the streets of the principality.
Multi 21 didn’t prove an issue here, reigning Champion – and F1’s newest enfant terrible – Sebastian Vettel taking 2nd to Webber’s 3rd…
…though memories are still fresh about Turkey ’10 (collision), Silverstone ’11 (“number two driver”), Malaysia ‘13 (robbed) and Italy ‘11, when Vettel took victory whilst Webber slammed his Red Bull crawled to a halt at the Parabolica, dropping his second place in the championship battle as a result.
Rumours abound already that Mark Webber will be leaving Formula 1 and Red Bull Racing next year, due to the German re-signing until the end of 2015 and the occasional shafting of race wins against team orders. Moves such as the Aussie’s daring pass for position against Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari into eau Rouge have shown there’s plenty of fire left…
…and while the British Racing Green of Jaguar lies behind him, the blue(ish) of Red Bull Racing still remains under question and the scarlet Ferrari racesuit looking less likely to happen…
… hot speculation links the Aussie to a drive with Porsche, who’ve recently broken cover on the LMP1 prototype they will race at Le Mans in 2014. Rather interestingly, when we look at the list of Porsche winners – and there’s a lot – we find none other than Helmut Marko, Vettel’s #1 fan himself, in the top spot thanks to Le Mans victory in 1970. And wouldn’t fan favourite Webber love to emulate that little accolade.
It’s all speculation, of course, but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill cranking into overdrive about Vettel’s new teammate. Odds on favourite at the moment appears to be Kimi Raikkonen, the resurgent former Champion looking for a second title after making steady progress with Lotus.
And let’s not forget Robert Kubica. His F1 career may well have been left lopsided by the crash in a Skoda Fabia that nearly killed him, but he’s back to his near-best and is already making headlines in the World Rally Championship. On only his second WRC start, he took class victory. It’s an outside bet, certainly, but would anybody care to guess to guess the name of the last F1 driver to make the leap from Citroen WRC to F1 and Lotus (Kubica’s former team, no less…)?
I’ll bet you thought I was going to talk about t-shirts, didn’t you?
– Shots courtesy of Slick Attire
