• Japanese Grand Prix - Qualifying

Front row lockout a 'great tonic' for Red Bull - Webber

Mark Webber: "It's just a great tonic at this point of the championship" © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Japanese Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Mark Webber

• Teams:
• Red Bull

Mark Webber said Red Bull's first front row lockout of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix was just what his team needed as it prepares for the run in to the end of the season.

Webber took second place on the grid behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel at Suzuka and was 0.2s clear of Red Bull's next competitor Jenson Button. It is Webber's first top six grid position since the British Grand Prix, which he won, and he said it was important for the team to rediscover its form over one lap.

"It has been a good weekend for us so far," he said. "Seb and I had a clean run in Q3 when it mattered at the start there, with pretty big laps from both of us. Obviously Seb got me a bit so that was a good lap from him, but to be this much further up for us, obviously with a bit of a rough run in qualifying of late, is something we're really happy with.

"On my side it's been penalties and bit and bobs and it just makes the race that bit more difficult and you have to start doing wacky strategies and stuff like that. I am happy to be on the front row and I'm really looking forward to a good result tomorrow. For the team, it's just a great tonic at this point of the championship to have the cars towards the front again."

Webber had to back off on his final lap when he came across yellow flags for Kimi Raikkonen's spun Lotus, but said he felt he could have found more time in the final sector.

"I had to back off for the lights and the flags. There was no car when I got there so it was very close. JB was behind me and I saw he was still committed to his lap so obviously the lights just cleared for him. It would have been nice to have another look at the final chicane, I would have liked to have got it a little bit better."

Asked why Red Bull had come good at this weekend's race, Webber said: "It's always challenging and we've had to work like hell to get the car in the window where we like it. This weekend seems pretty good and we would be very, very disappointed if we're not competitive here and it should be a track where we can challenged for very good results. The car is quick here because it's in the DNA and the philosophy of the car."

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