Race was like Russian Roulette: Mark Webber

Silverstone: Mark Webber compared Sunday`s racing in a thrilling British Grand Prix to `playing Russian roulette` after he fought back from 15th on lap one to finish a dazzling second for Red Bull at Silverstone.

The 36-year-old Australian, who on Thursday announced he would be retiring from Formula One at the end of the season, almost took victory off German Nico Rosberg of Mercedes to mark his final F1 appearance at Silverstone where he was seeking a third victory.

"It has been an incred ible day. First there was the contact with Romain Grosjean and the wing was damaged. The boys did a great job changing that and then we got into the race," said the straight-talking Australian, who twice finished third in the world championship.

"I was praying for the Safety Car, but not with the way they were coming. It was Russian Roulette."

"I made the most of them though, the strategy was one of our best, and yeah I thought: `Here is Nico, the one car left.`

"It would have been nice to have a few more laps, but that is the way it goes. We could be standing here with punctures and no podium."

He added that Red Bull now had to discover why he is prone to so many poor starts after he tumbled down the field off the line again.

He was back in 15th on the first lap, partly due to first-corner contact with Romain Grosjean, but primarily because he crawled away from his fourth place on the grid.

"I didn`t have a clue what happened off the line," said Webber. "We`ve had two or three good starts in the last few races and then the lights went out and we were back to our normal form...

"We need to have a look at why those pop up from time to time. Then I had Grosjean take my front wing out at the first corner.

"The boys did a fantastic job to replace the wing at the first stop and then my race could start from there."

"I would`ve liked more laps to catch Nico but he deserved the win. He was strong all day."

Webber, winner of nine Grand Prix, will race for sportscar racing team Porsche next year.

AFP ------------------------ ZEENEWS.com