Mark Webber said missing out on victory at Silverstone made him more determined to win the German Grand Prix.
Breakthrough win allows Aussie to take a front seat at Red Bull
First-time grand prix winner Mark Webber admitted that missing out on victory at Silverstone made him more determined to win the German Grand Prix.
The Australian was odds-on favourite to win Sunday's race at the Nurburgring after starting on pole position, but he still had to overcome several obstacles to win his maiden grand prix and lead home Red Bull's third one-two of the season.
Webber finished second behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel in the Chinese Grand Prix and also backed up the German three weeks ago in the British Grand Prix.
"It's incredible," Webber said. "I wanted to win so badly after Silverstone. The only thing I thought could beat me was the rain."
Although heavy rain which fell during the morning had disappeared by the time the race started, Webber nevertheless had an eventful race.
He collided with Rubens Barrichello off the line and consequently lost first place to the Brawn GP driver. The incident also cost him a drive-through penalty.
However, with Barrichello on a three-stop strategy - and his car also suffering tyre problems - the two-stopping Webber's pace was such that he was able to retake the lead midway through the 60-lap race.
"I lost Rubens completely off the start and banged into him," he said. "It's not normally my style, so I had to take the drive-through and recover from that. It's a great day for me."
Difficult build-up
Webber had a difficult build-up to the 2009 season after breaking his leg in a mountain-biking accident last November.
He achieved his stated aim of driving the Renault-powered RB5 at its launch in February but has nevertheless taken a backseat to Vettel prior to this weekend.
"It was a difficult winter, Sebastian showed in winter testing what the car could do, so I kept my motivation high and I was hurting a lot," he added.
"The team had patience with me, everyone in Australia and a few people who doubted me too so hello to them as well. So thank you to everyone who helped me here."
Webber, who made his F1 debut with Minardi in Melbourne seven years ago, becomes the first Australian to win a grand prix since Alan Jones took victory in Las Vegas in 1981.
