Leader Mark Webber says he is racing to win the final three races of the F1 season and also insists he is not the title favourite.
Championship leader not thinking about the percentage game just yet
Mark Webber says he is racing to win the final three races of the season and also insists he is not the title favourite, despite his lead in the drivers' championship.
The Australian increased his advantage to 14 points over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and his own Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel after finishing second to Vettel in Japan last weekend.
However, with next weekend's inaugural race in Korea plus grands prix in Brazil and Abu Dhabi still to come, Webber thinks it is too early to even think about playing a percentage game.
"No, I can't think like that. It won't be enough. I need to keep racing hard and going for victories," he said.
Change
"Clearly, of course, if my rivals have a rough weekend it makes it a bit harder for them and it gives me a bit more scope, but I'm not looking to abuse that because it can all go pear-shaped very fast.
"Having a lead is great, but it only counts when you get to the last race and we haven't got there yet, have we?"
Although McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button left Japan having fallen further behind - they now respectively stand 28 and 31 points adrift of Webber - the leader is all too aware of how quickly fortunes can change.
McLaren are hoping for a better outcome at the new, hastily-completed Korean International Circuit, which contains long straights they hope will suit their car.
"It makes no difference to me to be in the lead," said Webber. "We all have to go there and see the track and get on with the job and it is the same for everyone. I may be in the lead, by a few points, but I don't think I am the favourite.
"I think we're all pretty even. It can change pretty quickly - in a good way or a bad way for me. It's on a knife-edge, but I'm very relaxed. It's another race for me.
Twisty
"I'll give nothing, leave no change on the table and do the best I can. The points will look after themselves. Like I said, you need to be leading the championship at the last race, not now."
With the visit to Korea representing a journey into the unknown for all the teams, Webber's boss Christian Horner hopes Red Bull's RB6 car can counter McLaren's straightline speed advantage elsewhere on the lap.
"It has one of the season's longest straights on it, followed by a very, very twisty section," said Horner.
"Sector one is not going to be great for us, but hopefully sectors two and three will be more our territory.
"So I think you will find that over a lap it will balance out the lap time between the strengths that some of the other teams have and the weaknesses we have."
