Webber brings F1 snapshot to streets of Cardiff
Less than a week after Jenson Button wowed the crowds at the wheel of his McLaren in Manchester, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo took Red Bull's entertainment roadshow to Cardiff Bay.
While the two Australians largely played second fiddle to the finals of the drinks brand's Kart Fighter competition - which was won by sometime single-seater aspirant Bradley Philpot - they managed to bring traffic to a standstill in the burgeoning waterside sector as they demonstrated F1 and NASCAR machinery on a specially-constructed course around some of the city's landmarks.
Despite dark clouds and a heavy downpour, thousands of people braved the elements to catch a glimpse of the drivers, as well as a motorbike stunt show from Chris Pfeiffer and a spectacular aerial display by Red Bull Matadors Steve Jones and Paul Bonhomme.
"It's good that everyone's hung around and at least the rain hasn't completely come down," Webber told the local South Wales Echo, "These things don't take five minutes to organise - it is great the council and everybody has embraced it. Stuff like this gets people out and about, they go from here have meals or a drink - it's good for the local community and gets people out a bit."
The Australian, who currently lies second to RBR team-mate Sebastian Vettel in the F1 world championship, struggled to negotiate the street circuit's tight hairpins, but enjoyed the experience nonetheless.
"Obviously, the track is set up for a demonstration and it's not built for 200 mile-an-hour, so you have to be respectful to the barriers put on the track," he admitted, "But there's no pressure here. It's enjoyable. It's a snapshot of F1. It takes several bottles of red wine to explain the sport - it's obviously very complex - but we know billions of people follow F1 and it's popular. If I can say hello to a few people and sign some autographs - obviously you can't see everybody - then great."
