Webber reveals shoulder fracture from cycling accident

Mark Webber has revealed he also broke his shoulder in his cycling crash late last year.

The Australian driver's recovery to fitness from a badly broken right leg has been well documented ahead of the 2009 season.

But, as he arrives in his native country ahead of next week's Melbourne season opener, Webber - who is still limping - told local newspaper The Age the full extent to his injuries was not previously disclosed.

He revealed that, before returning to Europe in the wake of the crash, he discovered some more bad news upon being visited by a physiotherapist.

"We discovered that I actually had a fracture in my left shoulder," the Red Bull driver said.

"It's just how I landed - with a backpack on and the weight in that, I crushed part of the bone. Frankly, with how bad the leg was, it was a real kick in the nuts."

"Luckily it didn't need surgery, but it made it harder getting around on crutches and trying to sleep," Webber added.

He also revealed that he sometimes questioned his own confidence that he would be back in action when the 2009 car was rolled out at a Spanish test circuit in February.

Webber, who did manage the deadline, said 'a lot of people' told him 'that first test wasn't possible'.

"I basically guaranteed (team owner) Dietrich (Mateschitz) that I'd be at the first test on the 11th of February, and there were times I thought that was probably a little naive of me to say that."

Button not concerned by Brawn's low pit berth

Jenson Button on Saturday said he is not concerned to hear that his Brawn team will be accommodated at the far end of the pitlane in 2009.

Early observers at Albert Park have noticed that, despite former guise Honda finishing ahead of Force India last year, Brawn GP drivers Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello have been allocated the last pit garages.

In Melbourne it is not such an inconvenience, but at other venues this season the latter garages are smaller and less well-equipped - even if the location is sometimes an advantage when arriving for or completing pit stops.

The reason for Brawn's allocation is that, given Honda's withdrawal, the FIA World Motor Sport Council ruled last week that Brawn is therefore 'a new entry' rather than simply a renamed one.

"As long as we are quick it doesn't matter, and as long we have got enough money to finish the season," Button told the Melbourne newspaper Herald Sun.

It is expected the 'new entry' ruling could also have implications for Brawn financially, given that new teams usually must wait to receive full revenue entitlements according to F1's commercial agreements.

However, given current conditions, it is also rumoured that income will be distributed to the Brackley based team as would an ongoing team.

The FIA this week said the 'standard fee required for a new entry has been waived" for Brawn.

Australian GP - Williams Toyota - Preview

Williams Toyota head to Melbourne looking to show well with the new FW31 package. 2008 was a tough season for the Grove-based squad although Nico Rosberg did finish third in the attrition-hit season opening Australian Grand Prix last year.

The team will have been boosted by Kazuki Nakajima's pace in the final pre-season test session where the Japanese racer was fastest of the nine drivers to take part.

Nico Rosberg
"I'm really looking forward to getting out onto the Albert Park track. I had a great race in Melbourne in 2008 and I am determined that we will have a similarly strong start to this season. In character, it’s a very challenging semi-street circuit which usually suits our car well.”

“Winter testing has been good, but I think we are not where we want to be just yet. However, the potential for development is huge because of the new rules, so we will be looking to making strong progress throughout the year to get closer to the podium.”

“I think the regs are all good. It is very likely that they will improve overtaking and ramp up the excitement in the sport for everybody’s benefit.”

Kazuki Nakajima
“What can I tell you, I love Australia. I am doing what I did last year, dropping in on Sydney for a few days and I expect to do some good training there – it’s a great sports nation.”

“We have a good car, one that will allow us to compete, that’s certain, but where it will take us this year – well, that is part of the excitement to see how it all turns out.”

"The competition is closer, that’s for sure. Whether we will get the better overtaking we are all hoping for, really it will be an improvement, but by how much we will only know after 58 laps of Albert Park next Sunday.”

Australian GP - Brawn Mercedes - Preview

The Australian Grand Prix, Round One of what promises to be an exciting championship, takes place in Melbourne, south east Australia on Sunday 29th March.

The beautiful setting of Albert Park has hosted the Australian Grand Prix since 1996 and the 5.3km (3.3mile) street circuit uses public roads which surround the man-made Albert Park lake, located just south of Melbourne’s city centre. Albert Park is a technically demanding and high-speed circuit. The cars reach top speeds of 300kph (185mph) and average 225kph (140mph) around the 16-turn lap. The track surface is bumpy, particularly in the braking areas, hard on the brakes and slippery at the start of the race weekend due to the use of public roads, which will take a while to ‘rubber in’.

The first race of the year is always a technical challenge as the new cars run competitively for the first time, a task made more difficult for the Brawn GP team as the BGP 001 car has completed just seven days of pre-season testing.

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix will see the culmination of four months of hard work and dedication from the team when the BGP 001 car takes to the track on Friday 27 March for the first of the practice sessions. Drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello are looking forward to the BGP 001’s competitive debut with anticipation.

Ross Brawn, Team Principal
“Our ambition has always been to be on the grid for the first race of the season in Melbourne and our planning was specifically tailored towards the achievement of this goal. I am extremely proud that we have achieved our ambition and the Australian Grand Prix will mark the start of an exciting new journey for our team. The BGP 001 car is the result of 15 months of intensive development work and the team have been nothing less than fantastic in their commitment to producing two cars in time for the first race."

“From our short but crucial testing programme over the past two weeks, we have reinforced our view that the BGP 001 is a good car and an excellent platform from which to develop performance over the course of the season. Our focus during the seven days of pre-season testing was on reliability and developing our understanding of the car in race conditions. We are very satisfied with the work achieved and the initial pace seen from the car however we are fully aware that our work has only just begun. The practice running in Melbourne will be crucial and we have to get as much mileage as possible under our belts to allow Jenson and Rubens to refine the set-up of the car to their liking.”

Jenson Button
“The first race of the season is always an exciting weekend as none of the teams really know where their car is in performance terms until we hit the race track for the first time in competitive conditions. I am a big fan of Melbourne as a city and as the venue for the first race; it’s truly a great place to start the season. The race has a beautiful setting in Albert Park and it is a quick and fun circuit to drive with some very technical corners. I have always enjoyed driving there, particularly in qualifying where you can really get on it and nail a flying lap."

“I will be arriving in Melbourne on Saturday to ensure that I have a few days to acclimatise to the time zone. I’ll be doing some fitness work with my physio in preparation for the race weekend, hopefully in the sunshine along the coast. We will also be linking up with some local triathletes to train with them and catching up with my former physio who is now based in Australia and some of the V8 Supercar drivers that he is working with for another intense training session. “I’m really looking forward to getting to Australia and the challenge of getting the best out of our new car over what looks to be a very exciting race weekend.”

Rubens Barrichello
“The Australian Grand Prix is one of my favourite races on the calendar and the atmosphere at Albert Park over the race weekend is always fantastic. It will be really exciting to go back this year with our new team and a competitive car behind us for the start of what will be my 17th season competing in Formula One. After the tough winter that we went through, I am so motivated to get racing again and I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead."

“The Albert Park circuit is quite technical and the relatively high top speeds for a street circuit mean that you need to run quite a high level of downforce which in turn compromises your grip through the slower second-gear corners. The lap has some very quick changes of direction and you can gain a lot of time through the quick chicane at Turns 11 and 12 if you get it hooked up well. You need a car with a good front-end to make the most of these corners."

“As the circuit uses public roads, there are a lot of bumps under braking and if your car is prone to rear-locking, you have to be careful that these don’t unsettle the car enough to throw you off the circuit. It’s reasonably difficult to overtake around the circuit with Turns 3 and 13 offering the best opportunities.”