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Webber 'shocked' by lack of overtaking
ESPNF1 Staff
March 16, 2010
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Mark Webber said the racing was "boring" © Getty Images
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Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber confessed himself "shocked" by the lack of overtaking at the season's opening Bahrain Grand Prix, and added that Formula One is in for one of its most boring seasons on record unless rules are modified.
Webber, who finished eighth behind the McLaren of Jenson Button, has joined the outcry over what has been widely regarded as a dull opening race.
"It got pretty boring," Webber told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I spent 48 laps staring at the gearboxes of first [Michael] Schumacher and then [Jenson] Button and there was nothing I could do to pass them. I tried everything - different lines, pressure, everything. But they're both good drivers and neither of them made a mistake."
A ban on refueling and one pit-stop per race had the effect of producing an unbroken procession as drivers adopted a conservative approach for fear of ruining their tyres. Ultimately, it proved the reason why Webber was unable to pass Button for seventh.
"I was quicker than him but I was unable to find a way through," he said. "He didn't make a mistake and if I'd tried to force the issue it would have ended in a crash.
"I was pretty shocked by how hard it was to overtake and it doesn't bode well for any of the one-stop races on the calendar, when everyone is going to be following pretty much the same strategy. We can only hope that other circuits will lend themselves to overtaking more than Sakhir."
Webber was not so diplomatic when he expressed his frustration with the continual rule-tinkering in Formula One on Twitter.
"Wow! New rules, not sure huh?" he said. "Why do they keep dicking with it? Followed Mercedes power for the whole race, no chance to overtake - again."
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