Former
Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones has come out effusively in support of his countryman
Mark Webber, insisting the
Red Bull Racing ace is more than ready to win a race in the top flight.
The man from Queanbeyan in New South Wales has begun 107 grands prix since making his
F1 debut for Minardi back in 2002, but so far he has notched up just 87 points with a brace of third-place finishes – at Monaco in 2005 and the Nürburgring last year – his best results. The Aussie was deprived of second position – or arguably even better – in the rain-lashed Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji seven months ago, when he was unceremoniously removed from the action by fellow Red Bull-backed star
Sebastian Vettel under safety car conditions, and if anything is going to go wrong in a race, it will invariably befall Webber.
Jones, though, remains convinced the 31-year-old has what it takes to stand atop the rostrum in the uppermost echelon – with no Australian having triumphed in the top flight since his own last victory for
Williams back at the end of the 1981 campaign.
“I think Mark Webber will win a grand prix,” the straight-talking 1980 title-winner asserted, speaking to the
Sydney Morning Herald. “I think he's capable of winning a grand prix. He just needs to have a bit of luck go his way.”
Webber is renowned as being something of a qualifying specialist, and indeed has largely out-qualified team-mate
David Coulthard since he joined RBR in 2006. Moreover, a strong fifth place in last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona was his best finish since the Nürburgring podium.
“They are starting to get more reliability into this Red Bull team,” Jones continued, “and I think Mark's fifth position in the last grand prix showed he's certainly got the pace.
“He's always up there in qualifying, and if he gets a bit more reliability there's no reason why we can't see Mark as a grand prix winner.”
