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Unluckiest driver in F1?

By Matthew Marsh (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-16 13:33

Sunday (July 12)'s German Grand Prix gave motor racing fans many reasons to smile. In his 130th F1 race the Red Bull team's Mark Webber took his first pole position start and then victory. In doing so he broke two records. The first was Jarno Trulli's: 119 races until his first pole position - which he also converted to victory, at Monaco in 2004. And Rubens Barrichello's 124 races without a win. These are not the sort of records which drivers hope to achieve but it seems fitting for Webber who was labeled by many the unluckiest driver in F1.

It's all relative, of course. Anyone who has spent eight years driving Grand Prix cars is fairly fortunate. Furthermore Webber is famous for having survived one of the most spectacular crashes in racing history. Actually two. At the Le Mans 24 hours in 1999 (on a circuit which only does big crashes) his Mercedes sports car took off at 300 kilometers per hour and somersaulted through the air. After two days of extensive physiotherapy he was cleared to drive again but on the very first lap the car repeated the feat. "We all knew just how lucky we were to survive," he said.

The same could be said of the head on collision he suffered on public roads in Australia last November. Webber came off worse (a broken leg) than the driver of the car he hit because he was riding a bicycle...

On Sunday afternoon Webber thanked, "everyone in Australia that has supported me on the way through and of course there are a few people who doubted me too - so hello to them as well!" For a nation of some 21 million inhabitants (not many more than in Shanghai alone), Australia has a strong motor sport heritage with two F1 world champions. Alan Jones triumphed in 1980 while before him in the 1960s Jack Brabham took the crown three times and Webber admitted his reduced pace at the end of Sunday's race followed Brabham's dictum to: "win at the slowest possible speed. I was thinking of Jack today."

This year's championship points table has hitherto been dominated by Jenson Button of the Brawn GP team. He still holds a 21 point advantage (over Webber's team mate Sebastian Vettel) but the past two races have shown the Red Bull cars to be superior. This augurs well for an interesting battle in the season’s second half.

As does the news that FOTA - the group of eight teams who seek changes to the administration of Formula 1 - are close to reaching agreement with the sport's commercial rights holder, CVC. It is hoped this might break the apparent deadlock between FOTA and Max Mosley, the president of the the sport's governing body. With at least one of the five other teams entered for the 2010 season likely to join FOTA this week the group's hand seems strong. As does that of former World Rally Champion (and Member of the European Parliament) Ari Vatanen. Last week he announced "a time for change" and his intention to stand in the October FIA presidential elections. Yet another reason for racing fans to smile.

E-mail: mmarsh@ecuriedrapeaujaune.com