Pedrobot

[Marshy]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1262944_529345613815566_1059487913_o.png

[tempest]

Oh, harsh but true!

[Marshy]

Of all these years being a big big big fan of Mark Webber, I've gotta say that there have been a few times this year when I've sincerely wished that Riccardo would just hurry up and get that drive. I can't believe I would've ever been relieved for Mark to retire, but here we are. But only because we've got Daniel to take over the mantle.

Mark's starts are just infuriatingly and bewilderingly rubbish!! You'd think he'd be launching the car at the RBR test facility dozens of times a day, for years, to get it right, considering the importance of the starts in F1. I just can't understand how he continues to be the worst in the field by a significant margin. All that quali effort thrown out the window in the first 10 secs of a race. He's also often not aggressive enough in making a pass, but that's a minor quibble compared to his rotten starts.

[Mr.Ed]

F1 is a bit more complicated than MotoGP... I would like to see how Mark would do if he was given exactly the same package as Vettel all year long. Looking from the outside we all get the impression that Vettel is miles better than him but even RBR has already admitted that one of Webber's duties is to test new parts on the car during practice and even qually/race if needed. On top of that, Vettel's got priority when it comes to tire changes so he's not always guaranteed a good gap to return into after having pited. Add that to driving in the dirty air for longer and all of a sudden his performance is not as bad as the results may indicate.

I'm not saying he's as good as Vettel let alone better... and I know his race starts are terrible but it's not all black and white like that and I reckon Ricciardo might be getting some of that same treatment at least on his first year.

If RBR doesn't have a competitive car from the word go next season (which is not unlikely given the new rules) be prepared to watch Ricciardo testing A LOT of parts and sacrificing his pace to help the team (and Vettel, obviously).