Webber: No better place to have the first race than Australia

Mar.10 (PVM) Mark Webber made his grand prix debut at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix with Minardi, and a decade later he returns, as a pre-race favourite.

Ahead of his home race Webber said, “This will be my eleventh Australian Grand Prix and I can’t wait to get started. The grand Prix is one of the best sporting events that we have in Australia. It’s great to see the support and Australian flags in the crowd.

He also revealed that his helmet will have a patriotic flavour when he lowers himself into the cockpit of the Red Bull RB8, "I’ve incorporated more of an Australian theme into my helmet, which I’ll be using for the whole year, not just in Australia."

With reference to F1 pre-season testing, Webber commented, "It’s been an extremely intense few months for the whole team and it’s incredible when you count up how many sleep-deprived hours have gone in to preparing the car as best we can – from pit stops to reliability to driver comfort in the cockpit – you name it, we’ve always been looking to improve."

"There’s always a huge amount of interest in the first race; this year is no different and there’s no better place to have it than Australia,” concluded Webber, who will be starting his 177th grand prix in Melbourne next weekend.