21/07/2011
NEWS STORY
If Mark Webber regrets his decision to ignore team orders telling him not to race Sebastian Vettel in the closing stages of the British GP, he wasn't showing it today.
Despite repeated (he counted five) messages in the final stages of the Silverstone event, the Australian chose to keep applying pressure to his German teammate, leading to fears of a repeat of Istanbul 2010. However, he eventually fell in behind the world champion, crossing the line just 0.436s behind to prove the point.
Asked today if he still hopes to stay with the Austrian team, the Australian was adamant. "I'd say the answer to that is yes," he told reporters.
"Silverstone had zero impact on the contract," he added. "I could have been faster with my decision.
"It's not often that you are closing in on each other in the last laps," he continued. "That was the awkward thing. We are free to race, most of the time. Things have changed a bit the last few races. We need to make it as difficult as possible for Sebastian not to run away with it."
When asked if he is looking for assurances from the team that if he stays he has equal status with Vettel, despite the fact that the German is seemingly heading towards his second title, he said: "That's not a bad question."