[Seerseraxlils]

I believe Webber in that he did not push the matter on track. We have all seen him deal with other drivers and Alonso is fully aware of that.

Anyone expecting him to go "weak in the head" did not watch the German Grand Prix in 2009 and in my experience, Aussies in F1 are not people that shrink back from mixing it on track or off.

At worst, put this down to error and expect Webber to go all out from here on. It is his teammate but unless he is in a situation where Jenson vs Lewis yesterday was slower due to tyre wear, I think Webber is going to change his tactic.

And I hope he does. Drivers like Webber and Button are good for F1 because they are more like rugby players than the average weakling looking F1 driver.

[thomaskkk]

The bottom line is that Vettel got a better run off the line, and both drivers are smart enough not to take each other out. I don't see anything sinister about this at all. It looks more like Webber was being sensible.

That was my take. Had mark defended his position against Vettel rather than move to the centre of the track, he would have lead after turn 1 and possibly have lead until the power gun jammed on his wheel nut.

I don't think his performance was as bad as many here seem to suggest, because either could have won the race. Maybe next time they will use some WD40 on that power gun before the wheel change.

[thomaskkk]

Webber lacks the killer instinct. Not that he may not develop it, or maybe win the championship through smarter race tactics and keeping the car together. At this point, I doubt it if Vettel keeps his car on the track most races. Webber is good..not great.

Maybe he realised that exercising his killer instinct (as he has done before) against his team mate may not have been the smartest thing. The team did score maximum points.

[TNgqZhLR]

I wonder if what we saw this weekend is the difference in perception of risk between a young firestarter and the older Webber?

Webber mentioned in the post race interview that Horner had cautioned them not to take each other out. Did Webber think he'd arrived at the first corner in the lead and that therefore Vettel wouldn't dive in under brakes and potentially put them both at risk? I think Webber got hi-jacked by his own naivety.

It will be interesting to see how it pans out for the remainder of the year.

If Webber seriously thinks he has a shot at the WDC, then he needs to think more about himself and less about the team. And if that means a bit of biffo with his team mate, then so be it. How many "team players" have won the WDC in the modern era? I struggle to think of one....

[movlabz]

Did Webber think he'd arrived at the first corner in the lead and that therefore Vettel wouldn't dive in under brakes and potentially put them both at risk? I think Webber got hi-jacked by his own naivety.

Prost v Senna all over again. San Marino 1989.

[Klissineopar]

I too saw the body language and initially thought he may have been pissed off about some kind of first corner arrangment but when you think about it they couldn't have a first corner arrangment because at the first corner you are also fighting other cars, you can't fend off other cars whilst still maintaining formation, not gonna happen. I believe RBR have always allowed their drivers to race.

I believe it was just a case of a bloody hot race, he was physically spent combined with being dissapointed in the fact that he could have won but didn't, simple as that

[encunnibriG]

I'm intrigued and looking for a juicy discussion. Any others fell something not quite right?

Vettel is better than Webber. Thats what is not right eh?

[wmtravelservice]

If Webber seriously thinks he has a shot at the WDC, then he needs to think more about himself and less about the team. And if that means a bit of biffo with his team mate, then so be it.

Maybe, but scoring points for coming second is far more valuable than binning both cars and scoring none.

How many world champions have there been through consistent driving?

[TNgqZhLR]

Plenty.

Not many that consistently treated their team-mates with a softly softly approach though.

[DoctorGordanBens]

Webber underperformed significantly in the first two races, so I personally think he should be satisfied with the result and use it as a confidence builder for the rest of the season. He looked cautious at the start, but maybe it was due to the crash he had had in Australia and just wanted to play it safe this time. Well, at least he has got one proper result from the season by now.

[kertionderf]

Maybe he realised that exercising his killer instinct (as he has done before) against his team mate may not have been the smartest thing. The team did score maximum points.

Killer instinct in terms of making sure Vettel cant get up past him. Making sure no one has his line going into the corner. Webber has always struck me as a great driver, but he is polite out there to an extent. Either that, or he is put in situations where he has had to give way...

[pkxlugbsbv]

To me, Webber has always seemed like a slow race driver. I mean, slow in the head. Can't process all the information that comes his way in a race quite as fast as, say, Hamilton. I think that's why he makes so many mistakes, and why in previous years he's been quite the dirty chopper. Information overload!

In qualifying, with far less information to process, he's always been brilliant.

[thomaskkk]

To me, Webber has always seemed like a slow race driver. I mean, slow in the head. Can't process all the information that comes his way in a race quite as fast as, say, Hamilton. I think that's why he makes so many mistakes, and why in previous years he's been quite the dirty chopper. Information overload!

In qualifying, with far less information to process, he's always been brilliant.

Can you name a single moment during the Malaysian GP where Webber displayed any of the attributes that you have so kindly assigned to him?

[pkxlugbsbv]

Can you name a single moment during the Malaysian GP where Webber displayed any of the attributes that you have so kindly assigned to him?

The start.

Don't get upset now. I'm not bashing the man. When I say his "computer" is slow I obviously mean compared to the very best drivers.

[thomaskkk]

The start.

Don't get upset now. I'm not bashing the man. When I say his "computer" is slow I obviously mean compared to the very best drivers.

The guy got wheelspin. So he was slow off the mark. But that doesn't qualify for any of your attributes. Try harder.

[mloversia]

He should've pitted earlier than Vettel to give himself a better chance to steal victory, but then maybe he would've been baulked. Maybe not. In any case, the one that got away. Next time he needs to take better advantage of being faster than Vettel.

[pkxlugbsbv]

The guy got wheelspin. So he was slow off the mark. But that doesn't qualify for any of your attributes. Try harder.

Ah, so he had no chance in the first corner then? Then what's all this talk of a possible deal-braking or lack of killer instinct?

I'm saying it's not a matter of killer instinct. You don't need to kill anyone in F1. What you need to do is come up with good solutions in very complicated and fast-changing situations. This is where Webber has always lacked. He has always qualified better than he's raced, and most probably always will.

I think this start qualifies as an example. Not to mention the two silly mistakes on home soil..

[resegooredo]

In motor racing, only one thing really matters: beating your team mate.

Ma.

No! Only one thing matters in Motor Racing. Beat Everyone

beating everyone is best. Getting beat by a team mate is the worst.

[allemnendup]

He should've pitted earlier than Vettel to give himself a better chance to steal victory...

The team wouldn't have let him. There is a distinct advantage in pitting first, and the team will always bring in the front driver first when on the same strategy, otherwise it would be showing favouritism to the driver behind.

It was for this reason that Webber was not happy when he got his first ever podium, a 3rd in Monaco in the Williams. Never seen a driver so angry at getting his first podium. He was in front of Heidfeld all the way and when the two Williams got stuck behind a slow Alonso, the team pulled Heidfeld in first in the final stop, gifting him Webber's second place.

[resegooredo]

The team wouldn't have let him. There is a distinct advantage in pitting first, and the team will always bring in the front driver first when on the same strategy, otherwise it would be showing favouritism to the driver behind.

It was for this reason that Webber was not happy when he got his first ever podium, a 3rd in Monaco in the Williams. Never seen a driver so angry at getting his first podium. He was in front of Heidfeld all the way and when the two Williams got stuck behind a slow Alonso, the team pulled Heidfeld in first in the final stop, gifting him Webber's second place.

The advantage depends on track position and traffic. Sometimes and far more often the advantage belongs to he who pits second in the days of fueling during pitstops. webber lost out because of a slow Freddie, not because of the stop per se.

Now, I am not so sure.