2010: Dogfight to the End

Can you believe what Jack Brabham has been quoted on saying about Mark Webber? Mark Webber has "blown" his chance of winning this year's world championship, and will never get another opportunity.  All I know is if Australian's have the same sense of pride, if they really are close to Canadians, I can guaranty that Brabham's comment will just make him fight more exacting.  

No one really expects Canadians to fight, to make a scene. But we do, we would.  Assured Australian's are the same.  

There will be no hockey references here.  None given from the 1972 Summit Series. No comments about Canadian pride on the ice.  Nothing about Canada winning against the USSR. None. It was said that the USSR couldn't be beaten. They were the strongest team. But guess what?  It was.  Canada put up a fight, for pride and country,  and they came out victorious.

So why couldn't an Australian be able to over come and be given the same opportunity?  All it takes is commitment and a sense of pride. I can assume that Mark Webber has both.  Why else would he take on the 2009 Formula One season with a metal pin in his leg and an injured shoulder?

When the news broke, that Mark Webber was just taken to the hospital from the 2008 Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, saying that "F1 driver Mark Webber seriously injured in bike race" I am certain that a lot of people thought that his Formula One career was close to over.  I know that I did.  But Mark Webber proved us all wrong and was back. He came back for the 2009 season a better competitor, a much stronger challenger. Could you image the pain that he pushed through? To get behind the wheel and become a contender for the 2009 Driver's Title?

I can remember back in 2004 during the Japanese Grand Prix.  You could see that there was a problem with his Jaguar-Cosworth, or at least there was a problem with him.  Over the team radio broadcast, it was said that they couldn't see anything wrong.  Webber was obviously telling them that there was. After  20 laps, Mark Webber pitted and immediately got out of his Jaguar-Cosworth.  What we heard next was unbelievable. Webber had been burnt. Airflow problems in his Jaguar-Cosworth resulted in hot air from the exhaust being pushed forward into the cockpit. A small hole was distributing this very hot air around his rear-end. 

“I just carried on, hoping that it would go away,” said Webber after the race. “But it didn’t and in the end the heat became unbearable. It was distracting me and so I took the decision to stop.”

Why would Mark Webber put himself through all that pain.  People telling him not to do it, that his return in 2009 couldn't be done.  He did it because he is a champion and his fight has just begun.

If Australian's are just like Canadians than with that comment by Jack Brabham I have to advise you,  Watch out, this seasons title fight has just gone to a whole new level...