May 6, 2000 (:40pm STD)

Garren Batten from Australia interviewed Mark Webber at the Melbourne Grand-Prix.

Before the arrows test in november, 1999 and your career was starting to look a bit bleak wasn’t it.

Very bleak. However it was still important for me to remain fairly confident because I hadn’t lost any talent or forgotten how to drive a car quick due to the Le Mans incident. I was also pretty confident that I would find a drive, because plenty of people were watching, so rather than putting my head in my hands I kept training and kept looking for opportuniteis for this season. 

You now are driving for Paul Stoddard in F3000. How bigger part has Paul played in getting your career back on track?

Eddie Jordan was probably the man. He really put the carrot in front of me, saying he might be able to give me a test which was fantastic, and it was Eddie who introduced me to Paul. 

Even with the difficulties of 1999, you were voted Australia’s premier motorsports driver. How does that influence your perspective of the fans?

I was very happy. To get a publicly voted award was a big reminder that the fans were still behind me even with what I went through, but I guess that a lot of them know how difficult it is over there. 

Your Whole career has been backed by yellow pages. Just how important has that been?

Absolutely crucial. Parents can only help you so much. Without yellow pages, I wouldn’t have been able to get the money for my first Formula Ford season in Europe, and they basically bought the Formula 3 car, so without them, I’d definitely be back here in Australia. 

You’ve said that you would like to get more corporate backing form within Australia. Has that happened?

Not really. Not the big dollars that the drivers from other countries get. We are a small country population wise and we are a long way from what happens in Europe so I can sympathise a little bit with the corporate world. 

You’ve been driving oversees for many years now. How much would driving in Australia, especially at the Grand Prix, mean to you?

I'd feel great satisfaction for myself that id made formula 1, and to drive in Australia would be great. I mean not all drivers in Formula 1 have a home grand prix and like all sportspersons you want to be able to compete and perform in your home country. 

Your recent testing in Formula 3000 has been competitive with the other teams. That must be encouraging.

Yeah, I’m not getting too worked up about it yet. I think realistically we are just inside the top ten, and I think it will be the first two or three races where we will find out where we really are. I would like to have done more testing, but I’m really confident that I can hold my own in some of the races and perform well. 

The race format for Formula 3000 is longer, grand prix length races. Do you feel that your time in the GT series will help you with your fitness and concentration?

Fitness probably not, but definetly concentration because you have to be consistent, and concentration plays a big part of that. The races are an hour twenty minutes or so, and in the GT series we were driving stints that long or even longer. 

How difficult was it to concentrate during that first Formula 1 test?

Obviously you’ve got a lot on your plate at once. I didn’t have the luxury of having the track to myself, I had other guys out there with me so I guess that was good in a way to be thrown in the deep end. The stress was huge, and you don’t go out in a formula 1 car and grab it by the throat. It takes half a day to get used to it, and even after that you really have to concentrate on what you’re doing. 

How much testing is there likely to be for you in your new role as Arrows test driver?

Already I’ve got two days this month, but it’s all late notice with this sort of stuff. When testing is on its like ‘Where testing now, can you be there? Yes.’ It is largely dependent on what the team, and the drivers are doing. If Pedro or Jos want to drive, they will. But sometimes the team may want to run three cars a test, or the drivers might want a break. 

Now that your driving for the arrows junior team, does that limit your formula 1 options in any way?

No not really. I’m like an entertainer, and I’m trying to get myself seen and impress All the formula 1 teams. I mean if Benetton or Ferrari like what they see, and they want me to drive for them, then that’s where id aim to be. 

From Your current position, what avenues are open to you in trying to break into formula 1?

When I’m in the car, I am just out there to do the best job I can, weather it be formula 3000 or a formula 1 test or whatever. I just have to grab every opportunity with both hands, and hope that someone likes what they see, because financially I’m not very attractive to the teams. 

Is it possible, or even likely, that we will see Mark Webber on the grid for the 2001 grand prix in Melbourne?

I think I’ll be ready. I probably could drive now, but we have to keep in mind that there is only about two seats to get each year in formula 1, and I’m not the only guy trying to get into formula 1, so it’s hard. But I’ll keep trying bloody hard, and hopefully the opportunity will come.