Webber hoping for change of luck

Australian driver Mark Webber is hoping for a change of luck at his home Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver doesn't have a great record when it comes to racing in his home country, but following a solid winter testing campaign with the team, the 34-year-old is looking forward to the opening race of the Formula One 2011 World Championship.

“As an Australian I'm looking forward to Melbourne being the first race.' Webber told formula1.com.

'We've done a huge amount of testing and a lot of work has gone into the cars - now we'll put them through their paces at Albert Park and lots of questions will be answered. It's going to be an eventful weekend, especially as the weather can be a bit hit and miss. We'll learn a lot about the tyres, which will play a key role.'

Webber's record in Australia is poor, the highest place finish he has achieved is fifth, which he has done twice, once with Minardi in 2002 and once with Williams in 2005.

His debut in Formula One came at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix for Minardi and after qualifying 18th ahead of team-mate Alex Yoong he finished fifth, scoring 2 world championship points.

Since then, his results have struggled, he has retired on four occasions in 2003 and 2004 with Jaguar, in 2006 with Williams and 2008 with Red Bull.

His best finish in Australia since joining the Red Bull team in 2007 was last seasons 9th placed finish.

'I hope I can improve my luck there, as it hasn't been incredible since since my first GP in '02. I hope to get my best result and there's every indication we can do that. This is the best winter we've had - let's hope we can carry it on into this event.”

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