Sixteen years ago today, on 11 July 2010, Mark Webber delivered one of the most memorable radio messages in F1 history, a line that has echoed around the paddock ever since.
After leading all 52 laps of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Webber’s response to Christian Horner’s congratulations was dripping with sarcasm: “Fantastic guys. Not bad for a number two driver, cheers.”
The Australian had every reason to feel aggrieved. In the build-up to qualifying, Red Bull had physically removed a new-specification front wing from his car and fitted it to Sebastian Vettel’s RB6 after the German’s version failed during final practice.
The team justified the decision on the grounds of championship position, with Vettel sitting ahead of Webber in the standings, and Adrian Newey’s desire to collect data on the upgraded part.
The optics were dreadful. Just weeks earlier, the pair had collided while fighting for the lead at the Turkish Grand Prix, and taking a visible upgrade off one driver’s car to hand it to the other only deepened the suspicion that Vettel was being favoured within the team.
Webber lets his driving do the talking
In the end, Webber needed nothing more than the old-spec wing. He jumped Vettel at the start, who then suffered a puncture after contact with Lewis Hamilton and dropped to the back of the field, eventually recovering to seventh. Webber cruised to a comfortable 1.3-second victory over Hamilton, with Nico Rosberg completing the podium.
After the race, Webber did not hold back. “Yesterday I wasn’t happy, clearly. I’m sure we’ll have some pretty decent chats tomorrow,” he told the press conference.
Asked whether the wing swap was fair, he was blunt: “No, I don’t think it should. Obviously I wasn’t massively in favour of the decision, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
He went further, questioning whether he would have re-committed to the team had he anticipated such treatment.
“Honestly, I would never have signed a contract again for next year if I believed that that was the way it was going to be going forward,” Webber said.
Even more revealing was a sardonic anecdote about the pre-race parade lap. “Some of the drivers offered me some front wings from their cars on the parade lap, but I said I would stick with what I’ve got,” he added.
“Seb didn’t, but some of the other guys tried to offer me a front wing.”