Webber needs to capitilise his new found position

It may have taken Red Bull six races to take the lead in both championships but with momentum on the team’s side it seems unlikely they will fall behind any time soon.

Mark Webber has delivered back to back wins to quench all talk of the team looking elsewhere for a front running driver to partner Sebastian Vettel; in fact the Australian may have taken on the mantle as the man to beat after dominating in Spain and Monaco.

Vettel needs to take the ascendency back within his own team before he can contemplate challenging for the title. Red Bull announced during the week that they found a fault in the German’s chassis so it will be very interesting to see how his performance relative to his teammate in the last two races was affected by this problem. If Webber can continue his rich vein of form in Turkey a momentum shift within the team could occur and put all of the pressure on Vettel’s shoulders.

Webber showed in Monaco that he really is at the top of his game, regardless of issues that may have affected his teammate. His pole lap around the streets was impressive but his race pace was superb as he pulled away from Vettel at will. The German was unable to stay with Webber and was losing 0.4 seconds a lap at times to his teammate. Vettel was only spared a crushing defeat by four safety car periods closing the pack back up.

Webber was under considerable pressure heading into the last two races from both within the Red Bull team and the media. His performances will have done al lot to silence his critics but much more importantly they will also have illustrated to the management of his team that he deserves a new contract.

A crucial career step upcoming

As a direct result of having a short season, and generally two weeks between races, perceptions are formed easily and momentum is everything in motorsport. Webber, for the first time in his career, is on the crest of a wave. After years as a nearly man on the cusp he now has the chance to be the dominant driver at the pinnacle of the sport. It is quite a change in fortunes for him but now he needs to capitalise on this form and make sure he can turn it into a top line drive for next season.

Ferrari has been linked to the Australian recently but a move to Maranello would be filled with danger for Webber with Fernando Alonso already moulding the team around him; as shown by Felipe Massa’s performances and the apparent cooling of his relationship with the team.

The next few weeks are crucial for Webber and any move away from Red Bull would be ill advised. He has the potential to become a world champion this year and with Adrian Newey designing the team’s cars the team should develop a string of great cars for the next few years that would allow Webber to challenge for multiple titles. While the lure of racing the red cars would undoubtedly be strong, Red Bull have the performance capabilities that Ferrari have been lacking recently