Mark Webber has dismissed claims from Lewis Hamilton that Red Bull looks to have the quickest car in Japan following Friday’s practice sessions.
The Australian believes it is in fact McLaren who are quicker when looking at past performances this season.
“I think if we go through the last five races of who’s been on the front row then I think he knows that the little tricks here and there in terms of the little mind games is not really going to touch the sides with us,” said Webber.
“We know we’ve got work to do, they’ve [McLaren] got a strong car – as has we – but yeah I don’t think anyone’s dominant at the moment, certainly not us.”
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-120x86.webp)
Speaking of the upgrades delivered to the RB8 this weekend, Webber explained that they were mainly minor details rather than anything significant.
“We are pushing hard, the factory’s really, really on it. But I don’t think [we have] a huge amount to be honest, it’s just detailing, understanding a little bit of the stuff from Singapore as well and then circuit specific stuff; what we really need to put on the car for it to work around here and for us to have the confidence in it through the whole lap. In general it’s not too bad, but we still have areas where we can improve the car for sure.”
![Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen [pictured with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore] is stern in his belief Mercedes has acted correctly](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Alpine-Steve-Nielsen-Flavio-Briatore-350x250.webp)
Discussion about this post