» Webber hints again at number-one status

Mark Webber has again fanned the flames within the Red Bull camp, and has hinted yet again that it would be in his interests for team-mate Sebastian Vettel to assume a subordinate role within the team in order for the Australian to win the 2010 title.

With the young German trailing Webber by 24 points with just five races to run, the team had suggested – via team consultant Dr Helmut Marko – that it would need to consider its options if it wanted to secure a maiden Constructors’ and Drivers’ title.

“It would be a nice problem for me to have and then it’s up to the team as to what’s the best way for them to win the championships,” Webber hinted, in an interview with BBC Sport.

“It’s definitely not for me to answer that one,” he added, perhaps hoping that key team figures might start listening.

As for Vettel, however, he is typically bullish about his chances, and believes that he has every opportunity to secure the Drivers’ Championship crown himself.

Speaking with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, he said: “I believe in the title — that is the most important thing. It will be very close in the finale, but I’m optimistic.

“Whether [the gap to the lead is] 24, 25 or 30, it doesn’t matter,” he added. “The new points system worries people more than it should. Now there are 25 points for a win, so under the [old] system, I’d only be 8 or 9 points behind. Then it would seem much less dramatic.”

Got that, Mark?

[Original image via AUTOSPORT]