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Webber targets maiden F1 title in 2011

Mark Webber wants to secure his first Formula One title in 2011 after a near miss last season.
Mark Webber wants to secure his first Formula One title in 2011 after a near miss last season.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Mark Webber aiming to end his Formula One title drought in the upcoming season
  • Red Bull driver finished third in 2010 after leading most of the season
  • Webber's teammate Sebastian Vettel won the drivers' championship
  • Australian says his relationship with Vettel is 'pretty good'

(CNN) -- Mark Webber has a maiden Formula One title in his sights to banish memories of an agonizing end to his 2010 campaign.

The Australian led the crivers' championship for Red Bull for most of the season only to be pipped at the post by team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who secured the title in the final race at Abu Dhabi.

Webber's year was dominated by controversy, as he accused his team of treating him as a "number two driver" and had a high-profile collision with Vettel in the Turkish Grand Prix which cost them both the chance of victory.

But despite missing out on the F1 crown, the 34-year-old says he has moved on from the disappointment of his near miss.

"I'm completely over it," he told the official Formula one website. "Life goes on and I don't feel any regret. It was quite a season. It was an incredible year.

From Formula One to Daytona

"I lost the championship in the last race and over the whole season no one had a one-race lead over the other guys fighting for the title. I still think I had the opportunity to be the champion, but I didn't do it because I didn't get the job done on the track.

"Every race was alive. Even if we'd had one more race after Abu Dhabi four guys could have still won the championship. He (Vettel) did a great job and deserved the championship.

"There been a lot of great moments for me, but of course I didn't get the jackpot. But I am still very proud of what happened. I am definitely looking to improve this year."

Away from the track, the relationship between Webber and Vettel was a running theme throughout the season as the pressure of the title race set in.

I'm completely over it. Life goes on and I don't feel any regret. It was quite a season.
--Mark Webber, Red Bull
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But Webber says it is important for Red Bull that he and Vettel enjoy a harmonious start to the season.

He said: "I would say our relationship is pretty good at the moment. We had some contact over the winter -- not a huge amount, but enough I would say to have a good start into the season.

"I am not stupid and know that harmony in the team is important and the drivers play a key role in this. What is important is that we don't destabilize the team."

Red Bull were propelled into the limelight as their drivers finished first and second in the title race, while the team romped away with the constructors' championship.

And Webber says Red Bull will come back stronger in 2011 as a result of the pressure they experienced during a record breaking season.

"Of course you always learn from such a situation. Probably everybody does -- not only the drivers. It was a new situation for us -- suddenly being the pacemaker on the grid.

"In the end it was a very, very successful season for the team so I would say we managed all the hiccups perfectly. You need to be flexible and adjust to what might happen.

"That's what we've learnt as a team. It was a new situation for everybody in the team, from the drivers to the management to everybody on the floor."