After hobbling into last year's Australian Grand Prix still recovering from a broken leg and shoulder, Mark Webber is happy to return to Albert Park circuit in Melbourne with bones intact and two race wins under his belt.
The Australian Red Bull driver, whose seven-year victory drought was banished at Nurburgring last year, also carries a huge weight of expectation from local fans desperate to end their long wait for a home winner.
"There's always pressure at this level," Webber said before this weekend's contest. "You always want to do your best job for the team, yourself, everyone and that's why we enjoy it." .
"(There) are a lot less concerns for me (this year). Coming here obviously I've done a lot more testing, I've already got a Grand Prix win under my belt and there are still a few little niggles here and there but they're absolutely nothing, obviously compared to what I had."
Webber's preparations for Melbourne's season-opener last year were cut short by a horrific cycling crash in an off-season adventure race in Tasmania.
He suited up for Albert Park with only 17 practice laps under his belt but drove through the pain to qualify eighth, before a first corner crash after an entanglement with Rubens Barrichello stopped his victory bid within 10 seconds.
Webber, who described the moment as one of the most disappointing of his life, said his two victories, among eight podiums last year, had given him more composure to make amends.
"The more times you experience (winning), obviously you have more composure, more control about how you control the race yourself," he said.
"So (I'm) hoping that I get in that position again this year, and try and do it often."
His hopes of winning at home are arguably at their highest, with fellow drivers gazing longingly at the Red Bull's cars and describing them as surprisingly speedy.
Webber, who finished eighth after a qualifying mistake in the season-opener at Bahrain a fortnight ago, played down his car's edge and said the team was still striving for a perfect weekend.
Red Bull, who won the last three races of the 2009 season, could well have had four in a row, had Webber's German teammate Sebastian Vettel not suffered a spark plug failure when leading at Sakhir.
"Pace is one thing but we need to execute clean weekends," Webber said.
"We'll go here clearly with some great optimism for our programme and we can do a very solid job but it's not like we're waking up in the morning going 'there's no one else here on the track with us'."Reuters
Webber prepares to roar in search of victory at home
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.