Webber: Changes Will Increase Gap between F1 Teams

Australian Mark Webber argued that the new changes introduced by the FIA for the upcoming season will not improve the show in Formula 1. The new aerodynamic package for 2009 was aimed to make it easier for trailing cars to overtake the rivals in front of them – reducing the detrimental airflow – while the return of slick tires and new Kinetic Energy Recovery System are to ensure increased speed and better lap times.

However, the Red Bull driver believes the gaps between teams will increase further more, as not everyone will manage to master the technological updates for the new season. According to Webber, we will not see a more show-full competition in Formula 1 as compared to, say... the last couple of years.

“I think the time gaps (between the cars) will be bigger. Last year if the gaps (between cars) in qualifying were about two tenths, this year it will be maybe four tenths. You can calculate how big the gaps will be after three laps,” said Webber.

“Everyone says the show needs to be improved, but last year there were some exciting races. The last two years have been absolutely spectacular. They're dreamers if they think they can make the show better,” added the Aussie.

He also insisted that too many passes – unlikely in 2009, of course – would not serve the sport either, as it would kill the very idea of a challenge. Overtaking a car should mean something, whereas too many passes in a single race would have the exact opposite effect, leading to boring races like in the North American ovals.

“It's not very exciting if there are 10,000 passes every race: it has to be a challenge. It is not meant to be easy, otherwise it's like Indycars, not very exciting,” concluded Webber.