Sydney: Red Bull's Mark Webber is bullish about his chances at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, confirming that he is not looking at the 2013 Formula One season as his final one in the driver's seat. There is speculation that this weekend's race will be Webber's last at Albert Park, but the 36-year-old snubbed such talk.
"No, I'm not," said Webber on Sunday when asked whether he considered the 2013 season as his last as an F1 driver. He went on to say that he felt he had matched team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who has had an outstanding run since 2010 and won the last three drivers' champions, in pre-season.
"I've been very quick and very comparable, so that's been good. So, yeah, we're in the ballgame. I'm just looking forward to getting in the car and doing that bit (driving) rather than all the other stuff. Testing's good but we just want to get racing now."
Vettel is the early favorite to win the Australian GP and claim his fourth consecutive world title, but Webber, winner of nine F1 races, was confident of putting in a good show despite being the oldest driver. ''It's completely obvious that I'm not at the start of my career any more, but I'm also achieving some very good results," he said. "While I continue to do that and while I enjoy my work, I'll continue. Whether I was born in '76 or '86 is irrelevant. It starts and stops with me. You always have to perform, especially when you're aiming for podiums in this game and it's no different this year. So I'm going to go out and enjoy my racing this year, but still obviously with that steely determination to make sure that we make every opportunity count and continue to do well."
The 2013 season opens this week in Melbourne, a venue where Webber has never reached the podium.
"I've been on the podiums at most tracks around the world and have won at quite a few circuits and Melbourne is one which I would like to add to that," he said."I really enjoy driving at the track, the atmosphere is fantastic."
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