Mark Webber has brushed aside recent criticism from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, after the Austrian suggested the Australian can’t handle the pressure of a title fight.
“It seems to me that Webber has on average two races per year where he is unbeatable, but he can’t maintain this form throughout the year,” Marko told the RedBulletin magazine.
Adding: “As soon as his prospects start to look good in the world championship, he has a little trouble with the pressure that this creates.”
Webber dismissed the comments when asked what he thought.
“Look, everyone at this level has their own agendas and it’s been evident for a long time now that I’ve never been a part of Marko’s.”
Looking ahead to the new season, the 36-year-old is keen to get behind the wheel of the yet to be launched RB9 at the first test in Jerez with new race engineer Simon Rennie.
“I’m sure we’ve got another exciting and challenging season ahead, and it’ll be interesting to see who comes out of the gates strongly; you might get an inkling from pre-season testing to the form book but it’s only when we arrive in Melbourne for the first race that the gloves really come off,” he added.
“I’m certainly looking forward to getting my hands on the RB9 and I also have a new race engineer in Simon Rennie. It’s going to be important to have a solid pre-season with him after spending some six years with Ciaron Pilbeam who I had a long and enjoyable relationship with, but he’s no longer with the team.
“I’m looking forward to starting the season in Australia having prepared very well for it over the past two months. But it’s clear there’s no point getting too far ahead of yourself, so it’s a case of taking each week, test and race as it comes.”
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