Webber and Ricciardo play to home crowd

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Webber and Ricciardo play to home crowd

Webber and Ricciardo play to home crowd

by Paul Keith, 29 Nov 2010

While Sebastian Vettel spent his weekend playing to his home fans with a drive through Berlin and then taking victory for Team Germany at the Race of Champions, Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber made a triumphant return to Australia

"Red Bull's doing a lot this weekend; I'm out here with Dan (Ricciardo) and Sebastian's in Berlin,” said Webber. “Red Bull Racing's a small team, but it achieves big things - we're doing some cool things this weekend and it's good to be part of it."

Together with Ricciardo, who’s recently been named third driver at Toro Rosso, the two Aussies took part in Perth’s inaugural Festival of Speed at the Wanneroo Raceway. Perth native Ricciardo kicked things off with a show run along Riverside Drive, his first ever show run for the Milton Keynes-based squad.

“It was one of the coolest Friday’s of my life. I recognised a lot of people and think around 80% of the crowd was a family member or friend,” said Ricciardo. “I was almost as nervous before the show run as before a race; there’s pressure, as if you make a mistake you can look silly, but as soon the engine fired up and I got my helmet on I felt right back at home; it was cool.”

Webber then put RB6 through it’s paces at Perth's first-ever Festival of Speed at the Wanneroo Raceway. “It’s awesome to be back in Australia and it’s great to get a Formula One car to this part of the country,” Mark added. "The last time I raced on this track I was 17, which was a long time ago," Webber said.

In fact, it’s been a while since F1 had been to Perth: Webber was the first Formula One pilot to drive in Western Australia since the legendary Sir Jack Brabham in 1962.

'It’s awesome to be back in Australia and it’s great to get a Formula One car to this part of the country' – Mark Webber

"It's nice to be able to wave to the fans and display the car. Formula One draws people like no other,” added Webber. “There is a great atmosphere and the weather is pretty warm, but it's great to see all age groups here.”

Speaking of age groups, the 34-year-old later magnanimously handed over his RB6 to 21-year-old Ricciardo to perform one of his three runs around Wanneroo.

Ricciardo put in a quick lap and then delighted his home fans with a series of burnouts in front of the main grandstand.

"It's great for the first year of the festival that we've had such a big turnout," added Ricciardo. "It's a surprise, but a good surprise. To have so many people here and see so many familiar faces is really awesome."

Webber then jetted back across the country to Melbourne, where Mark’s F1 career began, for the launch of his new book, Mark Webber, Up Front. 2010 – A Season to Remember, which is released today.

The book starts with an in-depth account of his pivotal 2009 season, before he writes us about every race in 2010 – detailing the highs, the lows, the controversies and the triumphs – all with his trademark up-front honesty.

Each chapter of the book was written right after the race in question, so without the benefit of time to cool or hindsight to soften the view, expect a raw take on events from the eyes of a man in the thick of a fight for the F1 world championship.

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