“It's still healing,” said Webber regarding his leg injury. “We're very much still focusing on Melbourne. We'll see what it feels like to drive. We don't need to go bananas, just see how it feels because we've still got another four tests after this.”
Nevertheless, he insisted he'll race in Melbourne no matter how fast the recuperation period will go, as he's determined to start the new season on a high note. As far as he's concerned, not making the grid due to his injury is simply not an option.
“I've raced with fractures before that some people didn't even know about,” argued Webber.
Also, he ruled out taking on a new diet in order to help the RBR mechanics with the ballast positioning ahead of the new season. As the his team is likely to use the new Kinetic Energy Recovery System in 2009, mechanics will have little ballast to play with because of the new extra weight. However, Webber rules out losing weight, as he insisted it had never posed a problem before.
“I've never been at a disadvantage with my weight since I've been in F1, which is great. The last time was probably in F3. I know that in the days when Prost and Mansell were racing there was a bit of an advantage for the slighter guys and they changed that with the ruling of the weight over the last 10 or 15 years.”
“Now, having such little ballast to play with, a guy of a lighter frame has more ballast to move around the car. The car will still be the same weight, but you have more options if you are lighter to maybe set the car up a little differently. I'm 75kg. I'm not going to try any harder to be any lighter because that's how I am and that's what weight I need to be. If someone wants me to be 70kg then get someone else to do it because at 70kg I wouldn't look very clever,” concluded Webber.
The Australian is set to debut on the new Red Bull RB5 later this week, at Jerez. He is due to enter the cockpit on Wednesday and run a few laps on the circuit in southern Spain.
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