• Italian Grand Prix - Qualifying

Webber buoyed by strong Monza showing

Mark Webber qualified a career-best second at Monza © Getty Images

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Mark Webber was pleased with his performance in qualifying after securing his best ever grid slot at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.

Red Bull locked out the front row with Webber qualifying second, 0.2s behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel, and Nico Hulkenberg a surprise third for Sauber. Webber said he delivered near to his maximum potential in Q3 and was encouraged for the race with Red Bull's usual rivals further back on the grid.

"I said to the boys at the start of the session that I was looking for a qualy PB," Webber said. "It hasn't been the best track for me over the years so it's a nice step towards a very good result tomorrow. I'm happy with qualifying to be up there; it took the old boy a little bit to get ready for Q1 but I got there in the end in the sessions where it counted and I'm actually pretty happy with my laps.

"Jean-Eric [Vergne] went off at the final corner so I just didn't know if he dropped a wheel or if he was continuing on the circuit so I couldn't really see with the dust. It was obviously when I got further round I could see that he was in the gravel so it was a bit of a tricky finish to the lap but overall it wouldn't have been enough to get Seb; he did a very good lap.

"We have a few different people up here with us as well, which is good. It's been a bit of a mixed up session and that can happen at Monza. It's not an easy track to get right, but I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow."

Asked if he was at all emotional about taking part in his final European race in Formula One, Webber replied: "Not really.

"I think Brazil will probably be a little bit more emotional but if I get the tissues out I've made the wrong decision. It's good that I'm still enjoying my driving and not too uncompetitive. I'm just looking for a clean weekend and to get some very good results in the future and the coming races."

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